So here are the meat and potatoes I
promised.
Just a foreword of warning!! I write about what interests me, rings my bell so to speak. But I would not think any one who has no idea what they are doing very smart to ever play around with things that interest me or that I write about. Not angel summoning and neither demon summoning. Those who do this, those who have experience and write about this have spend years working themselves towards this. So please don’t be a stupid ass! Just a friendly request.
If the information of the most noted and in some cases notorious practitioners of the occult bored you, that’s your problem, no apology for that. As we proceed one has to understand and know how it is that the occult received its reputation and how some of the participants in it added to that simply, in many cases, to annoy those who either did not believe or felt that is was a satanic practice.
I have always found the study of demons quite interesting in that it is only in most recent times that demons have truly been classified as the “most evil of beings”.
But first something interesting to be noted…
It is not only demons that can be summoned I am sure (unless you are blind) that it must have been noted that my blog about Levi, The Beast and Dee that it was noted countless times that they spent more time trying to summon angels than demons.
(and also I am sure anyone who is a fan of the Supernatural occult Series would have noticed some very familiar things in my writing, and yes some things stated in the series is true, others fictional)
Yes Yes people please breath there is not blasphemy here but as in everything it is “all in the eye of the beholder
”.
Hermetic magic
The term Hermetic is from the Medieval Latin hermeticus, which is derived from the name of the Greek god,
Hermes.
In Greece, the use of words beginning with herm dates from at least 600 BCE. Hermetic refers to a pillar or post that was used in pre-classical Greece, “of square shape, surmounted by a head with a beard. The square, limbless Hermes was a step in advance of the unwrought stone.”The stone pillar was used to communicate with the deities. The name of the god, Hermes, is a generic term used by the pre-classical Greeks for any deity, and was only later associated with the god of knowledge in Athens in the 2nd Century CE.
Hermeticism is basically a set of beliefs and practices whose aim is the influencing of the world through contact with the heavenly forces.
(Not to different from main stream religion now is it?)
The Hermetic tradition is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs based primarily upon the pseudepigraphical writings – (also
Anglicized as “pseudepigraph” or “pseudepigraphs”) which are falsely attributed works, or texts whose claimed authorship is represented by a separate author; or a work, “whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past.” – attributed to
Hermes Trismegistus
– “thrice greatest Hermes”. These beliefs have heavily influenced the Western esoteric tradition and were considered greatly important during both the Renaissanceand the Reformation.
Hermeticism claims descent from a prisca theologica, a doctrine that asserts that a single, true, theology exists, which threads through all religions, and which was given by God to man in antiquity.
Much of the importance of Hermeticism is due to its connection with the development of science in the Renaissance and 17th century. This is because of the prominence given to the idea of influencing or controlling nature which led many scientists to look to magic and its allied arts (astrology, etc.) in celebrating the idea of experiment, of putting Nature to the test. Consequently, it is the practical aspect of the Hermetic writings that attracted attention after the Renaissance. Isaac Newton placed great faith in this idea of an unadulterated, pure, ancient doctrine, which he studied vigorously to aid in his understanding of the physical world. Many of Newton’s manuscripts–most of which are still unpublished–detail his thorough study of the
Corpus Hermeticum, a set of writings passed on from ancient times, in which he believed, the secrets and techniques of influencing the stars and forces of nature were revealed.
In Late Antiquity, Hermetismemerged in parallel with Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, and early Christianity
, it was “characterized by a resistance to the dominance of either pure rationality or doctrinal faith
“.
The books now known as the Corpus Hermeticum were part of a renaissance of the combining of different (often seemingly contradictory) beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought, and intellectualized pagan thinking that took place around the 2nd century. Other examples of this cultural movement would include
Neoplatonist philosophy, the Chaldaean Oracles
, late Orphic and Pythagorean literature, as well as much of Gnosticism.
The existing Greek texts dwell upon the oneness and goodness of God, urge purification of the soul, and defend pagan religious practices, such as the veneration of images – idolatry. Many lost Greek texts, and many of the surviving vulgate books, contained discussions of alchemy clothed in philosophical metaphor.And one text, the
Asclepius, lost in Greek but partially preserved in Latin, contained a bloody prophecy of the end of Roman rule in Egypt and the resurgence of pagan Egyptian power.
After some centuries of being out of favour (though apparently a subject of study at least in the Eastern Roman Empire), Hermeticism was reintroduced to the West in 1460, when the monk
Leonardo da Pistoia brought the Corpus Hermeticum to Pistoia to be translated by Ficino. In fact
Leonardo da Pistoia (monk) was the pseudonym of Leonardo Alberti de Candia, a noble of the
Alberti (family) of the counts of Prato in Pistoia. He was one of the many agents sent out by Florence’s ruler,
Cosimo de’Medici, to scour Greek monasteries for ancient writings and either get a copy or steal the originals (by hook or by crook).
Leonardo searched for the ancient Hermetic manuscripts throughout the regions surrounding Constantinople, Pera and Galata. In 1614
Isaac Casaubon, a Swiss philologist, analyzed the Hermetic texts for linguistic style. He concluded that the Hermetic writings attributed to Trismegistus were not the work of an ancient Egyptian priest, but in fact dated to around the second and third centuries of the Christian Era. Even in the light of Casaubon’s linguistic discovery, Thomas Browne in his
Religio Medici (1643) confidently stated- “The severe schools shall never laugh me out of the philosophy of Hermes, that this visible world is but a portrait of the invisible
“. R.M.Part 1: 12. In the nineteenth century Walter Scott placed their date shortly after 200 CE, while Sir W. Flinders Petrie placed them between 200 and 500 BCE.Plutarch’s mention of Hermes Trismegistus dates back to the first century CE, and
Tertullian, Iamblichus, and
Porphyry are all familiar with Hermetic writings.
Hermeticism as a religion
was considered to be a tradition that was both moderate and flexible, offering a tolerant philosophical religion, a religion of the mind, a purified perception of God, the cosmos and the self, and positive encouragement for the spiritual seeker.
Why Thrice Great?
The “Prisca Theologia”
Many Christian writers, including Lactantius, Thomas of Aquinas, Augustine, Giordano Bruno,
Marsilio Ficino, Campanella and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola considered Hermes Trismegistus to be a wise pagan prophet who foresaw the coming of Christianity. They believed in a prisca theologia. So in order to demonstrate the verity of the ‘prisca theologia’ Christians appropriated the Hermetic teachings for their own purposes. According to the “fathers of the Christian Church” he became someone like Moses or was likened to those with “Hermes” names i.e Noah etc. Or simply Trismegistus or thrice great on account of being the greatest priest, philosopher and king (convenient don’t you think).
This last part also became the last account of how he received the name “Trismegistus,” meaning “Thrice Great,” which was derived from statements in the
The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus
; that he knows the three parts of the wisdom of the whole universe.The three parts of the wisdom being
alchemy, astrology, and theurgy. The pymander, from where Marsilio Ficino formed his opinion, states that “they called him Trismegistus because he was the greatest philosopher and the greatest priest and the greatest king”
Another reason was simply :“He was called Trismegistus on account of his praise of the trinity, saying there is one divine nature in the trinity”.
The three parts of the wisdom of the whole universe
Alchemy—The Operation of the Sun: is not simply the changing of physical lead into physical gold.It is an investigation into the spiritual constitution, or life of matter and material existence through an application of the mysteries of birth, death and resurrection. The various stages of chemical
distillation and fermentation, among them, are aspects of these mysteries, that, when applied, quicken Nature’s processes in order to bring a natural body to perfection.This perfection is the accomplishment of the
Magnum opus (Latin for Great Work).
Astrology—The Operation of the Moon: Hermes claims that Zoroaster (the religious founder of the Zoroastrian religion – a religion still practiced today) discovered this part of the wisdom of the whole universe and taught it to man.In Hermetic thought, it is likely that the movements of the planets have meaning beyond the laws of physics and actually hold metaphorical value as symbols in the mind of
The All, or God. Astrology has influences upon the Earth, but does not dictate our actions, and wisdom is gained when we know what these influences are and how to deal with them.
Theurgy—The Operation of the Stars: There are two different types of magic, according to
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola‘s Apology, completely opposite of each other. The first is γοητεια, Goëtia, black magic reliant upon an alliance with evil spirits (i.e. demons). The second is Theurgy, divine magic reliant upon an alliance with divine spirits (i.e. angels, archangels, gods).
(there is Esoteric Christain Theurgy and Jewish Theurgy in fact there are older practices as well)
Theurgy translates to “The Science or Art of Divine Works” and is the practical aspect of the Hermetic art of alchemy.Furthermore, alchemy is seen as the “key” to theurgy,the ultimate goal of which is to become united with higher counterparts, leading to the attainment of Divine Consciousness.
The legislation of Codex Theodisianus is/was directed at goetia rather than theurgy, which probably fell under the heading “paganism”, in practice is was probably difficult to distinguish between the two. The
Vita Procli(28) says that the Proclus relieved Athens from drought, and this incident, possibly a parallel to a rainmaking exploit of Julian the Theurgist, is deemed a fine example of theurgical
arête(in its basic sense means excellence of any kind). It would not have been faulted under Constantinian law of 321( Codex Theorosianus 9.16.3) which explicitly permits meddling with the weather and
remedia humanis corporibus (remedies for human bodies). Yet in the same work (29) Marinus mentions Proclus’s reluctance to publish, for fear of the law, the fact that he cured
Asclepigeneia for even after the enf of the fourth century and the panic following Maximus’s death, there is hesitation to openingly practice magic and theurg. In Annianus one reads about the burning of books on the
liberules disciplinae along with magical
text books ( 29.1.41). There is little doubt that theurgy went underground from 371 to after 450 as accident of sources or not there is no material for this period but there evidence there is seems to speak for
it.
Hermetic brotherhoods
Once Hermeticism was no longer endorsed by the Christian Church it was driven underground and a number of Hermetic societies were formed (seems it was thought to work against the church as it did not condemn other religious practices). The Western esoteric tradition is now heavily steeped in Hermeticism. The work of such writers as Pico Della Mirandola, who attempted to reconcile Jewish
Kabbalah and Christian mysticism, brought Hermeticism into a context more easily understood by Europeans in the Renaissance.
A few primarily Hermetic occult orders were founded in the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. Hermetic magic underwent a nineteenth century revival in Western Europe, where it was practiced by people and within groups such as the
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, with members such as Aurum Solis, Ragon, Kenneth M. Mackenzie,
Eliphas Lévi, Frederick Hockley,
William Butler Yeats, and Arthur Machen.Many Hermetic, or Hermetically influenced, groups exist today, most of which are derived from the Golden Dawn, Rosicrucianism or Freemasonry.
Rosicrucianism
I have previously mentioned Rosicrucianism which is a Hermetic/Christian movement dating back to the 15th century. It consists of a secretive inner body, and a more public outer body under the direction of the inner body.
(if anyone is not seeing any links here I’m going to be beating my head against a wall)
This movement is symbolized by the rose (the soul) and the cross (the body of 4 elements). In other words, the human soul crucified on the cross of the material plane.
The Rosicrucian Order consists of a graded system in which members move up in rank and gain access to more knowledge. There is no fee for advancement. Once a member is deemed able to understand the knowledge, they move on to the next grade. There are three steps to their spiritual path: philosophy, kabbalah, and divine magic. In turn, there are three goals of the order: 1) the abolition of monarchy and the institution of rule by a philosophical elect, 2) reformation of science, philosophy, and ethics, and 3) discovery of the
Panacea.
The sources dating the existence of the Rosicrucians to the 17th century are three German pamphlets: the
Fama, the Confessio Fraternitatis, and Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz
.Some scholars believe these to be hoaxes,and that antedating Rosicrucian organizations are the first appearance of any real Rosicrucian fraternity.
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was open to both sexes, and treated both equally. The order was a specifically Hermetic society, teaching the arts of alchemy, kabbalah, and the magic of Hermes along with the principles of occult science.
Israel Regardie claims that there are many orders, who know what they do of magic from what has been leaked out of the Golden Dawn, by what he deems “renegade members.”
The order maintained the tightest secrecy by severe penalties for loose lips. Overall, the general public was left oblivious to the actions and even existence of the Golden Dawn, making the policies a success.This secrecy was broken first by Aleister Crowley, in 1905, and later by Israel Regardie himself in 1940, giving a detailed account of the order’s teachings to the general public.
Theurgy
In his Survey and Criticism of All known Arts and Sciences – “De incertitudine et vanitate scientiarum
”- Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (I have already given my opinion concerning his writings) destiguishes between natural magic (magic that uses things from the world around you such as herbs, roots, oils, crystals, stones, and various other items), mathematical magic – , enchanting magic (to influence by or as if by charms and incantations bewitch); juggling/legerdemain (the performance of illusion- this is closer to what we associate magic with today)
, and ceremonial magic (also high magic or
learned magic, is a broad term used in the context of Hermeticism or Western esotericism to encompass a wide variety of long, elaborate, and complex rituals of magic). He further divided ceremonial magic into two types.
First order of business angel summoning!
There is a theological distinction, in that Theurgy employs ritual techniques to invoke and ask favours of ostensibly good spirits. Like angels, and or the entities from the Christian Pantheon (yes Christianity also has a pantheon just live with it) like saints and the Holy Virgin etc. In a sense it is exemplified by the popular medieval Ars Notoria Grimoire, it existed on a continuum with prayer; representing a more ritualized form.
The distinction was taken up by Agrippa’s disciple, demonologist, Johan Weyer and English author on Magic and Critic of the Witch Trails Reginald Scott. The distinction was obviously one of good and evil spirits. This did not mean that Agrippa and his followers approved of the practice as it was felt by them that a seemingly benevolent spirit could be a demon in disguise, using trickery to gain supplicants. So theurgy was considered more detestable by them.
Some things you need to know about angels
There are seven archangels and each rule the seven different levels of heaven as well having governance over the zodiac signs, planets and the days of the week among other things.
· Gabrial Ruler of the 1st heaven and the Moon – Zodiac sign : Cancer _ Monay
· Raphael Ruler of the 2nd heaven and Mercury – Zodiac sign : Gemini and Virgo _ Wednesday
· Anael Ruler of the 3rd heaven and Venus – Zodiac : Taurus and Libra _ Friday
· Michael Ruler of the 4th heaven and Sun – Zodiac : Leo _ Sunday
· Samael Ruler of the 5th heaven and Mars – Zodiac : Aries and Scorpio _ Tuesday
· Sachiel (Zadkiel) Ruler of the 6th heaven and Jupiter – Zodiac : Sagiterius and Piscies _ Thurday
· Caffiel (Cassiel) Ruler of the 7th heaven and Saturn – Zodiac Capricorn and A quarius _ Saturday
It is also possible to divide heaven into provinces over which different set of angels rule.
Summoning a being of power any being for that matter is not child’s play in any shape of form and even through an angel is supposedly a benevolent being, it does not mean that they are not “dangerous” or that they will willing be called. So the best thing to remember is that each angel has a sigil and a seal as well as each group (those who form groups) also have symbols and or seals.
A symbol represents something – whether an idea or an object – while a sigil describes something in a particular way. The symbol represents the idea of something while the sigil describes the thing itself but in a way that directs energy and consciousness to secure it. Sigils are graphic symbols that identify and represent spiritual beings. Often, but not always, they are generated from the names of spirits using mechanical methods, so that each letter in the name gives rise to a particular part of the symbol. They are usually simple, two-dimensional abstract designs, and may be either black and white or colored. The sigil is the design itself, not the surface or thing upon which it is drawn, painted or inscribed. In magic, a sigil is employed to summon and control the spirit it represents during rituals, or to infuse the presence or influence of the spirit into a specific power object. The terrn sigil derives from the Hebrew word segulah meaning a word, actions or item having a spiritual effect. Also there is the Latin word
sigillum, meaning a sign or signature. In magickal terms a sigil is a (unitary) glyph derived from a name, word, or magickal formula by means of a direct analogical process (traditionally, such as numerical conversion and tracing upon magick squares [kamea]).
Now a spirit seal is a more polished graphic representation of the spirit. It is often circular or oval in shape, and usually contains the sigil of the spirit inscribed in its center. It may also bear the name of the spirit in Latin, Greek or Hebrew letters around the edge, and other occult symbols such as glyphs of the planets, zodiac signs or elements.
The seal of an angel is a symbol that establishes a communicating link between the angel and our physical w
orld. The seal acts as a doorway for the entrance and exit of the spirit. The universe is vast and is popu
lated by legions of angels that perform various functions for God. The seal narrows down which particular angel is being communicated with
. It’s like billions of people on the planet but each has a unique cellular
phone number, Seals follow the same principle.The seal is not only a doorway but it also acts like a magnet that draws the spirit to wherever it is being called. A seal may be drawn on paper or on
the floor, and it is only effective when activated.
Seals are activated by placing something of nature in the centre of the seal. It is this combined effect that attracts the angel to the seal, and at the same time executes our prayer request. For example a person desiring to work matters pertaining to love may choose the sixth seal of Michael and on Friday light a green candle and place it in the centre of
the seal. The person may write his reques
t on a small piece of paper and place it underneath the candle and leave the candle burning. The candle should be in a
glass or placed on a saucer so that it will not burn the paper. Underneath the candle
you may also place something that belongs to the two people that wish to join together in love. Leave the candle to burn overnight or until it extinguish
es itself. It is also possible to use a Tarot deck to invoke the angels. This would mean that you are then invoking the angels of the cards themselves. This is because of the fact that behind the graphics, card titles, and keywords that ornament the face of every tarot card, lies an unseen realm of divine powers,
astrological energies, and angelic beings that have been described in medieval times and utilized for centuries.
The major ritual within the Thelemic tradition for the invocation of the Angel is Liber Samekh
which appears in Crowley’s work. In column XLV of Crowley’s 777 there is a list of Magical Powers and Mystical States associated with the 32 categories of Kabbalah. The Powers are assigned to each of the 22 paths between the Sephiroth, and the States to the Sephiroth themselves. The States, or Visions, are keyed to the kinds of experiences that might be had by one attuned to the level of consciousness of that Sephirah in virtue of holding the corresponding grade in A
∴A∴.. It is call The Invocation of the Heart Girt with a Serpent, Or, The Bornless Ritual.
It is far too lengthy and in-depth to include here but the basic principal includes invocation of each of the four corners. The invocations starts to the East, South, West, North and finally stopping in the center but facing East the point of the rising sun.
It is symbolically like that of the rituals of the Pentagram, in that the magician is at the center of a circle of four quarters.
Samekh
can be seen as the ultimate Pentagram ritual. The title ‘Samekh’ refers to the path of Samekh along the Middle Pillar of the Tree of Life, rising from Yesod to Tiphareth. The associated Tarot trump is Atu XIV ‘Art” Samekh represents the way of ascent of the equilibrated magician to the Knowledge and Conversation of the Angel in Tiphareth.
The spell in its original form is approximately two thousand years old and comes from London Papyrus 46
, in the collection of the British Museum. The translation used by Crowley was published in 1852 by Charles Wycliffe Goodwin in his
Fragment of a Graeco-Egyptian Work upon Magic from a Papyrus in the British Museum
.
Traditionally the invocation of angels is a bit complicated and it is even recommended that one
does what in the Kabbalah is called Schem Hamephorash, or Angel Recitation. Angel Recitation is very easy to practice. It essentially entails either sitting, standing or laying down and performing breathing exercises. Inhaling constantly while saying the angel’s name constantly, exhaling constantly while silently saying the angel’s name or inhaling and exhaling fully while saying the angle’s name.
There is also The Grimoire of Archangel’s which is over 400 pages long and gives a full account, per archangel,
for example The Archangel Gabriel : Gabriel’s Powers and Correspondences; Rulership or Domain; Archangels Appearance; Invoking Pentacle; Drawing the Pentacle – Waxing Moon; Drawing Pentacle – Waning Moon; The Magickal Alphabet of Gabriel; Calling Gabriel; Personal Seal of Gabriel; Gabriel’s Signs; Moons Talismans and Pentacles; Archangel Gabriel’s Symbol; Gabriel’s Protective Amulet; The Pyramid of Gabriel; Prayers to the Archangel.
As I said this is not simply done, and I, after all do believe that when you are going to do something it should be done right. To be able to control the being you are summoning you need to be fully aware of what it is that you are calling. It makes no difference for what reason you are doing the summoning, even an angel in all their power needs to be contained.
Very old script, some dating back to various points in ancient history shows the summoning of angels and Gods as well. When the angel or God in question was invoked it was usually into a vessel, i.e. a person but the problem was that each person has their own “daemom/daimon” and that would corrupt the “teachings” from the invoked being, so often “naïve” youths were used or as otherwise stated innocent children that had no pre-conceived notions of their own. But if the vessel had to be purified first and this took time with many ceremonies of purification and enlightenment. The vessel had to be prepared to be entered at it was seen as a request that the angel or the God should enter.
More modern versions of angel summoning are simple requests for the angels to attend you by using their sigils and seals but in truth I feel it is safer to follow a fixed formula or ritual. The problem I have picked up as sated much earlier by people such as Agrippa, and where they were more concerned by people worshiping demons in angel disguise, my concern is that for each angel who rules there is an opposing negative force, i.e a demon. I am aware of requests by people who have found that they are experiencing problems where they have thought that they have summoned an angel only to find that when asked to leave the entity would not do so. And that they have been hurt and plagued by whatever they summoned, possibly by accident. Most agree that in a case such as this it is not an angel but something else. As angels will “depart” if they are politely and respectfully asked to leave. Whereas anything else has to be banished.
So it is often safer to follow a ritual were the practitioner, you, are enclosed with in a protective circle. But most important to also remember even if you do not seem to have achieved any results a banishing ritual is often useful for whatever else may have slipped through.
Okay so we now on to the “darker art”…..
Just a foreword of warning!! I write about what interests me, rings my bell so to speak. But I would not think any one who has no idea what they are doing very smart to ever play around with things that interest me or that I write about. Not angel summoning and neither demon summoning. Those who do this, those who have experience and write about this have spend years working themselves towards this. So please don’t be a stupid ass! Just a friendly request.
If the information of the most noted and in some cases notorious practitioners of the occult bored you, that’s your problem, no apology for that. As we proceed one has to understand and know how it is that the occult received its reputation and how some of the participants in it added to that simply, in many cases, to annoy those who either did not believe or felt that is was a satanic practice.
I have always found the study of demons quite interesting in that it is only in most recent times that demons have truly been classified as the “most evil of beings”.
But first something interesting to be noted…
It is not only demons that can be summoned I am sure (unless you are blind) that it must have been noted that my blog about Levi, The Beast and Dee that it was noted countless times that they spent more time trying to summon angels than demons.
(and also I am sure anyone who is a fan of the Supernatural occult Series would have noticed some very familiar things in my writing, and yes some things stated in the series is true, others fictional)
Yes Yes people please breath there is not blasphemy here but as in everything it is “all in the eye of the beholder
”.
Hermetic magic
The term Hermetic is from the Medieval Latin hermeticus, which is derived from the name of the Greek god,
Hermes.
In Greece, the use of words beginning with herm dates from at least 600 BCE. Hermetic refers to a pillar or post that was used in pre-classical Greece, “of square shape, surmounted by a head with a beard. The square, limbless Hermes was a step in advance of the unwrought stone.”The stone pillar was used to communicate with the deities. The name of the god, Hermes, is a generic term used by the pre-classical Greeks for any deity, and was only later associated with the god of knowledge in Athens in the 2nd Century CE.
Hermeticism is basically a set of beliefs and practices whose aim is the influencing of the world through contact with the heavenly forces.
(Not to different from main stream religion now is it?)
The Hermetic tradition is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs based primarily upon the pseudepigraphical writings – (also
Anglicized as “pseudepigraph” or “pseudepigraphs”) which are falsely attributed works, or texts whose claimed authorship is represented by a separate author; or a work, “whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past.” – attributed to
Hermes Trismegistus
– “thrice greatest Hermes”. These beliefs have heavily influenced the Western esoteric tradition and were considered greatly important during both the Renaissanceand the Reformation.
Hermeticism claims descent from a prisca theologica, a doctrine that asserts that a single, true, theology exists, which threads through all religions, and which was given by God to man in antiquity.
Much of the importance of Hermeticism is due to its connection with the development of science in the Renaissance and 17th century. This is because of the prominence given to the idea of influencing or controlling nature which led many scientists to look to magic and its allied arts (astrology, etc.) in celebrating the idea of experiment, of putting Nature to the test. Consequently, it is the practical aspect of the Hermetic writings that attracted attention after the Renaissance. Isaac Newton placed great faith in this idea of an unadulterated, pure, ancient doctrine, which he studied vigorously to aid in his understanding of the physical world. Many of Newton’s manuscripts–most of which are still unpublished–detail his thorough study of the
Corpus Hermeticum, a set of writings passed on from ancient times, in which he believed, the secrets and techniques of influencing the stars and forces of nature were revealed.
In Late Antiquity, Hermetismemerged in parallel with Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, and early Christianity
, it was “characterized by a resistance to the dominance of either pure rationality or doctrinal faith
“.
The books now known as the Corpus Hermeticum were part of a renaissance of the combining of different (often seemingly contradictory) beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought, and intellectualized pagan thinking that took place around the 2nd century. Other examples of this cultural movement would include
Neoplatonist philosophy, the Chaldaean Oracles
, late Orphic and Pythagorean literature, as well as much of Gnosticism.
The existing Greek texts dwell upon the oneness and goodness of God, urge purification of the soul, and defend pagan religious practices, such as the veneration of images – idolatry. Many lost Greek texts, and many of the surviving vulgate books, contained discussions of alchemy clothed in philosophical metaphor.And one text, the
Asclepius, lost in Greek but partially preserved in Latin, contained a bloody prophecy of the end of Roman rule in Egypt and the resurgence of pagan Egyptian power.
After some centuries of being out of favour (though apparently a subject of study at least in the Eastern Roman Empire), Hermeticism was reintroduced to the West in 1460, when the monk
Leonardo da Pistoia brought the Corpus Hermeticum to Pistoia to be translated by Ficino. In fact
Leonardo da Pistoia (monk) was the pseudonym of Leonardo Alberti de Candia, a noble of the
Alberti (family) of the counts of Prato in Pistoia. He was one of the many agents sent out by Florence’s ruler,
Cosimo de’Medici, to scour Greek monasteries for ancient writings and either get a copy or steal the originals (by hook or by crook).
Leonardo searched for the ancient Hermetic manuscripts throughout the regions surrounding Constantinople, Pera and Galata. In 1614
Isaac Casaubon, a Swiss philologist, analyzed the Hermetic texts for linguistic style. He concluded that the Hermetic writings attributed to Trismegistus were not the work of an ancient Egyptian priest, but in fact dated to around the second and third centuries of the Christian Era. Even in the light of Casaubon’s linguistic discovery, Thomas Browne in his
Religio Medici (1643) confidently stated- “The severe schools shall never laugh me out of the philosophy of Hermes, that this visible world is but a portrait of the invisible
“. R.M.Part 1: 12. In the nineteenth century Walter Scott placed their date shortly after 200 CE, while Sir W. Flinders Petrie placed them between 200 and 500 BCE.Plutarch’s mention of Hermes Trismegistus dates back to the first century CE, and
Tertullian, Iamblichus, and
Porphyry are all familiar with Hermetic writings.
Hermeticism as a religion
was considered to be a tradition that was both moderate and flexible, offering a tolerant philosophical religion, a religion of the mind, a purified perception of God, the cosmos and the self, and positive encouragement for the spiritual seeker.
Why Thrice Great?
The “Prisca Theologia”
Many Christian writers, including Lactantius, Thomas of Aquinas, Augustine, Giordano Bruno,
Marsilio Ficino, Campanella and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola considered Hermes Trismegistus to be a wise pagan prophet who foresaw the coming of Christianity. They believed in a prisca theologia. So in order to demonstrate the verity of the ‘prisca theologia’ Christians appropriated the Hermetic teachings for their own purposes. According to the “fathers of the Christian Church” he became someone like Moses or was likened to those with “Hermes” names i.e Noah etc. Or simply Trismegistus or thrice great on account of being the greatest priest, philosopher and king (convenient don’t you think).
This last part also became the last account of how he received the name “Trismegistus,” meaning “Thrice Great,” which was derived from statements in the
The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus
; that he knows the three parts of the wisdom of the whole universe.The three parts of the wisdom being
alchemy, astrology, and theurgy. The pymander, from where Marsilio Ficino formed his opinion, states that “they called him Trismegistus because he was the greatest philosopher and the greatest priest and the greatest king”
Another reason was simply :“He was called Trismegistus on account of his praise of the trinity, saying there is one divine nature in the trinity”.
The three parts of the wisdom of the whole universe
Alchemy—The Operation of the Sun: is not simply the changing of physical lead into physical gold.It is an investigation into the spiritual constitution, or life of matter and material existence through an application of the mysteries of birth, death and resurrection. The various stages of chemical
distillation and fermentation, among them, are aspects of these mysteries, that, when applied, quicken Nature’s processes in order to bring a natural body to perfection.This perfection is the accomplishment of the
Magnum opus (Latin for Great Work).
Astrology—The Operation of the Moon: Hermes claims that Zoroaster (the religious founder of the Zoroastrian religion – a religion still practiced today) discovered this part of the wisdom of the whole universe and taught it to man.In Hermetic thought, it is likely that the movements of the planets have meaning beyond the laws of physics and actually hold metaphorical value as symbols in the mind of
The All, or God. Astrology has influences upon the Earth, but does not dictate our actions, and wisdom is gained when we know what these influences are and how to deal with them.
Theurgy—The Operation of the Stars: There are two different types of magic, according to
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola‘s Apology, completely opposite of each other. The first is γοητεια, Goëtia, black magic reliant upon an alliance with evil spirits (i.e. demons). The second is Theurgy, divine magic reliant upon an alliance with divine spirits (i.e. angels, archangels, gods).
(there is Esoteric Christain Theurgy and Jewish Theurgy in fact there are older practices as well)
Theurgy translates to “The Science or Art of Divine Works” and is the practical aspect of the Hermetic art of alchemy.Furthermore, alchemy is seen as the “key” to theurgy,the ultimate goal of which is to become united with higher counterparts, leading to the attainment of Divine Consciousness.
The legislation of Codex Theodisianus is/was directed at goetia rather than theurgy, which probably fell under the heading “paganism”, in practice is was probably difficult to distinguish between the two. The
Vita Procli(28) says that the Proclus relieved Athens from drought, and this incident, possibly a parallel to a rainmaking exploit of Julian the Theurgist, is deemed a fine example of theurgical
arête(in its basic sense means excellence of any kind). It would not have been faulted under Constantinian law of 321( Codex Theorosianus 9.16.3) which explicitly permits meddling with the weather and
remedia humanis corporibus (remedies for human bodies). Yet in the same work (29) Marinus mentions Proclus’s reluctance to publish, for fear of the law, the fact that he cured
Asclepigeneia for even after the enf of the fourth century and the panic following Maximus’s death, there is hesitation to openingly practice magic and theurg. In Annianus one reads about the burning of books on the
liberules disciplinae along with magical
text books ( 29.1.41). There is little doubt that theurgy went underground from 371 to after 450 as accident of sources or not there is no material for this period but there evidence there is seems to speak for
it.
Hermetic brotherhoods
Once Hermeticism was no longer endorsed by the Christian Church it was driven underground and a number of Hermetic societies were formed (seems it was thought to work against the church as it did not condemn other religious practices). The Western esoteric tradition is now heavily steeped in Hermeticism. The work of such writers as Pico Della Mirandola, who attempted to reconcile Jewish
Kabbalah and Christian mysticism, brought Hermeticism into a context more easily understood by Europeans in the Renaissance.
A few primarily Hermetic occult orders were founded in the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. Hermetic magic underwent a nineteenth century revival in Western Europe, where it was practiced by people and within groups such as the
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, with members such as Aurum Solis, Ragon, Kenneth M. Mackenzie,
Eliphas Lévi, Frederick Hockley,
William Butler Yeats, and Arthur Machen.Many Hermetic, or Hermetically influenced, groups exist today, most of which are derived from the Golden Dawn, Rosicrucianism or Freemasonry.
Rosicrucianism
I have previously mentioned Rosicrucianism which is a Hermetic/Christian movement dating back to the 15th century. It consists of a secretive inner body, and a more public outer body under the direction of the inner body.
(if anyone is not seeing any links here I’m going to be beating my head against a wall)
This movement is symbolized by the rose (the soul) and the cross (the body of 4 elements). In other words, the human soul crucified on the cross of the material plane.
The Rosicrucian Order consists of a graded system in which members move up in rank and gain access to more knowledge. There is no fee for advancement. Once a member is deemed able to understand the knowledge, they move on to the next grade. There are three steps to their spiritual path: philosophy, kabbalah, and divine magic. In turn, there are three goals of the order: 1) the abolition of monarchy and the institution of rule by a philosophical elect, 2) reformation of science, philosophy, and ethics, and 3) discovery of the
Panacea.
The sources dating the existence of the Rosicrucians to the 17th century are three German pamphlets: the
Fama, the Confessio Fraternitatis, and Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz
.Some scholars believe these to be hoaxes,and that antedating Rosicrucian organizations are the first appearance of any real Rosicrucian fraternity.
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was open to both sexes, and treated both equally. The order was a specifically Hermetic society, teaching the arts of alchemy, kabbalah, and the magic of Hermes along with the principles of occult science.
Israel Regardie claims that there are many orders, who know what they do of magic from what has been leaked out of the Golden Dawn, by what he deems “renegade members.”
The order maintained the tightest secrecy by severe penalties for loose lips. Overall, the general public was left oblivious to the actions and even existence of the Golden Dawn, making the policies a success.This secrecy was broken first by Aleister Crowley, in 1905, and later by Israel Regardie himself in 1940, giving a detailed account of the order’s teachings to the general public.
Theurgy
In his Survey and Criticism of All known Arts and Sciences – “De incertitudine et vanitate scientiarum
”- Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (I have already given my opinion concerning his writings) destiguishes between natural magic (magic that uses things from the world around you such as herbs, roots, oils, crystals, stones, and various other items), mathematical magic – , enchanting magic (to influence by or as if by charms and incantations bewitch); juggling/legerdemain (the performance of illusion- this is closer to what we associate magic with today)
, and ceremonial magic (also high magic or
learned magic, is a broad term used in the context of Hermeticism or Western esotericism to encompass a wide variety of long, elaborate, and complex rituals of magic). He further divided ceremonial magic into two types.
First order of business angel summoning!
There is a theological distinction, in that Theurgy employs ritual techniques to invoke and ask favours of ostensibly good spirits. Like angels, and or the entities from the Christian Pantheon (yes Christianity also has a pantheon just live with it) like saints and the Holy Virgin etc. In a sense it is exemplified by the popular medieval Ars Notoria Grimoire, it existed on a continuum with prayer; representing a more ritualized form.
The distinction was taken up by Agrippa’s disciple, demonologist, Johan Weyer and English author on Magic and Critic of the Witch Trails Reginald Scott. The distinction was obviously one of good and evil spirits. This did not mean that Agrippa and his followers approved of the practice as it was felt by them that a seemingly benevolent spirit could be a demon in disguise, using trickery to gain supplicants. So theurgy was considered more detestable by them.
Some things you need to know about angels
There are seven archangels and each rule the seven different levels of heaven as well having governance over the zodiac signs, planets and the days of the week among other things.
· Gabrial Ruler of the 1st heaven and the Moon – Zodiac sign : Cancer _ Monay
· Raphael Ruler of the 2nd heaven and Mercury – Zodiac sign : Gemini and Virgo _ Wednesday
· Anael Ruler of the 3rd heaven and Venus – Zodiac : Taurus and Libra _ Friday
· Michael Ruler of the 4th heaven and Sun – Zodiac : Leo _ Sunday
· Samael Ruler of the 5th heaven and Mars – Zodiac : Aries and Scorpio _ Tuesday
· Sachiel (Zadkiel) Ruler of the 6th heaven and Jupiter – Zodiac : Sagiterius and Piscies _ Thurday
· Caffiel (Cassiel) Ruler of the 7th heaven and Saturn – Zodiac Capricorn and A quarius _ Saturday
It is also possible to divide heaven into provinces over which different set of angels rule.
Summoning a being of power any being for that matter is not child’s play in any shape of form and even through an angel is supposedly a benevolent being, it does not mean that they are not “dangerous” or that they will willing be called. So the best thing to remember is that each angel has a sigil and a seal as well as each group (those who form groups) also have symbols and or seals.
A symbol represents something – whether an idea or an object – while a sigil describes something in a particular way. The symbol represents the idea of something while the sigil describes the thing itself but in a way that directs energy and consciousness to secure it. Sigils are graphic symbols that identify and represent spiritual beings. Often, but not always, they are generated from the names of spirits using mechanical methods, so that each letter in the name gives rise to a particular part of the symbol. They are usually simple, two-dimensional abstract designs, and may be either black and white or colored. The sigil is the design itself, not the surface or thing upon which it is drawn, painted or inscribed. In magic, a sigil is employed to summon and control the spirit it represents during rituals, or to infuse the presence or influence of the spirit into a specific power object. The terrn sigil derives from the Hebrew word segulah meaning a word, actions or item having a spiritual effect. Also there is the Latin word
sigillum, meaning a sign or signature. In magickal terms a sigil is a (unitary) glyph derived from a name, word, or magickal formula by means of a direct analogical process (traditionally, such as numerical conversion and tracing upon magick squares [kamea]).
Now a spirit seal is a more polished graphic representation of the spirit. It is often circular or oval in shape, and usually contains the sigil of the spirit inscribed in its center. It may also bear the name of the spirit in Latin, Greek or Hebrew letters around the edge, and other occult symbols such as glyphs of the planets, zodiac signs or elements.
The seal of an angel is a symbol that establishes a communicating link between the angel and our physical w
orld. The seal acts as a doorway for the entrance and exit of the spirit. The universe is vast and is popu
lated by legions of angels that perform various functions for God. The seal narrows down which particular angel is being communicated with
. It’s like billions of people on the planet but each has a unique cellular
phone number, Seals follow the same principle.The seal is not only a doorway but it also acts like a magnet that draws the spirit to wherever it is being called. A seal may be drawn on paper or on
the floor, and it is only effective when activated.
Seals are activated by placing something of nature in the centre of the seal. It is this combined effect that attracts the angel to the seal, and at the same time executes our prayer request. For example a person desiring to work matters pertaining to love may choose the sixth seal of Michael and on Friday light a green candle and place it in the centre of
the seal. The person may write his reques
t on a small piece of paper and place it underneath the candle and leave the candle burning. The candle should be in a
glass or placed on a saucer so that it will not burn the paper. Underneath the candle
you may also place something that belongs to the two people that wish to join together in love. Leave the candle to burn overnight or until it extinguish
es itself. It is also possible to use a Tarot deck to invoke the angels. This would mean that you are then invoking the angels of the cards themselves. This is because of the fact that behind the graphics, card titles, and keywords that ornament the face of every tarot card, lies an unseen realm of divine powers,
astrological energies, and angelic beings that have been described in medieval times and utilized for centuries.
The major ritual within the Thelemic tradition for the invocation of the Angel is Liber Samekh
which appears in Crowley’s work. In column XLV of Crowley’s 777 there is a list of Magical Powers and Mystical States associated with the 32 categories of Kabbalah. The Powers are assigned to each of the 22 paths between the Sephiroth, and the States to the Sephiroth themselves. The States, or Visions, are keyed to the kinds of experiences that might be had by one attuned to the level of consciousness of that Sephirah in virtue of holding the corresponding grade in A
∴A∴.. It is call The Invocation of the Heart Girt with a Serpent, Or, The Bornless Ritual.
It is far too lengthy and in-depth to include here but the basic principal includes invocation of each of the four corners. The invocations starts to the East, South, West, North and finally stopping in the center but facing East the point of the rising sun.
It is symbolically like that of the rituals of the Pentagram, in that the magician is at the center of a circle of four quarters.
Samekh
can be seen as the ultimate Pentagram ritual. The title ‘Samekh’ refers to the path of Samekh along the Middle Pillar of the Tree of Life, rising from Yesod to Tiphareth. The associated Tarot trump is Atu XIV ‘Art” Samekh represents the way of ascent of the equilibrated magician to the Knowledge and Conversation of the Angel in Tiphareth.
The spell in its original form is approximately two thousand years old and comes from London Papyrus 46
, in the collection of the British Museum. The translation used by Crowley was published in 1852 by Charles Wycliffe Goodwin in his
Fragment of a Graeco-Egyptian Work upon Magic from a Papyrus in the British Museum
.
Traditionally the invocation of angels is a bit complicated and it is even recommended that one
does what in the Kabbalah is called Schem Hamephorash, or Angel Recitation. Angel Recitation is very easy to practice. It essentially entails either sitting, standing or laying down and performing breathing exercises. Inhaling constantly while saying the angel’s name constantly, exhaling constantly while silently saying the angel’s name or inhaling and exhaling fully while saying the angle’s name.
There is also The Grimoire of Archangel’s which is over 400 pages long and gives a full account, per archangel,
for example The Archangel Gabriel : Gabriel’s Powers and Correspondences; Rulership or Domain; Archangels Appearance; Invoking Pentacle; Drawing the Pentacle – Waxing Moon; Drawing Pentacle – Waning Moon; The Magickal Alphabet of Gabriel; Calling Gabriel; Personal Seal of Gabriel; Gabriel’s Signs; Moons Talismans and Pentacles; Archangel Gabriel’s Symbol; Gabriel’s Protective Amulet; The Pyramid of Gabriel; Prayers to the Archangel.
As I said this is not simply done, and I, after all do believe that when you are going to do something it should be done right. To be able to control the being you are summoning you need to be fully aware of what it is that you are calling. It makes no difference for what reason you are doing the summoning, even an angel in all their power needs to be contained.
Very old script, some dating back to various points in ancient history shows the summoning of angels and Gods as well. When the angel or God in question was invoked it was usually into a vessel, i.e. a person but the problem was that each person has their own “daemom/daimon” and that would corrupt the “teachings” from the invoked being, so often “naïve” youths were used or as otherwise stated innocent children that had no pre-conceived notions of their own. But if the vessel had to be purified first and this took time with many ceremonies of purification and enlightenment. The vessel had to be prepared to be entered at it was seen as a request that the angel or the God should enter.
More modern versions of angel summoning are simple requests for the angels to attend you by using their sigils and seals but in truth I feel it is safer to follow a fixed formula or ritual. The problem I have picked up as sated much earlier by people such as Agrippa, and where they were more concerned by people worshiping demons in angel disguise, my concern is that for each angel who rules there is an opposing negative force, i.e a demon. I am aware of requests by people who have found that they are experiencing problems where they have thought that they have summoned an angel only to find that when asked to leave the entity would not do so. And that they have been hurt and plagued by whatever they summoned, possibly by accident. Most agree that in a case such as this it is not an angel but something else. As angels will “depart” if they are politely and respectfully asked to leave. Whereas anything else has to be banished.
So it is often safer to follow a ritual were the practitioner, you, are enclosed with in a protective circle. But most important to also remember even if you do not seem to have achieved any results a banishing ritual is often useful for whatever else may have slipped through.
Okay so we now on to the “darker art”…..
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