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The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 81 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite

Page 39

§ 2. Concerning. Fortitude The spiritual intention of the operator being thus determined, his next step was the acquisition of the mental attitude appropriate to his future work. We may picture him in the traditional state of the sorcerer--poor, proscribed, envious, ambitious, and having no capacity for legitimate enterprises, Unable to earn money, he hankers after hidden treasures, and haunts those spots up and down the country-side which are reputed to conceal them. He has done this presumably for a long time before determining to betake himself to Magic, but the earth will not yield up her hoards, for the gnomes and the Earth-Spirits, the Alastors and the Demons of the Solitudes, stand guard over the secrets of dead misers when the human ghost has ceased to walk in the neighbourhood. He does not long hesitate when he learns that the Grimoires of Black Magic are full of darksome rites and fell, mysterious words which compel or expel those guardians. The Church and State may threaten him with a fire for his flesh and a fire for his soul, but by watchfulness and secrecy he hopes to elude the one, and the other is a distant danger. Obviously, however, in order to reach his determination, he must arm himself with intrepidity and prudence, and this is the first counsel of his guides to the Sanctum Regnum of Goëtia. "O men! O impotent mortals!" cries the author of the Grand Grimoire , "tremble at your own temerity when you blindly aspire to the possession of a science so profound. Lift up your minds beyond your limited sphere, and learn of me that before you undertake anything it is necessary that you should become firm and immovable, besides being scrupulously attentive in the exact observation, step by step, of all things whatsoever that I shall tell you, without which precautions every operation will turn to your disadvantage, confusion and total destruction; while, on the contrary, by following my injunctions with precision, you will rise from your meanness and poverty, achieving a complete success in all your enterprises. Arm yourselves, therefore, with intrepidity, prudence, wisdom and virtue, as qualifications for this grand and illimitable work, in which I have passed sixty-and-seven years, toiling night and day for the attainment of success in so sublime an object." One would think that there were shorter roads to wealth and the satisfaction of the other common appetites.
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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 passage explicitly describes earth spirits, gnomes, Alastors, and Demons of the Solitudes guarding treasures, reflecting a worldview where natural places and objects possess inherent spirit or personality.

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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 text references 'Grimoires of Black Magic' and 'darksome rites' that are transgressive, threatening fire from Church and State, aligning with the acquisition of knowledge against prohibition.

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Magical Willpraxis

The doctrine that human volition, cultivated by discipline and emancipated from passion and servitude, is the primary instrument of magical operation — will confirmed by persistent acts acquires causal power over self, others, and nature; distinct from faith and from mere desire.

The text emphasizes the 'spiritual intention of the operator' and the need to arm oneself with 'intrepidity' and 'firmness' to achieve success in magical enterprises.

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Ritual Puritypraxis

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

The Grand Grimoire quote advises being 'scrupulously attentive in the exact observation' of steps to avoid destruction, implying a strict adherence to ritual correctness akin to purity.

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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 details the use of 'fell, mysterious words which compel or expel those guardians' and references the 'Sanctum Regnum of Goëtia,' central to the practice of commanding spirits.

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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 mentions 'fell, mysterious words which compel or expel those guardians,' indicating the belief in the causal-magical force of spoken formulas.

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Related passages · 6 parallels
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Shared concept: Animism — 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. (derived)
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Shared concept: Animism — 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. (derived)
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Shared concept: Forbidden Knowledge — 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. (derived)
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Shared concept: Forbidden Knowledge — 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. (derived)
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