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The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 37 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite

Page 12 (part 1)

§ 4. The Seven Mysterious Orisons SUNDAY Pater noster, &c. Deliver me, O Lord, I beseech Thee, me even, thy creature, N., from all evils Past, present and to come, whether of body or soul; grant me peace and health in Thy goodness; incline favourably unto me, Thy creature, by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of Thy holy apostles, Peter, Paul, Andrew and of all the saints. Vouchsafe peace unto Thy creature, and health during all my life, so that, strengthened by the mainstay of Thy mercy, I may never be the slave of sin, nor go in fear of any trouble, through the same Jesus Christ Thy Son, our Saviour, Who, being truly God, liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Spirit for ever and ever, Amen. May the peace of the Lord be always with me, Amen. May that peace, O Lord, which Thou didst leave to Thy disciples abide ever with power in my heart, standing always between me and my enemies, both visible and invisible, Amen. May the Peace of the Lord, His countenance, His body, His blood, assist, console and protect me, Thy creature, N., in my soul and my body, Amen. Lamb of God, Who didst deign to be born of the Virgin Mary, Who didst cleanse the world from its sins upon the Cross, have pity on my soul and my body. O Christ, Lamb of God, immolated for the salvation of the world, have Pity on my soul and my body. Lamb of God, by Whom all the faithful are saved, give unto me Thy peace, to remain with me for ever, both in this life and that which is to come, Amen. MONDAY O great God, by Whom all things have been set free, deliver me also from all evil. O great God, Who hast granted Thy consolation unto all beings, grant it even unto me. O great God, Who hast succoured and assisted all things, aid me also; succour me in all my necessities and miseries, my enterprises and dangers; deliver me from all the hindrances and snares of my enemies, both visible and invisible, in the Name of the Father Who created the whole world ✠ , in the Name of the Son Who hath redeemed it ✠ , in the name of the Holy Ghost Who hath fulfilled the entire law in its Perfection. I cast myself utterly into Thine arms, and place myself unreservedly under Thy holy protection, Amen. May the blessing of God the Father Almighty, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, be always with me ✠ , Amen. May the blessing of God the Father, Who by His only Word hath made all things, be with me for ever ✠ , Amen. May the blessing of our Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the great living God, be with me for ever ✠ , Amen. May the blessing and Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit be with me for ever ✠ , Amen. May the blessing of the Virgin Mary, and of her Son, be with me for ever, Amen. TUESDAY May the blessing and consecration of the bread and of the wine, which our Lord Jesus Christ made when He gave them to His disciples and said unto them: Take and eat ye all of this, for this is My body which shall be delivered for you, in remembrance of Me and for the remission of all sins--be with me for ever ✠ . May the blessing of the Holy Angels, Archangels, Virtues, Powers, Thrones, Dominations, Cherubim and Seraphim, be with me for ever ✠ , Amen.
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Themes
Anthropomorphismtheology

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

God is addressed with human attributes such as 'arms', 'countenance', and the Son has a 'body' and 'blood'.

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Contritionsoteriology

Penitential sorrow for sin as the first movement of the soul's healing — Julian's first of three medicines ('by contrition we are made clean'), the Christian compunction tradition, Sufi tawba, Greek metanoia, Hebrew teshuvah; the wound of sorrow that turns bitterness into hope of mercy. Distinct from self_examination (the diagnostic practice), rejection_of_hypocrisy (critique of others' form), and dark_night (imposed aridity): contrition is the soul's own penitent turning.

The text petitions for remission of sins and pity from the Lamb of God, implying a state of penitence and need for cleansing.

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Divine Providencetheology

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 prayers affirm God's active role in creating, succouring, and assisting all things and individuals.

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Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

The text explicitly invokes the 'great living God' and emphasizes His active presence and responsiveness to petition.

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Logoscosmology

The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world.

The passage references the Son as the 'only Word' by whom all things were made, aligning with the Christian Logos concept.

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Numerical Mysticismtheology

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

The text explicitly titles the section 'Seven Mysterious Orisons' and references the 'Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit'.

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Prayerpraxis

Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.

The entire passage consists of liturgical orisons and direct addresses to the divine for protection and blessing.

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Sacred Namestheology

Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.

The text repeatedly invokes the Names of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as sources of blessing and protection.

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Theurgypraxis

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.

Drawn from a book of ceremonial magic, these orisons function as ritual practices to engage divine power for protection.

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Word Power Incantationpraxis

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.

As part of a ceremonial magic text, the liturgical formulas are used to invoke divine power and alter spiritual conditions through spoken words.

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Related passages · 11 parallels
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 426
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Shared concept: Logos — The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world. (derived)
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Shared concept: Logos — The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world. (derived)
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XXI
I think, therefore, that all who are lovers of the contemplation of theurgic truth will acknowledge this, that the piety which pertains to divine natures ought not to be exercised towards them partially or imperfectly. Hence, since prior to…”
Shared concept: Theurgy — 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. (derived)
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Shared concept: Theurgy — 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. (derived)
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and all things are moved by a longing for the Beautiful and Good, to accomplish every outward work and form every act of will. And true reasoning will also dare to affirm that even the Creator of all things Himself yearneth after all thing…”
Shared concept: Living God — The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality. (derived)
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Shared concept: Numerical Mysticism — Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality. (derived)
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For just as, supposing we were in thought to represent the soul itself in bodily shape, and represent this indivisible substance as surrounded by bodily parts, we should, in such a case, give the surrounding parts a different meaning suited…”
Shared concept: Anthropomorphism — Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery. (derived)
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Shared concept: Prayer — Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward. (derived)