Diagrams from a thirteenth-century version of the Ars Notoria.

11 cents per demon🤣

Talisman against storms, lightning, hail and floods (Saturday under Saturn). Vol. II. Les Clavicules de R. Salomon, late 18th century, MS 4670, Wellcome Library, London.

Importance of Silence in Ritual Magick

Every time I return to Agrippa, I am amazed by what I have forgotten and the knowledge which he provides in the Three Books of Occult Philosophy.

Having grown up with a Christocentric worldview from which I make sense of the mundane and magickal world, the idea of silence has always been prevalent. Note Matthew 7:6 specifically, which says: “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you." The word occult comes from the Latin verb celara meaning "to hide" or the adjective occultus meaning "hidden, concealed, or secret." In antiquity, the secrets provided to practitioners of the occult were considered valuable so much so that they were often disguised, shrouded in ways that only those holding a metaphorical key could understand the original meaning. To prevent the casting of this sacred spiritual knowledge before swine.

Agrippa expands on this idea in Ch. II of Book III where he notes five reasons for silence or circumspection.

Sharing holy matters with profane minds pollutes them. We see this even today when trying to share sacred, but secret truths granted to us by spirits with those who don't understand. Sayings like "mundane over magical" or a push for critical thought are used to lessen its influence or impact on our understanding. When we share these experiences, sometimes it can be to the detriment of the work the spirits are calling us to do. The shine of pearls is sullied by their environment.

Profane minds cannot grasp holy doctrine. Understanding is a gift to give a deeper insight and penetration of divine truths held by faith, not as a transitory enlightenment but as a permanent intuition. In Catholic dogma, this gift of understanding is granted by the Holy Spirit during Confirmation and assists in penetrating revealed truths, but also natural truths in so far as they related to a supernatural end. As St. Thomas Aquinas said, "In this very life, when the eye of the spirit is purified by the gift of understanding, one can ina a certain way see God." (Summa theologicae II-II, q. 69 a.2, ad.3).

The importance of understanding is further echoed in the Stobaei Hermetica: "But avoid converse with the many. Not that I wish you to grudge a benefit to others; my reason for this warning is rather that the many will think you one to be laughed at if you speak to them as I have spoken to you. Like welcomes like; but men that are unlike are never friends..."

3. It allows the divine enlightenment of the doctrine to occur. Everybody has experiences whereby slowing down and listening we are given directions, instructions, or encouragement from the spirits. But by keeping silent about our work, we ensure our motivations are pure and that the intention is to commune with the divine. Too often I think we miss critical personal truths in favor of using magic for public success. As noted in the Corpus Hermeticum 13.8a, "And now, my son, speak not, but keep a solemn silence; so will the mercy come down on us from God."

4. The futility of attempting to express the inexpressible. Sometimes words are incapable of describing our supernatural experiences with spirits and when we do it comes out much less life-changing than it was. There is a reason occultists gather together in communities - just as any common worldview is the base of a religion, so to do our experiences bring us together and set us apart. Only those who have worked with the spirits can fully understand your own experiences.

5. Silence involves a proscription against translation of the doctrines into other languages because the words themselves are holy and embody power. Although this may be my least favorite reason as a grimoire magician eager to find translations of French and German transcripts, I think it holds true. This idea is noted in the Corpus Hermeticum 16.1b-2 as well: "Translation will greatly distort the sense of the writings, and cause much obscurity. Expressed in our native language, the teaching conveys its meaning clearly; for the very quality of sounds...; and when the Egyptian words are spoken, the force of the things signified works in them."

Furthermore, in academic publications such as Invoking Angels by Penn State University Press, there are entire discussions around how the illiterate laity copying down instructions from holy books led to mistakes in translations, a problem noted by translators such as Joseph Peterson, David Rankine, and Stephen Skinner in their meticulous grimoire translations. Exasperated by the enhanced access to manuscripts in the 16th and 17th centuries, you see books such as the Grimoire of Arthur Gauntlet or Book of Oberon with Greek, Latin, and Hebrew translation corrections along with corrections in figures of circles or talismans.

Outside of magick, even, biblical scholars note the loss of Scriptural understanding when reading the Bible in English compared to Greek or even Hebrew, noting minute differences that entirely change the meaning of a text or provide additional context.

Taken together, I think Agrippa makes a solid argument for why keeping silent is important. Do you agree?

Working the Grimorium Verum (P1)

A few weeks ago I decided that I was going to start working the Grimorium Verum. I read and reread and rereread the Grimoire and as much supplemental material as I could get my hands on (I'm referring to all of JsK's pdf books by Hadean Press and that one conjure codex entry by Al Cumins).

Goal/Intent

With that said my primary goal right now is to work towards creating a clay skull, created to the specs Jsk outlined in his notes on the Grimoire in his edition of the book. It is essentially reworking the invisibility spell of the second part into a spell that binds a spirit to the skull. Rather, in his words, "I strongly recommend making a crossroads the place of interment in a reconstruction of this rite using seven coins. The intention of this adaptation would be to make a magical head as a central feature of work with these spirits, a natural extension of the underlying symbolism," (The True Grimoire 160). The only change I am doing to what JsK states is that I am adding grave dirt to the clay for the skull.

The Work I've done thus far

Wednesday, 8/16/23, I began working to get the consecrating the materials necessary for the work. I started the second hour of Mercury at my local graveyard in my town. I asked the spirits of the graveyard to lead me to the grave most suited for my work. I was expecting to be led to a town founder or someone who died violently, rather they sent me to the grave of an old lady who died a hundred years ago on my birthday. This was not intentional on my end. I saw the grave from behind and I felt as though I was being pushed towards it and that it was the right choice for the work. I took the dirt left a coin and promised to pray for her for the next three nights.

I then got home as fast as possible so I could have the second half to craft and consecrate the Asperger and Aspergillus. For the Asperger, I used a black ceramic bowl that I painted the appropriate god names on. For the aspergillus, I took the three herbs, rosemary, (pepper)mint, and oregano (technically you are supposed to use Majoram, but I could not find any in my area and I plan to get the proper plant in the future, but for now both are closely related and I don't think it will do much harm to my work). I consecrated them according to the method in the Third part of the grimoire. Reciting the 7 penitential psalms took long than I thought it would.

Thursday, 8/17/23, in the second hour of Jupiter I engraved a spoon and a knife with Heramael's name and seal. The intention is based out of Goetic Pharamakos, by Jsk where they are used to collect plants in nature for me to work with, such as the branches for the wands. In the 1 night hour of Jupiter I consecrated the two items, however, I slightly adapted the consecration from Jsk's book on Eleogap so that it was to be a general consecration instead of an asperger and aspergillus consecration. The difference between it and the Grimoire's consecration is that it is Thelemic and instead of the psalms it uses chapters 3 and 5 from Liber LXV, which I thought would mean it would be shorter, well it was in the sense that for all things that after you waft the tools of the censer, you are supposed to recite the 7 psalms and psalm 71 and 116, so 21 psalms in total. Personally, I think there is a point where the more you recite over a ritual object the less of an effect it has on it. I could be wrong. Anyhow, below are pictures of the spoon and knife before I consecrated them.

If you have read this far. I thank you and apologize for the length and potential boringness of this blog post. My goal is to generate interest in the grimoire that is less about conjuring all the spirits in it and more about creating spirit relationships. As well as to document my progress and create discussion.

I wanted to do a public praise and thanks-giving post to Duchess Bune ✨

She really helped me to solve my financial problems, to present myself as a more charming and persuading individual, and she accompanied me on the buying process of our new home. I must really thank Her for her help

I really reccomend working with Bune if you need to improve yourselves at all levels. But you must work hard and persevere

Oh hell yes

Anti-intellectualism in Occult spaces: How To Not Fall Victim To The Alt-Right Pipeline

Unfortunately in occult spaces, there is an anti-intellectual mindset that is common amongst the masses. The newest in these spaces, apprentices in their own right, fall victim to these ideologies due to them masquerading as the greater search for higher knowledge.

These teachings delve into promises of forbidden or hidden histories of the planet, and humanity as a whole. Eventually leading to Anti-semitism and then full-blown support for the fascist regimes being built within the communities.

My goal today is going to be, how one recognizes these warning signs and how to use critical thinking to counteract and break free from any internalization that may have happened due to prolonged exposure to these mindsets.

Here is a writing sample of a new article i am workshopping

I ranked all the demons in the Lesser Key of Solomon

The Goetia has been ranked.

Hi, I am making a healing and protection amulet for someone who has been getting into a lot of silly accidents lately and falling sick due to common chronic illnesses.

I have drawn the 2nd pentacle of Mars and scribed Psalm 23 behind it. I'll also read Psalms 41 and 147 on it while consecrating the pentacle.

What else can I do to make the amulet as potent and effective as possible? Can I add charged citrine or rosemary as well? Your suggestions would be appreciated.

TIA 🪻🍁

So the second pentacle of Mars is used in a way in which the person places it over their affliction. I wouldn't say it is to be worn, however, it may also work in general. I have never tried it. Personally I would use the pentacle for general health by placing a glass of water over the pentacle overnight and allowing it to charge that way and drinking the water in the morning. Although if the talisman is made out of paper, this could be a little risky.

I'm not sure you can magically ward off accidents, however, you could focus on crystals that specifically boost awareness. I am by no means an expert on crystals, so I will leave it to you to find such a solution. Have them carry that. You could also make the sixth pentacle of Jupiter and have them recite the verse around the talisman each day before carrying it to protect them from 'all earthly danger'.

In terms of chronic illness, you can also encourage energy work. Be that through the chakras, inner heat, middle pillar, reiki. It doesn't particularly matter, simply getting their energy system flowing and cycling around their body may help in the long term.

The Ars Notoria!

This is one of the grimoires of the Solomonic tradition of ceremonial magic. The Ars Notoria is technically part of the Lemegeton, but sometimes it’s treated as a separate text. I was expecting it to be in Latin, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was in English — very readable English, and in beautiful handwriting! It’s a translation of earlier Latin versions, but it has the feel of a personal Book of Shadows. A human wrote this. There are lines crossed off, words squeezed into the margins or added with little carrots.

This book is a great example of the fact that there’s a very fine line between a prayer and a spell. It mostly consists of a series of prayers and psalms, but it has some “voces magicae”-esque recitations of sacred names or multilingual incantations.

Did you know that hydromancy, pyromancy, and chiromancy count amongst the Liberal Arts? The Solomonic grimoires really make it clear how much magic is intertwined with the Liberal Arts (i.e. mathematics, philosophy, theology, grammar, rhetoric, astronomy, etc.). Many of the demons listed in the Ars Goetia teach these subjects (no wonder Faust was a scholar). The Ars Notoria says that you have to study certain liberal arts on specific days, just as you have to perform rituals on specific days and during specific planetary hours and so forth. And recite long mystical incantations before studying philosophy. Just like folk spells, these long prayers are supposed to have specific magical effects, like improving your memory and speech.

The Ars Notoria isn’t nearly as exciting as the Ars Goetia. I only found two magical figures in it. It took me way too long to realize that the mystical figures that surround the second one are, in fact, the alphabet. I guess that’s what you get when your grimoire is in English? Well no, actually. That figure actually demonstrates a handy spell that uses a magnetized needle (that’s what the symbol in the middle is meant to represent) to communicate with a friend at a long distance, using a method similar to an ouija board or one of those pendulum boards that you can get. As the needle turns, it spells out the message that your friend wants to send to you. Kind of interesting that this book includes a whole magical operation for something that we can do with our phones in an instant, and with much greater accuracy.

I looked up who Bernard Zufall was. Zufall was known for his ability to memorize anything, and had the largest collection of books dedicated to mnemonics, which was then donated to Yale University. He was more of a stage magician than a ceremonial magician. I’m not sure how or why he acquired an Ars Notoria, but I’m grateful that he did, because that means I get to see it.

If you all wouldn't mind helping me with some research (writing a paper on modern views of divination practices):

How would you all describe your divination practices: as a science or an art? Does your thinking on this vary depending on the style of divination?

The Great Pentacle of Solomon. Vol. II. Les Clavicules de R. Salomon, late 18th century, MS 4670, Wellcome Library, London.

I'm a baby witch who doesn't do spirit work, but I love to study everything magical and I draw a lot, too. Long story short, I was reading about demons from The Lesser Key of Solomon and I ran into one that was very interesting to me and his sigil was at wikipedia, so I drew it in my sketchbook but didn't do anything else. Was this disrespectful? I don't think he's going to show up and torture me, I just want to be sure that I wasn't rude or disrespectful.

Hello there! I'm afraid that I don't work with demons or Solomonic magic. I'm also not entirely sure of what you mean by disrespectful... To the demon? I'm afraid I can't speak on that.

I do, however, have a cool resource to offer. This zine by @sheydgarden offers some really interesting history and context for Solomonic magic, and presents it in a way that I found easy to read and absorb. You can download it for free, but consider paying something, if you can!

If folks who have worked with the demons in question want to chime in, feel free.

The Secret of Secrets: A Ring of the Sun for an Oracle

Achieving communication through an oracle was a popular method of divination for Renaissance magicians and remains popular today. There are many methods spread throughout the grimoires on how to achieve this, but specifically the "A Cunning Man's Grimoire" published by Dr. Stephen Skinner and David Rankine offers many. This post will follow my process of creation for this ring and its effects in my life.

The instructions can be found in the book on pg. 112.

Astrologically, the Sun must be in Aries or his exaltation (19 degrees Aries) in the 9th House and the moon should be in the sign of the native's 9th house (Cancer for me) with a favorable aspect (trine or sextile) to the sun. A chart (Figure 1) in April of 2024 fits all but one of these requirements.

The Sun is in Aries, though not exalted and conjunct the midheaven. The Moon is also in Cancer. There are a couple of things I dislike, however. The first is that Mercury is retrograde and in a sign-based conjunction. Given his association with being a messenger of the gods, I can forsee this negatively impacting the solar oracle ring. The Moon also squares the Sun instead of being in a favorable aspect.

I attempted to find an alternative timing, preferably one not a year out. In April 2023 the Sun is in a similar positioning, but the Moon is in Sagittarius and in a trine with the Sun. While the Moon does not perfectly follow the grimoire instructions, my natal chart has the Moon in Sagittarius and it rules the sign of my 9th (Cancer), therefore, I find this chart (Figure 2) more agreeable considering other aspects as well.

Let us continue through the instructions with a date and time in mind. A pure gold ring should be engraved with specific characters and fumigated. Then a piece of root from a solar plant must be placed beneath a stone with solar characteristics. Specifics are included regarding the harvest of the herb, however, I think the most important aspects are to harvest in the day and hour of the Sun.

Pure gold is expensive and difficult to acquire, so I intend to make this out of paper. I debated the herb for this endeavor but decided on ginger for its solar characteristics according to Agrippa and because of its stimulatory nature. Before completing this work, I will create a ginger tincture and soak the paper in before letting it dry in the sunlight. Then I intend to cover the paper ring in gold leaf, carving or writing the respective sigils on top. Then a small section of dried ginger root will be glued onto the outside.

The book includes preparatory steps common throughout the grimoire (remain pure, fast, do not engage in unclean vices...etc) prior to utilizing the ring, though does not note a specific consecration (though, you should be able to adapt the call to the 7 angels noted in the beginning for this purpose if desired). When ready, you are to put the ring on they finger and enter your bed, speaking no words, but to meditate upon your desired effect and fall asleep.

When the time comes, I shall provide an update with pictures of the process along with my experiences!

Lesser Keys of Solomon