How To Trithemius (Part 2 - Applications)

Introduction
Last time, we talked about the tools of the pseudo-Trithemius "Art of Drawing Spirits into Crystals" (DSIC) system, and how I made them, and some thoughts about their importance as an initiation ritual into the system. Today - I'd like to talk about performing the rite, the different versions of the rite, as well as applications beyond the 7 planetary archangels.

Before we get started - I left out a tool last week: the ring. The grimoire calls for putting on a ring at the same step where you put on the lamen, but doesn't specify the type of ring. They probably mean some sort of "Ring of Solomon" for commanding spirits. A lot of people make some version of the ring from the Keys of Solomon. I suspect an Enochian PELE ring could work too, but I haven't tried it. I personally use a 14th degree Masonic ring I have, with a Yod within a pyramid. It seems fitting since the 14th degree in the Scottish Rite is all about the Tetragrammaton, and the Tetragrammaton name is important to the system. Whatever you use, I'd suggest ONLY using the ring for magical purposes.

With that said, lets talk about the DSIC rite. First off, if you are really serious about trying it out, I strongly recommend you buy and read Rufus Opus's Seven Spheres and Frater Ashen Chassan's Gateways Through Stone and Circle. Seven Spheres presents a modern interpretation of the rite, and uses it as a framework for general planetary invocations. It combines elements from the Greek Magical Papyri, Agrippa and the Orphic Hymns, and shows how easily the ritual can be adapted to a broader practice. Gateways shows how one would do the rite if they go full hardcore mode and want to make everything to spec. So without further ado, here are thoughts I have on the rite and it's uses.

The Ritual
First thing first, I'd like to talk about some things regarding performance of the ritual that I've learned that you may find helpful. Full the full ritual, see Joseph Peterson's Esoteric Archives.

1) First, no banishing/opening invocation outside the script is needed. If you've made the circle, lamen, table of practice, and crystal housing, you have talismans representing pretty much all the forces that would actually be protecting you by doing the Lesser Pentagram ritual, and you reinforce the circle during the operation anyways. If a truly nasty entity shows up (it can happen, but from my experience it's very uncommon), the LBRP probably won't do much anyways, since it's more designed to purify your sphere of sensation. I'd recommend having the Headless Rite from the Greek Papyri either memorized, or written in your personal grimoire, which you can use as a general purpose exorcism if you feel something truly negative is preventing you from successfully doing the operation.

2) Light your candles before the rite. You don't light your incense until the step right before the conjuration. I'd recommend cones or a charcoal burner. I'd also recommend not having a lighter on the altar, as for both me and my wife, that was a distraction while scrying. Instead, use the candlelight to light the incense. You may have a pair of tongs if you are lighting charcoal, or if it's a cone, I just hold it in my hand and light the tip with the candle.

3) Preliminary purification. From my own experience, you don't have to go full ascetic before doing the rite, particularly if you are good at entering altered states of consciousness, or raising and directing energy. Therefore, some form of prior magical experience might be helpful. That doesn't mean purification is unnecessary - it appears in magical traditions from many cultures, and I kind of view it as a sign of respect as much as anything. Generally what I do is take a cue from the Greek Papyri and avoid meat for 24 hours before the operation, and then 30 minutes before the operation, I take a ritual bath. Some might insist more is necessary, but that's not my experience.

4) The conjuration. DSIC has a fairly short conjuration. From my own experience, it needs to be read multiple times to get the full effect. When I worked with my wife as a scryer, she would sit at the edge of the circle and gaze in the crystal, and I would sit behind her and read the conjuration. I'd read it repeatedly until she interrupted me and said "he's here." This seemed to flow much better than our earlier method, when I'd read the conjuration, ask if the angel was there, and if not read again. It also is worth it to vibrate the angel name in the conjuration - I've tried it both ways, and the angels seem to respond better when I include it. I generally start entering a light trance and feeling tingling on my skin when the angel is about to show up. When I'm going solo, I recite the conjuration 4 times, then the part thanking God for allowing the spirit to come. I then sit down at the crystal, and repeatedly vibrate the angel name until it appears.

Different Versions and Modern Innovation
The DSIC operation has become popular in recent years, because there has been a major drive to revive traditional grimoiric magic, and along with the Arbatel, it has one of the simpler techniques available. Two magicians in particular have contributed to this in a major way: Rufus Opus (RO) and Frater Ashen Chassan (AC). AC largely does things by the book, while RO includes quite a few innovations, and has used the rite to develop his own system of Hermetic/Neo-platonic magic. I've worked both the Seven Spheres version of the rite, as well as the original script from the grimoire, and I find both effective, though I use them for different applications. Typically, if my only goal is to communicate with the archangel, I find the additions from Seven Spheres to be a bit superfluous. It will still work, of course, but for straight up evocation I just go for the original script. However, if you wish to summon the angels as part of an invocation of a planetary force, the Seven Spheres rite is perfect. The Seven Spheres book also has instructions on how you can use the rite, and the spirits summoned by the rite, to consecrate planetary talismans. Really cool stuff there. I've even used the formula to create elemental invocations by swapping out the archangel names and using different Orphic Hymns (Gaia, The Clouds, The Sea and Fire). You can also use some of the steps as a general ritual opening (e.g. an analog to the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram). In this case, I use the opening prayer, the consecration of the circle, the invocation to the Supernatural Assistant, and the blessing of the incense, and then proceed to the other work I am doing. But essentially, the Seven Spheres provides useful guidance on how you can use the basic DSIC formula to create a complete system of magic whereby you can work with planetary and elemental forces. At this point, it has pretty much replaced the Golden Dawn pentagram and hexagram rituals in my practice. I will say - it makes for a great initiatory system. Going through the planets in Chaldean order was a very enlightening process for me, and gave me great insights regarding what I wanted to do next.

Solo Versus Scryer
The original grimoire recommends that two people participate in the ritual, because one, or both, may perceive the spirit first. I've tried it both ways, and I suggest you do too. Some argue that having a scryer ruins the "fun" of a ritual, but I think there is some use to it. If you are evoking to visible manifestation, the visions may be incredibly intense. Both my wife and I have experienced situations where we had to look away from angels because they were too "bright." And I'm not exaggerating, your eyes literally water if you gaze for too long, and so your only recourse is to look away or close your eyes. In those cases, basically we'd just look until we finished our initial testing. So having a scryer is helpful if you want to be able to actually hold a lucid conversation. Here, the burden of communicating directly with the entity is on someone else, and you can have a back and forth conversation with the seer as medium and you being in only a mild altered state. Of course, doing the work solo is important too. Sometimes entities might have something to tell you and only you, even if your scryer is someone you implicitly trust. Additionally, who wouldn't want to behold an angel? I mean c'mon, seriously. It's such an intense, powerful and humbling experience, if you're a magician, I recommend you at least try it.

Adapting the Rite to Other Types of Entities
I have stated multiple times that this system is fairly adaptable as a general ritual formula. What this implies is that spirits beyond just the seven planetary archangels could be summoned! Once you are used to working with the system as originally intended, you can naturally see how things might progress and be adapted for other purposes. I think it's especially adaptable to other celestial forms of magic. For example, it is fairly simple to figure out how you could use the same formula to evoke the Olympic planetary spirits. You can also adapt the formula to Enochian magic, especially if you prefer to have an opening ritual, as opposed to the "sit and pray feverishly" method of John Dee. You should definitely still use the proper heptarchic furniture and tools from the Enochian system, but the DSIC provides the outline for a good opening ceremony. You can even summon cthonic spirits (a.k.a. what many call "demons") using the rite. Though for this, it will take a bit of further adaptation than it would for the Olympics or Enochian entities. If you can get your hands on Rufus Opus's now out of print, Modern Goetic Grimoire, you can see how one may adapt the ceremony. I do things a little differently, though I did do it using some inspiration from him. In general, I'd recommend the following modifications to the trithemius rite:

1. In addition to the wand, have some sort of sword or dagger in hand when doing the conjuration.
2. Instead of the DSIC lamen, I use one with the pentagram of Solomon (see the Lesser Key) on the front, and the seal of the spirit on the back.
3. Additionally, I use the hexagram of Solomon. RO suggests putting it on the altar, but attaching it to some sort of makeshift belt is a good idea too. 
4. For the circle, I'd recommend putting Michael's sigil and the solar seal in the corner, given his role as a general protector.
5. For incense, I really just took RO's cue and used Dragon's Blood incense. It seemed to do the trick.
6. For the ritual, I'd recommend modifying it a bit, since you aren't summoning "angelic spirits" to "descend" into the crystal. You might also want to invoke your HGA before. In fact, the Seven Spheres version of the rite is probably more helpful in this regard, and that is what I use.
7. Before the conjuration, gaze at the spirit's sigil to "activate it." For the conjuration, I'd suggest rewriting it to be more suitable for the entity you summon. This might include a longer conjuration, it might include specific references (e.g. though non-traditional, you could use Dr. Rudd's Shem Angel correspondences).
8. This is personal taste, but if you're going to work with goetics in this manner, I'd suggest not using the "curse and threaten" approach, and use more of an offering-based approach. This doesn't mean selling your soul or blood sacrifice, but rather simple things like "do this and I'll pour you out a bottle of whiskey and write a blog post about your deeds." Don't be an idiot about his stuff. Remember - you are the one with the authority. As an example, earlier in my blog I outlined an adapted DSIC rite to summon Bune and ask for $2000, and my offering was exactly what I stated above.

Conclusion

So that about summarizes my experiences with the DSIC rite, as well as it's broader range of applications than one might expect. Overall, I'm glad this grimoire has received more attention over the past few years. It's fairly simple to work, and the results greatly exceed it's simplicity. So have at it!

How to Trithemius (Part 1 - The Tools)

Introduction

Around 2014, I was revisiting an analysis I had done of the Golden Dawn Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, and I stumbled across a blog by Rufus Opus where he borderline trashes the ritual, and argues it's not useful unless you are already hardcore into the Golden Dawn. As an LBRP fan, I was immediately shocked and thought, "who the hell is this guy, and what system does he use if the LBRP and Golden Dawn suck so much?" So I purchased two of his e-books, "Neoplatonic Basics" and "Modern Angelic Grimoire." In his books, he seemed to base his practice around what was at the time not a very popular grimoire entitled "The Art of Drawing Spirits into Crystal" (DSIC for short). DSIC is a grimoire that appears in Francis Barrett's The Magus and is attributed to Johannes Trithemius, though the actual authorship is under dispute. It is a fairly simple ritual that involves building a set of tools: an ebony wand, a set of seven lamens, a circle, an ebony or ivory crystal pedestal, and probably most famously, a circular table of practice upon which the crystal is placed. These tools are then used in a very short and simple ritual, whereby you summon the seven planetary archangels: Cassiel (Saturn), Sachiel (Jupiter), Samael (Mars), Michael (Sun), Anael (Venus), Raphael (Mercury) and Gabriel (Luna).

Since first discovering this grimoire, I have worked various versions of it, both modern (e.g. Rufus Opus's "Seven Spheres" OP) and the original script. I've also worked it both alone, and with my wife as a scryer. It is easily the most success I have had in contacting spirits, with some visions so intense I had to look away from the crystal. Today, I'd like to talk a bit about what I learned about doing the operation, how the different versions work, and how the grimoire is adaptable to a wide variety of practices, and can be used as it's own complete system of magic. A free copy of the grimoire can be found online at Joseph Peterson's Esoteric Archives.

The Tools (Do I Need All This Stuff?)
Short answer is "yes." Long answer is, "it depends on what you want out of it."

The first step in working the DSIC operation is construction of the tools. This is a highly important aspect of the magic. Part of the reason the ritual is so simple, and doesn't require complex formulas, god names, etc, is because it's implicitly assumed that you have been initiated into the system by making the proper tools. The one tool that most people agree can be skimped on is the ebony pedestal and crystal housing, but I am of the opinion that it's good to make some version of it, even if you can't afford a bunch of gold to make it to spec. So lets get started on what those tools are.

The Ebony Wand
The wand is very much an archetypal magical implement, and DSIC includes it's own wand. It is to be made of ebony, with gold lettering. When I first started the ritual, I actually just used an ebony "harry potter" looking wand. It gave me results and I still have that wand, but I now use it in my Golden Dawn workings for drawing hexagrams. With the help of my wife, I now have a wand that's more to spec, and I can assure you it's significantly more powerful for working this specific grimoire. To make the wand, you need a dowel of ebony (18 or 12 inches will work), and you can get one for a reasonable price from Bell Forest Products (http://www.bellforestproducts.com/gaboon-ebony/wood-blanks/). Once the dowel is stained, you need to put gold lettering on it. Some people engrave the lettering and then fill the engravings in with gold leaf, others paint it on with some sort of gilding paint. My wife and I both hate leaf, so we went with gilding paint. One side of the wand should say "AGLA ON TETRAGRAMMATON" and have a maltese cross, a hexagram, and a hexagram with a yod on it. The other side should say some variation of "Ego Alpha et Omega"/"I am the Alpha and the Omega." I took a cue from Frater Ashen Chassan's Gateways Through Stone and Circle and wrote "EGO TO ALPHA KAI TO O" in Greek characters. Pictured below is my wand.

You may bless and consecrate the wand as you see fit.

The Circle
Like many Solomonic systems, Trithemius recommends a physical circle, with a specific design. This design includes 4 hexagrams, one in each cardinal direction. In the quadrants between the hexagrams are the names Adonai, Tetragrammaton and Elohim, and in the final quadrant which should face the crystal, the planetary symbol and sigil of the archangel you are summoning. This means that there are theoretically SEVEN different circles. In the ritual, you consecrate the physical circle by tracing over it with your wand and saying:

"In the name of the blessed Trinity, I consecrate this piece of ground for our defence; so that no evil spirit may have power to break these bounds prescribed here, through Jesus Christ our Lord." Amen.

Many modern interpretations of the ritual forego the physical circle,  using a variant of the above prayer as a way to "cast" an astral circle. I've done it both ways, and while it works with the astral circle, I find it a lot more effective to bite the bullet and make the circle. As for dealing with the issue of seven circles, what I did was have the circle design printed on a tapestry, with one quadrant blank:

I then made the 7 archangelic sigils on poster board in a size that would fit in the circle, as well as 7 planetary astrological symbols. I switch out the sigils and symbols depending on which angel I'm calling. If I use the circle for other operations (e.g. Goetics), I tend to use Michael and the Sun as a general purpose protector. If you go this route, try to make the sigils in the proper planetary hour.

The Lamens

The ritual requires you wear a lamen around your neck. You should make a lamen for each archangel. I would recommend doing this in the proper planetary hours. View it as a "preliminary initiation." Below is an example of the lamen for "Raphael" (thanks Digital Amber). Note that the name of Raphael on the top is written right-to-left, and in "Celestial Script" (see Agrippa). I believe this follows Rufus Opus's instructions, and it's what I use.

The lamen is supposed to be made of either virgin parchment or silver, but I find that fresh cardstock paper works just fine. I cut out a 6x6 inch square of the paper, and then drew the lamen within the bounds, cut it out, and attached string to it. One thing I must emphasize is use a compass and ruler, draw it in pencil first, and then go over with ink, preferably sharpie. I saw a post in the Solomonic Facebook group where someone complained of not getting results, and when the OP posted pictures of the lamen, they looked sloppily done by hand. Putting some effort into making it look as perfect as possible is important for attuning to the system and having a good "subjective synthesis" when you do the operation (and now I cringe for using a Lisiewski term). Remember, again, that making the tools is the initiation ritual!!!

The Table of Practice

Like many renaissance systems of angel magic (e.g. the Almadel, Enochian, Rudd's System), DSIC includes a table upon which your scrying medium (ideally a crystal ball) is placed. Generally, the outer circle has the names and symbols of the seven planetary archangels, and the inner has the "kings of the four directions." For a long time, people used the four elemental archangels "Raphael, Michael, Gabriel, Uriel" around the circle, but after convincing arguments from Jake Stratton Kent on the Solomonic Facebook group, I think most people agree it's actually supposed to be the directional kings. These are Oriens (east), Amaymon (south), Paymon (west), and Egyn (north). Above is the design I used for the table, with the exception that I used Greek characters for the four kings, again following Ashen Chassan's example.

One note - as was pointed out in the comments, the diagram I pilfered above is for a *north* facing altar (e.g. like in RO's Seven Spheres). If you want a table that faces east, you should have Oriens at the top. For any altar configuration, the proper directions of the kings can be found in Agrippa's Scale of the Number Four from his Second Book of Occult Philosophy.

Ebony Pedestal and Gold Crystal Housing

This is by far the most cost prohibitive tool from the entire operation. Most people don't even use it, but still report results. It requires housing the crystal in a carefully carved ebony housing, with gold plate around the crystal that has the names of the four elemental archangels on one side, and the word "TETRAGRAMMATON" on the other. Below is a drawing from Barrett's The Magus that shows how it would look.

Ashen Chassan and Jason Augustus Newcomb have both made beautiful versions of it that I encourage people to google. When I first started working with the grimoire, I didn't use any version of a crystal housing. Then, I realized that the names on the gold housing are extremely important. By including both the elemental archangels AND the directional kings, you are in essence tying the ritual to a cosmology that goes from the 7 planetary spheres, through the elements, and down to the physical world. This, to me, is very important for visible manifestation of the spirits. Additionally, some sort of housing can block glare from the candles. My solution was to use gold foil paper and make a band, or ring, that would go around the crystal. On the outside of the ring, I put the names of the archangels. On the inside, I put the TETRA-GRAMMA-TON as well as the four symbols required by the grimoire. See pictures below.

Conclusion

Today, we outlined the various tools from the Trithemius grimoire, but I'll point out, this grimoire can be successfully used to make spirit contact even if you go simple with some of the tools. Initially, I used a plain ebony wand, an "astral" circle, and no form of housing on the crystal. I still made contact, which is what motivated me to work with the system further. Rufus Opus apparently was able to contact Gabriel using a coffee cup full of inky water on a paper table of practice, with a compass as a wand. Don't let a lack of resources stop you from trying to contact the angels. I will say though, that the closer you get to the original specs, the more intense the manifestation will be. There's a huge difference between scrying in the spirit vision, and having a visible manifestation of the spirit. While both may be useful, the latter is such an intense and amazing experience that it's hard to put into words, and I was only able to achieve it with my most recent toolset and repeated practice of the ritual. Next time, we'll go over tips for performing the rite, the applications of the different versions (e.g. Rufus Opus's Seven Spheres versus the traditional script), as well as how the system can be molded to summon entities other than just the seven planetary archangels. I'll also talk about my experiences with the system both working the operation solo, as well as with the help of a scryer, and why you should try both.