Magical Theory by: Adalbert Waffling

The Formula of the elemental weapons

Before discussing magical formulae in detail, one may observe that most rituals are composite, and contain many formulae which must be harmonized into one. The first formula is that of the Wand. In the sphere of the principle whichthe magician wishes to invoke, he rises from point to point in a perpendicularline, and then descends; or else, beginning at the top, he comes directly down,"invoking" first the god of that sphere by "devout supplication" Beware, O brother, lest thou bend the knee! Liber CCXX teachesthe proper attitude. See also Liber CCCLXX. Infra, furthermore, there is specialinstruction: Chapter XV and elsewhere.that He may deign to send the appropriate Archangel. He then "beseeches" the Archangel to send the Angel or Angels of that sphere to his aid; he "conjures" this Angel or Angels to send the intelligence in question, and this intelligence he will "conjure with authority" to compel the obedience of the spirit and his manifestation. To this spirit he "issues commands". It will be seen that this is a formula rather of evocation than of invocation,and for the latter the procedure, though apparently the same, should be conceivedof in a different manner, which brings it under another formula, that of Tetragrammaton.The essence of the force invoked is one, but the "God" represents the germ orbeginning of the force, the "Archangel" its development; and so on, until, withthe "Spirit", we have the completion and perfection of that force. The formula of the Cup is not so well suited for Evocations, and the magicalHierarchy is not involved in the same way; for the Cup being passive ratherthan active, it is not fitting for the magician to use it in respect of anythingbut the Highest. In practical working it consequently means little but prayer,and that prayer the "prayer of silence". Considerations which might lead to a contrary conclusion are unsuitedto this treatise. See Liber LXXXI.

The formula of the dagger is again unsuitable for either purpose, since the nature of the dagger is to criticise, to destroy, to disperse; and all true magical ceremonies tend to concentration. The dagger will therefore appear principally in the banishings, preliminary to the ceremony proper. The formula of the pantacle is again of no particular use; for the pantacle is inert. In fine, the formula of the wand is the only one with which we need more particularly concern ourselves. Later, these remarks are amplified, and to some extent modified.Now in order to invoke any being, it is said by Hermes Trismegistus that the magi employ three methods. The first, for the vulgar, is that of supplication. In this the crude objective theory is assumed as true. There is a god named A, whom you, B, proceed to petition, in exactly the same sense as a boy might ask his father for pocket-money. The second method involves a little more subtlety, inasmuch as the magicianendeavours to harmonize himself with the nature of the god, and to a certainextent exalts himself, in the course of the ceremony; but the third method isthe only one worthy of our consideration. This consists of a real identification of the magician and the god. Note thatto do this in perfection involves the attainment of a species of Samadhi: andthis fact alone suffices to link irrefragably magick with mysticism. Let us describe the magical method of identification. The symbolic form ofthe god is first studied with as much care as an artist would bestow upon hismodel, so that a perfectly clear and unshakeable mental picture of the god ispresented to the mind. Similarly, the attributes of the god are enshrined inspeech, and such speeches are committed perfectly to memory. The invocationwill then begin with a prayer to the god, commemorating his physical attributes,always with profound understanding of their real meaning. In the "second part"of the invocation, the voice of the god is heard, and His characteristic utteranceis recited.

In the "third portion" of the invocation the magician asserts the identityof himself with the god. In the "fourth portion" the god is again invoked, butas if by Himself, as if it were the utterance of the will of the god that Heshould manifest in the magician. At the conclusion of this, the original objectof the invocation is stated. Thus, in the invocation of Thoth which is to be found in the rite of Mercury(Equinox I, VI) and in Liber LXIV, the first part begins with the words "Majestyof Godhead, wisdom-crowned TAHUTI, Thee, Thee I invoke. Oh Thou of the Ibishead, Thee, Thee I invoke"; and so on. At the conclusion of this a mental imageof the God, infinitely vast and infinitely splendid, should be perceived, injust the same sense as a man might see the Sun. The second part begins with the words: "Behold! I am yesterday, today, and the brother of tomorrow."