The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 145 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite
Page 70 (part 1)
CONJURATION OF THE KING OF THE EAST I conjure and invoke thee, O powerful King of the East, MAGOA , by my holy labour, by all the names of Divinity, by the same of the All-Powerful: I command thee to obey, and to come to me, or that failing, forthwith and immediately to send unto me MASSAYEL, ARIEL, SATIEL, ARDUEL, ACORIB , to respond concerning all that I would know and to fulfill all that I shall command.
Else thou shalt come verily in thine own Person, to satisfy my will; which refusing, I shall compel thee by all the virtue and power of God .
The Grand Pentacle or Circle of Solomon will answer for the above and following Conjurations, which can be said on all days and at all hours.
If it be desired to speak only with one spirit, one only need be named, at the choice of the reader.
CONJURATION OF THE KING OF THE SOUTH O EGYM , great King of the South, I conjure and invoke thee by the most high and holy Names of God, do thou here manifest, clothed with all thy Power; come before this circle, or at least send me forthwith Fadal, Nastrache , to make answer unto me, and to execute all my wishes.
If thou failest, I shall force thee by God Himself .
CONJURATION OF THE KING OF THE WEST O BAYMON , most potent King, who reignest in the Western quarter, I call and I invoke thee in the name of the Deity!
I command thee by virtue of the Most High, to send me immediately before this circle the Spirit Passiel Rosus , with all other Spirits who are subject unto thee, that the same may answer in everything, even as I shall require them.
If thou failest, I will torment thee with the sword of fire divine; I will multiply thy sufferings and will burn thee .
CONJURATION OF THE KING OF THE NORTH O thou, AMAYMON , King and Emperor of the Northern Parts, I call, invoke, exorcise and conjure thee, by the virtue and power of the Creator, and by the virtue of virtues, to send me presently, and without delay, Madael, Laaval, Bamlahe, Belem and Ramath , with all other Spirits of thine obedience, in comely and human form I In whatsoever Place thou now art, come hither and render that honour which thou owest to the true living God, Who is thy Creator.
In the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, come therefore, and be obedient, in front of this circle, without Peril to my body or soul.
Appear in comely human form, with no terror encompassing thee, I conjure thee, make haste, come straightway, and at once.
By all the Divine names-- SECHIEL, BARACHIEL --if thou dost not obey promptly, BALANDIER, suspensus, iracundus, Origratiumgu, Partus, Olemdemis, and Bautratis , N.
I exorcise thee, do invoke and do impose most high commandment upon thee, by the omnipotence of the living God, and of the true God; by the virtue of the holy God, and by the power of Him Who spake and all things were made, even by His holy commandment the heaven and earth were made, with all that is in them!
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 invocation of Kings of the East, South, West, and North reflects a cosmological mapping of directions to specific spiritual rulers.
The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.
God is addressed as an active, responsive authority ('true living God', 'Him Who spake and all things were made') whose power is invoked to compel spirits.
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 dominance through will ('I command thee', 'satisfy my will', 'fulfill all that I shall command'), treating volition as the engine of the operation.
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 consists of formal conjurations commanding specific spirits and kings to appear and obey within a magical circle.
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 passage relies on the causal efficacy of spoken commands ('I conjure', 'I command', 'I exorcise') to compel spiritual obedience.