The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 60 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite

Page 19 (part 2)

As a counterpoise, a century later his bust was placed in the town-hall of Padua.

His undoubted works, which are frankly unreadable, betray no acquaintance with the occult sciences beyond a belief in astrology, which in those days was catholic as Rome and powerful as the Holy Tribunal.

He remains, therefore, one of the moral martyrs of Magic, faussement accusé , as Gabriel Naudé has it.

His accusation and the mode of its prosecution remain also among the lesser glories of the Holy Office.

Accepting the Heptameron as a work belonging to the period of its first publication, it is here placed among the Rituals of a composite character, not because it professedly deals with devils, but because the nature of its angels and spirits is indicated by the manner of their conjuration; in a word, they are described as angels and threatened as demons.

The procedure is divided into two parts--a general method for the evocation of the Spirits of the Air, who are undoubtedly demons, and a set of angelical conjurations proper to each day of the week.

The second section presumably belongs to the department of White Magic--if I may adopt this glorious distinction in the ribaldry of a passing moment--as the intelligences concerned are said to be good and great, though their offices are mixed and confusing, including the discovery of treasures, the detection of secrets, fomenting war, opening locks and bolts, procuring the love of women, inclining men to luxury and sowing hatred and evil thought.

Obviously, White Magic of this kind is much blacker than it is painted.

Though the entire Heptameron appears under one attribution, the first part only is ascribed in the text to Peter de Abano.

Therein the personal preparation of the operator corresponds to that given in the Second Part of the present work, and the ceremonial itself, which, if cited at all, would have to be printed in extenso , as it contains no detachable portions, is much too elaborate to be inserted in this place, more especially as that of the Lemegeton will provide later on a fairly complete notion of the scope and purpose of the Composite Rituals, taken in their broad aspect, and will illustrate the fact that all conventional distinctions dissolve therein.

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Themes

Animismcosmology

The doctrine and worldview that natural phenomena, places, and objects possess inherent spirit, soul, or personality — and that the cosmos is populated by countless local, plural, embodied divine agents: kami in mountain and tree, sidhe in cairn and well, landwights in field and stone, nymphs in spring and grove, haltija in forest and lake, lares and penates in household and threshold, Iamblichean daemons in element and place. Distinct from monotheism (single transcendent God), pantheism (one underlying substance), and emanation_hierarchy (cascading single source); animism's signature is the plurality, locality, and embodied-in-landscape character of the divine.

The text refers to 'Spirits of the Air' and 'intelligences concerned', acknowledging a populated spiritual realm distinct from pure monotheism, though framed within ceremonial magic rather than indigenous animism.

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Forbidden Knowledgesoteriology

Transgressive knowing acquired against divine prohibition — the Watchers' teaching of metallurgy, sorcery, and cosmetics in 1 Enoch, the Gnostic Eve narratives, the Promethean mytheme; explicitly contrasted with gnosis_direct_knowledge, which is salvific.

The passage references the prosecution of magic by the Holy Office and describes Peter de Abano as a 'moral martyr of Magic', implying the transgressive nature of these occult sciences.

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Ritual Puritypraxis

The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.

The text mentions 'personal preparation of the operator' corresponding to another part of the work, implying necessary ritual conditions for the ceremonies.

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Spirit Conjurationpraxis

The grimoire-tradition practice of ceremonially commanding or binding a spirit through consecrated seals, circles, divine names, and prescribed instruments, compelling its appearance and obedience. Distinct from theurgy in the direction of the power relationship — theurgy is reverent engagement with the gods on the premise of the operator's own ascent, this is subordination of a lesser spirit to the operator's will — and from word_power_incantation and sacred_names, which name components (verbal force, name-power) this practice deploys rather than the ritual structure itself.

The passage explicitly discusses the 'conjuration' of angels and spirits, distinguishing between evocation of Spirits of the Air (demons) and angelical conjurations within the Heptameron.

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Stellar Determinismcosmology

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 mentions Peter de Abano's belief in astrology, describing it as 'catholic as Rome and powerful as the Holy Tribunal' in those days.

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Related passages · 7 parallels

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Shared concept: Stellar Determinism — 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. (derived)

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