9. inverted letter; 10. flame; 11. wind; 12. water; 13. a mass; 14. rain; 15. clay; 16. a flying creature; 17. a creeping thing; 18. a serpent; 19. an eye; 20. a hand; 21. a foot; 22. a crown; 23. a crest; 24. horns; 25. a scepter; 26. a sword; 27. a scourge A whip used for ritual discipline or symbolic punishment.

Explanation of Full-Page Plates

PLATE VI

The Sabbatic Goat, from the Ritual of Transcendental Magic original: Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie, by Eliphas Lévi. Lévi identifies this figure with the Baphomet of Mendes An idol or symbol representing the sum of the universe, often misinterpreted as a purely demonic figure. He does not view it as being connected with Black Magic, but rather as "a pantheistic and magical figure of the absolute."

PLATE VII

The instruments of Black Magic, from the grimoire A textbook of magic titled True Black Magic original: La Véritable Magie Noire. Figure I: The knife with the white handle. Figure II: The knife with the black handle. Figure III: The arctrave likely a variation of "athame," a ritual dagger, or a specific hook-shaped tool, or hook. Figure IV: The boline A crescent-shaped knife used for cutting herbs or inscribing wax or sickle. Figure V: The stylet A small dagger or pointed tool for engraving. Figure VI: The needle. Figure VII: The wand. Figure VIII: The lancet. Figure IX: The staff. Figure X: The sword of the master. Figures XI, XII, XIII: The swords of the assistants.

PLATE VIII

The Magical Circle used in Goëtic Theurgy The practice of conjuring spirits or "lesser" supernatural beings, according to the Lesser Key of Solomon the King Also known as the Lemegeton, a famous 17th-century book of spells. This illustration shows the position of the operator, the divine names and symbols to be inscribed within and around the double circle, and the placement of the lights.

The figure and location of the triangle—into which the spirit is commanded to appear—will be found in the text on pages 190–192. The Divine Names differ in some of the original manuscripts.

PLATE IX

The Goëtic Circle of Black Evocations and Pacts according to Eliphas Lévi.

The circle is formed from the skin of the victim, fastened to the ground by four nails taken from the coffin of an executed criminal. The skull is that of a parricide One who has murdered their father, mother, or other close relative; the horns are those of a goat; the male bat opposite the skull must have been drowned in blood; and the black cat, whose head forms the fourth object on the circumference of the circle, must have been fed on human flesh. There is no historical authority for any of these gruesome requirements Waite is pointing out that Lévi likely invented these sensational details himself. The small circles within the triangle show the positions of the operator and his assistants.

PLATE X

The equipment for Ceremonial Crystallomancy Divination using a crystal ball or similar reflective surface according to White Magic. This shows the crystal in a frame, which should be made of polished ebony, ivory, or boxwood, along with the torch and the engraved brass candlesticks.

The process of Ceremonial Crystallomancy is similar to that of the Mirror of Solomon.