Genii of Shemhamphorash
When examining the forces that influence the development of the human mind, it becomes clear that this development unfolds under the tension of three primary binaries, the integration of which constitutes the essence of conscious existence.
The first biner is the “inner” struggle of consciousness itself — the confrontation between the Parasite of mind and one’s individual self. This struggle is most significant before and during as the mind enters the Tree of Life. Upon entering the Way the Parasite, although not disappearing, becomes relatively easy to detect and the struggle against it becomes the Magus’s daily routine.
The second — the “subcelestial” biner — is the opposition between the “liminal” spirits — the goetic demons on one side and the Genii of Shemhamphorash on the other. It is the expression of this binary that becomes the main consumer of the Magus’s power during his development on the Way; indeed, the lion’s share of his strength is expended on this struggle until the Abyss is overcome.
The third binary is the confrontation between angelic and qliphothic influences — which, although felt from the first step on the Way, becomes most significant during the crossing of the Abyss.
Since the Magus’s primary task thus becomes the recognition and neutralization of the influence of the “Grey Spirits“, let us examine them in more detail.
The Threshold, lying between worlds, separates the descending stream of life-force and the ascending stream of consciousness, and is focused in a conscious being who brings about this transformation of forces.
The transformation process itself may proceed with varying efficiency, yet it is almost always accompanied by certain “losses” — a dissipation of energy that in fact forms the “husk” of the process, that is, it nourishes the Qliphoth.
The power that seeks to amplify those losses and presses the Threshold from below, striving to draw as much energy as possible into the underworld, is called the goetic demonic force, and its individual components are the Spirits of the Copper Jug.
The force that holds the Threshold in tension and opposes these losses from “above” is called the Genii of Shemhamphorash.
Babylonian priests had already discovered that the world — both macrocosm and psychocosm — has 72 gates through which power can enter and leave. The number 72 arose from the notion that each period of five days, or five degrees of the ecliptic, constitutes a “gate“, a kiner: five external forces (since free will is described by the principle of the Pentagram) through which the exchange of power takes place.
The order of the Gates is reflected in the Lemegeton and in Agrippa’s “Occult Philosophy” (Agrippa). This order is of great importance, because finding the correct correspondence between a Demon and a Genius allows one to properly match the forces at work in the mind, and thereby most effectively overcome the destructive action of the Demon.
For example, matching the Demon Bael with the Genius Vehuiah enables the activation in the mind of the power to overcome the Demon’s “desacralizing” influence, since the main task of that Genius is ‘right seeing’ — that is, the formation of a coherent value system and a hierarchy within consciousness. Similarly, the binary Agares — Ieliel reflects the struggle within the mind aimed at finding one’s own way of being, one’s Orlög and the corresponding Wyrd.
Of course, discovering and properly defining such binaries is no easy task, further complicated by the murkiness and grimoiric allegory of descriptions of both Demons and Genii in the literature. Here the Magus’s decisive criterion is his own experience — his practice, self-knowledge, and self-cartography.
A clear understanding, identification, and naming of the powers the mind encounters at any given moment makes that interaction more structured, and therefore more amenable to control.
The Magus’s chief task is precisely to attain such efficiency in working with his mind that will allow the mind to evolve as quickly as possible and as effectively as possible.
Since the article touched on goetic demons categorized as “border spirits,” it is still not entirely clear how spirits like Astaroth or Asmodeus simultaneously relate to both “border spirits” and the arch-demons of Klippot.
And they are not related to the arch-demons of Klippot. They pertain to the Celestial arch-demons, which facilitate the flow of energy into the Klippot. However, “working” for Klippot and “belonging” to it is not the same thing. Ritual practices, fortunately, hardly interact with “black” demons, dealing only with Gray spirits. Black demons, actually Klippotic inhabitants, are too destructive and chaotic. They resemble Lovecraft’s “Ancients” more than “familiar” goetic demons. And the angelic hosts are guarding the manifested worlds from Black spirits.
This is precisely the article that was missing 🙂 Now it’s clear where to move towards. For simply cutting off the “dark roots” or completely filling with the “light ones” creates extremes and imbalance. A person themselves is the Edge, the integral of flows.
The confrontation with angelic and klippotic influences allowed me to mark the beginning of my journey. The resistance against the parasite of consciousness gave me the opportunity to find my path.
How is the boundary between worlds felt?
Hello! How can one activate the matrix of one of the Geniuses of Shemhamforash, for example, Vehuyiah? Is it through meditation on the seal, or is it better to carry the seal as a talisman? Thank you!
You can activate the matrix of Vehuyiah only by surpassing within yourself the Baal who occupies the place of this matrix.
So, is it only through conducting a goetic evocation, or are there other ways? And for what practical purposes can the seals of the Geniuses of Shemhamforash be used?
This serves as support for that liberation. The Genius is a potential matrix, its actual manifestation is distorted by a demon. Accordingly, the Seal, sigil, Name, etc. of the Genius is a ‘recollection’ of how this matrix ‘should’ have looked ‘ideally’.