{"id":5743,"date":"2024-08-11T11:01:48","date_gmt":"2024-08-11T16:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/journeythroughtheobsidiandream.com\/?p=5743"},"modified":"2025-03-12T15:16:57","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T20:16:57","slug":"working-sorcery-of-solomon-making-my-book-of-pentacles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journeythroughtheobsidiandream.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/11\/working-sorcery-of-solomon-making-my-book-of-pentacles\/","title":{"rendered":"Working Sorcery of Solomon: Making My Book of Pentacles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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[This is the second post in a series. Click here for the first<\/a>.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first phase of this work \u2013 the first chapter of the book; the first lesson of the course \u2013 was to gather art supplies, buy or make incense and holy oil, and to make contact with the spirit of Solomon the Magician King. The second phase \u2013 the second chapter of the book; the second lesson of the course \u2013 was to consecrate and awaken the book that will serve as an ally in the work, and then to inscribe in that book the Great Seal of Solomon that will empower the book and the pentacles that I will begin inscribing in phase three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This second phase was not as photogenic as the first. Well, I suppose it could have been, if I\u2019d begged, bribed, or bullied Kraken into photographing me in ritual \u2013 and now that I say that aloud, so to speak, I may do just that some time later \u2013 but so far I\u2019ve followed Mastros\u2019 implied taboo of not showing the book, itself, on camera. She\u2019s shown other pentacles she\u2019s made, and I think maybe once shown the cover of one of her books in the class, but not the open pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making and awaking the book played to my strengths in ways that making and consecrating the materia (while not difficult) did not, and making contact with Solomon did not. I\u2019ve made magic books before, and done well at it. I\u2019ve created\/recruited familiar spirits before, to the point where you could fairly describe it as one of my specialties. But I tried to approach the work with an open heart and a beginner\u2019s mind. Overall, I\u2019m really pleased with how everything has come together, so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preparing and Planning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After weeks of gathering materials, and then the physically and magically intense work of making the magical materia that I would use when I truly began the work, I was able to take the weeks of the waning moon off to rest and plan. That, I think, will be the shape of things as I continue this work over the coming year; it has certainly been my experience for the past month, as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waiting for the moon to wane back to New, when I could resume the magical work, I also had time to plan my approach for the next phase, and make a couple decisions that I hadn\u2019t quite made: choosing watchwords for the work, a sort of Solomonic motto to guide my steps and serve as a touchstone, and choosing a name for the book. Each of those decisions were their own unique challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The watchwords were a challenge because I already have \u2026 multiple magical names and magical mottos, and am leery of accumulating too many more. After considering a handful \u2013 the Delphic maxim \u201cGnothi Seauton\u201d among them (along with a rabbit-hole search into whether or not that epsilon belongs there [it appears to vary with dialect]) \u2013 and then being reminded that Mastros specifically suggests words attributed to Solomon, I chose a phrase from the apocryphal book Wisdom of Solomon: \u201cHonor Wisdom that She may reign forevermore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I similarly struggled to choose a name for the book. Divination noped out my first choice, which was more a bad Latin title than a name. In the end, I named my book after a saint and a goddess, which I will not print here for (I hope) obvious reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, although I had made successful contact with Solomon on several occasions, I wanted to sit down and have a \u2026 relatively formal conversation with him before I called on him to help me consecrate the book. I don\u2019t really do meals with the dead, it\u2019s not my thing, but I did sit down, call him up, pour us each a couple fine whiskeys and smoke a bowl with him in order to hammer out some details about the work going forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a good conversation. I got confirmation on the go-ahead to invoke him as a part of the work, to don his crown and mantle. I also got some fun and interesting bits; more personal rules and taboos, like his admonition not to contact him on Saturdays except as part of Saturnian work with the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was told to make, essentially, a saint\u2019s candle with his image on it. And that I would need to make one for Sheba, as well, so I might as well get on that. And that there would be a third such candle by the end of the work, but I couldn\u2019t guess who it was. He also, when I asked permission to make a ring, I was told that would be for later, \u201cas a sign of mastery\u201d. So I guess I\u2019ll do some divination when I\u2019ve entered all the seals into my book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also, as I did some yes\/no coin divination at the end of the session to confirm that I had heard and understood everything correctly, made abundantly clear that he was going to play word games with me for his own amusement, and that I should phrase my questions more carefully in the future. I\u2019m not particularly looking forward to that, but \u2026 Solomonic work is fundamentally Mercurial in many ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I started the ritual with at the beginning of Third Hour of Night (Hour of Mercury on the Day of Mercury). Without checking the clock until I was done, I finished my ritual with just four minutes left in the hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consecrating the Book and Tools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Over the course of the week following that session with Solomon, I prepared the book by sitting and meditating with it in the afternoon, trying to fill both it and myself with the power I was going to need to raise for the consecration. I drew out practice pages to map out my lettering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I penciled in the pages Tuesday and Wednesday the 9th<\/sup> and 10th<\/sup>. Interestingly, during that last afternoon day & hour of Mercury I, felt rather like I could have inked the first pages and named the book aloud right then and called it good. Despite that feeling, I went ahead with plan as written.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a storm rolling in as I wound up to do the ritual, so I set out a bowl to collect rainwater to use in the consecration of the cord. The storm didn\u2019t quite hit in time to fill my bowl, but I got enough rainwater to be magically active, which was all I really needed. As the bowl was filling, and as I waited for the appointed hour, I bathed and purified myself and dressed in whites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I started my ritual, casting my circle and awakening my temple with the Bell, Book, and Blade framing ritual that I talked about so much last year, just a few minutes before the Hour of Mercury, maximizing my time in the Hour for the work of consecration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I consecrated my book, pen, scarf, and rope in that order. I was originally going to name the book at the same time I consecrated it, but I decided at the last possible moment to shuffle the naming to the end, because that\u2019s what felt right at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Called upon Solomon, Sheba, Baphomet, and all my gods for blessings both before and during the work. I inked the frontispiece and title page, then named the book before those assembled powers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book absolutely came to life in my hands, and I took my time bonding with the book, talking to it about my plans for the work and how excited I was to get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then, feeling it was time, I wrapped and bound the book in its consecrated cloth and cord, thanked the various powers I had invoked, and brought the ritual to a close. Though it felt longer before I checked my clock, and everything felt right and proper in the moment, it turned out that the ritual, itself, had only taken about 30 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though it all felt good and effective in the moment, I didn\u2019t get the magical fireworks I was hoping for. I felt very little of the rush of power that I\u2019m accustomed to feeling during such rituals, and I had no significant dreams that night or since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Encountering the Great Seal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The week between consecrating the book and the great seal kind of got away from me. I did spend time practicing drawing the seal, making sure I had the geometry down before I even attempted to pencil it in to the pages of the book, but between my road trip to southern Missouri for a photoshoot, and the various obligations of life and work, I did not spend the time with my book that I should have. Nor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monday and Tuesday got away from me, so I ended up finalizing my ritual outline just before dinner Wednesday night<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spent the nine o\u2019clock hour cleaning my house and the ritual room \u2026 partly because Thursday is trash day in my neighborhood, and partly because that just felt like the right vibe for the last hour before winding up for ritual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the week before, jumped into the shower at 10 o\u2019clock and donned whites and familiar rosary and started pre-ritual 10 minutes ahead of the Mercury hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I began with my full Bell Book and Blade frame ritual. I invoked Baphomet and lit his candle. I invoked Solomon and Sheba and lit their candles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inked seal and names. My Hebrew calligraphy is super shaky, but it did at least turn out pretty. The geometric details of the seal turned out just a little shaky, too, but it all came together well enough, in the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The energy work was a little easier than I was afraid it would be, even though the voltage wasn\u2019t quite what I used to be able to pull. Chanting the holy names, they didn\u2019t do any of what I thought they would based on Mastros\u2019 descriptions, more like my experiences with relatively tame barbarous words\/names from the PGM. I did not get any weird hallucinations with the geometry (I got more out of some of my practice pieces, actually).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seal definitely came alive. I asked if it has a name \u2013 it does, but it won\u2019t tell me what it is, just yet. Nevertheless, I slathered it in holy oil and whispered sweet nothings to it, as instructed. I poured energy into the seal, into the book, as much as I could, from myself and the candles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wound down the ritual when I started losing focus: closing the seal; closing the book; thanking the various assembled powers with a final round of offerings. Without having looked at the clock, I finished the wrap-up 4 minutes into the next planetary hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I did not feel as wrecked after the ritual as I was afraid I would; I attribute that to the help I got from my spirit court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bonding With My Book<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t do as good a job as I would have liked bonding with my book in the week between naming consecrating, awakening, and naming my book and consecrating the Great Seal, so I made an extra special point of spending time with her in the weeks after the Great Seal. In the last month, I\u2019ve managed to (re)cultivate a halfway regular meditation practice, and I have called on the book to join me in my meditations. She\u2019s shown up a handful of times, now, which has been super cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the book-spirit\u2019s most dramatic appearance, the Great Seal was visible above and behind her, a little like the disk-shaped auras of medieval saints\u2019 icons. It felt both like a separate entity and a part of her, which \u2026 makes complete sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preparing for the Next Stage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In both rituals, I was surprised by a lack of \u201cfireworks\u201d strong sensations of energy and movement, apparitions, or various knock-on effects. I\u2019ve done enough magic over the years to know that effective magic can be anticlimactic, but this was \u2026 more than that. Honestly, I think that one of the lingering effects of my current stage of burnout and this winter\u2019s awful depression is an intensely decreased capacity to sense magical energy. The meditation practice I mentioned above is helping, a little, but \u2026 well, I think I\u2019ve got a long road to walk as far as that goes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The homework for the class, after all the reading and magic, ends with tracking the moon to prepare for the weeks of Lunar magic to come. That\u2019s easy. I\u2019m already doing that. My crew\u2019s Full and New Moon rituals aren\u2019t Lunar-themed (this last week\u2019s was a group invocation of the Serpent-Faced God, PGM XII 153-60), but we\u2019ve been having them with clockwork regularity for \u2026 eight years, now? Nine? I know when the moon is waxing or waning, if not necessarily what sign it\u2019s in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you may have heard me brag\/complain, already, t\u2019s been a busy month. (I hear it\u2019s been a wild month for a lot of people.) So as I finish this write-up on the day of the New Moon, I\u2019m also trying to fortify myself to start the work of Lesson Three: The Moon, tomorrow. I need to make some logistical decisions: how I\u2019m going to map the first pentacle onto the page; when, having taught the pentacle to the book, I\u2019m going to make time to use it. And also, what I\u2019m going to use it for? No pentacle has only one use, and I already have too many unused magical objects. I\u2019m also considering taking myself through another round of the Seven Spheres work (though I may decide to wait for the Full moon and do the waning cycle<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m excited to be moving into the meat of the class. The foundational work was both fun and fascinating. I\u2019m looking forward to my first encounter with a pentacle and its names and energies. I\u2019m looking forward to being able, when that first book-pentacle has had a chance to ferment, to making a usable pentacle and seeing how the Lunar Lock and Key (Lunar Pentacle No. 1, which Mastros suggests as the first entry) works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll be back in three to five weeks to tell you how it went! In the meantime, thank you, as always, for your support, and I hope your own magical experiments are going as well as mine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This is the second post in a series. Click here for the first.] The first phase of this work \u2013 the first chapter of the book; the first lesson of the course \u2013 was to gather art supplies, buy or make incense and holy oil, and to make contact with the spirit of Solomon the … Read More<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[203,464,468,454,265],"class_list":["post-5743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-witchcraft","tag-planetary-magic","tag-sara-mastros","tag-solomonic-pentacles","tag-sorcery-of-solomon","tag-talking-to-spirits"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8kUcm-1uD","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journeythroughtheobsidiandream.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journeythroughtheobsidiandream.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journeythroughtheobsidiandream.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journeythroughtheobsidiandream.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journeythroughtheobsidiandream.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5743"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/journeythroughtheobsidiandream.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6308,"href":"https:\/\/journeythroughtheobsidiandream.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5743\/revisions\/6308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journeythroughtheobsidiandream.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journeythroughtheobsidiandream.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journeythroughtheobsidiandream.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}