La Poule Noire (The Black Pullet)

mysteries of nature. Pray, hope. original: Priez, espérez. These commands emphasize the dual requirement of faith and patience in the pursuit of occult knowledge. I praise eternal wisdom for putting into my soul the will to reveal to you its ineffable truths: how happy you will be, my son! if it has the goodness to place within your soul the dispositions that these high mysteries require of you. You are going to learn to command all of nature; God alone will be your master, and the sages: those who have attained true enlightenment and mastery over the secret laws of the universe alone will be your equals. The supreme intelligences: high-ranking celestial or angelic beings that govern the cosmos and the forces of nature will take glory in obeying your desires; the demons will not dare to be found where you are; your voice will make them tremble in the pit of the abyss, and all the invisible peoples who inhabit the four elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water; in the Western esoteric tradition, these are inhabited by "elemental" spirits like gnomes and sylphs will deem themselves happy to be the ministers of your pleasures. I adore you, O great God! for having crowned man with so much glory, and for having established him as sovereign monarch of all the works of your hands.

Do you feel, my son, do you feel this heroic ambition: a noble, spiritual drive to transcend human limitations and achieve divine knowledge, distinct from worldly greed which is the certain characteristic of the children of wisdom? Do you dare to desire to serve only God alone, and to dominate over everything that is not God? Have you understood what it is to be a man, and would it not be repugnant to you to be a slave, since you were born to be