In a recent post on the HGA, Conjureman Ali addresses the idea of having multiple spirit Assistant/Guides, one for the Celestial realms (the traditional role of the HGA in modern interpretations of the Abramelin Rite), and one for the Chthonic. On Moloch’s EvocationalMagics yahoo group, Aghor Pir, Aaron Leitch, and Conjureman Ali have discussed the topic a bit.

To summarize, we all agree the Abramelin HGA has a primarily Celestial role. Aghor discussed how his Genius from the natal chart (as in “Genius and Evil Daimon”) seemed to be a Chthonic entity, and that the Supernatural Assistant he received using my course materials was of a mixed Celestial and Terrestrial nature. Aaron talked about how the combined nature of the Supernatural Assistant was split in the Abramelin rite, with the celestial roles going to the HGA and the terrestrial roles going to the demons. There wasn’t any argument, which is nice. Lots of mutual respect.

My take on it is that all the spirits, the Supernatural Assistant, the HGA, the Angel of the Nativity, the Genius, Scirlin of the True Grimoire, they’re all reflections of a single Idea in the mind of God. I think the “Helpful Spirit” is the Idea that manifests in different ways for different people in different cultures, and that there are many approaches to find the kind of spirit that will function best for your needs. You may find one spirit is of mixed nature and is more than sufficient, or you might find that your HGA name harmonizes with the celestial spheres, but a blood pact with Scirlin is more effective for working with chthonic entities.

A lot depends on your worldview, your cosmological view, your experiences and training, and the things you’re here to do with your life. Your culture factors in, the religion you were raised in, the morals and values you absorbed and formed on your own.

I’ve been reading Geosophia and True Grimoire by Jake Stratton-Kent lately, glowing reviews to follow, and there’s something he does in those works that is simply beautiful. He removes the false divide between the Chthonic and the Celestial. At least, he did for me. I don’t know if he did it for everyone, but I suspect that was his chief aim in writing the books. He blew the lid off the Great Secret in ways that no one has done for me in a long time. Flipped my lid.

There is no heaven, there is no hell, no Celestial/Terrestrial divide. Those are descriptors of various points on the spectrum of experienced cosmos, but imperfect ones at best… and lies, damned lies at worst. There are demons who want to ascend and unite with the godhead, and there are angels that delight in war and murder. The heavens of Theurgists and the hells of the Goets were the same places in the old days. The forms evolved, but the essence, the stuff that really matters to magicians remained the same. Magic puts us back in conscious interaction with our fellow spirits who inhabit every plane, all at once, in various forms, each a manifestation of an Idea in the Mind of God just like us.


But then we get to the complicated parts. There are parts of the spectrum that are best described as celestial, and parts that are best described as chthonic. Goetic magic is not celestial magic, and the HGA is not the Supernatural Assistant, is not the Genius, is not Michael, is not the Hagios Pneumatos, is not Scirlin. Different systems give us different results, and I think it is wrong to say the Genius of your Natal Chart is the SAME SPIRIT as the HGA. They aren’t. They feel different, they are reached differently. But the practical application of their role in your life sure seems to be the same for all the magicians I talk to. They teach, empower, and connect you to other spirits as needed. They protect and attack for you, or at least coordinate attacks for you. They can be faithful lieutenants or generals, depending on the role you’re best suited to taking in your situations.

I think the most important thing to remember in these discussions is that they are discussions. Conversations, words that point to ideas, but remain approximations only. They can guide our actions, but I think the most important thing we do with the results of our conversations on the subject is the part where we actually take action. Whatever “Helpful Spirit” model or models work best for you is fine with me, I’m much more interested in talking about what you do with the relationship with the spirit you have than anything else.

Ok, a few good questions came up in the comments on yesterday’s post.

The first said:

Now THIS is a series of rites I would love to have. Everyone has people who talk bad about them, and it’d be nice to make them stop, transcend themselves, and just worry about their own stuff.

Ok, first you get a Supernatural Assistant. Then you say his name and he appears in front of you. Then you say, “[Spirit Name], go forth and search through the Aires and return to me with a Pneuma Alalon that I may direct towards mine own ends. Bring it here before me to appear within this crystal ball, and to communicate with me through the images that shall appear within.”

When he returns with the Pneuma Alalon spirit, ask its name, explain what you want done, and give it the specific statement of intent, “Go now to [Shit talker’s Name] daughter of [Shit talker’s mama]. Let no word that will cause strife for me or my immediate family pass her lips, and let her be deaf to any words that might cause her to react.”

Then start praying for [Shit Talker] to get over her shit already, for Christ’s sake; amen!

I pray that a lot for people.

Pallas Renatus said:

Hah! Stealth-bombing with wisdom and enlightenment, I love it. Actually, this is an excellent example of an alternative to monkey curses.
Any good references on the Pneuma Alalon? Definitely something I want to check out.

Yeah, I’m really into making the world better in general, and my personal world specifically. I want my experiences to be richer and more meaningful overall than your average mundane life. I want more money, better cars, and nicer homes across the country. I want to be as free as possible, and enjoy my life as I go through it. You can’t have that shit if you’re surrounded by a bunch of fucking monkeys throwing shit at each other. “Evolve, bitches, I got work to do.” That was one of my first proclamations as King of my Kingdom.

I found the Pneuma Alalon while researching Pneuma on Wikipedia. I worked my way down all the links on that page to get a multifaceted view and understanding of what Pneuma means, and how it applies to what I’ve been learning in the Eighth Sphere about how stuff works. It’s a piece I’ve been missing. It’s good to have a vocabulary that fits into the experiences and the Hermetics I’ve been processing. The Pneuma Alalon is discussed in the Unclean Spirit link. There’s a lot of gold to be found sifting through the links that pop up in those articles.

Marcus says:

That rite is a gold of mine, really, do you have any idea to how many people we can send those spirits and do a favor to the world?
Really, hope you share the ritual or at least where to fin more info about the Spirit.

Thanks for the compliments, and I totally agree.

And John says:

Now I’m curious as how you’d go about doing malefic magic to people who talk shit about you RO.

Shit talkers. I hates ’em. I mean don’t get me wrong, brotherhood of man and all that shit, compassion, yeah I got some for them too, but I hate dealing with the shit the shit talkers start.

I’m talking specifically about rumor-mongering drama queens who start trouble by running their mouths, expressing opinions on subjects that are beyond the scope of their responsibility, and spreading talk that causes strife.

I hate when they sneak up on me. See, if I sense that a person is a shit talker, I can usually deal with it proactively. I identify them, and start a series of rites to help them transcend that aspect of their character, transmuting them from a base state to a more refined state, weaving in the wisdom of knowing when to keep silent, and the compassion to be helpful when they do speak. It takes a while to get through that, and it’s a long-term solution, but definitely the method of dealing with shit talkers I prefer.

Recently an extended family member reverted to being a shit talker. She had been on her best behavior for a few years, ever since she pulled some ignorant stunts that hurt a lot of people and herself most of all. She had crawled back with her tail between her legs, and became a very valued caregiver for a couple members of the family. I thought she had changed her ways for good, that her humbling experience had taught her some basic lessons. I was so wrong.

She called up last week starting shit with my family. Same crap she’s been pulling for over 20 years, except for the last five or so. I’m guessing she’s stressed out and going back to the old ways, and I’m really hoping it’s a temporary reversion, but regardless, I had to act quickly.

I had recently been studying the pneuma when this happened, and in my research I discovered the “Pneuma Alalon,” a spirit that makes a person mute, and in some cases deaf. I pulled a fast conjure, obtained the services of a member of this spirit class, and assigned it specifically to render her deaf and mute in regards to shit talking. See, she gets all worked up in a war of words with her victims, and will escalate it and force people to “choose sides.” When she’s like that, anything she hears will be twisted into a poisoned barb that she then speaks against her victim. So I told the spirit, “Let no word that will cause strife for me or my immediate family pass her lips, and let her be deaf to any words that might cause her to react.”

Our family hasn’t heard a peep out of her since that day she started all this stuff. Immediately the shit-storm she had brewing dissipated and blew away, leaving me plenty of time to get that transformative rite in place for her.

This was a weird case for me because I personally value the service she provides the extended family members. No one else can be a full time care giver, and the people she helps are very particular about who they let take care of them. In addition, when she’s not starting shit, she’s really a nice person. It’s just when she gets a hair up her ass that she turns all uber-bitch. I figure she’s just under stress and needed to vent a little. You don’t bind someone in Saturn and run them out of the Kingdom on the Martial rail just because they have a bad day, you know? My rite just made sure that if she vents, it’s not in a way that impacts me personally.