The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 127 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite
Page 64 (part 1)
CHAPTER VI The Mysteries of Infernal Evocation according to the Grand Grimoire § 1.
The Rite of Lucifuge THE Grand Grimoire divides with the Grimoire of Honorius the darksome honour of an intelligible and unmutilated Ritual of Black Magic.
Each after its own kind is indeed an exceedingly curious work.
In the first is contained what is probably the only printed method of making pacts; the second is remarkable, firstly, on account of its pretended origin and the elaboration with which it is set forth, secondly, for the ecclesiastical complexion of its process, which can scarcely have failed to impose upon some credulous and priestly sorcerers of the illiterate kind, and assuming their willingness to disgrace the vows of ordination.
Both require, in a study of the present kind, to be printed almost in extenso, and, setting aside their preliminary portions, already adequately dealt with, they are given practically verbatim in the chapters which here follow.
It will be remembered that the operator, or Karcist, as he is termed in the Grand Grimoire , is recommended continence, fasting and similar privations for an entire quarter of the moon, such quarter coinciding with that of the luminary.
On the morning which succeeds the first night of the quarter, he must repair to a druggist's, and purchase a blood-stone, called Ematille [paragraph continues] ( id est, Hæmatites ), which must be carried continually about him for fear of accident, and in expectation that the spirit whom it is proposed to compel and bind will henceforth do all in his power to overwhelm the operator with terror, so as to incite him to abandon the enterprise, hoping in this manner to escape from the wiles which are beginning, to be woven about him.
The next operation is the purchase of a virgin kid, which must be decapitated on the third day of the moon.
Previously to the sacrifice, a garland of vervain must be wound about the neck of the animal, immediately below the head, and secured by means of a green ribbon.
The sacrifice must be offered on the scene of the coming evocation, a forlorn and isolated spot free from all interruption.
There, with the right arm bared to the shoulder, having armed himself with a blade of fine steel, and having kindled a fire of white wood, the Karcist shall recite the following words in a hopeful and animated manner:-- INITIAL OFFERING I immolate this victim to Thee., O grand ADONAY, ELOIM, ARIEL and JEHOVAM , to the honour, glory and Power of Thy Name, which is superior to all Spirits.
O grand ADONAY I Vouchsafe to receive it as an acceptable offering.
Amen .
Here he must cut the throat of the kid, skin it, set the body on the fire and reduce it to ashes, which must be collected and cast towards the rising of the sun, at the same time repeating the following words:-- It is to the honour, glory and dominion of Thy Name, O grand ADONAY, ELOIM.
ARIEL, JEHOVAM , that I spill the blood of this victim!
Vouchsafe, O Thou grand ADONAY , to receive its ashes as an acceptable sacrifice .
While the victim is being consumed by the flames, the operator shall rejoice in the honour and glory of the grand ADONAY, ELOIM, ARIEL and JEHOVAM, taking care to preserve the skin of the virgin kid to form the round or grand Kabalistic circle, in which he must himself stand on the day of the supreme enterprise.
The sacrifice of the victim is followed by the selection and composition of the Blasting Rod, of which a description has been given.
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 use of specific materials (blood-stone, vervain, white wood) and timing implies a system of sympathetic correspondence between the ritual elements and the desired spiritual outcome.
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 describes a 'Ritual of Black Magic' and 'Infernal Evocation,' framing the knowledge as transgressive and associated with disgracing vows of ordination.
Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.
The ritual timing is tied to specific lunar phases (quarter of the moon, third day of the moon), indicating a reliance on numerical or astrological timing.
The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.
Preparations include continence, fasting, and the use of specific purified items like a virgin kid and vervain garland to ensure the ritual's efficacy.
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 passage details a ritual of infernal evocation designed to compel and bind a spirit (Lucifuge) through specific magical operations.
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 emphasizes reciting specific words in a hopeful manner to immolate the victim and command the spirit, attributing power to the spoken formula.