Fratres GosaA & Abbadon - 23 Jan 1989 to 08 May 1989 e.v

These workings form the first part of a long term study of different approaches to Goetia. Our eventual goal is design a Goetia for the 21st Century. The Lemegeton was chosen as the first system to explore as GosaA had worked with it before. This paper examines the workings in chronological order, outlines the backdrop of events which unfolded during the series, and encapsulates the ideas which the rites provoked.

Site

The workings took place in an third floor attic room, being the residence of Abbadon in Headingley, Leeds.

Ritual Outline

The ritual procedure consisted of a banishing ritual The Nusphere, and the ritual structure as set down in the Lemegeton, with slight modifications. Generally, the sections used were:

1. The First Conjuration

2. The Second Conjuration

3. The Constraint

4. The Address unto the Spirit

5. The Welcome to the Spirit

6. The License to Depart

Background

The rites were worked against a background of events which could be hardly termed placid. In Bradford, a 'magical war' had been triggered between several different pagan factions, centering upon the anti-social behaviour of one or two individuals. Abbadon was being slurred in the 'pagan press' as a Satanist/Nazi sympathizer, having written an ill received article on Satanic philosophy, and his involvement in PaganLink network was also throwing up enmities & feuds between 'supporters' of different approaches to networking. The progression of these events affected the workings and their outcomes.

It should be noted that whilst GosaA was familiar with the appearance and disposition of these Geotic Spirits, Abbadon was not - and not even familiar with the general descriptions of the spirits from the Lesser Key.

No.1

23/01/89 10.30pm-12.00pm
 

Spirit: VASSAGO GosaA Evoking

Setup:

Triangle constructed on low table, with a small crystal within. A background tape of what was thought to be music of an appropriate nature 'Nurse with Wound' was used. In this first instance, there was no physical circle.

Vassago took shape in the triangle, seen by both celebrants as a spinning tornado. Then Abbadon saw him take the form of a small homonculus, whilst GosaA saw him briefly as an outline of the Virgin Mary. Abbadon Then saw a stern king, wearing a crown, followed by a lizard. Note that one of the forms that Vassago appears as is that of an old stern duke, riding a crocodile and holding a goshawk. Then both GosaA and Abbadon saw a mask described as being shiny, metallic, and with a down turned mouth, heavily lidded eyes, and a sharp nose. We began to question Vassago as to the possible importance of masks. GosaA then saw two masks, whilst Abbadon perceived a gauntleted hand holding up two fingers. Abbadon then saw a pot of graveyard soil; black and moist. Abbadon saw a pendulum attached to a retort stand within the triangle possibly a communications device? GosaA then asked Vassago how could we communicate better and 'felt' a hand go inside his brain - this triggered a strong sensation of vertigo and a brief vision of geometric patterns of straight lines becoming spirals. He then saw Vassago as a toothless old man, whilst at the same moment, Abbadon described him as wearing tattered sixteenth century clothes. Vassago then 'said' that the energy was too undefined that there was a lack of definition in the rite, and that a physical circle was required, as a reference point. Abbadon then had a vision of a downward pointing triangle, on which were the letters Yod (left point) He (right) and Vau (apex), drawn onto a wooden block. Abbadon then asked if the masks 'spoke'? Vassago withdrew his features, indicating no. His face re appeared, smiling and drooling. Abbadon then saw an image of one of the celebrants masked, and holding a pendulum. GosaA asked for verification, whereon Vassago held forth a quill pen. Possibly a reference to truth (i.e. Ma'at) or the angel Yebem, who is depicted holding a quill pen.

Closed with License to Depart, etc.

Comments

We both found this to be a very laboured working. Vassago seemed very disinclined to manifest, and was uncommunicative. He appeared to be attempting to lay down conditions for his compliance whether as a genuine attempt to open effective communication channels, or to establish a dominance over the celebrants, is unclear. A traditionalist might well argue that it is the latter. Are demons 'intelligent', in the way that we usually think about the concept?

Following this rite, both GosaA and Abbadon suffered what might be termed a post contact 'hangover'. Both suffered from feelings of vague depression, extreme lethargy, aching limbs and headaches. These symptoms persisted for two days, before disappearing.
 

No.2

30/01/89 10.00pm-11.30pm
 

Spirit: VASSAGO (II) Abbadon Evoking
 

Setup:

This time, a physical circle was laid out on the floor of the room, and inscribed with appropriate names of power. A triangle was constructed as described in the working above. Again, the background tape was used.

Both saw Vassago in the triangle by the end of the first Evocation as a flickering tornado, out of which, Abbadon saw first a horse's legs, then spider legs. GosaA saw at first a globe, which changed to a vague shape on the back of a reptile. Abbadon proceeded to constrain, whereon Vassago appeared to both as a grinning, tramp like character. GosaA questioned Vassago about the correct ceremonial procedure to achieve the best results. In reply, Vassago holds up an hourglass, followed by a hen's egg, which he crushes in his hand. Abbadon sees him writing in sand but is unable to make out the shapes clearly. We both began to find the tape music distracting, at this point (perhaps Voix Bulgares or Gregorian Chants would be more appropriate?), and turned it off. GosaA then asked Vassago to give Abbadon a vision of where GosaA would be at 2.30pm the following day (this was done as a test of Vassago's reputed ability to give clear visions). Abbadon's vision unfolded as follows:

of moving up a flight of wide stairs, with other people, inside a building. Then walking down a long corridor lockers on one side and windows on the other. Then past many doors into a room. There is a desk, and some squarish objects which are vague and unclear. At this point, the scene fades

This, according to GosaA, is an account of walking to a computer facility in Leeds Polytechnic. We then asked Vassago to give Abbadon a vision of the most appropriate room in which to perform the Evocations. Vision developed as follows:

a square or rectangular room without windows. The walls are white and the floor stained dark. Inscribed on the floor in a circle with a white inner ring and center. The power names are written in gold and silver. The triangle is as described in the last working but with an incense burner at each point. The air is thick with incense. The room is very dark, illuminated by torches on the far wall. There is a sense of frenzy held back the mix of both formality and frenzy is important, as are the acoustics - we need space to howl.
 

GosaA then asks Vassago about the timing of the working. he shows an hourglass, a sundial, and indicates the number 'II', then turns the sundial over. Note: the Lemegeton says that the best time to evoke be 2 days after the dark of the moon.Vassago then shows his hands to be fettered.

Closed at this point.

Comments

The working was a lot easier this time, even though we had made only minimal attempts to follow Vassago's demands. The first vision offered to Abbadon was substantially accurate, although he could not show the computers in detail all the imagery he employed sundial, hourglass etc, were antiquated. Perhaps he cannot 'understand' high technology. There was no 'hangover' this time around.
 

No.3

14/02/89 10.00pm-11.20pm
 

Spirit: GLASYA LABOLAS GosaA Evoking
 

Specific Intent

Abbadon "to sway the arguments of friends to ally with me and confound the arguments of enemies this forthcoming Saturday, in a specific place".
 

Setup:

This time, we experimented with the 'Unsealing of the Vortices' rite as a preliminary to the evocation, and Abbadon supported the evocations, using a chant based on the demon's name GLAZ IAL LABOLAS.

The rationale behind this intent was that Abbadon, was attending a pagan conference that weekend, and given the current 'Satanic' slurs and the outcomes of earlier arguments, was expecting a certain amount of animosity levelled at him. This intent was seen as a test of Glasya Labolas's abilities to affect situations.

Unsealing the vortices seemed to increase the sense of power and tension in the room. Both GosaA and Abbadon experienced the feelings of 'waves of energy rippling expanding and distorting the ritual sphere' which is a commonly experienced side-effect with this rite. As soon as the vortices were unsealed, a windstorm blew up around the house. Abbadon began to intone the mantra, and both sensed a kind of 'fluttering' around the circle. Abbadon saw Glasya Labolas as a tornado inside the triangle, then both saw him as a vague dog headed creature. Both had a strong impression that the energy brought into the room by the vortices was somehow hindering the manifestation of Glasya Labolas into the triangle. Abbadon saw a brief vision of a skull in a desert. Abbadon then sealed the vortices. The immediate effect was that the windstorm ceased and both saw Glasya Labolas as a dog headed humanoid with rounded ears. Abbadon described him as having jet black skin, no genitals, with an almost metallic looking head. GosaA greeted him and gave the intention at which point both saw him kneel slightly and bow his head. Both had the feeling that Glasya Labolas had no expressive emotions he appeared to be neutral and aloof (this was a direct contrast to Vassago, who appeared as a demonic 'old Steptoe').

Abbadon then requested that Glasya Labolas show GosaA a vision of where Abbadon would be on the day of the ted building with a grass verge around it, then an older building the interior is light coloured, with a picture rail around it. This however, was inaccurate. Following this, Abbadon repeated the intent, adding that Glasya labolas could take, if he performed his task well, "the hearts of mine enemies" at which both noted that Glasya Labolas registered emotion and interest. GosaA saw a close up of his face & felt a radiating feeling of attentiveness, whilst Abbadon saw a close up of a dog's jaw, curling to reveal teeth, and a flicker of red in the image's eyes. After the first License to depart, Glasya Labolas disappeared, but his presence was still felt in the room, so the License was repeated twice more.
 

Comments

Glasya Labolas had a very feral quality predatory & alien. Almost a sense of being an African atavism. Very much an active principle rather than a passive shower of visions such as Vassago. As for the PL conference, it turned out to be a damp squib. Abbadon proceeded to become inebriated, there were no serious arguments, but then nothing constructive came out of the meeting either. If anything, it served to sow the seeds of further aggravation for Abbadon, as he had to resist the amorous attentions of a former lover, and support his current partner, who was distressed to see her ex-husband present with his current partner (her former best friend) a tangle which had later influences on the workings.
 

No.4

28/02/89 10.50pm-11.45pm

Spirit: HAURES Abbadon Evoking

Specific Intent

To bedevil a maldoer, one B.H (male)

Setup:

Unmodified ritual.

The background to this 'Cursing' working, was the progressing events in Bradford, which had reached the point where some friends of the celebrants were under extreme stress, having been verbally threatened, physically assaulted, had their house defaced and threats made on the life of their daughter. The immediate prologue was that Abbadon had gone over to Bradford and attempted, with others, to confront the perpetrators of these attacks. This attempt was unsuccessful, and several strategies were discussed as options to resolve the situation. A person (B.H) present at this discussion was, unknown to the others present, acting as an self-appointed go between to the different groups of people involved in these events. Shortly after the night of the discussion, he reported its occurrence to the local police, who visited several of those involved, with a warning that should the person who was the source of all the aggravation ('RF') meet with any 'accidents', then they would be in serious trouble. It was discovered at the time that B.H was the police informant he denied this, but was lying. Tempers were running high, 'RF' had already been magically attacked from different quarters, and Abbadon & GosaA decided to 'remove' B.H from the situation, at the same time testing the Goetia.

From the beginning of the rite there was a great deal of tension & power in the circle. The first evocation produced, for both celebrants, a faint cloud from which issued lightning bolts. GosaA had a fleeting vision of a cat like entity pacing the circle, and felt a strong impulse to keep moving within the circle. Abbadon felt uncomfortably hot during the first evocation, and both experienced a sense of 'coiled up power' (Kundalini?). GosaA had a spontaneous vision of the sigil of Haures and traced behind Abbadon as he was evoking. Both experienced the sensation of a 'tight band' around the forehead and earache this continued until the working was closed. Again, GosaA had a strong impression of a cat (one of Haures' forms) which then changed into a human shape, indistinct except for slanted, burning eyes which to GosaA, were entirely visible. Abbadon saw a humanoid flame being which was constantly flickering and changing. Like Glasya Labolas, Haures has not much personality, but is a tremendous force.

Abbadon then gave the intent, ordering Haures to go forth and bedevil the target, ad-libbing the curse and adding take your thirty six legions, whereupon GosaA suddenly saw a horde of small black spindly-limbed beings flitting around the circle, whilst Abbadon later reported a host of black demons gleefully dancing around the circle. GosaA was taken aback by the sudden intensification of the atmosphere, and felt that the manifestation of Haures was made stronger by the presence of the legions. Abbadon then ordered them to go forth - both saw Haures & the legions spiral upwards and jet off into the night as a writhing dark mass, moving constantly.

Both felt an instant change in the room's atmosphere, as though the mass had taken all the power & charge with it. License to depart given at this point.
 

Comments

This was the first working in which we became 'involved', as opposed to being detached testing the system as it were. We were both very much caught up in the working and experienced moments of gnosis. The black demons are as illustrated. They could only be glimpsed from the periphery of the visual field, and gave the impression of quick, jerking movement. The emotions stirred up by this working are interesting not anger or hate particularly perhaps an unlabelled emotion which doesn't fit our normal range? During the rite, there was a great surge of adrenaline a definite buzz, but all attention is focused at calling the demon into the triangle, keeping it there, and charging it with an intent. This focusing on the entity frees the mind of the tendency to identify with the target and breed lust of result Abbadon notes feeling 'emptied' of all feeling after the rite. At about 12.45pm, Abbadon experienced a peculiar sensation in his head hard to describe but v. strange. GosaA says that he has had a similar experience before with the entities of the Lemegeton & some spirit familiars, and it is though they are tapping the brain for more information regarding the intent.
 

Concerning the target, a few days later, a friend whose was in the midst of the Bradford row reported that BH had turned up at his home, raving and babbling magical inanities. His doctor referred him to a psychiatrist, but he refused the assistance. He did however, cease his destructive behaviour towards those involved in the situation.

No.5

07/03/89 18.00 19.20pm

*partial lunar eclipse 18.18pm

Spirits (double trouble): HAURES & ANDROMALEUS

Specific Intent

Haures: 'Curse' to inhibit actions of RF.

Andromaleus: 'Curse' to bind a malign magical current emanating from SS.

This was somewhat of an emergency situation. Initially, we were preparing to perform a binding curse on RF, the 'villan' of the events playing out in Bradford. In the midst of this, Abbadon's current lover rang-up-with-a-frightened-tale-that-her-ex-husband had sent her a strip of runes through the post and that some of her mail had been opened, & that she felt herself to be under magical attack. Abbadon advised her to perform regular banishings, and then he and GosaA 'got on the case', as it were.

The first evocation had a very immediate build up. Both saw Haures as a being into which great power was compressed. GosaA saw a globe of flame with claws & then a single talon projecting from it, whilst Abbadon saw a single, flickering flame that later became a humanoid head & shoulders formed in flame. Abbadon summoned the legions and GosaA saw them as black rats surrounding the circle, turning to flame as the rite continued, with a strong feeling of heat building up. Abbadon saw a 'hole' in the air through which force was pouring into the room. GosaA began drawing the sigil of Haures behind Abbadon, and chanting the name of Haures. GosaA suddenly perceived a strong physical presence moving deosil about the circle, which then vanished. There followed a vision of flames dancing around the circle. Abbadon saw blue sparks over the triangle at the same time, and when given their intent, the demons coalesced and whirled off into space. Their departure was not as intense as on the previous occasion. Abbadon then gave the license to depart, and saw a boiling black cloud emitting lightning, black hooves and talons, shooting across a city skyline.

a brief interlude followed

Abbadon then evoked Andromaleus ("evil man"?). Both felt his presence quite early on in the evocation. GosaA saw him as a figure resembling Michaelangelo's "David" with a large snake at its feet which remained constant more or less throughout the rite, while Abbadon saw a large green snake being held by an upraised arm, with the snake the dominant figure. This then changed to a pallid androgynous humanoid holding a large green serpent. Both Abbadon and GosaA fleeting found the human figure attractive. During the 'Welcome', Abbadon saw both the humanoid & the snake head lift up as though the entity were paying attention, but with no particular attention. We both had the impression that the human & snake were in actuality one entity.Its legions appeared to Abbadon as green snakes slithering around the circle. As the charge intensified, GosaA saw a huge green cobra coiled about the circle. The entities' departure was seen by Abbadon as the serpents suddenly 'whip-lashing' upwards, whilst GosaA saw the cobra drop its head very quickly and shoot off in a northerly direction.

Gave License to depart.
 

Comments

Two days later, at a pagan gathering in York, a local witch hesitantly commented that he could 'see' "a green serpent" infesting Abbadon's Aura, and was Abbadon aware of its presence?
 

No.6

08/05/89 21.30-22.45pm
 

Spirit: HAURES Abbadon Evoking

Specific Intent

To turn a curse object back upon its makers.

Set Up:

rite modified by preliminary invocation of Ra-Hoor-Khuit & inspirational readings from Liber Al. Ra-Hoor -Khuit incense was used.

Another emergency measure. Friends in Hull had received a number of threatening phone calls, followed by a particularly gruesome curse object. it was decided to use Haures to turn the curse back on its creators, and also improve the confidence of the recipients.

The invocation of Ra-Hoor-Khuit as "a god of war and vengeance" brought in a lot of energy, but also a feeling of calm detachment. GosaA saw Ra-Hoor-Khuit manifest as a hawk's head, then a hawk flapping its wings, then a crushing talon & tearing beak. Abbadon was at this point too inflamed to observe. Haures came through quickly, appearing as first a tornado or vortex, then as a dog headed humanoid. Both celebrants had the impression of great size, and no emotion other than interested neutrality until, as before, offered gore. The legions arrived as a strong turbulence about the circle, becoming the angular, spindly shapes seen earlier. We both noted that they seemed more frantic and excited than usual. GosaA compared Haures to a hunter the legions being his 'hounds'. Abbadon noted the insect like scuttling of the horde. They departed with a definite air of being "on the hunt". At which point all tension dropped in the room.

License to depart given.

Comments

Abbadon was in almost continual gnosis throughout this working, and GosaA reported a similar experience. Both felt a see saw emotion of being detached, but at the same time, on fire - feelings associated with Ra-Hoor-Khuit. The curse object, by the end of the rite, appeared to be 'wiped' of its malefic energy the change in its nature was commented upon by an observer who had seen the object prior to the rite, and the 'curse related' problems experienced by its original recipients immediately ceased. Of the makers of this object however, nothing of their fate is yet known.

This ends the Lemegeton workings by GosaA and Abbadon.