Rabbits Full of Magic

14 June 2011

 

The Sacred Magic



The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage is something I found at a bookstore in Auburn Alabama on the first night of a recent tour with the Back Pockets. I find that every time I go out on the road for a musical experience it is more magical than the last. Things snap into place and synchronicities occur more and more often. Since being on the road with Hurricanes of Love I have started thanking more and more. Thanking is a form of prayer, and a good ritual to introduce on the road is thanking rivers and mountains by their names.

Being an Atlanta musician, I often find myself driving through some of the oldest land on the planet, which is embedded with mystical properties and energy from hundreds of millions of years ago. It's not that worshipping a material thing like a mountain or river causes it to literally call up Mountain/River God and ask them to mail me free money. Praying and thanking these things ritualistically is a method that trains your body physically through repetition and mentally through willpower. The result is sort of a psychic exercise which, when combined with my natural reverence for the land of the Southeastern United States, brings my physical body and whatever electromagnetic/astral/abstract processes it resides in closer in sync with the natural world.

Simply put, when you thank the universe, the universe thanks back.


Anyways I procured this book for $3 when in all actuality the text it contains is probably worth a whole treasure chest full of Spanish doubloons. It was written in the 15h Century by a Rabbinic Cabbalist named Abraham of Wurzburg, who travelled the world in search of a magician that could teach him the secret of The Sacred Magic. I'm rusty on my Cabbala but I feel like I understand what he's reaching for at least somewhat; a system of magic that is holy and almost like what 19th century thought of the earned powers of the Siddhi of Hindu traditions. The idea is someone is spiritually practiced enough to the point where they become so pure in their will, they attain magical worldly powers.

The first part of the book gives a biography and talks about his search, and in the sixth chapter there are some wonderful excerpts from places he searched. He writes,

In Austraia I found and infinitude of Magicians who only occupied themselves in killing and maiming men, in putting discord among married people, in causing divorces, in tying witch-knots in osier or willow branches in order to stop the flow of milk in the breasts of nursing women, and similar infamies. But these miserable wretches had made a Pact with the Devil, and had become his slaves, having sworn unto him that they would work without cessation to destroy all living creatures.

and

In Greece I found many wise and prudent men, but, however, all of them were infidels, among whom there were three who principally dwelt in desert places, who showed unto me great things, such as how to raise tempests in a moment, how to make the Suin appear in the night, how to stop the course of rivers..."


Abraham found his muse in Arabia in a magician named Abramelin and the 2nd and 3rd parts of this book are an in-depth catalog of Abramelin's magic system. The 2nd part describes the proper preparations, dispels myths (Abramelin has problems with certain methods of astrologers), and stresses the importance of willpower and spiritual purity. The 3rd part is a huge list of spells, which are basically charts of the names of angelic beings, laid out in magical diagrams, which look sort of like crossword puzzles. I think you are supposed to write them in Hebrew on the veil that you wear while preforming the rituals in part 2. 30 spells exist, and they are pretty cool sounding.


The names are supposed to be based on whatever religion you were raised in, but he uses Cabbalic names for the divisions of God. Each chapter contains different variations on these diagrams, for instance in chapter 27 you use different names to conjur visions of 'A Superb Palace', 'Unicorns', 'Lions', 'Singing Birds', 'Dragons', 'Gryphons', and a number of other things to appear. When magically flying over the each you can pick from a number of different forms to take, such as white or black clouds of smoke, or various birds. Here are the included chapters, with Abraham's descriptions:

01 How to know all kinds of things Past an Future, which be not however directly opposed to God, and against his holy will
02 How to acquire information, and be enlightened, concerning every kind of proposition, and all doubtful sciences
03 How to cause any Spirit to appear, and take various forms, as of man, of animal, of bird, etc.
04 To procure Visions
05 How one may retain the Familiar Spirits bound or free, in whatsoever form
06 Hot to make manifest mines, and push on all manner of work connected therewith
07 To cause a Spirit to perform all manner of Chemical work and Operations with facility and promptitude, especially as regards Metals
08 To excite Tempests
09 To transform Animals into Men, and Men into Animals (Also to transform Animals into Stones)
10 To prevent all operations of Necromany and Magic from producing any effect; except the Operations of the Cabbala, and of this Sacred Magic
11 To cause to be brought to one any kind of book, and whether lost or stolen
12 To know Secrets, and especially those of any person
13 How to make a Corpse rise from the Dead, and perform all the Operations which the person would do were he living, and this during the space of seven years, through the means of the Spirit
14 The 12 symbols for the 12 hours of the Day and of the Night, in order to make oneself Invisible to every person
15 To cause the Spirits to bring us everything to eat and drink which we may wish, and even everything which we can think of
16 How to discover and take possession of all kinds of Treasure, provided that it be in no way (Magically) guarded
17 How to fly in the Air and go wherever one may wish
18 To heal diverse Maladies
19 For all kinds of Affection and Love
20 To excite every kind of Hatred, Enmity, Discord, Quarrels, Contests, Combats, Battles, Loss and Damage
21 To transform oneself, and take diverse shapes and forms
22 This Chapter is only for working Evil, for with the Signs herein we can cast Spells, and perform every kind of Evil Work. We should not avail ourselves hereof
23 To demolish Buildings and Castles
24 To discover Thefts
25 To walk and operate in and under water
26 How to open every kind of lock without a Key, and without noise
27 How to cause Visions to appear
28 How to obtain as much gold and silver as one may wish, both to be able to provide for the necessaries of life, and to live in opulence
29 How to cause Armed Men to appear
30 To make Comedies, Operas, and all kinds of Music and Dances to appear...


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