The Perfumes of Franz Bardon

Initiation Into Hermetics, The Practice of Magical Evocation and The Key to the True Quabbalah.
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maranghello
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The Perfumes of Franz Bardon

Post#1 » Mon Jul 09, 2012 1:52 pm

Blessings All,

This is a delicate matter and I'd really appreciate if only magicians who have actually attempted the operations to post. I know we all know everything in this forum but the truth is I doubt more than 15% of the people on this forum actually practices the evocations, and from that 15% maybe about 40% or so actually tries them by the book. Not being rude, just want to add useful information so that in the future people with this same inquiry will have an easier time finding an answer.

Unlike other "modern" systems of magick where people constantly say "it's great, it's brilliant" but I am yet to read actual testimonies, I have indeed read Master Bardon's testimonies from people from as back as the 80's. There is however a rather strange issue with the perfumes.

Master Bardon claims the perfume to be used for evoking spirits from the sphere of Venus is to be Cinnamon whereas the incense used to evoke spirits from the Sphere of the Sun is Sandalwood (wtf?). This of course, contradicts MOST (not all) of the most reputed grimmoires of old. I do say most because although this is practically the Legemeton backwards it does not contradicts the Heptameron, which is far older than the Lesser Key of Solomon. For Venus and Sun the Heptameron uses entirely different fragances (Which is ok, the fact that it uses another plant doesn't mean the other is incorrect, they aren't oposing plants) but the Heptameron and Master Bardon do coincide in the plants of other planets, such as Aloe for the Moon and Saphron for Jupiter.

All things considered, the Goetia must not be taken as Gospel. Knights? Presidents?? MARQUISES?!?! SOLOMON PRAYING TO JESUS???!!!!! (WTF???). This was clearly written by medieval catholics and it was obviously written to avoid being burned on a stake. If they screwd up this things (plus some of the sigils were evidently reconstructed and seem to be flawed as well), there's no guarantee they didn't screwed up other things too. In other words, just because the Legemeton says it's Sandalwood for Venus and well in this case Frankincense for Sun (both frankincense and cinnamon are believed to be solar scents) doesn't mean Bardon's claim is wrong. However, it does feels a little odd. ACTUAL EXPERIENCES here will be highly appreciated.

On another subject, Bardon advices that before attempting to contact the spirits that girdle around the Earth, then the Moon, then the others etc, one must first have performed thoroughly the evocation of the elemental beings. He fails, however, to tell the incense that is to be used with them. Normally I'd just grab one of my books on magical tables and choose plants or flowers that are, say, fire, to evoke a Salamander; but considering in his system he actually changes Sandalwood for Cinnamon, I'd dare not take a wild guess. After describing the incenses to be used, he mentions a special mixture for "all other spheres", made from Church Incense and other parfumes, but he won't explain if by these "other spheres" he is referring to the elemental planes or literally to other spheres he didn't mention in the book. Before anyone jumps on me, Bardon sometimes does things like these. For example, he won't give the sigils or names from the spirits of Saturn because they are too dangerous, yet he gives the recipe for the incense of Saturn. Get my point? I wonder, does anybody knows which perfumes do the traditional students of Bardon's system use to evoke the Elemental Spirits?

While I'm on the same subject, does anyone knows what Elder-Pith is? I'm not a native english speaker and what I've managed to google it's a part of plants in general, not a plant in specific. I ask because Master Bardon says for the spirits of the Earth one must mix Sage with Elder-Pith in equal parts, yet I have no idea what Elder-Pith is.
"He ought to be kind, generous and tolerant with his fellow men, but relentless and hard with
himself. Only such behavior will be followed by success in magic." - Franz Bardon

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