Necromancy

On the Nature of Astral Necromancy

Astral Necromancy differs somewhat from other forms of the necromancy in that it was largely practiced by an clerical underground that exchanged secrets of the art back and forth across Europe from the twelfth century onwards.

The key elements of Astral Necromancy are astrology, use of ceremonial circles and demonology. Each of these practices are occult fields in and of themselves, this blending of other esoteric arts with Necromancy creates a powerful fusion of occult pursuits that magnifies the efficacy of necromancy already dark allure.

Similar to other forms of necromancy the Astral practices are bound by the opposing concepts of Authority and Taboo. Practitioners can approach Astral death magic from either direction, but with radically different procedures and side-effects. Authoritarian practice assumes the caster to be altruistic or morally pure which usually translates into ritual purity rather than true piety. Tabooist practitioners by comparison must delve into degradation and impurity in order to empower themselves. Each approach has strengths and weaknesses. Authoritarian necromancers tend to grow slowly in power and last longer than their tabooist counterparts whose powers peak quickly but tend to burnout all too often.

History

Antique Origins

Early necromancy was related to – and most likely evolved from – forms of shamanism or prehistoric ritual magic that calls upon spirits such as the ghosts of deceased forebears. Classical necromancers addressed the dead in "a mixture of high-pitch squeaking and low droning", comparable to the trance-state mutterings of shamans. Necromancy was prevalent throughout antiquity with records of its practice in ancient Egypt, Babylonia, Greece, ancient Etruria, Rome, and China. In his Geographica, Strabo refers to νεκρομαντία (nekromantia), or "diviners by the dead", as the foremost practitioners of divination among the people of Persia, and it is believed to have also been widespread among the peoples of Chaldea (particularly the Hermeticists, or "star-worshipers") and Babylonia. The Babylonian necromancers were called manzazuu or sha-etemmu, and the spirits they raised were called etemmu.

The oldest literary account of necromancy is found in Homer's Odyssey. Under the direction of Circe, a powerful sorceress, Odysseus travels to the underworld (katabasis) in order to gain insight about his impending voyage home by raising the spirits of the dead through the use of spells which Circe has taught him. He wishes to invoke and question the shade of Tiresias in particular; however, he is unable to summon the seer's spirit without the assistance of others. The Odyssey's passages contain many descriptive references to necromantic rituals: rites must be performed around a pit with fire during nocturnal hours, and Odysseus has to follow a specific recipe, which includes the blood of sacrificial animals, to concoct a libation for the ghosts to drink while he recites prayers to both the ghosts and gods of the underworld.

Practices such as these, varying from the mundane to the grotesque, were commonly associated with necromancy. Rituals could be quite elaborate, involving magic circles, wands, talismans, and incantations. The necromancer might also surround himself with morbid aspects of death, which often included wearing the deceased's clothing and consuming foods that symbolized lifelessness and decay such as unleavened black bread and unfermented grape juice. Some necromancers even went so far as to take part in the mutilation and consumption of corpses. These ceremonies could carry on for hours, days, or even weeks, leading up to the eventual summoning of spirits. Frequently they were performed in places of interment or other melancholy venues that suited specific guidelines of the necromancer.

Ancient Egypt: Necromancy & Astrology

Necromancy in ancient Egypt involved practices aimed at communicating with the dead for purposes such as divination and seeking wisdom. These practices were closely intertwined with the broader religious and magical traditions of ancient Egypt, which did not differentiate between religion and magic. Necromancers, or those skilled in necromantic practices, would often use spells and rituals to summon the spirits of the deceased, believing that these spirits could provide guidance and insight.

In ancient Egyptian belief, the afterlife was a continuation of life on earth, and the souls of the dead could be influenced and communicated with. This belief system was reflected in funerary rituals and the construction of elaborate tombs designed to ensure the deceased’s well-being in the afterlife. Necromancers would perform rituals that might include offerings, recitations of spells, and other symbolic actions to facilitate communication with the dead.

Necromancy was not only a religious practice but also a form of magic that could be used for various purposes, such as healing, protection, and divination. The concept of Heka, the god of magic and medicine, underscores the integral role of magic in ancient Egyptian life, including necromancy.

Egyptian Astrology & The Decans

The decans (/ˈdɛkənz/; Egyptian bꜣktw or baktiu, "[those] connected with work") are 36 groups of stars (small constellations) used in the ancient Egyptian astronomy to conveniently divide the 360 degree ecliptic into 36 parts of 10 degrees each, both for theurgical and heliacal horological purposes. The decans each appeared, geocentrically, to rise consecutively on the horizon throughout each daily Earth rotation. The rising of each decan marked the beginning of a new decanal "hour" (Greek hōra) of the night for the ancient Egyptians, and they were used as a sidereal star clock beginning by at least the 9th or 10th Dynasty (c. 2100 BCE).

Because a new decan also appears heliacally every ten days (that is, every ten days, a new decanic star group reappears in the eastern sky at dawn right before the Sun rises, after a period of being obscured by the Sun's light), the ancient Greeks called them dekanoi (δεκανοί; pl. of δεκανός dekanos) or "tenths".

Decans gave way to a lunar division of 27 or 28 lunar stations, also known as manzil, lunar mansions or nakshatras and thence to a zodiac of 12 signs, based on an anthropomorphic pattern of constellations, and their use can be seen in the Dendera zodiac dated to circa 50 BCE.

These predictable heliacal re-appearances by the decans were eventually used by the Egyptians to mark the divisions of their annual solar calendar. Thus the heliacal rising of Sirius marked the annual flooding of the Nile.

This method led to a system of 12 daytime hours and 12 nighttime hours, varying in length according to the season. Later a system of 24 "equinoctial" hours was used. After Hellenistic astrology arose in Alexandria, recorded principally in the work of Claudius Ptolemy and Vettius Valens, various systems attributing symbolic significance to decans arose and linked these to the "wandering stars" (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) and the "Lights": (Sun and Moon). Decans were connected, for example, with the winds, the four directions, the sect (day or night,) male and female, as well as the four humours (elements;) also these were hermetically considered linked with various diseases and with the timing for the engraving of talismans for curing them; with decanic "faces" (or "phases"), a system where three decans are assigned to each zodiacal sign, each covering 10° of the zodiac, and each ruled by a planetary ruler (see Decan Astrology); and correlated with astrological signs.

The Kingdom of Israel & The Prohibited Art

There are also several references to necromancers – called "bone-conjurers" among Jews of the later Hellenistic period – in the Bible. The Book of Deuteronomy (18:9–12) explicitly warns the Israelites against engaging in the Canaanite practice of divination from the dead:

"(9) When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do according to the abominations of those nations. (10) There shall not be found among you any one who maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or who useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, (11) or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. (12) For all who do these things are an abomination unto the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee." -- (KJV)

Though Mosaic Law prescribed the death penalty to practitioners of necromancy (Leviticus 20:27), this warning was not always heeded. One of the foremost examples is when King Saul had the Witch of Endor invoke the spirit of Samuel, a judge and prophet, from Sheol to divine the outcome of a coming battle (1 Samuel 28:3–25). However, the so-called witch was shocked at the presence of a familiar spirit in the image of Samuel for in I Sam 28:7 states "Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor" and in I Sam 28:12 says, "when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out in a loud voice", and the familiar spirit questioned his reawakening, asking as if he were Samuel the Prophet, "Why hast thou disquieted me?" Saul died the next day in combat, with Chronicles 10:13 implying this was due to the prohibition against necromancy.

Necromancy, Christianity & The Medieval Era

Many medieval writers believed that actual resurrection required the assistance of God. They saw the practice of necromancy as conjuring demons who took the appearance of spirits. The practice became known explicitly as maleficium, and the Catholic Church condemned it. Though the practitioners of necromancy were linked by many common threads, there is no evidence that these necromancers ever organized as a group. One noted commonality among practitioners of necromancy was usually the utilization of certain toxic and hallucinogenic plants from the nightshade family such as black henbane, jimson weed, belladonna or mandrake, usually in magic salves or potions.

Medieval necromancy is believed to be a synthesis of astral magic derived from Arabic influences and exorcism derived from Christian and Jewish teachings. Arabic influences are evident in rituals that involve moon phases, sun placement, day and time. Fumigation and the act of burying images are also found in both astral magic and necromancy. Christian and Jewish influences appear in the symbols and in the conjuration formulas used in summoning rituals.

Practitioners were often members of the Christian clergy, though some non-clerical practitioners are recorded. In some instances, mere apprentices or those ordained to lower orders dabbled in the practice. They were connected by a belief in the manipulation of spiritual beings – especially demons – and magical practices. These practitioners were almost always literate and well educated. Most possessed basic knowledge of exorcism and had access to texts of astrology and of demonology. Clerical training was informal and university-based education rare. Most were trained under apprenticeships and were expected to have a basic knowledge of Latin, ritual and doctrine. This education was not always linked to spiritual guidance and seminaries were almost non-existent. This situation allowed some aspiring clerics to combine Christian rites with occult practices despite its condemnation in Christian doctrine.

Medieval practitioners believed they could accomplish three things with necromancy: will manipulation, illusions, and knowledge:

Will manipulation affects the mind and will of another person, animal, or spirit. Demons are summoned to cause various afflictions on others, "to drive them mad, to inflame them to love or hatred, to gain their favor, or to constrain them to do or not do some deed."

Illusions involve reanimation of the dead or conjuring food, entertainment, or a mode of transportation.

Knowledge is allegedly discovered when demons provide information about various things. This might involve identifying criminals, finding items, or revealing future events.

The act of performing medieval necromancy usually involved magic circles, conjurations, and sacrifices:

Circles were usually traced on the ground, though cloth and parchment were sometimes used. Various objects, shapes, symbols, and letters may be drawn or placed within that represent a mixture of Christian and occult ideas. Circles were usually believed to empower and protect what was contained within, including protecting the necromancer from the conjured demons. A text known as the Heptameron explain the function of the circle thusly: "But because the greatest power is attributed to the Circles; (For they are certain fortresses to defend the operators safe from the evil Spirits;)..."

Conjuration is the method of communicating with the demons to have them enter the physical world. It usually employs the power of special words and stances to call out the demons and often incorporated the use of Christian prayers or biblical verses. These conjurations may be repeated in succession or repeated to different directions until the summoning is complete.

Sacrifice was the payment for summoning; though it may involve the flesh of a human being or animal, it could sometimes be as simple as offering a certain object. Instructions for obtaining these items were usually specific. The time, location, and method of gathering items for sacrifice could also play an important role in the ritual.