Magick in Theory and Practice (Section 1)

the purse of Fortunatus. No matter in what extremity you may seem to be, at the last moment your difficulties will be solved. For there is no power either of the firmament or of the etlier, or of the eartli or under the earth, on dry land or in the water, of whirling air or of rushing fire, or any spell or scourge of God which is not obedient to the necessity of the Magician! That which he has, he has not; but that which he is, he is; and that which he will be, he will be. And neither God nor Man, nor ail the malice of Choronzon, can either check him, or cause him to waver for one instant upon the Path. This command and this promise hâve been given by ail the Magi without exception. And where this command has been obeyed, this promise has been most certainly fulfilled. III In ail actions the same formulae are applicable. To invoke a god, i.e. to raise yourself to that godhead, the process is threefold, PURIFICATION, CONSECRATION and INI¬ TIATION. Therefore every magical weapon, and even the furniture of the Temple, must be passed through this threefold regimen. The details only vary on inessential points. E.g. to préparé the magician, he purifies himself by maintaining his chastity1 and abstaining from any défilement. But to do the same with, let us say, the Cup, we assure ourselves that the métal has never been employed for any other purpose — we smelt virgin ore, and we take ail possible pains in refining the métal — it must be chemically pure. To sum up this whole matter in a phrase, every article employed is treated as if it were a candidate for initiation; but in those parts of the ritual in which the candidate is blindfolded, we wrap the weapon in a black cloth 2. The oath which he takes is replaced by a “charge” in similar terms. The details of the préparation of each weapon should be thought out carefully by the magician. 1. See The Book of the Law and the Commentaries thereon for the true définition of this virtue. 2. This refers to the “formula of the Néophyte”. There are alter¬ natives. 65