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Diaryland
The Arbatel of Magic November 24, 2008 @ 1:58 p.m.
Order of the Necronomicon Forum
The word "Arbatel" is Hebrew and comes from the words for four (arbah) and God (El). It is a mystical reference both to the tetragrammaton YHWH and to Wisdom in Her aspect as the Lady of the Four, Barbelo of the Gnostics (b' is the prefix for "in" or "of"). The Four of God are the ideal and archetypal powers from which such manifestations as the four elements and the four directions arise. The number four is associated with the square, stabilization, material solidification, and sometimes harshness. A square is a fairly strong geometric form, but its angles are hard points that swerve suddenly from one direction to its perpendicular. In astrology, this right angle of 45* is known as a square and signifies a harsh, uncompromising, and difficult relationship between two celestial points. Square aspects in a person's chart generally indicate a profound, deep, and lasting challenge in their life revolving around a conflict between the planets or other bodies forming the right angle. Several squares can combine to form a Grand Square which indicates a particularly strong issue of contention and relationship. Nonetheless, the squares in a chart are a source of immense energy and potential, both as something to strive for, against, and as an easy source of matters to work with in a spiritual manner. For more examples and permutations of the four of God, examine the respective cards in each of the minor arcana suits of the tarot.
The Arbatel of Magic was published in Basel, Switzerland around the 16th century, an interesting synchronicity considering that the word "Basel" comes from a latin word meaning sacred or holy. Hence basil is a sacred herb, a basilica is a sacred place, and the patron saint of Russia is St. Basil the missionary, to whom the famous, ornately domed St. Basil's Cathedral is dedicated. The contents of the book list 9 volumes, but only one has survived for publication - at least that we are aware of. Its a shame, because the one volume that we have, the Isagogue or Introduction, is potent enough in itself. The other volumes address the powerful magics of many different cultures, classes of spirits, techniques, traditions, and religions. To discover the remaining volumes of the Arbatel would be to unearth a gold mine in the esoteric world.
Along with the number 4, the Arbatel pays a special reverence to the number 7, and organizes itself in the form of "septenaries" of aphorisms that serve for contemplation and study both individually and collectively. The Arbatel is a very devotional work that stresses a personal and faithful relationship with the Supreme God as the foundation and key to all success in magic. It is a book of sacred magic on the same par as Abramelin, the Necronomicon, and the Black Pullet, in the sense of its reliance on the Quintessence first and foremost as the means to implement and understand all derived phenomenon, as opposed to more encrusted traditions that verge on superstition.
Written primarily for a Christian audience, the work was revolutionary in its times, in the breadth and degree to which it encouraged both a deeper understanding of magic and an appreciation for the legacies of non-european cultures. John Dee possessed a copy, and many of its principals and characters are integrated into his his Enochian and Heptarchic magical systems.
The book stresses moral purity in both thought and deed, and has a strong ethical undertone. The Isagogue, as an introduction, does not go at length in discussing many specific kinds of spells, beings, or arcana. Rather, it demonstrates and explains a methodology that can be used to find out any kind of secret in God's great universe once applied properly. Too many people overlook the validity and utility of this book because they believe that it has nothing more to offer than an introduction to the Olympic spirits. This alone would be reason enough to examine the volume, but it offers much more to the careful reader and contemplator of its principles.
"They are called Olympick spirits", explains the Arbatel, "which do inhabit in the firmament, and in the stars of the firmament: and the office of these spirits is to declare Destinies, and to administer fatal Charms, so far forth as God pleaseth to permit them: for nothing, neither evil spirit nor evil Destiny, shall be able to hurt him who hath the most High for his refuge. " The Olympic spirits are specifically said to be supercelestial beings that abide in the Firmament, which in ancient times was understood to be the firm background of space in which the "fixed" stars were embedded, and the zodiacal stage in which the planets, or 'wandering stars", played out their drama. Like all the stars of the 8th Heaven, the Sphere of the Fixed Stars and Zodiac, the Olympic spirits are understood through a planetary paradigm. Their powers, however, far exceed those of the 7 planets over whom they rule, especially in regards to alchemy and their ability to transmute substances instantaneously and grant longevity lasting hundreds of years. While most of the fixed stars have a mixed nature that can be attributed to a combination of "planetary" energies, the Olympic lords and lady are Archetypal, and draw their power from the True Olympus - the celestial mountain whose peak culminates in the North Celestial Pole and which is the ideal type after which all earthly sacred mountains are modeled. This is the true Hyperborea - the Utter North, the Garden of Eden, guarded by the serpent Draco and the 7 sages or rishis of the Big Bear - Ursa Major. The word arch itself is an ancient words for the sacred Bear - the english word bear has the same root as the word brown and is a euphemism for an animal that was believed too sacred to be referred to directly in common speech.
Within the Garden of the Circumpolar stars lies the Tree of Life, embodied in the 7 virgin stars of Ursa Minor, the little dipper. Upon the Throne of the North Celestial Pole sits the King of the created universe - the lesser Yahweh.
In addition to describing and introducing the lords and lady of Olympus, the Isagogue provides the Seal of Secrets that uncovers anything the mage may wish to learn by means of the spirits and angels of the various directions. The information makes a helpful companion that can fill in the gaps one might find in other works such as the lesser known books of the Lemegeton/Lesser Key of Solomon.
"the Oriental [Eastern] secret is the study of all wisdom; The West, of strength; The South, of tillage; The North, of more rigid life. So that the Eastern secrets are commended to be the best; the Meridian [Southern] to be mean; and the West** and North to be lesser. "
In addition to the directional schema, the Isagogue also outlines three septenaries of secrets associated with the Greater, Mean (Middle/Average), and Lesser Mysteries respectively. They provide an interesting and inspiring way to gauge one's progress and to see what kinds of wonders remain to be learned as one progresses along the Path. Other features of the Isagogue include information on the importance of one's personal Angel, drawing a line between good and evil in one's magical practices, what makes a person a magician and the natural of a calling in magic; instructions on how to command the spirits of various nations and regions, and means to initiate oneself into and grow in knowledge and wisdom of any kind of magic. The volume is deserving of study by all serious magicians.
"Courteous Reader, apply thy eyes and minde to the sacred and profane Histories, & to those things which thou seest daily to be done in the world, and thou shalt finde all things full of Magick, according to a two-fold Science, good and evil, which that they may be the better discerned, we will put here their division and subdivision, for the conclusion of these Isagoges; wherein every one may contemplate, what is to be followed, and which to be avoided, and how far it is to be labored for by every one, to a competent end of life and living. "
"Details in the Fabric" - May 31, 2009
Not So Quick Questions - April 6, 2009
The Morning Stars - Lords of the 15 - April 9, 2009
Sincerity and Faith in Magic - April 10, 2009
Not So Quick Questions (2) - April 14, 2009
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