The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) · 165 of 175 · tr. Arthur Edward Waite
Page 78 (part 1)
§ 7.
Concerning the Mirror of Solomon, suitable for all Kinds of Divination The following process is found in the Grimorium Verum and in some other compilations.
It is a mode of divination akin to that given in the preceding section.
It does not connect with Black Magic except by the use of blood and is really an auto-hypnotic experiment fortified by conventional ceremonies.
To Compose the Mirror of Solomon In the Name o the Lord, Amen.
Ye shall behold in this mirror all things whatsoever that ye may desire.
In the Name of the Lord Who is blessed, in the Name of the Lord, Amen .
In the first place, ye shall do no fleshly actions, nor sin in thought or deed, during the period hereinafter prescribed.
In the second place, ye shall perform many good works of piety and mercy.
In the third place, take a shining and well-polished plate of fine steel, slightly concave, and with the blood of a white pigeon inscribe thereon--to wit, at the four corners--the names JEHOVA, ELOYM, METATRON, ADONAY.
Place the said steel in a clean and white cloth.
Now, when ye shall behold the new moon during the first hour after sunset, draw nigh unto a window, look up to Heaven with devotion, and say: O Eternal!
O King Eternal!
God ineffable!
Thou Who hast created all things for love of men, and by a secret judgment for the health of man, do Thou deign to look upon me, N., Thy most unworthy servant, and upon this my intention.
Vouchsafe to send unto me Thine Angel ANAËL , even upon this mirror, who doth order, command and ordain his companions and Thy subjects, whom Thou hast made, O Thou Almighty Click to view [paragraph continues] Lord, Who hast been, Who art, Who shall remain eternally, that in Thy Name they may judge and act justly, instructing me in all that I shall require of them .
Lastly, cast upon burning coals a suitable perfume, and while casting it say: In this, by this, and with this, which I pour out before Thy face, O God, my God, Who art blessed , Three and One, and in the most sublime exaltation, Who sittest above the Cherubim and above the Seraphim, Who wilt judge the world by fire, hear Thou me!
Repeat this three times, and having done so, breathe also thrice upon the mirror, and say: Come, ANAËL , come, and may it be thy good pleasure to be with me by thy will, in the Name ✠ of the Father most mighty, in the Name ✠ of the Son most wise, in the Name of the Holy Spirit most living!
Come, ANAËL , in the Name of the terrible Jehovah!
Come, ANAËL , by the virtue of the immortal Elohim!
Come, ANAËL , by the right arm of the almighty METATRON !
Do thou come unto me, N.
(here repeat your name over the mirror), and so command thy subjects that in love, joy and peace, they may make manifest unto my eyes the things which are hidden from me.
So be it.
Amen .
Having said and done as above, lift your eyes to heaven and say: O Lord Almighty, Who dost cause all things to move according to Thy good pleasure, hear Thou my prayer, and may my desire be agreeable unto Thee!
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 prayers acknowledge God as the creator who orders all things and judges the world, implying a providential order.
The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.
The text explicitly mandates abstaining from fleshly actions and sin, performing good works, and using clean materials (white cloth, shining steel) as prerequisites for the ritual.
Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.
The ritual relies heavily on inscribing and invoking specific divine names (JEHOVA, ELOYM, METATRON, ADONAY) and the angelic name ANAËL to effect 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 passage details a ceremonial process to summon and command an angel (ANAËL) and his subjects to reveal hidden things through a mirror.
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 ritual engages divine powers through consecrated material symbols (steel, blood, perfume) and actions to achieve a spiritual end.
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 depends on speaking specific formulas and names ('In this, by this, and with this...') to compel action.