Yesterday afternoon, I sat down in my favorite “safe space” [a Starbucks near a big local college] with the physical Book of Oberon, my notes, and browser tabs set to a dozen “interesting” websites and got busy putting together what words I would use to entangle [Patient Caller] to the Hierophant card including words that I could use to summon him via the Hierophant card outside of full ritual.
I am very aware that this method, as is, will not work with any other grimoire spirit. That it would fail silently at best, and backfire with permanent negative life-changing effects as a norm. I have had very little feedback regarding my encounters with [Patient Caller], and those words have been clustered at polarized extremes. Half of the feedback has been encouragement to continue by those who have read through my nearly ten years of dream posts and literally watched me go through shit, recover from shit, and continue to challenge my shit. The other half has been accusations of making this up (because I write too clearly, recall conversations too well, and/or can’t possibly have these kind of results for my first solo endeavor), exaggerating my experiences, and generally suckering the “ignorant masses” while my detractor(s) sit in experienced judgement.
To both camps, I reply the same: I’m going as I go.
[Patient Caller] had told me to refer to those passages in the Book of Oberon for binding a spirit to a ring as inspiration for how to entangle him with the Hierophant card. Said passages are longer to recite than I have time for, require tech that I neither have time to create, nor space to use even if I had, and required various acts and dedications that just are not available to me in my town.
My epiphany moment is when I realized the use of the tarot card was not like that of a ring, but that of a looking glass. Stirring together the common requirements for sealing a spirit in a ring, along with the dedication and blessing of using a mirror or glass, gave me an idea of what was required. A separate license to depart gave me the scaffolding to hang these personal tapestries on:
“A licence if he do appear and fulfill, then licence him to depart, saying:”
I conjure thee, spirit or spirits, and that now by the virtue of our Lord Jesus Christ, the which was put upon the Cross for you and all you spirits, that you and every of you do return into your proper places, and by the virtue of the high God, and that you do not annoy nor hurt me, not yet none other creature, but that now forthwith you do return unto your proper places, and that when I shall call you, or any of you, to answer unto me again or to give me that that I shall require and desire, and that you do it quickly and that with all obedience, to be ready to come and fulfill my request and commandment, rede, rede, rede in pace [“return, return, return in peace”], and the peace of Jesus Christ be now between you and me and that in the name of the Father + and of the + Son + and of the + Holy Ghost. Amen. Three persons in Trinity and one God in unity be rendered all laud, praise, and dominion, both now and forever, world without end. Amen. [Page 314 of the Book of Oberon.]
What I finally settled on is this:
I conjure you, [O Patient Caller], and that now by the command of your lord, St. Cyprian of Antioch, and by the virtue of our Lord Jesus Christ, the which was put upon the Cross for you and all you spirits, that when I shall call you to appear through this or any tarot card named The Hierophant or has function of the same, to answer unto me again or to give me what that I shall require and desire, that you do so quickly and that with all obedience, to be ready to come and fulfill my request and commandment, rede, rede, rede in pace [“return, return, return in peace”], and the peace of Jesus Christ be now between you and me and that in the name of the Father + and of the + Son + and of the + Holy Ghost. Amen.
The wording feels short, but it is not meant to be a complete invocation in its own right. My plan is only after a successful invocation and appearance of [Patient Caller] do I offer the card and speak the entanglement. We know how plans go, right?
As part of the laying out of the ritual gear, I placed the Hierophant card from my Universal Waite deck, as in my mind, that is my “catch-all” deck. The usual portions of the ritual went usually well. I called for [Patient Caller] to appear and cleared my mind so that what I perceived came not by anticipation, but spontaneously.
The false flame on the candle gave the expected mahogany and cedar scents embedded in the physical candle, but also put out an unusually sweet scent, as if a freshly cut bitter orange was nearby. All else about the appearance of the spirit was as expected. I challenged him, nonetheless, because of the added scent. He acknowledged the additional scent and said I only did not recognize it because I have not been physically informed of its name before. «But you have been censed with it before in body and in spirit. Its presence is indication that what you intend to do today is blessed by my master, and by his Master above him.»
“I intend to entangle you with the Hierophant card. Have you any words regarding this?”
«No. I do not.»
“Do you consent to be entangled with the Hierophant card, only the Hierophant card, and to answer me when I use the Hierophant card outside of ritual to summon you? In return, when the Hierophant appears in a personal reading as the first card of any reading containing at least three cards, I will regard every card after the first as a direct message from you, and once my life settles down after the impending upheaval, I will obtain the physical representation of the signet ring on the little finger of your right hand and reserve it only for your inhabitation.”
He looked at me curiously. I could not tell if he was happy, if he was surprised, if he was regretting his deal, or what. His expression was as alien as he was physical. Unclasping his hands and spreading them on the bed with his palms up, he answered. «I consent.»
I moved the rutile quartz off the book but kept it within the cord circle surrounding it. In its place, I laid the Hierophant card so that it faced me upright. I placed the physical piece of amber on the card, and place the slip of paper that bore the spirit’s name over the name of the card. Looking at the table, I saw two pieces of amber, one physical and one spiritual.
[Patient Caller] observed my actions and remained still until I finished and withdrew my hand. He then reached forward, picked up the spiritual piece of amber (which glowed as if the candle flame was within it) and placed it on the physical card, superimposing the physical piece of amber. The false smoke from the candle flowed sideways across the table, first to loop around the little finger of his right hand, then to encircle and soak into the spiritual piece of amber. He withdrew his hands and clasped them behind the rearranged table.
I raised my right hand and spoke the words of entanglement, but when the text indicated making the sign of the cross, I did not cross myself, but made the sign of the cross over the card and amber. Each time I did, [Patient Caller] lowered his head and crossed himself.
When I said ‘Amen” and lowered my hand, he raised his to catch my attention. Silently, he reached over and picked up the spiritual version of the candle. The glass remained the same, but the candle itself was completely melted. The scent of mahogany and cedar intensified, but so did the scent of bitter orange (almost like a sweet lemon?) to the point that my eyes began to water. He raised the container of liquid wax upright and prayed in a language I did not recognize but understood clearly.
«At the command of my master, St. Cyprian of Antioch, and by the grace of the Lord Most High, the loving-kindness of the Immaculate Lamb Iesous Christos, and the impetus of the Holy Spirit, I yield to this person, [Kerian Nox], who by the grace and command of those powers named, has set apart this card, and others like it, to be a means by which I may be summoned and communicated with. With God as witness, we yield to each other. Amen.»
His closing words chilled me, but before I could react, he poured the melted wax over the amber, the label, and the card itself. The glass easily could contain half a cup of liquid on its own, so forgetting I was seeing in spirit, I was instantly concerned about melted wax overflowing the table onto the hardwood floor at my feet.
The wax completely covered the card and did not flow even half of a millimeter past the physical boundary of it. The heated and still flowing wax melted the amber and burnt up the paper label into ashes that mixed with the wax as the combination quickly soaked into the card.
I blinked, and the table appeared as it does physically. [Patient Caller] sat behind the restored table. He clasped his hands again and bowed his head. «It is done.»
“Agreed.” I had nothing more planned for the ritual, so I gave the Apophenia invitation even though it now felt redundant and useless. His apparition dissolved during the speaking of the License to Depart. I left the card on the book and table as I closed the ritual with Psalm 54 and ended the ritual with the command, “Go all now in peace.”
And after all that, I finally allow myself to express emotion by laughing when I removed the amulet as the very last act of cleaning up and putting the gear away, and again, it felt like I had removed a warm cloak from around my shoulders and was now part of the world again.
Total ritual time: 41 minutes.
I am suddenly not afraid. I am in the last seven days of my obligation, and I know with surety I will not be able to continue this ritual method of summoning for at least several months after the obligation ends. I have solidified other commitments in stone and the actions that I am going to begin on October 1st will ruin my life as I am living it, even as it will improve my life after things settle out.
I recognize that this endeavor is part of a very long game which has gradually been revealed over time. There has been healing as I confront my fears and wounds incurred during my time in the beliefs and attendance of certain Christian churches and cults. There has been healing as I confront the differences between the human defined [Christian] God, and the [Christian] God that has revealed [themselves] to me. There were things told to me years ago that I screamed was bullshit, and yet here I am doing those very things.
I have alluded to the general subject of what happened in the post-ritual meditation time the other day with my public inquiries on Tumblr, but I am still hesitant to speak exactly of what happened in public. I need to understand what it implies for myself before I can speak of it in anything greater than a mere report of actions.
I have no idea what the hell to do for this final week during ritual. I already have ideas for what to do with the Hierophant card outside of ritual. I’ll just do what I do best: Jump and see how far I fly.