The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 118 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite
Page 62 (part 1)
§ 2.
Concerning the Rite of Conjuration, from the Lemegeton In communicating with the seventy-two spirits, the age of the Moon should be observed, for it is affirmed on the authority of Solomon that all days are profitable save the second, fourth, sixth, ninth, tenth, twelfth or fourteenth of that luminary.
The seals must be made of metals; those of the chief kings should be of gold; marquises, of silver; dukes, of copper; prelates, of tin or silver; knights, of lead; presidents, of fixed quicksilver; and earls, of silver and copper in equal parts.
The entire cohort is governed by AMAYMON, King of the Click to view THE DOUBLE SEAL OF SOLOMON East; CORSON, King of the West; ZIMINAR, King of the North; and GAAP, King of the South.
These may be bound from 9 A.M.
till noon, but, except on occasions of great importance, should not be invoked themselves, as they act commonly by their inferiors.
Marquises may be bound from 3 to 9 P.M.
and from sunset to sunrise; dukes from sunrise till noon, in clear weather; prelates in any hour of the day; knights only from dawn till sunrise, or from 4 P.M.
till sunset; presidents in any daylight hour up to the evening twilight; counts and earls in any hour of the day, but it must be in the woods and forests, or in a place that is free from noise and far from the resort of Click to view THE PENTAGRAM OF SOLOMON men.
The ceremonial circle must be drawn towards that side to which the spirit who is to be called is attributed.
The triangle into which Solomon summoned the rebellious demons must be made two feet outside this circle and three feet over it.
The double seal and pentagram of Solomon must be drawn on a parchment of calf-skin, or otherwise on gold or silver, Click to view THE MAGICAL CIRCLE and should be worn upon the white vestment of the operator, together with the seal of the spirit, which must be exhibited on his appearance--to compel obedience and assumption of the human form.
In addition to these characters, the secret seal of Solomon must be drawn with the blood of a black cock that has never engendered, on virgin parchment, the operator himself being clean within and without, having abstained from sexual intercourse for the space of one month and having Click to view MAGICAL SWORDS AND WAND obtained pardon for his sins by means of fasting and prayer.
It is to be composed on a Tuesday or Saturday at midnight, with the Moon increasing in Virgo, and with burning of perfumes of aloes, resin, cedar and alum.
The other directions correspond broadly to those prescribed in the second chapter.
There is the rod or sceptre; the sword; the mitre or cap; a long robe of white linen; a girdle of lion's skin, three inches wide and inscribed with the names which appear in the outer circle of practice; material for the fumigations; oil to anoint the temples and eyes; and clean water for the ablution.
The Prayer at Lustration is simply the versicle of David:-- Thou shall purge me with hyssop, O Lord, and I shall be cleansed; Thou shall wash me and I shall be made whiter than snow .
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 text establishes correspondences between spirit ranks and metals (gold for kings, silver for marquises) and directions (East, West, North, South).
The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.
The text explicitly requires the operator to be 'clean within and without,' abstain from sexual intercourse for a month, and obtain pardon through fasting and prayer.
Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.
The passage relies heavily on specific names of spirits (Amaymon, Corson, etc.) and the 'names which appear in the outer circle' inscribed on the girdle.
Form-mutability as a constitutional property of divine and preternatural beings — gods, heroes, spirits, and their human practitioners possessing inherent capacity to alter form across human, animal, plant, or elemental states. Loki and Odin's transformations in Norse, Math's pigs and Blodeuwedd's owl-shape and Pwyll's exchange with Arawn in the Mabinogion, the Greek Proteus, the Indian dasavatara, Vainamoinen's bird-flight in the Kalevala, Ovid's metamorphoses, the shamanic and witch's capacity for ritual form-change. Distinct from anthropomorphism (divine taking specific human form, single embodiment) in that anthropomorphism establishes a stable form whereas this concept establishes form's plurality and instability.
The rite aims to compel the spirit to assume 'the human form,' implying a transformation of the spirit's appearance.
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 is entirely dedicated to the technical instructions for conjuring spirits from the Lemegeton, including seals, circles, timing, and binding.
The rule of the stars and planetary powers over mortal destiny — the astrological governors whose spheres bind souls to birth, error, and death; in Sethian gnosis the 'error of the stars' that the savior exposes, and from which the incorruptible generation alone is free. Distinct from cosmic_sympathy (a doctrine of universal affinity) in being a bondage-to-powers claim, and from archons (the rulers as personal beings) in concerning the astral machinery itself.
The rite depends on astrological timing, specifically the age of the Moon and its position in Virgo, implying celestial influence over magical efficacy.