Hildegard von Bingen

Art by José Gabriel Alegría Sabogal

Our previous Unnumbered Task focused on the benefits of a regular form of meditation practice such as Zazen. Such forms of meditation were once esoteric aspects of the Buddhist tradition in the East, although it should be stated that the widespread practice of Buddhism once spanned as far West as Afghanistan where it was established in the second century of the common era, persisting through the Arab Muslim era and survived all the way into the thirteenth century where it was finally ended during the Mongol conquests. We also have significant evidence that Buddhism was known to the Hellenic Greeks of the 4th and 5th centuries CE and would no doubt have been known earlier, even playing a role in the evolution of late Greek philosophy, including the evolution of Christianity in the early centuries of its development.

It is for this reason that using terms such as, ‘East’ and ‘West’ become extremely difficult, if not entirely redundant when discussing the evolution of culture and religious practices. And so, with this caveat, please forgive any instances where I may seem to overly generalise the distinctions between these two geographical regions in the future.

That being said, if we instead focus upon European religious practices, in which the European Grimoire Tradition is located within, formed largely from continental Christian thought, with a vast blend of Greek, Egyptian, Roman, Jewish, Arabic, and even Indian concepts transmitted through Byzantium and the later translation efforts of the Spanish, Italians and French we must turn our attention to the radically different manner in which people engaged with the nature of Mind and with the manner in which altered states of religious consciousness were achieved, which in Europe is of course, Prayer.

Now, I realise many of you may shrink back from this word, especially those of us unfortunate to have experienced religious trauma in our youth which we may have yet to come to terms with, but regardless of our personal opinions, Prayer is the fundamental backbone of the ‘western’ Grimoire Tradition1 and indeed perhaps of the modern concept of Magic which has been handed down to us through the centuries within the hidden and secreted collections of heterodox religious receptacles known to us as the Grimoires.

Perhaps I can further appeal to those of you who may have a more visceral reaction to the idea of Prayer by underscoring that, as an expression of human behaviour, Prayer is not exclusive to Christianity, and has its roots in truly ancient and highly Pagan societies, most particularly in Ancient Greece. Prayer is also engaged in regularly by contemporary “pagan” cultures such as the Japanese. It has its place and should not be dismissed so easily in the rush to rid ourselves of Christianity.

Now, what differentiates the common religious Buddhist from the esoteric Buddhist is in many ways similar to what differentiates the common religious Christian from their esoteric counterpart. Simple prayer is not enough. As the practitioner of Zen surrenders themselves before the vast empty Silence, we must Inflame Ourselves in Prayer. We must lose ourselves utterly within our Conjurations. That is, we are to throw ourselves into a prayer or sequence of prayers, practiced multiple times a day, and lose ourselves utterly in the process of performing them. In the same way that the meditator surrenders, we should abandon.

In both cases our sense of personal Self should be lost within the rapture of the moment. We become, through the act of ritual, that is, the weaving of myth, location, magical time, nomina barbara, materia and the conjuration and vocal direction of Spirit, indistinguishable from the intended result.2 In such states we may experience a form of divine madness, lost in an explosion of sound and fury. Either way, both the meditator and the sorcerer experience the same ultimate loss of Self and single pointed moment of consciousness, although via very different means. Our prayer should be animated, consisting of movements, strange Words and Names, and above all the flame of Desire should overwhelm us entirely. It should be an eruption. Learning to throw ourselves into this form of Prayer is a mark of success in our practice.

Reading through the grimoires you will often find unending pages of prayers and long-winded historiola. Anyone who has studied the work of John Dee and Edward Kelly, those wonderful wizards who received the Enochian mysteries, will know about how utterly boring these prayers can be. For Dee and Kelly, the Christian hermeneutic3 was all they could understand or experience, and so their methodology for conjuration focuses on, and was indeed limited by the manner in which they perceived reality. We are absolutely no different today and are just as limited, nothing distinguishes us from them or their approach, only that our hermeneutic of the World is different. The problem we have is that we can’t see this “manner of conceptualising” until we escape it, however the practice of both meditation and sorcery are limited routes we have that allow us to peak behind the curtain. Powerful substances such as LSD and DMT, if worked with correctly, are also potent allies in unlocking the ability to see with new eyes what others dimly believe to be impossible.

Despite this we are forever barred from being ‘Trve Grimoire Pvrists’, as there is no way to ever fully enter the hermeneutic conceptualisation-space of a 17th century French student, monk or priest.4 This isn’t necessarily a limitation. Grimoires, just as religious practices, evolve with the times, as do sorcerers. Still, we should all try and peek out of our conceptual limitations if we can.

As we develop our skill in Prayer we will at first be slow and awkward, but over time, as we memorise our words and actions, we will grow in the confidence of their expression until we can launch into our prayer at any moment and lose ourselves completely. The Astrachios, known as The Prayer for Success, is one such prayer that I have described. It is your greatest ally.

What is unique for our practice, is that unlike orthodox religion, our expressions are dynamic and evolving. This may ultimately be why they are considered heteropraxy in the first place. We are engaging with the World in a different manner from the simple religious person, we are actively seeking to look behind the curtain to make contact with independent spiritual forces which exist in and about the Sublunary realm. Our definition of God is different.

What this means for us is that over time we will find the Words and Names we engage with may evolve as we make contact. We may experience unexplainable states of being which take us in new directions and perhaps even hear new permutations and configurations of the Words and Names spoken back to us by the Spirits themselves. We are, through the foundational practice of our Sorcery, attempting to reach out so that the Spirits can inform our practice. As Al Cummins is fond of saying, “we practice magic to get better at magic”. As a result we may over time hear the whisper of a Spirit teaching us how to enunciate our Prayer, we may learn what physical movements become necessary and how they are to be delivered. We will know this is occurring when our practice becomes dynamic, fluid and alive, yet possessed of a familiarity that simply feels like a second nature, like treading the well worn stones leading to the entrance of a temple. This is made all the easier by reciting or even creating our own Prayers to Dead Magicians. They are the ones that have worn down the grooves in the stones. They were the ones that cut the paths through the forest and made the first crossroads. The meeting places of Spirits. Call to them, walk and learn from them. Cut your own path. Perhaps one day we will walk with them and help others as we hear them call our Name.

And so, in both Meditation and Prayer our goal is a form of Silence. This is not the same goal as the Chaos Magicians and it certainly isn’t gnosis, a highly abused term. Perhaps it may be better to say this state is something closer to Ekstasis or Satori, but in reality I have no one word which truly describes this sense other than a sudden, all encompassing, excruciating and utterly all consuming sense of Awe.

Why should we want to achieve such states? Simply speaking, if we are able to achieve a vacuous state of mental equanimity through meditation, we can more successfully channel the Voice of a Spirit. If we can become ablaze within the fury of Prayer, our Desire become indistinguishable from our intended Result. They can perhaps be said to be two sides of the same Coin.

Af or Afu (commonly known as Afu-Ra), the ram-headed form of Ra when traveling the Duat (the 12 hours of night and the underworld) on the Mesektet barque along with Sia (left and front of barque) and Heka (right and behind of barque), surrounded by the protective coiled serpent deity Mehen.

If we wish to pursue the method of Prayer then a study of Liber Resh vel Helios and Liber Samekh will give you an excellent understanding of what we are discussing. Liber Resh describes a prayer which is to be done once at each station of the Sun, that is, at dawn, noon, sunset and midnight. Liber Samekh describes a Thelemic interpretation of the Headless ritual designed to invoke the Holy Guardian Angel and is committed to for several months. In our case with the Grimoires we are not focusing on a Thelemic teleology or even of modern (i.e., 19th or 20th century) interpretations of magical practices, so we needn’t work with them specifically, but they do offer us a form of blueprint through which we can then go and design our own forms of Prayer which can bolster our practice. Understanding their mechanics will illuminate their benefits.

I recommend we develop both our skills in the arts of Meditation and Prayer. A regular daily meditation practice joined up with prayer will radically develop and transform your sorcerous practice. When married to the art of Fasting we advance to an entirely new level. Be constantly receptive and willing to evolve over time. As I have said in the past, forget the notion of Perfection. Even in Death our Work may not be over.

We are all so beautifully unique and come from such a huge spectrum of backgrounds it wouldn’t ever be correct for me to give you all a single specific prayer to work in this regard, I have included an example below, but I will still advise that you find something that really resonates with you instead. We already have our Prayer for Success. Why not see where that takes you? Pray every day at each of the four stations of the Sun for one week. Try again for one month, a year, 4 years. You will become extremely intimate with these Spirits and they have much to teach. Of course something from your own religious background will always have more of a punch, but feel free to try and explore outside your immediate comfort zone, or why not try your hand at creating something unique of your own?

Your practice will grow and develop as you advance in this Art of Sorcery. If you feel comfortable, why not share your ideas with us in the comments or the Facebook Group?

The Akephalos

Art by José Gabriel Alegría Sabogal

PGM V. 96-172 - The Akephalos, or The Stele of Jeu

(Highly adapted. If you desire, commit this rite to memory. While originally designed as a rite of exorcism, if approached correctly the Stele of Jeu can become a powerful prayer to the Highest power and chief of the Sublunar realm.)

Having previously harvested rain water. Enter your space and face North. This implies the Hour is one of Midnight, where the light of the Wain (Ursa Minor), is present in the sky. Light your candles and incense. On a strip of fresh virgin paper write:

Touch it to each temple, then read the six Nomina aloud. Burn the paper and drop it over the coals.