For quite a while I have thought about doing the Abramelin ritual, but been hesitating because of the dreadful things I’ve read about the consequences of the ritual going wrong. Crowley wasn’t the same after he tried the ritual, some of his disciples, so I’ve read, even killed themselves after trying the ritual and failing. And then there’s that really spooky description in Dion Fortune’s Psychic Self Defense… Obviously this ritual is really powerful, done right or done wrong even.
How dangerous is it really? Any firsthand experiences?
I did not experience any of the horror stories, but then again, that is probably because I researched everything Crowley did, saw where he went wrong, and made a deliberate effort not to make his mistakes myself. For example, by only dealing with the word-squares within sacred space, so that the demons didn’t turn before time and cause havoc, as they apparently did with Crowley’s local butcher.
On the whole, my experience of Abramelin was overwhelmingly positive. Not only was I pleased with the way it ended, but I found the discipline of doing what is essentially a simple ritual two (or later, three) times a day every day for two hundred days rewarding in itself.
The final seven days was nerve-wracking, but it made me realise that the real key to success was overcoming my own fear.
Because I enjoyed Abramelin so much, I would encourage more people to give it a go, by saying it is worthwhile and is probably easier that you think.
BTW – you better hurry up if you want to do it, as the start of Abramelin season is coming up in just ten days time – MONDAY 10TH APRIL 2023 (Easter Monday).
You now have the ability to order my new book, “Conjuring Demons for Pleasure and Profit” in paperback direct from the Publisher’s website. Thoth Publications promise to be able to ship worldwide – especially useful if you find Amazon or Barnes & Noble don’t deliver to your particular country!
“Abramelin” was a Jewish magician, living in 14th century Egypt, who conferred the “Sacred Magic” on one “Abraham the Jew” who came from Worms in present day Germany. Abraham the Jew then wrote up the account of his journey as well as the description of the Sacred Magic, which became the grimoire now known as “The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage,” or “Book of Abramelin.”
That at least is the story: note however that neither Abraham the Jew’ nor Abramelin’s historicity have ever been proven independently, with some people believing them to be fictional characters.
I tend to assume that because the Sacred Magic works, it’s not actually necessary to know who Abramelin was, except that someone must have come up with the idea for it in the first place, so I call that mysterious person “Abramelin” all the same.
If you would like a signed copy, or you cannot get it via Amazon or your preferred bookstore, message me via the Contact page: I am willing to sell copies directly.
Here at Castle Sumner, no sooner have I come out with a book (nb: PLUG) in which I, ahem, dissect references to Abramelin in A Dark Song, than I find another reference to it in pop-culture, namely the newest adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire.
When Lestat, Louis, and Claudia corral their victims from a Mardi Gras party into a room during the Season 1 finale where they purport to have hidden their secret, Lestat describes the fictional liquid as being the famed elixir of life which has oft been the goal of alchemists for hundreds of years. However, how he claims to have come into the knowledge of the concoction relates to a tome that he calls “The Book of Abramelin, the Mage.”
As it turns out in this often fantastical take on “Interview With the Vampire,” the book Lestat describes is based on a real piece of occult history. […]
Of course, as with any supposedly magical tome, we obviously can’t confirm or deny whether any of this actually works. Still, as the basis of a simple throwaway line in “Interview With the Vampire,” the writers must be lauded for doing their research and finding an appropriate real-life book to cite for their characters’ supposed magical knowledge — and even one that viewers in the real world can actually read today if they want to.
OK I’m going to skip over the fact that that scene was set in late 1790s America, when Abramelin was not available in English, and the only published edition extent was not called “The Book of Abramelin.” 😉
The question which naturally arises in the mind of an occultist is – could Abramelin be really used for Alchemical purposes? In my new book, Conjuring Demons for Pleasure and Profit, I argue that it can, and indeed I myself have attempted to do so.
My thoughts turned to Alchemy almost immediately after completing the Operation. In its immediate aftermath, I spent a lot of time researching the history of the concept of the “ Holy Guardian Angel,” in the course of which I also researched the etymology of a term bandied about by contemporary occultists, the Augoeides.
Crowley implicitly used this as a synonym for “ obtaining Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel.” However, taken literally, the word Augoeides does not refer to an angel or dæmon at all – it means “ dawn-like image ” or “ shining body .” Hence, Augoeides should more properly refer to the Resurrection- or Solar-Body, which is the Philosophical Gold. Or to put it more simply, if one imagines Divine Union as a destination, the Augoeides becomes the car which takes one there, whilst the Holy Guardian Angel adopts the role of the driving instructor who teaches one how to drive it in the first place.
I thought : could I use Abramelin-magick itself to help me realise my Augoeides ? The Book describes the function of the third word square of part IV, chapter 7 as “ to learn all sorts of Alchemical arts from the spirits.” Perhaps this really meant Internal Alchemy ? If so, then in amongst all the word-squares which promised rather worldly, low-magick attainments, I had found one which could provide me with practical help as a Hermetic magician.
Sumner, A (2022) Conjuring Demons for Pleasure and Profit: an Abramelin memoir, Thoth Publications, Leicester, UK – p534
The significance of this is that some continental schools of Alchemy (e.g. Kremmerz et al) allege that it is the realisation of the Solar Body which provides the true key to immortality – by allowing one to exist in a perfected form, free from the ravages endemic to imperfect matter. Or in other words, the Elixir Vitae although not literal, is nevertheless a metaphor for a real Alchemical phenomenon.
To cut a long story short, I did a magical operation in which I deployed word square number three from Book IV, Chapter 7 of the Book of Abramelin, whilst researching all I could about Alchemy, and discovered a powerful method of meditation, similar to Kundalini Yoga, which synthesised the teachings of Sendivogius, Isaac Newton, Paracelsus – and of course, the Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistos.
NB: I do not claim to have realised the Solar Body – I claim to aspire to do so. I’m still just a neophyte in that regard.
So in conclusion, to answer Mr Worby, yes, in my opinion it is both plausible and possible. In fact I shall probably make a note to watch this new adaptation when it becomes available on Netflix.
“DURING THE YEAR 2020,the COVID-19 Pandemic affected people across the world in a number of different ways … I personally chose to use the time to carry out a lengthy Magical Ritual to invoke an Angel and subsequently summon and bind all the Demons of Hell.”
In 1996 as a young man, Alex Sumner brought a copy of Mathers’ The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, made most famous by the occultist Aleister Crowley. Alex left it lying on his bookshelf for almost a quarter of a century … until the pandemic lockdown caused him to work from home on full-pay – and enabled him to complete the Abramelin Operation.
IN THIS BOOK YOU WILL DISCOVER: • The magical diary of a magician who performed the Abramelin Operation for six months, right through to its exciting end. • What the Operation is, how it is performed and what to expect from “Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel.” • Why most books about Abramelin are full of mistakes, and how you can work out the truth for yourself. • Worked examples of how to make use of the Word Squares to attain fantastic magical effects. And … • Why the Abramelin Operation is actually easier than many people seem to think.
Alex Sumner is a novelist and writer on the occult. In 2009 he wrote his first novel The Magus and has gone on to write six novels in total, several short-stories, and numerous non-fiction articles. This is his first full length, non-fiction book. Alex lives with his fiancée in Essex, England.
“Conjuring Demons for Pleasure and Profit: An Abramelin Memoir” by Alex Sumner.
This ritual horrified the noted Golden Dawn historian R A Gilbert who, according to anecdotal evidence, condemned it as being “ disturbing in character.” It involves the evocation and binding of evil spirits (“ Creatures of the Flashing Fire, And Rushing Air… Dwellers in the Howling Wilderness ” etc) as well as the invocation of the good. Having gone through this text myself and come to an entirely different conclusion, I must assume that Gilbert had taken offence not at the ritual itself, but at a Phantom which he had conjured up from his imagination. As it were. Ahem !
You now have the opportunity to read a never before published original ritual of the Golden Dawn – as well as other great scholarly contributions on the GD – in the new edition of “The Light Extended: A Golden Dawn Journal,” edited by Frater Yechidah for Kerubim Press.
I myself have edited and transcribed the piece entitled “Ritual for the formation, building and consecration of a body wherein to travel, manifest and act in freedom from the bounds and limitations of matter,” a ceremony composed by an Adept of the original order circa 1898 – 1900. In my article, I argue that this represents a practical attempt to make use of magical formulae restricted to Practicus Adeptus Minor – and is hence more advanced than the greater part of original Inner Order material previously available. Previously this existed only in the archives of the Library & Museum of Freemasonry in Great Queen Street London: it is here being made available to the wider international Golden Dawn community for the first time.
“The Light Extended” is now available in paperback from Amazon and all good booksellers. To get your copy, please the links below. Thanks!
Recently I introduced myself to a group of magicians, saying “You may know me as Alex Sumner.” To which one of them responded by saying “I thought your name was Eric?” I do hope he wasn’t confusing me with other magicians named Eric, but the point is I am partly at fault for not having blogged much recently. I will explain:
Over the past few months I have been particularly concerned with re-visiting my Enochian magic practice. In addition I am now turning towards divination in general, and Tarot in particular. All the while I keep up with my post-Abramelin activities.
Professionally, the manuscript of my next book “Conjuring Demons for Profit and Pleasure” is with the publishers, so that is still going ahead. I’m actually finding that periodically re-reading my magical diaries from whilst performing the Abramelin operation refreshes and re-inspires me.
Yes I normally wander around my farm buildings in this hooded black robe, honest.
Easter Monday (yesterday) is the traditional start date for the Abramelin operation, so I would just like to wish the best of luck to everyone in the Class of 2022.
My own book on the subject, Conjuring Demons for Pleasure and Profit: an Abramelin memoir, is currently with the publishers, and I am hoping that it will be out later this year.
Meanwhile, I have also been working on a number of writing projects, including a contribution to volume 4 of The Light Extended (again, due out later this year), as well as some personal magical projects as well.
During the year 2020, the COVID-19 Pandemic affected people across the world in a number of different ways … I personally chose to use the time to carry out a lengthy Magical Ritual to invoke an Angel and subsequently summon and bind all the Demons of Hell.
The first draft of my next book is now completed. Now comes the inevitable proof-reading, so I expect it to be ready some time in 2022, or when I decide by electional astrology when is the best time to launch it.
I have titled it “Conjuring Demons for Pleasure and Profit: an Abramelin Memoir,” and details my adventures while undertaking the Abramelin Operation in 2020. I kept a diary throughout my operation, and then spent a year afterwards editing and annotating it. The result is by far the longest book I have yet written, 175K words or 561 pages, so it will be one chunky paperback.
Sol Ascendans - The Website of Alex Sumner 