hi Reynolds, Christopher!
sorry for the delay in my reply. I was in the midst of year-end homework data revision at a time when the database was in so sad state as to require me to do much of the reworking of the list(s) by hand. your posts were good incentive for me to get that work done as quickly as possible.
I should preface my response by saying that as i encountered the goetic system in the presentations of Waite, Mathers, Shah and Savedow, i don't like it much. I don't find its directory of 72 supposedly evil spirits very well-written. I think its premises as it originates in the guise of Jewish (solomonic) magic from post-Christian sources are anti-
demonic, exploitative, and display the worst aspects of dualism.
from this perspective, and with these motivations (to torture demons into assistance by employing the power and majesty of the Christian God), i think that
Black Arts products would be of very
limited use to you and i'm substantially in agreement with Christopher here.
what you would be looking for in the way of powders, incenses and oils would be
1) protective shielding of the mage by the deity and angels of the God Yahweh;
2) summoning inducement and coercive potency; and
3) containment of the adverse spirit in the Triangle of Art.
Black Arts might lend its potency to the second of these, and you and Christopher covered well the number of ways that this might be achieved. insofar as
Black Arts is both evocatory and
destructive, it seems well-placed as part of a coercive, mean ritual magic to deal harshly with spirits of evil character.
I would caution, however, that one's ethics might (as do mine, geared as they are to the guidance of Jesus Christ and the Law of Love under my Will) preclude the torture of spirits in this manner, so as to make other less destructively coercive alternatives more feasible, such as Sulphur Powder, or formula products like Attraction, Commanding, Controlling, Do As I Say, Influence, Magnet, or Victory. these may be more pleasing to the spirit and dispose it to greater cooperation, with less corrosive imposition employed by the mage.
as approached by the presentations of those such as Crowley and, particularly, Poke Runyon, however, who seem to regard the goetic enterprise at least a psychological, if not a mystical, endeavour, a whole host of alternatives opens up for which
Black Arts may not be the best suited
excepting as one wishes to deal destructively (as penalty, meanly) with a summoned spirit.
in this latter case, where the spirit is not viewed strictly as evil, and instead is seen as an important aspect of consciousness, to be integrated as part of an individuation, any destructive formula such as
Black Arts should generally be avoided if at all possible. in the same way that one generally would avoid playing objectionable music or installing pointy spikes on your driveway when you're having a party, using
Black Arts probably wouldn't be the best bet for an invitation to a spirit one sought to coax into coalition.
I should add that there are some beings who actively
like Black Arts materials, despite their hot contents. I have a large bottle of
Black Arts Oil that i made early on in my relationship with catherine and with Lucky Mojo that i love to use as an occasional personal scent and ritual preparation. so if the spirit seems of the type that will be looking
forward to or might be
attracted to the oil, by all means feel free to use it, anywhere and everywhere.
I did use
Black Arts Oil and
Black Arts Powder in a summoning that i did as inspired by a grimoire (not the
Lemegeton, but the
Grand Grimoire). I varied the formula slightly so as to reduce its destructive and increase its summoning properties, drawing out the seal of the being that i called in the powder on the ground in the orchard here (within a
square rather than a circle). my memory is that i dowsed myself in
Black Arts Oil in preparation for the event, as i have in Crossroads rites since then intending to meet the
Black Man. since i
like Black Arts Oil, i figure that it is perfect anointing oil for my activities of summoning or Crossroads meets, but don't figure that all spirits will have my tastes.
in compassionate defense of the wild spirit world,
OIL-HOO-BKAR
Black Arts Oil
$7.50
