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The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 108 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite

Page 54

CHAPTER IV The Mysteries of Goëtic Theurgy according to the Lesser Key of Solomon the King §1 Concerning the Spirits of the Brazen Vessel, otherwise called the False Monarchy of Demons THE Goëtic Art of Solomon gives instructions for the evocation of the seventy-two spirits whom the King of Israel, according to a well-known legend, shut up in a brass vessel and cast into a deep lake. When the vessel was discovered by the Babylonians, it was supposed to contain a great treasure and was accordingly broken open. The spirits who were thus set at liberty, together with their legions, returned to their former places, Belial excepted, who entered into a certain image, and gave oracles to the people of the country in return for sacrifices and divine honours, by which there is corrupt Kabalistic authority for concluding that demons were assuaged and sustained. Their names and offices are as follows:--
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Themes
Forbidden Knowledgesoteriology

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 text refers to the 'False Monarchy of Demons' and 'corrupt Kabalistic authority', framing this knowledge as transgressive or tainted.

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Hidden Sayingssoteriology

Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.

The use of the term 'Mysteries' implies esoteric teachings reserved for initiates.

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Numerical Mysticismtheology

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

The specific number 'seventy-two spirits' is highlighted as a key structural element of the Goëtic Art.

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Oral Traditionsoteriology

Sacred knowledge transmitted as living speech rather than fixed writing — scripture carried in memory, song, and telling, renewed in each generation; the unwritten canon of a tradition.

The passage references a 'well-known legend' regarding Solomon and the spirits, indicating transmission through story.

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Rejection Of Sacrificepraxis

The polemic against animal and blood sacrifice as ignorant or demonic worship — the prophetic and gnostic critique that the cult the sacrificers serve is actually the archons' (in the Gospel of Judas, the disciples' offerings are revealed as service to Saklas, and the priests at the altar are the twelve themselves); distinct from ritual_purity (a state of preparation) and theurgy (consecrated engagement with the divine) in being a wholesale repudiation of sacrificial practice.

The author labels the authority concluding that demons were sustained by sacrifices as 'corrupt', critiquing the practice.

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Sacred Namestheology

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

The passage concludes by introducing 'Their names and offices', indicating that the names of these spirits are central to the magical practice described.

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Spirit Conjurationpraxis

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 explicitly details the 'evocation of the seventy-two spirits' and their binding in a vessel, which is the core practice of spirit conjuration.

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Related passages · 6 parallels
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)
gnosticism|Gospel of Judas|The Betrayal
“Jesus said, "Truly I say [to you], this baptism 56 [which they've received in] my name […] will destroy the whole generation of the earthly Adam. Tomorrow they'll torture the one who bears me. Truly I [say] to you, no hand of a mortal human…”
Shared concept: Rejection Of Sacrifice — The polemic against animal and blood sacrifice as ignorant or demonic worship — the prophetic and gnostic critique that the cult the sacrificers serve is actually the archons' (in the Gospel of Judas, the disciples' offerings are revealed as service to Saklas, and the priests at the altar are the twelve themselves); distinct from ritual_purity (a state of preparation) and theurgy (consecrated engagement with the divine) in being a wholesale repudiation of sacrificial practice. (derived)
gnosticism|Gospel of Judas|The Disciples' Vision
“Another day Jesus came up to them. They said to him, "Master, we've seen you in a dream, because we had great [dreams last] night." But Jesus said, "Why […] hidden yourselves?" 38 And they [said, "We saw] a great [house, with a great] altar…”
Shared concept: Rejection Of Sacrifice — The polemic against animal and blood sacrifice as ignorant or demonic worship — the prophetic and gnostic critique that the cult the sacrificers serve is actually the archons' (in the Gospel of Judas, the disciples' offerings are revealed as service to Saklas, and the priests at the altar are the twelve themselves); distinct from ritual_purity (a state of preparation) and theurgy (consecrated engagement with the divine) in being a wholesale repudiation of sacrificial practice. (derived)
native_american|The Soul of the Indian|Chapter V-a
“THE UNWRITTEN SCRIPTURES A Living Book. The Sioux Story of Creation. The First Battle. Another Version of the Flood. Our Animal Ancestry. A missionary once undertook to instruct a group of Indians in the truths of his holy religion. H…”
Shared concept: Oral Tradition — Sacred knowledge transmitted as living speech rather than fixed writing — scripture carried in memory, song, and telling, renewed in each generation; the unwritten canon of a tradition. (derived)
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter VIII-au
“The Pythagoreans, likewise, adorned numbers and figures with the appellations of the Gods. For they called the equilateral triangle, Minerva Coryphagenes, or begotten from the summit, and Tritogeneia because it is divided by three perpendi…”
Shared concept: Numerical Mysticism — Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality. (derived)
jewish_mysticism|The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation)|Chapter LXV
“LXV. Enoch foretells to Noah the Deluge and his own Preservation . CHAPTER LXV. 1. And in those days Noah saw the earth that it had sunk down and its destruction was nigh. 2. And he arose from thence and went to the ends of the earth, and c…”
Shared concept: Forbidden Knowledge — 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. (derived)