The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 104 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite
Page 52 (part 1)
CHAPTER III Concerning the Descending Hierarchy § 1.
The Names and Offices of Evil Spirits IN all matters of ceremonial the inspiration of the Grimoires must be sought in the Key of Solomon proper, but for the names and offices of the demons it must be sought in the Lesser Key .
The hierarchy, according to the Lemegeton , with its accompanying evoking processes, will be given in the fourth chapter, as there is no special reason for separating it from the practical context.
I shall therefore deal in this place with the simpler though later summaries, which will prevent these curious issues from being confused.
The Book of True Black Magic , like its prototype the original Clavicle , gives no account of the nature of the Spirits with which it professes to deal, and, as already seen, it breaks off abruptly at the point where the conjuring formulae should follow to complete the work.
This Secret of Secrets , as the Grimoires term the methods for raising and discharging spirits, being omitted, it may now be dismissed from consideration till we come to the minor processes of Ceremonial Magic, chiefly venereal and fantastic, which are grouped in the eighth chapter.
The Grimoire of Honorius mentions by name four kings, referred to the cardinal points, and seven lesser spirits to be invoked on the days of the week, but as will appear later on, there is no explicit notice of the Descending Hierarchy.
These deficiencies are supplied by the Grimorium Verum and the Grand Grimoire .
Click to view THE SEAL AND CHARACTERS OF LUCIFER Click to view THE SEAL AND CHARACTERS OF BEELZEBUTH Click to view THE SEAL AND CHARACTER OF ASTAROTH As regards spirits, says the former, some are superior and others inferior.
The three superior are Lucifer, Beelzebuth and Astaroth.
According to the latter, Lucifer is Emperor; Beelzebuth, Prince; and Astaroth, Grand Duke.
They must be invoked by means of the characters which they themselves have made known, and these characters must be written with the blood of the operator, or with that of a sea-tortoise.
Failing this, they may be engraved on an emerald or ruby, for both these stones have great sympathy with spirits, especially with those of the solar race, who are wiser, better and more friendly than the rest.
The character must be worn upon the person; in the case of a male, it should be placed in the right pocket, but a female must carry it between the breasts, towards the left side, like a reliquary.
It should be graven or written on the day and in the hour of Mars for both sexes, and apparently in the case of each of the three spirits.
The lord commands the servants, so the Grimoire proceeds, and these three spirits can do all things.
But the operator is advised that he shall obey those who obey him, because the exalted and powerful spirits serve only their confidants and intimate friends.
He is further grimly warned to keep upon his guard lest any spirit should seize him unawares.
Each of the rulers has two chief officers, who announce to the subjects all things which their lord hath commanded throughout the world, and ordain all that is to be done.
The inferiors of Lucifer are Put Satanachia and Agaliarept ; they inhabit Europe and Asia.
Those of Beelzebuth are Tarchimache and Fleurety ; they dwell in Africa.
Those of Astaroth are Sargatanas and Nebiros , whose asylum is America, so that this kind of Magic is presumably post-Columbian.
The Grand Grimoire does not distribute the six subordinate spirits among three rulers, but enumerates them somewhat differently, together with their dignities, as follows: -- LUCIFUGE ROFOCALE.--Prime Minister.
The doctrine and worldview that natural phenomena, places, and objects possess inherent spirit, soul, or personality — and that the cosmos is populated by countless local, plural, embodied divine agents: kami in mountain and tree, sidhe in cairn and well, landwights in field and stone, nymphs in spring and grove, haltija in forest and lake, lares and penates in household and threshold, Iamblichean daemons in element and place. Distinct from monotheism (single transcendent God), pantheism (one underlying substance), and emanation_hierarchy (cascading single source); animism's signature is the plurality, locality, and embodied-in-landscape character of the divine.
The text describes a cosmos populated by various spirits (kings, lesser spirits) associated with specific regions and days, reflecting a worldview where spiritual agents inhabit the world.
The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination.
The text notes that certain stones (emerald, ruby) have 'great sympathy with spirits,' reflecting a belief in hidden affinities between material objects and spiritual entities.
Transgressive knowing acquired against divine prohibition — the Watchers' teaching of metallurgy, sorcery, and cosmetics in 1 Enoch, the Gnostic Eve narratives, the Promethean mytheme; explicitly contrasted with gnosis_direct_knowledge, which is salvific.
The passage discusses 'Black Magic,' 'Secret of Secrets,' and methods for raising spirits often considered transgressive or occult within traditional religious frameworks.
Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.
The passage refers to 'Secret of Secrets' and grimoires that contain methods omitted from other works, suggesting esoteric knowledge reserved for initiates.
The grimoire-tradition practice of ceremonially commanding or binding a spirit through consecrated seals, circles, divine names, and prescribed instruments, compelling its appearance and obedience. Distinct from theurgy in the direction of the power relationship — theurgy is reverent engagement with the gods on the premise of the operator's own ascent, this is subordination of a lesser spirit to the operator's will — and from word_power_incantation and sacred_names, which name components (verbal force, name-power) this practice deploys rather than the ritual structure itself.
The passage details the methods for invoking and commanding spirits (Lucifer, Beelzebuth, Astaroth) using seals, characters, blood, and specific ritual instructions found in grimoires.
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 mentions conjuring formulae and the power of characters written or engraved to invoke spirits, implying verbal/symbolic efficacy.