While I was ready at the beginning of the planetary hour, I still waited for a neighbor to do as they always do so that it would be one less distraction to contend with. Unfortunately, they chose today to be late so I wound up watching the clock with concern. When they did finish their matter, I had fifteen minutes left to begin the ritual while still in the hour of Jupiter.
When I did this series in 2020, the book has the ritualist begin with the Sphere of Jupiter. This time, it is the penultimate working. I found myself beginning the ritual without the fear that preceded Anael or the joy that preceded Samael. Instead, I found myself filled with pride, and that gave me no small amount of concern.
What did I have to be prideful about? Yes, I’m better off than I was in 2020, but I also have greater concerns and harder problems to overcome than then as well. For what did I have the right to approach the Sphere of Jupiter as a Conquering King returning to their throne? How could I when the whole point of these workings was to find my throne in the first place? And so it was that I paused to put my ego in check before continuing to summon the Angel of Jupiter, Sachiel.
I heard the sound of a crowd over my head. It reminded me of when I had jury duty and all the prospective jurors were crowded into the hall outside of the court room. Anyone that didn’t have headphones on were getting their ears talked off and all the murmurs and gossip melted into a mass of sound that splashed against the walls. There were a multitude of commentators and none of them were interested in speaking to me.
I closed my eyes and kept the seal of Jupiter in my mind’s eye. Each angel thus far has presented in a different manner than the others and I didn’t want to risk missing Sachiel’s voice because of the increasing volume of others. I did not notice when the sound of the crowd suddenly became distant along with all sense of self, including that of my body.
He spoke and my mouth moved. I felt as calm as the eye of a hurricane as something moved around me with power and force and direction. Sachiel spoke, and I listened. As he did, the crowd that had preceded him began to be audible again. And it became increasingly difficult to hear his quiet firm voice against the chittering and muttering multitude.
Finally, he gave me some words specifically to post on this blog. His mirth as he spoke the very short speech should have been a warning that this wasn’t going to be as to the point as I thought it would be. He directed me to repeat it. Somehow, the word count doubled. I shook my head and tried to repeat it again. Where did that extra phrase come from? I apologized for inserting my ego and tried to repeat his instruction again. Where did those words from from and when did he say that and he did say that but why didn’t I hear it then and just what the hell is going on?
I admitted my failure and asked if we could start again. Sachiel smiled and banished the crowd such that it was now just him and me present at the table. When next he spoke through my mouth, it wasn’t to indulge me and grant what I thought I wanted from him. He spoke with instruction.
Of all that he said, not all of it is for the public to receive. Here then, are the words granted release: “You will never outrun the Abyss. That you have survived this day is no promise that you will survive tomorrow. You seek a worthy goal for these endeavors? Aim beyond your reach. Any fool can plant an arrow beside their foot and bark for hitting their target. It is an act of royalty to aim beyond their bounds and to discover what lies in the resulting pursuit. Do not carve your name in stone that erodes before your back is turned. Plant your name in the roots of a tree that you will never see to maturity, and it will speak your name in the shade it gives those that come after you.”
There is so much there to unpack. Each sentence would require five hundred words to explain how they specifically apply to me while also specifically applying to anyone reading them. Each word is a linguistic trap because there are so many meanings and so many interpretations and so many ways that they could be interpreted and somehow they are all valid even though when I read them I am pierced in very specific ways.
When I sat down to document the ritual, I struggled to keep the precise collection of words in mind as he declared my audience to have ended and departed. Each word in the license to depart only reminded me of other licenses to depart which reminded me of my endeavors in learning languages which reminded me that I was able to understand some of the commentary that preceded his arrival which reminded me…
I held my head in my hands. It was too much. The words kept unfolding. The meanings and interpretations kept inspiring other topics of thought and rumination. I had gone from worrying that I wouldn’t have enough words to write a post with to having so many words in my head that they were preventing me from thinking.
I laughed at my woe. Normally, the opposite of “enough” is “lack”. But this morning, it appears that the opposite of “enough” is “excess”, because if I were suffering from a paucity of words, then I would make a koan from them and contemplate how they are a reflection of something greater. But because I have been given so many, and each one is important in some way, I struggled to choose which meanings to set aside and which interpretation is The Most Important Interpretation Of The Moment™.
I then realized, that I may no longer be in the presence of Sachiel, Angel of Jupiter, but I had unlocked the influence of his sphere again. The overwhelming flow had began the moment I had committed to the ritual and was continuing to flow through whatever I was giving my attention to.
Okay.
Then, instead of trying to listen to everything, I need to listen to one thing. Instead of dragging a wide net in the water, time to use a baited rod. I turned around to face the table with the still burning incense and candle. Between the two, the scrying globe sat still. I had the words of the angel, time to listen for what is reflected from the sphere.
I heard again the commentators that preceded the angel’s presence. Again, it was like sitting in a crowded hall while everyone around you is engaged in conversation with everyone else. But this time, I meant to eavesdrop with the directive that if it was meant for me to hear, it will be spoke clearly.
What came from focusing on the sphere’s reflection can be written down as this: “Just because it is in view, doesn’t mean it is yours to take. Just because you are capable, doesn’t mean it is yours to complete. It is the nature of royalty to rule over everything, but it is not the nature of royalty to do everything. Just as the king delegates what is worthy to ministers and generals while discarding what is not, so to much you choose what to take on for yourself, what to grant to others on your behalf, and what to leave behind. Complete things in their season and store up when their season ends. Pick up what you need to reach your goal and place aside what you do not. For all that is permissible to you, little is profitable. Learn the difference and act accordingly.”
The murmuring ended and I opened eyes I did not realize I had closed. I looked at the incense just in time to watch it burn completely out. I wrote down the words that no longer squirmed to be recognized before moving to put out the candle.
And with that, today’s session is complete.