The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 35 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite
Page 11 (part 3)
While it thus ensures against evil, it gives happiness in domestic matters and in the enterprises which contribute to prosperity and to the pleasures of a contented life.
The proviso is that [paragraph continues] "the instructions must be followed as accurately as human weakness will allow." Fortunately they are more simple than the Grimoires.
When a copy of the book has been secured, it must be placed in a small bag of new leather, so that it may be kept clean.
A vow must be made to carry it as far as practicable on one's person, and to read with attentive devotion at least one page daily.
If a specific danger be apprehended, a page suitable to its nature should be selected.
Reading must be done upon the knees, with the face turned to the east: "so did Charlemagne invariably." Furthermore, works of piety must be performed in honour of the celestial genii whose benign influence it is desired to attract; alms also must be given to the poor, "as this is of all things most pleasing unto such spirits, for thereby we become their coadjutors and friends, the economy of the universe being committed to them by the Creator." Here we have the magical doctrine concerning planetary intelligences which connects the Enchiridion with the Arbatel , and the hint of "secondary deities" which connects it with Trithemius.
] The In Principio , or first chapter of the Gospel according to St.
John, is declared to be the most potent of all the devotions in the book, and it is to be recited the most frequently.
The mysterious figures are said to have been extracted from the rarest manuscripts which antiquity has committed to us, and their virtue is not only highly efficacious, but so easily Put in motion, that it is enough for this purpose to carry the work reverently on one's person.
"Experience will remove any doubt which may be felt in this respect, while the scruples which may be occasioned by the idea that there is Magic or superstition herein will be banished by a slight exercise of reason.
As to this latter point, it is said that a little reflection upon the infinite number of secret sympathies and antipathies found in different beings here below will explain how it is that such figures may be in sympathy with the Celestial Intelligences which govern this vast universe.
It will scarcely be necessary to observe that the doctrine of sympathies and antipathies is the very essence of Natural Magic, and connects it with the recondite branches.
The mysterious figures referred to were originally nine in number, and in most cases recur several times.
The most conspicuous is the Labarum of Constantine and the Tau symbol, which Lévi connects with the Tarot.
The apparently unmeaning enumeration of various Divine Names is a special characteristic of Ceremonial Magic, and certainly makes the Enchiridion interlink with a cycle of literature from which it is otherwise thinly distinct.
There is, indeed, little specific difference between the prayers which incorporate them and the Invocations which swarm in the Rituals.
It may be added that the use of such Divine Names is supported by a mendacious reference to the Angelical Theology of Dionysius.
The prefatory matter ends at this point.
The prose of the Gospel of St.
John follows, with versicles and a prayer.
Next come the Seven Penitential Psalms, with the Litany of the Saints, after which are the Mysterious Prayers of Pope Leo , followed by a multitude of others not less mysterious, and prevailing against human fragility, and so forth.
The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination.
The passage explicitly states that the 'doctrine of sympathies and antipathies is the very essence of Natural Magic' and explains how figures resonate with Celestial Intelligences.
Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.
The text states that 'the economy of the universe being committed to them by the Creator,' indicating divine ordering of cosmic affairs.
A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.
The text implies a hierarchy where the 'Creator' commits the economy of the universe to the 'Celestial Intelligences.'
Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting.
Practitioners are instructed to 'read with attentive devotion at least one page daily,' indicating a disciplined inward attention.
Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.
The passage details specific liturgical practices including the recitation of the Gospel of St. John, Penitential Psalms, Litany of the Saints, and Mysterious Prayers.
Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.
The text identifies the 'enumeration of various Divine Names' as a special characteristic of Ceremonial Magic and notes their use in prayers and invocations.
The rule of the stars and planetary powers over mortal destiny — the astrological governors whose spheres bind souls to birth, error, and death; in Sethian gnosis the 'error of the stars' that the savior exposes, and from which the incorruptible generation alone is free. Distinct from cosmic_sympathy (a doctrine of universal affinity) in being a bondage-to-powers claim, and from archons (the rulers as personal beings) in concerning the astral machinery itself.
The text acknowledges that 'Celestial Intelligences which govern this vast universe' influence human affairs and prosperity.
Iamblichean ritual practice that engages the gods directly through consecrated material symbols and actions, on the premise that divine power descends into properly prepared matter — distinct from philosophical contemplation alone.
The text describes performing 'works of piety... in honour of the celestial genii' to attract their benign influence through consecrated actions.
The doctrine and practice that spoken or sung word carries causal-magical force — that uttering names, formulas, songs, or incantations alters reality directly rather than merely communicating about it. Vainamoinen's runo-songs that move mountains and command iron, Norse galdr, Vedic mantra, Shinto kotodama, the magician's barbarous names in the Greek Magical Papyri, Iamblichean arcane signatures and inexplicable symbols, biblical creation-by-word. Distinct from sacred_names (the ontological power of names themselves) and prayer (address to the divine); word_power_incantation is the magical-causal efficacy of the spoken word as such.
The efficacy of the book relies on reciting specific texts and Divine Names which are described as having 'virtue' and being 'highly efficacious.'