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     ________________________________________________________________________

         Taken from the 1960 reprint of AN ENCLYCLOPAEDIA OF OCCULTISM
         by Lewis Spence, University Books, Hyde Park, New York. First
         published in 1920, it is considered to be one of the best
         sources on the subject.

         Submitted by Alan Wright, Atlanta GA, Illumi-Net 404-377-1141
     ________________________________________________________________________

     NECROMANCY: Or divination by means of the spirits of the dead, from the
     Greek work `nekos', dead; and `manteria', divination.  It is through its
     Italian form nigromancia that it came to be known as the "Black Art".
     With the Greeks it originally signified the descent into Hades in order
     to consult the dead rather than summoning the dead into the mortal
     sphere again.  The art is of almost universal usage.  Considerable
     difference of opinion exists among modern adepts as to the exact methods
     to be properly pursued in the necromantic art, and it must be borne in
     mind the necromancy, which in the Middle Ages was called sorcery, shades
     into modern spiritualistic practice.  There is no doubt, however, that
     necromancy is the touchstone of occultism, for if, after careful
     preparation the adept can carry through to a successful issue, the
     raising of the soul from the other world, he has proved the value of his
     art.  It would be fruitless in this place to enter into a psychological
     discussion as to whether the feat is possible of accomplishment or not,
     and we will confine ourselves tit he material which has been placed at
     our disposal by the sages of the past, who have left full details as to
     how the process should be approached.
       In the case of a compact between the conjuror and the devil, no
     ceremony is necessary, as the familiar is ever at hand to do the behests
     of his masters.  This, however, is never the case with the true
     sorcerer, who preserves his independence, and trusts to his profound
     knowledge of the art and his powers of command; his object therefore is
     to 'constrain' some spirit to appear before him, and to guard himself
     from the danger of provoking such beings.  The magician, it must be
     understood, always has an assistant, and every article named is prepared
     according to rules well known in the black art.  In the first place,
     they are to fix upon a spot proper for such purpose; which must be
     either in a subterraneous vault, hung around with black, and lighted by
     a magical torch; or else in the center of some thick wood or desert, or
     upon some extensive, unfrequented plain, where several roads meet, or
     amidst the ruins of ancient castles, abbeys, monasteries, etc., or
     amongst the rocks on the sea shore, in some private detached churchyard,
     or any other solemn, melancholy place between the hours of twelve and
     one in the night, either when the moon shines very bright, or else when
     the elements are disturbed with storms, thunder, lightning, wind, and
     rain; for, in these places, times, and seasons, it is contended that
     spirits can with less difficulty manifest themselves to mortal eyes, and
     continue visible with the least pain, in this elemental external world.
       When the proper time and place is fixed on, a magic circle is to be
     formed, within which, the master and his associate are carefully to
     retire.  The dimensions of the circle are as follow: - A piece of ground
     is usually chosen, nine feet square, at the full extent of which
     parallel lines are drawn within the other, having sundry crosses and
     triangles described between them, close to which is formed the first or
     outer circle, then, about half-a-foot within the same, a second circle
     is described, and within that another square correspondent to the first,
     the center of which is the seat of spot where the master and associate

                                                                             843

     are to be placed.  "The vacancies formed by the various lines and angles
     of the figure are filled up with the holy names of God, having crosses
     and triangles described between them.  The reason assigned by magicians
     and others for this institution and use of circles, is, that so much
     ground being blessed and consecrated by such holy words and ceremonies
     as they make use of forming it, hath a secret force to expel all evil
     spirits from the bounds thereof, and, being sprinkled with pure,
     sanctified water, the ground is purified from all uncleanliness;
     besides, the holy names of God being written over every part of it, its
     force becomes so powerful that no evil spirit hath ability to break
     through it, or to get at the magician and his companion, by reason of
     the antipathy in nature they bear to these sacred names.  And the reason
     given for the triangles is, that if the spirit be not easily brought to
     speak the truth, they may by the exorcist be conjured to enter the same,
     where, by virtue of the names of the essence and divinity of God, they
     can speak nothing but what is true and right.  The circle, therefore,
     according to this account of it, is the principal fort and shield of the
     magician, from which he is not, at the peril of his life, to depart,
     till he has completely dismissed the spirit, particularly if he be of a
     fiery or infernal nature.  Instances are recorded of many who perished
     by the means, particularly Chiancungi, the famous Egyptian
     fortune-teller, who was so famous in England in the seventeenth century.
     He undertook a wager, to raise up the spirit "Bokim", and having
     described the circle, he seated his sister Napula by him as his
     associate.  After frequently repeating the forms of exorcism, and
     calling upon the spirit to appear, and nothing as yet answering his
     demand, they grew impatient of the business, and quitted the circle, but
     it cost them their lives; for they were instantaneously seized and
     crushed to death by that infernal spirit, who happened not to be
     sufficiently constrained till that moment, to manifest himself to human
     eyes."
       There was a prescribed form of consecrating the magic circle, which we
     omit as unnecessary in a general illustration.  The proper attire or
     "pontificalibus" of a magician is an ephod made of fine white linen,
     over that a priestly robe of black bombazine, reaching to the ground,
     with the two seals of the earth drawn correctly upon virgin parchment,
     and affixed to the breast of the outer vestment.  Round his waist is
     tied a broad consecrated girdle, with the names Ya, Ya, - Aie, Aaie, -
     Elibra, - Sadai, - Pah Adonai, - tuo robore, - Cintus sum.  Upon his
     shoes must be written Tetragammaton, with crosses round about; upon his
     head a high-crowned cap of sable silk, and in his hand a Holy Bible,
     printed or written in pure Hebrew.  Thus attired, and standing within
     the charmed circle, the magician repeats the awful form of exorcism; and
     presently, the infernal spirits make strange and frightening noises,
     howlings, tremblings, flashes, and most dreadful shrieks and yells, as a
     forerunner of their becoming visible.  Their first appearance in the
     form of fierce and terrible lions or tigers, vomiting forth fire, and
     roaring hideously about the circle; all which time the exorcist must not
     suffer any tremor of dismay; for, in that case, they will gain the
     ascendancy, and the consequences may touch his life.  On the contrary,
     he must summon up a share of resolution, and continue repeating the
     forms of constriction and confinement, until they are drawn nearer
     to the influence of the triangle, when their forms will change to
     appearances less ferocious and frightful, and become more submissive and
     tractable.  When the forms of conjuration have in this manner been
     sufficiently repeated, the spirits forsake their bestial shapes, and
     enter the human form, appearing like naked men of gentle countenance and
     behavior, yet is the magician to be warily on his guard that they

                                                                             844

     deceive him not by much wild gestures, for they are exceedingly
     fraudulent and deceitful in their dealings with those who constrain them
     to appear without compact, having nothing in view but to suborn his
     mind, or accomplish his destruction.  With great care also must the
     spirit be discharged after the ceremony is finished, as he has answered
     all the demands made upon him.  The magician must wait patiently till he
     has passed through all the terrible forms which announce his coming, and
     only when the last shriek has died away, after every trace of fire and
     brimstone has disappeared, may he leave the circle and depart home in
     safety.  IF the ghost of deceased person is to be raised, the grave must
     be resorted to at midnight, and a different form of conjuration is
     necessary.  Still another, is the infernal sacrament for "any corpse
     that hath hanged, drowned, or otherwise made away with itself"; and in
     this case the conjurations are performed over the body, which will at
     last rise, and standing upright, answer with a faint and hollow voice
     the questions that are put to it.
       Eliphas Levi, in his `Ritual of Transcendent Magic' says that
     "evocations should always have a motive and a becoming end, otherwise
     the are works of darkness and folly, dangerous for health and reason."
     The permissible motive of an evocation may be either love or
     intelligence.  Evocations of love require less apparatus and are in
     every respect easier.  The procedure  is as follows: "We must, in the
     first place, carefully collect the memorials of him (or her) whom we
     desire to behold, the articles he used, and on which his impressions
     remains; we must also prepare an apartment in which the person lived, or
     otherwise, one of similar kind, and place his portrait veiled in white
     therein, surrounded with his favorite flowers, which must be renewed
     daily.  A fixed date must then be observed, either the birthday of the
     person, or that day which was most fortunate for his and our own
     affection, one of which we may believe that his soul, however blessed
     elsewhere, cannot lose the remembrance; this must be the day for the
     evocation and we must provide for it during the space of fourteen days.
     Throughout this period we must refrain from extending to anyone the same
     proofs of affection which we have the right to expect from the dead; we
     must observe strict chastity, live in retreat, and take only modest and
     light collation daily.  Every evening at the same hour we must shut
     ourselves in the chamber consecrated to the memory of the lamented
     person, using only one small light, such as that of a funeral lamp or
     taper.  This light should be placed behind us, the portrait should be
     uncovered and we should remain before it for an hour, in silence;
     finally, we should fumigate the apartment with a little good incense,
     and go out backwards.  On the morning of the day fixed for the
     evocation, we should adorn ourselves as if for a festival, not salute
     anyone first, make but a single repast of bread, wine, and roots, or
     fruits; the cloth should be white, two covers should be laid, and one
     portion of the bread broken should be set aside; a little wine should
     also be placed in the glass of the person we design to invoke.  The meal
     must be eaten alone in the chamber of evocations, and in the presence of
     the veiled portrait; it must be all cleared away at the end, except the
     glass belonging to the dead person, and his portion of bread, which must
     be placed before the portrait.  In the evening, at the hour for the
     regular visit, we must repair in silence to the chamber, light a fire of
     cypress wood, and cast incense seven times thereon, pronouncing the name
     of the person whom we desire to behold.  The lamp must then be
     extinguished, and the fire permitted to die out.  On this day the
     portrait must not be unveiled.  When the flame is extinct, put more
     incense on the ashes, and invoke God according to the forms of the
     religion to which the dead person belonged, and according to the ideas

                                                                             845

     which he himself possessed of God.  While making this prayer we must
     identify ourselves with the evoked person, speak as he spoke, believe in
     a sense as he believed; then, after a silence of fifteen minutes, we
     must speak to him as if he were present, with affection and with faith,
     praying him to manifest to us.  Renew this prayer mentally, covering the
     face with both hands; then call him thrice with a loud voice; tarry on
     our knees, the eyes closed and covered, for some minutes; then call
     again thrice upon him in a sweet and affectionate tone, and slowly open
     the eyes.  Should nothing result, the same experiment must be renewed in
     the following year, and if necessary a third time, when it is certain
     that the desired apparition will be obtained, and the longer it has been
     delayed the more realistic and striking it will be.
       "Evocations of knowledge and intelligence are made with more solemn
     ceremonies.  If concerned with a celebrated personage, we must meditate
     for twenty-one days upon his life and writings, form an idea of his
     appearance, converse with him mentally, and imagine his answers; carry
     his portrait, or at least his name, about us; follow a vegetable diet
     for twenty-one days, and a severe fast during the last seven.  We must
     next construct the magical oratory.  This oratory must be invariably
     darkened; but if we operate in the daytime, we may leave a narrow
     aperture on the side where the sun will shine at the hour of the
     evocation, and place a triangular prism before the opening, and a
     crystal globe, filled with water, before the prism.  If the operation
     be arranged for the night the magic lamp must be so placed that its
     single ray shall be upon the alter smoke.  The purpose of the
     preparations is to furnish the magic agent with elements of corporeal
     appearance, and to ease as much as possible the tension of imagination,
     which could not be exalted without danger into the absolute illusion of
     dream.  for the rest, it will be easily understood that a beam of
     sunlight, or the ray of a lamp, colored variously, and falling upon
     curling and irregular smoke, can in no way create a perfect image.  The
     chafing-dish containing the sacred fire should be in the center of the
     oratory, and the alter of perfumes close by.  The operator must turn
     toward the east to pray, and the west to invoke; he must be either alone
     or assisted by two persons preserving the strictest silence; he must
     wear the magical vestments, which we have described in the seventh
     chapter (of Levi`s "Ritual of Transcendent Magic"), and must be crowned
     with vervain and gold.  He should bathe before the operation, and all
     his under garments must be of the most intact and scrupulous
     cleanliness.  The ceremony should begin with a prayer suited to the
     genius of the spirit about to be invoked and one which would be approved
     by him if he still lived.  For example, it would be impossible to evoke
     Voltaire by reciting prayers in the style of St. Bridget.  For the great
     men of antiquity, we may see the hymns of Cleathes or Orpheus, with the
     adjuration terminating the Golden Venus of Pythagoras.  In our own
     evocation of Apollonius, we used the magical philosophy of Patricius for
     the ritual, containing the doctrines of Zoroaster and the writings of
     Hermes Trismegistus.  We recited the Nuctemeron of Apollonius in greek
     with a loud voice and added the following conjuration:-

       "Vouchsafe to be present, O Father of All, and thou Thrice Mighty
     Hermes, Conductor of the dead.  Asclepius son of Hephaistus, Patron of
     the Healing Art; and thou Osiris, Lord of strenght a vigor, do thou
     thyself be present too.  Arnebascenis, Patron of Philosophy, and yet
     again Asclepius, son of Imuthe, who presidest over poetry.
               *             *           *             *
       "Apollonius, Apollonius, Apollonius, Thou teachest the Magic of
     Zoroaster, son of Oromasdes; and this is the worship of the Gods."

                                                                             846

       For the evocation of spirits belonging to religions issued from
     Judaism, the following kabalistic invocation of Solomon should be used,
     either in Hebrew, or in any other tongue with which the spirit in
     question is known to have been familiar:-

       "Powers of the Kingdom, be ye under my left foot and in my right hand!
     Glory and eternity, take me by the two shoulders, and direct me in the
     paths of victory!  Mercy and Justice, be ye the equilibrium and
     splendor of my life!  Intelligence and Wisdom, crown me!  Spirits of
     Malchuth, lead me betwixt the two pillars upon which rests the whole
     edifice of the temple!  Angels of Netsah and Hod, strengthen me upon the
     cubic stone of Jesod!  O Gedulael!  O Geburael!  O Tiphereth!  Binael,
     be thou my love!  Ruach Hochmael, be thou my light!  Be that which thou
     are and thou shall be, O Ketheriel!  Tschim, assist me in the name of
     Saddai!  Cherubim, be my strength in the name of Adonai!  Beni-Elohim,
     be my brethren in the name of the Son, and by the power of Zebaoth!
     Eloim, do battle for me in the name of Tetragrammation!  Malachim,
     protect me in the name of Jod He Vau He!  Seraphim, cleanse my love in
     the name of Elvoh!  Hasmalim, enlighten me with the splendors of Eloi
     and Shechinah!  Aralim, act!  Orphanim, revolve and shine!  Hajoth a
     Kadosh, cry, speak, roar, bellow!  Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, Saddai,
     Adonia, Jotchavah, Eieazereie: Hallelu-jah, Hallelu-jah, Hallelu-jah.
     Amen.
       It should be remembered above all, in conjurations, that the names of
     Satan, Beelzebub, Adramelek, and others do not designate spiritual
     unities, but legions of impure spirits.
       "Our name is legion, and we are many" says the spirit of darkness in
     the Gospel.  Number constitutes the law, and progress takes place
     inversely in Hell - that is to say, the most advanced in Satanic
     development, and consequently the most degraded, are the least
     intelligent and feeblest.  Thus, a fatal law drives the demons downward
     when they wish and believe themselves to be ascending.  So also those
     who term themselves chiefs are the most impotent and despised of all.
     As to the horde of perverse spirits, they tremble before the unknown,
     invisible, incomprehensible, capricious, implacable chief, who never
     explains his law, whose arm is ever stretched out to strike those who
     fail to understand him.  They give this phantom the names of Baal,
     Jupiter, and even others more venerable, which cannot, without
     profanation, be pronounced in Hell.  But this phantom is only a shadow
     and remnant of God, disfigured by their willful perversity, and
     persisting in their imagination like a vengeance of justice and a
     remorse of truth.
       "When the evoked spirit of light manifests with dejected or irritated
     countenance, we must offer him a moral sacrifice, that is, be inwardly
     disposed to renounce whatever offends him; and before leaving the
     oratory, we must dismiss him, saying: "May peace be with thee!  I have
     not wished to trouble thee; do thou torment me not.  I shall labor to
     improve myself as to anything that vexes thee.  I pray, and will still
     pray, with thee and for thee.  Pray thou also both with and for me, and
     return to thy great slumber, expecting that day when we shall wake
     together.  Silence and adieu."
       Christian, in his "Historie de le Magic" (Paris, 1871) says: "The
     place chosen for the evocation is not an unimportant point.  The most
     auspicious is undoubtedly that room which contains the last traces of
     the lamented person.  If it be impossible to fulfill this condition, we
     must go in search of some isolated and rural retreat which corresponds
     in orientation and aspect, as well as measurement, with the mortuary
     chamber.

                                                                             847

       "The window must be blocked with boards if olive wood, hermetically
     joined, so that no exterior light may penetrate.  The ceiling, the four
     interior walls, and the floor must be draped with tapestry of emerald
     green silk, which the operator must secure himself with copper nails,
     invoking no assistance from strange hands, because, from this moment, he
     alone may enter into this spot set apart from all, the arcane Oratory of
     the Magus.  The furniture which belonged to the deceased, his favorite
     possessions and trinkets, the things on which his final glance may be
     supposed to have rested - all these things must be assiduously collected
     and arranged in the order which they occupied at the time of his death.
     If none of these souvenirs can be obtained, a faithful likeness of the
     departed being must be procured, it must be depicted in the dress and
     colors which he wore during the last period of his life.  This portrait
     must be set up on the eastern wall by means of copper fasteners, must be
     covered with a veil of white silk, and must be surmounted with a crown
     of those flowers which were most lived by the deceased.
       "Before the portrait there must be erected an alter of white marble,
     supported by four columns which must terminate in bull`s feet.  A five
     pointed star must be emblazoned on the slab of the alter, and must be
     composed of pure copper plates.  The place in the centre of the star,
     between the plates, must be large enough to receive the pedestal of a
     cup-shaped copper chafing-dish, containing dessicated fragments of
     laurel wood and alder.  By the side of the chafing-dish must be placed a
     censer full of incense.  The skin of a white and spotless ram must be
     stretched beneath the alter, and on it emblazoned another pentagram
     prawn with parallel lines of azure blue, golden yellow, emerald green
     and purple red.
       " A copper tripod must be erected in the middle of the Oratory; it
     must be perfectly triangular in form, it must be surmounted by another
     and similar chafing-dish, which must likewise contain a quantity of
     dried olive wood.
       " A high candelabrum of copper must be placed by the wall on the
     southern side, and must contain a single taper of purest white wax,
     which must alone illuminate the mystery of the evocation.
       "The white color of the alter, of the ram`s skin, and of the veil, in
     consecrated to Gabriel, the planetary archangel of he moon, and the
     Genius of mysteries; the green of the copper and tapestries is dedicated
     to the Genius of Venus.
       "The alter and tripod must both be encompassed by a magnetized iron
     chain, and by three garlands composed of the foliage and blossoms of the
     myrtle, the olive, and the rose.
       "Finally, facing the portrait, and on the eastern side there must be a
     canopy, also draped with emerald silk, and supported by two triangular
     columns of olive wood, plated with purest copper.  On the north and
     south sides, between the each of these columns and the wall, the
     tapestry must fall in long folds to the ground, forming a kind of
     tabernacle; which must be open on the eastern side.  At the foot of each
     column there must be a sphinx of white marble, with a cavity in the top
     of the head to receive spices for burning.  It is beneath this canopy
     that the apparitions will manifest, and it should be remembered the the
     Magus must turn to the east for prayer, and to the west for evocation.
       "Before entering this little sanctuary, devoted to remembrance, the
     operator must be clothed in a vestment of azure, fastened by clasps of
     copper, enriched with a single emerald.  He must wear upon his head a
     tiara surrounded by a floriated circle of twelve emeralds, and a crown
     of violets.  On his breast must be the talisman of Venus depending from
     a ribbon of azure silk.  On the annular finger of his left hand must be
     a copper ring containing turquoise.  His feet must be covered with shoes

                                                                             848

     of azure silk, and he must be provided with a fan of swan`s feathers to
     dissipate, if needful, the smoke of the perfumes.
       "The Oratory and all its objects must be consecrated on a Friday,
     during the hours which are set apart to the Genius of Venus.  This
     consecration is performed by burning violets and roses in a fire if
     olive wood.  A shaft must be provided in the oratory for the passage of
     the smoke, but care must be taken to prevent the admission of light
     through this channel.
       "When the preparations are finished, the operator must impose on
     himself a retreat of one-and-twenty days, beginning on the anniversary
     of the death of the beloved being.  During this period he must refrain
     from conferring on anyone the least of those marks of affection which he
     was accustomed to bestow on the departed; he must be absolutely chaste,
     alike in deed and thought; he must take daily but one repast, consisting
     of bread, wine, roots, and fruits.  These three conditions are
     indispensable to success in evocation, and their accomplishment requires
     complete isolation.
       "Every day, shortly before midnight, the Magus must assume his
     consecrated dress.  On the stroke of the mystic hour, he must enter the
     Oratory, bearing a lighted candle in his right hand, and in the other an
     hour-glass.  The candle must be fixed in the candelabra, and the
     hour-glass on the alter to register the flight of time.  The operator
     must then proceed to replenish the garland and the floral crown.  Then
     he shall unveil the portrait, and erect it immovable in front of the
     alter, being thus with his face to the east, he shall softly go over in
     his mind the cherished recollections he possesses of the beloved and
     departed being.
       "When the upper reservoir of the hour-glass is empty the time of
     contemplation will be over.  By the flame of the taper the operator must
     then kindle the laurel wood and alder in the chafing-dish which stands
     on the alter; then, taking a pinch of incense from the censer, let him
     cast it thrice upon the fire, repeating the following words:- ~Glory be
     to the Father of life universal in the splendor of the infinite
     altitude, and peace in the twilight of the immeasurable depths to all
     spirits of good will !"
       "Then he shall cover the portrait, and taking up his candle in his
     hand, shall depart from the Oratory, walking backward at a slow pace as
     far as the threshold.  The same ceremony must be fulfilled at the same
     hour during every day of the retreat, and at each visits the crown which
     is above the portrait, and the garlands of the alter and tripod must be
     burnt each evening in a room adjoining the Oratory.
       "When the twenty-first day has arrived, the Magus must do his best to
     have no communication with any one, but if this be impossible, he must
     not be the first to speak, and must postpone all business till the
     morrow.  On the stroke of noon, he must arrange a small circular table
     in the Oratory, and cover it with a new napkin of unblemished whiteness.
     It must be garnished with two copper chalices, an entire loaf, and a
     crystal flagon of the purest white.  The bread must be broken and not
     cut, and the wine emptied in equal portions into the two cups.  Half of
     this mystic communion, which must be his sole nourishment on this
     supreme day, shall be offered by the operator to the dead, and by the
     light of the one taper he must eat his own share, standing before the
     veiled portrait.  Then he shall retire as before, walking backward as
     far as the threshold, and leaving the ghost`s share of bread and wine
     upon the table.
       "When the solemn hour of the evening has at length arrived the Magus
     shall carry into the Oratory some well-dried cypress wood, which he
     shall set alight in the alter and the tripod.  Three pinches of incense

                                                                             849

     shall be cast into the flame in honor of the Supreme Potency which
     manifests itself by Ever Active Intelligence and by Absolute Wisdom.
     When the wood of the two chafing-dishes has been reduced to embers, he
     must renew the triple offering of incense on the alter, and must cast
     some seven times on the fire in the tripod; at each evaporation of the
     consecrated perfume he must repeat the previous doxology, and then
     turning tot he East, he must call upon God by prayer of that religion
     which was professed by the person whom he desires to evoke.
       "When the prayers are over he must reverse his position and with his
     face to the West, must enkindle the chafing-dishes on the head of each
     sphinx, and when the cypress is full ablaze he must heap over it well
     dried violets and roses.  Then let him extinguish the candle which
     illuminates the Oratory, and falling on his knees before the canopy,
     between the two columns, let him mentally address the beloved person
     with a plenitude of faith and affection.  Let him solemnly entreat it to
     appear and renew this interior adjuration seven times, under the
     auspices of the seven providential Genii, and endeavouring during the
     whole of the time to exalt his soul above the natural weakness of
     humanity.
       "Finally, the operator, with closed eyes, and hands covering his face,
     must call the invoked person in a loud but gentle voice, pronouncing
     three times all of the names which he bore.
       "Some moments after the third appeal, he must extend his arms in the
     form of a cross, and lifting up his eyes, he will behold the beloved
     being, in a recognizable manner, in front of him.  That is to say, he
     will perceive that ethereal substance separated from the perishable
     terrestrial body, the fluidic envelope of the soul, which Kabalistic
     initiates have termed the `Perispirit'.  This substance preserves the
     human form but is emancipated from human infirmities, and is energized
     by the special characteristics whereby the imperishable individuality of
     our essence is manifested.
       "The departed soul will give counsel to the operator; it will
     occasionally reveal secrets which may be beneficial to those whom it
     loved on earth, but it will answer no question  which has reference to
     the desires of the flesh; it will discover no buried treasures, nor will
     it unveil the secrets of a third person; it is silent on the mysteries
     of the superior existence to which it has now attained.  In certain
     cases, it will, however, declare itself either happy or in punishment.
     If it be the latter, it will ask for the prayer of the Magus, or for
     some religious observance, which we must unfailingly fulfill.  Lastly,
     it will indicate the time when the evocation may be renewed.
       "When it has disappeared, the operator must turn to the East, rekindle
     the fire on the alter, and make a final offering of incense.  Then he
     must detach the crown and the garlands, take up his candle, and retire
     with his face to the West till he is out of the Oratory.  His last duty
     is to burn the final remains of the flowers and leaves.  Their ashes,
     united to those which have been collected during the time of retreat,
     must be mixed with myrtle seeds, and secretly buried in a field at a
     depth which will secure it from disturbance of the ploughshare."

                                                                             850

       The last two examples are, of course, those of "white" necromancy. 
     The procedure followed by savage tribes as of course totally different.
     Among certain Australian tribes the necromants are called Birraark.  It
     is said that a Birraark was supposed to be initiated by the "mrarts"
     (ghosts) when they met him wandering in the bush.  It was from the
     ghosts that he obtained replies to questions concerning events passing t
     a distance, or yet to happen, which might be of interest or moment to
     his tribe.  An account of a spiritual seance in the bush is given in
     "Kamilaroi and Kurnai" (p. 251): The fires were let down; the Birraark
     uttered the cry "Coo-ee" at intervals.  At length a distant reply was
     heard, and shortly afterwards, the sound as of persons jumping on the
     ground in succession. A voice was then heard in the gloom asking in a
     strange intonation "What is wanted?"  At the termination of the seance,
     the spirit voice said "We are going."  Finally, the Birraark was found
     in the top of an almost inaccessible tree, apparently asleep.
       In Japan, ghosts can be raised in various ways.  One mode is to "put
     into an andon" (a paper lantern in a flame), "a hundred rushlights, and
     repeat an incantation of a hundred lines.  One of these rushlights is
     taken out at the end of each line, and the would-be ghost-seer then goes
     out in the dark with one light still burning, and blows it out, when
     their ghost ought to appear.  Girls who have lost their lovers by death
     often try that sorcery."
       The mode of procedure as practiced in Scotland was thus.  The haunted
     room was made ready.  He , "who was to do the daring deed, about
     nightfall entered the room, bearing with him a table, a chair, a candle,
     a compass, a crucifix, if one could be got, and a Bible.  With the
     compass he cat a circle on the middle of the floor, large enough to hold
     the chair and the table.  He placed within the circle the chair and the
     table, and on the table he laid the Bible and the crucifix beside the
     lighted candle.  If he had not a crucifix, then he drew the figure of a
     cross in the floor within the circle.  When all this was done, he rested
     himself on the chair, opened the Bible, and waited for the coming of the
     spirit.  Exactly at midnight the spirit came.  Sometimes the door opened
     slowly, and there glided in noiselessly a lady sheeted in white, with a
     face of woe and told her story to the man on his asking her in the name
     of God what she wanted.  What she wanted was done in the morning, and
     the spirit rested ever after.  Sometimes the spirit rose from the floor,
     and sometimes came forth from the wall.  There was one who burst into
     the room with a strong bound, danced wildly round the circle, and
     flourished a long whip round the man's head, but never dared to step
     into the circle.  During a pause in his frantic dance he was asked, in
     God`s name, what he wanted.  He ceased his dance and told his wishes. 
     His wishes were carried out, and the spirit was in peace."

                                                                             851

       In Wraxall`s "Memoirs of the Counts of Berlin, Dresden, Warsaw, and
     Vienna" there is an amusing account of the raising of the ghost of
     Chevalier de Saxe.  Reports had been circulated that at his palace at
     Dresden there was secreted a large sum of money, and it was urged that
     if his spirit could be compelled to appear, interesting secrets could be
     extorted from him.  Curiosity, combined with avarice, accordingly
     prompted his principal heir, Prince Charles, to try the experiment, and,
     on the appointed night, Schrepfer was the operator in raising the
     apparition.  He commenced his proceedings by retiring into the corner of
     the gallery, where kneeling down with many mysterious ceremonies, he
     invoked the spirit to appear.  At length, a loud clatter was heard at all
     the windows on the outside, resembling more the effect produced by a
     number of wet fingers drawn over the edge of glasses than anything else
     to which it could well be compared.  The sound announced the arrival of
     the good spirits, and was shortly followed by a yell of a frightful and
     unusual nature.  Schrepfer continued his invocations, when "the door
     suddenly opened with violence and something resembling a black ball or
     globe rolled into the room.  It was enveloped in smoke or cloud, in the
     midst of which appeared a human face, like the countenance of the
     Chevalier de Saxe, from which issued a loud and angry voice, exclaiming
     in German,"Carl, was wollte du mit mich?" - "Charles, what would thou do
     with me?" By reiterated exorcisms Schrepfer finally dismissed the
     apparition, and the terrified spectators dispersed fully convinced of
     his magical powers.
                             - end -  

                                                                             852


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