First steps in Greco-Egyptian magic

Newcomers to the PGM invariably wonder what practices they should first take up. The methodology here is based on my initial approach around 2011-2012, and I can attest to its transformative effects when done regularly & diligently.

Essential, first-stage, regular practices:

- The adoration to the sun God Phrê for success (PDM XIV, 475-480)   

- The adoration to the Lord of the Universe (Corpus Hermeticum I)

- The Recitation of the Heptagram (alignment with the 7 vowels, PGM XIII, 824-835)

- The Hidden Stele (PGM IV 1115)

- The Secret Hymn / Hymn of  Rebirth (Corpus Hermeticum XIII)

- The prayer of Thanksgiving (The Perfect Discourse)

At the end of this post, I included my versions of these.

You can incorporate all the above into a daily regime as follows. Recite the adoration to Phrê eastward seven times right after waking up; perform the Heptagram while showering (even if you're in a confined space, simply pivot on your axis); toward midday recite the adoration to the Lord of the Universe, and later in the evening perform a more formalized ritual in your temple space, with a small altar covered in a white cloth, a white candle atop it; perform the Hidden Stele and Secret Hymn, and conclude with the Prayer of Thanksgiving.

The Hidden Stele is an invocation to the supreme God and the cosmos, which may have been used by a Hermetic fraternity in Roman Egypt (based on its mention of ‘brothers and sisters, holy men and holy women’). The closest I can say I’ve come to achieving henosis or unio mystica with what one would call the ultimate Godhead was through use of this prayer.  Aligning yourself with the highest is key when entering this system in my opinion.

Back in the day, I had composed my own self-initiation/communion rite, which incorporates several of the above practices. In retrospect, many parts need polishing, but it worked very well.

You can also create your own prayers and invocations to the supreme God; PGM XIII, 934-1000 has a prodigious selection of divine names you can incorporate into them.

This first stage should last 4-6 months ideally.

Several people have proposed regular performance of the Headless Rite (PGM V, 96) as a good practice for novices, but I caution against it at the beginning, and even later on, it will be wise to keep it to 2-3  times a week at most. I performed the Headless ritual daily for several months, which resulted in some amazing highs, but interspersed with serious lows and strokes of ill luck;  this rite is best described as a force that whirls the various puzzle-pieces of your life into the air. When they fall back down, many previously loose pieces will fall in the right place, while a few others that were formerly fixed will be unseated. Nowadays, I mainly perform it as a prelude and facilitator to working with deities or spirits.

For the next stage of your progression, I recommend choosing an Egyptian or Greek deity (ideally one found in the Magical Papyri) and begin performing regular offering rites to it. No need for an elaborate liturgy yet (though you should ideally create one down the line). Simply acquire a statuette or printed picture of the deity, light a white candle before it, and recite a prayer or hymn to them while burning a bit of incense, then offer some food (fruits, nuts, bread), & some whisky or wine as a libation, commune for a few minutes, then let the candle burn out on its own.

The presence of the God will be increasingly felt during the rite over time as you gradually ingratiate yourself to them, eventually culminating in direct communion (fasting before the ritual, and continuously vibrating the deity's name will help). You will also notice the deity’s hand in your daily life circumstances. 

Phrê, Agathos Daimon, and Isis are ideal deities for beginners to entreat. Approachable, safe to work with, and benevolent beyond measure.

A simpler rite you can likewise take up at this stage is to perform a daily hymn to the planetary God/Goddess of that day (Kronos, Zeus, Ares, Phrê/Helios, Aphrodite, Thoth/Hermes, Selênê), during the respective hour, while burning incense. This method has been suggested by several other sources, and I vouch for its inestimable value as regular practice.   

Above all remember: it matters less what you choose to do, but how regularly and assiduously you practice it.

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- The adoration to Phrê:

IO, TABAŌ, SOKHOM-MOA, OKH-OKH-KHAN-BOUZANAU, AN- IESI, EGOMPHTHŌ, GETHO, SETHOURI, THMILA, ALOUAPOKHRI, let everything that I shall apply my hand to today, be accomplished.

- The adoration to the Lord of the Universe:

Holy is God, the Father of all things;

Holy is God, whose will is accomplished by His own powers;

Holy is God, who desireth to be known and is known by his own people;

Holy art Thou, who by the word hast constituted all things that are;

Holy art Thou, from whom all nature was born as image;

Holy art Thou, whom nature hath not formed;

Holy art Thou, who art stronger than every power;

Holy art Thou, who surpassest all excellency;

Holy art Thou, mightier than praises.

Thou whom we address in silence, the unspeakable, the unutterable, accept pure speech offerings from a heart and soul that reach up unto Thee. I beseech Thee that I may never err from the Knowledge that befits our essence; give me power; and with this gift I shall enlighten those who are in ignorance, brethren of my kind, but Thy sons. Thus I believe and I bear witness; I advance into life and light. Blessed art Thou, O Father, Thy human desireth to be sanctified with Thee, as Thou hast given him/her all authority.

- The Recitation of the Heptagram:

Face East, stretching your hands to the left, vibrate A. Turn North, extending your right fist, vibrate E. To the West, extending both hands before you, vibrate Ē. Turn South, holding both hands on your stomach, and vibrate I. Face east again, bend over, and touch your toes, vibrating O. Look up, place your hand on your heart, vibrate U. Looking heavenward, both hands on your head, and vibrate Ō.

- The Hidden Stele:

Hail, entire system of the ærial spirit, PHŌGALŌA. Hail, spirit who extends from heaven to earth, ERDĒNEU, and from earth which is in the middle chamber of the universe unto the borders of the abyss, MEREMŌGGA. Hail, spirit who enters into me, convulses me, and leaves me kindly according to the will of God, IŌĒ ZANŌPHIE. Hail, beginning and end of the immovable nature, DŌRUGLAOPHŌN. Hail, revolution of unwearied service by heavenly bodies, RŌGUEU ANAMI PELĒGEŌN ADARA EIŌPH. Hail, radiance of the universe subordinate to the solar ray, IEO IEO IAS AI EOU OEI. Hail, orb of the night-illuminating, unequally shining moon, AIŌ RĒMA RŌDOUŌPIA. Hail, all spirits of the ærial images RŌMIDOUĒ AGANASOU ŌTHAUA. Hail to those to whom the greeting is given with blessing, to brothers and sisters, to holy men and holy women. O great, greatest, round, unfathomable figure of the universe, heavenly ENRŌKHESUĒL; in heaven, PELĒTHEU; ethereal, IŌGARAA; interethereal, THŌPULEO DARDU; watery, IŌĒDES; earthy, PERĒPHIA; fiery, APHTHALUA; windlike, IŌIE ĒŌ AUA; luminous, ALAPIE; gloomy, IEPSERIA; shining with heavenly light, ADAMALŌR; moist, fiery, and cold spirit. I glorify Thee, God of Gods, the one who brought order to the universe, AREŌ PIEUA; the one who gathered together the abyss at the invisible foundation of its position, PERŌ MUSĒL Ō PENTŌNAX; the one who separated heaven and earth and covered the heaven with eternal, golden wings, RŌDĒRU OUŌA; the one who fixed the earth on eternal foundations, ALĒIOŌA; the one who hung up the ether high above the earth, AIE ŌĒ IOUA; the one who scattered the air with self-moving breezes, ŌIE OUŌ; the one who put the water roundabout, ŌRĒPĒLUA; the one who raises up whirlwinds, ORISTHAUA; thunderer, THEPHIKHUŌNĒL; the one who hurls lightning, OURĒNES; bringer of rain, OSIŌRNI PHEUGALGA; shaker, PERATŌNĒL; begetter of living creatures, ARĒSIGULŌA; the God of the Aions; Thou art great, Lord, God, ruler of the All, ARKHIZŌ NUON THĒNAR METHŌR PARU PHĒZŌR THAPSAMUDŌ MARŌMI KHĒLŌPSA.

- The Hymn of  Rebirth 

Let every Nature in the universe attend the hearing of the hymn. Open, O earth; let every lock that bars the torrent open unto me; trees, be not shaken. I am about to sing a hymn unto the Lord of creation, to the Universe and to the One. Be opened, you heavens, and stand still, ye winds. Let the Immortal Circle of God receive mine utterance. For I am about to sing a hymn to the one who created all things; who fixed the earth in place; who hung heaven above; who ordered the sweet water away from the ocean and toward land, the habitable and the uninhabitable, as the means of mankind’s nourishment and creation; who ordered fire to shine on Gods and humans for their every use. Let us together praise Him, exalted high above the heavens, creator of all nature. He is the mind’s eye. May He accept praise from my powers. O all ye Powers that are in me, praise the One and the Universe. Sing together with my Will, all you Powers that are in me. O Holy Knowledge, being enlightened by thee, I magnify the intellectual Light, and rejoice in the Joy of the Mind. Join me, all ye powers, and sing the hymn. Thou also, continence, sing me the hymn. My Justice, through me hymn the just. My Charity, through me hymn the Universe. Truth, hymn the truth. Good, hymn the good. Life and light, praise passeth from Thee and unto Thee. I give thanks unto Thee, O Father, energy of the powers. I give thanks unto Thee, O God, the power of mine energies; through me thy Word sings praise unto Thee; through me, O Universe, accept a speech offering, by my word. This is what the powers within me shout; they hymn the All; they accomplish Thy will; Thy counsel floweth forth from Thee, and unto Thee the universe returns. Accept a speech offering from all things. O Life, save all that is in us; light, enlighten it; God, spiritualize it. For Thou, O mind, art a shepherd to Thy word, O spirit-bearer. O craftsman. Thou art God! Thy Man crieth these things unto Thee through Fire, through Air, through Earth, through Water, through the Spirit, through Thy Creatures. From Thine Aion I have won praise, and in Thy counsel I have found the rest I seek; I have seen, as Thou didst wish it.

- The prayer of Thanksgiving (The Perfect Discourse)

We thank Thee, supreme and highest God, with soul and heart lifted up to Thee, undisturbed name by whose grace alone we have attained the light of Thy knowledge; holy name honoured with the name ‘God’ and praised with the name ‘Father’, the one name whereby our ancestral faith blesseth God alone. We thank Thee who deign to grant unto all a father’s fidelity, reverence and love, along with any power that is sweeter, by giving us the gift of mind, reason and understanding: mind, that we may know Thee; reason, by which we may call upon Thee; understanding, whereby we may rejoice in knowing Thee.

And we who are saved by Thy power do indeed exult for Thou hast revealed Thyself unto us in all Thy being. We rejoice that Thou hast deigned to make us Gods for eternity even while we are yet in the body, that Thou hast made us divine through Thy knowledge. For this is man’s sole means of giving thanks: by knowledge of Thy majesty.

We have known Thee, the intellectual light perceived only by reason.

We have known Thee, true life of life; the womb pregnant with all that is to come.

We have known Thee, O Thou eternal permanence of the begetting Father, conceiving all that is to be in its perfect fullness.

Thus we have worshiped Thy goodness. We ask of Thee only to grant that we may persevere in the love of Thy knowledge, in such wise that we may never fall away from this way of life.