Hermetic Magic

[Brother Suroh]

Just finished reading through Stephen Flowers Hermetic Magic. It is a very useful book. I am looking to initiate my self into the various currents using the rituals within the book. The banishing ritual is extremely intriguing. It utilizes the vowel sounds as banishing vibrations. Anyone read this book before or try any of the rituals? Makes one really re-think what is the power behind the middle pillar ritual. I still use the MP regularly but may replace it with this ritual in do time. What ever works in the end.

Banishing/Opening Ritual
Face East Put Both Hands out Intone “A” [AHHHHH]

Face North With Right hand out in a fist, Intone “E” [EAH]

Face West Both Hands out, Intone “Ê ” [EH]

Face South Lay Both hands on stomach, Intone “I” [EEE]

Go to the middle of the circle tought your toes, Intone “O” [OHA]

Place your right hand on your heart and look up at the sky, Intone “Y” [DU]?

Now place both hands on your head, Intone “Ô” [EWW]?

[Brother Suroh]

Also I cam across an interesting word seed chart on how various Words Of Power. It is very inlightening and assists the magi in creating his own words of power.

Heres an illustrated example of the break down of the word ABRAXAS.

[Magus11]

I like this book it is an expert look at the magical papyri and gives a good detailed look at the different streams.

Darren

[Menxeperset]

I like this book it is an expert look at the magical papyri and gives a good detailed look at the different streams.

Darren

I agree. This is an excellent book. And, in my opinion, Dr. Flowers (aka "Edred Thorsson) is a brilliant man. Although I am not part of his "Rune Gild," I understand that it is a very solid organization.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Flowers
http://runegild.org/

Mxs

[Brother Suroh]

Thanks for the comments guys. I have to agree I wish I came across this book sooner it is very well written and laid out and not to mention filled with reliable spells, rituals etc.

[Starsine]

(This message has been deleted)

[Seavel]

It isn't banishing ritual, but puryfing. I think that Magical Papyrus is only small part of ancient magic, and too much important konwledge was lost to make this system worthwhile. This is just bunch of spells plus initiation rituals like Headless One. Grimoire tradition is much richer and powerful, thanks to evocation which doesn't exist in ancient.

[MagiAwen]

..

[BaiLung]

Awen is right, and I read the book as well. It's one of those books that one wishes they had found sooner rather than later. It helped me seriously flesh out my view of what Hermeticism is and how the idea of synthesis can truly be utilized. Helped me with my evocation a lot, too, in that I am no longer as restricted as I used to be.

[AEternitas]

Though it is a great book, it is itself filled with a good amount of Mr. Flowers own personal ideas and personal fantasy. I would also recommend that you purchase The Greek Magical Papyrus in Translation by Hans Dieter Betz, The Leiden Papyrus, Ancient Egyptian Magic and Divination and The Greek Qabalah by Kieran Barry, so that you can form a balanced view of the tradition and not simply go on what Flowers says alone. Flowers does of course offer an excellent bibliography with many worthwhile titles.
I would also like to laughably dust Seavels comments off to the side, and point out that if the PGM are mere fragments of a lost tradition, than so too are the grimoires. Note that the summoning of spirits as we know the practice today is derived from practices found within this very interesting tradition of practices. Of course, they didn't quite have demonic and angelic hierarchies back then and they would quite often evoke the very deities themselves and this was done by vessel or by lamp and usually with a child medium but not always. Compare this with nearly any example of renaissance era evocation, which would use similar devices and you will see the obvious parallels between the two traditions. The Demotic papyrus refers to the practice as divination, and while that may be the purpose of performing such rituals, the act itself is clearly one of evocation.
To say that one set of practices is more powerful than the other is neither here nor there, they are both arts of antiquity and one could well argue that modern practices would be more practical or more relevant. For someone that is of a more "Pagan" persuasion, the methods of the PGM are going to be much more comfortable than many of the methods outlined in the grimoires.

Not to side track the thread much, but here I give an excellent example of "divination by vessel" from the Demotic papyrus which is clearly an act of evocation.

Place vegetable oil into the vessel and proceed as above (the instructions were to fill a vessel with oil, light a lamp and place it by the vessel and cover yourself, the vessel and the lamp with a white linen robe, a common practice herein, though it is nclear to me if you simply wear the robe, or drape everything with it, Aet)
Formula;
Speak unto me, Speak unto me, Hamset, god of the gods of darkness, every demon, every shade that is in the West and the East, he that hath died hath done it (perhaps a refernce to the accomplishments carried out by the soul of Osiris after death), rise up to me, rise up to me, O Thou living soul, O thou breathing soul, may my vessel go forth, my knot here to-day, for the sake of the vessel of Isis the Great, who inqireth for her husband, who seeketh for her brother; Menash, Menash, Menanf, Menanf.
say; "Menash, Menash, Menanf, Menanf, Phoni, Phoni" a multitude of times; and you say to the boy (strange, as no reference to a medium is previously mentioned) to say; "Depart, O darkness; come to me O light," and open your eyes at once. Then the gods come in and tell thee answer to everything.

Very beautiful, simple and clearly an act of Evocation.

And on another note, does anyne know a good place to pick up washing soda these days? I can't seem to find it anywhere!