The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 99 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite
Page 49 (part 3)
Amen .
When shaping this knife recite the Psalm Deus, judicium tuum Regi da .
Then write these words upon the Rod: AGLA, ADONAY, ELOE, may the work of this wooden Knife be accomplished by you!
Say also over it: CARA, CHERNA, SITO, CIRNA.
Next, skin the animal with the same wooden knife, saying: ADIRAM, DAHNAY, SADAY, TETRAGRAMMATON, ANERETON, ANERETON, CURETON, Holy Angels of God, be ye present and give virtue to this parchment.
May it be consecrated by you, and thus may all things which shall be written therein acquire the virtue needful for the attainment of the desired end .
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When you have skinned it, take salt and say over it: God of gods, vouchsafe to bless and sanctify this salt, so that it may cleanse the parchment which I am about to prepare therewith, and that both may obtain virtue, power and effect .
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Salt the skin and set it in the sun for fifteen days; next take a pot of glazed clay and write these characters about it; place a large Click to view piece of quicklime with some blessed water in this vessel, and when the lime is slaked, steep the skin for the space of nine whole days therein, after which it must be extracted and scraped with a wooden knife to remove the hair.
Let it dry for eight days in the shade, but when setting it to dry, asperge it and say: In the Name of the Great Eternal God, I asperge thee.
Be thou cleansed from all vice and iniquity !
[When dry] perfume it with sweet-smelling herbs; wrap it in the silken cloth with the other instruments of the Art; and take notice that if it be seen by a woman in her times, it will lose all its virtue.
But if this kind of parchment be too difficult to prepare, take virgin parchment of any animal; exorcise it as before; place lighted coal in a new glazed pot; mix good perfumes therewith; and hold your parchment above the vessel to receive them.
Before all, however, write these characters about the pot Click to view with the instruments of the Art.
So long as the fumigation goes on, say: Angels of God, be my help, and by you be my work accomplished !
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When it is finished, say: LAZAY, SALMAY, DALMAY, ANEPATON, CENDRION, ANITOR, ENCHEION, Holy Angels of God, be ye present and give virtue to this parchment, so that it may in turn acquire that of all characters with which it shall be inscribed, by the help of the pious and merciful God .
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Recite the Psalms Deus, judicium tuum Regi da and Laudate Dominum omnes gentes , adding the following CONJURATION I conjure thee, creature of parchment, by all the names of God, that nothing which shall be written within thee may ever be blotted from truth .
Lastly, asperge it and place it in the silken cloth, as above.
The Grimorium Verum indulges the weak pupil by a further simplification, as follows:--If you are unable to prepare the parchment yourself, buy a new one and conjure it; asperge also and fumigate it three times.
The sacrifice, with its delays and unpleasantness, is thus abrogated, and the operator can proceed at once to the practical mystery of the Sanctum Regnum .
The transformation of base substance — outer matter or the inner soul — into a purified, perfected, or 'gold' state; the magnum opus as both laboratory practice and spiritual allegory.
The process involves transforming raw skin into magical parchment using chemical agents like lime and salt.
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 ritual involves consecrating material objects (parchment, knife) to engage divine power and receive virtue through prescribed actions.
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 efficacy of the ritual depends entirely on spoken words, psalms, and conjurations ('Say also over it', 'I conjure thee') to alter reality.