- Original WF Link
- http://wizardforums.com/Thread-PGM-Working-the-magical-papyri
I've created this thread to discuss approaches to working with PGM (Greek Magical Papyri) and share some of my own work.
Many people hold on to the notion that the PGM is unworkable… It is my belief that a major problem is that the context of the material is not understood and as a result we try to make it fit into our preconceived notions.
As mentioned in the other thread, this is the product of lazy magical scholarship. A scholarship born out of19th C. occultism where overly-complex intellectual and ceremonial structures have been superimposed atop the magical tradition in order for them to make “logical sense." Thus, many modern practitioners see the PGM as fragmentary and incomplete because of what we have been told magical ritual is “supposed” to look like.
However, the practices of the PGM are not Qabalistic or part of some mystical path working system (with the exception of a couple neo-platonic mysterium rituals) but are instead deeply rooted in goetia, in chthonic and liminal spirits, in necromancy, in getting down and dirty with nature and in forming real spirit relationships! These practices have much more in common with spirit-working practices such as the ATRs/ADTs and traditional forms of “shamanism” and folk "witchcraft" than the robed Pentagram and Hexagram rituals of Western lodge magic.
The catch for many is that most spells of the PGM operate on the assumption that the practitioner already has developed a core set of magical techniques. My opinion is that enough of these techniques are identifiable to make it clear that the PGM functions within the same animistic landscape as that found in present-day living traditional magical and spiritual traditions. Nonetheless some specifics on how to gain access and interact with the spirit-world are missing and were likely part of an oral teaching now lost to history.
However, these techniques are literally everywhere and pertain to a root 'animistic toolkit’, that needs to be developed by any practitioner regardless of their particular branch. These are the universal techniques and practices of visionary/ecstatic experiences, scrying, initiation, divination, dream incubation, spirit flight, etc., etc. These together with the belief in the objective reality of the spirit world and means by which the practitioner interacts with it are the absolute essentials to work the PGM.
As Jake Stratton-Kent and Stephen Skinner have shown us these papyri are the textual predecessors of what we today identify as the grimoire tradition. Their works go into great depth discussing the various vectors that would lead to the so-called Solomonic and Cyprianic grimoires; needless to say, I highly suggest checking out their writings. To overly-simplify the trajectory, much of what is found in the PGM makes its way into the grimoires via the Hygromanteia corpus of Byzantine magical texts. Thus , for those wanting to get into the PGM, it is worthwhile to get better acquainted with how spirit interactions and spirit pacts play out in the grimoire tradition. Note, by “grimoire tradition” I am not referring to the GD or Alester Crowley “goetia”, but rather the Solomonic revival based on folk traditions and spearheaded by magician-scholars like Stratton-Kent, Skinner and Aaron Leitch.
If you are interested, I wrote an article a few months ago that lays out the basics of what is the PGM and why it is important for modern magical practitioners here:
So how can we approach the material? Well, I have found that there are 2 methods that have worked for me:
1. Find a “spell” that presents a self-contained magical system.
There are quite a number of these, one example is PGM IV. 154-285, that upon further inspection is far more than a “Bowl scrying ritual” as identified in Betz. Here we have a complete mini-grimoire, and will undoubtedly resonate with those familiar with the Solomonic traditions. There is a section on how to form the initial spirit bond with Typhon and obtain the authority to call forth the spirits - an initiation in which the successful experience of the spirit/deity is required prior to moving forward with the system. There is an evocation rite, then there is the description of how to construct the protective lamen (phylactery), and finally a daily prayer used to reenforce the connection made during the initial rite. Below are far more detailed write-ups on PGM IV. 154-285:
2. Identify the formulaic patterns of invocations and use them to establish a working relationship with the spirits themselves.
Many of the spells of the PGM have titles and focuses that at first may not be of interest to us. However, upon closer examination we find that the specific petitions that ‘color’ the spell are simply variables that can be plugged in and out to suit the intent of the practitioner. The heart of the invocation to call forth the spirit remains intact, but we simply input our own petition. An example is PGM IV. 2708-2784 titled “Another love spell of attraction.” Beyond this love spell is a stand alone– and extremely effective – invocation of Hekate for any petition that falls within her domain. A detailed write-up can be found here:
.
I hope some of you find this of interest.
- L
Many people hold on to the notion that the PGM is unworkable… It is my belief that a major problem is that the context of the material is not understood and as a result we try to make it fit into our preconceived notions.
As mentioned in the other thread, this is the product of lazy magical scholarship. A scholarship born out of19th C. occultism where overly-complex intellectual and ceremonial structures have been superimposed atop the magical tradition in order for them to make “logical sense." Thus, many modern practitioners see the PGM as fragmentary and incomplete because of what we have been told magical ritual is “supposed” to look like.
However, the practices of the PGM are not Qabalistic or part of some mystical path working system (with the exception of a couple neo-platonic mysterium rituals) but are instead deeply rooted in goetia, in chthonic and liminal spirits, in necromancy, in getting down and dirty with nature and in forming real spirit relationships! These practices have much more in common with spirit-working practices such as the ATRs/ADTs and traditional forms of “shamanism” and folk "witchcraft" than the robed Pentagram and Hexagram rituals of Western lodge magic.
The catch for many is that most spells of the PGM operate on the assumption that the practitioner already has developed a core set of magical techniques. My opinion is that enough of these techniques are identifiable to make it clear that the PGM functions within the same animistic landscape as that found in present-day living traditional magical and spiritual traditions. Nonetheless some specifics on how to gain access and interact with the spirit-world are missing and were likely part of an oral teaching now lost to history.
However, these techniques are literally everywhere and pertain to a root 'animistic toolkit’, that needs to be developed by any practitioner regardless of their particular branch. These are the universal techniques and practices of visionary/ecstatic experiences, scrying, initiation, divination, dream incubation, spirit flight, etc., etc. These together with the belief in the objective reality of the spirit world and means by which the practitioner interacts with it are the absolute essentials to work the PGM.
As Jake Stratton-Kent and Stephen Skinner have shown us these papyri are the textual predecessors of what we today identify as the grimoire tradition. Their works go into great depth discussing the various vectors that would lead to the so-called Solomonic and Cyprianic grimoires; needless to say, I highly suggest checking out their writings. To overly-simplify the trajectory, much of what is found in the PGM makes its way into the grimoires via the Hygromanteia corpus of Byzantine magical texts. Thus , for those wanting to get into the PGM, it is worthwhile to get better acquainted with how spirit interactions and spirit pacts play out in the grimoire tradition. Note, by “grimoire tradition” I am not referring to the GD or Alester Crowley “goetia”, but rather the Solomonic revival based on folk traditions and spearheaded by magician-scholars like Stratton-Kent, Skinner and Aaron Leitch.
If you are interested, I wrote an article a few months ago that lays out the basics of what is the PGM and why it is important for modern magical practitioners here:
So how can we approach the material? Well, I have found that there are 2 methods that have worked for me:
1. Find a “spell” that presents a self-contained magical system.
There are quite a number of these, one example is PGM IV. 154-285, that upon further inspection is far more than a “Bowl scrying ritual” as identified in Betz. Here we have a complete mini-grimoire, and will undoubtedly resonate with those familiar with the Solomonic traditions. There is a section on how to form the initial spirit bond with Typhon and obtain the authority to call forth the spirits - an initiation in which the successful experience of the spirit/deity is required prior to moving forward with the system. There is an evocation rite, then there is the description of how to construct the protective lamen (phylactery), and finally a daily prayer used to reenforce the connection made during the initial rite. Below are far more detailed write-ups on PGM IV. 154-285:
2. Identify the formulaic patterns of invocations and use them to establish a working relationship with the spirits themselves.
Many of the spells of the PGM have titles and focuses that at first may not be of interest to us. However, upon closer examination we find that the specific petitions that ‘color’ the spell are simply variables that can be plugged in and out to suit the intent of the practitioner. The heart of the invocation to call forth the spirit remains intact, but we simply input our own petition. An example is PGM IV. 2708-2784 titled “Another love spell of attraction.” Beyond this love spell is a stand alone– and extremely effective – invocation of Hekate for any petition that falls within her domain. A detailed write-up can be found here:
.
I hope some of you find this of interest.
- L
the OP is an old member of WF