Following Rufus Opus' suggestions from Angelic Grimoire he says you can draw the Table of Practice with paper, use a bowl of water in place of the crystal and use two fingers as a wand.
Not saying I do not beleive in his abilities or experience but he personally mentioned he had never perfomed the ritual without a wand. Has anyone performed this ritual these substitions?
What was your experience?
I would not let the lack of formal equipment stop you, but I would also avoid treating the substitutions as casual props. In operations like DSIC, the tools matter, but they matter because they are consecrated, symbolically coherent, and integrated into the ritual structure.
A paper Table of Practice is probably the least problematic substitution. Many magical diagrams function perfectly well when drawn by hand, provided they are drawn carefully, cleanly, and treated as a ritual object rather than a piece of scrap paper. I would personally redraw it with attention, pray over it, and reserve it only for that work.
Using a bowl of water instead of a crystal also makes sense to me. Water has a long history as a scrying medium. A crystal gives a fixed, clear focal point, while water is more fluid and lunar in quality, but both can function as a medium for vision. I would just make sure the bowl is clean, dedicated to the work, and placed in the correct position on the table.
The wand substitution is the one I would be more cautious with. Two fingers can absolutely function as a “living wand,” especially if you understand the hand as an extension of will and authority. However, a wand gives the ritual a more stable external instrument for directing force. If you do not have a proper wand, I would either use the fingers consciously and deliberately, or make a very simple temporary wand from clean wood and consecrate it for the operation.
My view is that the hierarchy should be:
- Proper ritual authority and prayer
- Correct structure of the rite
- Clear intention and disciplined imagination
- Consecrated working space
- Tools and instruments
So yes, substitutions can work, but they should be ritually “promoted” into their function. A bowl is not just a bowl once it has been purified, dedicated, and placed as the crystal. Fingers are not merely fingers if they are being used as the wand of the operator’s will.
I would also recommend doing the operation in a very simple, controlled way the first time. Do not overcomplicate it. Keep a record of what you used, what you felt, what appeared in the medium, what dreams followed, and whether any concrete results came afterward. That way you can judge from experience rather than anxiety about whether the tools were perfect.
In short: I think the substitutions are workable, especially for a first attempt or limited circumstances. But I would still aim to eventually acquire or make a proper wand and crystal, not because the ritual is impossible without them, but because dedicated instruments help stabilize the current over repeated practice.
