Chicago Library Seeks Magical Transcriptionists

According to an article from Smithsonian posted on Monday, a library in Chicago is seeking help transcribing three magical manuscripts. The first one in particular, the 17th century Book of Magical Charms, sounds the most interesting. It is described as including not only spells and rituals but various prayers and devotional liturgies associated with them. Depending on the quality of the work, that could be a real treasure trove of magical lore.

The Newberry Library in Chicago is home to some 80,000 documents pertaining to religion during the early modern period, a time of sweeping social, political, and cultural change spanning the late Middle Ages to the start of the Industrial Revolution. Among the library’s collection of rare Bibles and Christian devotional texts are a series of manuscripts that would have scandalized the religious establishment. These texts deal with magic—from casting charms to conjuring spirits—and the Newberry is asking for help translating and transcribing them.

As Tatiana Walk-Morris reports for Atlas Obscura, digital scans of three magical manuscripts are accessible through Transcribing Faith, an online portal that functions much like Wikipedia. Anyone with a working knowledge of Latin or English is invited to peruse the documents and contribute translations, transcriptions, and corrections to other users’ work. “You don't need a Ph.D to transcribe,” Christopher Fletcher, coordinator of the project and a fellow of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, tells Smithsonian.com. “[The initiative] is a great way to allow the general public to engage with these materials in a way that they probably wouldn't have otherwise.”

The three manuscripts now available online reflect the varied and complex ways that magic fit into the broader religious landscape of a shifting and modernizing West. The 17th-century Book of Magical Charms contains instructions on a range of magical practices—“from speaking with spirits to cheating at dice,” according to the Transcribing Faith website—but also includes Latin prayers and litanies that align with mainstream religious practices. An untitled document known as the “commonplace book” explores strange and fantastical occurrences, along with religious and moral questions. Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits by Increase Mather, a Puritan minister and president of Harvard who presided over the Salem Witch Trials, expresses a righteous condemnation of witchcraft.

For those of you wondering why I don't do it myself, I know magick but I can't do transcription. That requires things like the motor skills to type quickly while looking at something other than my keyboard - which I just don't have, despite typing on these computer things since the age of 8. So that 10,000 hours thing? It totally doesn't work unless you have talent to begin with.

Anyway, for those of you interested in checking out the manuscripts and possibly lending a hand, they can be found here at the Transcribing Faith online portal. It sounds like they might very well contain some good material that an enterprising magician could put to some use.

Honey Jar

I have always found it pretty amazing how people claim to not believe in magick, but then freak out when they run into anything that looks like it. Many years ago now, our house in St. Paul was broken into. The thieves clearly started going through stuff on the first floor, but took one look at my temple and promptly left. I don't know if they ran out screaming or anything like that, but it's fun to imagine that they did.

At any rate, here's a story of some folks who were out digging in their back yard and came across a mysterious buried item. It was a sealed coffee jar filled with some sort of sweet-smelling goo and an old picture of their landlord. It had clearly been in the ground for a long time. They immediately decided that the jar must be some sort of witchcraft curse.

Someone had clearly placed the jar in the garden deliberately. And they wanted to make sure whatever was inside would stay there undisturbed. And naturally, curiosity got the better of him. Really, though, you can’t blame him. Of course, there is something to be said about not opening up mysterious containers. This one was full of a strange, gooey substance that he describes as smelling “sickly sweet” and looking like “runny marmalade.” And that’s not even the weird part.

Also inside the jar, in the goo, was a photo. It was a couple, and on closer inspection, ValjeanLucPicard realized that he knew the people in the photo. The woman was his landlord, but it looked like this photo was taken well over a decade ago. At this point, ValjeanLucPicard’s wife went to get the landlord. “She knew right away it was some brujeria.” Brujeria is Spanish for “witchcraft.” Also in the jar was some kind of fabric shred, which they think came from a dress. There was also a slip of paper that had writing on it that was now illegible. They think it was probably a curse.

So what do you do when you find a jar full of witchcraft in your backyard? You strike back with some of your own! The landlord, who thinks this “project” was the work of the woman who lived in the building some 15 years ago, insisted the whole thing be burned immediately to “lift the curse.” After the fire burned out, the landlord tossed some holy water over the ashes and into the hole where the jar was dug up. And that’s how what started out as simply beautifying the garden turned into cleansing it of bad juju.

One of the big problems with having so few occultists in the world is that most people don't know one to ask when they run into something like this. The jar wasn't a curse. It was a "honey jar" spell, and there was nothing at all dangerous about it. Also, just as a point, the minute the photo came out of the jar the spell would have broken. That's the whole point of sealing it up - if the items get separated, the spell quits working.

Not the Bees!

Now this sounds like a fun spell that I totally have to learn. According to Kenyan news outlet Tuko, a man hired a witchdoctor to summon a swarm of bees to hunt down a stolen motorcycle. This reminds me of the "mystical snakes and bees" unleashed against Boko Haram back in 2014, so it sounds to me like there are a number of folks in Kenya and Nigeria who know how to cast it.

Residents of Mbooni, Makueni County were left in shock after a man sent a swarm of bees to recover his stolen motorbike.

The unidentified man is said to have been robbed of his motorbike and went to consult a witchdoctor in order to recover his property.

In an incident that has shocked many, the man is said to have sent a large swarm of bees that invaded the local market and landed on the stolen motorbike.

The bees sent the thief running for dear life as they settled on the motorbike.

This spell has all sorts of potential applications. Somebody messes with your family? Bees! Something gets stolen? Bees! Somebody is making your life miserable at work? Bees! It's not just regular vengeance, it's amusing vengeance - though I expect for anybody with an allergy to bee stings, facing it would likely be pretty terrifying. African bees are more aggressive than their European counterparts, and they can sting multiple times without injuring themselves - so that can't be good.

Liber 777 associates bees with Binah, the sephira of Saturn. So that would probably be one approach. Nema also associates bees with the goddess Ma'at, so that might mean the path of Libra is a possibility. Another might be the path of Leo, the "Power of Training Wild Beasts." Clearly, some experimentation is required. But if I can really manage to figure it out, just deploying it once would make all the work totally worth it. You know, as long as I could watch the whole thing unfold. Because awful though it is, summoning a swarm of bees is also pretty darn funny.

VICE on Love Spells

For more background information on Love Spells, click here.

VICE has an article up today about love spells, or as they put it, "lonely dudes using magick to get laid." That's a crude way to put it, but it's often accurate. Among others, the author of the article interviewed the blogosphere's own Frater MC, who is currently working on a book on magical seduction.

I would like to think articles like this mean that magick is getting a higher profile in the media. I also appreciate that it includes an interview with a serious worker of magick, as opposed to some of the "media figures" out there whose main legacy seems to be turning magick into some sort of big joke at the expense of genuine practitioners.

Now, this isn't the type of magic outlined by pick-up artists or pulling a rabbit out of a hat so you can get into the pants of your hot neighbour. This is "magick," real men casting spells thinking that it will, honest-to-god, get them laid.

In case you were wondering, the spelling of magick with the "k" comes from occult OG Aleister Crowley and it's used to differentiate between stage magic and occult magick.

"Seduction is, of course, one of the main reasons people come to Magic, and from the days of the PGM [Greco-Roman Egypt magic] to modernity there have been more techniques developed for that purpose than any other, except maybe for attaining prosperity," magician and author Frater MC told VICE.

"People who come to Magick do so often out of desperation, necessity or great desire. They haven't been able to achieve their goals by any logical means so they become more and more willing to try something outside the box in hopes that it might work."

Frater MC is co-authoring a book focused on magickal seduction right now but says his certainly wouldn't be the first. Books, especially E-books, on the subject are littered all over Amazon and people's personal websites.

Until the recent activation of comment moderation, my own love spell article was a magnet for "testimonials" alleging the power of various spellcasters advertising the service, mostly from Africa. My new planetary work series that I am posting on Mondays will include an updated version of that ritual, at least once I get to Venus.

Frater MC is entirely correct about many people coming to magick out of a sense of desperation, which is really too bad. You should be using magick to set up your life the way you want it before anything ever comes to that, but I will grant based on my own experience that it can be hard to do. It actually takes more effort to keep up my practices when things are going well than it does when I have a problem that needs solving.

The Circle and Sigils

In responding to a question about the spells I have posted here I realized that I omitted a couple of points regarding the performance of those and other similar magical workings. In Liber O vel Manus et Sagittae Aleister Crowley writes the following:

1. The student must FIRST obtain a thorough knowledge of "Book 777", especially of columns i., ii., iii., v., vi., vii., ix., xi., xii., xiv., xv., xvi., xvii., xviii., xix., xxxiv., xxxv., xxxviii., xxxix., xl., xli., xlii., xlv., liv., lv., lix., lx., lxi., lxiii., lxx., lxxv., lxxvii., lxviii., lxxix., lxxx., lxxxi., lxxxiii., xcvii., xcviii., xcix., c., ci., cxvii., cxviii., cxxxvii., cxxxviii., cxxxix., clxxv., clxxvi., clxxvii., clxxxii.

When these are committed to memory, he will begin to understand the nature of these correspondences. ("See" Illustrations "The Temple of Solomon the King" in this number. Cross references are given.)

2. If we take an example, the use of the table will become clear. Let us suppose that you wish to obtain knowledge of some obscure science. In column xlv., line 12, you will find "Knowledge of Sciences."

By now looking up line 12 in the other columns, you will find that the Planet corresponding is Mercury, its number eight, its lineal figures the octagon and octagram. The God who rules that planet Thoth, or in Hebrew symbolism Tetragrammaton Adonai and Elohim Tzabaoth, its Archangel Raphael, its Choir of Angels Beni Elohim, its Intelligence Tiriel, its Spirit Taphtatharath, its colours Orange (for Mercury is the Sphere of the Sephira Hod, 8), Yellow, Purple, Grey, and Indigo rayed with Violet; its Magical Weapon the Wand or Caduceus, its Perfumes Mastic and others, its sacred plants Vervain and others, its jewel the Opal or Agate; its sacred animal the Snake, &c., &c.

3. You would then prepare your Place of Working accordingly. In an orange circle you would draw an eight-pointed star of yellow, at whose points you would place eight lamps. The Sigil of the Spirit (which is to be found in Cornelius Agrippa and other books) you would draw in the four colours with such other devices as your experience may suggest.

That sounds like a lot, but it's actually simpler than it at first appears. The study of Liber 777 is important for two reasons. First of all, when performing a ritual you want the correspondences to immediately leap to mind, which is impossible when simply working off a script. While it is possible to work magick successfully from a text, the better you know the symbols and objects corresponding to your operation the better your magical results will be. Second of all, knowledge of the correspondences will enable you to make your own personal adjustments to the scripts as they are written here. You can add appropriate magical weapons, incenses, essential oils, stones, metals, and so forth based on the correspondences and in many cases this will help to amplify the effect.

I don't work with physical circles very much any more since I have a permanent temple setup with altars at the quarters and so forth, but there was a time when I did. I often get questions about the best way to set one up, especially on a temporary basis. My personal favorite method is crepe paper. You can get rolls of it inexpensively in many different colors and it can be taped to the floor or a rug to in the appropriate shape. Traditionally a magick circle is nine feet in diameter if you have the space. Once you've laid out the circle, you can make the appropriate number of points around it evenly and set down the proper lineal figure. At each of the points of the figure you would then place candles, preferably encased in glass like seven-day candles. You don't want to inadvertently knock one over and set the crepe paper on fire - one downside of using it is that it burns really easily. You can use plain white candles or candles that are an appropriate color to the operation. For my rituals posted here, this would be the color of lineal figure, which should match the color of the hexagrams traced in the Greater Ritual of the Hexagram.

The Sigils from Agrippa can be found here. Scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see the Table, Seal or Character, and the Sigils of the Intelligence and Spirit of each planet. The Table is used to derive the Sigils but it is not generally traced on a talisman or ritual implement. The Seal and Sigils, however, should be. The Seal corresponds to the supernals on the Tree of Life, the Qabalistic worlds of Atziluth and Briah. It should be drawn in the King and Queen Scale colors. The Sigil of the Intelligence corresponds to the Qabalistic world of Yetzirah and should be drawn in the Prince (or Emperor in 777) Scale color. The Sigil of the Spirit corresponds to the Qabalistic world of Assiah and should be drawn in the Princess (or Empress in 777) Scale color. There are a few oddities, such as Sigils for the "Intelligence of Intelligences" for the Moon and Venus and the "Spirit of Spirits" for the Moon. As far as color goes, a spirit is a spirit and an intelligence is an intelligence, whether or not it is plural.

Generally speaking, the symbols should be drawn together on one piece of paper or parchment that will then serve as a talisman linked to the operation. For certain kinds of magical work, such as healing spells, you might want to draw the Sigils on your own body in the appropriate colors if you are healing yourself or on the body of the person you are trying to heal. In such a circumstance it is perfectly fine to use some sort of water-soluable marker for this since the Sigils only need to be present while you are performing the ritual. It you decide to use a paper talisman for such a ritual, though, carry it around with you after the ritual to maintain a contagion link to the spell or have the target of the operation do the same if the ritual was worked for someone other than yourself.

Operant Candle Magick

Candle magick is one of those techniques that is often treated without much seriousness among ritual magick practitioners. It's not that we don't use candles in our rituals, it's just that there have been way too many books written that treat candle magick as "light a candle, make a wish, and there you go - you're a magician!" Candles are actually wonderful ritual implements and there is something alchemical about the whole process of wax moving through the states of matter from solid to gas and in the process fueling a flame, and in my opinion it is precisely because they work so well that they can be used to make a simple or even silly ritual more effective.

One of the issues with the operant paradigm is that ritual work must merge the microcosm and macrocosm in order to accomplish change most effectively. Just opening the operant field (Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram/Lesser Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram) and then doing a simple candle spell is much more effective than using the candle alone, and by adding the Greater Ritual of the Pentagram or Hexagram that corresponds to the goal of the ritual you can increase its effectiveness even more. This makes the ritual more complex, but in my experience it is well worth it if you are serious about getting effective magical results.

You should choose your candles carefully. The candle should either be white or a color associated with the goal of the ritual. I use the Crowley/Golden Dawn color scheme found in Liber 777 in my own work, but if you were trained in another tradition with a different set of associations you will probably do better with that color scale rather than starting over with a new one. A white candle will work for any ritual but it will be less specific in its effects. With the Crowley/GD color system, you want to use the Queen Scale color for a mystical ritual or meditation and the King Scale color for a practical magical ritual.

As far as the type of candle goes, I prefer the 7-day candles that you can leave burning after the ritual forms are complete. The spell will continue to work as the candle burns down. While the available colors are limited, you can find very nice colored glass candles at church supply stores. These are designed to take replaceable wax inserts but they will also hold many of the 7-day candles that you will find at stores. It's an added bonus to be able to tint the light of the candle and the symbolism of white wax producing a flame that then is filtered through colored glass tuned to the spell is a good symbolic representation of the lightning flash or divine light descending.

There are a number of different systems for "dressing" candles. This procedure generally consists of annointing the candle with various substances associated with the goal of the ritual. A simple way to do this is to select a harmonious essential oil and smear a little of it into the wax of the candle before you light it. Liber 777 includes a list of herbs associated with each sphere and path, which is helpful for selecting the type of oil that you should use, but again, if you have already learned a different set of associations use those instead. Traditionally you should smear the oil around the wick of the candle using a clockwise motion.

Here's the basic ritual procedure.

(1) Identify the goal of the spell and choose your candle accordingly. If you wish to dress the candle, do so before the ritual. Place it on an altar in front of you, usually to the east. For any sort of negative working, like a curse, put the candle inside a containment structure like a Goetic triangle. If you have a link to the target of your spell, place the link in physical contact with the candle.

(2) Open the operant field with the LBRP/LIRH.

(3) Perform the Greater Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram or Hexagram corresponding to the path or sphere that is related to the goal of the ritual. Conclude the GIRP/H with "Let the divine light descend!" and then light the candle.

(4) State the goal of your ritual clearly and succinctly. As I've mentioned before, state only the desired outcome without specifying the means by which it will come to pass. You want all channels open to the spell's influence so that it can select the shortest path.

(5) Meditate on the candle for at least a few minutes. Twenty minutes is great if you have the time, but even five will do.

(6) Close the ritual with the LBRP to send the energy on its way. Place the candle someplace where it can burn all the way down safely, and if you are using a magical link, keep it in contact with the candle. If you used a containment structure, you will want to leave the candle where it is unless the containment structure can be moved along with the candle. You're done.

This simple ritual will get you better results than the ones you find in most candle magick books, and can be done with very little preparation once you learn the basic pentagram and hexagram rituals. While the GIRP/H will make the ritual more effective, until you have those down you can omit step three and just say "Let the divine light descend!" and light the candle after the LIRH.

Casting a Healing or Learning Spell

Seeing as I haven't posted any new spells lately, I thought I would go ahead and add another that I have found useful over the years. You evoke the intelligence and spirit of Venus to cast a love spell, Saturn or Mars to cast a curse, Jupiter or the Sun for wealth and prosperity, and then there's Mercury.

The magical powers associated with Mercury are Miracles of Healing, the Gift of Tongues, and the Knowledge of Sciences, so it can be used for both healing and accelerated learning, especially in the areas of language and technology. Please review the other spells I have already posted for information about the temple openings and other aspects of the general Golden Dawn magical forms. The new ritual form you will be using for this spell is the Greater Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram for Mercury. The hexagram is traced clockwise from the lower left point in yellow as you vibrate ARARITA, and the symbol of Mercury is traced in the center of the figure in purple as you vibrate the appropriate name of God, Elohim Tzabaoth.

00. Preparing the Temple

If you wish to heal yourself or increase your own learning ability you do not need a containment structure so the circle alone will suffice. It should be orange, and you can also trace an eight-pointed star within it in yellow. If you are attempting to heal another person use a containment structure because it will amplify the effect. You can either place a magical link like a photograph in the containment structure or build one large enough for a person to sit within.

I. Opening and II. The Preliminary Invocation

These are the same as in my other rituals.

III. The Conjuration

Perform the Greater Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram for Mercury. As you conclude with "Let the divine light descend!", visualize a column of yello light descending into the circle and enveloping you. You then begin to conjure the Spirit of Mercury. Vibrate the capitalized words. Eight is the number of Mercury, so the names are vibrated eight times.

ELOHIM TZABAOTH, ELOHIM TZABAOTH, ELOHIM TZABAOTH, ELOHIM TZABAOTH, ELOHIM TZABAOTH, ELOHIM TZABAOTH, ELOHIM TZABAOTH, ELOHIM TZABAOTH (el-oh-HEEM tzah-bah-OTH). Come unto me, God in HOD (HOHD), the sphere of KOKAB (koh-KAHB). Send unto me MICHAEL (mee-kai-EL), that great Archangel of thine, that he may answer my behest.

Pause until the presence of Elohim Tzabaoth is perceived. If you don’t feel anything or see anything, wait three minutes or so before continuing.

MICHAEL, MICHAEL, MICHAEL, MICHAEL, MICHAEL, MICHAEL, MICHAEL, MICHAEL (mee-kai-EL). Come unto me, great and mighty Archangel of HOD (HOHD), the sphere of KOKAB (koh-KAHB), by the name of the great god ELOHIM TZABAOTH (el-oh-HEEM tzah-bah-OTH). Send unto me TIRIEL (teer-ee-EL), that great intelligence of thine, that he may answer my behest.

Pause until the presence of Michael is perceived. If you don’t feel anything or see anything, wait three minutes or so before continuing.

TIRIEL, TIRIEL, TIRIEL, TIRIEL, TIRIEL, TIRIEL, TIRIEL, TIRIEL (teer-ee-EL). Come unto me, thou bright intelligence of KOKAB (koh-KAHB), and answer my behest. In the name of MICHAEL (mee-kai-EL) thy lord, compel the spirit TAPHTHARTHARATH (taf-thar-thar-AHTH) who is under thy dominion to manifest within this Circle of Art (or "within this Triangle of Art" if you are using a containment structure).

Pause until the presence of Tiriel is perceived. If you don’t feel anything or see anything, wait three minutes or so before continuing.

TAPHTHARTHARATH, TAPHTHARTHARATH, TAPHTHARTHARATH, TAPHTHARTHARATH, TAPHTHARTHARATH, TAPHTHARTHARATH, TAPHTHARTHARATH, TAPHTHARTHARATH (taf-thar-thar-AHTH). Come unto me, mighty spirit of KOKAB (koh-KAHB), and make manifest my behest. In the name of TIRIEL (teer-ee-EL) thy lord, come forth within this Circle of Art (or "within this Triangle of Art" if you are using a containment structure) that thou mayst wield the powers of the path of BETH (like it looks), the path of the planet Mercury.

Pause until the presence of Taphthartharath is perceived. If you don’t feel anything or see anything, wait three minutes or so before continuing.

At this point you deliver the charge to the spirit. Address it to Taphthartharath. This is what you want the spirit to do. You need to write this part yourself, because it’s very personal. You should state what you want simply so that the spirit can’t twist your words around. Bear in mind that this is not because the spirit is deceptive like some authors contend, but because magick is more like operating a machine than it is like conversing with a fully sentient individual. The intelligence and spirit are literal-minded and the magick will always follow the path of least resistance that matches the letter of the charge.

After the charge, pause for a moment before closing the temple.

IV. Closing

The License to Depart should be revised as follows.

O thou ELOHIM TZABAOTH (el-oh-HEEM tzah-bah-OTH) and thy ministers MICHAEL (mee-kai-EL), TIRIEL (teer-ee-EL), and TAPHTHARTHARATH (taf-thar-thar-AHTH), because thou hast diligently answered unto my demands, and hast been very ready and willing to come at my call, I do here license thee to depart unto thy proper place; without causing harm or danger unto man or beast. I charge thee to withdraw peaceably and quietly, and peace be ever continued between us. So mote it be!

Pause for a moment to give the spirits time to depart. Visualize the yellow light being absorbed into yourself.

The rest of the Closing is the same. You're done.

Casting a Money Spell

The "Holy Trinity" of magical spells newbie magicians ask about online is now complete with the posting of a money spell. Perhaps it is a telling point of human nature that the problems people most want to use magick to solve are issues of money, love, and vengeance - these are all things that are severely circumscribed by our culture an that seem difficult to obtain by normal means.

Money spells are another popular use of magick, dating back as far as we can document. In Medieval times prosperity was based on the ownership of land and agricultural production, but the transition to a more mercantile society during the Renaissance brought with it new applications for this age-old art. The Renaissance saw the rise of alchemy and the pursuit of methods for transforming base metals into gold, and while this is a pursuit that the mystically inclined normally view in a philosophical light there were also a lot of early scientists trying to figure out how to accomplish physical transformations. In the modern age money is essentially information. Paper money issued by governments is backed by the entire economy of the issuing nation, a vast conglomeration of trade and related commercial arrangements, and bank account balances are simply numbers on a page - but numbers of vital importance to our survival.

A money spell cast today will work along these lines. I have yet to see a magician conjure money out of the sky, but I have seen something close. Years ago a local magical group did a big spell to make the group more prosperous. Shortly thereafter $1000.00 mysteriously appeared in the group's bank account, the result of a bank error that coded a $100.00 deposit with an additional zero. The bank did eventually find the error and notified the group that they were going to fix it - and never did. Years later when they transfered the money to another bank the $1000.00 was still there. Still, this is the only case of such a thing that I have ever come across. Normally money spells work in more mundane ways - a bigger bonus or raise at work, a successful business deal that is more profitable than expected, or even a higher than chance rate of success playing the lottery.

Liber 777 places "the power of acquiring wealth" under the domain of the Sun, and the power of "political and other ascendancy" under the domain of Jupiter. Both of these planetary energies can be useful for money spells. The difference is subtle - Jupiter is better when you are looking to make more money in a work situation, get a promotion, or find a better job. The Tarot card associated with Jupiter is Fortune, and as you might expect Jupiter can also be used to increase luck in financial affairs and gain short-term windfalls. The Sun is more suited to wealth, which is not the same thing as money. Wealth consists of resources that provide a longer-term source of funds, like an ongoing successful business or good investments.

Since I am a professional who makes most of my money working for an employer rather than my own business I am more familiar with the Jupiter form of the spell and that is what will be described here. The changes to the ritual form used in the previous spells are as follows:

0. Basic Rituals

You will be using the Greater Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram for Jupiter. The ritual should be performed on a the day of Jupiter (Thursday) during the hour of Jupiter if possible.

00. Preparing the Temple

As with a love spell, you do not need a containment structure so the circle alone will suffice. It should be blue, and you can also trace a square within it in purple. If you are casting the spell with some idea of what your source of funds will be, carry on your person a magical link that represents that source. For example, if the goal is a higher-paying job carry a copy of your resume and make sure that it matches any resumes you will sending to prospective employers. If you really have no idea, then just center the spell on yourself and don't use a link.

I. Opening and II. The Preliminary Invocation

These are the same as in the other two rituals.

III. The Conjuration

Perform the Greater Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram for Jupiter. As you conclude with "Let the divine light descend!", visualize a column of purple light descending into the circle and enveloping you. You then begin to conjure the Spirit of Jupiter. Vibrate the capitalized words. Four is the number of Jupiter, so the names are vibrated four times.

EL, EL, EL, EL (like it looks). Come unto me, God in CHESED (kheh-SED), the sphere of TZEDEQ (tzeh-DEK). Send unto me TZADKIEL (tzahd-kee-EL), that great Archangel of thine, that he may answer my behest.

Pause until the presence of El is perceived. If you don’t feel anything or see anything, wait three minutes or so before continuing.

TZADKIEL, TZADKIEL, TZADKIEL, TZADKIEL (tzahd-kee-EL). Come unto me, great and mighty Archangel of CHESED (kheh-SED), the sphere of TZEDEQ (tzeh-DEK), by the name of the great god EL. Send unto me JOPHIEL (joh-fee-EL), that great intelligence of thine, that he may answer my behest.

Pause until the presence of Tzadkiel is perceived. If you don’t feel anything or see anything, wait three minutes or so before continuing.

JOPHIEL, JOPHIEL, JOPHIEL, JOPHIEL (joh-fee-EL). Come unto me, thou bright intelligence of TZEDEQ (tzeh-DEK), and answer my behest. In the name of TZADKIEL (tzahd-kee-EL) thy lord, compel the spirit HISMAEL (his-may-EL) who is under thy dominion to manifest within this Circle of Art.

Pause until the presence of Jophiel is perceived. If you don’t feel anything or see anything, wait three minutes or so before continuing.

HISMAEL, HISMAEL, HISMAEL, HISMAEL (his-may-EL). Come unto me, mighty spirit of TZEDEQ (tzeh-DEK), and make manifest my behest. In the name of JOPHIEL (joh-fee-EL) thy lord, come forth within this Circle of Art that thou mayst wield the powers of the path of KAPH (KAHF), the path of the planet Jupiter.

Pause until the presence of Hismael is perceived. If you don’t feel anything or see anything, wait three minutes or so before continuing.

At this point you deliver the charge to the spirit. Address it to Hismael. This is what you want the spirit to do. You need to write this part yourself, because it’s very personal. You should state what you want simply so that the spirit can’t twist your words around. With a money spell it is good to keep in mind that a lot of people have family members with assets and things like life insurance so that a tragedy like a death in the family could result in riches. It is usually wise to craft the charge so that the spirit is bound to act without causing bodily harm to yourself or others. After all, it would also be a pretty bad outcome to be permanently disabled in a car accident but wind up with a million dollar lawsuit settlement - but you would have your money.

After the charge, pause for a moment before closing the temple.

IV. Closing

The License to Depart should be revised as follows.

O thou EL and thy ministers TZADKIEL (tzahd-kee-EL), JOPHIEL (joh-fee-EL), and HISMAEL (his-may-EL), because thou hast diligently answered unto my demands, and hast been very ready and willing to come at my call, I do here license thee to depart unto thy proper place; without causing harm or danger unto man or beast. I charge thee to withdraw peaceably and quietly, and peace be ever continued between us. So mote it be!

Pause for a moment to give the spirits time to depart. Visualize the purple light being absorbed into yourself.

The rest of the Closing is the same. You're done.

Casting a Love Spell

This is the other sort of spell I get asked about all the time. Just about everyone who e-mails me looking for spell advice either wants to curse someone or make someone fall in love with them. I've covered the basic ritual forms in my article on Casting a Curse and the same forms are used for most ceremonial spells. Here are the changes that you need to make to the Saturn operation described in the cursing article to change it from a curse to a love spell, and some comments on how such spells work.

Love spells are among the oldest magical operations that can be documented. Of course, that makes a lot of sense since the desire for love is one of the most basic human impulses. In the Hermetic Qabalah love spells are logically placed under the rulership of Venus, the planet named after the Roman goddess of love. There are two basic ways to construct a love spell:

(1) A love spell cast on a specific target - "make person x fall in love with me."
(2) A love spell cast without a specific target - "bring me love with the most suitable partner."

I favor Method 2 in my own magical work. First of all, with Method 1 you are attempting to directly influence the will of a specific individual who presumably is not interested in you as a romantic partner (since if they were you wouldn't need a spell), and I see this as an unethical use of magick. Second of all, it is significantly less likely to work. Magick manipulates probabilities and as a result you are more likely to succeed if there are many ways in which a spell can achieve your objectives. Limiting your spell to a single person limits the possible success conditions, and if the person you are seeking really is the most suitable partner for you the spell will affect them anyway. On the other hand, if they are more unsuitable than they appear the spell will bring you someone else and you will be happier with the outcome.

Here are the changes to the ritual forms.

0. Basic Rituals

You will be replacing the Greater Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram for Saturn with the Greater Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram for Venus. The ritual should be performed on a the day of Venus (Friday) during the hour of Venus if possible.

00. Preparing the Temple

You do not need a containment structure for a love spell, since in this case you want to be affected by the same magical field as the target. Therefore, the circle alone will suffice. It should be green, and you can also trace a seven-pointed star within it, also in green. If you are using Method 1, you will want to have on your person some sort of link to the target, like a photograph. If you are using Method 2, you do not need a link to any specific person.

I. Opening and II. The Preliminary Invocation

These are the same as in the Saturn operation.

III. The Conjuration

Perform the Greater Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram for Venus. As you conclude with "Let the divine light descend!", visualize a column of emerald green light descending into the circle and enveloping you. You then begin to conjure the Spirit of Venus. Vibrate the capitalized words. Seven is the number of Venus, so the names are vibrated seven times. A helpful trick is to count on your fingers as you vibrate the names, because it is easy to lose your place when vibrating a name seven times in a row.

YAHWEH TZABAOTH, YAHWEH TZABAOTH, YAHWEH TZABAOTH, YAHWEH TZABAOTH, YAHWEH TZABAOTH, YAHWEH TZABAOTH, YAHWEH TZABAOTH (yah-WEH tzah-bah-OTH). Come unto me, God in NETZACH (net-ZAKH), the sphere of NOGAH (noh-GAH). Send unto me HANIEL (hah-nee-EL), that great Archangel of thine, that he may answer my behest.

Pause until the presence of Yahweh Tzabaoth is perceived. If you don’t feel anything or see anything, wait three minutes or so before continuing.

HANIEL, HANIEL, HANIEL, HANIEL, HANIEL, HANIEL, HANIEL (hah-nee-EL). Come unto me, great and mighty Archangel of NETZACH (net-ZAKH), the sphere of NOGAH (noh-GAH) by the name of the great god YAHWEH TZABAOTH (yah-WEH tzah-bah-OTH). Send unto me HAGIEL (hah-ghee-EL), that great intelligence of thine, that he may answer my behest.

Pause until the presence of Haniel is perceived. If you don’t feel anything or see anything, wait three minutes or so before continuing.

HAGIEL, HAGIEL, HAGIEL, HAGIEL, HAGIEL, HAGIEL, HAGIEL (hah-ghee-EL). Come unto me, thou bright intelligence of NOGAH (noh-GAH) , and answer my behest. In the name of HANIEL (hah-nee-EL) thy lord, compel the spirit KEDEMEL (keh-deh-MEL) who is under thy dominion to manifest within this Circle of Art.

Pause until the presence of Hagiel is perceived. If you don’t feel anything or see anything, wait three minutes or so before continuing.

KEDEMEL, KEDEMEL, KEDEMEL, KEDEMEL, KEDEMEL, KEDEMEL, KEDEMEL (keh-deh-MEL). Come unto me, mighty spirit of NOGAH (noh-GAH), and make manifest my behest. In the name of HAGIEL (hah-ghee-EL) thy lord, come forth within this Circle of Art that thou mayst wield the powers of the path of DALETH (dah-LETH), the path of the planet Venus.

Pause until the presence of Kedemel is perceived. If you don’t feel anything or see anything, wait three minutes or so before continuing.

At this point, you deliver the charge to the spirit. Address it to Kedemel. This is what you want the spirit to do, either using Method 1 or Method 2 above. You need to write this part yourself, because it’s very personal. You should state what you want simply so that the spirit can’t twist your words around. After the charge, pause for a moment before closing the temple.

IV. Closing

The License to Depart should be revised as follows.

O thou YAHWEH TZABAOTH (yah-WEH tza-bah-OTH) and thy ministers HANIEL (hah-nee-EL), HAGIEL (hah-ghee-EL), and KEDEMEL (keh-deh-MEL), because thou hast-diligently answered unto my demands, and hast been very ready and willing to come at my call, I do here license thee to depart unto thy proper place; without causing harm or danger unto man or beast. I charge thee to withdraw peaceably and quietly, and peace be ever continued between us. So mote it be!

Pause for a moment to give the spirits time to depart. If you are using Method 1, visualize the emerald green light in the circle sinking into the magical link and vanishing. For Method 2, visualize the light being absorbed into you.

The rest of the Closing is the same. You're done.

Casting a Curse

This article was originally posted on 10/19/2006 on the original version of this blog. It also alludes to the Ananael site, my other ritual magick site that is also currently down. Putting it online again gives me a new link to send out to folks who want to know how to cast curses. Let me emphasize that I am in no way encouraging anyone to start going around cursing people just because I am publishing this method - often it's a very bad idea.

Every so often I get an e-mail from someone who wants to know how to cast a curse against an enemy or somebody who has wronged them in some way. I had a pretty good Collection of Curses compiled by the alt.magick community years ago on my Ananael site, but what was missing from that collection is a formal ceremonial cursing spell. A while back I decided to write one, so that I would have something to send people who asked how I would go about doing it. Most of the people I have sent this to have found it to be "too difficult." I have a couple of responses to that.

Use a simpler curse. If the ceremonial system doesn't appeal to you or seems too complex, try using a different spell. Some of the curses in the collection are pretty simple and it is not necessarily true that a more complex ritual will be more powerful. In fact, a simple curse that you completely understand will usually be more effective than a complex one read haltingly from a script.

Did you think real magick would work anything like it does in Harry Potter? In the Harry Potter books and movies, you become a magician by (1) finding the right wand and (2) learning how to make a simple hand motion as you say one or two magick words. I've practiced for more than 20 years and I will say that I can often make magical effects work like that - now. It took a lot of years of practice to get there, though, and I still find that rituals using the proper forms are significantly more effective than the "quickie" magick that I can do without them.

Did you think you could do this without any work at all on your part? One of the common misconceptions about magick is that it is an easy way to solve problems. It isn't. Magick is like a martial art for your mind. It requires concentration, discipline, and dedication. If a mundane solution to a problem exists, that solution is usually easier than doing any kind of magick. Magick is more properly used when a simple mundane solution does not present itself, or when mundane solutions have already failed to resolve the problem.

These people usually respond by asking if they can pay me to cast the spell. Anyone considering this should consult the Ananael FAQ. I'm not in the business of casting spells for other people - at present I make plenty of money as a software developer, and I'm not interesting in involving myself in drama or conflict that doesn't concern me. Anyone who is determined to hire someone could try contacting Moloch at http://www.molochsorcery.com/. He advertises spell services on his web site and from his essays appears to be pretty knowledgeable about practical magick.

That being said, there are two basic ways to cast a curse and both are planetary in nature - Mars and Saturn. The magical power for Mars is "works of wrath and vengeance" while that for Saturn is "works of malediction and death." Malediction simply refers to any sort of negative influence, so Saturn can be used for a death spell or just to make someone unlucky for a day or two. It all depends on the charge given to the spirit - though as with all other magical effects, less likely outcomes are more difficult. A bad luck spell is pretty easy, while a death spell is rather difficult

I prefer to use Saturn for curses, simply because Mars is more violent and more concerned with making the target suffer. I don't personally really care if the target of a curse suffers - I'm casting the curse to resolve a problem and I just want it to go away. If I cast a curse so that an evil boss will no longer work for my company, it makes little difference to me whether that individual is fired over some traumatic scandal or gets a better job offer elsewhere and takes it. Either way, I no longer have to deal with them and that's what I care about.

The following ritual evokes the energy of Saturn for the purpose of sending a curse to a specific external target. The magical power associated with Saturn is “Works of Malediction and Death.” Thus, depending on the charge given to the spirit, this ritual can be used to send anything ranging from general bad luck up to and including death.

0. Basic Rituals

This ritual is written using standard Golden Dawn forms. There are three basic rituals that should ideally be committed to memory prior to attempting the entire rite. Ritual magick works by aligning the microcosm (your mind) with the macrocosm (the universe). Once the two are aligned, changes in the mind of the magician will influence whatever aspect of the universe is targeted by the magical operation. The three basic rituals used here are the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (microcosmic), the Lesser Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram (macrocosmic), and the Greater Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram for Saturn, which tunes the energy of the ritual to that of the planet. The Lesser rituals should be practiced daily for a week or so leading up to the actual rite. A curse of this nature should be performed on a Saturday, and if you possible during the hour of Saturn. I use ChronosXP to calculate planetary hours - it is a very nice program and even sits on your desktop, announcing each planetary hour as it arrives.

00. Temple Setup

When casting a curse it is important to pay attention to the setup of the temple. You will need a black circle on the floor large enough for you to stand in and extend your arms without crossing the edge. The traditional grimoires recommend nine feet in diameter, which is perfect if you have the space. If not, it can be smaller, but you want to make sure that every part of your body stays inside it for the duration of the ritual. You will also need a black equilateral triangle three feet or so on a side which is placed to the east of the circle with one of the points facing due east. It is vital that the circle and triangle are used in a ritual of this sort. A good way to make a temporary circle and triangle is to go to a party store and get a couple of rolls of black crepe paper. Then get some duck tape and tape the paper to the floor in the proper shape. This takes a little while but the effect is nice. When you’re done with the ritual, you can burn the paper, which is not strictly necessary (it can be thrown away too) but gives a stronger sense of closure to a rite.

There is only one way you can be hurt by a curse that you are summoning – if you try to cast it without the circle and triangle. Wiccans teach that magick follows something called the Threefold Law. They believe that if you cast something into the world it will “rebound” and affect you in the same manner as it affects the target. They also believe that it will affect you three times as severely. The “threefold” part of this is superstitious nonsense, but if you just use a circle without the triangle you can be affected in the same manner and to the same degree as the target.

Wiccans don’t generally use triangles in their rituals, so this effect is probably the origin of the Threefold Law doctrine. The problem is not that the spell rebounds or bounces, but that if you just use a circle you are putting yourself in the same “magical space” as the target and will be hit by the same current of energy. The triangle serves to put you and the target in separate magical spaces, so you can summon energy into the triangle without it affecting you in the circle. That’s a technical explanation, but the upshot of it is that you should make sure you use the circle and triangle, because otherwise bad things can happen to you.

When performing the ritual you will be standing in the circle. You will need to place a Magical Link in the triangle. This should be something that has a close connection to the target of the spell. A photograph works well, but make sure it’s a photograph of just the target and not anyone else. If necessary, cut the figure of the target out of a photograph of multiple people with a razor blade or x-acto knife and use that as your link. You can also use things like hair or fingernail clippings, but those are often hard to obtain. A photograph has the added advantage that you can draw the Characters for Saturn and the Intelligence and Spirit you will be summoning over the image of the target. You can also use a black candle placed in the triangle - it makes a nice focus for the conjuration.

I. Opening

Stand in the center of the circle, facing east.

Perform the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram.
Perform the Lesser Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram.

Combining these two rituals opens the Operant Field.

II. The Preliminary Invocation

Make the Sign of Apophis and Typhon (raise your arms above your head, forming a “V”). Say:

Thee I invoke, who art universe.Thee I invoke, who art in nature formed.Thee I invoke, the vast and the mighty.Source of darkness, source of light.

Then make the Sign of Silence. This sign is made by dropping your arms and placing your right index finger to your lips. Pause for a moment.

Then say:

Peh Resh Kaph Tau. The word is PAROKETH, which is the veil of the sanctuary. In and by that word (Make the Sign of Rending the Veil – put your arms in front of you with the backs of your hands touching, and then draw them apart as if opening a heavy curtain), I open the veil.

Pause for a moment, then vibrate:

ABRAHADABRA!

Make the Sign of Osiris Risen, crossing your arms over your chest like an Egyptian mummy. Visualize yourself and the entire circle permeated with glowing, golden light.

III. The Conjuration

Perform the Greater Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram for Saturn.
As you conclude with "Let the divine light descend!", visualize a column of dark purple light, almost black descending into the triangle and permeating the magical link. The circle remains bathed in golden light. You then begin to conjure the Spirit of Saturn. Vibrate the capitalized words.

ELOHIM, ELOHIM, ELOHIM. (el-oh-HEEM) Come unto me, God in BINAH (bee-NAH), the sphere of SHABBATAI (shah-bah-TYE). Send unto me TZAPHKIEL (tzaf-kee-EL), that great Archangel of thine, that he may answer my behest.

Pause until the presence of Elohim is perceived. If you don’t feel anything or see anything, wait three minutes or so before continuing.

TZAPHKIEL, TZAPHKIEL, TZAPHKIEL. (tzaf-kee-EL) Come unto me, great and mighty Archangel of BINAH (bee-NAH), the sphere of SHABBATAI (shah-bah-TYE). by the name of the great god ELOHIM (el-oh-HEEM). Send unto me AGIEL (ah-ghee-EL), that great intelligence of thine, that he may answer my behest.

Pause until the presence of Tzaphkiel is perceived. If you don’t feel anything or see anything, wait three minutes or so before continuing.

AGIEL, AGIEL, AGIEL. (ah-ghee-EL) Come unto me, thou bright intelligence of SHABBATAI (shah-bah-TYE), and answer my behest. In the name of TZAPHKIEL (tzaf-kee-EL) thy lord, compel the spirit ZAZEL (zah-ZEL) who is under thy dominion to manifest within this Triangle of Art.

Pause until the presence of Agiel is perceived. If you don’t feel anything or see anything, wait three minutes or so before continuing.

ZAZEL, ZAZEL, ZAZEL. (zah-ZEL) Come unto me, mighty spirit of SHABBATAI (shah-bah-TYE), and make manifest my behest. In the name of AGIEL (ah-ghee-EL) thy lord, come forth within this Triangle of Art that thou mayst wield the powers of the path of TAU (pronounced like it looks), the path of the planet Saturn.

Pause until the presence of Zazel is perceived. If you don’t feel anything or see anything, wait three minutes or so before continuing.

At this point, you deliver the charge to the spirit. Address it to Zazel. This is what you want the spirit to do. You need to write this part yourself, because it’s very personal. You should state what you want simply so that the spirit can’t twist your words around.

After the charge, pause for a moment before closing the temple.

IV. Closing

You then give the license to depart.

O thou ELOHIM (el-oh-HEEM) and thy ministers TZAPHKIEL (tzaf-kee-EL), AGIEL (ah-ghee-EL), and ZAZEL (zah-ZEL), because thou hast-diligently answered unto my demands, and hast been very ready and willing to come at my call, I do here license thee to depart unto thy proper place; without causing harm or danger unto man or beast. I charge thee to withdraw peaceably and quietly, and peace be ever continued between us. So mote it be!

Pause for a moment to give the spirits time to depart. Visualize the dark purple light in the triangle sinking into the magical link and vanishing.

Peh Resh Kaph Tau. The word is PAROKETH. In and by that word (Make the Sign of Closing the Veil – bring your hands together in front of you as though closing a curtain), I close the veil.

Give the Sign of Silence by putting your right index finger to your lip and visualize the golden light in the circle fading away.

Perform the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. You’re done.