The Seventh Chapter

THE SEVENTH CHAPTER.

OD the Father of Mercy, having granted unto me the grace to return safe and sound into my country; I paid unto Him according to my small power, some little portion of that which I owed Him; thanking Him for so many benefits which I had received from Him, and in particular for the acquisition of the Qabalah which I had made at the house of ABRAMELIM. ³ It now only remained for me to reduce to Practice this Sacred

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[paragraph continues] Magic, but many things of importance and hindrances presented themselves; among the which my marriage was one of the greatest. I therefore judged it fitting to defer putting it in practice, and a principal obstacle was the inconvenience of the place in which I dwelt. I resolved to absent myself suddenly, and go away into the Hercynian Forests, and there remain during the time necessary for this operation, and lead a solitary life. It was not possible for me to do it sooner for many reasons and dangers of which latter I ran a risk in that place, besides which it would be necessary to leave my wife, who was young and now enceinte. Finally, I resolved to follow the example of ABRAMELIN, ¹ and I divided my house ² into two parts; I took another house at rent, which I in part furnished, and I gave over to one of my uncles the care of providing the necessaries of life and the needs thereof. Meanwhile I with my wife and a servant remained in my own house, and I began to accustom myself to the solitary life, which it was to me extremely difficult to support, because of the melancholic humour which dominated me, and I lived thus till the season of Easter which I celebrated with all the family according to custom. Then first, on the following day, in the Name and to the honour of God Almighty the Creator of Heaven and of Earth, I commenced this holy operation, and I continued it for Six Moons without omitting the slightest detail, as thou wilt understand later. And the period of the Six Moons being expired, the Lord granted unto me His Grace by His Mercy; according to the promise made unto our forefathers, since while I was making my prayer unto Him He deigned to grant unto me the vision and apparition of His holy Angels, together with which I experienced so great joy, consolation and contentment of soul, that I could neither

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express it nor put it into writing. And during the three days, while I was enjoying this sweet and delightful presence with an indicible contentment, my holy Angel, whom God the Most Merciful had destined from my creation for my Guardian, spake unto me with the greatest goodness and affection; who not only manifested unto me the Veritable Magic, but even made easier for me the means of obtaining it. He confirmed as being true the Symbols of the Qabalah which I had received from ABRAMELIN; and he gave me the fundamental means by which I could have an infinitude of others in my operations according to my pleasure, assuring me that he would instruct me fully thereon. (These Symbols are all like those of the Third Book.) He gave me further very useful advice and admonition, such as an Angel could give; how I should govern myself the following days with the Evil Spirits so as to constrain them to obey me; the which I duly followed out fulfilling always from point to point his instructions very faithfully, and by the Grace of God I constrained them to obey me and to appear in the place destined for this operation; and they obligated themselves to obey me, and to be subject unto me. And since then even until now, without offending God and the Holy Angels I have held them in my power and command, always assisted by the power of God and of His Holy Angels. And this with so great a prosperity of our house, that I confess that I held myself back from the vast riches which I could have accumulated; although I possess enough to be counted among the number of the rich, as thou wilt know when thou shalt be more advanced in age. May the Grace of the Lord, and the defence and protection of His Holy Angels never then depart from me, ABRAHAM, nor from my two sons JOSEPH and LAMECH; nor from all those who by your means and by the Will of God, shall receive this operation! So be it!

Footnotes

24:3 Thus spelt here.

25:1 D'embrasser le Parti d'Abramelin.

25:2 Probably meaning "household".