The Book of Ceremonial Magic

It is unlikely that there is any secret science behind Magic, whether it is "Black" or "White." However, it should be noted that the occult sciences I am discussing here can be categorized under this specific heading, as the greater category always includes the lesser. The methods of magic are obvious to see, and the so-called "sanctuaries" of occultism might expand the collection of books, but they are unlikely to make the magic more effective. Regarding Black Magic—so far as there is a written reason for separating it from its sister The author calls Black and White Magic "uterine sisters," meaning they come from the same source or mother. who was raised on the same milk—I have shown that there is nothing to suggest even a touch of the sublime in devil-worship. In its pure—or I should say undiluted (forgive the term original: absit verbum)—state, it is simply the ambition and attempt to command demons. Note here that it is Satanism to deal, by definition original: ex hypothesi, with the abyss for any purpose whatsoever. In its worst state, it consists of Grimoires original: "Grimoires"; textbooks of magic, typically providing instructions on how to summon spirits or demons. and little books of wicked and incredibly foolish secrets. The difference between the Grimorium Verum A 18th-century grimoire allegedly translated from Hebrew; it is notorious for its focus on black magic. and the Key of Solomon One of the most famous grimoires of the Renaissance, attributed to King Solomon. is that the first deals openly with the devil and his messengers, while the other deals with spirits that are clearly in the same category but are addressed by kinder names. If it were possible to describe the motive of Black Magic in terms of a supposed spiritual height, it would be the hunger and thirst of a soul seeking to satisfy its cravings in the trash heaps of filth, greed, hatred, and malice. It is exactly comparable to the life of the character "Le Chourineur" A character from Eugène Sue's 1842 novel The Mysteries of Paris; he was a violent but redeemable man who lived in extreme poverty. in the novel The Mysteries of Paris, who lived on diseased scraps and grew to be satisfied with them. But that unfortunate man could not help his situation, while the soul of the black magician has usually sought out evil for its own sake.

I return, then, for a moment to that door of the soul which, as I have said, opens toward God; by a necessary but somewhat arbitrary distinction, this must be called the "door to the heights." In a proper understanding, the depths are as holy as the heights, and of course, in any true philosophical sense, there is neither height nor depth, for these are not journeys made through space and time. However, that symbolic door is the golden path to fulfillment. But this path does not consist of magic, divination, clairvoyance, or communication with spirits of any kind. It does not offer the legendary power over Nature that the Magus original: "Magus"; a practitioner of magic or a sorcerer. is said to seek, and which dishonest rituals have always claimed he could achieve. Instead, it is the hunger and thirst for holiness and the filling of the soul with it.

The word "clairvoyance" brings me to my last point and to the third distinction which I promised to mention.

The practice of occultism is, of course, comparable to the experimental science of the "psychic" side of things, which is being studied today with caution and intensity all over Europe and America. In one way, it is a poor compliment to make this comparison, because what has been distilled through the alembics original: "alembics"; equipment used in alchemy for distilling liquids; here used metaphorically for the process of occult study. of occultism is merely the waste and dregs of thought, intelligence, and motive. Psychical research, on the other hand, has been driven throughout by an honorable—often even a religious—motive. It has adopted a scientific method as far as the subject allows; it has made no grand claims and lets itself be judged by its results. From my perspective, of course, it is still very far from the final goal. I do not believe for one moment...