The Abramelin Operation

experimentNo. 0040categoryRituals & ceremoniesrecordingpendingrunsin browserdataCC BY 4.0

The fly, as aspirant, undertakes a condensed six-month Abramelin operation in a domestic oratory, from preparation and increasing prayer to the guardian and exterior convocations.

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Setup

• Thirteen stages compress the operation into 250 seconds, following S. L. MacGregor Mathers's 1898 edition.
• An oratory following Book II, chapter XI: pine floor, cupboard altar, suspended olive-oil lamp, metal censer, window, open terrace and a northern lodge with river sand.
• The aspirant changes from mourning to white, then scarlet and gold. An assistant fly represents the child-seer role; twelve further flies represent the four princes and eight subprinces.
• One complete source square (Book III, chapter XI, symbol 1) is displayed. Five cameras: oratory, altar, northern terrace, symbol sheet and aspirant.

Measurement

• Retinal-only neural windows during playback, with fixed weights.
• Appearances, actions and the presentation of supernatural figures are pre-programmed.

Limitations

• Models the six-month Mathers version only; earlier German witnesses describe eighteen months.
• The final retinue scene is condensed and does not enumerate every spirit in the book. Room dimensions and open cutaway walls are modeling choices.

Sources

• The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage: text and manuscript comparison