In magical traditions across time and space, the “magician’s assistant” is a consistant motif. HGA, Supernatural Assistant, Genius, Good Daimon.
Porphyry records details about Plotinus’ Daimon, and the Daimon of Socrates is well known. There are methods of obtaining supernatural assistants in the Greek Magical Papyri. Abraham of Worms famously wrote the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage for his son, cementing the phrase “Holy Guardian Angel” (HGA) in the minds of ceremonialists to this day. Aleister Crowley adapted the Headless rite from the Greek Magical Papyri as a method of conjuring the HGA. Agrippa describes a method of obtaining the name of a Genius spirit from your natal chart, and explains there is a “three-fold keeper” that humans are assigned.
While all these entities appear differently, and much can be argued about whether they are the “same thing,” functionally the tutelary spirit provides the magician with the following things:
- Empowering your mind and your increasing your ability to impact the world
- Getting you money and food
- Putting you in touch with other spirits
- Providing spirits you conjure with the appropriate spiritual offerings so you don’t screw it up
- Protection from malefic magic sent against you
- Sending malefic magic against others, even ending their lives
- Guidance in your spiritual path (allegedly)
- Initiations, empowerments, salvation, and true love
Join Rufus as he goes over the history of this entity, methods of getting in touch with it, and ways to work with it to increase your ability to change the world.