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Diaryland
The Aerial Spirits July 8, 2008 @ 11:38 am
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/solomonic
Does anyone have any experiences or insights to share on the spirits of the aer? I've been researching them for a little while now and I'm coming to the conclusion that they occupy an intermediate place between the celestials and the earthies, as spirits that can survey and work within the whole atmosphere of the world as well as human thought and relationships. As celestials tend to be labeled as "good" spirits, and earthies as "evil", this would explain why they are said, in the theurgia-goetia for example, to be "partly good and partly evil", and why they are sometimes called angels and sometimes called spirits in other places.
It is exciting to me to learn more about this class of beings because they provide a missing link between the worlds of above and below. In terms of the circuits of consciousness, they would be on the 4th level: the moral/socio-sexual current, which is associated with the heart chakra and the temperate color of green that mediates between the hot and cold polarities of Earth and Heaven.
In treatment, similarly, these entities tend to be approached with more respect than the earthies but less deference than to the angels. They seem to stand on about an equal footing with most of humanity, and this would explain why they would make good friends and allies to a magician that could win their confidence and respect. In the old
Hermetic papyri from Greco-Roman Egypt, you can find several rituals for the gaining of a special
type of familiar called a "paredros", which translates to an adjunct, assistant, or auxillary. If you think about a researcher working in a lab, for example, you can probably trust your assistant a lot more than you can the beasts in your cages; yet, you are still the authority for the experiments and he is there to aid you, and maybe even learn from you. I have been considering for some time doing the awake-til-dawn ritual to gain "the only lord of the air" as a paredros, but as I've also been doing Abramelin and researching all kinds of familiars and spirits as helpers, I wanted to learn more first.
The main grimoires I've found so far that feature aerial spirits are the aforementioned Theurgia-Goetia and the Heptameron. I'm not really sure if the time-based angels of things like the hours, days, months, and seasons belong to this class of beings or a greater one. The T-G's spirits are organized by the directional points of the compass, and although they say their office is all the same, there is different lore attached to the various directions, and you can see as you look at each of the chief spirits that their nature differs as you change to different directions. The Heptameron spirits, meanwhile, are associated with the planetary days of the week as well as different directional winds. Does anyone know of any other grimoires that feature aerial spirits?
Their abilities seem very powerful and useful. They're lofty enough to have more perspective and trustworthiness then the beings of the goetia, yet close enough to our world and experience to employ personally instead of needing to supplicate oneself. Here are a couple of example descriptions from the grims:
Theurgia Goetia: "The offices of these spirits is all one, for what one can doe the other[s] can doe the same. They can shew and discover all things that is hidd and done in the world: and can fetch and carry or doe any thinge that is to be done or is contained in any of the four Elements Fier, ayre, Earth and water &c allso the secrets of kings or any other
person or persons let it be in what kinde it will."
Heptameron:
Sunday: "The Spirits of the Air of the Lords day, are under the North-winde; their nature is to procure Gold, Gemmes, Carbuncles, Riches; to cause one to obtain favour and benevolence; to dissolve the enmities of men; to raise men to honors; to carry or take away informities. But in what manner they appear, it's spoken already in the former book
of Magical Ceremonies."
Wednesday: "The Spirits of the Air of Wednesday are subject to the South-west-winde: their nature is to give all Metals; to reveal all earthly things past, present and to come; to pacifie judges, to give victories in war, to re-edifie, and teach experiments
and all decayed Sciences, and to change bodies mixt of Elements conditionally out of one into
another: to give informities or health; to raise the poor, and cast down the high ones; to binde or lose
Spirits; to open locks or bolts: such-kinde of Spirits have the operation of others, but not in their perfect power, but in virtue or knowledge. The what manner they appear, it is before spoken. "
From the Spell of Pnouthis: "When you go abroad, he will go abroad with you; when you are destitute, he will give you money. He will tell you what things will happen both when and at what time of the night or day. And if anyone asks you "What do I have in mind?" or "What has happened to me?" or even "What is going to happen?", question the angel, and he will tell you in silence. But you speak to the one who questions you as if from yourself.
When you are dead, he will wrap your body as befits a god, but he will take your spirit and carry it into the air with him. For no aerial spirit which is joined with a mighty assistant will go into Hades, for to him all things are subject. Whenever you wish to do
something, speak his name alone into the air [and] say, ["Come!"] and you will see him actually
standing near you. And say to him, "Perform this task", and he does it at once, and after doing it he will say to you, "What else do you want? For I am eager for heaven."... And he will tell you about the illness of a man, whether he will live or die, even on what day and what hour of night. And he will also give wild herbs and the power to cure, and you will be as a god since you have a god as a friend. These things the mighty assistant (paredros) will perform competently".
From Franz Bardon's 'Practice of Magical Evocation': "As soon as the magician practicing ritual magic has become true master of the beings of the elements he may take a further step in his magical development and start dealing with the next sphere, with the zone girdling the earth, (i. e. the mental-astral sphere of our planet). Many beings abide in this earth-zone or zone girdling the earth, with whom the magician can get in touch in order to increase his knowledge and to strengthen his power. Out of this sphere I again name in the following those beings with whom I have been in connection a long time ago. The magician can of course establish a connection with other beings of this sphere by mental and astral wandering too."
..."The 360 Heads of the Zone Girdling the Earth: These heads, which I will now describe in detail, hold in constant harmony, in the zone girdling the earth, all actions and conditions. Each head is a high intelligence with all the faculties that any being of this sphere may possess. So, for instance, a magician can be informed by any of these heads about the past, the present and the future of our physical world, and each head, by force of the Akasha-principle, can affect our earth. Apart from this each head has specific qualities, i. e. is endowed with certain special assignments. The magician need not get into touch with all of the heads of the zone girdling the earth and at the occasion of an evocation need only choose a certain intelligence which seems the right one to fulfill his plans. When evoking beings from the zone girdling the earth the magician may somewhat simplify his operations by using qabalistic astrology for the first evocation. Starting from sunrise, every four minutes another head is the ruler. "
[Note: These spirits are actually drawn from the book of Abramelin, which is interesting because I have counted the number at least in Dehn's version, and its greater than 360 or 365. It also brings up the interesting question of why the supposedly earthbound powers of the Archdemons would be able to grant aerial spirits as servants.]
"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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