Page 18 (part 4)

The book itself must be formed of most pure and clean paper which has never been used previously--a stipulation which may have been of moment in the days of the palimpsest, but is, of course, scarcely necessary in our own. The image of the Spirit must be drawn on the left side, and his character on the right, preceded by the oath which embodies the name of the Spirit, together with his dignity, place, office and power. The operation must be performed on the day and in the hour of the planet to which the Spirit is attributed. When the book has been composed, it must be well bound and emblazoned, being furnished also with markers and seals, for to open it at random after its consecration might endanger the operator. It should be kept reverently and free from profanation, for otherwise it will lose its virtue. Its consecration is a matter of some difficulty, as every Spirit whose name appears therein must be called before the circle, the bonds read over in his presence, and each in succession must be compelled to impose his hand where his respective image and character are drawn, and to "confirm and consecrate the same with a special and common oath." In a word, the document must be regularly and legally delivered as the act and deed of each. During this ceremony the book must be laid within a triangle described outside the circle. There can be no doubt that these directions are the work of a writer well acquainted with the Lemegeton , or that the Liber Spirituum in question is identical with that mentioned by Wierus. The forms assumed by the evoked Spirits differ somewhat from those of the Lesser Key , which, moreover, at least in its Goëtic portion, has no planetary attribution. According to pseudo-Agrippa, the Spirits of Saturn usually appear with a tall and lean body and an angry countenance, having four faces, of which one is in the usual position, another at the back of the head, and two, with beaks, on either side. They have also a face on each knee, of a shining black. Their motion is like that of the wind, and it is accompanied with a kind of earthquake. Their sign is white earth, "whiter than any snow." Their particular forms are a bearded king riding on a dragon; an old bearded man; an old woman leaning on a staff; a boy; a dragon; an owl; a black garment; a hook or sickle; a juniper-tree. How the three last manifestations are provided with the six visages is a perplexity which must be surrendered to occult commentators. The Spirits of Jupiter appear with a sanguine and choleric body; they are of middle stature; their motion is "horrible and fearful," but they are mild of countenance and gentle in speech. They are of iron colour, which ought to have connected them with Mars; their motion is that of flashing lightnings, and withal thunderous; their sign is the apparition of men about the circle who seem to be devoured by lions. Their particular forms are a king with drawn sword riding on a lion; a mitred personage in a long vestment; a maid crowned with laurel and adorned by flowers; a bull; a stag; a peacock; an azure garment; a sword; a box-tree. The Spirits of Mars have a tall body and choleric, a filthy countenance, brown, swarthy or red in colour; they have horns like the hart, claws like a griffin and they bellow like wild Click to view PLATE V: CHARACTERS OF EVIL SPIRITS bulls. They have the motion of burning fire, and their sign is thunder and lightning about the circle.