History
John Dee
An English scholar whose records of spirit conversations became a major source for later angelic magic.
Results for “ceremonial magic”
Texts & Sources
Picatrix
Picatrix is the Latin title associated with an influential Arabic work of astral magic. Its cosmological and ritual framework differs from a catalogue of Goetic spirits.
Culture & Ethics
Faust
Faust is the scholar or magician at the center of a European legend about bargaining with the Devil. The 1587 Faust book, Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, and Goethe’s Faust give the story different treatments of knowledge, desire, damnation, and human striving.
History
Witchcraft
How witchcraft has meant an accusation, a magical practice, and a modern identity, with examples from museums and trial records.
Demonology & Spirits
Beleth
A Goetic king riding a pale horse, associated with desire and an elaborate ceremonial reception.
History
Austin Osman Spare
An English artist and occult author whose treatment of desire and sigils influenced later magical practice.
Devotional Practice
Ritual in theistic Satanism
Ritual is patterned action given special religious, symbolic, social, or transformative significance. Ritual can mark time, establish sacred space, communicate with a deity, express commitment, create community, memorialize the dead, enact a transition, or focus attention on a chosen purpose. In theistic Satanism, ritual commonly includes devotional action directed toward Satan or other spirits…
Culture & Ethics
Left-hand path
The left-hand path is a modern esoteric category used for religious and magical currents that emphasize themes such as individual self-direction, antinomianism, self-deification, initiatory transformation, or deliberate engagement with symbols rejected by dominant religious culture. It overlaps with some forms of Satanism, Luciferianism, Setianism, and modern occultism, but the terms are not synonymous.
Texts & Sources
Three Books of Occult Philosophy
Agrippa’s Renaissance synthesis of natural, celestial, and religious magic.
Texts & Sources
Book of Abramelin
A grimoire built around religious preparation, the guardian angel, and subsequent work with spirits and magical squares.
Demonology & Spirits
Asmodeus
Asmodeus appears in the narrative of Tobit and in later magical and demonological literature. His different roles reflect the purposes of those texts.
Demonology & Spirits
Buer
Buer is a spirit associated in magical catalogues with learning and healing. The well-known radial illustration belongs to later printed demonology.
History
Witch trials and Devil worship accusations
Witch trials produced records of accusations about harmful magic and the Devil. Those records require attention to how testimony was obtained and to the purposes of judges and writers.
Devotional Practice
Banishing rituals
Ceremonies intended to clear, delimit, or reorder a ritual setting, with methods that vary by tradition.
History
Modern theistic Satanism
Modern theistic Satanism refers to contemporary religious currents in which Satan is understood as an independently real deity, spirit, intelligence, or metaphysical presence and is approached through devotion, ritual, prayer, magic, contemplation, or other religious practices. It is part of the wider field of modern Satanism but differs from explicitly non-theistic movements that use Satan primarily as…
Organizations & Traditions
Dragon Rouge
An initiatory order whose Draconian system brings together Qliphoth, Goetic magic, alchemy, and other esoteric traditions.
Demonology & Spirits
Hekate
A Greek goddess with broad early powers and later associations with crossroads, spirits, and magic.
Demonology & Spirits
Bael
Bael is a ranked spirit in early modern magical catalogues. The Goetic figure should be distinguished from the wider use of the ancient title Baal.
Texts & Sources
The Satanic Rituals
Anton LaVey’s collection of ceremonial material, published as a companion to The Satanic Bible.
History
Aleister Crowley
The author and religious figure associated with Thelema, The Book of the Law, and a large body of magical instruction.