Baalberith: Authorities and Sources
The need for continuity in the Flow of Power— its succession and socialization as a means of transmitting experience and exchanging energy — ensures that any development, regardless of its direction or intensity, includes learning: adopting experience, using established models of action, and accumulating ways of solving problems.
We have said more than once that learning in the human world and in the magical world are called by entirely different names: people call learning the reproduction of others’ approaches, whereas Magi call it an entry into the current of Wyrd.
Nevertheless, both variants contain an important concept: authority— the ability to find a successful way out of various situations.
Of course, such a crucial concept has not escaped distortion by the destructor. As many as three Grey Dukes substitute and invert its meaning: Baalberith, Abigor, and Alloces.
Since the primordial distortion arises under the influence of Baalberith, today we shall speak of him.
The Demon’s name — of Semitic origin — is a distortion of the name of the Shechemite (a city in Palestine) deity Baal-berith — “Lord of the Covenant.” In other words, the Demon seeks to obtain Power through destructive conjunction and false hierarchization.
The “Lemegeton” describes the Demon thus:
“Berith (Berith) is the twenty-eighth spirit, a mighty, great, and terrible duke. He has two other names, given to him by men in later times: Beale or Beal and Bofry or Bolfry. He appears in the form of a soldier in red clothing, riding a red horse, with a golden crown upon his head. He gives true answers concerning the past, present, and future. He can turn all metals into gold. He can give dignities to men and confirm them. He speaks with a very clear and subtle voice…”
J. Weyer clarifies somewhat: “…he bestows honors upon a man…”.
Let us note the key point: Baalberith himself decides whom to grant “honors” and “dignities.” He forges “covenants” between those who may have no inner kinship whatsoever, and the resulting disharmonious conglomerates become mass sources of energy outflow — which is, in fact, the Demon’s aim.
This is the Demon’s principal danger: he compels a person to heed someone who seems “important” or “correct,” and to build a system of authorities that is often unsupported by any inner correspondences.
The destructor arises because adopting a particular mode of action means entering a particular current of realizations.
In other words, whose opinion a person chooses to hear directly determines within what Wyrd their development will unfold. Thus, adopting another’s Wyrd that does not correspond to one’s inner nature can become a cause of energetic conflicts and the dissipation of Power.
The sad reality is that many people attempt to walk others’ Ways instead of seeking their own, simply because certain opinions strike them as “authoritative.” Such an existence cannot be effective and leads only to emptiness and disappointment. The Demon whispers: “Surely he (she) cannot be speaking nonsense — he (she) is so respected, so authoritative, so popular.” And the problem is not that all authorities are false. The problem is that each has their own Way, and therefore their own authorities; to listen to someone merely because others listen to him is of little efficacy.
Let us emphasize once more: the striving for succession, for the attainment of Power, and for learning is natural, correct, and necessary. The destructor arises when the chosen source of Power does not correspond to the individual features of a being and does not form a harmonious chain with it.
A Magus must not listen to the one whom others listen to; he must not fall into the trap of mass-reproduced social authorities. He must listen only to the one with whom he senses inner kinship — whose Wyrd (and better still, whose Orlög) accords with his own Way. In accepting someone’s counsel, in listening to or reading someone’s thoughts (including this post), the Magus must scrupulously verify to what extent the spirit, Way, and Power of the one who gives this counsel accord with his own nature.
And the matter is not how strong or successful the one who gives this counsel may be; it is not what he has achieved nor how far he has advanced. A Way that may be extraordinarily effective for one can, for another, be wholly barren — or even destructive.
To avoid Berith’s influence means to “enter into a covenant” only with those people or Currents with whom inner kinship already exists; to choose companions, roads, and byways in accordance with the voice of one’s heart, rather than by the measure of their grandeur or how well-trodden they are.
Inspiration and Obsession
Powers and Scales
Roads and Paths
Not to Be a Demon
Entrances and Exits
Sources of Power
Bael: Deceived Gods
Interweaving of Fates
I apologize for some off-topic – but since we are talking about demonology, I will ask a question in this context, not specifically related to the theme of this article.
You, Enmerkar, write about the 72 demons of the Lemegaton. If we take the Tree of Life (more precisely, its shadow side), then 72 demons relate to the Sefirot (more precisely, to the ‘Anti-Sefirot’). Each pair of demons relates to a specific decan of the Zodiac (the day spirit and the corresponding night spirit). Each decan of the Zodiac corresponds to a Minor Arcana of Tarot (numerical cards). Each number card, from Ace to Ten, corresponds to a Sefirah.
Thus, Berith, which is mentioned, relates to 1-10 degrees of Capricorn, to the Two of Pentacles, respectively, to the Sefirah Hokhma, as well as to Malkuth (like all Pentacles).
However, besides Sefirot, there are also Paths. The first book, I believe, that relates the direct demonic correspondences to the Paths of the Tree of Life – is Liber Arcanorum, obtained by Aleister Crowley, and containing the seals of the Geniuses of the Paths of the Tree and the corresponding klippotic demons.
In this case, the question arises – if there is a certain issue that can be connected with demonic influence, how to identify this influence? How to distinguish the anti-sefirah influence from the influence of the Paths? After all, how correctly the opponent is identified determines the effectiveness of opposition to them.
As an option – to conduct a Divination using Tarot. If (of course, provided that the Divination is conducted correctly), the Trump card appears, then the problem is related to the Shadow Paths and their geniuses. If a numerical card appears, then one should work with the classical 72 demons.
Then another question arises – what if a face card appears?
Although, in fact, face cards also correspond to Sefirot and Zodiac (they cover either a whole triad of signs or a whole zodiacal quadrant).
I think there are two practical approaches to interacting with the shadow side. One approach is direct (as described in the Lesser Key and other grimoires) – namely, directly evoking the spirit and placing demands upon it.
The second approach is indirect. Essentially, binding the corresponding force. You do not summon the demon into the Triangle and do not give it instructions. You conduct a ritual designed in such a way that the main focus is on the Genius. You call for the assistance of the Genius and bind the Demon in the process. For example, in this operation, the final Hey could be the consecration of a Talisman, on the face side of which is depicted the seal of the Genius, and on the reverse – the Demon. At the same time, as for the 72 Demons, the task of the correct choice of correspondence in the pair Genius/Demon arises.
By the way, it is not entirely clear that, say, the First Genius, Vehuiyah, corresponds to the 1st Kiner of Aries. But at the same time, the time of its influence is from 12:00 on March 20 to March 24; 31 of April; 11 of August; 22 of October; 2 of January – that is, for some reason, most days of its influence, do not relate to Aries.
In what case, then, is direct evocation more acceptable, and in what case is invoking the Genius while binding the demon?
It seems to me that in the early stages, the second approach is more acceptable.
Frater, the correctness of divination depends on the intuition of the interpreter, not on interpretative Talmuds; the hand always reaches for ‘that’ element from the set, yet establishing the correspondence is the task of the interpreter.
Indeed, establishing correlations between spirits and the ‘Skeleton’ of the Universe – the Tree of Life – can help clarify some of the characteristics of these spirits’ influence, and thus facilitate both the search and overcoming their influences. For instance, the fact that Baalberit corresponds to the Two of Pentacles – that is, to Hokhma in Malkhut – indicates its active influence on the receptive field – which confirms the substitution of authority I mentioned in the article. Nevertheless, this same information is provided by direct evocation as well, and no reasoning and calculations can replace encountering the spirit ‘face to face.’ Yes, one can draw a direct question and pull out the Two of Pentacles from the deck, concluding that there is false authority at play, as well as finding a way out of the situation by equating it with the Genius Sehiakh – the genius ‘returning exiles,’ meaning – returning the consciousness to its own flow. Sehiakh is the genius who endows with prudence and caution. The Two of Pentacles is simultaneously the Meaning of the Path (Wisdom of Malkhut) – Sehiakh, and – the Distortion of this meaning – accepting someone else’s flow – Baalberit. Summoning the Genius will allow a return, but without identifying Berith, it will not provide that differentiating ability that will later enable distinguishing ‘one’s own’ authorities from foreign ones. Therefore, it is possible to use both approaches for identifying and overcoming the problem, but it is better – nonetheless – not to fear and carry out the operation of Goetia. Any correspondences and relations can be beneficial in principle: both information that Baalberit controls the first daylight decan of Capricorn, and that its influence is of southern nature, that is, pertaining to the sphere of feelings (it is precisely feelings that are deceived, leading one to accept false authority as something worthy of trust), and many other correspondences. However, the main question is how much knowledge of these correspondences can really help find the demon’s influence IN oneself. For some, they can be really valuable, but for others, on the contrary, they risk turning into exercises of the mind, leading away from real self-analysis. Therefore, for finding distractors within oneself, it is important primarily to LOOK closely and honestly inside one’s psychosocio, and for this, beginners may be advised not to employ the ‘Great,’ or ‘outer’ Goetia, wherein the demon is summoned into the Triangle of art, but rather the ‘lesser,’ or ‘inner’ Goetia, when the corresponding foreign element is crystallized in consciousness, objectified, and then overcome, subordinating it to the individuality of the mage. This approach, although it will not provide complete overcoming of destructive influence, will pave the way for this overcoming that will follow when the corresponding level of development is reached.
“Therefore, in order to search for detractors within oneself, it is essential first and foremost to look carefully and honestly into the depths of one’s psychocosmos. For beginners, it can be recommended not to pursue the ‘Great’ or ‘external’ Goetia, where a demon is summoned into the Triangle of Art, but rather the ‘Lesser’ or ‘internal’ Goetia, where an appropriate alien element crystallizes in consciousness, becomes objectified, and is then overcome by submitting to the individuality of the mage.”
And if the identified ‘element’ is not alien to me? Would you still recommend Goetic evocation in that case? Or is it better to postpone it for a case of genuine necessity, since, as is well-known, curiosity killed the cat? Looking as deeply as I can, carefully and honestly into the depths of my psychocosmos, I find that my ‘devil’ teaches me the Dharma quite effectively (the ‘angel,’ somewhat less effectively, as it tends to constrain, whereas the former allows for ‘burning’ from excess but not to the point of self-destruction). I ‘contrast’ this with humanity, ubuntu…
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D0%B1%D1%83%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%83_(%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%8F)
I was in the flow and fell out of it. As I rise, or rather cleanse, I again began to feel the kinship, the forces of currents close to me. I was almost merging with the flow. Fearing a repeated fall, I drew conclusions for myself. Orleg is like a thread. I came to the conclusion that Orleg is the following of tradition and being in the flow in which the Authority of this tradition resides, this is monotheism. Other traditions, authorities, and Orlegs are needed for the interaction of Vird. Vird (polytheism) is the ropes, cords, knots tied to the Orleg thread to confuse the traveler or for the traveler to unravel them.