David Cypher…Agrippa & the Four Books of Occult Philosophy
David Rankine…The Magic of Solomon  (Key of Solomon, Lemegeton and more)
Jake Stratton-Kent…Grimorium Verum
Geraldine Beskin…Frederick Hockley, Magician

For more details visit http://grimoiregathering2010.yolasite.com/

Hope to see you there!

Following a question about why can’t you just ask them to do things from someone with no experience of grimoires, the consensus between all of the practitioners of grimoire magic present (and there were several) was that this was really NOT a good idea!  This type of magic works within a particular framework, and in that framework the sequence of conjurations and practices sets the parameters for safe and effective dealings with beings which are completely alien to humanity, inasmuch as they do not have our morality and have no real reason to be particularly friendly.

However, as I discussed in my essay The Fallen Angels and the Goetia in the anthology Both Sides of Heaven, there is another viewpoint to consider.  This is that many of the demons in this grimoire are described as fallen angels who hope to return to heaven after a period of service.  In this sense they can be seen as performing “angelic community service” as an act of humility and service to show they deserve to be restored to the positions they lost through their earlier misdeeds.  So in this context it is beneficial to these fallen angels to help the conjuring magician as it will also help them!

Another part of the discussion focused on the idea that demons (as distinct from fallen angels) are by their nature chaotic, and the strict framework of conjurations and practices helps create a lens to direct that chaotic energy through, without any harm to the magician or the environment.

A similar purpose is achieved through using a controlling angel when working with a demon, a theme which I discussed at length with Stephen Skinner in our work The Goetia of Dr Rudd.  At the end of the day, it is not a matter of being nice, it is a matter of being effective within the parameters of your work, and then you can be courteous!

The point was about the fallen angel Lucifer.  The perspective sometimes found in the grimoires is that Lucifer is too mighty to be conjured to manifestation unless he wishes to be, and that his role is that allotted to him by God.

From this viewpoint Lucifer then becomes seen not even as a “necessary evil”, but rather an ordained test and challenge.  Lucifer is not in this context the devil, he is one of the great powers performing the work of God.

Thus in The Book of Treasure Spirits, the Invocation of Lucifer Beelzebub and Sathan begins:

“O all you Spirits of great power Lucifer Beelzebub Sathan unto whom by orders & offices, as messengers of wrath, & ministers of divine justice, the execution of God’s judgements are committed …”

However it did get me thinking. Imagine how different the Catholic Church would be if the hierarchy was a meritocracy. If to advance you had to demonstrate your ability to manifest the divine will (I believe the Church calls it miracles because magic is not allowed). To reach the level of bishop you might have to heal lepers, or multiply foodstuffs, and to get to Pope you would then have to pull off some major works, such as raising the dead!

Of course this is just an entertaining fantasy, but it does make me think that we lost out when priests were no longer expected to perform magic, which was part of the worldview, as in ancient Egypt. Now priests officiate, and esoteric has been swapped for exoteric. No wonder then that so many people look for spiritual paths that put direct action for change back in the hands of the practitioner.

Likewise the traditional esoteric traditions of Wicca also seems to be having an increase in interest again, certainly this is true based on the sheer quantity of enquiries my better half Sorita has been getting of late, especially from people asking about the articles and other resources which formed part of the original Avalonia Community website.

Well the good news is she has been gathering together all that material which relates to esoteric Wicca and is in the process of making it available at a new website, The Wiccan Temple Archives.  It is completely free, with more than 60 articles already available – some long and some short.  Many of the articles explore the historical relationship between early Wicca, Aleister Crowley, Charles Leland and Italian Witchcraft – as well as of course the grimoires.  You will find a few introductory essays by myself related to the grimoires in the “Other” section of the site.

Enjoy!

http://wicca.avalonia.co.uk

Rotten eggs, like rotten tomatoes, have often been used to pelt unpopular people, from the local miscreants in village stocks to politicians (is there a difference apart from the latter getting a high salary and expenses?). However our ancestors had a much better use for rotten eggs, if they were laid on a Tuesday that is!

A charm found in the eighteenth century document called A Collection of Magical Secrets describes how to use an egg for divination, even if it is rotten. some mythologies have cosmic eggs, so perhaps this charm harks back to the power of eggs for magical benefits!

Rotten eggs, like rotten tomatoes, have often been used to pelt unpopular people, from the local miscreants in village stocks to politicians (is there a difference apart from the latter getting a high salary and expenses?). However our ancestors had a much better use for rotten eggs, if they were laid on a Tuesday that is!
A charm found in the eighteenth century document called A Collection of Magical Secrets describes how to use an egg for divination, even if it is rotten. some mythologies have cosmic eggs, so perhaps this charm harks back to the power of eggs for magical benefits!

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To Gain Knowledge Of Everything Through The Medium Of An Egg

Take an egg that has been laid on a Tuesday, then with two fingers rub it with some oil made from honey and as you turn toward the Sun, say:

“I conjure thee, oh egg,

by the God of Heaven and of Earth and of the Air,

that thou showest to me,

that which I ask (here you insert your question)”.

Immediately afterwards, look through the egg and you should see what you wish, even if the egg is rotten.

[The above was published in A Collection of Magical Secrets, Avalonia 2009 -]

Whenever my beautiful wife Sorita has a book, blog, lecture or workshop on Hekate out, one of the consequences is a barrage of enquires whether the name of the goddess Hekate is connected to the Egyptian word for magic, Heka. The simple answer to this is NO! Heka, as well as being the name of magic, was also the name of the god of magic. To clear this up I thought I would include the following piece, which is an excerpt from my book Heka: The Practices of Ancient Egyptian Ritual and Magic, which is also reproduced on the site www.heka.co.uk.

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The word heka can mean several things, each contributing to our understanding of the complexities of ancient Egyptian magic. The function of heka is described in the Instruction for Merikara, the Middle Kingdom teaching of the Pharaoh Amenemhet I (c. 2000 BCE):

“He [Re] gave them [mankind] the heka as a weapon in order to ward off the effect of dangerous events.”

Heka was seen as a gift from the sun god Re to mankind (his offspring), a manifestation of his creative energy as an embodiment of his Ba (his soul). It empowered man to create using words and actions, mirroring the sun god’s creation of the universe. Heka can be seen as the creative force or life-giving energy connecting the objects, links and symbols of life with the universe, like a subtle tapestry of energy, which the magician must learn to read if s/he is to effectively work magic.

Heka is also the inherent magical energy (mana or personal power) found within living beings. Different creatures were perceived as possessing different amounts of heka. The gods had the most heka. The pharaoh (as a channel for the divine energy) also had a lot of heka, as did people who were considered unusual, such as dwarfs and people with birth defects. Red hair was considered a sign of having much heka, due to the magical associations with that colour. And of course the other class of being with a lot of heka was the dead, hence the use of spells calling on the dead to assist with performing rites.

As well as being the term for magic, Heka was a god, indeed he was the god of magic. Or perhaps it would be more correct to say he was magic, being the divine personification of magic. He is sometimes shown in images as appearing among the crew of the solar barque. He was depicted as a bearded man wearing a lion nemes headdress.

Another definition of heka is given in funerary spell 261 of the Coffin Texts, from a Middle Kingdom sarcophagus. The spell is entitled “To become the god Heka”, and reads:

“I am he whom the Lord of all made before duality had yet come into being … the son of him who gave birth to the universe … I am the protection of that which the Lord of all has ordained … I am he who gave life to the Ennead of the gods … come to take my position that I may receive my dignity. Because to me belonged the universe before you gods had come into being. You have come afterwards because I am Heka.”

The hieroglyph used from 1000 BCE to write his name was interchangeable with the concepts of god and power. Visually the hieroglyph depicted the hindquarters of a lion, and may well be linked with his attribution as one of the sons of the lion-headed goddess Sekhmet. In this form he was shown as a young child with a solar disk on his head.

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So no, Heka and Hekate are not etymologically related. The only real connection is that they are both associated with magic in their own ways.

The material in this book is a unique collection of rituals with Goetic demons, faeries and other spirits for locating treasure, finding thiefs and returning stolen property, mixed in with early translations of such classic works as the Heptameron.

As such it draws together some very interesting ideas, which will allow for plenty of wide-ranging conversation

Not only were the Psalms commonly used in grimoires like The Key of Solomon and the Goetia, but also in Jewish folk magic, Judaism, Christianity (from its early origins onwards), Hellenic magic, the magic of Cunning-folk, Hoodoo. This makes the Psalms a magical nexus which crosses between religions and magical systems in a way rarely seen.

The diversity of uses of the Psalms is also staggering, from divination to healing, protection to death spells, winning honours to conjuring spirits, the list of uses is extensive. Commonly the uses are simple and do not require complex ingredients or preparation (with the exception of some of the grimoire uses).

Not only do the Psalms cross systems, but they also retain their inherent efficacy in different languages. Having used and/or  seen them used in Latin, Hebrew, Greek and English, each language has its own cadence, power and beauty in the words, demonstrating the inherent magic of the words (I am sure the same is also true of other languages like French, the original language of Le Livre d’Or – The Book of Gold).

So next time you think of magical practices, spare a thought for the Psalms, and remember that all religions have magic in them, whether it is called that or not, and whether it is discrete and hidden or public and clearly visible!

In Order To Make A Thief
Give Back The Stolen Item

You need to take some blessed wax and with it, fashion a figurine or a statue of the person suspected of the theft. And write the name of this person on its forehead and then place this figurine into an anthill, while saying these words:

“In the name of Jesus Christ, thou art just, Oh Lord and thy judgment is just. Bestow thy virtue on this my ritual and be blessed, praised and glorified throughout all the Ages. So Mote It Be.”

As soon as you have done this, it is assured, that the thief will never have any rest nor repose and will be forced to return the item he has taken without fail.

[If you missed the live show, you will still be able to listen to a recording at the same link, its free!]