“To Cure the Sick and That, Gratis:” Successful Healings Using Hybrid Solomonic-Conjure Methods

By Frater S.C.F.V.

A. Introduction: Healing by Fire, Oil, and Herb

After having three people near me require healing in a short period of time and wanting to help them as best I could, I plunged into analyzing 13 different Conjure and Rootwork Formulas for Healing Oil in an attempt to better understand how they work so that I could optimize a Healing Oil to help those around me.

Having created my own 11-Herb formula, I designed a method that would enable me to promote the healing of three individuals within the same working. The method ended up being a hybrid form of Solomonic magic and Rootwork, which, combined with the Healing Oil formula, ended up producing results which, to me, were nothing short of amazing…

B. Talismanic Design: At the Crossroads of Health and Illness

As the base of this method, I opted to use my consecrated Tablet of Lights, which I made following Balthazar’s (2018) Solomonic Conjure method. This method involves consecrating a dedicated surface (e.g. large white plate in my case) using formulae from the Key of Solomon adapted to the task (Peterson, 2004).

In Balthazar’s original method, consecrated chalk markers are used to draw relevant symbols–often Key of Solomon Planetary Pentacles relevant to the task at hand–on the Tablet of Lights. I have previously used such chalk markers, which I consecrated along with white chalk on the Day of Epiphany both in my own home Temple and by Mass at Church using hybrid elements of the Key of Solomon, Carmelite Chalk Blessing, and Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses (Peterson, 2016). However, today, I opted to use consecrated glass markers, that is, markers that are water-soluble, so can be washed off, and useful to write on both glass and ceramic, as well as dry-erase markers. Both ended up tracing very clear and vibrant lines on the Tablet service, which can be helpful information who are looking for a tool for this purpose, that is, to inscribe magical figures in a robust but non-permanent manner.

More and more, however, instead of lifting Pentacle designs for the Tablet from particular grimoires as in Bathazar’s original method, I have been communicating with my Spirits and asking them to guide me to draw the design needed for the ritual at hand. The idea is to continue to work within the scope of the tradition, but enlivened, guided, and tailored by the relationships I have with my Spirits. These designs seem to “flow from the pen,” one part at a time, as if the Spirits were saying “draw this. Now write this name. Now draw this.” Then, looking back at it, the whole gestalt or pattern comes into view, but not from a place or rational forethought, calculating, or planning-in-advance, like an epiphany or a vision.

To quote the Science Photo Library: This is a “17th century engraving symbolizing the search for knowledge in alchemy. The naked figure is the god Mercury or Hermes, the messenger of the gods. In each hand he holds a caduceus, his symbol. The two other men carry a sword with a serpent wrapped around it, and a sword with a cockerel on it; these are both symbols associated with Aesculapius, the god of medicine. The Sun and Moon represent the two alchemical essences. In Greek mythology, Hermes was believed to have power over sleep and dreams. Aesculapius was believed to dispense medical knowledge by using dreams. Image from 1677.”

In this case, I was drawn to produce a form that started out with the structure of a Caduceus, referencing healing and Hermes Trismegistus, and therefore, magic. However, this design omitted the serpents. Instead, another “pole” was added to form a Cross with a Rose in the Center, in refence to the Rose Cross. The Fama Fraternitatis, one of the fundamental manifestos of the founding of Rosicrucianism, says that Rosicrucian Brotherhood do not “profess any other thing than to cure the sick, and that gratis.

As this was a ritual for healing done for free, out of love and a wish to be of service, it seemed appropriate. In addition, in reference to the Caduceus, it is worth noting that I did not know this at the time, but it was revealed to me later that another reason the Spirits had me draw the Caduceus is because the Waxing Moon was moving from the Lunar Mansion of Al-Iklil (the Monkey, for protection) and into the Lunar Mansion of Al-Kalb (the Caduceus to heal and prevent illness) at the very time I would end up performing the candle working…

The Three 3 Initial Rosicrucian Manifestoes: the Fama Fraternitatis (1614), the Confessio Fraternitatis (1615), and The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz (1616). It’s worth noting, as Samuel Robinson has pointed out, that there is also a fourth Rosicrucian Manifesto, which is the Speculum Sophicum Rhodostauroticum (1618).

In addition, the Crossroads and the 5-Spot pattern of Hoodoo inspired the structure of this Talismanic figure. At the top, a golden Sun was drawn to symbolize both Keter as the Sephirotic Source of Light in the Kabbalistic system and the Light of Healing, itself a reference to the Golden Dawn Neophyte Grade Ritual (“the Light hath Healing in its Wings”).

The Caduceus wings have seven sections, seven for the 7 Planets, 7 Archangels of the Heptameron/ Lucidarium system, and 7 Olympic Spirits of the Arbatel system. When I reached out to the Archangels and Olympic Spirits to see who would assist with this work, the two triads of Raphael-Michael-Sachiel (Mercury-Sun-Jupiter) and their corresponding Olympic Spirits (Ophiel-Och-Bethor) stepped forward.

Therefore, the Angels’ names in Hebrew were included alongside the Olympic Spirits’ standard Sigils from the Arbatel. Finally, a powerful Divine Name of healing, YHVH Rapha (“God of Healing”) was included at the top of the Talismanic figure, to rule over and energize all of its contents, as well as to drive the “energy” of the healing involved in the ritual itself.

The herb “Self-Heal,” a central ingredient in my personal Healing Oil formula.

C. Foci and Curative Aims: The 3 Targets of the Work and Their Ailments

This hybrid ritual was targeted at three individuals, all of whom I know and care about, two here in Montreal, and one, a friend in Nigeria, Africa.

First, J.P., here in Montreal, has been complaining of “muscular pain going down my sides, great nausea making me throw up and making it hard for me to keep any food down, and disrupting my sleep…” His ailment was a physical one that impacted his psychological experience (e.g. by disrupting sleep).

Second, C.L., also in Montreal, has been suffering from “a burning feeling in my mouth, swelling around my gums, redness, pain, and a general lack of energy, like I’m exhausted all of the time and can barely get anything done…” Therefore, her issue was both physical and psychological.

Finally, C.O., in Nigeria, Africa, has been struggling with a debilitating “pain in my waste and stomach which makes me barely able to stand up, it’s so bad…” This is a strongly physical issue that is causing him significant distress.

I advised all three individuals to consult their doctors about their issues and explained that if needed, I would recommend them to consult a doctor afterwards as well. In addition, I explained to all three people that my approach is one of holistic healing, that is, combining (1) Western medicine with (2) herbalism, and (3) the spiritual, magical, and alchemical uses of herbs. They agreed.

D. Fixing the Candles and Preparing the Body: Ritual Preparation and Set-Up

Having already infused and prayed over my 11-herb Healing Oil, I set it out along with 3 light-blue candles. In Rootwork, light-blue is a colour that is used in candle magic for healing, peace, and spirituality.
Each of the three people to be healed was designated their own candle. I took a pin with a light-blue head at the end of it, and used this to inscribe each candle with the aim of the working for that person. In addition to their full names, the following specifications were inscribed in their respective candles:

For J.P.: “healing, no pain, no nausea in stomach, good appetite, joy, freedom, peace.”

For C.L.:healing, no burning, pain, or swelling in mouth, energy, joy, peace, love, free.”

For C.O.:healing, no belly pain, no waist pain, freedom, peace, joy.”

While carving the candles, I looked at photos of the targeted person and repeatedly focused on seeing the candle as an extension of that person, such that my work on the candle connects back to them. I continued to pray until all three candles were inscribed.

Thereafter, I dressed each candle with some left-over 11-Herb Healing Blend and the 11-Herb Healing Oil, drawing the Oil towards me as I dressed it to symbolize drawing the healing towards the client, and ensuring the Oil and Herbs were thoroughly rubbed into the candles.

The bottoms of the candles were warmed and they were then stuck to the Tablet of Lights to fix them in their positions.

The Tablet fixed with the candles was then placed on the dedicated spirit table I have reserved for Raphael and Ophiel in my Temple Room. As noted above, consulting the Archangels and Olympic Spirits, I inquired who wished to help with the healing work at hand and the Jupiter Archangel Sachiel and Sun Archange Michael and the Arbatel Olympic Spirits Bethor, Ophiel, and Och indicated that they would be willing to assist. Therefore, I included the 3 Angels’ statues and the 3 Olympic Spirits’ Arbatel Sigils on the table as well.

In addition, a candle was anointed with Healing Oil and fixed to be offered up to God on behalf of the Spirits, as well as water to refresh them, offerings of Herbs to energize them, and Sandalwood incense. Finally, stones connected to my work with these different Spirits were also included on the table as loci of their power and symbols to bolster the sympathetic resonances of Jupiter, the Sun, and Mercury to be called upon.

In terms of ritual preparation, it is worth noting that 3 days of Cleansing Herbal Baths were completed followed by 7 Nourishing Herbal Baths each night. No alcohol was consumed during this time. No drugs either. Abstinence from masturbation, etc. was also strictly maintained. Food was eaten in moderation.

On the day of the Ritual, I took a purifying Herbal Bath while praying and cleansing myself with Hyssop, Rue, Basil, Mint, Rose, Lavender, and Cocoa Butter. Donning my standard Solomonic regalia, I put on my white robe, Lion Skin Belt, priestly stole, a white cloth wrapped around my head, with my Abramelin Crown over that. Under the robe, I wore my Medallion with the 7 Archangels and 7 Olympic Spirits upon it, anointed in Fiery Wall of Protection Oil. I was nudged to also include the Bell of Art, my Solomonic Wand, and a Wild Turkey feather foraged during my time in Ontario. I brushed my teeth and put on cologne to remove any unappealing odours that might displease the Spirits, a method inspired by Dr. Stephen Skinner. Then I entered the Temple to begin the work.

D. By Invocation, Oil, and Flame: A Hybrid Solomonic-Rootworking for Healing

Date: Wednesday, August 31, 2022. 10 PM to 2:30 AM.
Planetary Timing: Oil and Powder made in the Day and Hour of Mercury. Consecrated and empowered and candlework for healing done in the Hour of Jupiter given work to be done with Sachiel and Bethor.
Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent in Libra, good for bringing balance and harmony to situations magically (e.g. health to bodies imbalanced by symptoms and disease).
Lunar Mansion: Al-Iklil (the Monkey, for protection) on cusp of Al-Kalb (the Caduceus to heal and prevent illness).

Having completed my Ritual Bath and put on my ritual clothing, I entered the Temple and begun the ritual by delivering a battery of knocks on the Raphael spirit altar and on my Ancestor altar. I asked my Ancestors to assist in the healing work to be done and asked for the Ancestors of the three people in question to also come to their aid.

I then picked up the Bell of Art and rang it repeatedly in a Cross Formation while saying “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit…” I then proceeded through a series of extensive prayers to God as Adonai Rapha, the Lord of Healing, asking for His aid, that He might be glorified through the miracles of his healing work in these three people’s lives and cited multiple healing miracles in the Bible as testaments to Divine Power and asking that similar works be done here. As a side note, the method of citing relevant stories or historiolae (a kind of incantation incorporating a short mythic or scriptural story that provides the paradigm for the desired magical action) as precedents in magical work is discussed in detail in Agrippa’s Third Book of Occult Philosophy.

Next, through prayers by the Divine Names pertaining to healing (YHVH Rapha, Adonai Rapha, and El Elyon Rapha), I called the Angels and Olympic Spirits and throughout used Divine Names of Healing, Adonai Rapha, YHVH Rapha, El Rapha. I lit the Spirit offering candle and 3 Sandalwood sticks symbolizing 4 different triads of 3: One candle for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; One candle for Michael, Sachiel, and Raphael; one candle for Och, Bethor, and Ophiel; One candle for J.P., C.L., and C.O. I offered the candle and incense to the Most High God in their names and then invited the Archangels, Guardian Angels of myself and the 3 targets, the Olympic Spirits, and the Ancestors of myself and the three people to find in them sources of power, refreshment and fuel for their work. The herbs in the Oil and glass of Water were similarly offered with additional prayers said over them.

Next, I cleansed all of the tools and myself with a combination of Solomonic Holy Water made by myself according to the method in the Key of Solomon and some Holy Water consecrated by a Catholic priest and gathered from a Cathedral.

I then asked for the Angels’ and Olympic Spirits help to empower the Healing Oil in the bottles on the altar and anointing the candles, as well as the Healing Sachet Powder also on the table, with the virtues of healing as specified by the Roles of the spirits of the Herbs included in the Healing Oil (please see my article on Healing Oil for more details). I asked for God’s healing power and will to extend the Good and Love to enliven and empower the Oil and Powder as well. I then anointed the heads of each Archangel, my own forehead, and the Sigils of the Spirits with some of the Oil to create a connection between them, myself, the Oil in the bottles, and the Oil on the candles symbolizing the three people to be healed.

Next, I lit the candles for the three people to be healed and prayed that they be linked to their human targets in order to benefit and heal them. I picked up the Turkey Feather I had personally ceremonially gathered while out in a forest, holding my Solomonic Wand in the other hand, and began to use the feather to rhythmically and repeatedly waft the exorcised and consecrated Sandalwood spoke over the Angel statues, Spirit Sigils, Bottles of Healing Oil, Jar of Sachet Powder, myself to cleanse me as the practitioner, and the Tablet of Lights and three Candles of the people to be healed.

While doing so, I prayed personalized prayers for J.P. C.O., and C.L. in turn, praying about exactly which aspects of their bodies and minds needs healing (e.g. for J.P., his belly pain, nausea, and appetite to be healed, and for peace, joy and a feeling of comfort to come to his mind; for C.O. for his waist and belly pain to be healed and for his mind to be filled with peace, joy, freedom from worry and physical pain; for C.L. for her mouth to be free from burning, pain, and swelling, for her lethargy to be enlivened with energy, and for peace, freedom from physical and mental ailments, and a feeling of comfort to fill her mind).

Next, I recited prayers for the Sick from Agostino Taumaturgo, as mentioned in the Healing Oil Article. This was followed with praying Psalms 147, 46, and 27 over the Oil, Powder, and Candle work.

Finally, I asked the Angels and my own Guardian Angel to coordinate with the 3 targets’ Guardian Angels to coordinate their healing, and for my Ancestors to work with their Ancestors to effect their healing as well. I asked each of the 11 Herb Spirits included in the Oil to assist with each of their roles and the 3 Olympic Spirits to help assist the healing in each of their spheres (e.g. Mercury – changing illness to health, governing the crossroads of sickness and health, assisting communication with doctors as needed, etc.; Sun – bringing healing light into the situation, illuminating the causes of the illness and obstacles to health so that the Lemongrass can clear them as a road-opener; Jupiter — expanding health and joy and peace of mind) working in concert with the Archangels. I then prayed more prayers to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit again praying for the healing with total confidence that it would come about and giving thanks in advance for the wonders to follow.

I then recited a final series of prayers, closed the Temple, and invited the spirits to continue to enjoy the Offerings while completing their work.

E. Carromancy: Reading the Wax

Examining the candles the next day, I was surprised to see that J.P’s candle was still burning, many hours longer than usual. This suggested to me that the Spirits were still working on him. In addition, I I noted winged forms in the wax that reminded me of Angels, suggesting their work in intervening in the situation. The wax flows that were circular were largely clockwise, suggesting that the work was being done and the healings were progressing. Some substantial wax floods had appeared near C.O.’s candle on the left, suggesting that the impact of the work might be more significant than expected. Finally, some petal-shapes were observed near all three candles, suggesting positive results would flow out of this work. The days that come brought results greatly in harmony with these ‘pictures in the wax.’

Appearance of the wax the next morning, with J.P.’s candle still burning.

E. Astonishing Results: Documented Healings in Action

The next morning, I woke up feeling grounded and a deep and sustained sense of well-being that stuck with me the whole day. I did not remember the last time I felt this clear, joyful, and at peace… I wondered if this might have been an outcome of the ritual, being in the presence of the Angels and Spirits, Divine blessing, the power of the Herbs in the Spiritual Baths, or a combination of all of the above. Either way, I was grateful for it.

I reached out to C.O. first in the morning and asked how he was feeling since I completed the ritual on his behalf. As he was so far away, I could not get some Healing Oil to him, at least not as urgently as he would need it, so the results that he would share could only have come from the candle working, prayers, and intervention of the Spirits.

I was filled with awe at what he shared, for the Lord and Spirits had acted quickly… C.O. said that “My condition has improved tremendously–l can now sit and stand freely! Just little pains which l know will clear up within the next few days. Whatever you did worked like a miracle. I thank the Triune God for using you as a vessel to get me up and running again. I am grateful, brother. May God meet you at your point of need, just like he has used you to meet me at my point of need. I feel born again in mind, body, soul & spirit. I even slept like a baby too!” I told him that I was so happy to hear this and gave glory to God for this blessing. C.O. said “This is the fastest healing ever. God bless you…”

I went to see C.L. and gave her some of the Healing Oil. I instructed her to rub some of it into her cheek over the area of her mouth that was burning, swelling, and reddening. She agreed and rubbed some into her cheek in my presence. Not even minutes later she said “I can’t believe it but… the pain is really going down… wow… what’s in this??” I explained the 11 Herbs in the formula and what role each played as well as how I had spiritually prepared them and which Spirits I had called upon. She said she was “so grateful…” and had tears in her eyes. I checked in with her again in the afternoon and she said she had just applied a little more of the Healing Oil and that “my pain continues to be much lower… and my obstacles to contacting a doctor seem to be gone too… I already got a dentist appointment! Thank you!” Glory be to God! This was the second successful healing.

Finally, after work, I took a vial of Healing Oil and went to see J.P. I asked him how he had been feeling since this morning. He said “I woke up already feeling better… it seems like I had been very constipated. Today, I finally had gas and was able to go the bathroom… My nausea is gone. The pain in my belly area is significantly lower.” I praised God once again and thanked the Spirits for this third healing miracle… I instructed J.P. to keep rubbing some of the Healing Oil into his belly area over the parts that hurt. He said he would also rub it into his painful shoulder and see if it helps with that as well. I wished him all the best and he thanked me for my care and attention in this matter.

On the second day after the work, I checked in with C.O. to see if the healing remained stable or if the situation had changed. C.O. reported “I feel 99% better. It is only minor aches and pains now…” Praise God and the Spirits for their work!

When I checked in with C.L. She reported that when she used the Oil, rubbing it in to her cheek, she felt “a wave of comfort wash over me, not just my mouth, but my whole body… My mouth pain continues to be gone. The burning feeling is gone. I have an appointment with my dentist just to be safe, but I feel so much better.”

Finally, to my surprise, I received a phone call from J.P., the most skeptical of the three, who does not believe in magic; J.P. never calls me, so this made his reaching out even more striking. He said “not only am I feeling better with my stomach pain and nausea and eating better, but there’s something else. I have been rubbing the Oil into my really painful shoulder and… it feels much better. Like I can lift my arm in ways I haven’t been able to for a long time… So thank you..”

Healing candle for M.D.A.

F. Additional Healing Work: More Complex and More Intensive

With the above work thus completed, I thought I was done with healing work for a while. However, shortly after the above work was completed, my dear friend M.D.A., who has taught me a great deal about Esperitismo and often helped me with spiritual work when I was in need, fell very sick shortly after I did the above workings.

I asked if he would consent for me to do some work for him and he agreed as he was truly struggling with everything from fever, soreness, cramping, diarrhea, loss of taste, irritated red eyes, a weight on his chest,, coughing, and fever chills… He tested for COVID-19, but tested negative. To make matters worse, his immunosuppression made the illness, whatever it was, hit him even harder.

In an attempt to help M.D.A., I followed essentially the same procedure as above, inscribing and dressing the candle with the Healing Oil, calling on Michael, Sachiel, and Raphael as well as Ophiel, Och, and Bethor in the same way as before, giving the same offerings, and even using the same Psalms. Checking with my Spirits, they did not require me to do a complete new Tablet of Lights set-up for him, saying I could use the same plate set-up as I had used for the previous work, simply placing M.D.A’s candle at the base of the Cross structure inscribed on the plate. This, I did.

The Moon remained waxing in the Lunar Mansion of Al-Kalb (the Caduceus to heal and prevent illness), which was fortuitous for the work at hand. The only difference with this working is that I rubbed some of the Healing Sachet Powder I had made on the outside of his candle as I did not have any of the herbal mixture left over. I prayed that all of his symptoms would disappear and that he would be heal again and that even his fibromyalgia pain would decrease. I poured my heart into this ritual for my dear friend and closed the Temple. I called on his Guardian Angel and his Ancestors, as well as my own, to assist in the work.

At the end of the night, after leaving his candle burning, I saw that it had burned in a very interesting way. The candle burned down the middle, but an outer shell was left. Also, a skull-shaped hole had appeared on the right side. Divining from the wax, my sense was that this healing was not going to be as easy or as simple as the others. The Spirits were “drilling down the middle” into M.D.A’s core bodily issues and symptoms of the illness, which were affecting his internal organs and assailing his immune system. His wax pool was pulled over the Sigils of Och and Bethor as well as the Name of Raphael, suggesting that these spirits in particular were working on him. The skull hole did not strike me as implying he would die; instead, it suggested to me that an Ancestor spirit would help in the work.

The next morning, I checked the candle again and the “walls” of wax had melted down, but two points of the wax folded in, pointing at the center of the candle. This suggested to me that the illness was still hitting him, “stabbing” him with symptoms as symbolized by the wax points. Another image that came to me was that the illness “had its teeth or claws” in him and was not going to let go easily. Still, some progress had been made with help from his Ancestor, as seen in the melting down of the wax walls.

I checked in with M.D.A. on Messenger and he confirmed my suspicions; not only was he not feeling better, but he was feeling worse! All of the above symptoms had intensified… He was definitely getting “stabbed” by the illness, with more suffering than before. I explained to him that sometimes, healing work brings results that come quite quickly, and other times, for more complex situations or more serious conditions, the work can provide more strengthening, clearing obstacles to healing, and facilitating communication with the right professionals, through the process. This can especially be the case when the odds are stacked against the healing, such as in the case of immunosuppression. As much as we try to ease the work of combating illness through magical means, Nature, Divine Will, and the work and abilities of the spirits also can affect the outcome. As a result, I mentioned above, “nothing is guaranteed” with healing work and the help it brings does not always come in the form we expect.

Nevertheless, I pointed out that there were good signs and it looked like an Ancestor of his was going to assist in the work. He told me about his great-grandmother who was apparently an extremely accurate diviner with tea leaves and had some magical abilities. I suspected she might be the “skull-shaped hole” I saw in his candle wax. M.D.A confirmed that she was actually one of his working Ancestors in his Espiritismo work and he thought “she would definitely step in.” Magic can be truly amazing sometimes and sometimes things will happen that we could not have made up as they seem too perfect. However, as we were talking about M.D.A’s grandmother and great-grandmother, he suddenly stopped and said the following:

What’s more, he had a feeling he was going to receive assistance from an Ancestor, because that same day…

The next morning, I checked in with him again and he confirmed that his pain level remained significantly lower than it had been to the point that he was able to “go to sleep pretty comfortably.” I noted possible impacts from Rosemary and Thyme, two Herbs in my Healing Oil formula, which were included to help ease sleep and facilitate sound dreaming. He also noted that his fever had gone down to 36.6 degrees, which was strange to him since he still felt feverish.

Healing Candle Work set-up for M.D.A., myself, and R.C.

G. “Physician, Heal Thyself!:” Three More Candle Workings for Healing

I was not finished working towards my dear friend’s healing, however, nor were the Spirits. In fact, I got a nudge that I had to another candle working for M.D.A to strengthen the work already being done.

What I was not prepared for however, was the impact that all of this healing work done in a short period of time was going to have on me as the worker. I found myself dreadfully sick with a bad cold: sore throat, coughing, and higher body temperature, but still under fever. I was COVID-negative, but still feeling awful.

At the same time, another friend, R.C., messaged me to say that she was also feeling quite sick with a cold of her own and asked if I could help. As she lived in Montreal not far from where my plans were taking me today, she consented for me to pick up some personal concerns (e.g. some of her hair) to use in the working, which I did. We both were masks and maintained social distancing while I picked up the hair. I gave her some of the Healing Oil too to rub on her throat, chest, and forehead while saying prayers to help connect the Healing Oil I was going to use on her candle to her as well. She agreed to do so.

My plan was to do a healing working for M.D.A, myself, and R.C. at the same time.

For my work on myself, I started by making a hearty chicken soup with lots of pepper as well as Thyme, Rosemary, and Basil. I prayed over the Herbs, asked for their help in bringing healing, and then recited Psalms 49 and 50 over it before eating it.

That night, I made the following Healing and Sleep-Supporting Spiritual Bath, including and requesting the aid of the following Herb spirits:

  • Chamomile
  • Self-heal
  • Althaea
  • Angelica
  • Thyme
  • Mint
  • Rosemary
  • Lavender
  • Honey

I also made a chamomile tea to go with this. I prayed Psalms 49 and 50 over the tea and bath, while they both steeped. I drank the tea, did the bath, and went to bed immediately after air-drying.

The next day, on the Day of the Sun, I consulted with my Spirits as to how to proceed. This time, I was to use a different Talismanic design on the Tablet of Lights:

This time, the Heptameron / Lucidarium sigils for Michael and Raphael were to be drawn in a Cross, forming an ‘Angelic Crossroads.’ Sachiel’s sigil was included over the Cross, with Yeshua (Jesus) written in Hebrew underneath. The standard Arbatel Sigils of Bethor, Ophiel, and Och were included in the bottom right ‘quadrant’ of the plate.

Finally, YHVH Rapha (God of Healing) was included along with four crosses marking the points of the Angelic Cross. The three candles for M.D.A, myself, and R.C. were placed on the middle arm of the Cross.

All three candles were inscribed with a yellow-headed needle, as it was the Day of the Sun, with the full names of those included and the following words:

M.D.A. “complete recovery, full healing, freedom, peace”

Myself: “no pain, no fever, no cough, full healing”

R.C.: “no pain, no fever, no cough, full healing.”

I dressed each candle with Healing Oil, while drawing the healing from top of the candle to the bottom. I added my own hairs, conveniently collected from my beard trimmer to my candle, R.C.’s hair to her candle, and as I had no personal concerns for M.D.A, I simply did prayers for him while anointing the candle and gazing at his picture. I asked that each candle be linked to the healing of the person whose name was carved into it and used to eliminate their pain and illness and replace it with health and wholeness.

The Moon was waxing in the Arabic Lunar Mansion of Al-Balda (The City or The Desert), which Christopher Warnock points out is a a good time to “end a situation,” in this case, by bringing illness to an end.

Before I started this working, I refreshed the water glasses of all of the Angels, Saints, Ancestors, and Olympic Spirits with whom I have active spirit tables in my Temple room. I asked each to aid the work according to their abilities. I knocked on my Ancestor altar and asked my Ancestors to assist the work, also calling on the Ancestors of M.D.A and R.C.

The Operation proceeded as above, still working with Archangels Michael, Raphael, Sachiel and Olympic Spirits Bethor, Ophiel, and Och, still offering 3 sticks of Sandalwood, but with different Psalms; this time, I was nudged by my Spirits to use the potent combination of Psalms 3, 67, and 77. I invited the Spirits to pray the prayers with me for added efficacy.

This working produced a deep feeling of peace, reverence, and thick spiritual presence in the room. The energy felt comforting and reassuring. The candles burned strong and clean during the ritual and the Spirits’ candle did as well. My final prayers addressed Christ as the Master Healer, and played on the wording in Luke 4:23, in which Yeshua muses that the people would surely say to him “Physician, Heal Thyself” (Ἰατρέ, θεράπευσον σεαυτόν), or healer, heal yourself. I asked that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit help me to do just that.

H. Carromancy: Interpreting the Candle Wax

The next day, I went to interpret the wax from the three candles and saw the following. First, in M.D.A‘s candle, I saw a fairly clean burn with minimum pooling. One of the “points” that was previously pointing towards the center of the candle after the previous working, suggesting the illness still had its “claws or teeth” in M.D.A, was now pointing away from the center and off to the left. I interpreted this to mean that the illness was ‘opening up’ and clearing, but still affecting him. Finally, I also saw that some of the wax was “bending over” away from the center of the candle, suggesting that the illness is starting to submit. But it will take more time before it’s fully resolved.

Second, my own candle appeared a series of happy petal-like shapes, suggesting a positive result would be coming for me. No issues, just a flowering of results that would likely come surprisingly quickly.

Finally, R.C.’s candle showed that her own issues were “standing up” to the attempts to heal them, suggesting it might take a little longer than expected for her healing to come through, but she would get there. There was a wall of protection around her that was assisting (small wall of wax on the right); at the same time, this wall of wax could also suggest that the illness itself was “putting up walls” and resisting the work. As it turned out, the results of the Operation were in many ways fully consistent with what the wax suggested.

I. Health in Abundance: Results of the Final Candle Working

The next day, I felt remarkably better. My throat felt much less painful, my coughs were few and far between, I had no fever, and my drippy, runny nose had returned to normal, such that I was breathing easily again. By the end of the day, my symptoms were all down by about 95%. it was the fastest recovery from a cold I’ve ever had.

It’s worth noting that when I discussed the healing work I had been doing with my Hoodoo teacher Aaron Davis and how I had become sick in the process, he noted that he had also experienced this and decided, as a result, not to do healing work for more than 2 people per day. He also recommended that after every healing work I do in then future, I do a strong cleansing bath. He also pointed out that in my Clinical work, I am also “outputting a lot of healing energy as it is,” so doing magical healing on top of that can drain us and make us susceptible to illness. I noted his advice and plan to practice it going forwards.

Thereafter, I checked in with M.D.A and he informed me that there were significant improvements and he had tested negative again for COVID-19:

He had some lingering symptoms, but it was clear that the worst was behind him and he was on his way to a complete recovery.

Finally, I checked in with R.C. and she reported that a number of her symptoms had improved as well. She agreed to continue to use the Oil until her condition was completely healed and thanked me for my help.

All I can do is quote Psalm 115:1, “Not to us, Oh Lord, not to us, but to Your Name be the glory glory, because of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!”

H. Concluding Thoughts on Magical Healing in Practice

Healing work is being of service. For those on the Rosicrucian path, it is a central feature of their spiritual work and approach. If we make ourselves available to heal, drawing on help from our Spiritual Allies and the Herbs given to us, we can sometimes witness true miracles, miracles that inspire humility, reverence, and bolster faith in a big way, just as Yeshua’s miracles did to many in his own time. For the Christian mystic called to the “Imitation of Christ,” prayers and work for healing can be a vital practice that brings wholeness, health, and love to the suffering and the ill. However, healing is a universal human concern and people on many Paths will also feel a call to it. If so, I hope that reading the workings above will yield some helpful ideas for how to approach healing in a way that harmonizes with your own tradition.

By way of closing reflections, I can say that I I feel so grateful to have been a part of these workings and to be blessed by witnessing people getting helped, both with access to the Oil and locally and without directly even being able to access it, in another province (M.D.A) and even in another country on another continent (C.O.). What’s more, I felt truly awed by the power of the Divine, of Angels, Spirits, and Ancestors, working together through the means of magic and prayer to work wonders. Some of these healings were nothing short of miraculous and helped bolster my faith that I am on the right path and doing the work I am meant to do to be of service.

Of course, suffering and illness are perennial human realities and, as such, the work of healing will never be done. Healing, as I humbly see it, is part of an ongoing path of service to the community and co-labouring with the Source of All healing to soothe the sufferings and symptoms of injury and illness. Individually, our own healing as practitioners is also never done, as we strive to work through all of our own shadows, sufferings, and issues; bringing spiritual work into those dark inner spaces can be a fruitful avenue for light in extension.

I. References

Balthazar. (2018). Solomonic Candle Magic. Course Bundle purchased from the author, no longer available online.

Peterson, J. H. (2004). Key of Solomon. [online eBook] Esoterica Archives. Available at: http://www.esotericarchives.com/solomon/ksol.htm

Peterson, J. H. (2006). The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses. [online eBook]. Esoterica Archives. Available at: http://www.esotericarchives.com/moses/67moses.htm

Non-Qabalistic Pathworking Systems

By Frater S.C.F.V.

Qabalistic and non-Qabalistic Pathworking

When most contemporary occultists here the term “Pathworking,” their first thought is of an approach of astrally travelling through visionary journeys on the 32 Paths of the Qabalistic Tree of Life, that is, along the 22 Paths of the Hebrew Letters and the 10 Sephirot themselves, which represent Paths in their own right. The Qabalistic Pathworking system, particularly as practiced by the Adepti of the Golden Dawn, is a very powerful system and I have had some amazing and transformatively initiatory experiences by working it.

However, the Qabalistic system is by no means the only Pathworking or system of visionary journeying out there. In this article, I will briefly introduce some non-Qabalistic Pathworking systems. For the purposes of this discussion, I will define a Pathworking system as a collection of methods for skrying-based or astral travel-based visionary journeys through a set of associated specific realms, regions, symbols, or inner planes.

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Tarot, Tattwa, and Enochian Tablet Pyramid Pathworking

Naturally, as the Golden Dawn pointed out, each of the 78 cards of the Tarot can be astrally projected into and each yields its own unique experiences to the magician.

This Tarot Pathworking system is often integrated with the Qabalistic Tree of Life Pathworking system, but it need not be. Indeed, the cards reveal distinct and unique meanings when worked alone without the astral influence of the Qabalistic symbols and energies shaping the vision. For example, the Trumps can be Pathworked in sequence from 0 to 21, a method called the astral Fool’s Journey.

Other Golden Dawn Pathworking systems include projecting through the Tattwas or each of the Pyramids of the Enochian Tablets. In this case, one enters an altered state and projects one’s consciousness ‘through’ a square/pyramid on one of the Enochian Tablets then examines the visions that follow.

For a great source on G.D.-style Pathworking approaches, see my friend Nick Farrell’s excellent Magical Pathworking: Techniques of Active Imagination. His Osiris Scroll lays out his own neo-Egyptiana version of an initiatory Pathworking system designed to lead through the reader through a series of visionary ordeals culminating in the realization of the Higher Self.

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Ancient Roots of Scrying-Based Work

Certainly, the use of pools of water, crystals, and so on as scrying aids to visionary work is ancient indeed, so I do not credit the 19th century occult revival or Golden Dawn with inventing the notion of ‘pathworking’ or visionary journeying; the practice often mediated by scrying tools, seems to have ancient roots. We’ve already mentioned some of them above. To add onto the above discussion, in a well-known passage in the Old Testament, which would have been as familiar to the Grimoiric priestly-clerical magicians as the stories of Enoch, and Jacob’s ladder, the silver chalice that is placed in Benjamin’s sack when he leaves Egypt is described as being used by Joseph for divination.

In ancient Egypt, scrying and spirit communication seem to have been practiced with the aid of ink or water and there are myths about Hathor that present her as bearing a reflective shield in which visions could be seen, a kind of proto-scrying mirror. Aztec tlatoani read the reflections in obsidian. For the Egyptians, Babylonians and Greeks water and bodies of water were from the earliest times associated with conduits to the realm of the gods and of the dead; indeed, the Papyri Graecae Magicae (PGM) have detailed instructions on communicating with spirits via bowls filled with water and an offering of oil (see PGM IV, 154-285). And, indeed, as we know, and as Dr. Stephen Skinner showed in his own work, many of the PGM practices and much of its theory were integrated into the Solomonic Grimoires.

Indeed, compare “…name of Typhon, at whom the ground, the depths of the sea, Hades, heaven, the sun, the moon, the visible chorus of stars, the whole universe all tremble…” (PGM IV. 223- 243) to “…this ineffable name Tetragrammaton Jehovah , which being heard, the elements are overthrown; the air is shaken, the sea runneth back, the fire is quenched, the earth trembles and all hosts of Celestials, Terrestrials & Infernals do tremble…” (Heptameron and Key of Solomon). And this is a passage directly taken from the same Papyrus that explains how to work with spirits through a bowl filled with water, or lecanomancy.

The earliest written evidence of lecanomancy or bowl-based scrying and divination are from the Babylonian Ritual Tablets dating to the 7th Century BCE, so these roots run way back into our magical history. To me, it is not inconceivable that these ancient scryers may have used their scrying media not just for divination, but also to generate immersive visions of the type generated in what we today call ‘pathworking’ in its various systems and manifestations.

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Merkavah Pathworking

In Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires, Aaaron Leitch notes that “a form of Jewish shamanic magick known as Mahaseh Merkavah, or the “Work of the Chariot,” which he describes as a “practice of astral travel through the seven palaces of heaven (i.e., the planetary spheres), where the ultimate goal was the vision of the throne of God.”

It’s worth noting, however, that some authors contend that while the Seven Heavens may be equivalent with the Seven Planetary Spheres, other authors suggest that the Seven Palaces of the Merkavah system are distinct from the Heavens exist either in or beyond the Seventh Heaven. Regardless, however, as a visionary travel system, the Merkavah system is a Pathworking system, which greatly influenced and indeed, served as a precursor to, the historically later Qabalistic Tree of Life-based Pathworking system which followed it.

For anyone interested in the Merkavah system, my friend David Benton wrote a fantastic book on it entitled The Work of the Chariot. His book contains detailed instructions for performing merkavah mysticism, adapted from Medieval Hekhalot sources, along with the names and functions of the entities you will encounter, all in an easy to use and clearly-written format.

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The Shahnameh System and Islamic Pathworking

The Shahnameh, a 10th-century epic work narrating historical and mythological past of Persia, gives a description of what was called the Cup of Jamshid (Jaam-e Jam), which was used by the ancient mythological Persian kings for observing all of the seven layers of the universe. As mentioned by Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda, it was believed that all seven heavens of the universe could be observed by looking into it (از هفت فلک در او مشاهده و معاینه کردی), a view that suggests the Merkavah tradition described above.

It was believed to have been discovered in Persepolis in ancient times. Most notably to our beloved Solomonic tradition, in the Islamic world, the name and legend of Jamshid was often linked to legends and lore about Sulayman (Solomon) himself. Indeed, it’s well worth diving into the Sufi traditions around Sulayman, which draw on the same source as the Western Grimoires, namely, the Testament of Solomon as filtered through the interpretations in the Qur’an and Hadith!

Indeed, astral or visionary journeying is built into the Orthodox framework of Islam, so it certainly long-predates the Victorians. Sufi magical traditions have ways of working with it. Indeed, according to standard Islamic theology, the Prophet Muhammad took a “Night Journey” in which he traveled from Mecca, now in Saudia Arabia, to a location in Jerusalem now identified as the site of the al-Aqsa Mosque. He was said to have ridden a white, winged Pegasus-like being called ‘Buraq’ on this very distant journey.

According to the legend, Muhammad alighted, tethered Buraq to the Temple Mount and performed prayer, where on God’s command he was tested by Gabriel. According to a hadith or oral tradition narrated by Anas ibn Malik, Muhammad said: “Jibra’il (Gabriel) brought me a vessel of wine, a vessel of water and a vessel of milk as a test, and I chose the milk. Jibra’il said: ‘You have chosen the Fitrah (natural instinct).'”

In the second part of the journey, the Mi’raj (an Arabic word that literally means “ladder”)–an intentional allusion to the Jacob’s Ladder tradition–Jibra’il took him to the heavens, where he toured the Seven Heavens, and spoke with the earlier prophets such as Abraham (ʾIbrāhīm), Moses (Musa), John the Baptist (Yaḥyā ibn Zakarīyā), and Jesus (Isa). Muhammad was then taken to Sidrat al-Muntaha – a holy tree in the seventh heaven that Gabriel was not allowed to pass.

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Ibn ‘Abbas’ Primitive Version narrates all that Muhammad encounters throughout his journey through heaven. This includes seeing other angels, and seas of light, darkness, and fire. With Gabriel as his companion, Muhammad meets four key angels as he travels through the heavens. These angels are the Rooster angel (whose call influences all earthly roosters), Half-Fire Half-Snow angel (who provides an example of God’s power to bring fire and ice in harmony), the Angel of Death (who describes the process of death and the sorting of souls), and the Guardian of Hellfire (who shows Muhammad what hell looks like).

These four angels are met in the beginning of Ibn ‘Abbas’ narrative. They are mentioned in other accounts of Muhammad’s ascension, but they are not talked about with as much detail as Ibn ‘Abbas provides. As the narrative continues, Ibn Abbas focuses mostly on the angels that Muhammad meets rather than the prophets. There are rows of angels that Muhammad encounters throughout heaven, and he even meets certain deeply devoted angels called cherubim. The idea of traveling through subtle planes while ascending spiritually and communing with entities there is the essence of what we now call ‘pathworking,’ and here we find the Prophet Muhammad doing it 621 CE

This tradition speaks to the point of visionary journeying far predating the Victorian and methodologies of the Golden Dawn’s tradition of occultism–certainly the shamanic traditions in many Indigenous traditions of visionary journeying date all the way back into prehistory. It also shows how the Merkavah material seems to have influenced the development of early Islamic mysticism and mythology along parallel lines to the influences of the same material on the Grimoires around one thousand years later.

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Tibetan and Ancient Egyptian Pathworking Systems

The Tibetan Bardo Thodol or Book of the Dead and Egyptian Book of Coming Forth by Day both lay out something akin to pathworking systems, but these texts and their attendant systems were mainly intended for guiding the soul after its passing from this mortal coil. Thus, they may be seen in a sense, post-embodiment or post-death Pathworking systems. Both systems are generally understood as presenting maps of the geography of the underworld, deities encountered there, trials undertaken, although there are advanced esoteric ways of doing this work while still alive. Indeed, Delog: Journey to Realms Beyond Death records the “vivid personal account of a journey through the “bardos” and “pure realms” was recorded by 16-year-old Dawa Drolma of Eastern Tibet, a renowned female lama” who became a “delog”-one who crosses the threshold of death and returns to tell about it.”

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Moreover, some authors, such as Jeremy Naydler in Shamanic Wisdom in the Pyramid Texts: the Mystical Tradition of Ancient Egypt, argue that The Book of Going Forth By Day was used by Egyptian priest-magicians to train them in what some call “practical eschatology,” that is, the afterlife experience while still alive. Indeed, Chapters 125, 17 and 151 can be worked in an initiatory framework. David Nez has suggested to me that the Orphic golden tablets may have been used in similar fashion by Hellenistic Initiates. I have little experience with these systems, however, and so I must defer to my more-knowledgeable peers.

In this connection, in his in his fantastic Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires, my esteemed friend Aaron Leitch writes that “the Chaldean or Babylonian priests of later times made this after-death journey while still alive-creating a kind of controlled near-death experience.” This Chaldean system represented their own version of this kind of post-death-stage Pathworking system.

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Runic Pathworking

Although this is not a traditional method of Norse spirituality, I have also found that the Runic systems can be Pathworked, whether one is using the 24 Runes of the Elder Futhark, the 29 or 33 Runes of the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, or the 16 Runes of the Younger Futhark. In this system, one simply applies the G.D. “Travel in the Spirit Vision” method and projects through the Rune symbol in an altered / trance state (e.g. theta-gamma synchronized state) and then notes the visions that ensue. For more on the Golden Dawn’s method, see Flying Roll XXXVI – Of Skrying & Traveling in the Spirit Vision and Flying Roll XXV – On Clairvoyance & Travelling in the Spirit.

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John Dee’s Enochian Aethyric Pathworking System

John Dee’s Enochian system lays out a Pathworking system through the 30 Aethyrs, which are conceived as forming a map of the entire subtle universe in the form of concentric rings that expand outward from the innermost to the outermost Aethyr. These Aethyrs are entered using Enochian Calls, which function as Keys for entering the Aethyrs in visionary journeys. Dee’s Enochian map of the universe consisted of the Great Table of Four Watchtowers and the Tablet of Union surrounded by 30 concentric circles, the Aethyrs. These 30 Aethyrs are numbered from 30, namely TEX, the lowest and consequently the closest to the Watchtowers to 1 LIL, the highest, representing the Supreme Attainment.

In Aethyric Pathworking, Magicians working the Enochian system record their impressions and visions within each of the successive Enochian Aethyrs from TEX to LIL. Each of the 30 Aethyrs is populated by “Governors” — 3 for each Aethyr, except TEX which has four, for a total of 91 Governors. Each of the governors has a Sigil which can be traced onto the Great Tablet of Earth. In practical work with the Aethyrs, the Nineteenth Key of the 30 Aethyrs is the only call necessary for working with the Aethyrs.
It is only necessary to vary appropriately the name of the Aethyr itself near the beginning of the call. Once the Call is recited, the names of the Governors are vibrated one at a time and a record of the visions is kept. In this system, one can gaze into the Crystal Ball / Skrying Crystal after doing the Call and see what images form there or do a full-blown astral projection into the Aethyr after entering it with the appropriate Key. Aaron Leitch’s The Essential Enochian Grimoire: An Introduction to Angel Magick from Dr. John Dee to the Golden Dawn is a great help for working with this system.

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Astrally Working the Stations of the Cross as a Pathworking System

Among Christian mystics, particularly Catholic mystics, there was a kind of experiential, initiatory tradition of working through the Stations of the Cross in a systematic, progressive initiatory framework that is reminiscent, in some of its more visionary workings, of a Pathworking tradition.

That particular visionary legacy lies in the background of many of the Renaissance Grimoires; indeed, some of the Catholic clerical grimoiric writers may have learned the working of the 12 stations during their standard clerical training. It began to be widespread in Europe in the 15th-16th centuries and was well-established as a common practice by the 17th century. Indeed, the Stations of the Cross system of ‘contemplative pilgrimage working’ was well-established by the time Johann Weyer’s Pseudomonarchia Daemonum in his De praestigiis daemonum (1577) was written. The system was even more in vogue by the time of the Lesser Key of Solomon’s composition in the mid-17th century.

To quote one author on the subject, the “Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as Way of Sorrows or Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitations of Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem which is believed to be the actual path Jesus walked to Mount Calvary. The object of the stations is to help the Christians faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage through contemplation of the Passion of Christ. It has become one of the most popular devotions and the stations can be found in many Western Christian churches, including Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, and Roman Catholic ones.

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Commonly, a series of 14 or 15 images will be arranged in numbered order along a path and the faithful travel from image to image, in order, stopping at each station to say the selected prayers and reflections. This will be done individually or in a procession most commonly during Lent, especially on Good Friday, in a spirit of reparation for the sufferings and insults that Jesus endured during his passion.”

I have read Medieval and Renaissance accounts of Christian mystics from the 15th and 16th centuries, contemporaneous with some of our late-Medieval, early-Modern grimoires, in which they describe meditating on each image at each Station while reciting the associated prayers until they enter a kind of trance-state where they describe feeling like they are seeing the picture come to life or feel like they are transported within it and are experiencing the scene as if they were there with Christ in that moment. Worked astrally and systematically, this exoteric system could be adapted into an esoteric Pathworking system in the magical sense.

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The Armadel of Magic

The the Armadel of Magic (not to be confused with the Arbatel or Almadel) could also be regarded as presenting a kind of evocational pathworking system. It has unfortunately taken a lot of criticism from some Grimoiric scholars, but in essence it is highly shamanic system, which works with the perennially shamanic Terrestrial/Infernal/Celestial world division. As Aaron points out in Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires, “the focus of the work seems to be upon visionary quests or spiritual encounters facilitated by the magickal characters, as well as gaining some magickal powers such as healing, alchemy, agriculture, etc.” The emphasis on shamanic visionary quests seems very reminiscent of other Pathworking systems although the framework is here one of a simple evocational system centered around Spirit sigils.

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 The Zoroastrian Arda Viraf Pathworking System

Within the Zoroastrian tradition, there is a shamanic tradition around visionary ascensions recorded in the Book of Arda Viraf. In this system, the Magician performs some preparation rituals such as a ritual bath, suffumigations, prayers, and so on, and then drinks wine and comes a psychoactive brew. Thereafter, he or she travels through a system of hells and heavens. Of the method of the Magician’s travels, the text says:

21. And then Viraf joined his hands on his breast before the Mazdayasnians, and said to them (22) thus: ‘It is the custom that I should pray to the departed souls, and eat food, and make a will; afterward, you will give me the wine and narcotic.’ (23) The Dasturs directed thus: ‘Act accordingly.’

24. And afterward, those Dasturs of the religion selected, in the dwelling of the spirit, a place which was thirty footsteps from the good. (25) And Viraf washed his head and body, and put on new clothes; (26) he fumigated himself with sweet scent and spread a carpet, new and clean, on a prepared couch. (27) He sat down on the clean carpet of the couch, (28) and consecrated the Dron, and remembered the departed souls, and ate food. (29) And then those Dasturs of the religion filled three golden cups with wine and narcotic of Vishtasp; (30) and they gave one cup over to Viraf with the word ‘well-thought,’ and the second cup with the word ‘well-said,’ and the third cup with the word ‘well-done’; (31) and he swallowed the wine and narcotic, and said grace whilst conscious, and slept upon the carpet.

The “narcotic” is labeled here as Vishtasp; this was a hemp or marijuana extract or, according to some sources, a variant of hashish. In this text, some of the Pathworking locations are described as “the Star Track,” “the Moon track,” “the Sun track,” in addition to various other locations in the “Heavens” and “Hells,” in which the Magician undergoes visionary experiences and discourses with spirits and deities. Chris Bennett describes this system and other similar shamanic systems extensively in his Cannabis and the Soma Solution.

The Arda Viraf has been argued as an influence on the Prophet Muhammad’s Night Journey and on the much later Purgatorio, Inferno, and Paradiso of Dante Alighieri, in which Dante the Pilgrim undertakes his own journeys through purgary, hell realms, and heavenly realms respectively.

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It’s worth noting that in this text, as in many others, a “magic carpet” is used to facilitate astral travel in the spirit vision. My friend A. Wretch wrote a very fascinating compilation of texts that use carpets as aids to Pathworking and visionary travel entitled Magic Carpets, Sensory Deprivation, and Entheogenic Ceremonial Magick, which I would highly recommend.

In our discussion of the Arda Viraf, he pointed out that “the Book of Arda Viraf is extremely important! While there seems to be some question as to its original dating, it could well be the origin of magick carpets. It also seems like Merkabah precursor. Keep in mind that in the book of Kings it describes Solomon’s chariot, which is also called a bed, but this is in reality a palanquin.

This likely comes from the Zoroastrian influences in Judaism as with Arda Viraf, which puts the magick carpet over the “couch” which is a term that is also sometimes used for a palanquin. You mentioned the cup of Jamshid, but the Shahnameh also explains palanquin Merkabah like experiences among the kings like Kay Kavus and Nimrod… you will find a reference to a great article in the start of my Magick carpets anthology.”

Conclusion

While the Qabalistic Pathworking system is remarkably rich and can be very powerful and transformative, it is not the only Pathworking system. My hope is that in this article, you have found some interesting pathways–no pun intended–for further research and experimentation. See you down the astral Rabbit hole…

Discussion Questions

  1. Have you had any notable experiences with any of these systems that you’d like to share in the comments?
  2. Are there any other key non-Qabalistic pathworking systems that this article has left out? What can you tell us about them?