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The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 121 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite

Page 62 (part 4)

Be disobedient, refuse to come, and by the power of the Supreme Being, the everlasting Lord, that God Who created thee and me, the whole world, with all contained therein, in the space of six days; by EYE , by SARAY , by the virtue of the Name PRIMEMATUM , which commands the whole host of Heaven; be disobedient, and behold I will curse and deceive thee of thine office, thy joy and thy place; I will bind thee in the depths of the bottomless pit, there to remain until the Day of the Last judgment. I will chain thee in the Lake of Eternal Fire, in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, unless thou come quickly, appearing before this circle, to do my will Come, therefore, in the Holy Names ADONAI, ZEBAOTH, AMIORAM ; come, ADONAI commands thee . Should he still fail to appear, you may be sure that he has been sent by his King to some other place. Invoke, therefore, the King to despatch his servant as follows:-- INVOCATION OF THE KING O thou great and powerful King AMAYMON , Who rulest by the power of the Supreme God, EL , over all Spirits, superior and inferior, but especially over the Infernal Order in the Dominion of the East, I invoke and command thee by the particular and true Name of God, by the God Whom thou dost worship, by the Seal of thy creation, O the most mighty and powerful Name of God, JEHOVAH, TETRAGRAMMATON , Who cast thee out of Heaven with the rest of the Infernal Spirits; by all the other potent and great Names of God, Creator of Heaven, Earth and Hell, of all contained therein; by their powers and virtues; by the Name PRIMEMATUM , which commands the whole host of Heaven. Do thou force and compel the Spirit N. here before this circle, in a fair and comely shape, without injury to myself or to any creature, that he may give me true and faithful answer, so that I may accomplish my desired end, whatsoever it be, provided that it is proper to his office, by the power of God, EL , Who hath created and doth dispose of all things, celestial, aërial, terrestrial and infernal . Having twice or thrice invoked the King in this manner, again conjure the spirit, using the previous forms, and rehearsing them several times, whereupon he will come assuredly. Yet should he fail, be convinced that he is bound with chains in hell, and is not in the custody of his King. To set him free it is necessary to recite THE CHAIN CURSE O thou wicked and disobedient N., because thou hast not obeyed or regarded the words which I have rehearsed, the glorious and incomprehensible Names of the true God, Maker of all things in the world, now I, by the power of these Names, which no creature can resist, do curse thee into the depths of the Bottomless Pit, to remain until the Day of Doom, in the Hell of unquenchable fire and brimstone, unless thou shalt forthwith appear in this triangle, before this circle, to do my will. Come, therefore, quickly and peaceably, by the Names ADONAI, ZEBAOTH, ADONAI, AMIORAM . Come, come, ADONAI , King, of commands thee .
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Themes
Anthropomorphismtheology

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

God and spirits are described with human-like agency and emotions (commanding, disobeying, cursing, appearing in 'fair and comely shape').

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Divine Providencetheology

Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.

There is an underlying assumption that God disposes of all things celestial and infernal ('Who hath created and doth dispose of all things').

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Eschatological Judgmentsoteriology

Final, collective cosmic judgment as an event in which the wicked are sentenced and the cosmos restored; distinct from psychopomp_journey (individual passage at death) and emphasising verdict where Zoroastrian frashokereti emphasises restoration.

The passage references the 'Day of the Last judgment' and 'Day of Doom' as temporal endpoints for punishment in the Bottomless Pit.

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Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

God is addressed as an active agent who created the world and commands spirits ('ADONAI commands thee', 'Supreme Being... that God Who created thee').

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Magical Willpraxis

The doctrine that human volition, cultivated by discipline and emancipated from passion and servitude, is the primary instrument of magical operation — will confirmed by persistent acts acquires causal power over self, others, and nature; distinct from faith and from mere desire.

The operator asserts their will over the spirits through command and curse ('I will bind thee', 'Do thou force and compel'), assuming human volition can direct spiritual forces.

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Sacred Namestheology

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

The passage relies heavily on the invocation and power of specific divine names (ADONAI, JEHOVAH, TETRAGRAMMATON, PRIMEMATUM) to compel spirits.

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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 entire text is a ritual instruction for commanding and binding spirits (specifically 'Spirit N.' and King Amaymon) to appear before a circle.

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Word Power Incantationpraxis

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 text explicitly states that rehearsing words and names carries the power to curse, bind, and compel spirits ('by the power of these Names... do curse thee').

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