The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 136 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite
Page 65 (part 4)
We know, O Lord, that a contrite and humble heart Thou wilt not despise, nor can any writing be an impediment in the way of Thy mercy; we beseech Thee, therefore, that, by the abundance of Thy clemency, not only may the heinousness of this sin be blotted out with the Blood of Thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ, but that the demon, by the word of Thy Power, may be compelled to restore the deed and obligation and delivery, lest he glory in his tyranny and Pretend to any right over the man whom we pray to be delivered through Thy Son from his bonds.
Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, &c .
The propitiation of offended Deity is followed by a citation of the demon who is required to disgorge his prey.
EXORCISM I exorcise thee, O impious Satan, who, when thy power has passed away, dost still pretend to impose a tyrant yoke on man.
I exorcise thee by Jesus Christ, Who came into this world for the salvation of sinners; I conjure thee to remove thy yoke immediately from this creature, who, deceived by thy wiles, formerly delivered himself unto thee.
Abandoning thee henceforth, he commits himself to the Divine mercy, seeking His service unto Whom he alone is owing, Who also promises the reward of eternal life to those who follow Him.
I exorcise thee by the precious Blood of Jesus Christ, by which the deed of judgment against us hath been blotted out, so that when Jesus receiveth the sinner into His favour, thou shalt dare not to advance anything against him, and shalt not fail to restore the deed by which this creature bound himself unto thee, the same being now cancelled by the Blood of Jesus Christ .
Hear, therefore, accursed Satan, who art powerless over a servant of God, when, encouraged by his true Lord, he turneth unto another service; in vain dost thou boast of this deed; I command thee to restore it in the name of the Lord, as a Proof before the whole world that when God receiveth a sinner, thou hast no longer any Yule over his soul.
I abjure thee, by Him who expelled thee from thy stronghold, bereft thee of the arms which thou didst trust in and distributed thy spoils.
Return therefore this deed, whereby this creature of God foolishly bound himself to thy service; return it, I say, in His name by Whom thou art overcome; when thy Power has come to nothing, presume not longer to retain this useless document.
By penitence already hath this creature of God restored himself to his true Lord, spurning thy yoke, hoping in the Divine mercy for defence against thine assaults, and assisted by the Most Holy and Glorious Virgin Mary, Mother of God, through whose intercession he shall obtain from Jesus Christ, His Son, that which he himself is not worthy to expect.
Through the same Christ our Lord .
Whether this process was supposed to insure the visible and material return of the incriminating document, or, failing this, was held to cancel it formally, does not certainly appear and will matter little; for what with the subtleties of the sorcerer and the assistance of the Church in the revocation of such acts and deeds, there was little chance for Infernus, and the reluctance of Lucifuge Rofocale to enter into the tricky contract is, on the whole, exceedingly intelligible.
Penitential sorrow for sin as the first movement of the soul's healing — Julian's first of three medicines ('by contrition we are made clean'), the Christian compunction tradition, Sufi tawba, Greek metanoia, Hebrew teshuvah; the wound of sorrow that turns bitterness into hope of mercy. Distinct from self_examination (the diagnostic practice), rejection_of_hypocrisy (critique of others' form), and dark_night (imposed aridity): contrition is the soul's own penitent turning.
The passage opens with an explicit appeal to the Lord's acceptance of a 'contrite and humble heart' as the basis for mercy.
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.
The text assumes God actively orders affairs through 'Divine mercy' and 'Thy Power' to protect the servant.
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.
References are made to 'deed of judgment' being blotted out and the promise of 'eternal life'.
Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness.
Satan's power is described as having 'passed away' and being 'powerless', suggesting evil lacks true ontological standing against God.
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 exercises volition to command the spirit ('I command thee', 'compelled to restore') backed by divine authority.
Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty).
The 'contrite and humble heart' reflects a spiritual poverty or emptiness of self-will required for mercy.
The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive.
The text implies the sinner was previously separated from God by being 'deceived by thy wiles' and bound to the demon.
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 operator explicitly commands and binds a spirit ('I exorcise thee', 'I conjure thee to remove thy yoke') using consecrated authority.
Iamblichean ritual practice that engages the gods directly through consecrated material symbols and actions, on the premise that divine power descends into properly prepared matter — distinct from philosophical contemplation alone.
The text describes a ceremonial ritual engaging divine power through consecrated actions and words to alter spiritual reality.
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 efficacy of the ritual relies on the causal force of spoken words and names ('by the word of Thy Power', 'I command thee').