CHAPTER 4

Magical Work

The magical work of the Fraternitas Saturni takes place on many levels. One strongly emphasized aspect is the regular curriculum of private magical training. This is undertaken essentially in solitude and is shaped by the progressive curriculum outlined in the degree system. But powerful and elaborate group rituals, some of a sacramental nature, are also regularly practiced. The complete rubrics for four of these are given in appendices in this book. Perhaps what the FS is most notorious for are its sex-magical practices. Although the importance of these practices seems exaggerated when put into perspective, they are a core aspect of the order—given its gnostic cosmosophical understanding—and one that deserves further exploration. Among the many unusual features of Saturnian magical usage are its use of Freemasonic ritual formulae, its Luciferian emphasis, its full complement of sacramental rites, the use of electrical technology in a magical framework, and the detailing of sex-magical practices. Finally, the undisguised way in which most of these features are treated also is notable. This latter aspect is entirely due to the fact that we have been made privy to the old internal documents of the order, which were not originally meant for “public consumption.”

MAGICAL TRAINING

Magical training of the chela is something the student is expected to largely glean from the extensive graded internal literature of the FS, which comes in the form of the Blätter für angewandte Lebenskunst, the Blätter für angewandte okkulte Lebenskunst, other instructional letters, and a vast reading list of books to be studied at various levels.¹ Gregorius was in a good position to provide the published literature, as he was in the business of selling new and used occult books. The grade system of the order provides the curriculum of magical study, and the literature specific to each grade constitutes the lessons along the way; the formal workings provide the grounds for demonstration and ceremonial affirmation of the progress made by the student.

Elements of the chela’s private magical training include the disciplining of the will through progressive exercises in visualization or imagination, autosuggestion, contemplation, and meditation. In addition, exercises in mantra-mysticism (i.e., incantational formulae) are linked to the awakening of the chakras. This also includes work with “vocalic breathing” in conjunction with visualization and concentration.² Dream-work is also engaged, wherein the initiate observes and learns to control his dreams. While the chela is engaged in these exercises, he or she is also encouraged to begin to develop a comprehensive “physical culture”—that is, a regimen of physical fitness and what amounts to a “cult of the body”—and also to cultivate a general love of nature. Once these things have progressed sufficiently, practical magical redesigning of one’s personality and magical experiments in influencing the environment are begun. In the sex-magical sphere, the chela is encouraged to master the sexual drives and direct them in harmonious and magically beneficial ways. The experience of sexuality becomes spiritualized and the initiate learns to polarize the sexual “odic forces.”^*12 One of the aims of this work is the healing of the relations between the sexes in this aeon. The initiate creates trance states for contact with his own prenatal life, as a proof of the doctrine of reincarnation. There is also the development of a special relationship with the Earth-Spirit (Erdgeist)³ and eventually experiments in which command is gained over intermediate astral and/or planetary entities and daemons.⁴ This latter set of practices is largely gleaned from old German grimoires of the Faustian tradition, first published between the fifteenth and seventeenth century. Some of these were reprinted by the FS for internal use.⁵

At various points the FS literature will refer to the initiate’s experience of epopteia, which will eventually come due to his magical work and training. This term is taken from the vocabulary of the Greek mystery religions and denotes the third stage in their progressive initiatory process. The first stage is katharsis (purification), in which the candidate is prepared but remains in a probationary status. The second stage is myesis, which is the actual initiation into the mystery where communion is taken. Finally, epopteia is the direct or indirect experience of the god of the mystery itself. It is considered direct evidence of the truth of the god. This final stage is blessedness or “salvation itself.”⁶ Here again we see the close parallels between the work of the FS lodge and the ancient traditions from which it draws its techniques.

The ultimate aim of this process is for the initiate to pass beyond good and evil, and to attain the ultimate power of an independent, and truly real, entity: to become his own god. This can be done if one attains this status without violating the laws of harmony.⁷

The Saturnian magician uses a wide variety of techniques and methods to achieve both spiritual and practical magical ends. An example of the use of the kabbalistic technique known as notarikon also explains the unusual name of Gregor A. Gregorius’s bookshop in Berlin: Inveha. When asked about what the name meant, he would tell people it stood for “Internationales Verlags-Haus” (International Publishing House), which is a typical way of abbreviating names of things in German. But in fact it was a practical magical exercise in notarikon.

I = 10, N = 50_’ V = 6_’ H = 5, A = 1 = 72 = 7+2 = 9

These numeric equivalencies are taken from their corresponding values in the Hebrew alphabet. Another mode of reducing these numbers to their basic levels of meaning is: 1–5–6–5–1, which constitutes a sort of palindrome in terms of gematria. This formula contains all seventy-two gods or daemonia of the Kabbalah and promotes materialization of the concealed intention in the mundane world via the number 9, which is equated with the moon.

The fact that the magical operation could be in plain sight yet its meaning remain concealed from the uninitiated observer is a method of increasing the magical potency of the operation. Here, Gregorius worked his Saturnian magic in a practical way to ensure the influence of his business establishment.⁸

LODGE RITUALS

Most of the well-documented magical workings of the FS take place in the context of a lodge ceremony. Outside the lodge setting other private magical workings take place for purposes of training or for other individual operative ends. We will discuss some of these private, sometimes “unofficial” workings under the heading “Secret Sex-Magical Practices of the FS” below, but for the most part, we will focus here on the various sacraments and lodge rites of the FS, and the furnishing of the lodge itself.

The lodge room (or temple) of an FS lodge is set up according to the general structural principles found in the work of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, as shown in Figure 4.1.

A vivid picture of the appearance and atmosphere of a Saturnian lodge is provided by Gregorius himself in his occult novel Exorial.⁹ Typically, the lodge room will be draped in black with silver magical signs on the walls, or draped in dark green with black insignia. Most often the magical sigils are displayed in an “inverse” position, pointing downward in order to activate telluric or chthonic powers. Black and dark green are the emblematic colors of the lodge.

The brothers and sisters will usually be garbed with black satin robes fitted with arcane insignia that relates to the order and to their grades. Other vestments can be worn for specific operations; these garments would be affixed with magical and astrological signs corresponding to the spirits being invoked. In the photo of Gregor A. Gregorius, he is wearing a hoodless black satin robe, to the front of which has been added a dark green panel. Over this is affixed a white Tau-cross. The stole around his shoulders is decorated with the pentagram, sigils of Saturn and Pluto, and a symbol of the cosmic phallus. The talisman around his neck is an emblem of the 33°, consisting of a Rosy Cross superimposed on a pentagram, under which is fixed a circular mandala. On his head he wears a magical headband to which is attached an emblematic isosceles triangle decorated with an inverted Tau-cross: . The scepter he carries is the hierarch’s staff, which symbolizes his power to rule through Saturn—the lord of this world.

Figure 4.1. Arrangement of the Lodge

Among the many magical weapons that might be used in an FS or related rite, perhaps the one invested with the greatest importance is the magical ring. The basic design of this ring appears in Figure 4.2. Each aspect of the ring’s design has a magical significance. It is made of silver, the metal corresponding to the Moon. The Moon is the channel through which Saturnian influence is transmitted to the Earth. The ring’s overall circular shape represents the arch-serpent as the divine principle. The isosceles triangle symbolizes the number of Saturn, while the glyph of Saturn is its main emblem. A stone corresponding to the initiate’s grade is set in the crook of the Saturnian glyph.

This ring is more than an emblem of membership and a means by which members can recognize one another. It is an accumulator of the power of the individual will and is also considered to be a magical channel for the communication of the Saturnian force to the individual member. As such it would ideally be worn at all times, but if not, it was supposed to be worn at least on Saturdays. When it was not being worn, the ring was to be stored in black silk.¹⁰

As a medium by which the Saturnian initiate is connected to the lodge over time and space, there are certain ritual procedures by which these linkages could be effected. Normally, the ring is worn with the point facing back towards the initiate. This allows for the constant flow of power from the Brotherhood to the individual. If, however, the initiate wants to make contact with the lodge, then the ring is turned with the point of the triangle outward. Wearing the ring with the point outward can also serve as a protective means against negative forces in the environment of the initiate. When the initiate receives the ring, it is to be “charged” by placing it in the light of the Full Moon or in the moon-light during Moon-Saturn conjunctions, or when these two planets are in trine or sextile aspects.

Figure 4.2. The Saturnian Ring. Photo courtesy of Antiquariat Hans-Jürgen Lange, www.antiquariatlange.de

Besides these personal rings there are also rings designed for certain degrees or types of workings. The Pentalphic (18°) ring is (or was) especially important. There are masculine and feminine forms for this ring. The masculine form consists of a rectangular ruby flanked below by two small moonstones, making the phallic sign. The feminine form had a rhombic ruby with a small diamond set at its lower tip. Before the reforms of 1969/70, a wearer of the 18° ring could, by revealing the ring to another wearer of a pentalphic ring, demand the performance of a “Chymical Marriage”: an act of sexual magic.

There are also rings designed for specific thaumaturgical use, independent of grade. These are octagonal with an inverse golden pentagram, and set with amethyst. The ring itself is of hollow silver filled with mercury.¹¹

The lodge ritual often also included the performance of certain ceremonial grips or signs, which were a part of the Masonic heritage of the FS. The Grip of Brotherhood is done by touching the pulse-point of the other person with the tip of the index finger. The master sign is done by laying the right hand over the solar plexus with the thumb spread out from the hand. The sign of the 31° is the upraised index finger laid across the lips vertically, the 32° does the same with the index and middle fingers, and the 33° sign consists of laying the right hand across the throat with the thumb spread out.¹²

THE SATURNIAN LITURGY

The two main direct sources for FS rituals are the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (for the initiation ceremonies) and the Pansophical Lodge. However, there was a constant effort to connect the rites to sects of pre-Christian Gnostics.¹³ Other masses and rituals are derived from the O.T.O. (pre- and post-Crowleyan), and from Crowley’s revisions of Golden Dawn formulae reflected in his A∴A∴. In addition, the FS freely innovated from what could be gleaned from Rosicrucian, tantric, goetic, and Gnostic practices and rituals.

Figure 4.3. Gregorius with lodge ceremonial tools

From Gregorius’s novelized account we have a good idea of what initiation into the lodge is like.¹⁴ The first part of the ceremony takes place in an antechamber outside the temple room. The neophyte is hooded and placed in a chair before a mirror. The hood is removed and photographic images are projected onto the mirror. These images portray the Guardian of the Threshold, signs of the order, and depictions of the four tests of Egyptian initiation, through which he is taken by means of guided visualizations.^*13 In the second part of the rite, the candidate is led through a green door into the temple room, where he or she is tested in a question-and-answer exchange with the Master of the Ceremony. The candidate then receives the instructions relevant to the 1° and is given a lodge-name. This new name, written on a piece of parchment, is later burned in the brazier together with a piece of parchment on which the candidate’s profane name has been written. This is magically supposed to bind the two names together. Finally, the initiate is ceremonially addressed with the words: “Brother (or Sister) N. N., we greet Thee!” He/she then receives a seat in the lodge reserved to his/her special lodge number, and he/she is given a green bound book with the sign of the lodge on it. In this book the initiate is expected to record his work.

As the following will demonstrate, the FS has an especially rich liturgy with a wide variety of ritual types and functions. However, there are certain basic structural features that underlie most of their workings. This structure is analyzed by Hemberger in twelve stages:¹⁵

1. Doors are closed and guarded by the Wardens armed with swords.
2. In the antechamber the brothers prepare for the ritual by silently donning their vestments.
3. The initiates silently go to their appointed seats in the lodge room.
4. Lodge candles are lit.
5. A meditation is engaged in.
6. Mantras are demonstrated and sung.
7. An invocation is performed.
8. An evocation is effected through magical formulae and the formation of the Magical Chain of Brotherhood, accomplished by a rhythmic breathing exercise.
9. Direct experience of communion with the daemonium of the lodge or the intelligence(s) that have been called upon.
10. A mystico-magical submergence into a trance state. All lights except the Eternal Light of the lodge are extinguished.
11. The collected will is sent out to form the dynamide, or condensation of power. At this point contact is made with other lodges working the rite simultaneously, or with those brothers who have passed away.
12. In conclusion, a license to depart is pronounced in which all powers and intelligences that have been called upon are sent back. All brothers then leave the temple room.

These twelve steps could be summarized by the following keywords: (1) Sealing, (2) Compression, (3) Procession, (4) Illumination, (5) Meditation, (6) Mantra, (7) Invocation, (8) Magical Chain, (9)  Communion, (10) Submergence, (11) Projection, and (12) Departing. The general purpose of this process is the conditioning of the psyche to project its will—collectively or individually—in a magically effective way.

THE SATURNIAN SACRAMENTS

The FS is a magical initiatory order, but it also has the functions of a sacerdotal religion. It therefore also maintains a complete sacramental liturgy of mystical rites in addition to its magical workings. Here the main distinction between mysticism and magic is that in magical rites the working of the will of the magician(s) is primary, while in mysticism (as in religion) there is a preordained state or process into which the will of the celebrant(s) is merged. Mysticism tends to be an end in and of itself, whereas magic is a technical means to further the will of the magician. Sometimes, however, mystical techniques can be turned toward magical ends. This happens when, for example, the magician submerges the will into an egregoric form in order to enhance the working of his or her own self-determined willed ends. To do this without being consumed by the egregore is, of course, one of the difficulties of magical work.

Initiates of the 16° (Sacerdos Aiones) or higher are of the priestly grades and may carry out sacerdotal functions. The FS has all the sacraments corresponding to those of established churches—and several more besides. At one point Hemberger lists a total of twenty sacraments:¹⁶

1. The Sacrament of Initiation (1°)
2. The Sacrament of Communion (unio mystica)
3. The Sacrament of Ordination (to the priesthood)
4. The Sacrament of Transformation (extreme unction)
5. The Sacrament of Marriage
6. The Sacrament of Strengthening of Faith (confirmation)
7. The Sacrament of Transmutation of the Elements
8. The Sacrament of Invocation
9. The Sacrament of Light (Luciferian Mass)
10. The Sacrament of the Symbol (experience of bonding within the Brotherhood)
11. The Sacrament of Reincarnation (in the spirit)
12. The Sacrament of Birth
13. The Sacrament of Sunrise
14. The Sacrament of Sunset
15. The Sacrament of Washing and Purification
16. The Sacrament of the Chalice
17. The Sacrament of the Holy Grail
18. The Sacrament of Name-Giving (magical-initiatory)
19. The Sacrament of Sanctification and Consecration of Procreation (the creation of a magical child)
20. The Sacrament of Nativity (of newborns)

Not all of these sacraments are dispensed to, or used by, all grades within the FS. However, this is a fairly comprehensive list of the possible sacraments practiced by the order over the years. Within this structure there was at some time considered to be a set of Seven Sacraments of the Servants of Saturn (the Morning Star).¹⁷ These are:

1. Purification (baptism of fire and initiation into the Light [= 1°])
2. Confirmation (strengthening of faith in the Frater-grade)
3. Heptagathon (experience of brotherhood-agape)
4. Holy Sacrifice (communion)
5. Kiss of the Magician (outpouring of Saturnian spirit through the kiss and laying-on of hands)
6. Eternal Bonding (blood-brotherhood with Saturn)
7. Preservation (extreme unction and funeral mass)

Among the sacraments that deserve more extended commentary are the Luciferian Mass and the various forms of the elemental eucharist or communion.

The ninth sacrament is the Sacrament of Light, or the Luciferian Mass.¹⁸ As we have already seen in Chapter 2, the FS holds Lucifer to be the higher octave of Saturn, and considers Lucifer to be the “Good God” who in the guise of the Serpent brought the Divine Light to mankind.

The ritual mass itself follows the liturgical form found in the Catholic Church (which was ultimately taken from pre-Christian, pagan rituals). It has certain antinomian characteristics in common with the “traditional” psychodramatic messe noir. Each element of the mass formula is turned to a Luciferian end. The purpose of the rite is to celebrate and to commune with Lucifer as the Light of Reason. In this ritual the participants are supposed to be able to experience the transcendence of the Luciferian Light directly. This is said to be experienced through the actual emanation of the Light as it is manifested in each individual. As the self of the individual is transformed, he or she is able to experience this inherent and primeval dark light within. The chant heard during the rite is: “Lux e tenebris lucet et luceat!” (“The Light shines out of the darkness and let it shine on!”).

It should be clear that the Lucifer of the FS is not identical to the medieval Christian notion of the Devil, although it must also be realized that the medieval image is seen as a largely misunderstood vision of the truth. The myth contained in the Book of Genesis is considered to be basically true in the cosmic events it recounts. However, the Serpent is seen as the bringer of knowledge (gnōsis) and hence a force for true good, while the Creator-God is seen as a force of ignorance and fear. The FS consciously tries to think of this entity in pre-Christian or Gnostic terms, and tries to follow the concepts outlined by those whom they consider to be “Luciferian Freemasons,” such as Albert Pike or Giosuè Carducci.^*14 19

The Saturnian concept of the eucharist is one that holds that absolute Divinity (which is bipolar in nature) is constantly “sacrificing itself into matter” in order to vivify the material world. This act of sacrifice of self is what brought Divinity itself to a state of self-consciousness. Divinity continuously pours itself out to a state of self-consciousness, in order to maintain the status quo of existence, but also in order to evolve itself. All acts of sacrifice on the part of magicians are understood in this context. All sacrifices are mutual ones in which the initiate sacrifices to Divinity, as Divinity sacrifices to the world of the initiate. Such rites are traditionally thought to aid the absolute Divinity in its two main purposes of static maintenance and dynamic evolution.²⁰

Technically, there are seven forms of elemental eucharists practiced with the FS liturgy.²¹ The eucharist of one element is contained in the so-called Baphomet Ritual; it is also analogous to the eucharist of seven elements. The sacramental eucharist of two elements consists of bread and wine, in which the quantitative is transformed into the qualitative essence—the exoteric into the esoteric. A eucharist of three elements is based on the Indian doctrine of the three gunas:

tamas = darkness — chaos

rajas = activity — cosmos

sattva = rest (being) — nirvana

Three substances are used: a sedative, a stimulant, and a substance that “corresponds to the Moon.”^*15 The eucharist of four elements consists of Fire, Water, Air, and Earth—symbolized by flame, wine, incense (or roses), and bread and/or salt. A eucharist of five elements is provided by the tantric “Five-M” ritual, fully outlined below on pages 104–7. The eucharist of six elements is a pseudo-Christian one consisting of the trinity and breath, water, and blood. Finally, the eucharist of seven elements is a rite of sexual magic (sometimes understood symbolically) that is connected to the Sacrament of the Grail. This ritual consists of the following steps:

1. The Holy Lance and Holy Grail are brought into the temple and placed upon the altar.
2. These objects are consecrated.
3. The egregore of the lodge is invoked—in this case the animus and anima mundi (“spirit and soul of the world”).
4. Magical sigils are traced over the Grail, which draws transcendental power into it.
5. Bread and wine are ritually transmuted and sacrificed.
6. Priest and priestess take communion.
7. Priest “mixes the bread and wine” to effect an epopteia. (This can be done either symbolically or according to tantric practice involving the completion of an act of ritual coitus with the priestess.)
8. The circle is closed when the “seven” have become the “one.”

LODGE RITES

As can be seen, the full liturgy of the FS is a vast one. But many of its rites are based on the structural principles already outlined. In appendices A–D are presented the complete rubrics of four major rituals to be performed in a full lodge setting.

In some ways the FS rituals are reminiscent of those printed by Francis King in The Secret Rituals of the O.T.O., but there are more significant differences than similarities.

The rituals included in the present book are, for the most part, direct translations of actual FS documents. Because these texts were created for initiates already familiar with standard magical (and FS) procedure, two important procedural clarifications are certainly in order. First, the complex sigils that occasionally appear in the texts are to be traced in the air in front of the speaker, using a magical weapon or the hand in the indicated gesture. These gestures are to be executed with the utmost care and concentration, visualizing the shapes indicated as if traced in light in front of the magician. Another point is the frequent use of foreign and magical languages in the texts of the rites. Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, and “barbarous” mixtures and modifications of these are apparent. Where the language is straightforward and natural (even if archaic or corrupt), translations are provided. But where the effect is apparently intended to be emotive and “barbarous,” no translation is possible.

A NOTE ON “ELECTRICAL MAGIC”

Certainly one of the most unique aspects of FS magical technology is (or was) its involvement with electrical instruments to enhance or to effect magical ends.²² This was part of a general field of interest among initiates of the FS, a field that included the study of, and experimentation with, the magical effects of high-frequency sound, electromagnetic fields, so-called Tesla energy, ozonization of the atmosphere, ultraviolet light, and so on. In the FS these theories were usually spoken of in connection with teachings concerning “aethric waves,” or the chakra system. This brought the discussion into a more “traditional” magical framework. Very little is explicitly outlined about these instruments.

Any mention of paranormal applications of technology cannot be made without reference to two men who probably would have been uncomfortable with the label “magician.” Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) invented many devices that are now used experimentally in a magical context. Principal among these is the so-called Tesla Coil—the magical applications of which are just now being unlocked. The psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich (1897–1957) claimed to discover a form of quasi-physical vital energy he called “orgone” in 1939 and shortly afterward invented a device called the Orgone Energy Accumulator (actually a cabinet in which the operator sits). By means of layers of various organic and inorganic substances, the device is supposed to accumulate orgone energy, which is then absorbed by the person sitting in the box.

An early techno-magical device of some historical renown is the prognomètre. This machine was built by the Polish mathematician, philosopher, and magician Joseph Maria Hoëné-Wronski, whom we will remember from chapter 1 as an early precursor of the Saturnian current. Hoëné-Wronski believed that this contraption could “determine the equations of all past, present, and future events, such that it would determine that value of every unknown” according to exact mathematical formulae based on his theory of the Absolute. Éliphas Lévi’s description of this machine states:

The divining machine was built at great expense. It consists of two metal globes, one inside the other; turning on a cruciform axis within a large motionless circle, the globes are full of little compartments which open and close, and which contain the principles of all sciences.

The synthesis of these sciences, classed according to their analogies, is engraved in the double globe which gravitates around two axes. . . . On the inner globe which is half-light and half dark, one sees written in Wronski’s own hand equations for the comparative sciences, and on the large motionless circle the fundamental principles of these sciences are written in the same hand.²³

After Hoëné-Wronski’s death, Lévi supposedly found the prognomètre in a junk shop and bought it—although he had no idea of how it was supposed to work. It is unknown what became of the device after that.

The most notorious of magical instruments is the previously mentioned Tepaphone (German: Tepaphon). This is described at some length in Franz Bardon’s magical autobiography, Frabato, in which he recounts how it was used by the dreaded FOGC Lodge to kill its enemies or for “human sacrifices” at a distance.²⁴ Although there are various theories as to how the Tepaphone was actually supposed to work, clearly it was believed that the instrument could be used to load a person with vital odic force, or to draw this force from the victim, which would cause sickness and death.

Grand Master Daniel is said to have experimented with a Tepaphone made out of multiple optic lenses and a copper spiral consisting of twenty-four coils in the center of which was a copper plate. An image of a person could be placed beneath the lenses and in the stream of electrical current running through the instrument. This would eventually affect the person in some positive or negative way. The spirals were tools for engaging the concentrated mental force of the operator(s) in order to guide the effects of the instrument.

This avenue of occult investigation is one of the darkest corners in the recent history of magic. With the advent of ionizers, and other machines designed to produce hypnotic or so-called out-of-body states, there has been some rudimentary progress in this field. Both the Church of Satan and the Temple of Set have shown interest in magical work that integrates these sorts of esoteric technologies.²⁵

SECRET SEX-MAGICAL PRACTICES OF THE FRATERNITAS SATURNI

Due to the publication of a translation of one of the internal FS documents having to do with sexual magic in Francis King’s Sexuality, Magic, and Perversion, the FS has been best known as an order with elaborate and sometimes unusual forms of erotic magic and mysticism.²⁶ While this is largely true, it must be remembered that the sex-magical aspects are mainly concentrated in the work of one degree, the Pentalphic (18°), and are not the raison d’être of the order as a whole (as seems to be the case with the O.T.O.).

The Pentalphic Rite—to which Francis King is only able to allude in an obscure way—is fully reproduced in Appendix D. Besides this lodge ritual, there are a wide variety of sex-magical operations that could be carried out between and among members of the FS. Many of these rituals remained largely experimental. However, perhaps the most traditional rite of erotic magic taught in the FS curriculum is the so-called Five-M Rite, based on the procedures of Hindu tantra. This rite is also called the “Sacrament of the Pentagram” and is the same as the eucharist of five elements. Its purpose is to create a living mental (or “astral”) image (or psychogone) by means of concentrating and directing sexual energies. A psychogone is a talismanic creature shaped and given life by the magical work of the magician(s). It has a magically imparted “soul,” or psyche, but acts according to the willed directives of the creators as if it were an energy form.

A Saturnian aspect of this kind of work that is not shared by all similar expressions of the theory of sexual magic is that the female partner in the act should be aware of, and cooperative with, the aims of the magical work. She is not a pure medium, a mere dombi, as is common in many other tantra-derived theories of sexual magic.²⁷

The Five-M Rite

This rite²⁸ is performed by male and female magicians who are bound to one another by a high level of erotic desire. The pair spend some time in sexual abstinence and in meditation before beginning the rite.

1. Preparation. The temple room is hung with black satin decorated with inverse silver pentagrams. The lodge apron worn during the ritual work is black with a gold or red pentagram (reversed). If each of the participants holds the 18°, they wear the respective rings of the degree (described here).
2. Entry. The pair enter the temple room and step within a circle, in the middle of which is a low stool. The male magician (magus) sits on the stool, while the female (medium) crouches between his outspread legs.
3. Charging. A parchment, upon which are inscribed the sigils of the psychogone that is to be evoked, is laid on the floor between the “magus” and “medium.” This parchment is odically loaded by means of magnetic passes and rhythmic breathing techniques. This remains on the floor between the legs of the male.
4. Working. The female partner stands and lowers herself onto the erect penis of the male. They complete the act of ritual coitus with the male ejaculating into the vagina of the medium. Instructions vary as to whether the female is to achieve orgasm before or after the male. After the completion of the sexual act, she stands and allows the sperm and the collected (now magically charged) sexual fluids to drip down onto the parchment. This parchment then becomes the focus for the development of a psychogonic entity—the purpose of and will of which is directed by the magicians.

These four steps actually constitute only the latter part of the complete Five-M Rite. Before partaking of this fifth “M”—Sanskrit maithuna (eros)—the magicians will have already partaken of the other four “M’s”: mansa (meat), matsya (fish), mudra (grain), and madya (wine or mead), in a ritual meal.

The aim of this operation is similar to that of several others practiced by the FS: to create living entities that will do the bidding of a magician. This is something quite different from calling upon spirits, angels, or daemons to work for the magician, in that the psychogone is considered to have been created out of the magician’s own energies (or out of the combined male and female essences).

Another similar practice designed to create an astral entity or psychogone is called “Astral Procreation.” The ritual procedure may be summarized as follows on page below:

Figure 4.4. Astral Procreation

1. A male magician and a female medium enter a magical circle, closed by a pentagram and armed in the four cardinal points with four other inverse pentagrams. She lies face up on a bed or sofa. She is nude with her head toward the south.
2. The magician draws another inner magical circle around the medium and puts her into a deep magnetic trance. (The original FS documents suggest that drugs—an incense made of hashish, for example—might be helpful!) It is also noted that the room temperature should be very high.
3. The magician sits (in the lotus asana) to the right of the medium. He draws a small magical circle in front of himself and sprinkles seven drops of wine or other alcoholic spirit into the middle of the circle. By means of visualization, breathing, and mantric techniques (using the u-vowel), the magician should evoke the image of the psychogone in the small circle. In the circle before him he then places a piece of parchment upon which are inscribed the sigils of the entity to be created.
4. With the left hand the magician strokes the medium’s solar plexus (surya chakra), her heart region (anahata chakra), her sexual area (svadisthana chakra), and finally and most importantly her spleen region (chandara chakra).^*16 As he does this, he draws out odic force from each of these centers and directs it through his body from his left hand to his right hand, which he is holding over the parchment in the small magical circle in front of him. This force is projected in a continuous stream into the parchment. This whole cycle is carried out from seven to nine times. This can be accompanied by singing of mantras corresponding to the entity to be created.
5. The medium is then awakened from her magnetic trance, and rises from her lying position. The magician sits on the edge of the bed or sofa with the circle and parchment between his legs. He pulls the medium toward him and onto his erect penis. They complete ritual coitus (as described above). The charged sexual fluids that flow from the vagina after the act are mixed with an alcoholic spirit and used to soak the parchment. Also, three drops of the magician’s blood, drawn from his Saturn (middle) finger, are added to the parchment.
6. The parchment is then dried over a brazier and the ceremony is closed.

A pendulum is used to determine the presence and relative strength of the psychogone inhabiting the parchment. On Mondays and Fridays, both “parents” of the entity may direct more odic force to the entity—feeding it and making it stronger. This increasing strength can be monitored with the pendulum.

The time during the full or waxing Moon is favorable for producing friendly and beneficial psychogones, while during the time of the new or waning Moon dangerous and malevolent entities can be engendered. Also, with regard to the character of these entities, it is noted that although it is largely a matter of the magician’s will and design, the basic character is also affected by the personality of its “parents.”²⁹

EXPERIMENTAL AND MAGICAL USE OF THE PENDULUM

At the conclusion of the preceding section, the use of a pendulum was mentioned. This is a particular aspect of the work within the Fraternitas Saturni. Historically, this interest stems from the well-developed practice of pendulum magic and experimentation found in the world of German occultism and occult sciences. This seems to have entered the general imagination as early as the 1860s through the works of Karl von Reichenbach and his writings about the “odic force.”³⁰ Two seminal practical handbooks by FS initiates on the subject of the pendulum are available. One is Pendel Magie (Pendulum Magic) by Gregorius and the other has even been translated into English: Karl Spiesberger’s Reveal the Power of the Pendulum.^*17 Although Spiesberger’s book is more experimental in tone, both books consider pendulum-work to be a serious part of an individual’s spiritual development.

Figure 4.5. The FS-Design Spiral Pendulum

Within the confines of the FS the spiral design of the pendulum was developed and this version of the instrument was sold through various outlets. Eventually the design became more widespread, so much so that pendulums of this design can now be readily purchased through the Internet.

ASTROLOGY AND SEX MAGIC

The subject of the internal document translated in Francis King’s Sexuality, Magic, and Perversion is the use of astrological data in the design of sex-magical practices.³¹ Since this has been translated in its entirety in that work, it serves no purpose to reproduce it here. However, we will summarize its basic ideas. The major premise of this work is that astrological aspects (i.e., the angles by which planets are related to each other at a given time) are magically useful. It is stated that squares (90°) between the planets Venus, Mars, Neptune, and the Moon provide daemonic gateways to the psyche. Conjunctions can also be considered the equivalent of squares. These aspects and others discussed may be in effect at the time of a given working, or be in transit aspect to the planets in the natal chart of one or the other partner in a sex-magical operation.

Astrological data of this kind is then used to determine which sexual partner is to be in a dominant position for the act of ritual coitus. If, for example, Venus is exalted in its zodiacal sign at the time of the operation, the woman takes the dominant position; if Mars is similarly exalted, the man is dominant. If Mars is square Venus, the ritual coitus takes place in a sitting position; if the Moon is square Mars, either partner can be dominant. The Moon square the Moon (in transit) indicates the favorableness of a lesbian operation, while Mars square Mars denotes a male homosexual work. If Neptune is found in a square aspect with any of these planets, the use of drugs in the rite is favorably indicated. When planets are found in opposition , i.e., at or near a 180° relationship, it is suggested that no sex-magical operations be undertaken. However, under these conditions the partners can engage in activities designed to heighten erotic tensions (while avoiding orgasm) in order to build to a more powerful ultimate act when conditions are more favorable. It is also noted that the trine aspect (at or near 120°) is useful when trying to conceive a child under magical conditions.

This final point brings us to the conclusion of this discussion. As it is considered possible to create a psychogone, the physical focus of which is a piece of parchment, through an act of magical will, so too is it considered possible to focus a magical creation on a human zygote. This would result in the creation of a physical “magical child,” or “moonchild.”³²

Figure 4.6. Arrangement for the Sex-Magical Act of Astral Procreation