Whatever it may be that affects the diviner is probably the same thing that affects the occult attack.
When we recall, moreover, that running water will throw hounds off the scent just as effectually as it will the alleged witch, we may feel that we cannot be accused of gross superstition if we give the old folk-tradition a trial and note the results.
Water, again, is the vehicle of purification.
It is used in the rite of baptism by the Church and in the Preparation of the Place by the occultist about to perform a ceremony.
Strictly speaking, there should be a trace of salt in the water thus employed, and both salt and water are blessed with powerful invocations when the priest is preparing holy water, whether for a baptism, or for placing in the holy water stoup for the use of the congregation.
As far as the occultist is concerned, salt to him is the emblem of the element of earth.
It is also a crystalline substance, and crystalline substances, in their different forms, receive and hold etheric magnetism better than anything else.
Water, on the other hand, is the emblem of the psychic sphere.
These two realms, between them, contain by far the greatest part of occult evil.
It is rare indeed that spiritual wickedness in high places will reach up as far as the airy realms of mind or the fiery realms of spirit.
If we want to get into touch with, or operate upon a particular sphere, we use as base a substance appropriate thereto.
Consequently, a solution of salt and water makes a better base than either salt or water could do separately because it enables us to cover the whole of the sphere of probable operations in a single act.
It may be interesting to note concerning the magical properties of crystalline substances, that crystals are used in wireless apparatus to pick up the subtle vibrations of the ether.
Once again we are close upon the trail of our electro-bacteriological analogy.
It is an excellent plan, when trying to break an undesirable psychic contact, to immerse oneself in a bath of water that has been especially consecrated for the purpose; re-dressing in new or at least clean clothing afterwards, and if it be by any means possible, moving into a different room.
If this cannot be done, move the bed into a different position, taking care to turn it at a different angle; that is to say, if you have been in the habit of sleeping lying north and south, place your bed so that you will now be lying east and west.
The following prayers may be used for the blessing of the salt and water.
“(Pointing the first and second fingers at the salt.) I exorcise thee, creature of earth, by the living God (+), by the holy God (+), by the omnipotent God (+), that thou mayest be purified of all evil influences in the Name of Adonai, Who is Lord of Angels and of men.
“(Extending hand over salt.) Creature of earth, adore thy Creator.
In the Name of God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of Jesus Christ His Son, our Saviour, I consecrate thee (+) to the service of God, in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen.” “(Pointing first and second fingers at the water.) I exorcise thee, creature of water, by the living God (+), by the Holy God (+) by the omnipotent God (+), that thou mayest be purified from all evil influences in the Name of Elohim Sabbaoth, Who is Lord of Angels and of men.
“(Extending hand over water.) Creature of water, adore thy Creator.
The universal fluid or medium of occult philosophy — Lévi's Great Magical Agent — that transmits will, thought, and magical influence between minds and matter, and preserves the impress of all forms and actions as a book of consciences; cognate with akasha and the anima mundi. Distinct from cosmic_sympathy (a doctrine of hidden affinity) in being a substantival medium that can be charged, directed, and abused.
The passage discusses etheric magnetism and subtle vibrations picked up by crystals, aligning with the concept of a universal medium transmitting influence.
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 text explicitly links salt to earth and water to the psychic sphere, using substances appropriate to specific realms of operation.
A ritual intended to drive out an unwanted possessing or afflicting spirit from a person or place, restoring it to its unafflicted state. Distinct from spirit_conjuration (the operator summons and binds a spirit that was not already present, rather than expelling one) and from possession (the affliction this ritual answers, not the ritual itself).
The passage provides specific prayers for exorcising salt and water to purify them from evil influences for defensive use.
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 entire passage is dedicated to methods of defence against occult attack and breaking undesirable psychic contact.
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 use of consecrated material substances (salt and water) with invocations to engage divine power for a specific purpose fits the definition of theurgical practice.
The doctrine that the one Godhead or first principle subsists as three co-equal aspects or persons rather than a bare unity — the Christian Father/Son/Holy Ghost invoked in the recurring liturgical formula 'In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,' but structurally the same pattern as the Egyptian Amen/Ptah/Osiris, the Hindu Brahma/Vishnu/Siva, and the Kabbalistic Chochmah/Binah/Kether triads that esoteric writers explicitly map onto it as instances of one universal law. Distinct from unity_of_being (the general claim that all existence is one substance, agnostic about internal plurality) and divine_simplicity (God as having no parts or divisions at all) in asserting a definite three-aspected differentiation within a single divine essence.
The prayers explicitly invoke the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as a triune formula for consecration.
The Hermetic doctrine that nothing rests — matter, energy, mind, and spirit are a single continuum differing only in rate of vibration, from the grossest matter to the least material spirit. Distinct from cosmic_sympathy (affinity resonating BETWEEN separate things) in being a claim about what constitutes any one thing in the first place, and from magical_equilibrium (Lévi's operational balancing technique, which presupposes some vibration doctrine rather than stating this general principle).
The text references crystals picking up subtle vibrations of the ether and an electro-bacteriological analogy regarding occult evil.
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 efficacy of spoken prayers and invocations to purify substances and break psychic contact.