The magical weapons are the implements of ceremonial practice: the wand, cup, sword and pentacle of the four elements, together with the lamp. The Solomonic grimoires describe many further implements (the ring, the oil, the bell and others), and give detailed instructions for their making, timing and consecration; the elemental four-fold set as used today was systematised by the Golden Dawn. Each is a physical object and, in the tradition's terms, a statement of intent.
Facts
Overview
- Entries in the Atlas
- 10
- Size of the Traditional Set
- Four elemental weapons: wand, cup, sword and pentacle Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn 1
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The Implements of Ceremonial Practice
The magical weapons are the implements of ceremonial magic: the wand, the cup, the sword and the pentacle (or disk) of the four elements, together with the lamp. Each is both a tool and a symbol (the wand for will and fire, the cup for the emotions and water, the sword for the intellect and air, the pentacle for the body and earth), and the four elemental weapons echo the four suits of the tarot.
The Solomonic grimoires describe many more implements still (the ring, the oil, the bell and others), and give detailed instructions for making, timing and consecrating them, and the modern magical orders elaborated their symbolism into a full system of the practitioner's equipment.
Tool and symbol
In ceremonial practice the weapons are not merely props but focuses of the operator's intent and expressions of the elemental forces they represent, and their construction and consecration are themselves ritual acts. The four elemental weapons in particular map onto the elements, the tarot suits and the directions of the magic circle.
The atlas gives each weapon its element, its use, and its symbolism. The four elements the weapons correspond to are treated in the element category, and the wider practice belongs to the ceremonial-magic section.
Enter a year to compare these entries as the atlas records them at that moment. Leave it empty for the present. A year before the common era is entered with a minus sign, so 44 BCE is minus 44.