Of Abramelin the Mage THE SEVENTH CHAPTER. regarding what it is necessary to accomplish during the first two moons of the beginning of this veritable and sacred magic.
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E who commenceth this Operation should consider with care that which we have before said, and should pay attention unto that which followeth; and the thing being of importance, I shall leave alone for the present all other considerations, so that we may begin with the Operation which we should perform on the first morning after the celebration of the Feast of Easter (or Passover). Firstly: Having carefully washed one’s whole body and having put on fresh clothing: precisely a quarter of an hour before Sunrise ye shall enter into your Oratory, open the window, and place yourselves upon your knees before the Altar, turning your faces towards the window; and devoutly and with boldness ye shall invoke the Name of the Lord, thanking Him for all the grace which He hath given and granted unto you from your infancy until now; then with humility shall ye humble yourselves unto Him, and confess unto Hirn entirely all your sins; supplicating Him to be willing to pardon you and remit them. Ye shall also supplicate Him that in the time to come He may be willing and pleased to regard you with pity and grant you His grace and goodness to send unto you His Holy Angel, who shall serve unto you as a Guide, and lead you ever in His Holy Way and Will; so that ye fall not into sin through inadvertence, through ignorance, or through human frailty. In this manner shall ye commence your Oration, and continue thus every morning during the first two Moons or Months. Meseemeth here that now some may say: “Wherefore dost thou not write down the words or form of prayer the which I should employ, seeing that, as for me, I am neither sufficiently learned, nor devout, nor wise?� Know ye that although in the beginning your prayer be but feeble, it will suffice, provided that ye understand how to demand the Grace of the Lord with love and a true heart, whence it must be that such a prayer cometh forth. Also it serveth nothing to speak without devotion, without attention, and without intelligence; nor yet to pronounce it with the mouth alone, without a true intent; nor yet to read it as do the ignorant and the impious. But it is absolutely necessary that your prayer should issue from the midst of your heart, because simply setting down prayers in writing, the hearing of them will in no way explain unto you how really to pray.27 This is the reason that I have not wished to give unto you any special form of prayers and orations, so that ye yourselves may learn from and of yourselves how to pray, and how to invoke the Holy Name of God, our Lord; and for that reason I have not been willing 53