Conjuring Spirits into Crystal

by Neres Wane

copyright 2015

Introduction

The subject tonight is drawing spirits into crystals, in

accordance with the method outlined by the illustrious
magician, alchemists, philosopher and cryptographer,
Johannes Trithemius.
His book The art of drawing spirits into (or within) crystals
is a fairly short work as far as the occult lore of Europe is
concerned. And it is an peculiarly practical work, without
pretense and quite beautifully written. However, the method
given reflects the prejudices of the dayor, rather, the
necessary encipherment of occult lore, considering the
attitude of the prevailing religious order. In this small
commentary, I hope to dispel some of these unnecessary
parts, outlining only what is useful for re-describing the
method in a practical and modern way. Of course, anyone is
free to use the traditional methods if they so wish, though it
is quite costly to do so. I would advocate any who might
have the funds available to try the traditional methods and
compare them with the more simplified methods which I give.
If what I say is true, the same general effects will be noticed
whether the ritual is done in a costly, traditional manner or if

it is simplified. If I'm wrong, this will be borne out in practice.

No one need take anything I have said on faith.

Process - the First Part

Johannes Trithemius first recommends that one acquire a

crystal ball, roughly as large as an orange. It ought to be
entirely clear or otherwise it won't work. At this point we
ought to pause and understand exactly why a crystal ball is
recommended. There is nothing inherently beneficial or of
occult significance within a crystal ball itself. Rather, the
magical benefit lies within what occurs to the mind when it
gazes into perfectly clear crystal. Something about the act
seems to naturally cause the imagination of the magician to
slide into a state of mystical hyperactivity, producing
various images and scenarios, all of which are woven from
pure imagination. Now, some perceive these scenarios and
images upon the actual surface of the crystal ballor, rather,
within itbut it is more often the case that these images will
appear in the mind's eye alone. The crystal ball serves as an
instigator of such thoughts, but because the mind is in a
suggestive and visionary statequite in tune with its own
unconscious contentsthe images can be quite prescient or
insightfulmore so than ordinary imaginative reveries. I will
leave it to psychologists and scientists to ferret out exactly
why this is, but the same process can be observed while

staring at a perfectly blank wall, the endless blue of the

midday sky, the darkness of one's eyelids, a pitch black
room, the tip of one's thumb-nail or into a mirror which has
been painted entirely black. These all can serve as catalysts
for an occult reverie which places the magician into contact
with paranormal forces. Some of these forces are objective to
the magician, existing in a strange twilight state in between
mind and bodythe physical and spiritual universesand
some of these forces are entirely subjective, welling up from
within the magician's own miasmatic psyche.
Johannes Trithemius then instructs the reader to place the
crystal ball upon a gold plate, and to then rest the plate
upon a pedestal of ebony or ivory. The crystal is to sit at
dead center. A special circle is drawn around with
Then the holy tetragrammaton (Y H V H) is to be written, as
well as the names of the angels Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel and
Michaelangels whom Johannes Trithemius attributes to
the Moon, Mercury, Venus and the Sun, respectively.
Now, let us stop here: what is necessary in these
instructions and what is unnecessary? First, though the
crystal ball itself is a wonderfully useful idea, the gold plate
and pedestal are not important. It is true that the crystal
should be rested upon something of significance, but the
significance can be ascribed to it by the magician's own

sense of things, and need not rely on any outward

symbolism. If the crystal is treated with a modicum of
respect and reverence on part of the magician, it will serve
its function quite well. Second, Johannes Trithemius
recommends that the names of all of the seven traditional
planet of Western astrology be written around itUranus,
Pluto and Neptune not having been discovered yet
alongside their ruling angels and etchings of their magical
seals. He outlined some other instructions in this regard
such as where they are to be written in terms of the circle
and placed in relation to the crystal, but these instructions
are all rather unnecessary. The names of the planets, their
angels and seals, however, are indispensable tools in this
process. They form the direct link necessary to conjuring the
desired spiritual power. The mind, beholding them through
the three factors of 1) a physical image, 2) a mental concept
(the astrological values ascribed to them, which any
magician would surely be educated in) and 3) a distinct
name, is then able to make the requisite contact. These three
factorsimage, concept and distinct nameform the Trinity
of what is necessary for a conjuration to take place. The
crystal ball itself can even be dispensed withthough the
particular form of ritual which Johannes Trithemius describes
is specifically oriented towards use of a crystalbut one
cannot do away with some direct link to the desired spirit. To
do so would court failure. The difference between

imagination and reality is always found in some palpable and

material fact. This is why every culture utilizes some external
and physical point of reference when conjuring up a
disembodied entity. If that point of reference is not present,
all that arises is mere fancy, imagination and daydream. No, a
direct link must always be there. There is no exception to
this rule.
After giving these instructions, Johannes Trithemius then
states that the angel or spirit desired must be called on its
exact and precise planetary hour. At the end of the tract, he
lists what spirits rule what hours, allowing the magician to
choose what is most appropriate for any time of day. Now, I
say this being one who has spent a great deal of my own
magical path observing planetary hours quite meticulously:
planetary hours are not necessary, either. If the spirit does
indeed correspond to a particular astrological force, then the
only thing necessary is to observe that astrological day
Solar for Sunday, Lunar for Monday, Martial for Tuesday,
Mercurial for Wednesday, Jovial for Thursday, Venusian for
Friday and Saturnian for Saturday. If it the spirit is more
precise and corresponds to one of the 28 phases of the
Moon, you must also observe that daythe same is true of
the 36 Deccanatesbut this is all. It is doubtful even that
the planetary hours could have ever been so accurate during
the medieval ages, and if you make a study of the magic of
other cultures you will find that they make little to no use of

them or, if they do, the details are quite different. Johannes
Trithemius was either a subscriber to the prevailing
worldview of his day which viewed magic purely through
the lens of Judeo-Christian mythology and secondhand
Greco-Babylonian lore, or he was consciously making the
process more difficult than it needed to be, for the sake of
safety and to keep the insincere away. This is not so much a
trouble nowadays, for we are living in a far freer time,
obviously, but it was not so in those days. Yet if one is a
relative neophyte to magic, putting a rule to them such as
observing a precise planetary hour can force their mind to
treat the ritual with more reverence and, insodoing, increase
its capacity to bring forth results. This is one of the secrets
of getting unstuck from one of those dry periods when it
seems rituals routinely go nowhere: instead of doing the
same old thing, elaborate on your rituals, adding to the
antendant details. An elaborate ritual has the tried-and-true
effect of mitigating whatever lethargy, drowsiness or laxity
the magician may have. The mind has a humorous way of
being quite stunned into a receptive or perceptive state of
consciousness the moment high theater begins to take hold
of it.
Johannes Trithemius then writes out for us a typical JudeoChristian prayer that is often recorded in such grimoires. As
is customary, the magician grovels and begs before the
magnificence of the twin deities Jesus and Jehovah,

pleading that they might let the desired spirit appear,

keeping all demons at bay. The magician prays for clarity,
wishing the spirit to appear visibly in the crystal, giving all
that the magician might want and doing so in the name of
the risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen. Such
prayers are quite a delicious specimen of unintentional
humoror, perhaps, the humor is quite intentional.
Obviously the entire gospel message is doubted by the
magician, for the good and sweet Savior recommended no
such strange practices as are described in a grimoire. With
characteristic lack of depth, he simply said that he would do
anything so long as it was asked in his name. And
theologians have wisely added to this "if it be his will." Why
anyone would ask Jesus to do his will is beyond meit is
like asking a dog to have fur. If the dog already has fur,
asking it to have fur would be quite superfluous. And if the
poor beast lacks fur, no amount of asking will allow him to
sprout it. Magic at least prescribes definite methods by
which such things may be accomplishedthough, I doubt
magic can be used for purposes of re-furring a dog. Perhaps
it can.
After the prayer is given, the magician is to take their already
existing ring and pentacle, placing the ring upon the smallest
finger of their right hand, with the pentacle adorning the
neck. The eminently practical Johannes Trithemius then tells
the reader that such a pentacle might be composed through

simple ink on paper, or engraved on a silver plate. Either way,

it must adorn the neck, resting on the magician's chest.
The magician also ought to have a black wand with special
characters written upon it. A circle is then traced with the
wand as a prayer of consecration is givenagain in the
name of Jesus Christ, the Lordwith the intention that no
evil spirits should enter into the circle. This constitutes a
banishing rite and is a quite common practice in magic both
old and new. The basis for such rites also has a quite sound
psychological intent: by affirming that no wicked spirits are
to enter the circle, the magician is purifying the area in which
the magical rite is being performed, as well as
psychologically attuning themselves to a delicate state of
concentration, allowing no foreign element to intrude (such
as a wicked spirit, for instance). The magician knows not to
direct their focus upon anything save for the immediate task
at hand and to pay no attention to any spiritwhether
imagined or otherwisesave for the one that they are intent
on conjuring. While I see no reason why the precise method
or prayer given by Johannes Trithemius ought to be used, I
do agree that this is a beneficial practice in itself, and even
though it may only have symbolic significance, its effect
upon the mind of the magician ought not to be
underestimated. If you wish to prove to yourself the benefit
of such a method, you may simply perform a conjuration
without this small banishing rite then compared its effects to

a conjuration that includes the banishing rite.

Banishing rites are not set in stone, however. The magician
is free to invent one or make use of an existing one. It is very
rare in these modern, enlightened times for any magician to
seriously consider the existence of the biblical sky gods, and
thus to perform a banishing rite in the name of such sky
gods seems rather absurd. Yet perhaps the magician believes
there is some inherent efficacy in this old way, in which case
you can certainly experiment and see on your own. As with
most things in magic, experimentation is half the fun and no
magician who refuses to experiment will get very far. Always
experimentalways. Life is, after all, an experiment in
staving off death. Perhaps the entire cosmos is an
experiment, in fact. Why should the magiciana
microcosmic symbol of the creator Godbe any different?
Also, there is merit to the idea that "barbarous words" have
a magical efficacy in themselves. The names for God in the
Hebrew Bible were originally Sumerian, Babylonian,
Canaanite and Egyptian names. El was the Canaanite El, Yah
the Sumerian Ea or Ia, Adonai the Egyptian Aten. The list
continues. . .

Process - the Second Part

Now having banished the circle in the area of the magical

working, Johannes Trithemius informs the reader on how to
properly call or conjure the desired spirit. The first order of
business is to burn the incense, causing a light smoke to fill
the area. Then the magician is to call upon the spirit directly
in the name of Jesus Christ, naturallyin a firm but
sincere voice. The spirit is called by the magician a "fiery
creature", even if it is not necessarily associated with the
element of fire, but perhaps this has more to do with the
nature of a spirit's existence as pure light than it does to any
elemental correspondence. The magician reiterates that no
evil spirits or phantasm's should appear, either, insisting that
only the desired spirit make its presence known. The incense
is referred to, again filling and purifying the air, hopefully
enticing the spirit to manifest. As it so happens, the biblical
Jehovah was also quite fond of the smell of incense when he
was not busy smelling roasted animals or the freshly spilled
blood of Canaanites, Philistines and whoever else happened
to be on Israeli land.
The unbiased researcher would conclude that disembodied

beings have an unusually potent sense of smell and are

specifically attracted to different scents. Is this true?
Perhaps it is, but there is a psychological explanation of
greater merit: the sense of smell in human beings is
intimately connected to areas of memory, nostalgia and
mystic perception. The olfactory sense is wedded to our
sense of spiritual presences, also. Therefore, the repeated
use of certain specific scents would indeed affect the mind
in a favorable way from a magical point of view, just as it
does for any spiritual experience. It is not so much the spirit
which desires to smell the delicious incense Johannes
Trithemius has made for him, but rather the mind of
Johannes Trithemius which needs the incense to guide him
gently to that frame of mind wherein the spirit may be
actually perceived. One may practically glean from this that
the use of special scents and fragrances within the context
of magic is always a helpful addition, if not indispensable for
some. This is not to say that one cannot perform a magical
ritual without incense, as one most certainly can, but it is
especially good for beginners to make hefty use of incenses
special ones, used for no other purposes.
What about smoke? Does it have a use, in this case? Some
have said that spirits make their visible appearance through
the medium of smoke. I admit to having seen strange things
in the behavior of smoke during conjurations, but I've never
seen a spirit make a visible appearance via smoke. It would

appear that Johannes Trithemius is not concerned with this

and, instead, is content to have the spirit make its
appearance in the crystal ball itself. Smoke magic is another
topicone in which I am not qualified to speak, at present.
Still, observe the smoke if there is smoke present, for you
may be quite surprised.
After the spirit has been called, it's seal is to be written upon
clear, white paper alongside its name and office. Johannes
Trithemius's recommendation here is somewhat uncommon,
as most grimoires or books of magical instruction in those
days never seem to worry over writing any details down
about the spirit as part of the actual conjuringaside from
its seal, that is. It's office applies to its hierarchical rank. In
European magical thought, spirits had a system of classes
and gradated authority parallel to our own, with some spirits
being kings, princes, earls, dukes, commanders, generals,
majors, presidents, prime ministers, inspector generals, etc.
This is all a lot of nonsense, of course. Perhaps it had an
aesthetic meaning at the time but it is rather ridiculous now.
There are indeed hierarchies to be observed in the spirit
world, just as there are degrees of intensity in lieu of the
manner and form by which a spirit manifests, but the notion
that these hierarchies are anywhere near similar to those
constructed by human society is imbecilic. We will not fault
the grimoire writers and occultists of now dead Europe for
this, however. Time and time we see again how they were

fruits of their times, in these times were not especially bright.

Perhaps such systems were there merely to denote
astrological correspondences in an ugly way. Still, these are
the instructions given by Johannes Trithemius and there
may be merit to them for those who wish to repeat his
experiments. I simply disagree that it is necessary.
Johannes Trithemius then proceeds to throw out another
patent falsehood: he states that two sorcerers must be
present at the conjurationor, at least, two men. The reason
he states this is that one of these men may be able to see the
spirit in the crystal whereas the other may not. No less than
the illustrious magician, alchemists, astrologer, philosopher,
spy and British adviser John Dee also had such an
arrangement with his co-agitator, Edward Kelly. Kelly would
be the one to perceive the spirits whereas Dee would be the
one to ask questions and make sense of what they claimed.
This, too, is not necessary. One person is all that is needed.
It is assumed by Trithemius at this point that the spirit has
made its appearance. Even a modestly successful magician
should now be able to both sense the presence of the spirit
and visibly see or mentally perceive some form of
phenomena in the crystal itself. Thus far, the conjuring is
now a success, and the next step is to interrogate the spirit,
making sure it is indeed the one wished for by the magician.

The first and most obvious question is what is your true

name? Though Trithemius writes his account with the
assumption that the angel Michael is the spirit being
conjured, he is clearly implying that the spirit in question will
always provide his actual name. This also assumes that
spirits have actual names and are not in the habit of
regularly lying about them. If the spirit answers correctly
that is, if it gives the name of the same spirit that the
magician set out to conjureit is then asked about its office,
its character or seal, and at what times it is most favorably
conjured. It is asked to swear in the name of Jesus Christ
that its answer are true, and if it does not do so, the magician
can be fairly certain that it is an impostor and devil.
Johannes Trithemius does not seem to say what to do if this
occursat least not in this present workbut perhaps such
would be quite unlikely to happen if all the strictures and
rules that Trithemius recommends are assiduously and
rigorously applied.
When all this has been established, the magician may then
question the spirit at will, writing down its responses
carefully.

Part 3 - Discussion and Closing

The part which requires the most degree of analysis is the

appearance of the spirit and the nature of the answers it
gives once questioned. The atmosphere of medieval Europe
in regards to these grimoires is one of an overt fairy-tale,
depicting the spirit as if they always showed forth visibly,
spoke in clear, audible tones and obeyed a set of arbitrary
laws to the letter. The Judeo-Christian paradigm defines
every inch of this scenario, with the godly Trinity at the
beginning of all things, the Dionysian angelic hierarchies
having a true and undeniable existence exactly as stated by
St. Dionysius and the forces of Lucifer being much how they
are described in traditional Christian mythology. There is
very little room for uncertainty, ambiguity or the unknown in
any of this, and because of this the grimoires provide little to
no psychological preparation for the would-be magician.
Very little of the phenomena described in these grimoires
actually occurs in the same way it is described, though there
are parallels in actual experience. The method outlined by
Johannes Trithemius is a very good one, albeit containing
much that is unnecessary, but like almost all the occult
writers of this day, he does not give a valid account of what

will occur when you practice magic. Some might say that
these magicians of old were indeed being honest about what
occurred to them, and that we moderns are simply unable to
attain their level of perception and intuitive depth. But this
can only be false, for we know with absolute certainty that
the Judeo-Christian paradigm in which these magicians
worked has not the slightest shred of truth to it, and
therefore the idea that the spirit world somehow obeys the
laws of such a false and idiotic system is laughable, at best.
If there are spiritsand I believe there arethey do not feel
a need to restrict themselves to the laws of a dying and false
religion. If these medieval sorcerers were able to
successfully summon spirits in the context of such a absurd
belief system, it is not because of the belief system but
rather in spite of it that they were successful. Even a
moderate degree of armchair scholarship can establish the
falsehood of both the Old and New Testaments in terms of
their general claims, and with them dies the entirety of
medieval mythology as it was expressed in old Europe. The
same is true of Islamic mythology or any number of other
religious mythologies. If spirits are real, then they can only
truly be intellectually understood outside of religion, and if
there is to be any investigation of them, it must be done so
in the brighter context of science.
Perhaps you are already well aware of this, however. I do not
need to write about it any furtherI've made my point. Still,

there is a question of what spirits actually feel like, look like

and do. Having read this method, am certain you will soon
try it. If you have never conjured before, in a few months
you will be able to successfully do it, provided you attempt
such with regularity. A degree of preparation is therefore in
order. I have done what I could to simplify the method of
Johannes Trithemiusthough you should by all means
acquire a copy of the original work in English translation and
study it yourselfbut now I wish to express to you what
you will likely encounter in your successful conjurations,
and how it will differ dramatically from what Johannes
Trithemius describes.
Firstly, you will feel the spirit's presence before seeing it.
Spirits make themselves known through their presence first,
then images and, lastly, sounds. Even then, these images
and sounds are often internal, and that which you see or
hear externally will be nowhere as clear and distinct as the
medieval books make them out to be. They will be quite
powerful, definite and beyond doubt, but they will not be as
palpable or vivid as your waking experience of material
reality. Eventually you may slip into subtle dream states and
reveries which make the spirit world seem just as alive as
this "real-world" we inhabit, but this is only after many years
of practicefor most people, that is. Therefore do not be
discouraged if things do not occur exactly as they are
described by these old dead men: things are still happening

things which are quite wonderful, mysterious and surreal.

Secondly, you need never interrogate a spirit. If you
performed a banishing successfully, used the proper seal
and did everything else correctly, then the proper spirit will
make its appearanceassuming it appears. The difficult task
of the magician is to get a spirit to appear at all, not to get
the right spirit to appear. The silly notion that there are
untold thousands of devils just waiting to fool the magician
is a laughable and easily disproven medieval superstition.
Though the natural world may be attempting to destroy us
at every turn, it is not the case with the spiritual realm:
whatever spirits are, they are generally better and more well
behaved than any sort of human or animal. The horror genre
of literature and cinema aside, supernatural creatures are
precisely in their position they are in because they are not as
bestial and wicked as earthen creatures. Though this is not
to say there entirely wholesome at all times, they bear no
resemblance to the villains and criminals of our world, and
one need not confront them with fear and trembling. The
interrogation is nothing but foolishness: once the spirit is
present, you may immediately begin asking it any questions
you have or making requests of it, without needing it to
show you it's "badge" (so to speak).
Third, careful attention ought to be placed upon exactly
what sensations do arise in the context of such a magical

work. The potential sensations are quite numerous, though a

magician will normally only experience a small cluster of
them, usually occurring in continuous succession from one
to the other (though at times they may also arise
simultaneously). The sensations are often purely mental, but
physical sensations are not uncommon. The possible mental
sensations are as varied as human emotion and imagination,
subjecting the magician to flashes of joy and fear, sorrow
and bliss, confusion and clarity, etc. These will be
accompanied by scenes and visionsusually fragmentary
and symbolic, though the symbolism is not especially easy
to divineas well as thoughts which occur as fully spoken
sentences, words or word fragments. While gazing at the
crystal ball, subtle visual images will also appear: outlines,
flashing shapes, spiraling designs, kaleidoscope-like figures,
geometries, faces, rapidly moving animals, strange circular
forms, spiritual seals, letters of alphabets both known and
unknown, etc. These, in turn, may be accompanied by such
physical sensations as tingling in different parts of the body,
waves of heat or cold, itching, pleasant or painful tension
and even nausea. Strange odors may also make themselves
known, and in the darkness the magician may perceive
flashes of light, similar to the echoes of lightning or fireflies.
There also may occur a sense of fluctuation in space and
timeeither by way of contraction or expansion. Time may
slow, space may feel far vaster, or the opposite may occur.

This last phenomena is perhaps evidence of the subtle

changes that occur when the spirit draws nigh, I believe, for
the spirits undoubtedly inhabit a far stranger realm than our
own and when the two worlds meet, such fluctuations are
inevitable.
None of these are central to the actual experience, however:
though they are marks of success, perhaps, the real purpose
of conjuration is not to experience a plethora of strange
physical and mental phenomena, but rather to contact a
spirit, receive answers from it and have it perform desired
tasks. Once the spirit is clearly present, you may ask it
questions mentally as you wish, having a notepad nearby
upon which to write its answers. If you have something you
wish the spirit to do, you can either make a request or
demand of it. A demand, however, is not generally a good
idea unless some form of sacrifices offered to the spirit. In
antiquity, spirits were almost never summoned without some
form of sacrifice. I am not advocating any higher animals be
harmed, of coursean offering of herbs is fine, as are one's
own blood or the fluids exuded through the joys of romance.
It is advisable that these offerings be either burned or
spread over the spirit's seal itselfsuch is the most
powerful method. If you have any doubts about this, try a
set of conjurations without offerings can then perform a set
inclusive of offerings. See which achieves the results
quicker. As with everything I say, you need take nothing on

faith, for you have the entire world at your fingertips in

terms of information and if you are patient and diligent, you
will arrive at the same conclusions I haveor perhaps I am
mistaken, and I will eventually arrive at far different
conclusions. Even though much of what I say may seem
fairly categorical, this is a literary technique, and should not
be taken as true dogmatism. Sometimes I qualify my
statement and other times I don't, but everything should be
read as quite tentative and open to change. In fact, let all
experience be that way: let us never find our conclusions too
easily and let us never insist that our beliefs or perceptions
are real for one and all. It is a far more fruitful way to live if
one lives accepting mystery and the unknown. Perhaps not
all secrets are meant to be revealed, just as all dead things
are not meant to be raised and not all doors are meant to be
opened. On that note, I think it is time to end this book
but, before I depart, let me express my eternal gratitude to
Johannes Trithemius, for he is one of the greatest of the
European magicians and I hope someday the entirety of his
works will be translated into English and other modern
languages so that the entire world can benefit from his deep
and wonderful knowledge. Though I may disagree with him
at times, understand that this is not a disagreement with the
man, but with the times, and I am quite willing to accept that
Johannes Trithemius wrote much of what he did merely to
fulfill the genre expectations of his times, to throw off

snooty Church officials and to keep the ignorant from

dabbling where they ought not. But make no mistake: if ever
there is a pantheon of remarkable human sorcerers, it would
be incomplete without Johannes Trithemius. To even behold
his words in incomprehensible Latin is to feel something of
his powera power which still shines forth to us from
beyond the grave. I dedicate this small book to him and I
hope that all who read it come to admire him and the work of
magic, freeing themselves from mental slavery and
assumption, entering into the bright, strange world of the
spiritswhere all is not possible, perhaps, but far more is
possible than we first imagined.