The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 93 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite
Page 46 (part 1)
§ 4.
Concerning the Pen and Ink of the Art Preliminary magical ceremonial seems to have as its chief object the personal consecration of every article, great or small, indispensable or occasional, which is connected with the several processes.
The pen and ink with which characters and names are written must both be specially prepared.
Take a new quill, says the Grimorium Verum ; asperge and fumigate it after the manner of the other instruments; when you hold it in your hand to shape it, say the following words:--ABABALOY, SAMOY, ESCAVOR, ADONAY: I have expelled all illusion from this pen, that it may retain efficaciously within it the virtue necessary for all things which are used in this Art, as well for operations as for characters and conjurations.
Amen .
In like manner, a horn or ink-well must be bought on the day and in the hour of Mercury, and in the same hour the following names of God must be written about it:--JOD, HE, VAU, HE, METATRON, JOD, CADOS, ELOYM, SABAOTH.
It must then be filled with fresh ink which has been exorcised as follows -- EXORCISM OF THE INK I exorcise thee, creature of Ink, by ANSTON, CERRETON, STIMULATOR, ADONAY , and by the name of Him Whose one Word created all and can achieve all, that so thou shall assist me in my work, that my work may be accomplished by my will, and fulfilled with the permission of God, Who ruleth in all things and through all things, everywhere and for ever.
Amen .
BENEDICTION OF THE INK Lord God Almighty, Who rulest all and reignest through all eternity, Who dost fulfill great wonders in Thy creatures, grant unto us the grace of Thy Holy Spirit by means of this pen.
Bless it ✠ , sanctify it ✠ and confer upon it a peculiar virtue, so that whatsoever is said, whatsoever we desire to do and to write herewith, may succeed through Thee, Most Holy Prince ADONAY .
Amen .
Then asperge, fumigate and exorcise.
The Book of True Black Magic , on the other hand, directs the operator to pluck the third feather from the right wing of a male goose and to say when extracting it: ABRACHAY, ARATON, SAMATOY, SCAVER, ADONAY!
Expel all evil from this feather, so that it may possess full power to write whatsoever I will .
Then shape it with the Knife of the Art, namely, that having a white handle; incense also and asperge it.
Lastly, take a new earthen cornicle or inkhorn, made on the day and in the hour of Venus, and write about it these names with the exorcised lancet of the Art: JOD, HE, VAU, HE, MITATRON, JAE, JAE, JAE, CADOS, ELOYN, ZEVAO.
Then dip the pen therein, pronouncing the following words:-- I exorcise thee, creature of the feather kind, by ETERETON, by STIMULATON and by the name ADONAY.
Do thou aid me in all my works .
The instruction continues---As it is sometimes necessary to write with coloured inks, have several horns containing white inks, in which infuse thy colours for the pentacles and characters.
The colours must be diluted with the blessed water which we term exorcised, and with gum arabic.
Lastly, perfume them.
Let this be done with all devotion, humility and faith, wanting which nothing can be accomplished, says the Grimoire.
The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.
The instruction to buy inkwells on the day and hour of Mercury or Venus implies an astrological correspondence between celestial timing and material properties.
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.
The benediction acknowledges God's rule over all things and seeks permission for the work to be fulfilled through Him.
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 exorcisms explicitly state that work must be accomplished by the operator's will ('that my work may be accomplished by my will').
The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.
The text requires specific preparations like asperging, fumigating, and using fresh/exorcised materials to maintain a state of cleanliness for the art.
Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.
The passage extensively lists and utilizes specific divine names (e.g., ADONAY, JOD, HE, VAU, METATRON) as essential components for consecrating magical tools.
Iamblichean ritual practice that engages the gods directly through consecrated material symbols and actions, on the premise that divine power descends into properly prepared matter — distinct from philosophical contemplation alone.
The text describes ritual practices involving consecrated material symbols (pen, ink) and actions to engage divine power for magical operations.
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 emphasizes the causal-magical force of spoken words and formulas (exorcisms, benedictions) to alter the nature of the ink and pen.