Incantations: Meaning and Sound
Any magical ritual comprises three components: 1) the practitioner; 2) the Signs of Power; 3) the Words of Power. We have already discussed in some detail the requirements for the first two elements: the operator and the Signs. Let us now discuss incantations.
Our earlier discussions of Galdr and Sejt have shown us that all incantations fall into two groups: Meaning-based and Sound-based. This distinction is entirely analogous to the division of Signs into Meaning-based and Realizational.
Meaning-based incantations include all spells that demonstrate the Authority of the Magus. In fact, all Kabbalistic constructions used in Ritual magic serve precisely this purpose: they show the world the Magus’s knowledge of the laws governing the world, the Magus’s mastery of basic principles for constructing realizations, and, finally, knowledge of the Names of the entities that govern processes of the world.
To use such incantations, and even more so to create them, requires a strong theoretical foundation, because only a precise understanding of the Names and Agents mentioned in the incantation gives power over them. In effect, the use of such an incantation places the Magus in the role of a Demiurge, a governing being, manipulating the inner laws of that being.
At the same time, the utterance of such incantations is fairly free — the text itself contains a creative impulse that sets certain processes in motion, so all that is required is a clear understanding of the meaning of the incantation; neither a special mood nor a ritual setting plays the role often attributed to them. Power arises in response to Authority — and that is the essence of the action of a Meaning-based incantation.
Sound-based incantations, by contrast, do not convey naming information. Their effect is built on sound vibrations that elicit a response from the world according to the law of harmony. Even Pythagoras devoted serious study to the effect of sound on the cosmos, though the power of that effect was known long before. The famous “Spells of Accomplishment,” a substantial portion of Sumerian incantations, and the songs of Sejt are based on the power of sound. At the same time, it would be mistaken to suppose that sound has sufficient power on its own. On the one hand, sound vibrations, resonating with the cosmos (a term introduced by Pythagoras), produce certain changes in that cosmos. But on the other hand, the greatest effect can be achieved by “pouring” one’s personal power into the sounds, reinforcing them with that Power.
In this case the manner of uttering the incantation, the mood during that utterance, and the overall atmosphere of the ritual all become crucial. Power is an independent force in such a ritual, and the extent to which it is released determines its success.
Of course, there are incantations that include both elements: meaning-based and sound-based elements, and many such incantations have been created. However, each of these incantations includes the parts described above and is subject to the corresponding laws: the meaning-based part requires a clear understanding, and the sound-based part requires correct pronunciation.
Therefore, for the practitioner who doubts their theoretical grounding it is more effective to choose sound-based incantations; for the practitioner who struggles to reproduce complex phonemes — Meaning-based incantations.
Good day. From what has been said, it follows that authority is the knowledge of the laws and, in fact, knowledge of the myth. Therefore, for studying tarot, authority is precisely what matters. Power, on the other hand, is something different, more related to inspiration and intuition. Am I understanding the meaning of Authority correctly?
Authority is not just knowledge of the Myth, it is mastery of the Myth, that is, understanding its inner laws. Power is not what is ‘related to inspiration and intuition’, but rather the ability for active realizations; Power is the ability to change reality.
The practice of repeating mantras is quite effective, it seems to me, but what bothers me is how to choose a mantra without a Teacher. Here the principle of ‘do no harm’ is important (in the sense of ‘do not kill’) 🙂
If you find this approach effective – you will have to experiment carefully and cautiously…
Useful! For some!
There are spells in which meaning and sound and much more are combined, but since this is not widespread information, one has to collect it grain by grain.
I believe that for runic magic mantras are not effective, as the ancient Scandinavians did not use such a technique. And, in general, the division between Northern magic and Eastern magic is enormous and they are based on different postulates. Northern magic (rune magic) is closer to Slavic magic (and even almost resembles it) than to Eastern magic (EGYPTIAN, BABYLONIAN, etc.) OR to the MAGIC OF MEDIEVAL EUROPE, WHICH IS CLOSER TO KABBALISTIC MAGIC. In Northern magic (in my opinion) the vision of the processes occurring during the ritual is more important, as runic symbols intertwine to form a very complex network of Force lines, in which it is impossible for the blind to figure out if they are acting solely on intuition.
Thank you.
Hello! It is unclear where the authority of a mage comes from in the sense of confidence in their knowledge. For example, the same demon can be referred to as the Lord of the North in one grimoire and the Lord of the South in another. Or is this information not that important?
Authority is not just “confidence” in knowledge, but confidence earned through experience. Authority is not information, but energy acquired through conscious action. That is, if this operator had a successful operation of summoning, using information about the “northern” character of the demon, he will gain his share of Authority, his portion of energy. If for another mage, a successful invocation will be one in which he considers the “southern” direction important – he will also gain his Authority. However, if the mage who gained authority from the “northern” operation doubts, tries to use “southern” attributes, and suffers defeat – he will lose part of his Authority. But it could also be that he arranges the Ritual in such a way that he will be successful regardless of the direction, and then, once again, his Authority will increase.
It is clear now. Thank you very much!