Olympick Magick

by Anouscn Lcontc
 Olympick Magick
A Short Guide to Summoning the Planetary Spirits of the
Arbme/
by Ahousen Leonte

Copyright 2014

other works by the author:

Gnostic Magick

Sigil Magick: the Basics

Evocation Through Sigil Magick

Scrying Without Tears

The Art of Magick Fasting

Cat Magick
Introduction

This work is a small manual for evoking the Olympick Spir-

its using sigils, colored lighting and special fragrances.
They are described in an ancient grimoire known as the
Arbntel, as well as in certain other derivative grimoires. The
Olympicks are both very beneficial and easy to summon,
and can lead to some very interesting experiences. Ifyou
have read some of my other works, this particular small
book may be somewhat redundant. Once you know the
basic mechanics of evocation and using sigils, there is not
much else that needs to be explained. It is practice and ex-
perimentation that is importantinot theory and instruc-
tion. Magick is very simple when you distill it to its essen-
tials, despite what you may have read elsewhere. However,
IWill try and pack as much useful information as I can into
this small book and give you all the tools you Will need to
summon the Olympick Spirits. I was inspired to write this
after the success of my book on the Egyptian Spirit Bust,
and it seems that though the book is small, many people
found it useful and interesting. I write this work merely as
a general introduction and invitation to the Olympickx,
though, and not as a comprehensive manual. Eventually I
may include this work in a larger volume, detailing many
Spirits, their sigils, etc.
Also, at the end ofthis book I am including an essay ad-
dressing some questions on the nature of the reality of
evocation. i think this is a good book to place such an
essay in, for reasons which Will become clear in the essay
itself.
According to the Arbatel, the Olympickx are the “Spirits of
Olympus." But while we normally associate Mt. Olympus
with the home ofthe Creek Pantheon, the Olympick Spirits
are not Creek in origin, nor do they necessarily correspond
to Greek deities. On the contrary, the Olympick Spirits
themselves have Hebrew names, and appear to work and
manifest within a Kabbalistic framework. i have evoked
other Spirits associated with the Kabbalah, and the “fla-
vor“ of the Olympicks is very similar. I don't want to color
your perception ofwhat they feel like, as you should sum-
mon them and see for yourself, but it is my experience that
different types of Spirits associated with specific cultural
contexts have similar natures and “attitudes“. Egyptian
Spirits feel different the Norse Spirits, and Chinese Spirits
feel different than Persian Spirits. But even though the
Olympick Spirits feel Kabbalistic, they are in a class oftheir
own. According to the Arbatzl, they are the Spirits "whom
God Willed administer over the universe and the entire en-
gine ofthe world." They are “visible stars“ii.e., the seven
planetsiand "under the command ofeach is a manifold
and heavenly militia", for "there are seven rulers in all the
elements, along with their retinue, who equally cause the
motions of heaven, and of whom the inferiors are always
dependent upon their superiors." It also says that they
have 196 provinces under the power of their adminis-
tration, and each rules in succession for 490 years. By the
reckoning ofthe Arbntel, Hagith is now in control.
The names ofthe Olympickx are, in order:
Amtmn Hugith
Bethor Ophiel
Phuleg Phu/
Och
In addition to their Kabbalistic names, the Olympickx are
clearly associated With the seven classical planets of an-
cient Astrology. Amtmn is Saturn, Bethor is Jupiter, Phuleg
is Mars, Och is the Sun, Hngith is Venus, Ophiel is Mer-

cury, and PW] is the Moon. However, they are different

than evoking the planets in themselves. Though I have not
evoked them in some time, my experiences with them is
that they are Spirits who participate in planetary energies,
but they have a nature and personality of their own inde-
pendent of the planets. For example, Amtmn works and
appears with energies which are clearly Saturnian, but
whereas summoning Saturnian energies in themselves
often results in a sense ofimpersonal and primal energies,
Amtmn is more inviting. Whereas Saturnian energies tend
to engulfand display themselves without interaction, Am-
tmn interacts and dialogues in a personaliand even per-
sonableiway. This follows for the other Spirits as well.
They each seem to embody Within themselves planetary
energies, but at the same time possess their own unique
and special consciousnesses which are distinct from the
planets themselves.
Many ofthe details found in the Arbutel are unnecessary to
actually summon the Olympicks. In my experience, this is
true of most grimoires: the Christian Latin prayers, the
sacrificed animals, the odd incense ingredients, etc. are all
not necessary. Even the circle is not necessary. Ifi were a
gambler, i‘d even bet that these things were not even used
by the ancient magiciansiat least not the smart onesi
and were put in the grimoires to throw the "uninitiated" of
the trail. The only things necessary to summon the
Olympicks are the name of the Spirit and its sigil. Beyond
these, the entire experience can be more interesting and
powerful if you incorporate other elements, but such
things are also not absolutely required. However, I would
suggest you purchase a copy of the Arbutel and read it
multiple times. You do not have to believe everything it
says, of course, but it is a fascinating and well-written
book. i am under the impression, also, that having a phys-
ical copy of the work nearby makes the summoning expe-
rience more vivid, but this may not be the case for all peo-
ple.
As the Arbate/ says, each of the Olympick Spirits has cer-
tain particular powers which, in a veiled way, communicate
their overall power. In addition to being useful in so-called
"practical" ways, these Spirits are the kind that can bestow
mystical experiences such as union, the dissolution ofthe
sense of self, the feeling ofother worlds and realities, etc. I
believe they are a good introduction to the practice of
magick in general, as they are easily summoned, are gener-
ally goodnatured, and they can convey a wide range of ex-
periences.

Also, at the end ofthis book I am including an essay ad-

dressing some questions on the nature of the reality of
evocation. I think this is a good book to place such an
essay in, for reasons which Will become clear in the essay
itself.
The method afevamtion

An Olympick may be evoked with nothing more than its

sigil and its name. That is, you can write its sigil down on a
piece of paper, place the paper in front ofyou, then slowly

chant its name. You should do a banishing ritual before-

hand or a brief meditation to collect your thoughts and
energies, but this is all that is necessary.
However, the bare-bones approach isn‘t necessarily the
best one. If you want to increase the likelihood of an in-

tense evocation session, I recommend utilizing as many

elements of astrological correspondence as you can. The
more the betteriespecially ifyou are a beginner at evoca-
tion.
(Here is where I get redundant, with some quotes from my
book Cut Magick):
To perform a simple summoning ritual for any spirit, I
recommend havingthese items:
An altar
A painted, white or black picture frame to hold the sigil
Various white or black candle holders
Colored candles
Colored lamps (seven for each ofthe primary planets)
A rosary or set of beads
Incense
The Altar
An altar can be anything from a small table to your own
construction. I recommend utilizing bricks, painted black.
Lay a cloth over the bottom part, but allow a brick or two
to actually hold the sigil frame in place.
The Sigil
A sigil is the seal or emblem of the Spirit. It is an abstract
design which serves as a point of focus for the sum-
moning, as well as a means of contacting the Spirit. The
sigil itselfshould be placed in the center ofthe altar with a
cloth over, keeping it hid. It will be unveiled during the rit-
ual itself. While conducting the ritual you should look at
the sigil and nothing else, until the presence of the Spirit
manifests.
Colored Candles and Colored Lamps
These follow planetary correspondences and are designed
to give the ritual a certain beneficial and magickally potent
ambience. Colored candles shouldn't be too difficult to
figure out, but making lamps is a little harder. I recom-
mend buying something which is clear glass that you can
easily set a candle in, then painting it with heat resistant
paint. You will likely need to paint a few coats, and a
sponge brush works far better for coverage than a regular
paint brush. I would recommend using both candles and
colored lamps if possible and, of course, you can place
them wherever you wish, although it is always best to have
an eye forthe aesthetics ofthe ritual.
A Serying Mirror
This is to gaze at during the evocation to see images. I
wrote a book on it called Scrying Without Tears which goes
into the process oftraining yourselfto scry. To get started,
though, you can take a photo frame and paint the image
holder pure black. When you evoke, you stare into the
scrying mirror and, in time, images will begin to appear.
The Beads
Chanting the name ofthe Spirit is a good means of also
bringing it into manifestation. I recommend making an ab-
stract mantra out ofthe Spirit's name to recite, though one
can also write a prayer in English or simply recite or sing
the name ofthe Spirit in question.
Incense
This has much the same function as the candles and
lamps, and one can consult an Astrological dictionary to
see what best incenses to use for planetary correspon-
dences.
The Ritual
After everything has been set up, the first step is to calm
yourself for a few moments With your eyes closed. Ideally,
the ritual should take place in the dark, with no light but
the lamps/candles. At this time, take in the smell ofthe in-
cense and the sense ofanticipation fillingthe room.
Next, open your eyes and recite a prayer to the Spirit. Wait
a moment in silence. Then, unveil the sigil and gaze upon
it. At this time you can recite the prayer again and wait, or
recite the name ofthe Spirit with the beads, or use the ab-
stract mantra. Do so until the Spirit comes.
Once the Spirit arrives, you can simply commune With it,
ask it questions or make requests. If you have a scrying
mirror set up, this is the time to begin scrying, perceiving
the Spirit's forms. When the time is right, bid the Spirit to
depart.
Afterwards
Take a few moments to reflect on the ritual. Then, slowly
and mindfully, place the sigil in its cloth, snuffout the in-
cense, then the candles and then the lamps. Then put
everything away. You can write about your feelings and ex-
periences in your magickal journal for later reflection, also,
as well as whatever images you see during scrying.
According to the Arbatel, each of the Olympieks is to be
evoked on the first hour of their particular planetary day,
but in my experience it is just as effective to evoke them at
any time on their respective planetary day. I would say this
is true for all planetary energies, actually. Sunday is for the

Sun, Monday for the Moon, Tuesday for Mars, Wednesday

for Mercury, Thursday for Jupiter, Friday for Venus and
Saturday for Saturn. You can evoke them on an alternate
day, but the experience may be less intense, or they may
not arrive at all. This may be because the seven luminaries
really do control everything, but I doubt reality is so com»
pact and orderly as that. A Chaos magick attitude would
perhaps consider that there is a collective "energy wave" of
ancient practitioners associated with these Spirits, and be-
cause they were always evoked on certain days at certain
times then such times are more potent because of this.
Just as certain religious symbols have inherent power not
because the religions are true, but because people believe
they are true, so too these days and times have a reso-
nance with the Spirits in question, even though there is re-
ally no objective basis for such. But I‘m not entirely con-
vinced ofthe Chaos magick paradigm, either. I like to think
of things as both/and rather than either/or. Even better
than having a conclusion about something is to enjoy its
mystery. I would advise sticking to the planetary day corre-
spondencesiat least at the outsetiand experimenting
later.
However, some of the Olympieks seem to me to respond
better at night than at day. I am not sure ifthis is the case
with everyone, so I recommend trying at both times and
noting the results.
The Arbatel also says that you are not to evoke them for
more than hour, or else it will attach itselfto you in a way
you wouldn‘t Wish them to.
The Olympieks, in my experience, are soon to arrive and
soon to depart, and once they are present their presence
can be fairly intense. The Olympicks, like all planetary Spir-
its, can be employed in mundane things. They have
dominioniit is saidiover all the areas of earthly life
under their respective planet. I will list the uses as given in
the Arbatel, but I would like to point out that the real value
ofthe Olympicks is not in their ability to acquire things, but
in the mystical experiences they inspire. Reading the

Arbatel, it appears that the type of magicians who were in

the habit of evoking them were ofthe more mystically and
spiritually inclined, and I can see why: the Olympieks seem
to delight in encountering human beings and involving
themselves in higher mind functions. Angelic and Kabbal-
istic spirits seem to operate on this plane as a whole, and
the Olympieks are no different. In fact, if you look at the
order in which the Olympieks appear in the Arbatel, they
follow the Tree of Life as given in Kabbalah, With Aratron
as Binah, Bethor as Chesed, Phaleg as Geburah, Och as
Tiphereth, Hagith as Netzaeh, Ophiel as Hod and Phu/ as
Yesod. And this brings me to my last point: after you have
evoked them all and gotten a sense ofthem, do a study on
what their names mean in Hebrew. It may take you a while
to figure it out, for some ofthe meanings are obscure, but
once you do so, you may find that your experiences of
them actually contained elements of the meaning of their
names. The joy that comes from this type of independent
confirmation is simply amazingior in my experience it
was. Discovery is better than learning, I think, and expe»
rience is better than knowledge. When you evoke the
Olympieks many times, note the experiences and images
you receive, and then, later, do a study on their name
meanings, finding that the experiences you had contained
representations of their names (as well as some mytho-
logical associations), then you will know there is far more
to heaven and earth than we normally dream of. You can‘t
really put a price on such an experience.
I have listed the planet, the traditional uses and the day all
according to the Arbatel, itself. The colors of the sigil, can-
dles, lamp and fragrance are all my own personal prefer-
ences when it comes to evoking them. You may find that
other arrangements work better for you. In addition,
because I think the uses given in the Arbatel are symbolic,
I have listed my own interpretation ofthem.
In the Arbatel itself, after giving a listing of the Olympieks
and their uses, it gives two series of sevenfold secrets that
one may acquire by evoking them. The Arbate/ does not
say which planet each secret, corresponds to, and the se-
crets are given in a heavily Judeo-Christian context. I per-
sonally feel that their meaning is just as esoteric as the
uses listed for the Olympieks themselves, possessing
many of the same truths as Neo-Platonist philosophy. I
may one day write a book on this but I like the idea of peo»
ple discovering things for themselves. I know that, for me,
the greatest things I've learned and experienced were
things I didn't read about, but rather stumbled upon unex-
pectedly
The Olympieks
ARATRON

Planet: Saturn.
Uses: Aratron is said to convert things into stones (while
retaining their original shape), to convert treasures into
cinders and cinders into treasures, to give powerful famil-
iar Spirits, to teach alchemy, magick and physics, to recon-

cile the mythical Pygmy-spirits with human beings as well

ashairy men (homines pi/osos), invisibility, to make fertile
what is barren and to prolong life. (I have no idea what the
references to Pygmy-spirits or homines pilosos are. How-
ever, Aratron seems to be a very benevolent and wise Spir-
it, and is able to convert negative Saturnian aspects into
positive ones. And as Saturnian aspects touch almost
every area of life, Aratron is particularly useful. I would
recommend starting with Aratron as the first of the
Olympieks to evoke.)
Time: Saturday.
Colors: A black background with white or light blue for the
sigil outline.
Candles: Black and white.
Lamp: Violet.
Fragrance: Frankincense.
BETHOR

Planet: Jupiter.
Uses: Bethor is said to increase your dignity, to open trea-
sures, to reconcile Spirits of the air and make them hon-
est, moving precious stones and gems from place to
place, to make the efficacy ofmedicine miraculous, giving
familiar Spirits and prolonging life to 700 years. (Bethor is
very similar to Aratron in general temperament, although
having more to do with jovian things. To move precious
stones and gems from place to place applies to Bethor‘s
ruling over treasures, and keeping them hid. As jupiter
rules increase, and as we only increase our wealth when
we hold on to it, Bethor aids in this task. Health, also, is

implied.)
Time: Thursday.
Colors: A deep blue background with white or gold for the
sigiloutline. Lamp: Blue. Fragrance: juniper, Pine.
Candles: Yellow and blue, or blue and white.
PHALEC.

i‘él
Planet: Mars.
Uses: Phaleg issaid to make one powerful in war. (This is
fairly self-explanatory, although I will also say that there are
mystical elements to Phaleg which one wouldn't automat-
ically associate with war or conflict.)
Time: Tuesday.
Colors: A red background with black or white for the sigil
outline, or a pure white background and a red sigil.
Candles: Red, black and white, or all black.
Lamp: Red.
Fragrance: Cinnamon.
OCH

Planet: Sun.
Uses: Och is said to prolong life to 600 years, to give wis-
dom, the best familiar Spirits, to teach perfect medicines,
to convert anything into the purest gold or precious
stones, to give gold, and to make one worshiped as a God
by all the kings of the world. (Och teaches how to solve
problems and alleviate difficult situations, and is also
associated with physical health. Anything Solar-based ap-
plies to Och. As kings are associated With the Sun, Oeh can
place one in positions of authority and admiration, or
teach one how to do so.)
Time: Sunday.
Colors: Yellow background With a black sigil. Lamp: Yellow.
Candles: Blue and yellow, or green and yellow.
Fragrance: Sandalwood.
HACITH

'-I—IJ
Planet: Ven us.
Uses: Hagith gives beauty and rules over all things involv-
ing Venus. He can transform copper to gold or gold into

copper, and provides familiar Spirits. (Copper is tradi-

tionally a Venusian metal, and converting it into gold im-
plies expanding Venusian energies into Solar ones, or
Solar ones into Venusian energies.)
Time: Venus.
Colors: A green background with a yellow sigil, or a pink
background with a black sigil.
Candles: Creen, pink and white, or all white.
Lamp: Green or pink.
Fragrance: Rose orjasmine.
OPHIEL

Planet: Mercury.
Uses: All Mercurial things are under Ophiel. He gives
familiar Spirits and can teach all types of “art"ithat is,
music, literature, painting, rhetoric, etc. He also can trans-
form quicksilver into the philosopher‘s stone. (The chang-
ing of quicksilver into the philosopher's stone refers to

some very esoteric aspects of alchemy. In a nutshell, it

refers to the conversion of the mind or intellect into a
more powerful element. The philosopher‘s stone was said
to grant such things as immortality, all one's wishes, the
ability to fly, etc. but I would say that, in this case, the
application has more to do with mystical states and abil-
ities, such as psychic powers, astral traveling, lucid dream-
rng, meditation, achieving gnosis in Sigrlrzation and most
any other magickal attainment one might want. Ophiel is a
bit more subtle than the others, but very useful, and has
the most wide-ranging effects and benefits in my expe-
rience.)
Time: Wednesday.
Colors: An orange background with a black sigil.
Candles: Light green and white, or all black.
Lamp: Orange.
Fragrance: Myrrh.
PHUL

Planet: Moon.
Uses: Phul rules all things corresponding to the Moon, as
well as providing familiar Spirits of the wateriwho, it is
said, can serve in visible and bodily formias well as con-
verting any metal into silver. (In the Arbatel, it says Phu/
can convert any metal into silver in both word and deed or
action. This, I think, demonstrates that these uses are
symbolic, as it is nonsense to say that a word or action
can be solidified into the raw metal known as "silver".
Nonsense in a grimorre is a hint that something deeper is
being referred to. Turning things into silver refers to bring-
ing them into Lunar energy. The Moon, along with Mer-

cury, is the most magickal ofthe luminaries in Western as-

trology, and much of what applies to Ophiel applies to
Phul.)
Time: Monday.
Colors:White background with a black or purple sigil:
Candles: White and purple.
Lamp: Purple orwhite.
Fragrance: Orchid.
Essay on the Nature of Reality and Evocation

Now that you know how to evoke the Olymprcks through

this simple method, I‘d like to discuss some interesting
questions about the nature of evocation and chaos mag-
rck.
Basically, when you perform a chaos magick ritual, you
can attempt to summon any Spirit at all. It could even the-
oretically be the Spirit of Santa Claus (some people have
done this. I haven't). But, if it is something that obviously
doesn‘t exist and never existed (like the traditional idea of
Santa Claus), the question arises what exactly is happening
when the evocation is successful. As in, ifyou feel a presence,
see imagery on your scrying mirror or are able to manifest
results in the form of a spell, and it is all based upon
something fictitious like Santa Claus, what does this
mean?
The obvious answer is that you are simply externalizing a
group of attitudes and perceptions you have and making
them magickally potent. Because you are objectrfying them
in a ritual context, your mind is Working With them in a

new and more powerful way. Santa Claus doesn't exist, but
there is obviously power in the concept, and ifyou've been
raised in a Western Christian background, Santa Claus has
some associations with your childhood. You believed in
him at one time, and if that belief re-occurs later in life,
maybe something interesting can happen.
I use Santa Claus as an obviously absurd example. How-
ever, what rfthere is more to it than that? All around the
world, hundreds of millions of children believe in Santa
Claus. His image is everywhere during certain times ofthe
year, and as a figure he has massive cultural influence.
Could the idea of Santa Claus therefore be magickally po-
tent because it is given so much energy and belief by so
many people? Could the collective energy behind the idea
of Santa Claus take on its own existence and achieve a
kind of sentiency?
This is actually the idea in chaos magick ofa "Godform",
although an unintentional one. Without going into too
much detail, the typical chaos magick explanation is that
desire can be objectified through the form ofa sigil (which
is basically like the seals in a grimoire), but as it gains en-
ergy it can increase into three other, higher levels. The first
is a Servitor, which is where the desire takes on a kind of
sentience of its own and be directed like a living being.
You might say it is somewhat intelligent at this point,
whereas before the sigil operated as brute force. If more
energy is added to it, it turns into its second form, called
an Egregore, which is a type of collective thought form,
even more sentient than a servitor. Usually more than one
person is needed for this transformation. However, when
a large group of people transfer their energy to an Egre-
gore, it then becomes even greater, transforming into a
Godform. As a Godform, it takes on a total life of its own
and is able to usurp its own energy independent of the
minds which gave rise to it. It is a created god, ifyou will.
Theoretically, ifthere was such a magickally potent aspect
to Santa Claus, it would be because ofa model similar to
this. Chaos magick describes this type of phenomena in
this way. However, some have concluded that Spirits in
general follow this basic model and have no true inde-
pendent existence. They, too, are Codforms or Egregores
of bygone ages. Magick is then looked upon as a form of
psychological self-manipulation. It does have paranormal
and occult results, but this has less to do With contacting
objective entities and more to do With learning how to har-
ness and express one's own psychic energy through such
tools as belief, concentration, ecstasy, etc. As such, the be-
ings described in the various old grimoires of Europe, the

Middle East, India and China, etc. are taken as aspects of

oneself rather than objectively existent entities.
But how would you know? In theory, there's nothing a
Godform would do or look like that wouldn‘t also apply to
an objectively existing Spirit. It‘s a non-falsifiable position,
for if a Codform can act independently of its creators, it
resembles an objectively existent being in all observable
ways. At this point, it really all depends on what theoryyou
want to subscribe to.
The paradigm of old European ceremonial magick, how-
ever, always assumes that these Spirits have an objective
existence independent of the sorcerer. They may be infer-
nal Spirits, like the demons of the Coetia, or planetary
Spirits like the Arbatel describes, but there is no concept
that they are somehow a part of our own psyche. It is ac-
cepted that they are literal angels and demons and the
sorcerer treats them as such. The entire apparatus of the
rituals associated with them, in fact, is based upon this
understanding. Thus angels are supplicated in a rever-
ential manner, whereas rituals involving demons are per-
formed with many precautions in place and once the
demon actually appears, it is kept on a tight leash. In our
modern age, we might think that this viewpoint is outdated
and that we know better now, but is that really the case?
What actually happens when we evoke these Spirits, and
how does it compare to evocations of obviously fictional
beings?
The Olympicks provide an interesting clue, I think. As I
said, there is really no way to determine if they are God-
forms or not, as a Godform supposedly has all the aspects
ofan objective being, but, personally, my experience ofthe
Olympicks is very different than evocations ofoutright fic-
tions. Evoking them is also different than evoking an
insentient sigil as part ofa spell. And, yes, it is very easy
for a critic to sit back and say that this is simply due to
suggestion or an over-active imagination, but I am not so
sure. I was first introduced to magick through chaos
magick and it was only after meeting ceremonial magi-
cians who operated with old grimoires that I began to work
them myselfialbeit in a chaos magick style. But I was
very comfortable with the idea that these Spirits were ele»
ments of my own psyche. Repeated experiences, however,
have forced me to question this model.
Having said that, the method I describe ofevoking them is
not the method described in the Arbatel. It is a simplified
technique that uses the sigil ofthe Spirit in question and
some basic planetary correspondences to heighten the ef-
fect. That is all. Nevertheless, it is very powerful. I have ex-
perimented with more traditional forms of evocationiyes,
even reciting prayers in Latin to the Christian Godsiand I
can say that I far prefer my own meditative and simplified
method. But, actually, I have found that even the simple
visualization of its sigil can call up an experience of the
Olympick. It is not quite as intense as the ritual, but the
presence is certainly there.
What are the implications ofthis? I think it's clear that the
Spirits spoken of in old grimoires can be summoned
through many different methods. The use of Latin prayers,
for example, is something that is obviously contrived and
makes little sense when many of these Spirits have He-
brew, Persian or Egyptian names. Of course, Latin prayers
can be very useful to someone who was raised going to
Latin masses all their life and for whom Latin feels like a
"holy language", just as 1611 King James English often
seems like a "holy language" to English speakers. The
point is not the details ofthe method, but how the method
impacts the magician. Colored lamps, for example, always
seem to make my evocations much more vivid and in-
tense. In the past I made more use ofincenses and fra-
grances, and these, too, had a great effectialthough, per-
sonally, I think lighting is more important. So it is not the
case that grimoires are infallible books which must be fol-
lowed to the letter. They describe the Spirits and a method
to contact them, but the most important factor is the
magicianinot the method.
As to the question ofwhether these Spirits are objective or
subjective, however, the Olympicks serve as a very illumi-
nating case in point: as I stated earlier, all names of the
Olympicks have meanings, some of which are easier to
find out than others. However, if you evoke them having
no idea what their names mean, and find out that you re-
ceive impressions from them which reveal the name‘s
meaning or aspects of its meaning, then it is quite clear
that there is an objective component to their existence. A
person could say that all knowledge is subjective, ulti-
mately, and this may be trueiwe may be able to tap into
any form of knowledge in the cosmos because we are
microcosms ourselves, and contain the entire universe
within usibut if you get information from a Spirit which
you weren't aware of previously, there's nothing about this
experience that says it is wholly subjective. And even if it is
tapping into a universal memory latent within ourselves,
still, that universal memory must have an objective aspect
which is above and beyond our own existence. At a certain
point, we're not just imagining things anymore: reality be»
gins to intrude, and we come to realize evocation, and
magick in general, is very real.
This is just one example. There are many experiments you
can conduct. In fact, I think the future of magick is going
to be a greater and more complex incorporation ofancient
Spirits. Bast, for instance, is a remarkable Spirit from the
old Egyptian pantheon and is very much alive. Theoret-
ically, by using some of the open methods of chaos mag-
ick, one has access to the entire plethora ofancient Spirits,
no matter what culture or time period. True, you may find
that some ofthem had a strictly ideological existence, and
were only there to sen/e the interests of priests and kings,
but this isn't the case With all of them. And you do not
need to take my word for it, for the methods described
here with the Olympicks can be applied to any Spirit. In my
book on Evocation Through Sigil Magick, I describe in detail
how any Spirit may be summoned. Once this is known,
the rest is simple experimentation.
Yet this is not to say that everything which is commu-
nicated in an evocation is actually real, in an objective
sense. To think otherwise is dangerous. A thousand
thoughts Will flood your mind in evocation, and it takes
much skill and self-honesty to determine what corre-
sponds to the actual evocation and what is simply your
imagination. You can enjoy the experience ofa Spirit, but a
good rule is to not believe anything the Spirit tells youior
appears to tell youiunless you can verify it, objectively. If
it istruly a disembodied intelligence present in the room
with you, and is aware ofyou in a conscious and personal
way, then you can expect that it is not going to speak in
vague generalities. Though I am mostly a solitary practi-
tioner of magick now, in the past I associated With a few
other magicians. What always struck me about them,
though, was that they were not interested in concrete, tan-
gible and factual results. It seemed like magick was more
of a faith for them than an experiential path. They were
content to have the Spirits convey these vague, fortune-
cookie like pieces of self-help advice, and would far rather
smoke pot while looking at old Hermetic designs instead
ofusing magick to, say, help acquire a decent job. I think it
was because they needed magick to feel special about
themselves, as they were economically disadvantaged and
powerless in their society, and magick gave them a sense
of power and uniqueness. So it worked like a faith. And
"God works in mysterious ways“, as people sayiwhich
means he does not work at all. This is why testing magick
out and seeing if there is an objective basis is so
important: you may find evocation fun and exciting, but is
itreal?
That being said, tangible results may not appear quickly.
With spells, you can usually tell within a few weeks
whether it worked or not, depending on what the spell is,
but evocations are a different situation. It appears to me
that Spirits have a far different consciousness from human
beings, and their notion ofcommunication is not what we
would expect. Sometimes clear information or imagery is
conveyed, but many times you will find yourself simply
communing With the Spirit in a light (or deep) state of
reverie, the point ofthe exercise having little to do With ac-

quiring or gaining anything. You may find that you initially

set out to seek a Spirit's assistance with a particular task
only to find that the sense ofthe Spirit‘s presence is so re»
markable that your task feels mundane and worthless,
comparatively. When the presence of the Spirit inspires
feelings and sensations more beautiful than your initial in-
tent in evoking the Spirit, then you see an aspect ofmagick
rarely talked about: it is a clever and magnificent trap. At
the start, we often come to magick as a means ofacquiring
power and achieving things we could not otherwise get.
The grimoires themselves are phrased in such a way that
the sorcerer isn't evoking Spirits for the sake of evoking
them, but rather to get treasure, to keep the king off his
back, to attack an enemy, etc. Yet ifthat sorcerer does suc-
cessfully evoke a Spirit and enter into communication with
it,something happens which changes him: all his life he
lived in consensus reality, only catching briefglimpses of
supernatural or extraordinary surreality (super-reality). Now
he is encountering this surrea/ity directly: he is in the pres-
ence ofa disembodied intelligence, speaking with it, feel-
ing it and receiving images from it. He may ask it to do

something for him, and the Spirit may or may not make its
own request; after this, he may find his request granted.
But more important than all of this is the actual impli-
cations ofthe experience ofevocation itself: through ritual,
his mind became open to a reality far removed from every-
thing else he has known before. He has lifted a veil that
most will never see beyond, and he now knows there is far
more to existence than what meets the eye. Even if it is
purely subjective, it means that our subjective reality
dwarfs the objective world entirely: in our minds, we can
manifest as any number of separate personalities, inter-
acting with ourselves, forming worlds and new experi-
ences out of the mechanics of our own consciousness.
Though we are bound by certain laws, inside ourselves we
are as Gods. And ifthe opposite is trueiifthe Spirit exists
objectively as something we encounter, from wrthouti
then the implications are also quite extraordinary: sur-
rounding our human world are Spirits that may be con-
tacted and made friends with, provided one knows how.
The implications continue on from there, and it is prob-
ably more rewarding to think of them yourself than read
what I have to say. But the bottom line is this: no matter
what model you subscribe to, everything changes. How we
normally think as common people living in a common
world is wrong: there is much more to this thing called
"life“ than we have ever dreamt of.
What then? It seems to me conclusions are not necessary
at this point and, in fact, reality may be simply that which
transcends and includes all conclusions. We‘re accus-
tomed to thinking of everything in terms of objective vs.
subjective, true vs. false, etc. but evocation presents us
with a vision ofreality which may not be able to be defined
so clearly. Perhaps reality is beyond objectivity and subjec-
tivity. Or perhaps objectivity and subjectivity are simply
the same thing on different levels. Perhaps neither are real.
Whatever the case, evocation, as a phenomena, presents
itself in the form of experiences which are both subjective
and objective, and it is dangerous to try to fit the expe-
rience into either category, exclusively. Ifyou say it is en-
tirely subjective, then what do you do when the experience
is clearly beyond anything you have the capacity to do or
know? And if you say it is entirely objective, then what do
you do when the experience is clearly something con-
cocted by your own deluded mind? There is no rule which
applies to every situation, here: you must look at each
thing which occurs on its own merits, and not fall into the
trap of forming too many conclusions about what you are
experiencing. The Spirit is both you and not-you: the inter-
action is both imagined and external. At times, one ofthese
aspects becomes predominant, but you may not be able to
tell except in hindsight. However, as you continue to
practice evocation, you will be changed. Life Will change.
And at a certain point you will not be able to turn backi
you Will see things you can‘t unsee, and the world will ap-
pear far stranger than you ever thought possible. Settled
conclusions, philosophical positions and ideologies can
only harm us in such circumstances: they create tension
where no tension is necessary, and obstacles where the
path must be clear and open.
So, to summarize, it is not enough to say find the answers
for yourself. Perhaps finding an answer is the first prob»
lem. We may be inside the belly ofa question to which no
actual answer exists. And then it is up to us whether we
experience this as something wonderful or as something
frightening.
Which would you prefer?