Beginning Enochian Aethyric work: some early sensations, and a question about ritual apparatus

[agloval]

Hi all,


I'm just starting to work with the Enochian Calls and I'd appreciate any input from more experienced practitioners here.


What I've been doing

So far I've been reciting the First Call, the Second Call, and the Nineteenth Call keyed to the 30th Aethyr (TEX), calling the four Governors (Taoagla, Gemnimb, Advorpt, Doxinal) afterward. I do this seated, in a meditative posture, reading from the printed calls. I haven't memorized them yet, which is one of the things I'm struggling with. I'm using DuQuette's Enochian Vision Magick as my main reference (a wonderful book, and he comes across as a genuinely kind teacher).

What I've experienced

I don't want to overclaim anything, and I definitely wouldn't take this as proof of anything on its own but I've had some sensations that are unusual for me. The clearest one is a kind of size/scale distortion, where everything around me feels small, and something close to a mild dissociative quality. Not distressing, just noticeably not-normal for my baseline. I'm noting it, not interpreting it yet.

My main question: The ritual apparatus


Would the practice actually work better if I used Dee's full setup (Holy Table, Sigillum Dei Aemeth, the Ring, the Lamen, the four elemental tablets physically present, etc.)?


Here's what confuses me: in one part of the book DuQuette says the minimum procedure banishing + Ceremony of Preparation + the relevant Call + Governors' names is enough, and he seems to actively de-emphasize needing the full kit. But in other places (both in his book and in other sources I've read) the whole apparatus is presented as important, almost non-negotiable.


Questions

1. For someone at this stage, is the full physical setup meaningfully different from the minimalist approach, or is it more about consistency and sincerity?
2. Any advice for memorizing the Calls? Reading them clearly limits how "in" I can go, but I don't want to force memorization mechanically either.
3. Does anyone else recognize that scale-distortion / mild dissociation sensation from early Aethyric work, particularly TEX? Just curious whether it's a common early phenomenon or personal noise.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

 

[Yazata]

Any advice for memorizing the Calls?

The first and second are part of my opening too because (to me) they address / call / get the whole Great Table ready.
There is a rhythm and rhyme to be found in the Enochian of these first two Calls.
Write them out phonetically with the "breaks" like it's lyrics or a poem and then make reciting these two a part of your ritualized opening. If you do that with your paper in hand a couple of days (with the rhyming flow) you'll do it by heart in no time.
The other ones / the 19th isn't that easily memorized in my experience.

As for tools: anything that you invest time / effort into making will be helpful. Buying stuff from Amazon or realenochianmagicshit dot com probably won't.

 

[agloval]

Thanks, Yazata! That's actually really helpful.

I like the idea of writing the Calls out phonetically with natural breaks, almost like poetry. That makes a lot more sense than trying to brute-force memorization.

And I completely agree about the tools. I actually make all of my own ritual implements whenever I can, following the advice of John King IV. I find that the time, care, and intention invested in making them myself gives them much more meaning than simply buying them ready-made.

One thing I'm still a bit confused about, though. Do you think it's actually necessary to have the full traditional setup: the Holy Table, Sigillum Dei Aemeth, Ring, Lamen, Tablets, and so on for Aethyric work? Or is DuQuette's more minimalist approach essentially sound? Maybe I completely misunderstood what he was trying to say.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply
I really appreciate it.

 

[Yazata]

He (DuQuette) says you can make everything from paper, and if you draw the whole thing by hand with a ruler and compass you'll have invested quite some time. So if you want to compare the results it's the way to go.
I don't have most of it. Made a Sigillum on wood which I use as an altar and a silver ring plus a mirror (which I don't use that often anymore).

 

[ashlesha]

In the beginning, I just had a printed version of the sigillum dei ameth and a scrying tool in the center.

I found the whole set of tools helped with making the visions more clear, and the angels directly told me I shouldn't advance past a certain aethyr without having them. Scott Michael Stenwick insists on the whole setup to prevent anything bad from happening since they conduct & control the energies for you. Even still, I don't have Dee's full setup yet. I have a cloth version of the holy table, a wooden sigillum dei ameth, a brass ring, a brass lamen, cork/leather ensigns of creation, a red polyester cloth I stitched to go on top, and a glass crystal in the center. No rug, no sweetwood table, no tablet of union, no 4 sigillums under the feet of the table (I actually put it all on a 36x36 canvas and rest it on a couch pillow).

I also only have the first, second, and majority of the 19th call memorized. Reciting it from paper/phone/whatever and then focusing on the scrying tool doesn't seem to impact things significantly to affect success. Even for reciting the govenor names, I'll look back at my references and either intone them the way DuQuette recommends, or how Dean Wilson in "Enochian Magic in Practice" recommends.

The reality distortion thing is something that happens with effective evocation and other types of magic. Like DuQuette says, the ease of Enochian doing this makes it extremely potent even for complete beginners! Size distortion is okay in the beginning, and eventually it'll accumulate into becoming full blown visions, geometric scaling, major personal insights, reality rearrangement, and ego aggrandizement. The last point is the most threatening for any aspiring magician, since sometimes people (me) make dumb decisions when they feel they can't do anything wrong

Good luck!!!

 

[Frater R.P.G.]

1. In my experience, a preparatory ritual like the one in Duquette's book makes calling the Aires much easier - the visions are clearer and tend to last longer.

Having tools is better than not. Proper tools are better than paper tools, but paper tools are better than none. I would suggest you start with paper tools and make (cut, draw) them yourself, it is almost like an initiation of sorts. Eventually the spirits will guide you to get a proper setup. Don't rush it, but don't delay working waiting for tools either.

2. If you plan on going through all the 30 Aires, you will learn the Call by heart by repetition, sooner or later. Regularity helps - practising every day you will memorise it in a few weeks tops. One thing I also did back in the days is record myself reading the Call and listening to it before sleep every night. It works almost as well as if you were reading it there and then and you can delegate the visions to your dreams this way.

3. It's pretty common to experience some sort of in-out boundary distortion. Think of this simply as the way your body and mind register that the Keys are working.

Post automatically merged: Today at 5:19 PM

Ah, one more thing I must add after reading the other replies. While Dee and Kelly used a skrying stone, I personally prefer to skry with my eyes closed. Crystal balls and mirrors simply don't work for me as much. I know some who are precisely the opposite. From what I've seen (and I talked to quite a few people), it's roughly a 50:50 split. If you don't know which one you are yet, make sure to try the other option.