Ceremonial Magic and Sorceryh

But should the operation be performed in a retired part of a house, cc cetera, the circle may remain, as it might serve in alike future operation, but the room or building must be locked up to avoid the intrusion of strangers." The agreement set forth above is purely ceremonial magic. In the case of black magic, it is the magician and not the demon who must sign the pact. When the black magician binds an elemental to his service, a battle of wits ensues, which the demon eventually wins. With his own blood the magician signs the pact between himself and the demon, for in the arcanum of magic it is declared that "he controls the soul who controls the blood of another." As long as the magician does not fail, the elemental will fulfil to the letter his obligation under the pact, but the demon will try in every possible way to prevent the magician from carrying out his part of the contract. When the conjurer, ensconced within his circle, has evoked the spirit he desires to control and has made known his intention, the spirit will answer somewhat as follows: "I cannot accede to your request nor fulfil it, unless after fifty years you give yourself to me, body and soul, to do with as I may please." THE PENTAGRAM. From Levi's Transcendental Magic. THE PENTAGRAM. The pentagram is the figure of the microcosm--the magical formula of man. It is the one rising out of the four--the human soul rising from the bondage of the animal nature. It is the true light--the "Star of the morning." It marks the location of five mysterious centers of force, the awakening of which is the supreme secret of white magic. *** If the magician refuses, other terms will be discussed. The spirit may say: "I will remain in your service as long as on every Friday morning you will go forth upon the public street giving alms in the name of Lucifer. The first time you fail in this you belong to me." If the magician still refuses, realizing that the demon will make it impossible for him to fulfil his contract, other terms will be discussed, until at last a pact is agreed upon. It may read as follows: "I hereby promise the Great Spirit Lucifuge, Prince of Demons, that each year I will bring unto him a human soul to do with as it may please him, and in return Lucifuge promises to bestow upon me the treasures of the earth and fulfil my every desire for the length of my natural life. If I fail to bring him each year the offering specified above, then my own soul shall be forfeit to him. Signed . . . . . . . . . . . . . " [Invocant signs pact with his own blood.] THE PENTAGRAM In symbolism, an inverted figure always signifies a perverted power. The average person does not even suspect the occult properties of emblematic pentacles. On this subject the great Paracelsus has written: "No doubt many will scoff at the seals, their characters and their uses, which are described in these books, because it seems incredible to them that metals and characters which are dead should have any power and effect. Yet no one has ever proved that the metals and also the characters as we know them are dead, for the salts, sulphur, and quintessences of metals are the highest preservatives of human life and are far superior to all other simples." (Translated from the original German.) FORM OF PACT WITH THE SPIRIT OF JUPITER. From The Complete Book of Magic Science.