The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 154 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite
Page 73 (part 2)
But if the experience be to find the beloved person, place the image under the door which he or she must pass.
In either case a powder must be made and cast upon the person, or given them with their meat or drink.
The solemnities of the hours, matters and instruments must be faithfully observed, and the Spirits conjured by name, saying also: I conjure and constrain you, ye Devils, who have the power to disturb the hearts of men and women!
By Him Who hath created you from nothing and by this image, I conjure you this night into my presence, that I may have the power to compel whomsoever I will to love me, whether male or female .
When the characters and images have been prepared, say over them: I conjure you, O ANAËL, DONQUEL, THELIEL , Princes of love, and all your ministers, who have power to fill with fervour the hearts of men and women, and to kindle the fire of love!
I conjure.
you by Him Who is seated upon the Cherubim and guardeth the abysses, by Him Who maketh the world to tremble, Whom all creatures obey!
Grant that these characters and figures may possess this virtue, that such man or woman may love.
me, may desire me and thirst for my love, and that it shall be impossible for him or her to love any person save me .
Place the image in a vessel for one night, operate on the day and in the hour appropriate thereto, and you shall behold a wonder.
The compiler of the Grimorium Verum , who seems to have selected almost invariably the most bizarre processes, instructs his pupils HOW TO CAUSE THE APPEARANCE OF THREE LADIES OR THREE GENTLEMEN IN ONE'S ROOM AFTER SUPPER § 1.
Preparation Abstain for three days from the hidden offices, and then shall your spirit be fortified.
On the fourth day, you shall cleanse and prepare your chamber as soon as it is morning, immediately after dressing, the whole fasting.
But see you do it in such a way that it will not be liable to disarrangement during the remainder of the day.
Note that there must be no hangings, nor anything set crosswise, no tapestries, no hanging clothes, hats, bird-cages, bed curtains, &c.
Above all, let the appointments be clean in every respect.
§ 2.
Ceremony After supper pass in secret to your chamber, made ready as above; kindle a good fire; place a white cloth on the table, round which set three chairs, and before each chair, upon the table, let there be a wheaten roll and a glass full of fresh clear water.
Lastly, draw up a chair and settee to the side of the bed and retire to rest, uttering the following CONJURATION Besticitum consolatio, veni ad me vertat Creon, Creon, Creon, cantor laudem omnipotentis et non commentur.
Stat superior carta bient laudem omviestra principiem da montem et inimicos meos ô prostantis vobis et mihi dantes que passium fieri sincisibus .
The three persons, having arrived, will rest themselves near the fire, drinking, eating and finally thanking him or her who has entertained them; for if it be a young lady who performs this ceremony, three gentlemen will come; but if it be a man, three young ladies will appear.
The said three persons will draw lots among each other to know which of them shall remain with you.
Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.
The spirits are described with human-like capacities (eating, drinking, drawing lots) and the divine is referred to with human attributes ('seated upon the Cherubim').
Ascetic disciplines that prepare the body and mind for spiritual receptivity or purification.
The text prescribes abstaining from food ('whole fasting') and sexual activity for three days as a prerequisite for spiritual fortification before the ceremony.
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 seeks to 'compel whomsoever I will to love me' and constrain spirits, demonstrating the doctrine that human volition can command supernatural forces.
The doctrine and practice of one person deliberately inflicting harm on another through trained will, mind-power, or occult technique alone, without physical contact — producing exhaustion, illness, breakdown, or death in the victim; recognised cross-culturally as witchcraft, hexing, or the evil eye, and treated in Western esotericism as a genuine occult hazard requiring diagnosis and defence rather than dismissed as superstition. Distinct from magical_will (the general doctrine that trained volition has causal power, of which this is one malevolent application) and from spirit_conjuration (which subordinates an already-existing summoned spirit, rather than directing the operator's own power at a person).
The love magic described involves compelling another person's will ('impossible for him or her to love any person save me'), which aligns with the concept of inflicting harm or control through occult technique.
The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.
Detailed instructions are given for physical and moral preparation, including fasting, abstaining from 'hidden offices', and ensuring the chamber is clean and free of specific objects.
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 centrally focused on the ceremonial commanding and binding of spirits (Devils, Princes of love) through specific names and rituals to compel their presence and obedience.
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 emphasizes the causal force of spoken conjurations and formulas ('I conjure and constrain you', 'Besticitum consolatio...') to alter reality and summon entities.