← Home
The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 83 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite

Page 40 (part 2)

O God all-merciful, Who wiliest not the death of a sinner, but rather his true conversion, bestow Thy grace on us! O Lord, O God, full of compassion, aid us in this work which we are about to perform, that Thy Name may be blessed for ever! Amen . The concluding days of the fast should be additionally strict, the meals being limited to bread and water, with abstinence from all sin and repetition of the above prayer.
§ Ask Guru about this passage →
Themes
Contritionsoteriology

Penitential sorrow for sin as the first movement of the soul's healing — Julian's first of three medicines ('by contrition we are made clean'), the Christian compunction tradition, Sufi tawba, Greek metanoia, Hebrew teshuvah; the wound of sorrow that turns bitterness into hope of mercy. Distinct from self_examination (the diagnostic practice), rejection_of_hypocrisy (critique of others' form), and dark_night (imposed aridity): contrition is the soul's own penitent turning.

The reference to God willing 'true conversion' rather than the death of a sinner implies an underlying context of repentance and turning away from sin.

All passages →
Fasting And Prayerpraxis

Ascetic disciplines that prepare the body and mind for spiritual receptivity or purification.

The text explicitly prescribes strict fasting ('meals being limited to bread and water') combined with the repetition of prayer as a preparatory discipline.

All passages →
Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

The prayer addresses God as a personal entity capable of mercy, compassion, and granting aid ('Who wiliest not the death', 'aid us in this work').

All passages →
Prayerpraxis

Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.

The passage consists almost entirely of direct petitionary prayers addressed to God ('O God all-merciful', 'O Lord, O God') and instructions for their repetition.

All passages →
Ritual Puritypraxis

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

The instruction to maintain 'abstinence from all sin' alongside fasting indicates a requirement for moral and spiritual cleanliness before performing the work.

All passages →
Sacred Namestheology

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

The prayer mentions that 'Thy Name may be blessed for ever', implying the significance of the Divine Name in the context of the work.

All passages →
Related passages · 6 parallels
christian_mysticism|Revelations of Divine Love|Chapter XXXIX
“"Sin is the sharpest scourge.... By contrition we are made clean, by compassion we are made ready, and by true longing towards God we are made worthy" Sin is the sharpest scourge that any chosen soul may be smitten with: which scourge thoro…”
Shared concept: Contrition — Penitential sorrow for sin as the first movement of the soul's healing — Julian's first of three medicines ('by contrition we are made clean'), the Christian compunction tradition, Sufi tawba, Greek metanoia, Hebrew teshuvah; the wound of sorrow that turns bitterness into hope of mercy. (derived)
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…”
Shared concept: Sacred Names — Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice. (derived)
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XIX
“But neither does the cause [of the energies] of more excellent natures subsist as a certain middle instrument, nor does he who invokes operate through him who prophesies; for to assert these things is impious. And it is much more true to sa…”
Shared concept: Living God — The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality. (derived)
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter VIII-bb
“65, when he says, “The cathartic prayer is that which is offered for the purpose of averting diseases originating from pestilence, and other contagious distempers, such as we have written in our temples .” Καθαρτικαι δε (ευχαἰ, επι αποτροπα…”
Shared concept: Prayer — Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward. (derived)
greek_mystery|The Golden Verses of Pythagoras|Section 5 (part 3)
“"Thou shalt not hope what thou ought'st not to hope," knowing the nature of all things, and what is possible. 55. The Gods near at hand are virtue and truth. p. 17 59, 60. The fatal strife is caused by our inclination "madly to run cou…”
Shared concept: Fasting And Prayer — Ascetic disciplines that prepare the body and mind for spiritual receptivity or purification. (derived)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 67
“Section 6 6. For, as the ancient teaching was, moral-discipline and courage and every virtue, not even excepting Wisdom itself, all is purification. Hence the Mysteries with good reason adumbrate the immersion of the unpurified in filth, ev…”
Shared concept: Ritual Purity — The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine. (derived)