The Eleventh Chapter. Concerning the Selection of the Place

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THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER. ¹

CONCERNING THE SELECTION OF THE PLACE.

E should make the Selection of the Place (for the Operation) before commencing it, and prior to the celebration of the Passover, in order that we may decide upon the same without hindrance, and it is necessary that all things should be prepared.

He who commenceth this Operation in solitude can elect a place according unto his pleasure; where there is a small wood, in the midst of which you shall make a small Altar, and you shall cover the same with a hut (or shelter) of fine branches, so that the rain may not fall thereon and extinguish the Lamp and the Censer. Around the Altar at the distance of seven paces you shall prepare a hedge of flowers, plants, and green shrubs, so that it may divide the entrance ² into two parts; that is to say, the Interior where the Altar and Tabernacle will be placed after the manner of a Temple; and the part Exterior, which with the rest of the place will be as a Portico thereunto.

Now if you commence not this Operation in the Country, but perform it in a Town, or in some dwelling-place, I will show unto ye what shall be necessary herein. ³

Ye shall choose an Apartment which hath a Window, joined unto the which shall be an uncovered Terrace (or

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[paragraph continues] Balcony), and a Lodge (or small room or hut) covered with a roof, but so that there may be on every side windows whence you may be able to see in every direction, and whence you may enter into the Oratory. In the which place ¹ the Evil Spirits shall be able to appear, since they cannot appear within the Oratory itself. In the which place, beside the Oratory towards the quarter of the North, you shall have a rooted or covered Lodge, in the which and from whence one may be able to see the Oratory. I myself also had two large windows made in my Oratory, and at the time of the Convocation of the Spirits, I used to open them and remove both the shutters and the door, so that I could easily see on every side and constrain them ² to obey me.

The Oratory should always be clear and clean swept, and the flooring should be of wood, of white pine; in fine, this place should be so well and carefully prepared, that one may judge it to be a place destined unto prayer.

The Terrace and the contiguous Lodge where we are to invoke the Spirits we should cover with river sand to the depth of two fingers at the least.

The Altar should be erected in the midst of the Oratory; and if any one maketh his Oratory in desert places, he should build it ³ of stones which have never been worked or hewn, or even touched by the hammer.

The Chamber ⁴ should be boarded with pine wood, and a Lamp full of Oil Olive should be suspended therein, the which every time that ye shall have burned your perfume and finished your orison, ye shall extinguish. A handsome Censer of bronze, or of silver if one hath the means, must be placed upon the Altar, the which should in no wise be removed from its place until the Operation

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be finished, if one performeth it in a dwelling-house; for in the open country one cannot do this. Thus in this point as in all the others, we should rule and govern ourselves according unto the means at our disposal.

The Altar, which should be made of wood, ought to be hollow within after the manner of a cupboard, wherein you shall keep all the necessary things, such as the two Robes, the Crown or Mitre, the Wand, the Holy Oils, the Girdle or Belt, the Perfume; and any other things which may be necessary.

 ¹The second habiliments will be a Shirt or Tunic of linen, large and white, with well and properly made sleeves. The other Robe will be of Crimson or Scarlet Silk with Gold, and it should not be longer than just unto the knees, with sleeves of similar stuff. As for these vestments, there is no particular rule for them; nor any especial instructions to be followed; but the more resplendent, clean, and brilliant they are the better will it be. You shall also make a Girdle of Silk of the same colour as the Tunic, wherewithal you shall be girded. You shall have upon your head a beautiful Crown or woven Fillet of Silk and Gold. You shall prepare the Sacred Oil in this manner: Take of myrrh ² in tears, one part; of fine cinnamon, two parts; of galangal ³ half a part; and the half of the total weight of these drugs of the best oil olive. The which aromatics you shall mix together according unto the Art of the Apothecary, and shall make thereof a Balsam, the which you shall keep in a glass vial which you shall put within the cupboard (formed by the interior) of the Altar. The Perfume

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shall be made thus: Take of Incense in tears ¹ one part; of Stacté ² half a part; of Lign Aloes a quarter of a part; and not being able to get this wood you shall take that of cedar, or of rose, or of citron, or any other odoriferous wood. You shall reduce all these ingredients into a very fine powder, mix them well together and keep the same in a box or other convenient vessel. As you will consume a great deal of this perfume, it will be advisable to mix enough on the eve of the Sabbath to last the whole week.

You shall also have a Wand of Almond-tree wood, smooth and straight, of the length of about from half an ell to six feet. ³ And ye shall keep the aforesaid things in good order in the cupboard ⁴ of the Altar, ready for use in the proper time and place.

Here followeth the manner of ordering oneself and of operating.

Footnotes

74:1 This chapter is previously referred to in the Seventh Chapter in speaking of the Bed-chamber and the Oratory.

74:2 "L'avenue"; the modern sense of this word is, of course, a road or path bordered by trees.

74:3 Compare the following description with that of Sir Philip Derval's so-called Observatory, in the Strange Story, by Bulwer Lytton.

75:1 I.e., the Terrace or Balcony.

75:2 I.e., the Spirits.

75:3 I.e., the Altar.

75:4 He here evidently means the Oratory, and not the Bedchamber described in Chapter VII.

76:1 The Rosicrucian initiate will note the description of these vestments.

76:2 "Mirrhe en larmes".

76:3 ? Galanca, or galanga, an Indian root, used for medicinal purposes. See description of Holy Anointing Oil and Perfume in Exodus xxx.

77:1 Olibanum.

77:2 Or storax.

77:3 A "brasse" is a fathom; but here perhaps implies rather an arm's length: "Lune brasse enveron ou demi aulne".

77:4 I.e., in the hollow interior of the Altar.