Today I shall begin the first in a series of Planetary invocations. These are all ones I use in my own magical practice.
Venus
One of my favourite sources for deriving traditional rituals is The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation, Including the Demotic Spells: Texts v. 1. Despite the name these are actually mostly from Ptolemaic Egypt and are thus more Graeco-Egyptian than Greek per se. The Greek Magical Papyri show an eclectic range of influences, including not just traditional Greek and Egyptian traditions but also Gnostic and even proto-Qabalistic ones as well.
Many of the spells are of the eye of newt and tongue of bat variety, but there are a number which are conducive to more theurgical types of working. One of these is the famous Bornless Ritual: another is the invocation I present below.
The following is an invocation to Venus – or more accurately, Aphrodite. I adapted it from a spell to invoke Aphrodite for divinatory purposes.
The invocation is in three parts: parts one and three – the basic invocation and the welcome to the Goddess – should always be used; part two may be used in addition to part one at the discretion of the magician. The words in bold type – the “barbarous names of evocation” – should be vibrated or chanted with a full breath – a very powerful effect is achieved when this is done properly.
1
I call upon You, the Mother and Mistress of Nymphs
ILAOCH OBRIE’LOUCH TLOR
Come in Holy Light and give Answer, showing Your Lovely Shape!
2
I call upon thee ILAOUCH who has begotten Himeros, the Lovely Horai and You Graces;
I also call upon the Zeus-sprung Physis of All Things,
Two-formed, indivisible, straight, foam-beautiful Aphrodite.
Reveal to me Your Lovely Light and Your Lovely Face, O Mistress ILAOUCH.
I conjure You, Giver of Fire, by ELGINAL, and by the Great Names:
OBRIE’TYCH KERDYNOUCHILE’PSIN
NIOU NAUNIN IOUTHOU THRIGX TATIOUTH GERTIATH
GERGERIS GERGERIE’THEITHI.
I also ask You by the All Wonderful Names:
OISIA EI EI AO’E’Y IO’IAIAIO SO’THOU BERBROI AKTEROBORE GERIE’IE’OYA;
Bring Light and Your Lovely Face and the knowledge of Your Divine Self,
You shining with Fire, bearing Fire all around, stirring the Land from afar –
IO’ IO’ PHTHAIE’ THOUTHOUI PHAEPHI –
Do it!
3
Hail, Very Glorious Goddess, ILARA OUCH!




RIP Watkins Books
Watkins Books of Cecil Court, off Charing Cross Road, London, is no more. Apparently they were lumbered with a massive tax bill from a previous owner – that, together with the collapse of price fixing in the book trade has seen it and other independant book stores go to the wall.
Watkins for those that do not know was until last week one of London’ – and the UK’s – leading occult booksellers. I myself have been a customer there! Now this means there are only two decent occult bookshops left in London – Atlantis, and Treadwells.
What is not generally known is that Watkins was the model for the Wizard’s Bookshop Flourish and Botts from the Harry Potter series of novels! I present the following evidence to back up my claim:
So all in all, QED.
2 Comments
Filed under Comment
Tagged as atlantis, cecil court, credit crunch, diagon alley, flourish and botts, Harry Potter, london, occult, treadwells, watkins