Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Magick
By A. Wretch
Table of Contents
Chapter 4: Necromancy.......................................................................................................................134
PGM texts.......................................135
Hygromanteia and Picatrix.............139
Eliphas Levi....................................143
Throughout the centuries, legends have been told of flying carpets, able to whisk a person off to
distant lands on command, by flying through the air. As with most myths, most people have taken this
at face value as a fantastical legend with no basis in reality, from the occult however, we can learn of
the true spiritual practice which inspired these legends. Gathered below are an anthology of the most
important texts that I could find regarding flying carpets and similar technologies which are used to aid
the magician in their astral travels/remote viewing. What we can see from them is that the flying carpet
has a variety of practical ritual functions which aid the magician in their explorations of the astral
realms, especially when combined with entheogens, such as plants containing scopolamine. I write the
following so that I might shed light on a famous myth, and because I think this was a very important
and functional aspect of occult ritual. While I will show Shamanistic techniques in the occult, those
wishing to utilize these practices will find safer entheogens often have greater effect.
Scopolamine is a highly poisonous chemical found in a variety of plants such as Mandrake,
Henbane and Datura, which have traditionally been used in the occult for various purposes. In
Witchcraft, Henbane and other plants are used in “flying ointments” which are rubbed on the body in
order to induce astral projection in the Witch, so that they can leave their body. I must stress that
scopolamine and other chemicals in these plants are very dangerous and it is very easy to fatally
overdose, but even when administered correctly, it can induce long term psychosis and open a person
up to the spirit world far more permanently than they may wish. The hallucinations created by
scopolamine are not the same as psychedelics like magick mushrooms, no, these visions can be so
realistic that many a person who has taken it, falsely believed they were not even hallucinating, and
some then decided to up the dosage creating tragic results. While it is still dangerous, opium is known
to reduce the poisonous effects of scopolamine and we do see it in some recipes for flying ointments.
Also, Snowdrops - Galanthus nivalis L. contains the chemical galantamine, it has been identified as the
Holy Moly herb of Hermes in Homers Odyssey, as it is said to block the effects of scopolamine.
In the following instructions taken from traditional Solomonic grimoire sources, we will see
that the magick carpet is pulled over the prostrating body of the magician to enclose them inside, the
magician does this while going over a censor thus inhaling incense. While scopolamine incense is not
explicitly referred to in these texts, from other key sources of Solomonic magick such as Liber Juratus
and Cornelius Agrippa's Books of Occult philosophy, we are given detailed instructions on
suffumigation and incense which does explicitly list Henbane and other scopolamine bearing plants, as
well as others of a poisonous nature like water hemlock, indicating that ceremonial magick did indeed
include a highly advanced knowledge of plants and entheogens for Shamanistic purposes. So, by
pulling the carpet over the magician the smoke would be trapped inside the carpet and the body would
itself be suffumigated. This allows the magician to breath in the smoke in a much more concentrated
amount compared to an open air temple setting, and by this method altered states of consciousness are
achieved. In the modern culture of marijuana users, smoking in a small enclosed area is called a “hot
box” and it is thought to increase the dosage of the users. The earliest reference to such technology that
I could find is found in Herodotus when he is writing of the Scythians, who constructed small tents
over fires of burning hemp/cannabis and were known to howl with pleasure as they inhaled the smoke.
As we will see, there is a variety of tools which have been used for similar purposes and magic
carpets and small tents also functioned as sensory deprivation tanks in order to block out stimulus from
the outside world. “Sensory deprivation tanks” produce images without any drugs, as when deprived of
stimulus, the mind creates it's own visions. Thus the magician can go within for purposes of divination,
or engage in remote viewing to a place of their choosing. We will also see that evocation was a very
common use of the magic carpet or tent, and I can attest that when skrying, it is crucial to have the
proper amount of light. Neither too much light, nor too little if the visions are to come through clearly,
so in this way, the tent would have been used to block out light pollution for the skryer.
Herodotus Histories Book IV Chapter 73
“Such, then, is the mode in which the kings are buried: as for the people, when any one dies, his nearest
of kin lay him upon a chariot and take him round to all his friends in succession: each receives them in
turn and entertains them with a banquet, whereat the dead man is served with a portion of all that is set
before the others; this is done for forty days, at the end of which time the burial takes place. After the
burial, those engaged in it have to purify themselves, which they do in the following way. First they
well soap and wash their heads; then, in order to cleanse their bodies, they act as follows: they make a
booth by fixing in the ground three sticks inclined towards one another, and stretching around them
woollen felts, which they arrange so as to fit as close as possible: inside the booth a dish is placed upon
the ground, into which they put a number of red-hot stones, and then add some hemp-seed.”
A little further...
“The Scythians, as I said, take some of this hemp-seed, and, creeping under the felt coverings, throw it
upon the red-hot stones; immediately it smokes, and gives out such a vapour as no Grecian vapour-bath
can exceed; the Scyths, delighted, shout for joy, and this vapour serves them instead of a water-bath;
for they never by any chance wash their bodies with water. Their women make a mixture of cypress,
cedar, and frankincense wood, which they pound into a paste upon a rough piece of stone, adding a
little water to it. With this substance, which is of a thick consistency, they plaster their faces all over,
and indeed their whole bodies. A sweet odour is thereby imparted to them, and when they take off the
plaster on the day following, their skin is clean and glossy.”
So from this we can see a number of interesting things, that hemp was used in funeral rites, that
they inhaled the smoke in little tents and even that the Greeks had their own inferior forms of “vapour-
bath.” (an Alchemical vapour-bath from the Atalanta Fugiens being depicted above) Now hemp seeds
are not psychoactive, however the seeds are found in the cannabis buds, which are the most potent part
of the plant and so there was likely some misunderstanding here on Herodotus's part, but then back
then, cannabis was definitely less potent and less understood than it is today, and yet there is reason to
think hashish and Alchemical extracts were used to increase the effects. In the epilogue of the book,
“The Chronicles of Anarchy” the necromantic origins of Solomonic magick are explained as a form of
ancestor worship practised by Jews and Christians and this is also clearly seen in the practice of
Hygromanteia, which is itself the title of a Solomonic grimoire “A Magical Treatise of Solomon or
Hygromanteia.” This text greatly influenced later Solomonic grimoires like the Keys of Solomon and
so as I shed light on it, I will shed light on all the Solomonic tradition. Hygromanteia is the practice of
capturing spirits in magick bowls or bottles, such as a djinn or the famous “genie” in the Arabic
tradition and in various similar forms this practice is even older than “Judaism” itself and can be found
in Canaan, Babylon and Iran as a means of protection against evil spirits. As skrying often involves
seeing visions of spirits or demons, or gods in bowls of water, naturally these practices mixed.
While some translations of Herodotus say the person is carried in a wagon rather than a chariot,
it is a clue that this Scythian tradition is similar to, or even influenced the Jewish Merkabah tradition of
“chariot riders” (AKA throne mysticism) who would travel through the astral realm on chariots. You
may find such an argument hard to imagine, but read on as I present the evidence, and you will see tit is
hard to argue against. This is alluded to in the Gnostic text “Pistis Sophia,” but there are also legends of
Nimrod doing the same, (whom ancient Christians like Clement considered to be Scythian) and in the
Persian Zoroastrin book of Kings the “Shahnameh,” it describes the king Kay Kavus flying through the
air in his Palanquin/throne, a device which could easily be fitted to function as a ritual hot box tent in
order to allow the king to astral project. (See KINGLY FLIGHT: NIMRUD, KAY KAVUS,
ALEXANDER, OR WHY THE ANGEL HAS THE FISH by Firuza Melville) That the Scythians were
said to howl with joy is itself intriguing as the word "goetia" (A part of Solomonic magick) happens to
mean "howling," though I suspect this has more to do with the wind howling, or the lamentations for
the dead, IE goetia is undoubtedly necromancy. (This is complicated to explain here, but see the text
“Isagoge” on the nature of spirits, a dialogue of Castor and Pollux found in Donald Tyson's “Fourth
Book of Occult Philosophy” for an overview of traditional theories about spirits.) The origins of
Kabbalah and Merkabah and their relationship to Gnosticism and Pagan traditions is beyond the scope
of this book, though it has largely been explained by scholars like Gershom Scholem. There is also the
aforementioned epilogue of The Chronicles of Anarchy which also includes practical rituals for astral
projecting to specific astral realms and these can easily be applied to the magic carpet, so for now let us
simply read the primary texts on magick carpets and the magick that goes with them.
This first set of texts, “The Greek Magical Papyri” (PGM) was clearly highly influential in
the later grimoire traditions, as in the books of Raziel and Solomonic magick. According to Dr Stephen
Skinner in his book, “Techniques of Graeco-Egyptian Magic,” this includes the Hygromanteia text, so
that the knowledge within the Greek Magical Papyri ultimately went on to influence the Keys of
Solomon or “Goetia” Solomonic grimoires. You will notice many motifs from later ceremonial magick
including planetary hours and ruling deities, so while some of the PGM texts are incomplete, you
should be able to reconstruct most of this by the end of this book, though you will find even more
adjuncts in the complete primary texts. Various names are written on the tent, referring to astrology and
various entities for periods of time, while I could find no list of 52 demons for the weeks, there is a list
of 52 demons in the Testament of Solomon recension C. As the PGM text is incomplete, I have given
texts from the grimoires which do have names of demons that are appropriate for writing on the tent,
though the magicians of the PGM would likely find this blasphemous, you call upon Goetic demons at
your own risk. Here in the PGM, the magick tent is used in an initiation and to gain a familiar spirit,
after this follows various uses for the spirit along with natural magick, rituals done inside the tent.
Some examples of this are to send dreams, something which also comes up in Solomonic magick, there
is also a spell used to open gates which brings to mind Merkabah and Gnostic ideas in which various
gates are opened using the correct password. After this we will read other variations of the same text, as
this adds many relevant details. For example, mantras known as Voces Magicae are directed to the 6
directions in a kind of Hermetic “cube of space” ritual which in the Kabbalistic tradition of the Sepher
Yetzirah, is very much linked to the Merkabah. We will also see that breathing exorcises are given at
PGM XIII 640 and 940 and other places which go along with recitation of the Voces Magicae, these
mantras said accordingly would effect the mindset of a magician in a hot box tent breathing incense.
*erephyllinon is an unknown plant
“Egyptian Bean” likely refers to the psychoactive Egyptian lotus Nelumbo nucifera, though Henbane
has also been called "dioskyamos," or god's bean, Hog's bean, or Jupiter's Bean and a form of Henbane
is found in Egypt. “Bean” is the name given to small balls of incense.
Now that was the Eighth Book of Moses, a name which does imply a Jewish influence, though
clearly it was very Pagan and Hermetic/Gnostic. From here I will give a couple more spells from the
PGM which reference similar magical ideas. The first one specifically says it's from Solomon and
creates a trance, the second comes right after in the PGM and makes use of a ritual mat or small carpet
and seems to fit more with the Hygromanteia.
The Tent of Meeting and Yahweh as a Cloud of Smoke
Now that you have some context for such rituals of “Moses,” we can go onto the Abrahamic
sources on the magick carpet. First we can see a likely reference to this ritual tent practice in Exodus
33, which tells of the “tent of meeting” that Moses would use to have visions of YHVH, who would
descend in a cloud of smoke. Convention would say Jews did not use cannabis because it is not used in
the modern religion, but Judaism has changed a lot over the millenia, and recently, archaeologists have
found undeniable proof of ritual cannabis incense inside the permanent replacement for the tent of
meeting, ie the Holy of Holies, but in a temple in Judah! On this point, see the peer reviewed paper,
“Cannabis and Frankincense at the Judahite Shrine of Arad” by Eran Arie, Baruch Rosen & Dvory
Namdar as naivete on ancient drug use is a severe obstacle to understanding ancient religions.
Exodus 33
7 And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it
the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the Lord went out
unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.
8 And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood
every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle.
9 And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at
the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses.
10 And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and
worshipped, every man in his tent door.
11 And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.
Now this is especially important as it shows that hot box tents go back in Judaism all the way to
Moses at least, though there are mentions of tents earlier in the Torah which seems like a trivial detail
to include much of the time, unless tents had some special meaning to the early nomadic Jews. For
example in Genesis 12:8 we learn of Abram that “he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east
of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an
altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.” There are other suspicious lines as well,
such as Genesis 18:1-2, Genesis 26:24-25, Genesis 33:18-20, but earlier than this is Genesis 4:20
where we learn that from the line of Cain, “Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents,
and of such as have cattle.” His brother Jubal, “was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ”
which is an important detail given the use of magical songs for goetia, as with David playing music to
fend off the evil spirit sent by Yahweh to terrorize Saul in 1 Samuel 16:23. Not only this, the book of
Exodus 14:19-21 is also the source of the names of 72 angels used to control 72 demons in Solomonic
magick, these angels are known as the Shemhamphorash and each of them is associated with a psalm of
David. What this shows is that magicians of the Western Occult tradition either based their practices on
their interpretations of rituals or references in the bible, or that in some cases these rituals were
practiced by those who wrote the bible. The following quotes show how the god of the Old Testament
is explicitly said to appear in a cloud of smoke, or else involves a highly suggestive choice of words.
As tents are referred to more clearly by the use of the word “canopy” I have found this is often most
clear in the International Standard Version, but sometimes other translations are more apparent, much
of the time the astral body or hotbox tent is referred to as a flying throne or chariot, this being the
meaning of the word “Merkabah.” What is most telling is that the sky or universe itself is compared to
a tent, or called a “canopy” so that as the 8th book of Moses requires the use of celestial names of the
heavens and divisions of time, measured by the movement of the celestial bodies, the tent is a
microcosm of the physical universe, just as the tabernacle is the cube of space cosmology described in
the Sepher Yetzirah. Such imagery is drawn upon by the Merkabah Mystic and Kabbalist, Abraham
Abulafia, who even wrote a manual on how to be a prophet, “Life in the World to Come” and while it is
too much to quote it all here, he obliquely implies such incense hotboxing combined with mantra like
ritualism. I admit incense does not explicitly come up in Abulafia's book, but ointment (perhaps “flying
ointment”) is referenced as a metaphor for the trance state, also right at the start we get this as the first
reference to the 72 lettered name, “It is the seventy-two lettered Name on which it is written, “Lo, I am
coming to you in a thick cloud (19). that the people may hear when I speak to you, and may also
believe you for ever” (Exodus 19:9). As I will show in the appropriate chapter, ritual garments are often
crucial in this, and if you read Abulafia's book, it seems the Jewish prayer shawl was used similarly to
contain incense smoke, but for now you can see such symbolism comes together in the Old Testament,
you can get idea of flying thrones from Ezekiel 1 especially, but Solomon had a similar throne made, as
seen in 1 Kings 10:19, and this figures in various occult mythology and symbolism. See also, Psalm
147:4-5, Isaiah 40:26, Isaiah 34:4, Isaiah 45:11-12, Genesis 1:14, Luke 1:25
Psalm 104 1 My soul, praise Yahweh! Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed with majesty
and splendor. 2 He wraps Himself in light as if it were a robe, spreading out the sky like a canopy,
3 laying the beams of His palace on the waters above, making the clouds His chariot, walking on the
wings of the wind, 4 and making the winds His messengers,(a) flames of fire His servants.
1 Kings 8:10-12 which explains what happened after the ark of the covenant was brought
into the temple, “It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house
of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the
LORD filled the house of the LORD. Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that He would dwell in
the thick cloud.”
Isaiah 4:5 “the Lord will create a cloud of smoke by day and a glowing flame of fire by night over the
entire site of Mount Zion and over its assemblies. For there will be a canopy over all the glory”
The technology of the Eighth hidden book of Moses can be seen to have influenced the Arabic
grimoire “The Grand Key of Solomon the King” page 62 then skip to 178 (Ishtar Publishing) in
that this book advises the use of either a carpet, perhaps made of parchment, or a tent, and it says to use
the incense corresponding to the day of the week.
Know that only through its conditions, directions, and exercises can one accomplish anything of
the science. Therefore keep your body and clothes clean, avoid sleep and eating unlawful food and
have awe of the Creator. As has been mentioned, use a carpet made of parchment, or of something else,
such as a small tent, on which you write the names mentioned at the beginning of the book. When you
summon spirits while on the carpet, you shall be in either a desolate region or a house remote from any
habitation. Let your spiritual exercise last for seven weeks, three weeks, or one week, which is the
minimum. Whoever wishes to observe spiritual exercise shall by no means sleep at night, unless sleep
overtakes him by force. Let him persist in reciting the conjuration. He should also be in a state of
cleanliness, for he will see the spirits in his sleep, then in wakefulness. Let his sleep be in the daytime,
from midmorning to noon; he should sleep after midafternoon or dawn. Let him persist in asking
forgiveness of the Lord and earnestly entreating him. If your service is to a terrestrial or celestial
servant from among the angels in charge of the Brilliant Planets, fashion the seal according to the
planet's glyph, when the planet is in its exaltation, on its day, and let your clothing and carpet
correspond to its colour and incense. Lastly, let your conjuration be written on the previously
mentioned carpet, for it will be more complete.”
“On it you say the names that are at the beginning of the book, the names with which the angels of the
Throne (Merkabah) and the Footstool along with the inhabitants of the seven firmaments glorify God,
which, as we have said, we cited at the beginning of the book. You recite them while in the prescribed
state I have written about for you which entails adherence to religion and absolute conviction.
Thereupon all the Ruhaniyyah will be unveiled to you and you will attain your objective in both this
world and the hereafter. Let your summoning of the angels and the celestial and terrestrial spirits and
their habitations be for the fulfillment of your needs and for the seeking of their aid against your
enemies and those of God Most High.”
“everything below them, to the Earth's firmament.”
“The Veritable Key of Solomon” Page 324-325 - Stephen Skinner and David Rankine
Also found in the “Key of Solomon the King” by Macgregor Mathers
How to make the Magic Carpet proper for Interrogating the Intelligences,
so as to obtain an Answer regarding whatsoever Matter one may Wish to Learn
“Make a Carpet of white and new wool, and when the Moon shall be at her
full, in the Sign of Capricorn and in the hour of the Sun, thou shalt go into the
country away from any habitation of man, in a place free from all impurity,
and shalt spread out thy Carpet so that one of its points shall be towards the
east, and another towards the west, and having made a Circle without it and
enclosing it, thou shalt remain within [it] upon the point towards the east,
and holding thy wand in the air for every operation, thou shalt call upon
Michael, towards the north upon Raphael, towards the west upon Gabriel,
and towards the south upon Muriel. After this thou shalt return unto the
point of the East and devoutly invoke the Great Name AGLA, and take this
point of the Carpet in thy left hand; turning then towards the North thou
shalt do the same, and so continuing to the other points of the Carpet, thou
shalt raise them so that they touch not the ground, and holding them up thus,
and turning anew towards the East thou shalt say with great veneration the
following Prayer:--
"ACLA, AGLA, AGLA, ACLA; God Almighty Who art the Life of the
Universe and Who rulest over the four divisions of its vast form by the
strength and virtue of the Four Letters of Thy Holy Name Tetragrammaton,
Yod, He, Vau, He, bless in Thy Name this covering which I hold as Thou hast
blessed the Mantle of Elijah in the hands of Elisha, so that being covered by
Thy Wings, nothing may be able to injure me, even as it is said:- 'He shall
hide thee under His Wings and beneath His feathers shall thou trust, His
truth shall be thy shield and buckler."
After this thou shalt fold it up, saying these words following:-
"Recabustira, Cabustira, Bustira, Tira Ra, A"; and shall keep it carefully to serve
thee at need.
When thou shalt be desirous to make thine interrogations, choose the night of
full or of new moon, and from midnight until daybreak. Thou shalt transport
thyself unto the appointed spot if it be for the purpose of discovering a
treasure; if not, any place will serve provided it be clean and pure. Having
had the precaution on the preceding evening to write upon a slip of virgin
parchment coloured azure-blue, with a pen made from the feather of a dove,
this Character and Name:
Taking thy carpet, thou shalt cover thy head and body therewith, and taking
the censer, with new fire therein, thou shalt place it in or upon the proper
place, and cast thereon some incense. Then shalt thou prostrate thyself upon
the ground, with thy face towards the earth, before the incense beginneth to
fume, keeping the fire of the same beneath the carpet, holding thy wand
upright, against which to rest thy chin; thou shalt hold with thy right hand
the aforesaid strip of parchment against thy forehead, and thou shalt say the
following words:-
"Vegale, Hamicata, Umsa, Terata, Yeh, Dah, Ma, Baxasoxa, Un, Horah,
Himesere; 0 God the Vast One send unto me the Inspiration of Thy Light,
make me to discover the secret thing which I ask of Thee, whatsoever such or
such a thing may be, make me to search it out by the aid of Thy holy
Ministers Raziel, Tzaphniel, Matmoniel; Lo, Thou hast desired truth in the
young, and in the hidden thing shalt Thou make me know wisdom.
Recabustira, Cabustira, Bustira, Tira, Ra, A, Karkahita, Kahita, Hita, Ta ."
And thou shalt hear distinctly the answer which thou shalt have sought. “
From “Red Magic” translated by Nineveh Shadrach Pg 123
2nd Variation From Nineveh Shadrach's book on Solomon's Ring, a translated text from Al-Buni
As above, there is obviously a strong Arabic influence on the later European grimoires and this
may come through the crusades, but as I have shown that similar practices are also in Exodus, it must
be at the root of Judaism. The Torah was written in various stages, by various authors after the
Babylonian captivity, when the Jews were set free by the Persians, and as I mentioned before, the
Persian book the Shahnameh does allude to these practices with flying Palanquins. Persia was to a large
extent Zoroastrian and in the 8th Book of Moses, as I showed above, the text references Zoroaster, so
that they are certainly the prime suspects in all this. We can see further references to this practice in a
Zoroastrian mystical text, “Arda Viraf” which is not unlike the Gnostic Pistis Sophia, in which a mystic
journey's into heavens, but also gets a tour of hell. This text explicitly makes reference to cannabis, and
while it is too long to quote it all, I have given the part pertaining to the ritual below, which involves a
kind of magick carpet placed over a bed, which is used to hold the body of the mystic while he
journeys out of body. When eaten in sufficient quantities, Hashish becomes extremely hallucinogenic
and can basically knock a person out, though there was probably a variety of entheogens used
according to what was available. Notice also that Viraf, the mystic and direct student of Zoroaster
“remembers the ancestors” and so this fits with the Scythians, but also the later ambitions of Solomonic
necromancy.
We can see that such ideas are also found in Richard Burton's 1001 Nights, stories which
reference a variety of palanquins and hashish at various times. There is of course a magick carpet in
1001 Nights, as in the story of “Prince Ahmad and the Fairy Peri-Banu” which also refers to the
practice of skrying in crystal ball, and there is even a panacea symbolized as a golden apple, which I
believe refers to the fruit of Mandrake. While the Magick Carpet in this later story seems to teleport the
magician rather than fly, other times it does fly, but as you will learn in the next chapter, this actually
fits with the Solomonic grimoires, as the authentic ritual carpet does not truly fly, but the magician has
an out of body experience and engages in remote viewing in order to find “treasure.” Keep in mind that
below with the Arda Viraf, the carpet is placed on a bed, as this fits with what Eliphas Levi has said, as
I quote later on, but if you want to read the rest of the Arda Viraf, you can find it easily online.
Here I have included texts which explain the ritual vestments or mantle of the magician as
found in these various texts, this may seem like a superfluous addition, but as we will see, just as the
carpet is used to cover the magician, the mantle or vestments can be used to hotbox, or to transport the
mind of the magician via remote viewing. In this case such practices were called “Cloak Riding” as this
likewise creates out of body sensations of flight, while the instructions below are the best I have found,
you can also find a talisman word square in the “Sacred Magic of Abramelin.” Martin Luther himself
refers to “cloaks-riding” and such magick as being a sin against the first commandment, so I quote his
work, A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, THE CREED, AND THE
LORD'S PRAYER, “He who in his tribulation seeks the help of sorcery, black art, or witchcraft. He
who uses letters, signs, herbs, words, charms and the like. He who uses divining-rods and incantations,
and practices crystal-gazing, cloak-riding, and milk-stealing.” Such ritual technology would explain
Joseph's “coat of many colours” a story told in Genesis 37, which seems to lead Joseph to his dream
visions. As I have mentioned, these practices are similar to Jewish Merkabah practices and if you wish
to pursue this kind of mystical ascent in a Jewish frame of reference, there is no better text I can
recommend than, “The Life in the World to Come,” by the mystic Abraham Abulafia, who wrote this
book as a manual on how to become a prophet. Still, much of this is “occult” and coded, so as in other
texts like the Shahnameh, or 1001 Nights, you must know what to look for to understand that the
Jewish prayer shawl is used similarly by him.
“DU ROSA”
With the blood of a hare killed on the 25th of June, and having filled the said Garters with green
mugwort gathered also on the 25th June before sunrise, thous shalt put in the two ends of each the eye
of the fish called barbell; and when thou shalt wish to use them thou shalt get up before sunrise and
wash them in a brook of running water, and place them one on each leg about the knee. After this thou
shalt take a short rod of holm-oak cut on the same 25th of June, turn in the direction thou wishest to go,
write upon the ground the name of the place, and commencing thy journey thou wilt find it
accomplished in a few days, and without fatigue. When thou wishest to stop thou hast only to say
Amech and beat the air with the aforesaid wand, and incontinently thou shalt be on firm ground.”
From Levi pg 370 we get an explicit reference to the idea of sensory deprivation in these practices
“Divinatory vision operates only in the ecstatic state, to arrive at which doubt and illusion must be
rendered impossible by enchaining or putting to sleep thought. The instruments of divination are hence
only auto-magnetic methods and pretexts for auto-isolation from exterior light, so that we may pay
attention to the interior light alone. It was for this reason that Apollonius enveloped himself completely
in a woollen mantle and fixed his eyes on his navel in the dark. The magical mirror of Dupotet is
kindred to the device of Apollonius. Hydromancy and vision in the thumb-nail, when it has been
polished and blackened, are varieties of the magical mirror. Perfumes and evocations still thought ;
water and the colour black absorb the visual rays ; a kind of dazzlement and vertigo ensue, followed by
lucidity in subjects who have a natural aptitude or are suitably disposed in this direction.”
As for the Gnostics, we can see in the Pistis Sophia (for example Ch 6 and 9-13) also tells of
“vestures” with sacred names on them, such as the names of the various heavens. This is similar to the
Solomonic mantle and carpets, or the canopy tent of the PGM, which likewise have sacred names
written on them and the destination one wishes to astral project to. This suggests that Gnostics used
similar means for their astral travels as described in the Pistis Sophia itself, or perhaps even that they
used sacred garments to help suffumigate the initiate as Eliphas Levi seems to allude about Apollonius.
The following may seem like a pretty weak argument for suffumigation, but in light of the other texts
which involve a sacred “mantle” it becomes a lot more likely. I have not copied the full chapters here,
but they can be found online easily and I encourage you to do so, as also the Gnostic “Bruce Codex”
which belongs to a similar school of thought and further describes the heavens and its entities, and
methods of journeying to them while still alive, though explaining the context of these books is very
complicated and beyond the scope of this essay. Suffumigation with incense in some form or another is
common in religions, but generally predate Merkabah texts, so that a theory of diffusionism is pretty
hopeless. As I showed the practices are found in the Old Testament, but Mandaeanism, an ethnic
religion much like Gnosticism, which took some influence from Parthians and Persians is still
important. The Mandaeans, to this day use ritual cult huts, and their initiations involve the use of
incense, so that they show many signs of such practices, even if in modern times there is little evidence
of entheogen use. For a description of such practices see the works of ES Drower on the Mandaeans,
particularly “The Mandaeans Of Iraq And Iran” for the Mandaean huts, for suggestive baptism rituals
involving “fragrant incense” see “The Cannonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans” and for the most
important ritual, see “The Coronation of the Great Šišlam.”
Next we have selections from the Grimoire entitled “The book of Oberon”
Now you may be somewhat incredulous that magicians of old could engage in remote viewing,
and that with magickal powers they would content themselves looking for buried treasure, but from the
Book of Treasure Spirits, and especially Paracelsus below, we can see that something more profound is
going on. While there is the ritual initiation of the PGM, and Merkabah ascension to heavens, not to
mention the rituals I provide later, which do show the other uses of the carpet or tent, what I am getting
at is that the true magicians were after “philosophic gold,” rather than material gold. That is the
initiations of the other texts were referred to in codes as seeking treasure to avoid persecution, but they
were trying to attain enlightenment in an Alchemical sense. In this view, the “elementals” or spirits
encountered have a psychological role, and sometimes guard “gold” from the magician, or those who
have materialistic or egotistical ambitions. Similar ideas are found in the Gnostic Pistis Sophia, which
uses passwords to get past “archon” demons, and this represent initiation as a means of attaining
enlightenment, free of psychological demons which keep us trapped in illusion. So while he uses codes,
this is described by Paracelsus as below. (Note that Paracelsus is the founder or modern medicine, he
invented Laudanum and used Cannabis tinctures, for more on this see “Liber 420” by Chris Bennett. )
Archidoxes of Magic by (Pseudo) Paracelsus
As we read, according to Paracelsus, it is in places that visions occur that you should start to
seek for gold, but if we take this as a psychological metaphor, it could mean that the strength of vision
on entheogens is the measure of your heightened awareness, and that once the trip sets in you should
start to seek within. While it is encoded, I suspect Paracelsus may have discovered cannabis cherry oil,
as in his book “The Treasure of Treasures” which is superior to standard alcohol extractions. As further
proof that drugs are at work in the search for treasure I quote the following from two books on
Witchcraft and Solomonic magicians, as from those churchmen who persecuted them, but explain the
action of hallucinations and drugs like Mandrake which are used in flying ointments and as
anaesthetics as cited below from Natural Magick by Giambaptista Della Porta.
I have included similar recipes for flying and treasure in the appropriate chapter later on, so I quote,
Demonlatry Ch IV
“That when Demons first approach their Followers, they bring them Money;but afterwards when the
Glamour has vanished, it is found to be nothing but Dung, Bricks, Leaves or some such Matter. Why
they cannot give true Money, although they are said to be true Guardians and Keepers of the
Treasures buried in the Earth.”
Discoverie of Witchcraft Book X
Chapter 3: Vessel Divinations, Skrying and Spells to be used in the Tent
In this chapter I give additional rituals from Hygromanteia and the PGM which seem to be used
with the tents we just read about, though there are plenty more to be found in the full texts.
Now you may have noticed that the prayer for the carpet in the Veritable Key references Elijah,
which is interesting as the Pistis Sophia says that John the Baptist is the reincarnation of Elias AKA
Elijah. The Grand Key of Solomon says that it gives “the names by which the divine raised Elias to a
high place” which I take to mean the names given on it's page 23, which say they were used to raise
Enoch. We can see from various texts that Elijah and Enoch are major figures in Merkabah mysticism
as they were the only two humans in the Old Testament said to have been raised to heaven before
dying. Isaiah is another important figure in the Merkabah tradition and in the Solomonic “Book of
Oberon” Page 83, he and Elias are mentioned in what is the longest reference to John the Baptist, a
section titled “The Gospel of St John,” on Page 107 of the same book, a mirror evocation is given
which calls on Mary and the head of John the Baptist, while Page 136 gives another exhortation to
John. (There is more than I will list in this book) What is more there are legends that the Knights
Templar worshipped the head of John the Baptist, suggesting some form of necromancy at least, but
there are also legends that they found a great treasure buried beneath the foundations of the Temple in
Jerusalem. This is important because various legends including Solomonic grimoires and the Gnostics,
said that Solomon trapped demons in water pots beneath the temple mount, others say that Solomon
buried magical knowledge there and so I believe this magick is what the Templars found. In other
places Solomon himself was said to have a green magick carpet under his throne and a canopy above it
held up by flying birds. While these are mostly Arabic legends, the Quran has been interpreted as
alluding to his flying throne, or carpet, thus further indicating a connection between Merkabah and the
flying carpet. It is also clear that John the Baptist played a strong role in some forms of Gnosticism,
such as in the Pistis Sophia and as a prophet in the Mandaean tradition and Christian persecutors even
said John was the teacher of Simon Magus! (If Simon was taught by a Mandaean John, it would
explain a lot of unique similarities) There is all kinds of Merkabah symbolism in Gnosticism, and
Simon was said to be their founder, and likewise fly in the air with a chariot (or else by demons) but the
Church Heresiologists also show us the Gnostics symbolized enlightenment as “treasure.” (See,
Hippolytus, Ref, Book V Chapter 3, Hippolytus Book VI Chapter 4 on Simon Magus, Epiphanius
Panarion 31, paragraph 5,3 and a primary text, the Cannonical Prayer Book of the Mandeans chapter 9)
As we have seen at length, there are various rituals for skrying which could easily be done in a
magical tent, which helps to prevent too much light and we have also seen and will continue to see, as
with the magick tent and its evocations, the dead are sometimes involved for purposes of necromantic
divination. So here I include some rituals from the PGM on how to consecrate a skull, which to me
seems to be formed into a bowl by cutting off the top for the purposes of skrying. If we use the skull
bowl with the skrying rituals then we could put a magnet or meteorite inside and fill it with water and
or oil. I have also included other sources such as the Hygromanteia which also involve necromancy and
skull divination which is a clear indication of the Hygromanteia being inspired by the PGM. While they
are generally thought to be stones, given that a magnet or meteorite was likely placed in the skull bowl,
it shows one way in which necromancy was involved in the mythology of the fallen star angels. This
brings us back to the Teraphim and the Jewish encyclopedia which explains one theory about them,
“According to Targum pseudo-Jonathan to Gen. xxxi. 19, the Teraphim were made of the head of a
man, a first-born, which, after the man had been slain, was shaved and then salted and spiced. After a
golden plate on which magic words were engraved had been placed under the tongue, the mummified
head was mounted on the wall, and it spoke to the people. This legend is more fully developed in Pirḳe
R. El. xxxvi., where it is said that after the head had been displayed on the wall, lighted candles were
placed round it; the people then prostrated themselves before it, and it talked to them.”
For further information on the use of skulls in divination you can see “Necromancy goes
Underground” by Christopher Faraone which explains these PGM IV texts specifically, but also shows
Jewish traditions of skull divination. He also explains the word for “corpse” which is used in the text is
somewhat obscure, implying coded language and that this word “skênos” shows “up much earlier
in Greek philosophic writers like Democritus, Timaeus and Plato, who use it most often—as do the
epitaphs—to draw a contrast between the body that dies and the soul that does not die. It is clearly
related etymologically to the word skênê, and it apparently designates the body as the “tent” which
covers or contains the soul. The stem for both words, however, has recently been traced to a Semitic
verb (shk-n) “to dwell” and a related noun (ma-shkan) “tent” or “tabernacle,” leaving open the
possibility for a Semitic source for both the word and the idea.” This source is thought to come from
Mesopotamia and the text “Necromancy in Ancient Mesopotamia” by Irving Finkel is cited which
explains a similar ritual to the following PGM texts, but which is dedicated to the sun god Shamash.
(both texts make use of an ointment applied around the eye and we can see many similarities to the
procedures found in the book “Magico-Medico means of Treating Ghost induced Illness in Ancient
Mesopotamia by JoAnn Scurlock) Still, from own reading, I realized this idea is also found in Corpus
Hermeticum, particularly section XIII, quoted with a comment as I found it from the translator, “Well
dost thou haste to "strike thy tent" <i.e., be free from the physical body>, for thou hast been made
pure.”
It is quite amusing to read how many scholars have been puzzled by the idea of talking skulls, if
a person were to use the skull as a bowl for skrying this is easy to see, (though sometimes the skull
seems to be whole) even easier if the magician is on scopolamine in which case the skull could easily
and realistically appear to speak, or, a spirit might also appear quite dramatically. (Celts and Scythians
were also known to collect heads for magical purposes) That the knights Templar may have worked
with a skull representing John the Baptist is certainly suggestive of Templar necromancy and so given
their many connections to Solomon, we have some strong clues pointing in the direction of their use of
Solomonic grimoires like Hygromanteia. I should also mention that in the 8th book of Moses at the
place where it speaks of breathing practices with the Voces Magicae, we get a reference to Orpheus,
who practised Greek Goetia and sang magical songs called epoidai for the spirits of the dead. (or more
famously Hades himself) At the end of his life it is said that Orpheus was killed and had his head
severed which continued to speak prophecies....
PGM XII 401-44 lists code words used for various herbs and things used in spells, I quote this below,
but one code is the “blood of a snake” which corresponds to hematite, and so this is used for the ink to
be written on the skull cup in PGM IV 2005
*Amara recipe is taken from taken from PGM IV 1308-16
Various rituals From Hygromanteia
(Crossroads were the place to evoke Hermes, but also Hekate, who is definitely part of Goetic tradition
and both are found in the PGM spells)
From another place in the Picatrix
While of course these last practices are completely impractical and murderous, intriguingly the
first example from the Picatrix is said to come from the “Hindus” of India. In fact we do find the use
of skulls as bowls from the Aghori Sadhus, but in no way like this, nor do they murder anyone but take
the skull from a body found in the cremation grounds, this bowl being their only possession. In the
west we can see an explicit ritual in which a skull is used as a cup on page 250 of the book “A Cunning
Mans Handbook” by Jim Baker
Some additional clues to these types of practices, including the use of psychedelics and
scopolamine plants comes from the classic occult researcher Eliphas Levi, who wrote at length on the
underlying history and philosophy of our subjects. As with the rest I quote from him, the following is
from his books Transcendental Magic, its Doctrine and Ritual. There is more here than I can quote,
though much of it will be without context to those without years of study, while his theories have
largely been rejected by modern secular scholars, and while you must take him with a grain of salt,
there is much more wisdom here than is at first apparent. Listing grizzly items needed for the black
sabbath we are given some familiar ritual props, the censor, nails from a coffin and the skull of a
parricide. At the end of same chapter, chapter XV, we learn of a black magick ritual in which a small
boy is given communion, then murdered and his head is taken for the purposes of magick. Levi gives
us a great theoretical background to this and so I have included it as a way of understanding the nature
of ghosts in Necromancy and the Occult. While a Catholic, Levi was relatively quite open minded and
he even engaged in an evocation of Apollonius of Tyana, following the theory is his description of the
procedure, then his account of his evocation.
Page 119 in Transcendental Magic
see.
Page 294 of Transcendental Magic
Taken from chapter 13, we are given an account of a necromantic ritual to evoke Apollonius, he
describes the “magical oratory” and most definitely seems to be intoxicated on scopolamine as it is
distinct from other hallucinogens. While instructions are given in chapter 7 as I quote below, it does
not refer to anything very entheogenic, but merely says to have specific coloured vestments according
to the planet ruling the day of the ritual. Notice the lambskin under the altar like a carpet, this reminds
me of the circles in the Book of Treasure Spirits.
Ritual Instructions from Dogma and Ritual Chapter 7
In the belief of the ancients, the world is governed by seven secondary causes – secundii, as Trithemius
calls them – which are the universal forces designated by Moses under the plural name of Elohim,
gods. These forces, analogous and contrary to one another,
produce equilibrium by their contrasts and rule the movement of the spheres. The
Hebrews termed them the seven great archangels, giving them the names of
Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Anael, Samael, Zadkiel and Oriphiel. The Christian
Gnostics named the four last Uriel, Barachiel, Sealtiel and Jehudiel. Other nations
attributed to these spirits the government of the seven chief planets, and assigned
to them the names of their chief divinities. All believed in their relative influence;
astronomy divided the antique heaven between them and allotted the seven days
of the week to their successive rule. Such is the reason of the various Ceremonies
of the magical week and the septenary cultus of the planets. We have observed
previously that in this sense the planets are only signs; they have the influence
which universal faith attributes because they are more truly the stars of the
human mind than the orbs of heaven. The sun, which Antique Magic always
regarded as fixed, could be only a planet for the vulgar; hence it represents that
day of rest in the week which we term Sunday without knowing why, the day of
the sun among the ancients.
The seven magical planets correspond to the seven colours of the spectrum and
the seven notes of the musical octave; they represent also the seven virtues and by
contrast the seven vices of Christian ethics. The seven sacraments correspond
equally to this great universal septenary. Baptism, which consecrates the element
of water, is in analogy with the Moon; ascetic Penance is under the auspices of
Samael, the angel of Mars; Confirmation, which imparts the spirit of understanding and communicates
to the true believer the gift of tongues, is under the auspices of Raphael, the angel of Mercury; the
Eucharist substitutes sacramental
realization of God made man for the empire of Jupiter; Marriage is consecrated by
the angel Anael, the purifying genius of Venus; Extreme Unction is the safe-guard
of the sick about to fall under the scythe of Saturn; and Orders, consecrating the
priesthood of light, is marked more especially by the characters of the Sun.
Almost all these analogies were observed by the learned Dupuis, who thence concluded that all
religions were false, instead of recognizing the sanctity and perpetuity of a single dogma, ever
reproduced in the universal symbolism of successive
religious forms. He failed to understand the permanent revelation transmitted to
human genius by the harmonies of Nature, and beheld only a catalogue of errors
in this chain of speaking images and eternal truths.
Magical works are also seven in number: (1) works of light and riches, under
the auspices of the Sun; (2) works of divination and mystery, under the invocation
of the Moon; (3) works of skill, science and eloquence, under the protection of
Mercury; (4) works of wrath and chastisement, consecrated to Mars; (5) works of
love, favoured by Venus; (6) works of ambition and intrigue, under the influence
of Jupiter; (7) works of malediction and death, under the patronage of Saturn. In
theological symbolism, the Sun represents the Word of Truth; the Moon, religion
itself; Mercury, the interpretation and science of mysteries; Mars, justice; Venus,
mercy and love; Jupiter, the risen and glorious Saviour; Saturn, God the Father, or
the Jehovah of Moses. In the human body, the Sun is analogous to the heart, the
Moon to the brain, Jupiter to the right hand, Saturn to the left, Mars to the left
foot, Venus to the right, Mercury to the generative organs, whence an androgyne
figure is sometimes attributed to this planet. In the human face, the Sun governs
the forehead, Jupiter the right and Saturn the left eye; the Moon rules between
both at the root of the nose, the two alae of which are governed by Mars and
Venus; finally, the influence of Mercury is exercised over mouth and chin. Among
the ancients these notions constituted the occult science of physiognomy, afterwards recovered
imperfectly by Lavater.
The Magus who intends undertaking the works of light must operate on a Sunday, from midnight to
eight in the morning, or from three in the afternoon to ten
in the evening. He should wear a purple vestment, with tiara and bracelets of
gold. The altar of perfumes and the tripod of sacred fire must be encircled by
wreaths of laurel, heliotrope and sunflowers; the perfumes are cinnamon, strong
incense, saffron and red sandal; the ring must be of gold, with a chrysolith or
ruby; the carpet must be of lion-skins, the fans of sparrow-hawk feathers. On
Monday the robe is white, embroidered with silver, and having a triple collar of
pearls, crystals and selenite; the tiara must be covered with yellow silk, emblazoned with silver
characters forming the Hebrew monogram of Gabriel, as given
in the Occult Philosophy of Agrippa; the perfumes are white sandal, camphor,
amber, aloes and pulverized seed of cucumber; the wreaths are mugwort, moonwort and yellow ranun-
culuses. Tapestries, garments and objects of a black colour
must be avoided; and no metal except silver should be worn on the person. On
Tuesday, a day for the operations of vengeance, the colour of the vestment should
be that of flame, rust or blood, with belt and bracelets of steel. The tiara must be
bound with gold; the wand must not be used, but only the magical dagger and
sword; the wreaths must be of absinthe and rue, the ring of steel, with an amethyst for precious stone.
On Wednesday, a day favourable for transcendent science, the vestment should be green, or shot with
various colours; the necklace of
pearls in hollow glass beads containing mercury; the perfumes benzoin, mace and
storax; the flowers, narcissus, lily, herb-mercury, fumitory, and marjoram; the
jewel should be the agate. On Thursday, a day of great religious and political
operations, the vestment should be scarlet and on the forehead should be worn a
brass tablet, with the character of the spirit of Jupiter and the three words: GIARAR, BETHOR,
SAMGABIEL; the perfumes are incense, ambergris, balm, grain of
paradise, macis and saffron; the ring must be enriched with an emerald or sapphire; the wreaths and
crowns should be oak, poplar, g and pomegranate leaves.
On Friday, the day for amorous operations, the vestment should be of sky-blue,
the hangings of green and rose, the ornaments of polished copper, the crowns of
violets, the wreaths of roses, myrtle and olive; the ring should be enriched with a
turquoise; lapis-lazuli and beryl will answer for tiara and clasps; the fans must be
of swan's feathers; and the operator must wear upon his breast a copper talisman
with the character of Anael and the words: AVEEVA VADELILITH. On Saturday, a
day of funereal operations, the vestment must be black or brown, with characters
embroidered in orange or black silk; round the neck must be worn a lamina of
lead, with the character of Saturn and the words: ALMALEC, APHIEL, ZARAHIEL;
the perfumes should be diagridrium, scammony, alum, sulphur and assafoetida;
the ring should be adorned with an onyx; the garlands should be of ash, cypress
and hellebore; on the onyx of the ring, during the hours of Saturn, the double
head of Janus should be engraved with the consecrated awl.
Here I give a Christian perspective from Hippolytus, Refutation of a All heresies Book IV
who was trying to discredit sorcerers but clearly misunderstood much of what he was talking about,
especially given his naivete regarding the use of drugs. Still we can see much of the same motifs.
Chapter 35
But neither shall I be silent respecting that piece of knavery of these (sorcerers), which consists in the
divination by means of the cauldron. For, making a closed chamber, and anointing the ceiling with
cyanus for present use, they introduce certain vessels of cyanus, and stretch them upwards. The
cauldron, however, full of water, is placed in the middle on the ground; and the reflection of the cyanus
falling upon it, presents the appearance of heaven. But the floor also has a certain concealed aperture,
on which the cauldron is laid, having been (previously, supplied with a bottom of crystal, while itself is
composed of stone. Underneath, however, unnoticed (by the spectators), is a compartment, into which
the accomplices, assembling, appear invested with the figures of such gods and demons as the magician
wishes to exhibit. Now the dupe, beholding these, becomes astonished at the knavery of the magician,
and subsequently believes all things that are likely to be stated by him. But (the sorcerer) produces a
burning demon, by tracing on the wall whatever figure he wishes, and then covertly smearing it with a
drug mixed according to this manner, viz., of Laconian and Zacynthian asphalt — while next, as if
under the influence of prophetic frenzy, he moves the lamp towards the wall. The drug, however, is
burned with considerable splendour. And that a fiery Hecate seems to career through air, he contrives in
the mode following. Concealing a certain accomplice in a place which he wishes, (and) taking aside his
dupes, he persuades them (to believe himself), alleging that he will exhibit a flaming demon riding
through the air. Now he exhorts them immediately to keep their eyes fixed until they see the flame in
the air, and that (then), veiling themselves, they should fall on their face until he himself should call
them; and after having given them these instructions, he, on a moonless night, in verses speaks thus:—
Infernal, and earthy, and supernal Bombo, come!
Saint of streets, and brilliant one, that strays by night;
Foe of radiance, but friend and mate of gloom;
In howl of dogs rejoicing, and in crimson gore,
Wading 'mid corpses through tombs of lifeless dust,
Panting for blood; with fear convulsing men.
Gorgo, and Mormo, and Luna, and of many shapes,
Come, propitious, to our sacrificial rites!
Chapter 41
But putting a skull on the ground, they make it speak in this manner. The skull itself is made out of the
caul of an ox; and when fashioned into the requisite figure, by means of Etruscan wax and prepared
gum, (and) when this membrane is placed around, it presents the appearance of a skull, which seems to
all to speak when the contrivance operates; in the same manner as we have explained in the case of the
(attendant) youths, when, having procured the windpipe of a crane, or some such long-necked animal,
and attaching it covertly to the skull, the accomplice utters what he wishes. And when he desires (the
skull) to become invisible, he appears as if burning incense, placing around, (for this purpose,) a
quantity of coals; and when the wax catches the heat of these, it melts, and in this way the skull is
supposed to become invisible.
Below is another magick circle which could be used with a magick carpet, it is taken from Joseph
Peterson's title page of his book,
The Clavis or Key to the Magic of Solomon
Chapter 5: Texts and recipes relating to Entheogens in Ceremonial Magick
There is no shortage of references to Mandrake and Henbane in occult literature and yet due to
scopolamine's highly dangerous nature, (and also atropine and hyoscyamine likewise psychoactive and
found in nightshade plants) most authors have ignored it, hidden it away so that a careless magician
might avoid poisoning themselves, or perhaps dismissed it's use due to a prejudice against
hallucinogens. However, traditionally Europe has probably used more scopolamine plants in their
rituals than any other continent and understanding its history is the key to many rituals. Less
understood still is the use of fungi like the famous Fairy mushroom Amanita Muscaria, Cannabis and
other psychoactive plants and fungi, but from the following we will get a good idea of just how
prevalent and crucial these substances were. (For the use of Hashish in skrying, I recommend the book,
“The Treaty of Hashish” by Ernest Bosc De Veze 1895, translated by Frater A.T.A., it also includes a
rare text cited below by Levi, which refers to Free Masonic cannabis use.)
“There are intoxicating substances, which, by increasing nervous sensibility, exalt the power
and consequently the allurements of astral representations ; by the same means, but pursuing a contrary
course, spirits may be terrified and disturbed. These substances, of themselves magnetic and
magnetized further by operators, are what people term philtres and enchanted potions.”
“In the Middle Ages, necromancers violated tombs, composing philtres and unguents with the
fat and blood of corpses combined with aconite, belladonna (both have scopolamine) and poisonous
fungi. They boiled and skimmed these frightful compounds over fires fed with human bones and
crucifixes stolen from churches ; they added dust of dried toads and ash of consecrated hosts ; they
anointed their temples, hands, and breasts with the infernal unguent, traced diabolical Pantacles,
evoked the dead beneath gibbets or in deserted graveyards. Their howlings were heard from afar, and
belated travellers imagined that legions of phantoms rose out of the earth. The very trees, in their eyes,
assumed appalling shapes ; fiery orbs gleamed in the thickets ; frogs in the marshes seemed to echo
mysterious words of the Sabbath with croaking voices. It was the magnetism of hallucination and
the contagion of madness.”
“It is enough to state that this most infamous class of malefactors distilled together the virus of
contagious diseases, the venom of reptiles and the sap of poisonous plants ; that they extracted from the
fungus its deadly and narcotic properties, its asphyxiating principles from Datura Stramonium, from the
peach and bitter almond that poison one drop of which, placed on the tongue or in the ear, destroys, like
a flash of lightning, the strongest and best constituted living being. The white juice of sea-lettuce was
boiled with milk in which vipers and asps had been drowned.”
“There are also some substances which produce ecstasy and dispose towards the magnetic sleep ; there
are some which place at the service of imagination all the most lively and highly coloured reflections of
the elementary light ; but the use of such things is dangerous, for they tend to occasion stupefaction and
intoxication. They are used notwithstanding, but in carefully calculated quantities and under wholly
exceptional circumstances.”
“The Magus-magnetizer should have command of the natural medium, and consequently of that astral
body by which our soul communicates with our organs. He must say to the material body, "Sleep!" and
to the sidereal body, "Dream!" Thereupon, the aspect of visible things changes, as in hashish-visions.
Cagliostro is thought to have possessed this power, and he increased its action by means of fumigations
and perfumes ; but true magnetic ability should transcend these auxiliaries, all more or less inimical to
reason and destructive of health. M. Ragon, in his learned work on Occult Masonry, gives the recipe for
a series of medicaments calculated to induce the exaltation of somnambulism. It is by no means a
knowledge to be despised, but prudent magists should avoid its practice.”
On Page 262 we are given by Levi an elaborate description of the lamp to be used in rituals,
then when it is completed, “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. 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 it own axis, ad 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 know 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.”
E
Eagle: Wild Garlic of Fenugreek
Ear of an Ass: Comfrey
Ears of a Goat: St. John's Wort
Englishman's Foot: Common Plantain
Eye of Christ: Germander, speedwell
Eye of the Day: Common daisy
Eye of the Star: Horehound
Eyes: Inner part of a blossom; Aster, Daisy, Eyebright
F
Fat from a Head: Spurge
Fingers: Cinquefoil
Five Fingers: Cinquefoil
Foot: Leaf
Frog: Cinquefoil
Frog's Foot: Bulbous buttercup
From the Belly: Earth-apple
From the Foot: Houseleek
From the Loins: Chamomile
G
Goat's Foot: Ash Weed
God's Hair: Hart's Tongue Fern
Gosling Wing: Goosegrass
Graveyard Dust: Mullein
Great Ox-eye: Ox-eye daisy
Guts: The roots and stalk of a plant
H
Hair: Dried stringy herbs; ripe male fern
Hair of a Hamadryas Baboon: Dill Seed
Hair of Venus: Maidenhair fern
Hare's Beard: Great mullein
Hawk: Hawkweed
Hawk's Heart: Wormwood seed or wormwood crown
Head: Flower of a plant
Heart: Walnut; bud, seed, or nut
Hind's Tongue: Hart's Tongue Fern
Horse: White Flower
Horse Hoof: Coltsfoot
Horse Tongue: Hart's Tongue Fern
J
Jacob's Staff: Great Mullein
Jupiter's Staff: Great Mullein
K
King's Crown: Black Haw
Kronos' Blood: Cedar
L
Lamb: Lettuce
Lamb's Ears: Betony
Leg: Leaf
Lion's Hair: Tongue of a Turnip [i.e., the leaves of the taproot]
Lion's Tooth: Dandelion aka Priest's Crown
Lion Semen: Human Semen
M
Man's Bile: Turnip sap
N
Nightingale: Hops
P
Paw: Leaf
Physician's Bone: Sandstone
Pig's Tail: Leopard's Bane
Privates: Seed
R
Ram's Head: American Valerian
Rat: Valerian
Red Cockscomb: Amaranth
S
Seed of Horus: Horehound
Semen of Ammon: Houseleek
Semen of Ares: Clover
Semen of Helios: White Hellebore
Semen of Hephaistos: Fleabane
Semen of Herakles: Mustard-rocket
Semen of Hermes: Dill
Shepherd's Heart: Shepherd's Purse
Skin of Man: Fern
Skull: Skullcap Mushroom
Snake: Bistort
Snake's Ball of Thread: Soapstone
Snake's Head: Leech
Sparrow's Tongue: Knotweed
Swine's Snout: Dandelion leaves
T
Tail: Stem
Tears of a Hamadryas Baboon: Dill Juice
Teeth: Pine Cones
There is none better than I: Martagon Lilly
Titan's Blood: Wild Lettuce
Toad: Toadflax; Sage
Toe: Leaf
Tongue: Petal
U
Unicorn's Horn: False Unicorn Root; True Unicorn Root
Urine: Dandelion
W
Weasel: Rue
Weasel Snout: Yellow Dead Nettles/Yellow Archangel
White Man's Foot: Common Plantain
Wing: Leaf
Wolf Claw: Club Moss
Wolf Foot: Bugle Weed
Wolf's Milk: Euphorbia
Woodpecker: Peony
Worms: Thin Roots
From the Picatrix page 271 we get a very similar practice to that of the melons, the seeds are also
buried with mandrake.
Here we have an explanation of Mandrake philosophy by Eliphas Levi,
“Sium,(water parsnip) acorus, (calamus) cinquefoil, the blood of a bat, nightshade (Belladonna
contains scopolamine) and oil; and if they mix in other substances they don’t differ from these very
much. “
“A fast of fifteen days must be observed, taking a single unsalted repast after
sundown. It should consist of black bread and blood,
seasoned with unsalted spices or black beans and milky
and narcotic herbs. We must get drunk ever five days after
sundown on wine in which five heads of black poppies and
five ounces of pounded hemp-seed have been steeped for
five hours, the infusion being strained through a cloth
woven by a prostitute: strictly speaking, the first cloth
which comes to hand may be used, should it have been
woven by a woman.”
So, they say, if any one shall hide gold or silver, or any other precious thing, the Moon being in
conjunction with the Sun, and shall fume the hiding place with coriander, saffron, henbane, smallage,
and black poppy, of each alike quantity, bruised together, and tempered with the juice of hemlock, that
which is so hid shall never be found or taken away; and that spirits shall continually keep it, and if any
one shall endeavour to take it away he shall be hurt by them and shall fall into a frenzy.
And Hermes saith that there is nothing like the fume of spermaceti for the raising of spirits. Wherefore,
if a fume be made of that and lignum-aloes, red storax, pepper-wort, musk, and saffron, all tempered
together, with the blood of a lapwing, it will quickly gather airy spirits together, and if it be used about
the graves of the dead, it gathers together spirits and the ghosts of the dead.
CHAPTER XLIV. (see chapter for more planet specific incense)
For Saturne take the seed of black Poppy, of Henbane, root of Mandrake, the Load-stone [loadstone],
and Myrrh, and make them up with the brain of a Cat, or the blood of a Bat.
Besides, to Saturn are appropriated for fumes all odoriferous roots, as pepper-wort root, etc., and the
frankincense tree; to Jupiter, odoriferous fruits, as nutmegs and cloves; to Mars, all odoriferous wood,
as sanders, cypress, lignum balsam and lignum aloes; to the Sun, all gums, frankincense, mastic,
benjamin, storax, ladanum, ambergris and musk; to Venus, sweet flowers, as roses, violets, saffron, and
such like; to Mercury, all the peels of wood and fruit, as cinnamon, lignum cassia, mace, citron or
lemon peel, and bayberries, and whatsoever seeds are odoriferous; to the Moon, the leaves of all
vegetables, as the leaf indum, and the leaves of the myrtle and bay-tree.
Know, also, that according to the opinion of the magicians, in every good matter, as love, good will,
and the like, there must be a good fume, odoriferous and precious; and in every evil matter, as hatred,
anger, misery, and the like, there must be a stinking fume, that is of no worth.
The twelve Signs, also, of the Zodiac have their proper fumes, as Aries hath myrrh; Taurus, pepper-
wort; Gemini, mastic; Cancer, camphor; Leo, frankincense; Virgo, sanders; Libra, galbanum; Scorpio,
opopanax; Sagittarius, lignum aloes; Capricornus, benjamin; Aquarius, euphorium; Pisces, red storax.
But Hermes describes the most powerful fume to be that which is compounded of the Seven Aromatics,
according to the powers of the Seven Planets—for it receives from Saturn, pepper-wort; from Jupiter,
nutmeg; from Mars, lignum aloes; from the Sun, mastic; from Venus, saffron; from Mercury,
cinnamon; and from the Moon, the myrtle.
Hermes says that he found in an old book that these were the more suffumigations: thimiamate grecum,
mastic, sandalus, galbanum, muscharlazerat, myrrh, and amber, and these be the collections of spirits.
And he says there is no such suffumigation to call spirits as is ambra, lignum aloes, costus muscus,
crocus, and the blood of a lapwing, with thimiamate mixed all together in equal portions, so that it be
odiferus of the gums.
A suffumigation made of these herbs as follows causes a man to see secret visions to foreshow and
prognosticate hidden and secret mysteries concerning the whole use of the world, and to reveal and
openly declare the qualities and operation thereof.
Take of seed of flex the seed of the herb called fleseed, the roots of violets, the roots of parsley, and
make a fumigation according to the use as you shall be taught in this book, and you shall through the
grace and help of almighty God have your desire.
A suffumigation made of these herbs cause the visions in the air or elsewhere to appear
Take coriander of some called colender, and henbane, and the skin that is within the pomegranate. And
the fumigation made, it is finished [=accomplished] that [which] you desire.
A suffumigation made of these herbs as follows causeths visions of the earth to appear
Take the root of the cane reed, and the root of giant fennil, which is called ferula, with the skin that is
within the pourgarnet, and henbane, and the herb tassi barbassi, and red sanders, and black poppy. The
confection of these made, it is finished that [which] you desire.
But if this herb parsley with the root of it be added to the foresaid confection, it destroys the forsaid
matter, and makes it clean void from all places, and it shall come to no effect.
A suffumigation made of these herbs as follows expels and drives away all visions, and fantasies
in sleep or otherwise.
Take peonies, pennyroyal, mints and the herb called palmacrist, and make a confection thereof at your
going to bed, or at any other time when as need requires, and it shall be done that [which] you require.
Incense Of the Zodiac
[Aries] Take for the fumigation of the sign of Aries myrrh.
• [Taurus] Take for the fumigation for the sign of Taurus, costus.
• [Gemini] Take for the fumigation for the sign of Gemini, mastic.
• [Cancer] Take for the fumigation for the sign of Cancer, camphor.
• [Leo] Take for the sign of Leo, the fumigation, thu.
• [Virgo] Take for the fumigation for the sign of Virgo, sanders.
• [Libra] Take for the singe of libra, this fumigation, galbanum.
• [Scorpio] Take for the sign Scorpio, this fumigation, oponianac.
• [Sagittarius] Take for the sign of Sagittarius, this fumigation, lignum [aloes].
• [Capricorn] Take for the sign of Capricorn, this fumigation, asam
• [Aquarius] Take for the sign of Aquarius, this fumigation, euphorbium
• [Pisces] Take for the sign of Pisces this fumigation, thimiamatis, called armoniacum.
Greek Magical Papyri
Here we have some ointments/makeup to see spirits/“shades” or “shadows,” further on below you can
also read two PGM spells for collecting plants used for ritual purposes, one makes use of the ancient
Egyptian incense known as “Kyphi” which in at least some recipes contained cannabis.
Next we have sorcerous potions of “Pharmakeia” IE potions for drugging people and rendering
them unconscious, so while this is translated as giving someone an “evil sleep,” or catelepsy, given the
spells which seek visions of gods in dreams (perhaps like Jacob with his pillow stone) it would not be
surprising if such potions were combined with the dream spells or in later times the search for “gold”
“treasure.” The Picatrix also has an extensive variety of psychoactive plant use, much more than I have
listed, including ones with scopolamine, much of these fall under the category of “Pharmakeia” or
black magic. However once again I must stress how dangerous henbane and mandrake and other
scopolamine plants are, so don't dose anyone if you don't want them to die or go insane. As from the
“Treasure of Alexander” but also more medical texts, like Dioscorides, Galen and Pliny, the ancients
were clearly well aware of poisons, and also antidotes (though some are highly dubious) and this
includes poisonous mushrooms too. So too in various places Gnostics are said to use drugs and potions,
and this includes Simon Magus, and yet Simon is repeatedly associated by his enemies with the Holy
Moly plant of Hermes, which I explained was identified as Snowdrops, and that this has a chemical
which cancels the effects of scopolamine plants, ie types of nightshade. In this context then we can see
Simon was explicitly against black magick, ie pharmakeia, as for example that which Circe did to the
crew of Odysseus, even though it is highly likely Simon and other Gnostics like Marcus the Magician,
were initiating people with entheogenic potions.
From the Picatrix
Miscellaneous Recipes
Picatrix
Incense for Venus
Incense of Delphi – This is a reconstruction of the original recipe, the prophetess sat in a cave on a
tripod inhaling, outside the Oracle was famously written, “I warn you, whoever you are, Oh! You who
want to probe the arcana of nature, that if you do not find within yourself that which you are looking
for, you shall not find it outside either! If you ignore the excellences of your own house, how do you
pretend to find other excellencies? Within you is hidden the treasure of treasures! (Alchemical Gold)
Know thyself and you will know the Universe and the Gods.”
Skrying Potion
Rose petals 30g
Borage leaves and flowers 18g
Chamomile 18
Mugwort 5 leaves
Infuse all but the roses in 1 liter boiling water, remove from heat for 2 hours, now cooled add rose
petals for 1 hour then strain. Drink on empty stomach
Skrying potion#2
dry Linden flowers 20 g
Dittany of Crete, fresh 9 sprigs
Rosebuds, fresh and large 14 (or 20 ml rose water)
Infuse into 60ml boiling water for 15 min, strain. Best used no later then 12 hours after making, on
empty stomach as much as possible, at least 4 hours.
Necromancy Potion
Angels Trump flower 1
Datura seeds 13
Opium tincture 5ml
Boiling water 600 ml
Steep flower and seeds for 10 min, cool, then add opium tincture.
Dream potion
Lemon Balm 20g
Poplar leaves 15 g
Vipers Bugloss 15 g (if you cant find it use Tower of Jewels Echium at 1 half the amount, or you if no
Bugloss, double poplar)
Scullcap Herb 15 g
Steep in 1 liter boiling water for 45 min, drink 200 ml before sleep
Dream potion #2
Chomomile flowers 15 g
Hops flowers 15 g
Scullcap herb 7g
Spearmint 7 g
Calea Zacatechichi 7g
Valerian root dry, 7g
Opium poppy pod 2
in 250-400 ml water, simmer poppy and valerian on low for 15 min, strain liquid onto other herbs,
steep for 10 min, strain, add honey as desired. Drink
Mushroom tea sacrament,
Heat 600 ml water till boiling, then remove from heat,
Add,
6 g psilocybin mushrooms
75 g peppermint
20 g lavender
Hot Chocolate mix, extra cacao powder
Honey to taste
In the Alchemical tradition, working with herbs and plants is called “Spagyric Alchemy” and
many have postulated the use of Cannabis and Amanita Muscaria, among other things and magical
tents or canopies can also be found in various Alchemical and occult artworks. We already saw the
vapour-bath from the Atalanta Fugiens, but below I have also included some other pieces. From them I
have come to believe that in some Alchemical texts a “furnace” is used in such a way that it functions
like a sensory deprivation tank. The Alchemical furnace may be used with the “baptism of fire”
anointing oil of the Christ, which according to the work of the author Chris Bennett (See his complete
works) and others like scholar Sula Benet, contained among other things, cannabis. The recipe below
for the anointing oil is found in Exodus 33, and calls for Calamus, which is also psychoactive, but
somewhat toxic, and Benet has argued this should actually read “kaneh-bosm” or fragrant cane, ie
cannabis. While Benet was dismissed out of hand, his argument is far more probable given the
archaeological evidence of Jewish cannabis use in the temple. As I mentioned before, Liber Salomonis,
one of the Raziel texts, has many helpful and relevant things for our topics, for example, one section is
on the use of plants, some of which are psychoactive. These include Henbane for evocation and the
“juice of hemp” for skrying, which is translated as resin, or Hashish by others and so it is not hard to
see these might play a role in ointments with unidentified encoded ingredients in the Magical papyri.
The Book of Oberon copies parts of Liber Salomonis as with these herbs like Cannabis, and the same
skrying spell is copied in “A Cunning Man's Grimoire” (Skinner and Rankine) but these books have
more recipes than I can give here. (See also, “Angels Demons & Spirits,” by Harms and Clark for more
treasure spells and also Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants by Christian Ratsch as some varieties of
common plants such as Parsley, Wild Thyme, Wild Lettuce, Violet root, Periwinkle etc, are in fact
psychoactive, others say Mulberry sap is hallucinogenic and it is used in PGM inks drawn on the skin.)
Other researchers have found that in the stone age, in the UK, huge mounds were constructed
for their acoustic properties, so that the Shaman's drumming would be amplified, but not just any kind
of sound, infrasound. This is sound which is not audible to our ears, but which can vibrate our bodies in
such a way as to produce altered states of consciousness. These sound waves would also move the
smoke in the underground mounds so that the sound waves would be become visible, we know this
because the sound waves were themselves depicted on the wall of the stone age temples and we have
since recreated the smoke waves within them.
Exodus 30:22 Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 22 Take thou also unto thee principal
spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and
fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, 24 And of cassia five hundred
shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: 25 And thou shalt make it an oil of
holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.
26 And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony.
*Notice above the ointment being applied to the eyes of the person on the left and below you will see a
lot of death and resurrection symbolism, as the ointment was said to do for Gnostics, see Gospel of
Philip especially. A coffin could likewise be used as a hotbox. In general, you must read the entire
Rosarium Philosophorum, as it is too much to quote here, but it includes art, ritual and extraction
techniques. This text in particular shows “the principal state of human things and the most secret
treasure of all the secrets of the whole world.”
A “Baptism of Fire” for the Alchemical/Gnostic Hermaphrodite, AKA “Frying the Salamander”
Note the magical canopy by the magician.
*24 Herbs Given below, for each of the Greek letters, starting at Alpha going to Omega
From the Book of Oberon
From the Picatrix
(Remember that Hygromanteia says Pisces is for Skull and Water divination)
The following are given for the various rituals in this book, they provide the various names
needed to inscribe or call upon for the 8th Book of Moses. The first entry is itself a ritual for
consecrating talismans or whatever you like, it includes the names of the deities of the 12 hours of the
day, while the next entry after gives the deities for the 12 hours of the night. As with planetary hours in
Solomonic magick, we can take the total amount of time of daylight hours and divide by 12 to figure
out how long each hour is, then find the corresponding ruler, doing the same for the total amount of
night time. The 24 hour day comes from Egypt, and has to do with the decan fixed “Watcher” stars, so
that this seems to be the ultimate source of the “planetary hours” used in later Solomonic grimoires.
*figure is missing
Next we have the prayers of the Planets of the days as given in the Hygromanteia text
From PGM