The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 164 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite
Page 77 (part 2)
The Master of the operation shall thereupon command him to gaze fixedly into the phial, when, approaching his right ear, and in a moderate tone of voice, but as distinctly as possible, let him make the following CONJURATION Uriel, Seraph, Josata, Ablati, Agla, Caila, I pray and conjure thee by the Four Words which God uttered with His mouth unto His servant Moses, Josata, Ablati, Agla, Caila , and by the Nine Heavens wherein thou dwellest, as also by the virginity of this child who is before thee, that thou appearest, and without any delay, visibly in this phial, to discover, without disguising, the truth which I desire to know; which done, I will discharge thee in peace and goodwill, in the Name of the Most Holy Adonay .
After this conjuration the child must be asked whether he beholds anything in the phial; and if he should reply that he beholds an Angel or another apparition, the Master of the operation shall say in an affable tone of voice: Blessed Spirit, be thou welcome!
I conjure thee once more, in the Name of the Most Holy Adonay, to give me prompt enlightenment upon , &c.
[Here name the subject upon which information is desired.] And if for reasons unknown to us, thou art unwilling to proceed in an audible tone of voice , I conjure thee in the Most Holy Name of Adonay to write upon the virgin parchment here present, between now and to-morrow morning, or at least reveal unto me that which I desire this coming might in my sleep .
If the Spirit make answer to what is said, he shall be heard respectfully; should he fail to speak after thrice making the same supplication, let the tapers be extinguished and withdraw from the chamber, closing the door until the morrow, when the operator may return in the morning, and that which was required will be found within, on the virgin parchment, unless indeed it shall have been made known in the night.
In the Verum Jesuitarum Libellus this experiment in the induction of clairvoyance by means of a seering cup and a fantastic ceremonial, having only one monstrous condition, is replaced by a fierce conjuration of many pages, commanding the Spirit Uriel by all the words which have ever proceeded out of the mouth of the Creator of Heaven and Earth against the Evil Angels, and on pain of compulsion and torture, to appear before the operator, an unworthy servant of God, wherever the said Spirit may be, even in the abyss of Hell.
He is directed to appear visibly and modestly in a human form, and to bring whatsoever is desired in all tranquillity and patience, without tumult, without detriment, without blinding, without dumbness, without whispering, without thunder, without hail, without explosion, without puffing up, without trembling.
It is unnecessary to quote the entire citation, as the process is not complete; but it is evident that the Conjuration of Uriel in the forged treatise on the Magic of the Jesuits is intended for the compulsion of a devil and not for the solicitation of favours from the Blessed Spirit of the Grimorium Verum .
The doctrine and worldview that natural phenomena, places, and objects possess inherent spirit, soul, or personality — and that the cosmos is populated by countless local, plural, embodied divine agents: kami in mountain and tree, sidhe in cairn and well, landwights in field and stone, nymphs in spring and grove, haltija in forest and lake, lares and penates in household and threshold, Iamblichean daemons in element and place. Distinct from monotheism (single transcendent God), pantheism (one underlying substance), and emanation_hierarchy (cascading single source); animism's signature is the plurality, locality, and embodied-in-landscape character of the divine.
The text acknowledges spirits (Angels, apparitions) as distinct entities that can inhabit or interact with physical objects like the phial.
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 Master commands the spirit to appear and answer, asserting human volition over spiritual entities through ritual authority.
The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.
The text specifies requirements such as 'virginity of this child' and 'virgin parchment', indicating a need for ritual purity or uncorrupted materials.
Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.
The text relies heavily on the invocation of divine names (Adonay, Uriel, Agla, etc.) and the 'Four Words' of God as the primary mechanism for compelling the spirit.
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 details a specific ritual procedure for commanding a spirit (Uriel) to appear and answer questions using consecrated names and instruments.
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 passage describes ritual actions (gazing, speaking, extinguishing tapers) intended to engage with divine or angelic powers through material means.
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 operation depends on the spoken 'conjuration' and specific formulas uttered in a moderate tone to alter reality (summoning the spirit).