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The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 73 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite

Page 25 (part 2)

it is, however, an operation of Necromancy and will be found in its proper place in the Second Part. The Verus Jesuitarum Libellus closes with a fuliginous conjuration of the entire hierarchy of Infernus, which continues for many pages and contains more unintelligible words than several combined Grimoires. In the absence of all knowledge of its original edition, it is impossible to throw any light upon this singular imposture. The Praxis Magica Fausti or "Magical Elements of Dr. John Faust, Practitioner of Medicine," claims to have been printed from the original MS. in the Municipal Library of Weimar and is dated 1571, at which period it must be respectfully affirmed that there was no Municipal Library in the birthplace of Goethe. Furthermore, the existing collection does not include the MS. Whether the original edition was antedated cannot be certainly affirmed, as it is exceedingly scarce, and I am acquainted with it only in the reprint of Scheible and in an unprinted transcript by Major Irwin. The work consists of a few curious plates, in the manner of the seventeenth century, and a few unintelligible conjurations, all exceedingly brief. The third of these exhorts the Evil Spirit on the quaint ground that now it is the time of the Great Name Tetragrammaton . The purpose of citation is not indicated; the formulæ are Christian, broken up by innumerable crosses and by names and terms which defy conjecture as to their significance. The hierarchy of the spirit is determined by the closing words: "I command thee, O Spirit Rumoar , even by Lucifer, thy mighty sovereign."
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Themes
Sacred Namestheology

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

The text mentions the use of 'Great Name Tetragrammaton' and other names within formulae that defy conjecture as to their significance.

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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 describes texts containing 'conjuration of the entire hierarchy of Infernus' and commands to spirits like 'Spirit Rumoar' by Lucifer.

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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.

The passage discusses 'unintelligible conjurations' and 'formulæ' used to command spirits, implying the magical efficacy of spoken or written words.

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Related passages · 10 parallels
egyptian|The Egyptian Heaven and Hell|Chapter 6 (part 5)
“The Rubric had, in fact, so far back as B.C. 2600, become a traditional magical formula of a most powerful character, and it must have been composed at the time when the abode of the blessed was supposed to resemble the "great field" in wh…”
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christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 1, Section 1a
“51 CHAPTER I Dionysius the Presbyter, to his fellow-Presbyter Timothy. 45 45 The name of St. Paul’s companion is intended to give colour to the writer’s pseudonym. See Introduction, p. 1; cf. iii. 2. What is the purpose of the discou…”
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egyptian|The Egyptian Heaven and Hell|Chapter 7 (part 6)
“From each of these Books we find that the Sun-god was not able to pass through the Tuat by virtue of the powers which he possessed as the great god of the world, but p. 93 only through his knowledge of the proper words of power, and of mag…”
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“You object, however, “ that he who hears words looks to their signification, so that it is sufficient the conception remains the same, whatever the words may be that are used .” But the thing is not such as you suspect it to be. For if name…”
Shared concept: Sacred Names — Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice. (derived)
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“These mysteries we learn from the Divine Scriptures, and thou wilt find that in well-nigh all the utterances of the Sacred Writers the Divine Names refer in a Symbolical Revelation 72 72 ἐκφαντορικῶς καὶ ὑμνητικῶς. to Its beneficent Emanat…”
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“But the inquiries which follow in the next place, require a more abundant doctrine, in order to their elucidation. At the same time, however, it is necessary to discuss the truth concerning them with brevity. For you inquire “ what efficacy…”
Shared concept: Sacred Names — Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice. (derived)
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“CHAPTER LXX. Of the Virtue of Proper Names . That the proper names of things are very necessary in Magical Operations, almost all men testify. For the natural power of things proceeds, first, from the objects to the senses, and then from th…”
Shared concept: Sacred Names — Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice. (derived)
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“CHAPTER LXXI. Of Many Words Joined Together, as in Sentences and Verses; and of the Virtues and Astrictions of Charms . Besides the virtues of words and names, there is also a greater virtue found in sentences, from the truth contained in…”
Shared concept: Word Power Incantation — 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. (derived)
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