The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) · 254 of 530
Ceremonial Magic and Sorceryi
The aforesaid Bond of spirits, together with the seal and character of the planetary angel, must be written m virgin Parchment and laid before the Spirit [for signature] when he appears; at that time the invocant must not lost confidence but be patient, firm, bold, and Persevering, and take care that he asks nor requires nothing of the Spirit but with a view to the glory of God and the well-being fellow creatures.
Having obtained his desires of the Spirit, the invocant may license him to depart." *** The black magician cannot use the symbols of white magic without bringing down upon himself the forces of white magic, which would be fatal to his schemes.
He must therefore distort the hierograms so that they typify the occult fact that he himself is distorting the principles for which the symbols stand.
Black magic is not a fundamental art; it is the misuse of an art.
Therefore it has no symbols of its own.
It merely takes the emblematic figures of white magic, and by inverting and reversing them signifies that it is left-handed.
THE PENTACLES OF THE SEVEN PLANETS AND THE SEALS AND CHARACTERS OF THE PLANETARY ANGELS.
From a mediæval Book of Spirits (unpublished).
The seven large circle are the planets, while the two small circles under each contain the seal and the character of the controlling intelligence of the planet.
*** A good instance of this practice is found in the pentagram, or five-pointed star, made of five connected lines.
This figure is the time-honored symbol of the magical arts, and signifies the five properties of the Great Magical Agent, the five senses of man, the five elements of nature, the five extremities of the human body.
By means of the pentagram within his own soul, man not only may master and govern all creatures inferior to himself, but may demand consideration at the hands of those superior to himself.
The pentagram is used extensively in black magic, but when so used its form always differs in one of three ways: The star may be broken at one point by not permitting the converging lines to touch; it may be inverted by having one point down and two up; or it may be distorted by having the points of varying lengths.
When used in black magic, the pentagram is called the "sign of the cloven hoof," or the footprint of the Devil.
The star with two points upward is also called the "Goat of Mendes," because the inverted star is the same shape as a goat's head.
When the upright star turns and the upper point falls to the bottom, it signifies the fall of the Morning Star.
Themes
◆Correspondencecosmology
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 links planetary planets with their controlling intelligences and uses the pentagram to represent cosmic properties mirrored in human existence.
Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness.
Black magic is defined as the misuse or distortion of white magic principles rather than a positive force of its own.
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 passage centrally defines magical operation as the invocant's internal state of patience, firmness, boldness, and perseverance that licenses the Spirit to depart.
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 text describes a ritual engagement with planetary angels using consecrated symbols to invoke divine power directly.