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The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 96 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite

Page 48

§ 6. Concerning the Silken Cloth When all the instruments belonging to the Art have been properly consecrated and exorcised, they must be gathered into a costly cloth of silk, as Solomon ordains-says the testament whereby they may be preserved clean and pure and may thus be more efficacious. So it be not black or brown, the colour is indifferent, but the following characters must be written upon it in pigeon's blood with the male goose-quill proper to the Art. Click to view Add these names: ADONAY, AMMASTIUS, ANARETON, COSBOS, ELOYM. Then fumigate and asperge, reciting subsequently the Psalms Domine, Dominus noster, Deus Judicium tuum Regi da and Ecce nunc dimittis . Place, lastly, all the magical instruments in this silken cloth. "So shalt thou use them at will and shalt learn their effect," says the Magus, Iroë-Grego. But the pledge has a savour of the salt which is called prudence.
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Themes
Prayerpraxis

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

The recitation of specific Psalms (Domine, Dominus noster, etc.) constitutes a form of liturgical prayer within the ritual.

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Ritual Puritypraxis

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

The text emphasizes keeping instruments 'clean and pure' through consecration, exorcism, fumigation, and asperging.

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Sacred Namestheology

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

The passage explicitly lists specific divine or magical names (ADONAY, AMMASTIUS, etc.) to be written on the cloth for efficacy.

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Theurgypraxis

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 passage describes a ritual practice using consecrated material symbols (cloth, blood, quill) and actions to engage divine power for magical efficacy.

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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 writing of names and recitation of Psalms are presented as necessary actions to ensure the instruments are 'more efficacious' and can be used 'at will'.

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Related passages · 7 parallels
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XXI
“I think, therefore, that all who are lovers of the contemplation of theurgic truth will acknowledge this, that the piety which pertains to divine natures ought not to be exercised towards them partially or imperfectly. Hence, since prior to…”
Shared concept: Theurgy — 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. (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 XXXI-a
“Again, therefore, still worse than this is the explanation of sacred operations, which assigns as the cause of divination, “ a certain genus of dæmons, which is naturally fraudulent, omniform, and various, and which assumes the appearance o…”
Shared concept: Theurgy — 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. (derived)
hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 13: The Discourse of Hermes to Tat|Section 1a
“The Secret Sermon on the Mountain <This dialogue is in many ways the culmination of the whole Corpus, summing up the theory of the Hermetic system at the same time as it provides an intriguing glimpse at the practice. The focus of the dial…”
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 1)
“p. 9 NOTES ON THE GOLDEN VERSES OF PYTHAGORAS FROM THE COMMENTARIES OF HIEROCLES. The Golden Verses may be divided into two parts, the first treating of the Practical or Human Virtues, whose aim is the making of Good Men; and the second,…”
Shared concept: Prayer — Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward. (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)
greek_mystery|The Golden Verses of Pythagoras|Section 12 (part 2)
“At the same time, however, we perfectly fall short of the gods, and neither possess the same power with them, nor equal virtue, This Symbol, therefore, in a particular manner introduces the knowledge of the gods, as beings who are able to e…”
Shared concept: Ritual Purity — The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine. (derived)