When I first heard about the elemental Kings and how these should be among the first you have to evoke, I attempted it two times with Ghob, using an earth symbol (the downward triangle with the horizontal bar). Not really anything to remember, and I dismissed the whole thing as being an invention of Levi.
Many years passed until this month, when, as I'm rebuilding the universe, it started to make sense. Lemmy explain – but be prepared to get offended.
We exist in the realm of the 4 elements that we know under the Hebrew name Malkuth, and for us as wizards it is vital to gain / show mastery of these elements before we can make any progress. Air, Fire, Water and Earth have their own creatures with which humans can bond.
The sylphs are now commonly understood to be the creatures of the Air (although they are also referred to as the forest dwellers under their alternative name sylvestri, but this is mostly disregarded in current times, probably because it would make them too similar to the Gnomes). They live “in the air”, which means that they breathe air just like us, originally this did not mean that they are incorporeal beings that fly or move through the air. They are described as having crude, long and strong bodies.
The salamanders are also known as vulcani and live in, and breathe, fire. They are seen in flames and heard in the volcanoes where they are hammering out / working the other elements. They get that less frequent used name from the god of fire, the blacksmith of the gods, Vulcan. The description of their bodies does fit the name salamander more though; they are said to be long, thin and narrow. It is thought that the salamanders get their name from Persian words for fire, and interestingly other Persian words like Azarshin and Azaras (sitting in the fire / going into the fire) translate as salamander.
The gnomes or pygmies are the people of earth. What is meant here though is that they live in and breathe the earth. Just like the other elemental creatures, their abode is what air is to us. They are said to pass through solid matter just like we are unhindered by the air that encompasses us and fills our lungs. Both their names are descriptions of their appearance; they are said to be about two span high.
The waters are the home of the undines or nymphs, beautiful maidens who breathe water. They are said to be closest to humans in form. The name comes from the word for water or wave (Unda) and that of bride (Nympha) – and that is what leads to the following:
Paracelsus writes that these elementals want to marry humans. Their reason for it is that they are created by God without souls, but through union with man they will acquire a soul so that after death they too can enter heaven. He also says that among them there are few men and most are women. Here we see the idea of the spiritual hierarchy, and it is along the same lines as the spiritual marriages of nuns with God, or of (mostly) women with Angels – and why these are classically represented as males. With this philosophy a human male would / could lift up a spiritually lower creature via (sexual) union, just like how a human female would rise spiritually through (sexual) union with a higher being. Modern thinking opened the door for feminism and sexual preferences, so that Angels have become more androgynous over the years, and even Paracelsus says that the elementals aren't exclusively female.
There is however that old-fashioned boring principle of fidelity. For a wizard or witch that forms such a bond with a higher being, it is the human who profits most from it. They are the one who grows spiritually and get closer to God through the marriage. A sustained union would (or should) continually increase the human's spiritual development, and there is then a cold hard ground for loyalty even if there is love.
But if the human is the one who elevates the lower being, then there are other motivations that would drive him to this. It could be lust, maybe deluding himself into thinking he is doing a good deed and feels flattered by the attention, or because he thinks he needs to learn something about the element that he as a modern human has lost.
This philosophy can cause some problems depending on our view on faithfulness, jealousy, and divorce and perhaps this is why Eliphas Levi introduced the Kings, so that instead of a marriage (and love), a pact or agreement are the basis of the relationship (as in a business deal). He also has expanded their nature, assigning them qualities of the elements that weren't specifically given by Paracelsus. I think the names are indicative of these ideas.
His Conjuration of the Four is the blueprint of the LBRP and the idea behind it is that the temptations of the elementals – who are trying to woo the human – are silenced before any ritual is performed. If then the elemental force is to be called after this opening ritual an invitation to the King can be made. A contract like this removes the whole theory of the redemption of the elemental through the soul (and fun..) though, unless the two ideas are reconciled.
Some historical practices could be considered in a justification of these agreements. In ancient times the distinction between prostitution and marriage wasn't always as sharp as it is now, and a temporary marriage wasn't uncommon.
The compromise between a life-long spiritual marriage with an elemental spirit and short-term working relation with an elemental king thus could be a marriage for a set period of time – like a pact – and the human will be monogamous during this marriage.
The role of the King can then be regarded as that of the parent who gives away his daughter to her husband. He is first approached and asked for her hand in marriage. A dowry can be paid for this, so that an offering is made in exchange, and the marriage will or can be temporary – perhaps lasting a lunar cycle, a season, or a year. The end will be one act of sex-magick at the end of the pact, and through this the elemental then receives the soul.
For this, make a sigil for the King on a piece of paper, and go to a place that corresponds to his nature. Speak your intention, trace the sigil on the ground and make your offering. Then say that it is the price for a daughter in marriage, for a set time, and wait for a sign and a name. If you receive a material confirmation (e.g. a feather or a twig falling down, a raindrop on your paper, etc) then keep this on the paper with the sigil of the King. Also include the name of the elemental. Use this paper and the material as a link to the elemental throughout the marriage.
On the last day of the marriage you perform a sexmagick ritual on the piece of paper. Return to the place where you called to the King, give thanks, say goodbye and dispose of the paper there.
My interpretation of the names of the Kings:
Paralda – Air:
PAR: to be beautiful / ornamented / to adorn / to be adorned / to glorify / to boast / to explain / to declare / tiara / turban / to rule
ALDOH: Whom God Called
DOH: knowledge / understanding / to call
Ruler who will teach the knowledge of God
Glorifying the ones who are called
Djinn – Fire:
DIN: to rule / to regulate / to judge to condemn / to punish / to defend the right to contend / justice / defender / to argue / to conclude / to discus / to dispute / law / decision / cause
Ruler and just judge, teaching how to defend yourself and to dispute
Necksa – Water:
NChSh: to whisper / to divine / to make action dependent on an omen / hissing serpent / poisonous fluid in leaves and stems of onions kept for a long time in the ground / disease of the eye / to practice enchantment / use sorcery / enchantment / plating copper with silver
ShAH: to make a noise (used of the waves) / to make a crash / to look at / to behold
Teacher of divination and sorcery, and the preparation and use of liquids
Ghob – Earth:
GAH: lofty / lord / ruler / proud / haughty / to lift oneself up / to increase / to be exalted / to honour
GAVH: magnificence / majesty / ornament / splendour / pride / arrogancy
GB: convex / arched / body / fortress / vault / something curved / back / surface of the altar / well / locust
GVB: pit / lion's den / body / trunk / untrimmed log
Lord of the body and the fortress, teaching how to lift yourself up
Remember kids:
The soul is the most valuable thing. It is after all what Satan wants you to sell in exchange for a Mars bar and the newest video game..
Many years passed until this month, when, as I'm rebuilding the universe, it started to make sense. Lemmy explain – but be prepared to get offended.
We exist in the realm of the 4 elements that we know under the Hebrew name Malkuth, and for us as wizards it is vital to gain / show mastery of these elements before we can make any progress. Air, Fire, Water and Earth have their own creatures with which humans can bond.
The sylphs are now commonly understood to be the creatures of the Air (although they are also referred to as the forest dwellers under their alternative name sylvestri, but this is mostly disregarded in current times, probably because it would make them too similar to the Gnomes). They live “in the air”, which means that they breathe air just like us, originally this did not mean that they are incorporeal beings that fly or move through the air. They are described as having crude, long and strong bodies.
The salamanders are also known as vulcani and live in, and breathe, fire. They are seen in flames and heard in the volcanoes where they are hammering out / working the other elements. They get that less frequent used name from the god of fire, the blacksmith of the gods, Vulcan. The description of their bodies does fit the name salamander more though; they are said to be long, thin and narrow. It is thought that the salamanders get their name from Persian words for fire, and interestingly other Persian words like Azarshin and Azaras (sitting in the fire / going into the fire) translate as salamander.
The gnomes or pygmies are the people of earth. What is meant here though is that they live in and breathe the earth. Just like the other elemental creatures, their abode is what air is to us. They are said to pass through solid matter just like we are unhindered by the air that encompasses us and fills our lungs. Both their names are descriptions of their appearance; they are said to be about two span high.
The waters are the home of the undines or nymphs, beautiful maidens who breathe water. They are said to be closest to humans in form. The name comes from the word for water or wave (Unda) and that of bride (Nympha) – and that is what leads to the following:
Paracelsus writes that these elementals want to marry humans. Their reason for it is that they are created by God without souls, but through union with man they will acquire a soul so that after death they too can enter heaven. He also says that among them there are few men and most are women. Here we see the idea of the spiritual hierarchy, and it is along the same lines as the spiritual marriages of nuns with God, or of (mostly) women with Angels – and why these are classically represented as males. With this philosophy a human male would / could lift up a spiritually lower creature via (sexual) union, just like how a human female would rise spiritually through (sexual) union with a higher being. Modern thinking opened the door for feminism and sexual preferences, so that Angels have become more androgynous over the years, and even Paracelsus says that the elementals aren't exclusively female.
There is however that old-fashioned boring principle of fidelity. For a wizard or witch that forms such a bond with a higher being, it is the human who profits most from it. They are the one who grows spiritually and get closer to God through the marriage. A sustained union would (or should) continually increase the human's spiritual development, and there is then a cold hard ground for loyalty even if there is love.
But if the human is the one who elevates the lower being, then there are other motivations that would drive him to this. It could be lust, maybe deluding himself into thinking he is doing a good deed and feels flattered by the attention, or because he thinks he needs to learn something about the element that he as a modern human has lost.
This philosophy can cause some problems depending on our view on faithfulness, jealousy, and divorce and perhaps this is why Eliphas Levi introduced the Kings, so that instead of a marriage (and love), a pact or agreement are the basis of the relationship (as in a business deal). He also has expanded their nature, assigning them qualities of the elements that weren't specifically given by Paracelsus. I think the names are indicative of these ideas.
His Conjuration of the Four is the blueprint of the LBRP and the idea behind it is that the temptations of the elementals – who are trying to woo the human – are silenced before any ritual is performed. If then the elemental force is to be called after this opening ritual an invitation to the King can be made. A contract like this removes the whole theory of the redemption of the elemental through the soul (and fun..) though, unless the two ideas are reconciled.
Some historical practices could be considered in a justification of these agreements. In ancient times the distinction between prostitution and marriage wasn't always as sharp as it is now, and a temporary marriage wasn't uncommon.
The compromise between a life-long spiritual marriage with an elemental spirit and short-term working relation with an elemental king thus could be a marriage for a set period of time – like a pact – and the human will be monogamous during this marriage.
The role of the King can then be regarded as that of the parent who gives away his daughter to her husband. He is first approached and asked for her hand in marriage. A dowry can be paid for this, so that an offering is made in exchange, and the marriage will or can be temporary – perhaps lasting a lunar cycle, a season, or a year. The end will be one act of sex-magick at the end of the pact, and through this the elemental then receives the soul.
For this, make a sigil for the King on a piece of paper, and go to a place that corresponds to his nature. Speak your intention, trace the sigil on the ground and make your offering. Then say that it is the price for a daughter in marriage, for a set time, and wait for a sign and a name. If you receive a material confirmation (e.g. a feather or a twig falling down, a raindrop on your paper, etc) then keep this on the paper with the sigil of the King. Also include the name of the elemental. Use this paper and the material as a link to the elemental throughout the marriage.
On the last day of the marriage you perform a sexmagick ritual on the piece of paper. Return to the place where you called to the King, give thanks, say goodbye and dispose of the paper there.
My interpretation of the names of the Kings:
Paralda – Air:
PAR: to be beautiful / ornamented / to adorn / to be adorned / to glorify / to boast / to explain / to declare / tiara / turban / to rule
ALDOH: Whom God Called
DOH: knowledge / understanding / to call
Ruler who will teach the knowledge of God
Glorifying the ones who are called
Djinn – Fire:
DIN: to rule / to regulate / to judge to condemn / to punish / to defend the right to contend / justice / defender / to argue / to conclude / to discus / to dispute / law / decision / cause
Ruler and just judge, teaching how to defend yourself and to dispute
Necksa – Water:
NChSh: to whisper / to divine / to make action dependent on an omen / hissing serpent / poisonous fluid in leaves and stems of onions kept for a long time in the ground / disease of the eye / to practice enchantment / use sorcery / enchantment / plating copper with silver
ShAH: to make a noise (used of the waves) / to make a crash / to look at / to behold
Teacher of divination and sorcery, and the preparation and use of liquids
Ghob – Earth:
GAH: lofty / lord / ruler / proud / haughty / to lift oneself up / to increase / to be exalted / to honour
GAVH: magnificence / majesty / ornament / splendour / pride / arrogancy
GB: convex / arched / body / fortress / vault / something curved / back / surface of the altar / well / locust
GVB: pit / lion's den / body / trunk / untrimmed log
Lord of the body and the fortress, teaching how to lift yourself up
Remember kids:
The soul is the most valuable thing. It is after all what Satan wants you to sell in exchange for a Mars bar and the newest video game..
