Invoking the Spirits of the Theurgia-Goetia

I have just completed designing and writing up the ritual system that will allow me and members of the Order to evoke and access the spirits of the Theurgia-Goetia, which is the second book in the Lemegeton, or Lesser Key of Solomon. I have been pondering over this book for many months, and I finally got the impetus and inspiration to produce a new ritual system to allow me to access them. I am not aware of anyone else actually engaged in summoning these spirits, so it will be interesting to see if anyone contacts me about their own experiences. I will certainly be attempting to use this ritual system in a future working and test the methodology that I have used to develop it. Since I have many years of experience and practice at writing new ritual systems, I have no doubt that the ritual will work as it was designed to do. What remains a mystery is the exact nature of the spirits described in the Theurgia-Goetia.

You can find my past post here, where I discussed the possible nature of these spirits, how one might use them, and the symbolic grid or matrix of occult symbolism that I would chose to define them. I beleived it to be a spiritual system that hadn’t had much use or interest over last couple of centuries, so I decided to develop a structure that would make it more useful and interesting. That article was posted in late 2009, when I was preparing to perform the Abramelin Lunar Ordeal. I had too many other projects to do to spend any time on this “new” spiritual system, so it sat in my “to-do” pile for many months, until I finally had some time and creative insight to design and construct the core ritual that would allow me to access these spirits.

Since I have given all of my rituals a name generally associated with their actual ritual structure and configuration, the name of the ritual that I wrote to access the spirits of the Theurgia-Goetia is called the Hexadecimal Vortex Pylon Invocation Gate. I know - it’s a mouthful, but that name concisely defines the ritual structures that I employed in its construction. Anyway, I decided that I wanted to share with my readers the whole basis of this new ritual working, how it’s structured and also, how it works. I think that this article will show how one might go about assembling the elements to construct a solid ritual working. If you’re as much of a ritual magick wonk as I am, then it might even be a bit illuminating. 

This ritual is used to invoke all 75 spirits associated with the second book of the Lemegeton, which is known as the Theurgia-Goetia. These spirits are associated with the implied matrix of 16 Elementals, 48 Zodiacal Elementals, and the 11 Planetary and Element based intelligences. The foundation of this rite summons the Four Emperors and the Four Greek Gods of the Winds, since the spirits of the Theurgia-Goetia are wind spirits (demons), so they naturally respond to the godheads associated with the four winds. (I also used the four Hebrew Godnames for the Four Elements, since the wind spirits have associations with the Judeo-Christian spiritual system.)       

The circle configuration for this rite uses sixteen nodes in the outer periphery, which consists of the four Watchtowers, four Angles, and the two in-between points inserted between the Watchtower and Angle for a total of eight sub-angles. A central invoking pylon within an invoking vortex inner circle and a tetrahedral gateway (pointing to the correct watchtower cardinal direction) round out this ritual working. The hexadecimal vortex is used each time the working is performed, regardless of the specific spirit invoked, since this configuration embeds the element structure of the ruling spirits of the emperor of the cardinal direction and the sixteen spirits of the elemental dukes, which are the primary ruling hierarchy of this system of magick.

It is my belief that this particular system of magick can be used to replace or augment the existing systems of Elemental and Talismanic Elemental magick. The sixteen spirits of the Elementals, who are Dukes in this hierarchy, can be used instead of the sixteen Enochian Elemental spirits. The 48 Zodiacal Elementals, which consist of a zodiacal sign qualifying an element base, can be used instead of the Talismanic Elemental, although without the associated Lunar Mansion. These 48 spirits are also Dukes, and considered to be of the same dignity as the elemental Dukes. These spirit Dukes have servitors of their own, and those that are named and have seals can be summoned once the dukal spirit has been fully invoked.

That leaves the 11 wandering Princes, who directly represent the power and authority of the four Emperors, although some answer to more than one. The 11 Princes symbolize the four Sacralized Elements (a kind of tetra-sacramentary) and the seven archetypal planetary intelligences. The princes could be invoked to perform a kind of element or planetary based magick, such as generating sacraments (for the four elements) and planetary talismans.

All of the servitors of these spirits who answer to the four Emperors can be called simply through the agency of their associated seals, after the ruling spirit and the hierarchy have been invoked first. The Emperors are never directly invoked, but are called, along with the Greek godhead winds, to establish the hierarchy of the system of Theurgia-Goetia.

The quality of these 75 spirits was supposed to be either good or evil, depending on their innate nature and their hierarchical alignment - they were considered a form of “wind demons” regardless of their specific character. Since these spirits are associated with the four winds, and the sixteen directions that the wind might travel, it must be assumed that such a power is actually neutral, since it could be used for good or ill, depending on the velocity and the turbulence that sets such a spirit in motion. Like the wind, some storms are beneficial, helping to clear the air and give life to all of nature, while others are destructive and terrible when they are unleashed to their full negative potential.

I would assume that since the magician is the one “stirring” and setting into motion one of these spirits, so the quality of the spirit and the outcome of its use will be solely determined by the magician’s intent. Passions, anger, hatred, violence, or the desire for ill will certainly stir the invoked spirit to do evil (as is the manner of vented storms in nature), while self-control and a desire to aid, heal or give life will motivate the invoked spirit to do good. Thus, it is entirely up to the magician who unleashes this spirit whether it will do good or evil.  This is in part similar to the quality of the Enochian Elementals and Talismanic Elementals, which could be invoked to do good or evil depending on the magician’s intent.

Prior to performing the Hexadecimal Vortex Pylon Invocation Gate, the magician should perform the circle consecration and the Lunar Mystery Vortex rite. The moon should be waxing but not yet nearly full, and it should be in an auspicious zodiacal sign and lunation type if the working is to have a positive impact. If the magician seeks to work evil, then the moon should be waning close to New and the zodiacal sign should have a negative quality.

Ritual Pattern: The basic ritual pattern for this working has the following steps, and these are followed regardless of the target spirit to be invoked. Performing this rite will require the operator to have a collection of charged seals for the Emperors and Elemental Dukes to be used exclusively for the base ritual. The seals are to be reused whenever the ritual is performed, and they may be made out of a more permanent substance, like tag board, wood or metal. These seals are to be charged prior to use, and this is done through a blessing and then an immersion in the sacraments of a mass rite. The sigil seal of the target spirit is to made of parchment and also charged with a mass rite.

1. Set the four watchtowers with the following structures in deosil order (E, S, W, N):

• Summon the Greek Wind Godhead & Hebrew Elemental Godhead
• Charge seal (set therein) and summon the Spirit Emperor (intone supplementary invocations)
• Erect pylon of Pure Elemental in Watchtower
• Charge seal (set therein) and summon the Spirit Duke
• Intone Hebrew formula letter and recite a special incantation based on that letter

2. Set the infra-point with the following structures:

• Summon the Greek Godhead of Storms
• Set inverted ankh to the infra-point
• Intone Hebrew formula letter and recite a special incantation based on that letter

3. Draw four watchtowers to the infra-point in a widdershins arc (N, W, S, E). Draw 4 watchtowers into the form of a square, proceeding in a deosil arc (E, S, W, N). Intone exegesis of the five node formula.

4. Set the four Angles with the following structures in a deosil arc (SE, SW, NW, NE):

• Summon the Lesser Greek Wind Godhead (Anemoi Thuellai)
• Erect pylon of Mixed Elemental in Watchtower
• Charge seal (set therein) and summon the Spirit Duke
• Intone Hebrew formula letter and recite a special incantation based on that letter

5. Set the ultra-point with the following structures:

• Summon the Greek Godhead of Lesser Winds (Olympias)
• Set hexagram of union to the ultra-point
• Intone Hebrew formula letter and recite a special incantation based on that letter

6. Draw four angles to the ultra-point in a widdershins arc (NE, NW, SW, SE). Draw 4 angles into the form of a square, proceeding in a deosil arc (SE, SW, NW, NE). Intone exegesis of the five node formula.

7. Set each quadrant with the two sub-angles - perform the following steps for each (E, S, W, N):

• Face Angle and determine coordinates - note first position to the left, then the right of it
• Erect pylon of first elemental to the first position
• Charge seal (set therein) and summon the Spirit Duke
• Erect pylon of second elemental to the second position
• Charge seal (set therein) and summon the Spirit Duke
• Draw invoking spiral - join two sub-angles with Watchtower and Angle

8. Draw inner circle - perform opening threshold and step into inner circle. Draw rose-ankh devices to the four watchtowers in a widdershins arc (N, W, S, E) and then draw one to the infra-point. Draw the four watchtowers to the center of the circle, then perform a widershins spiral, from the periphery of the circle to the center. Set an invoking trigon (depending on whether it is elemental based or planetary based) in the center of the circle and charge it with an invoking spiral.  (Magickal circle structure is now set for performing the targeted spirit invocation.

9. Set the three gate keys to the three directions (one cardinal, the other two angles), depending on the spiritual alignment of the target spirit. The focus point will be to the East, South, West or North depending on whether the spirit is aligned to that direction and is within the hierarchy of the associated Emperor. The eleven princes can have more than one possible direction, so the magician chooses the best one for the work that he or she wishes to perform. Perform the three-node gate exegesis with the core of the tetrahedral gate set with an invoking pentagram (assuring the specific alignment of the gateway). Once the gateway has been crossed and the combined formula recited, then the invocation may be performed.

10. Erect the pylon of the target spirit using the magick staff as an overlaying tool. Each class of target spirits has its own specific type of pylon. Charge the seal and sigil combination and place it at the base of the staff on the invoking trigon. Then perform a threefold invocation of the target spirit, and complete with supplemental invocations from the Steganographia (if any). The three-fold invocation matches the three positions on the staff used to establish the invoking pylon. The central node (meso-point) is always set with a hexagramic cross device.

Commune with the spirit, and if the magician desires to summon one or more of the servitors, then once the target spirit is invoked, present the seal of the servitor and summon it through the power and authority of the target spirit. Servitors can be used to perform more menial tasks directly, such as fetch and get tasks, or if the magician is seeking to do a negative action, such as a curse. The target spirit will recommend the proper servitor for a given task, so the magician should have the seals of all the known and named servitors available for use.

• Invoking pylon of an Elemental Ducal Spirit consists of an invoking pentagram for the base element, and an inverted invoking pentagram for the qualifier. These are drawn together with an invoking spiral.

• Invoking pylon of a Zodiacal Element Ducal Spirit consists of an invoking pentagram for the base element of the sign, and one of the three lesser hexagrams associated with the zodiacal quality for the qualifier. A second invoking pentagram is set to the mid-point to determine the element qualifier for the zodiacal sign. These are drawn together with an invoking spiral.

• Invoking pylon of Element Prince Spirit consists of an invoking pentagram for the base element, and an invoking pentagram for the qualifier - these two invoking pentagrams invoke the same element. A hexagram is set to the mid-point to determine the spiritual quality of the element. These are drawn together with an invoking spiral.

• Invoking pylon of Planetary Prince Spirit consists of an invoking pentagram of spirit masculine or feminine (determined by the gender of the planet) set in the apex of the pylon, and the base is set with the drawing of the invoking pattern for a specific planet on the Septagram trigon. The trigon is charged with an invoking spiral, and the pylon is established with an invoking spiral, connecting the pentagram of spirit with the Septagram trigon. 

11. If the magician is seeking to charge a talisman or an object with the energy vested with the target spirit, then he or she may use the Elemental Gate ritual (for Elementals) or the Talismanic Elemental Application ritual (for Zodiacal-Elements or Planetary Intelligences). The exception would be for the four Princes who represent a spiritualized and charged Element. Performing this extra ritual working is optional, but it should be performed immediately following the hexadecimal vortex invocation gate working.

12. Once the working is completed, then the magician gives the license to depart and seals up the hexadecimal vortex and closes the elemental gateway and the inner circle portal.

So, that’s the ritual structure for invoking and evoking the spirits of the Theurgia-Goetia, although the exact details (such as formula names, verbiage, etc.) have been omitted. I also expect that the ritual may require some refinements before it’s completely vetted, but the basic structure outlines above will doubtlessly remain the way it is.

Frater Barrabbas

A New Magickal System

I have been looking over the old grimoires lately, particularly the Lemegeton, or Lesser Key of Solomon. This examination was admittedly stimulated by my readings of the Grimoirum Verum, which shares a few common sources with the Lesser Key. Some may consider the Lesser Key to be corrupted or of questionable value, but I have found it to be a very interesting and a useful source for magickal workings that are part of the magickal system of the Order of the Gnostic Star. As in the Goetia of Dr. Rudd, I have paired the 72 Goetic demons of the first book (Goetia) with the Angels of the ha-Shem, and I have considered both sets of spirits to be part of a zodiacal system of magick, based on the 36 Decans and the 72 Quinarians (10 and 5 degree segments of the 360 degree zodiacal wheel). This system seems to work quite well and allows for a balance of angel to demon within an angelic hierarchy. This, to me, seems a much better approach to working with the Goetic demons if one is going to work with them at all. I have problems with any magickal system that doesn’t attempt to balance aligned spirits. I am also particularly against any device or mechanism that proposes that one form a “pact”, bond or spiritual alignment with demonic spirits without first removing them completely from the infernal hierarchy associated with the Judeo-Christian system. One should also consider worshiping the highest entities in this reclaimed hierarchy as pagan gods, from which they supposedly have been originally derived.

However, I have been puzzling over the second book of the Lemegeton, which is the Theurgia-Goetia. This system is mostly a list of different spirits arranged in a hierarchy, although there are conjurations (in verba ignota) that one could use to evoke them. These spirits are classified as aerial and emanate from specific directions, which requires the magician to place the triangle of evocation at that compass point on the magick circle. Thus the magick circle becomes a kind of compass round that aligns the working to a specific terrestrial direction. The directions occupy positions that are analogous to 32 directions of the winds, although not as carefully differentiated as wind directions became at a date later than this grimoire. The compass round has basically sixteen points, four for each cardinal quadrant, and the spirits fit into these divisions, more or less. (The wandering princes pose a more difficult aspect of this magickal system, since they can be aligned to more than one cardinal direction.)

So basically this magickal system uses the four cardinal directions (with orientations to the four elements), assigning to them the four spirit emperors. Associated with them are other subordinate structures or lists of spirits. The first such division are the 16 dukes (probably grand dukes, to distinguish them from the lesser servitor dukes), who by merit of their number, would most likely be classified as elemental spirits, being variations or qualifications on the four spirit emperors, who represent the pure element.

The second division consists of 48 servitors of the four emperors and the 16 grand dukes. These spirits, by dint of their number, would represent a combination of the four elements and the twelve zodiacal signs, with the ruling planet acting as the planetary intelligence. What we have here is another variation on the talismanic system of combining planets and elements, producing 28 spirits total in that system. In this system we have the signs of the zodiac being qualified by the element and ruling planet, producing a talismanic matrix of 48 cells.

The third division consists of the 11 wandering princes, who are loosely aligned to the four emperors. One could represent this group as being divided into the seven planetary spirits and the four element spirits, as an adjunct to the elemental and planetary system represented by this overall system of magick. There is an implied relationship to the ruling planets of the 48 sub-dukes as well as a relationship to the elemental system that is the principle organizing factor in this system of magick.

There are also quite a number of servitors associated with the sixteen grand dukes, and each seems to have a different number of these, thus naming only a handful out the large array of possible spirits. These entities may be used in conjunction with the grand dukes or ignored as just more divisions that might not be significant. The basic premise used by me is that each spirit belongs to a specific cell that has a correspondence to elements, zodiacal signs and planets, so the spirit can be defined by the qualification of the cell that it occupies. Lacking a structure to define spirits makes it more difficult to either conjure or work with in the structures of ritual magick that I use.

To recap: There are four distinct but related groups in the system magick found in the Theurgia Goetia.

• 4 Ruling Emperors - corresponding to the four base Elements and cardinal directions.
• 16 Grand Dukes - corresponding to the 16 Elementals and associated compass directions
• 48 Dukes - corresponding to the 12 Zodiacal Signs and four Elements with ruling planet (talismanic system)
• 11 Wandering Princes - corresponding to the Undecigram of seven planets and four elements, representing spiritual aspects found in all of the above three groups.

One other factor to consider is that some of the spirits are thought to be good and others are malefic or destructive. The malefic spirits are not to be confused with infernal spirits and the Lemegeton makes this distinction. The spirits listed in this work come from the list of demons found in the Steganographia, a work attributed to Trithemius (circa 1500 CE). It would seem to me that these spirits, some or all of which are reputed to be demons, are probably more likely to be unaligned than aligned. This is because if they were aligned, then they would be either all good or all evil, not a mixture of both. What might explain this ambiguity is that the spirits themselves are unaligned, and can therefore potentially be used to cause good or ill, particularly if the spirit represents forces in nature that are volatile or destructive. So I would classify these spirits as unaligned, making them analogous to other element based entities, such as those found in the Enochian system of magick.

What I am intending to do with this system is to build an alternative elemental magickal system that will incorporate these spirits, using them in tandem or alternately with the Elemental spirits of the Enochian system of magick. I would assume that the Enochian calls would work with them as well, since they are established in groupings analogous to the four elements, just like the Enochian system of elemental spirits. So I will need to take the seals and various conjurations and put them into a defined context, such as I have outlined above, and use variations of my existing lore to evoke them. However, with the 48 sub-dukes and the 11 wandering princes, I have discovered a completely new magickal system to incorporate into the lore the Order.

Frater Barrabbas