The problem with ceremonial magic and the grimoire tradition
In a way I hate the fact that I chose to go down this path. It makes me doubt all of my operations and puts into question all the time, effort, study and application I’ve committed myself to. There is one aspect of all ceremonial magic that I find the most problematic and it just so happens to be the most important; the tools.
The magic tools are a goddamn pain but absolutely essential. The Book of St. Cyprian lists around 15 individual items (wand, staff, daggers, swords, mitre, robe etc. etc.) all completely necessary to conduct the ceremony safely, and all of them should be made from scratch and all of them should be consecrated in various different ways using various different methods (blood of a black cat, made in the day of Jupiter and so on.) Now unless your a skilled blacksmith, woodworker and have a couple of thousand of pounds/dollars in your pocket I very much doubt that ANYONE has every single tool made in the prescribed manner.
The Goetia has a very small itinerary of essential tools (not including all the appropriate rings and talismans) including the sceptre, cap, robe and essential perfumes, so pretty simple here, but then there’s the girdle of lion skin.
Now practising the Goetia seems to be quite popular, and loads of occultists claim success while lacking the tools, so who out there has the girdle of lion skin? Who out there has all the essential tools listed in St. Cyprian? I goddamn don’t and I very much doubt that most of the wonderful magicians and practitioners I’ve met don’t. And we all say that we’ve had success in evocations while lacking these tools, so how is this possible? Are we liars? Are we lazy? Do we not care? Are we frauds? Are we hacks? I don’t believe so. I think we try our best, I think we experiment and explore. I think that despite lacking the tools we are still drawn to the grimoires and will always endeavour to practise and evoke. I think we’re bloody amazing by sheer virtue that we try, try, try. But sometimes I feel like a fraud.
I adore the tools that I DO have and I’m very grateful that I own things that some practitioners don’t, and I really have no clue why or how I’m still successful. In no way I’m saying that I’m an uber magic master and every ceremony goes 100% perfect and I evoke spirits to full physical manifestation. My success rates vary, but I have done and continue to be successful. But why? Why does it work when by all accounts it shouldn’t?
I can’t answer these questions, it’s been a problem that has latched onto me since the beginning of my studies. The whole reason I joined Tumblr was because this is the only place I can raise these questions and discuss magical practises to the whole community. So fire away, reply, message me let’s get a conversation going here, don’t hold back if what you think I’m doing is folly, don’t hold back if you want to criticise the shit out of me. Go for it.
PS: this is is no way an attack or attempt to invalidate the work of my brother and sister magicians or any other magical practitioner. I will believe your success stories, I honestly do, it’s just I’m doubting my own work right now.
I relate to this. It’s discouraging when reading the old grimoires telling you that you need all these specific supplies and such. Really it’s all internal power. Energy manipulation is what gets it going.
And some of these tools bring about powerful energy, but so do a lot of other things, things much more easily obtained.
Church of the Morningstar 