The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 70 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite
Page 24 (part 3)
But seeing that until this present the Sovereign Pontiffs have alone possessed the Power of using invocations and commanding Spirits, His Holiness Honorius the Third, being moved by his Pastoral care, has benignly desired to communicate the methods and faculty of invoking and controlling Spirits to his venerable Brethren in Jesus Christ, adding the Conjurations which must be used in such case, the whole being contained in the Bull which here follows .
HONORIUS , Servant of the Servants of God, unto all and each of our venerable Brethren of the Holy Roman Church, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots; unto all and each of our sons in Jesus Christ, Priests, Deacons, Subdeacons, Acolytes, Exorcists, Cantors, Pastors, Clerks both Secular and Regular, Health and Apostolic Benediction.
In those days when the Son of God, Saviour of the World, generated in the fulness of time, and born, according to the flesh, of the Race of David, did live on this earth, Whose Most Holy Name is Jesus, before which the heavens., earth and hell do bend the knee; we have seen with what Power He commanded demons, which Power was also transmitted to St.
Peter by that utterance: Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the Gates of Hell shall not Prevail against it.
These words were addressed to St.
Peter as the Head and Foundation of the Church.
We then, who, by the mercy of God, and despite the Poverty of our merit, have succeeded to the Sovereign Apostolate, and, as lawful successor of St.
Peter, have the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven committed to our hands, desiring to communicate the Power of invoking and commanding Spirits, which hath been reserved unto us alone, and our Possessors did alone enjoy; wishing, I repeat, by Divine inspiration, to share it with our venerable Brethren and dear sons in Jesus Christ, and fearing lest in the exorcism of the Possessed, they might otherwise be appalled at the frightful figures of those rebellious angels who in sin were cast into the abyss, lest also they should be insufficiently learned in those things which must be Performed and observed, and that those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ may not be tormented by any witchcraft or possessed by the demon, we have included in this Bull the manner of their invocation, which same must be observed inviolably.
And because it is meet that the ministers of the Altar should have authority over the rebellious Spirits, we hereby depute unto them all powers which we possess, in virtue of the Holy Apostolic Chair, and we require them, by our Apostolic authority, to observe what follows inviolably, lest by some negligence unworthy of their character they should draw down on themselves the wrath of the Most High .
The Grimorium Verum has once been reprinted in the French language.
Of the Italian version there have been two modern editions, both poorly produced.
The book of True Black Magic is known only by the edition of 1750.
The Grand Grimoire reappeared at Nismes in 1823 and is, moreover, in all respects identical with the work entitled the Red Dragon , of which there are several examples.
The Grimoire of Honorius is exceedingly rare in the original, but is better known by the reprints of 1660 and 1670, though these also are scarce.
There is, finally, an edition dated 1760, and this even commands a high price among collectors.
It remains to state that the Abbé d'Artigny was presented about the middle of the last century with an MS.
copy of this Grimoire, which was much more complete that the printed editions.
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.
References to 'Divine inspiration' and the 'mercy of God' suggest an active divine ordering of affairs.
Final, collective cosmic judgment as an event in which the wicked are sentenced and the cosmos restored; distinct from psychopomp_journey (individual passage at death) and emphasising verdict where Zoroastrian frashokereti emphasises restoration.
The passage warns that negligence may 'draw down on themselves the wrath of the Most High', implying divine judgment.
Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness.
Demons are described as angels who fell 'in sin', implying a corruption of an originally good state rather than inherent ontological evil.
The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.
The text requires ministers to 'observe what follows inviolably' lest they show 'negligence unworthy of their character', implying a need for ritual correctness.
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 details the papal grant of authority for 'invoking and commanding Spirits' and includes 'Conjurations which must be used', making this the central theme.
The 1 Enoch narrative in which a class of originally-good angelic beings (the Watchers) descends, mates with women, and teaches forbidden arts — the substrate that Gnostic archons inherits and inverts: archons are born malevolent, the Watchers fall through transgression.
The text mentions 'rebellious angels who in sin were cast into the abyss', echoing the mythos of fallen angelic beings found in Watchers narratives.
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 text emphasizes the causal efficacy of 'Conjurations' and 'invocations' as the mechanism for controlling spirits, aligning with the doctrine that spoken words alter reality.