The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 101 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite
Page 50 (part 1)
§ 8.
Concerning Aspersion and Cleansing In the preparation of the instruments, as already abundantly evident, and in the more important works which follow it.
the ceremonies of aspersion and fumigation, that is, of purifying and consecrating, are continually enjoined.
Sprinkling is performed with the Aspergillus , which, according to the Grimorium Verum , should be composed of mint, marjory and rosemary, bound about with a thread woven by a virgin girl.
It should be made on the day and in the hour of Mercury, the moon waxing.
The ewer, in the canons of procedure established by True Black Magic , should be a pot of glazed earth, filled with fresh spring water, in which some salt has been cast.
The following Psalms should be recited over it:-- Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me , and Domine, exaudi orationem meam , with the addition of this PRAYER O Thou most powerful Lord, my God, my rest, and my life I Do Thou help me, Most Holy Father!
In Thee I place my hope, Who art the God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, God of the Angels and Archangels, God of the Prophets, and God the Creator of all things.
In all humility, and with the invocation of Thy Holy Name, I pray that Thou will vouchsafe to bless this water, that in whatsoever place it shall be cast it may sanctify our bodies and our souls, through Thee, Most Holy ADONAY , Whose reign is without end.
Amen .
The Aspergillus recommended by this Ritual differs somewhat from the former, being of vervain, periwinkle, sage, mint, valerian, ash and basil, taking care not to use hyssop but rosemary in place thereof.
It should be fitted with a handle of virgin hazel, three palms in length, and bound as before.
The following characters should be engraved on one side of the said handle:-- Click to view This Aspergillus may be used on any occasion with perfect assurance that all phantoms will be expelled from every place which shall be sprinkled thereby with water duly exorcised.
The prayer to be used at sprinkling is thus given by the Grimorium Verum :-- In the Name of God Immortal, may God asperge thee, N., and cleanse thee from all illusion and from all wickedness, and thou shall be whiter than snow .
When asperging add also: In the Name of the Father ✠ and of the Son ✠ and of the Holy Ghost ✠ .
Amen .
Concerning Incense and Fumigation The Grimorium Verum prescribes a cruse or chafing-dish for fumigation, adding, with a decorative redundance corresponding to its impossible spirit, that it should be filled with freshly kindled coal and fresh fire, the whole blazing.
Place aromatics thereon, and perfume what you would, saying: Angels of God, be our help, and by you be our work fulfilled !
ZAZAY, SALMAY, DALMAY, ANGERECTON, LEDRION, AMISOR, EUCHEY, OR!
Great Angels!
And do Thou also, O ADONAY , be present and impart hereto such virtue that this creature may receive a form, whereby our work may be accomplished!
In the Name of the Father ✠ and of the Son ✠ and of the Holy Ghost .
✠ Amen .
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Recite the Seven Psalms which follow Judicium tuum Regi da and Laudate Dominum omnes gentes .
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 make the Aspergillus on the day and hour of Mercury reflects astrological correspondences between celestial bodies and ritual timing.
The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.
The passage is centrally focused on ceremonies of aspersion and fumigation specifically for the purpose of purifying and consecrating instruments and spaces.
Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.
The text explicitly invokes divine names such as ADONAY and the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Ghost) within prayers and incantations to effect sanctification.
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 rituals involve consecrated material symbols (herbs, water, fire) and actions intended to engage divine power for purification and consecration.
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 prescribes specific verbal formulas (Psalms, prayers, barbarous names like ZAZAY) that are believed to carry causal power to cleanse and sanctify.