The Nuctemeron of Apollonius of Tyana
The Nuctemeron of Apollonius of Tyana
The Nuctemeron of Apollonius of Tyana
THE NUCTEMEKON
The First Hour.
In unity, the demons chant the praises of God ; they lose their malice
and fury.
The Second Hour.
By the duad, the Zodiacal fish chant the praises of God ; the fiery
serpents interlace about the caduceus, and the lightning becomes
harmonious.
The Third Hour.
The serpents of the Hermetic caduceus entwine three times; Cerberus
opens his triple jaw, and fire chants the praises of God with the three
tongues of the lightning.
387
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388 SUPPLEMENT TO THE EITUAL OF TRANSCENDENT MAGIC
EXPLANATION
THESE twelve symbolical hours, analogous to the signs of
the magical Zodiac and to the allegorical labours of
Hercules, represent the schedule of the works of initiation.
It is necessary therefore (1) To overcome evil passions, and,
according to the expression of the wise Hierophant, compel
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THE NUCTEMERON 389
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390 SUPPLEMENT TO THE RITUAL OF TRANSCENDENT MAGIC
Explanation.
We must learn how to will and thus transform the genius
of desire into power; the hindrance to will is the genius of
discord, who is bound by the science of harmony. Harmony
is the genius of the stars and of the seas ; we must study the
virtue of plants, and understand the laws of the balance of
measure in order to attain success.
Explanation.
When you have conquered the genius of fear by the
growing force of your will, you will know that dogmas are
the sacred adornments of truth unknown to the vulgar;
but you will cast down all idols in your intelligence; you will
bind the genius of death ; you will fathom all precipices and
subject the infinite itself to the ratio of your calculations ;
and thus you will ever escape the ambushes of the genius
of deception.
Genii of the Fourth Hour.
PHALGUS, genius of judgment. THAGRINUS, genius of
confusion. EISTIBUS, genius of divination, PHARZUPH,
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THE NUCTEMERON 391
Explanation.
Triumphing over human infirmities, the magus is no
longer the sport of fascination ; he tramples on the vain
and dangerous practices of goetic magic, the whole power of
which is but dust driven before the wind ; but he possesses
the stibium of the sages; he is armed with all the creative
powers of the quintessence; and he produces at will the
harmony which results from the analogy and the marriage
of contraries.
- Genii of the Sixth Hour.
TABRIS, genius of free will. SUSABO, genius of voyages.
EIRNILUS, genius of fruits. NITTKA, genius of precious
stones. HAATAN, genius who conceals treasures. HATIPHAS,
genius of attire. ZAREN, avenging genius.
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392 SUPPLEMENT TO THE PJTUAL OF TRANSCENDENT MAGIC
Explanation.
The magus is free; he is the occult king of the earth,
and he traverses it as one passing through his own domain.
In his voyages he becomes acquainted with the juices of
plants and fruits, and with the virtues of precious stones ;
he compels the genius who conceals the treasures of nature to
deliver him all his secrets ; he thus penetrates the mysteries
of form ; understands the vestures of earth and speech ; and
if he be misconstrued, if the nations are inhospitable towards
him, if he pass doing good but receiving outrages, then is
he ever followed by the avenging genius.
Explanation.
The septenary expresses the victory of the magus ; who
gives prosperity to men and nations ; who sustains them by
his sublime instructions; who broods like the eagle; who
directs the currents of the astral fire, represented by serpents ;
the gates of all sanctuaries are open to him, and in him all
souls who yearn for truth repose their trust; he is beautiful
in his moral grandeur ; and everywhere does he take with
him that genius by the power of which we obtain love.
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THE NUCTEMERON 393
Explanation.
These are the genii who obey the true magus ; the doves
represent religious ideas; the schamir is an allegorical
diamond, which in magical traditions represents the stone of
the sages, or that force which nothing can resist, because it
is based on truth. The Arabs still say that the schamir,
originally given to Adam and lost by him after his fall, was
recovered by Enoch and possessed by Zoroaster; and that
Solomon subsequently received it from an angel when he
entreated wisdom from God. By means of this magical
diamond, Solomon himself dressed the stones of the temple
merely by touching them with the schamir.
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394 SUPPLEMENT TO THE RITUAL OF TRANSCENDENT MAGIC
Explanation.
Numbers end with nine, and the distinctive sign of the
denary is zero, itself without value, added to unity. The
genii of the tenth hour represent all which, being nothing in
itself, receives great power from opinion, and can suffer con-
sequently the omnipotence of the sage. We tread here on
hot earth, and we must be permitted to omit elucidations to
the profane as to the devil, who is their master, or the
destroyer of children, who is their love, or the cupidity, which
is their god, or the dogs, to which we do not compare them,
or to the onyv, which they possess not, or to the stryges, who
are their courtesans, or to the false appearances which they
take for truth.
Explanation.
The lightning obeys man; it becomes the vehicle of his
will, the instrument of his power, the light of his torches;
the oaks of the sacred forests utter oracles: metals change
and transmute into gold, or become talismans; rocks move
from their foundation, and, drawn by the lyre of the grand
hierophant, touched by the mysterious schamir, transform
into temples and palaces; dogmas evolve; symbols repre-
sented by pantacles become efficacious ; minds are enchained
by powerful sympathies, and obey the laws of family and
friendship.
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THE NUCTEMERON ACCORDING TO THE HEBREWS 395
Explanation.
Here now is the fate which the magi must expect, and
how their sacrifice must be consummated; for after the
conquest of life, they must know how to immolate them-
selves in order to be reborn immortal. They will suffer
extortion; gold, pleasure, vengeance will be required of
them, and if they fail to satisfy vulgar cupidities they will
be the objects of persecution and inquisition ; yet the sacred
vessels are not profaned; they are made for royal tables,
that is, for the feasts of the understanding. By the discern-
ment of spirits they will know how to protect themselves
from the favour of the great, and they will remain in-
vincible in their strength and in their liberty.
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