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Transcendental Magic II: The Ritual (Éliphas Lévi) · 43 of 123 · tr. A.E. Waite

7. The Septenary Of Talismans-h

The Seal of Hermes must be engraved on the pedestal, over which must be the two-headed androgyne of Khunrath. A serpent devouring its own tail must encircle the lower part. The Sign of Solomon must be inscribed on the reservoir. Two globes must be fitted to this lamp, one adorned with a transparency, representing the seven genii, while the other, of larger size and duplicated, should contain variously tinted waters in four compartments. The whole instrument should be placed in a wooden pillar, revolving on its own axis, and permitting a ray of light to escape, as required, and fall on the altar smoke at the moment of the invocations. This lamp is a great aid to the intuitive working of slow imaginations and for the immediate creation in the presence of magnetized persons of forms alarming in their actuality, which, being multiplied by the mirrors, will magnify suddenly, and transform the operator's cabinet into a vast hall filled with visible souls. The intoxication of the perfumes and the exaltation of the invocations will change this fantasia into a real dream; persons known formerly will be recognized; phantoms will speak; and something extraordinary and unexpected will follow the closing of the light within the pillar and the increase of the fumigations.
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Themes
Active Contemplationpraxis

A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness.

The ritual aids 'intuitive working' and creates forms in the imagination using mirrors and light to visualize spirits.

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Theurgypraxis

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 passage details a specific ritual apparatus and procedure designed to engage spiritual forces through material symbols, which is the core definition of theurgy.

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Word Power Incantationpraxis

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 'exaltation of the invocations' is described as having causal power to transform the environment and summon speaking phantoms.

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Related passages · 6 parallels
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Shared concept: Theurgy — 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. (derived)
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Shared concept: Active Contemplation — A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness. (derived)
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Shared concept: Word Power Incantation — 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. (derived)
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