E. A. Koetting - staticfly.net

CHAPTER FIVE
BURNT OFFERINGS
the right color of candle (preferably manufactured under the direction
of a self-alleged Pagan), and will take the time and effort to memorize
the sing-song poem that is sure to bring success. Fingernail clippings or
locks of hair from the one he desires will be promptly acquired, and the
ritual will begin. Just as was done every year on his birthday, the song
""i11 be sung, the wish will be made, and the candle will be blown out.
And just like on his birthday, his wish hardly ever comes true.
As discussed in the second chapter of this book, only three colors
are used in these Operations of Black Magick: violet, red, and black. In
the earliest days of the occult, most, if not all ritual implements were
handmade by the Operator for the obvious reason that one could not
run to the corner occult shop and purchase these items. A large number
of modern ritualists believe that this tradition should be held to as
much as possible, citing that the act of personally manufacturing the
implements in itself passes the Operator's energy and will into the object.
Through the consecration rituals given in Chapter Four, however, this
is done thoroughly, independent of the actual formation of the object.
Unless it brings the magician to a feeling of competence or satisfaction
in some way, there is no need to dye and form the candles oneself, or to
ensure that the manufacturer was, in fact, a practitioner of the arts in
some roundabout way. All that is necessary is that the candles are the
appropriate colors, that the color is solid throughout the wax rather
than a colored shell over white wax, and that there is a wick in the
center of it on which the flame may seat itself.
Verbal incantations or affirmations of the will of the Sorcerer
are important, having a definite place in Black Magick. Far too often,
these incantations are superfluous, sounding pretty and dressed up in
flower petals to the point that the original intent is hidden by the
costume. As of late, a trend has been growing to make incantations
rhyme, with the assumption that the rhythm of the thing will imbed
the meaning of it in the deepest, most arcane recesses of the mind of the
orator. In actuality, this has quite the reverse effect, leaving the witch
with the tune in her head and the words lingering somewhere between
the ritual and its success.
The incantations used in ritual should be simple, pointed, and
short. If the Magician is reading it from a grimoire, he doesn't want his
eyes to be buried in a book for half of an hour, his tongue wrestling with
scores of barbarous names of evocation. If the incantations are
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