7. The Septenary Of Talismansg

The wand and the other instruments, but the wand above all, must be concealed with care, and under no pretext should the Magus permit them to be seen or touched by the profane: otherwise they will lose all their virtue. The mode of transmitting the wand is one of the arcana of science, the revelation of which is never permitted. The length of the magical wand must not exceed that of the operator's arm; the magician must never use it unless he is alone, and even then should not touch it without necessity. Many ancient Magi made it the length of the forearm and concealed it beneath their long mantles, showing only the simple divining rod in public, or some allegorical sceptre made of ivory or ebony, according to the nature of the operations. Cardinal Richelieu, always athirst for power, sought through his whole life the transmission of the wand, without being able to find it. His Kabalist Gaffarel could furnish him with sword and talismans alone. This was possibly the secret motive for the cardinal's hatred of Urban Grandier, who knew something of his weaknesses. The secret and prolonged conversations of Laubardement with the unhappy priest some hours before his final torture, and those words of a friend and confidant of the latter, as he went forth to death -“You are an able man, monsieur: do not destroy yourself” - afford us considerable food for thought. The magical wand is the verendum of the Magus; it must not even be mentioned in any clear and precise manner; no one should boast of its possession, nor should its consecration ever be transmitted except under conditions of absolute discretion and confidence. The sword is less occult and is made in the following manner: It must be of pure steel, with a cruciform copper hilt having three pommels, as represented in the Enchiridion of Leo III, or with the guard of a double crescent, as in our own figure. On the middle knot of the guard, which should be covered with a golden plate, the Sign of the Macrocosm must be inscribed on one side and that of the Microcosm on the other. The Hebrew monogram of Michael, as found in Agrippa, must be engraved on the pommel; on one side of the blade must be these characters: , and on the other the monogram of the Labarum of Constantine, followed by the words: Vince in hoc, Deo duce, comite jerro. For the authenticity and exactitude of these figures, see the best ancient editions of the Enchiridion. The consecration of the sword must take place on a Sunday, during the hours of the Sun, under the invocation of Michael. The blade of the sword must be placed in a fire of laurel and cypress; it must be dried and polished with ashes of the sacred fire, moistened with the blood of a mole or serpent, the following words being said: Be thou unto me as the sword of Michael; by virtue of Eloim Sabaoth, may spirits of darkness and reptiles of earth flee away from thee! It is then fumigated with the perfumes of the Sun and wrapped up in silk, together with branches of vervain, which should be burned on the seventh day. The magical lamp must be composed of the four metals - gold, silver, brass and iron; the pedestal should be of iron, the mirror of brass, the reservoir of silver, the triangle at the apex of gold. It should be provided with two branches composed of a triple tube of three intertwisted metals, in such a manner that each arm has a triple conduit for the oil; there must be nine wicks in all, three at the top and three in each branch.