Goetia Triangle of Art And The Time To Do The Work

Goetia Triangle of Art And The Time To Do The Work



For a long time I wanted to do a new Triangle of Art for my work and I decided to make the new triangle using the names in Hebrew.

So to start I had to deal with something that happens sometimes during magickal practice: to get the needed material.


Getting materials for magickal practice

To work on magick, witchcraft, whatever, you may need some material one and another time. This includes candles, incense, herbs, and tools.
And for ceremonial magick this often means the need to work a lot more.
It's not something easy or cheap because of the work and training needed.
Need long years of studying, practicing, learning how to make many things and dealing with a lot of special materials and tools.
And most of the time, no shortcuts, sorry. Except for some materials, like gold and some other materials, we can use the correspondence tables and sometimes, the needed tool can be done even on virgin paper. But please, never take this so easy.
You have to be sincere in your intent. If you really need to use something simple to make your tools, be sure to do the best you can. And be sure to explain to the spirits you will be working about why you needed to work that way. Decent true spirits will understand your reasons and when asked, will point you in the direction of improving your working tools.

And here is a gold tip: Master Asterion presented a very nice way to make Gold Lamens, and it is very suitable for many tools


But if you got some spirit who even tries to make you fuck your life because "they want" something that will cost even your health, my suggestion is to dismiss and even banish the spirit. Such ones are like vampires and most probably just want to be fed without any valid return.

Glad we have with time, centuries of work, some new methods, and new materials, as magicians around the world have practiced, made experiments, researched to discover it, and gotten solid results. For example, we know there is no need for sacrifices of blood most of the time. I learned this in the 90s using fruits as sacrifice and later extended it. And still, due to the ATR line I was, I had thousands of animal sacrifices in my hands I'm sure 99,99% were not needed. And many ATR lines today do not use blood, except for special cases.
About using magickal herbs to this use Aaron Leitch writes very well at "Blood Substitute – ‘Solomonic Herbal Holy Water’".

Another aspect of the tools of the Art is some of that is very desirable you have to do it by your own hands.
Studying the grimoires, and most other magick areas, you will find all-time instructions about doing yourself the knives, swords, sticks, and woodwork, seeding and growing your herbs, making your ritual clothes, painting your seals, and even how to prepare special inks, making oils, etc.

Ok, if you have the resources, for sure is very important when you have a reliable source of magick jewelry tools for example. I would love to have some of that. We have some talented magicians working to make fantastic tools and jewelry and they are observing all the planetary and material aspects and even consecrate it for you.  For sure not cheap. But if you can, this saves a lot of time and you will have a piece of art. It's OK.

So do what you can the best way you can.

Remember, the Great Work is the result of your work. You are the one who needs to work.
If you worked to be able to pay someone for something special, OK.
But never, I repeat, never do that with a mind of "doing it for cheap".
If you do not value the effort, be sure the results will be related.

What you do is part of the Work. So it must have a meaning to you.


So to get the materials to make tools


To me, this means sometimes researching walking a lot, and working a lot to find what I need.
I will comment later, on some reasons why this may happen sometimes.

In this specific case for a new triangle, it took some years.

I want to also comment on some materials I had difficulty getting.
In some ways such things came together with "additional results" (or curious or funny or as teachings) in some areas of my life, like knowing interesting people or having results far from what I was expecting or "by coincidence", that time was happening a topic to learn a lot from others magicians dealing at some work in the same area that time.  Remember the old tale: "When you are ready the teaching comes".


Even living in a big city area, some materials can be very hard to find. Many people have the same problems because some ingredients do not exist in your region or country.
I just remember how many times people asked where to find black candles, something very common in my country. But at the same time, all those oils people in the USA find easy, we have not. Same for herbs, roots, and many other materials.


Also just for some reason, you won’t find anybody who wants to sell that. I say people and companies who have what you need and they just refuse to sell due to the most stupid reasons. What? That happens!


I went to many places and it was interesting how just nobody wanted to sell a piece of wood cut in the way I wanted. To say better, nobody wanted to sell even a complete board no matter the price and I stated I was not worried about the price!

Strange?
Yes, very strange.

Some weeks ago, I found this piece of wood, and this is one part of my life story for sure.
I just went again into a hardware store near my house, they also sell wood, but not the kind I needed. For some reason, that day the store owner commented about a neighbor, just in front of their store. An old man who makes furniture. Hey! He has no signs in front of the house, nothing. But I already had heard about him some two years before, people from my city talk very much about his work, but I never found out where he was!
And that was an interesting meeting. The guy had an entire board unused for a long time as he made a wrong buy a long time before, and someways he had nothing to use.
So he was very gentle, despite all the work, and took nearly one entire hour preparing and cutting the wood. He didn't know the maths for the triangle, and I was shown a practical method. He loved it. So he made his work and the price he asked after all was so ridiculous to make me shy. And we had a nice time talking about travel and nature places and some other topics. A blessing to me.
And about some events having more results, the hardware store had a garden bench like I was after too for many time! Now I have a garden bench too! Yeeeeaaaaahhh!

So I get it!

Going after materials, when I needed brute bee wax to make seals it took months too. And I live in a region with a lot of honey farms, producer groups, etc. Nobody had wax at that time! Walking, searching, calling by phone. Ok, all that added energy to the seals I did, and the additional result was a very interesting topic in a forum sharing common experiences.


For my circle to the Goetia work, I had to walk for some three months just to get the cotton fabric I needed. I worked developing specific software to manage the production area of clothes companies for almost two decades, so I guess I had a good idea of where to buy fabric and knew all major stores and no place had white/brute cotton to sell.
And to add another "extra" result, this time I worked differently. The saleswoman was gentle, nice, sweet, and intelligent and I had some minutes of sweet talk. 

Checking the new triangle size to fit space in my room.
This is a 7-foot size circle so I can use the triangle in all directions.

All this lets me comment about four points about the effort to get the material and ingredients you need.
For sure do not think getting proper material is always easy. Some have specific characteristics, not the kind you will find easily at any store.

• First, many times this is just part of your work. Since the starting point, often the spirits are already near and may do your work just to add power to your intent. In some religious areas like the ATR lines I knew, this was even a kind of test to you.
• Second, there are materials really hard to find. So keep calm. There are ingredients, like herbs and oils you won’t find in your region or country. So the alternative is to study the correspondences, find alternatives, or even make your own recipe.
• Third, may be possible is just not time to work on that. For some reason, nothing works. This happens even at working practices. For example, I had prepared seals, oils, etc. for entire rituals, and due to some reason, I had some other activity to pay attention and all that material went forgotten in a cabinet for years.
• Fourth, and this is important to think, maybe just is not the right time and despite what you do, it won’t succeed that way. About this think about your guardians.

So is always good to remember: do a reading to get information about what is happening and why.


For sure you must have a very decent degree at least one oracle. For example, the Tarot. This is one of the very basic steps you need before trying such works.

Another you must know and be strong on it is cleaning and banishing.
Guess how many times I tried to contact someone to get material and the result was a really bad eye or just contacting some very bad place full of that bad energies...
And for sure, never attempt such operations on magick without all the previous needed experience. This is not a matter of gift of birth. This helps a bit, but you need the practice.



I often comment as being a practitioner I used to work with what I could, the best way I could.
And there are things I can’t have, even being desirable, but I put my efforts into getting better materials and tools.
This is my life and what I do, so I put all my daily effort into that. Each one may know what level to do.


I have working with the Goetia for some years, and started the most humble way with big paper-made triangles, in a house where I had just a really small place to work. Just open your arms and you have an idea.

When I moved to a bigger house, I was able to use a bigger circle and started to draw the triangle in a two-foot-sized black stone with consecrated chalk. And it has worked too.


As with almost anything I have done in these years, each time I add a new tool, make corrections and improvements in the ritual texts and invocations or just improve the place, I observe in many ways, that the rituals become stronger and more impressive. So keep walking!


Yes, the spirits are there watching what you do, and they are working too somehow.
This is part of something very important: to be always respectful of the spirits.
In the same way, the true spirits will see you are doing your part, and this adds to the respect they have for you.

You can not buy respect. Remember this if you buy ready tools or try to get shortcuts, as I commented before.
Do it with the most sincere desire and true effort.
You can only get respect as a result of sincere work.

You may see this work even as part of an offering you are doing to work with them.


Just to compare, think for a moment, if you have a date, a romantic dinner with your loved one, what do you do? Have a bath, wear nice clothes and prepare the food and place for a good time! Well, if you are not doing this, may be interesting to think how is your love life… You have to do your part! LOL…



The Triangle and Names


About the position of the names in the triangle.

The most know schema is like the following from the Lemegeton edited by Joseph H. Peterson, a great reference source:

Magical circle and triangle, from Sloane 3648.
Source: Lemegeton - Clavicula Salomonis - J.Peterson - Esotericarchives

Just to point out something you will find in most ancient texts: the names are outside the triangle, as comments.

I can only think the original authors put the names there to remember the magician what position means. OR NOT.

But this become standard and almost everyone has used triangles with the names inscribed/painted on the borders.

I chose to keep that too just because is one more thing I like to see inscribed as a remember of the reasons why the names are there and what they mean.

But this affects the triangle size and the inside circle.

About the sizes:

The size of the grimoires is 3 feet (near 90cm).

I observed many modern magicians do a triangle this size, with a larger border with the names inside. I kept this idea but observed this reduced the circle size. Some are lesser others are bigger.

At the grimoires, you will see the circle usually uses all space available inside the triangle.

Look again at the previous example and you will observe the circle use almost the entire available area inside the triangle.


But when I finally got the wood piece I wanted for years, I was so happy I forgot this. And also because for years I have seen all triangle types, at all sizes.


So my personal note for future work: my idea is to get a triangle a bit larger, to do an entire working area of three feet, plus a margin to the names.


So I went into the painting work and the margins really disliked me.

This is something I took some time to think about after my first painting. I really disliked it. I really felt first uncomfortable for some reason so I put the triangle in my room and looked for it for some days. I watched it over my desk for an entire week.

Then I realized for obvious reasons the circle was too small for the triangle size and the border too large.

So I painted it all again and reduced the border to 8cm (nearly 3,15 inches), but still a size to use large characters for the names, and I painted the circle again for a bigger size.

Just to explain, or repeat something I comment often: I'm not good at arts and crafts, and I do have no steady hands in such works, so I have to respect my personal limits.
So I kept a large border because I won’t be able to paint decent characters in a lesser space.


Now some steps I had

After initially painting and doing it again, I made paper stencils with the Hebrew names.
I had to redraw the names using Inkscape software and print them at the needed size.

The stencils helped a lot, as my hands are not so good at painting.

Because of the black background, I have to paint first white and then use red paint.

But the paper I used as mold got wet with the paint and it glued that over the board!
So, here is another note: remove the stencil just after paint, do not wait to dry!

The paint was absorbed by the paper and that glued... what a mess!

Trying to clean up all the glued paper.

So, the obvious result was: that I had to paint it all again!

OK, keep working!


If I have a spirit as a guest to my ritual, is easy to think I want to offer a better space. When you are making your tools, this is something important, maybe you can’t be perfect, but work to do the best you can.


About the names


Thanks to the work of many scholars and other practitioners, I searched and revised the material from many sources. There is a list of sources at the end of this article for more information and complete research texts from other authors.

I repeat: I'm not a scholar, just a practitioner, but be sure I have to read the books, take notes, research the material and external sources, etc. In my case often I go further as I can even to some originals just to see how it was centuries ago before chose the way to do it as there are many different ideas sometimes.
Only then I will have an idea about what and how to work.



This is the Greek names, the Hebrew ones, and their text:

Tetragrammaton - IHVH

Thou God of Almighty power, be ever present with us to guard and protect us, and let Thy Holy Spirit and presence be now and always with us;

Primeumaton - Elohim

Thou Who art the First and Last, let all spirits be subject unto us, and let the Spirit be bound in this Triangle that disturbs this place;

Anephezaton (or Anaphaxeton) - Tzabaoth

Thou great God of all the Heavenly Host;




Michael
By Thy Holy Angel Michael, until I shall discharge him.






These are also the words to talk about when you consecrate the triangle. It's something with really little material.
For more information about consecrating Solomonic ritual tools, I strongly suggest Aaron Leitch's book Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires for reference. If you have not this book yet, be sure it has become a real classic and a "must-have" for grimoires practice and will save you a lot of time.

Now observe the name’s position in the triangle:

The Greek names, like Latin, are read left to right, so the words are clockwise direction. Same for Michael.

So, with Greek names, we have: 

• Tetragrammaton at right side;
• Anephezaton (or Anaphaxeton) on the left side;
• Primeumaton at base;
• Michael is written starting at the left side.

But Hebrew is read right to left. So the names are counter-clockwise. Same for Michael.

So for Hebrew names, we have:

• Tetragrammaton IHVH at right side;
• Primeumaton Elohim at left side;
• Anephezaton (or Anaphaxeton) Tzabaoth at base;
• Michael is written starting at the right side.

This is the way I changed the position of the names in the triangle.

Many authors have similar opinions, but for sure, some may vary a bit about what name use.

Nick Farrel had chosen Adonai instead of IHVH due to pronunciation too, but here is something I had my own opinion on as I have used IHVH in Hebrew since the 80s at many works, so became a habit.


And so, all efforts had a result:

The ready triangle over the garden bench I got.

And this is the result after some years.

With some trembling lines in my hands, I painted the entire triangle four to five times again, had to remake all the characters, and did some experiments too.
Total time: 49 days from getting the wood and starting on the same day working until I found it was ready to consecrate and use it. Plus all previous time researching it and collecting information. Just to compare, the circle needed some six to eight months of total time.
I found funny newbies who start from zero level and try something for a few days and weeks and do not understand why they have no results!



But I still had some funny parts during the first ritual using the new triangle.
Yes, I commented before each work sometimes has additional results. This time was a funny part.

For the first ritual with this new triangle, I chose to do a formal invocation for a spirit I have worked with, King Paimon, explaining at the start I was doing a complete rite to consecrate the new triangle.
And he knows a lot about everything. So my intent was to make this event also a kind of offering to his knowledge and asking to learn more too etc.
Well, as he has been called before, he is already exorcized, just to remember, once you get more contact (to say so) you can call the spirit near direct. But as a King, he likes that formal part too, so I continued. I observed Presidents also like that formal procedures.
So I consecrated again my tools, the triangle, and did prayers thanksgiving for the material I got and the work being ready, and did the invocation.
Well, he was near since my first prayer presenting himself as usual with sounds and a strong presence feeling.
But all the time I was feeling something behind me, but I just didn't look behind.
And guess what?
I pointed to the triangle and asked to him appear and stay "inside the triangle".
And he told in my mind something like:
-Uhm, OK, but which of the two triangles do you want me to choose?
Only then did I look behind me and realize the old triangle I had used drawn in the black stone still was there on the other side of the room leaning on the wall. And it was consecrated and ready to use!
And the nearest candle had burned near to the base, ready to burn the circle!

Know that moment you get the spirit told you: "Hey stupid, you forgot to release the old triangle!".... LOL...
Well, the Kings have humor too!

So. now let's continue the work.

Humble Version of the Triangle for Sale: 

I made a more simple available in printed format at Scarf (fabric) and Wall Art versions, but fully working ones, just consecrate it.
There are two versions:

• Triangle with the Greek names.
• Triangle with the Hebrew names.

Some sources and references:

Joseph Peterson: Lemegeton.htm

Joseph Peterson: Goetia.htm#triangle

Gilbert The Occultist: Triangle-of-art-translated and understood
Nick Farrel: Triangle-of-the-art
The Digital Ambler: https://digitalambler.wordpress.com/materia/img_0060/
Enoch Bowen: Reconstructing-solomons-triangle
Studio Arcanis forum: http://www.studioarcanis.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=706
Aaron Leitch:  Secrets of Magickal Grimoires. 
Golden Dawn Glossary: http://wolf.mind.net/library/ancient/qabala/kabgloss.htm

Aditional bibliography:

Ms Sloane 2731 – Clavicula Solomonis – British Library Manuscript collection

Ms Sloane 3648 – Clavicle of Solomon – British Library Manuscript collection

The Lesser Key of Solomon (Lemegeton) – Joseph Peterson at Esotericarchives.com

The Lesser Key of Solomon (Goetia) – S.L. “MacGregor” Mathers and Aleister Crowley.

Three Books Of Occult Philosophy - Henry Cornelius Agrippa.

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See also:  

• My free books for download
• My Youtube Channel
• Making the Goetia Circle 
• Goetia Circle - Hebrew Names - A new Mathers and Crowley version 

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28/07/2016

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Consultas e atividades com Gilberto Strapazon

Consultas e Trabalhos em Magia - Portuguese text

Readings and Magic Works - English text

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