ABRAMELIN QUEST

"The Nine Gates" meets "Angels & Demons"

Abramelin Movies:
Based on The Book of Abramelin
An authentic 14th-15th century Autobiography
by Abraham von Worms
Translated by Georg Dehn & Steven Guth
Foreword by Lon Milo DuQuette
Video Production by Iona Miller



 

Five suggestions for movies with one developed treatment:

Background.

All suggestions are for a magician protagonist with angelic allies and demonic foes, with eye-popping and mindbending special effects. Plots are based on the true story of Abraham, a Jew from Worms in central Germany who through experiences encountered in his travels finally becomes a master magician. The book is compiled from hand written manuscripts which describe the author’s journey of self discovery 600 years ago.

The first English translation of the book has been around for 100 years. In this form the text has been used by thousands of would-be magicians to conjure up powerful spiritual beings - the same beings Abraham describes in his manuscript. Over the years the first English translation acquired a well deserved reputation as a sorcerer's handbook 

From the Foreword of “The Book of Abramelin”

I confess. In 1976, when I first ran across the Abramelin book in a used bookstore in Hollywood, my hand actually shook as I pulled it from its place on the dusty shelf. Fearing demonic attack, I verycautiously drove home and tucked it away in a black borrowedslipcase and kept it apart from my other books. Not wishing to take responsibility for the unspeakable evils that might befall them, I refused to loan it or even show it to curious friends. - Lon DuQuette

TREATMENTS

Gleam, DFI by Iona Miller


Suggestion one –

A movie that follows the life of Abraham on his travels meeting and experiencing the magicians described in the manuscripts. The story starts at Abraham’s preserved gravestone in today’s Worms, Germany; then time and shape shifts back into the 14th century. The full treatment is framed below.



Suggestion two –

A movie that makes scant attempts at realism. Impressionistic sets from the 1920’s stage could be used. A sophisticated sound track and special effects would help create the necessary suspension of disbelief. Some modern scenery could be incorporated into the story.


Suggestion three –

A documentary based on a modern commentary. Locations and some acted out scenes from Abraham’s autobiography could be included. The attached treatment (suggestion one) hints at the possible contents for the documentary.


Suggestion four –

Abraham’s 14th century journey could be transposed into the modern world with today’s locations and modern magical events replacing the scenes described by Abraham.


Suggestion five –

Aleister Crowley – perhaps the 20th century's most controversial magician – was profoundly influenced by Abraham’s manuscript. Crowley appears to have believed that his guiding spirit, his “Holy Guardian Angel” came to him because of his use of the rituals outlined in Abraham’s autobiography.


Suggestion six –

A modern adventurer, a composer, uses the Abraham material to conjure up for himself four servant spirits. The composer has accumulated piety and wisdom from books and we follow him as he seeks the secrets that are promised him by his “Holy Guardian Angel”.

ACT 1, SCENE 1: IGNORANCE TO ENLIGHTENMENT

OPENING SCENE: A mighty storm to end all storms with billowing foggy mists and intermittant curtains of heavy rain is raging on mysterious Loch Ness, whose waves are roiling and boiling like a vast chaotic cauldron full of chthonic sea serpents. The loch heaves and hurls great rolling waves onto the shore. We think we see their spectre rising from the depths, and then maybe not as waves of pelting rain wash out visibility.  The mists part and we catch a glimpse of Boleskine House on the edge of the Loch, owned by a notorious mage from 1899-1913.

Infamous magician Aleister Crowley, robes flailing in the breeze, shouts and gestures on the wide veranda, magical sword and wand in hand, pointed toward the turbulent electrified sky, challenging the as yet unknown dark and luminous powers that be to come forward and reveal themselves in all their awesome potential. His railing against Heaven is a compelling invitation they cannot resist for that is why they exist. They are the servants of mankind, but only the evolutionary vanguard.

Crowley's manic frenzy is fueled by an alchemical cocktail of hashish and cocaine. He would never admit to, or much less desire a pious bone in his body. Humility was a quality unknown to him. The difference between the occult traditional and kabbalah is that it relinquished its religious root for the experiential hinterlands. In decades to follow he would become the hero of the Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll culture -- the "Me" generation, where even the specifically forbidden is mandatory. Somewhere between his medical prescription for heroin and his desire to amplify his grandiose personality, he sank into a degeneracy that arguably could be attributed to the curse of Abramelin. That doesn't mean the transformative magic didn't work. It means it did -- inexorably.

Theurgy

Asking no permission from man or God, he continues chanting barbarous names against the wind, unraveling the ceremony he has woven from his magical brother MacGregor Mathers' incomplete translation of the 15th century hoary tome of Abramelin the Mage. He is suddenly struck by an unknown force and falls prostrate to the hard cold stone portico of Boleskine House. His body writhes and buckles with an infusion of supernatural intensity.

The clouds converge in an orgy of elemental forces surrounding him, staved off only by his chalked out magical circle, which is in danger of being washed away into oblivion with the sand on the terrace. It is reinforced only by a strong banishing held by divine forces; without it, all is lost for his immortal soul is in peril of hurtling irretrievably into the black hole of the imaginal Abyss. Somehow his ritual flame manages to blaze through the onslaught.

He is fortunate the salvific measures protect his impulsive mortal frame, since, without adequate purification and preparation, he has taken on a far more ambitious and dangerous operation than even he might have suspected. As he revs up the magical engine of ritual he finds himself being stripped clean of all attachments. First one and then another anchor is ripped away until he is nothing but dust in the wind. As his flesh seems stripped from the bones like a snake shedding an outworn skin, his ego fragments as the death of the old self makes way for new being, a crowned and conquering child of the Cosmos. He collapses utterly under the overwhelming influence of a numinous infusion.

The rage of the storm wanes and finally subsides as he awakens from the transport of his mystic trance, stupified and disoriented, yet deeply inspired. He rushes, dripping wet, to his Oratory to recount the transcendental  events in lucid lines of epic poetry, dedicated to and capturing the immediacy of the serpentine influx of Creative Genius. His inner eye opens to the perception of things as they really are -- utterly transparent. He is not alone.

Ancient Future

Asking no permission from man or God, he continues chanting barbarous names against the wind, unraveling the ceremony he has woven from his magical brother MacGregor Mathers' incomplete translation of the 15th century hoary tome of Abramelin the Mage. He is suddenly struck by an unknown force and falls prostrate to the hard cold stone portico of Boleskine House. His body writhes and buckles with an infusion of supernatural intensity.

The clouds converge in an orgy of elemental forces surrounding him, staved off only by his chalked out magical circle, which is in danger of being washed away into oblivion with the sand on the terrace. It is reinforced only by a strong banishing held by divine forces; without it, all is lost for his immortal soul is in peril of hurtling irretrievably into the black hole of the imaginal Abyss. Somehow his ritual flame manages to blaze through the onslaught.

He is fortunate the salvific measures protect his impulsive mortal frame, since, without adequate purification and preparation, he has taken on a far more ambitious and dangerous operation than even he might have suspected. As he revs up the magical engine of ritual he finds himself being stripped clean of all attachments. First one and then another anchor is ripped away until he is nothing but dust in the wind. As his flesh seems stripped from the bones like a snake shedding an outworn skin, his ego fragments as the death of the old self makes way for new being, a crowned and conquering child of the Cosmos. He collapses utterly under the overwhelming influence of a numinous infusion.

The rage of the storm wanes and finally subsides as he awakens from the transport of his mystic trance, stupified and disoriented, yet deeply inspired. He rushes, dripping wet, to his Oratory to recount the transcendental  events in lucid lines of epic poetry, dedicated to and capturing the immediacy of the serpentine influx of Creative Genius. His inner eye opens to the perception of things as they really are -- utterly transparent. He is not alone.

Crowley recounts an Egyptian encounter with his Angel in The Vision & the Voice, the 8th Aethyr:

There appears in the stone a tiny spark of light. It grows a little, and seems almost to go out, and grows again, and it is blown about the Aethyr, and by the wind that blows it is it fanned, and now it gathers strength, and darts like a snake or a sword, and now it steadies itself, and is like a Pyramid of light that filleth the whole Aethyr.

And in the Pyramid is one like unto an Angel, yet at the same time he is the Pyramid, and he hath no form because he is of the substance of light, and he taketh not form upon him, for though by him is form visible, he maketh it visible only to destroy it.

And he saith: The light is come to the darkness, and the darkness is made light. Then is light married with light, and the child of their love is that other darkness, wherein they abide that have lost name and form. Therefore did I kindle him that had not understanding, and in The Book of the Law did I write the secrets of truth that are like unto a star and a snake and a sword. And unto him that understandeth at last do I deliver the secrets of truth in such wise that the least of the little children of the light may run to the knees of the mother and be brought to understand.

And thus shall he do who will attain unto the mystery of the knowledge and conversation of his Holy Guardian Angel:

First, let him prepare a chamber, of which the walls and the roof shall be white, and the floor shall be covered with a carpet of black squares and white, and the border thereof shall be blue and gold. And if it be in a town, the room shall have no window, and if it be in the country, then it is better if the window be in the roof. Or, if it be possible, let this invocation be performed in a temple prepared for the ritual of passing through the Tuat. From the roof he shall hang a lamp, wherein is a red glass, to burn olive oil. And this lamp shall he cleanse and make ready after the prayer of sunset, and beneath the lamp shall be an altar, foursquare, & the height shall be thrice half of the breadth or double the breadth.

And upon the altar shall be a censor, hemispherical, supported upon three legs, of silver, and within it an hemisphere of copper, and upon the top a grating of gilded silver, and thereupon shall he burn incense made of four parts of olibanum and two parts of stacte, and one part of lignum aloes, or of cedar, or of sandal. And this is enough. And he shall also keep ready in a flask of crystal within the altar, holy anointing oil made of myrrh and cinnamon and galangal.

And even if he be of higher rank than a Probationer, he shall yet wear the robe of the Probationer, for the star of flame showeth forth Ra Hoor Khuit openly upon the breast, and secretly the blue triangle that descendeth is Nuit, and the red triangle that ascendeth is Hadit. And I am the golden Tau in the midst of their marriage. Also, if he choose, he may instead wear a close-fitting robe of shot silk, purple and green, and upon it a cloak without sleeves, of bright blue, covered with golden sequins, and scarlet within.

And he shall make himself a wand of almond wood or of hazel cut by his own hands at dawn at the Equinox, or at the Solstice, or on the day of Corpus Christi, or on one of the feast-days that are appointed in The Book of the Law. And he shall engrave with his own hand upon the plate of gold the Holy Sevenfold Table, or the Holy Twelvefold Table, or some particular device. And it shall be foursquare within a circle, and the circle shall be winged, and he shall attach it about his forehead by a ribbon of blue silk.

Moreover, he shall wear a fillet of laurel or rose or ivy or rue, and every day, after the prayer of sunrise, he shall burn it in the fire of the censor. Now he shall pray thrice daily, about sunset, and at midnight, and at sunrise. And if he be able, he shall pray also four times between sunrise and sunset. The prayer shall last for the space of an hour, at the least, and he shall seek ever to extend it, and to inflame himself in praying. Thus shall he invoke his Holy Guardian Angel for eleven weeks, and in any case he shall pray seven times daily during the last week of the eleven weeks.

And during all this time he shall have composed an invocation suitable, with such wisdom and understanding as may be given him from the Crown, and this shall he write in letters of gold upon the top of the altar. For the top of the altar shall be of white wood, well polished, and in the centre thereof he shall have placed a triangle of oak-wood, painted with scarlet, and upon this triangle the three legs of the censor shall stand.

Moreover, he shall copy his invocation upon a sheet of pure white vellum, with Indian ink, and he shall illuminate it according to his fancy and imagination, that shall be informed by beauty. And on the first day of the twelfth week he shall enter the chamber at sunrise, and he shall make his prayer, having first burnt the conjuration that he had made upon the vellum in the fire of the lamp.

Then, at his prayer, shall the chamber be filled with light insufferable for splendour, and a perfume intolerable for sweetness. And his Holy Guardian Angel shall appear unto him, yea, his Holy Guardian Angel shall appear unto him, so that he shall be wrapt away into the Mystery of Holiness. All that day shall he remain in the enjoyment of the knowledge and conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. And for three days after he shall remain from sunrise unto sunset in the temple, and he shall obey the counsel that his Angel shall have given unto him, and he shall suffer those things that are appointed.

And for ten days thereafter shall he withdraw himself as shall have been taught unto him from the fullness of that communion, for he must harmonize the world that is within with the world that is without. And at the end of the ninety-one days he shall return into the world, and there shall he perform that work to which the Angel shall have appointed him. And more than this it is not necessary to say, for his Angel shall have entreated him kindly, and showed him in what manner he may be most perfectly involved. And unto him that hath this Master there is nothing else that he needeth, so long as he continue in the knowledge and conversation of the Angel, so that he shall come at last into the City of the Pyramids.

Lo! two and twenty are the paths of the Tree, but one is the Serpent of Wisdom; ten are the ineffable emanations, but one is the Flaming Sword. Behold! There is an end to life and death, an end to the thrusting forth and the withdrawing of the breath. Yea, the House of the Father is a mighty tomb, and in it he hath buried everything whereof ye know.

All this while there hath been no vision, but only a voice, very slow and clear and deliberate. But now the vision returns, and the voice says: Thou shalt be called Danae, that art stunned and slain beneath the weight of the glory of the vision that as yet thou seest not. For thou shalt suffer many things, until thou art mightier than all the Kings of the earth, and all the Angels of the Heavens, and all the gods that are beyond the Heavens. Then shalt thou meet me in equal conflict, and thou shalt see me as I am. And I will overcome thee and slay thee with the red rain of my lightnings. I am lying underneath this pyramid of light. It seems as if I had the whole weight of it upon me, crushing me with bliss. And yet I know that I am like the prophet that said: I shall see Him, but not nigh.

And the Angel sayeth: So shall it be until they that wake are asleep, and she that sleepeth be arisen from her sleep.. For thou art transparent unto the vision and the voice. And therefore in thee they manifest not. But they shall be manifest unto them unto whom thou dost deliver them, according unto to the word which I spake unto thee in the Victorious City.For I am not only appointed to guard thee, but we are of the blood royal, the guardians of the Treasure-house of Wisdom. Therefore am I called the Minister of Ra Hoor Khuit: and yet he is but the Viceroy of the unknown King. For my name is called Aiwass, that is eight and seventy. And I am the influence of the Concealed One, and the wheel that hath eight and seventy parts, yet in all is equivalent to the Gate that is the name of my Lord when it is spelt fully. And that Gate is the Path that joineth the Wisdom with the Understanding.

The Tree of Life

Thus hast thou erred indeed, perceiving me in the path that leadeth from the Crown unto the Beauty. For that path bridgeth the abyss, and I am of the supernals. Nor I, nor Thou, nor He can bridge the abyss. It is the Priestess of the Silver Star, and the Oracles of the gods, and the Lord of the Hosts of the Mighty. For they are the servants of Babalon, and of the Beast, and of those others of whom it is not yet spoken. And, being servants, they have no name, but we are of the blood royal, and serve not, and therefore are we less than they.

Yet, as a man may be both a mighty warrior and a just judge, so may we also perform this service if we have aspired and attained thereto. And yet, with all that, they remain themselves, who have eaten of the pomegranate in Hell. But thou, that art new-born to understanding, this mystery is too great for thee; and of the further mystery I will not speak one word. Yet for this cause am I come unto thee as the Angel of the Aethyr, striking with my hammer upon thy bell, so that thou mightest understand the mysteries of the Aethyr, and of the vision and the voice thereof.

For behold! he that understandeth seeth not and heareth not in truth, because of his understanding that letteth him. But this shall be unto thee for a sign, that I will surely come unto thee unawares and appear unto thee. And it is no odds, (i.e., that at this hour I appear not as I am), for so terrible is the glory of the vision, and so wonderful is the splendour of the voice, that when thou seest it and hearest it in truth, for many hours shalt thou be bereft of sense. And thou shalt lie between heaven and earth in a void place, entranced, and the end thereof shall be silence, even as it was, not once nor twice, when I have met with thee, as it were, upon the road to Damascus.

And thou shalt not seek to better this my instruction; but thou shalt interpret it, and make it easy, for them that seek understanding. And thou shalt give all that thou hast unto them that have need unto this end. And because I am with thee, and in thee, and of thee, thou shalt lack nothing. But who lack me, lack all. And I swear unto thee by Him that sitteth upon the Holy Throne, and liveth and reigneth for ever and ever, that I will be faithful unto this my promise, as thou art faithful unto this thine obligation. Now another voice sounds in the Aethyr, saying: And there was darkness over all the earth unto the ninth hour. And with that the Angel is withdrawn, and the pyramid of light seems very far off.

And now I am fallen unto the earth, exceeding weary. Yet my skin trembles with the impact of the light, and all my body shakes. And there is a peace deeper than sleep upon my mind. It is the body and the mind that are weary, and I would that they were dead, save that I must bend them to my work. And now I am in the tent, under the stars.

The Desert between Bou-Sada and Biskra. December 8, 1909. 7:10-9:10 p.m. 

The Abramelin Effect

The ABRAMELIN EFFECT is so powerful it works even when wrongly executed with the spiritual might of energized enthusiasm. Then, the very fabric of reality is transformed with the magician. It can exalt or warp a personality. We pray for Grace, for Mercy. Its forces have a virtual life of their own that is timeless and eternal. Some live in the Light and some in nearly unharnessable Dark Energy.

There is only One World, and we must journey through it challenging our own boundaries and beliefs at every twist and turn. We know because we, too, have fallen under the Abramelin spell. We have seen the Light and heard the ringing Radiance. Nothing will ever be the same. Be careful what you ask for; you may just get it. The repercussions it entails include conscious and unconscious karmic consequences. Wisdom considers the end before the beginning.

ACT 2

Flashfwd: SCENE 2: The adventurer’s laptop contains a musical biofeedback system that facilitates brainwave synchrony or resonance, using the elements of the kabbalistic correspondence system. A modern master magician replaces Abramelin in his location in the Egyptian wilderness. The prescribed spiritual retreat takes place in a Pacific coast beach (Gold Bluffs Beach) where the modern equivalents of the four elemental kings are confronted to yield up the four servants of the day – perhaps in forms radically stranger than anyone bargained for!  This beach is also a Sanctuary for Roosevelt elk who graze on the salty vegetation of the cliffs, and are nearly tame enough to touch.

Background

Costumes must be authentic for the times and locations. Special effects correspond with the literary descriptions - the sets could be strange, cheap and simple, using lighting tricks, musical drivers and imagination to suggest and amplify Mystery. A sound track full of emotional promise and gripping menace helps create the suspension of disbelief that the Abraham story requires to carry the modern viewer. 

Imagine a shift from modern sounds at Abraham’s gravestone (it is just behind a busy road) to the 14 century sounds of horses, bells, shouts, and birds. These need not be real sounds but just suggested by the musical score. Or consider the sound associated with sorcerer Halimeg’s tent in an Egyptian bazaar when he turns a woman into a goose. Or the wind at Abramelin’s hermitage as it blows through rocks. Or a hint of evensong drifting into the Bishop’s palace. 

Necromancy

Only the beginning and end of the movie are set in the sights and sounds of modern life - at a cigarette smoke-filled but well-lit Frankfurt airport and in the town of Worms with its Jewish cemetery. The real life characters are the two people who found and translated the German text into modern English. They conjure up Abraham, the original author from his grave ... and so starts our ‘Wizard of Oz’ journey through history.  [needs female companion as Soror Mystica to balance energies and dramatic dynamic].

And what a journey it is. Thanks to satellite mapping we fly via some system like ”Google Earth” Astral Projection through the air from location to location, landing superman-like at the right place. We meet magicians who show off their skills to Abraham.

We spend time with Abramelin the master magician who lives in the Egyptian desert. We participate in the 18 months long prayer ritual that Abraham uses to connect to his Holy Guardian Angel. We watch, concerned, as Abraham conjures up and struggles to control the 4 elemental Kings and their 8 servant Dukes.

Conjuring

We travel with Abraham as he shows us his life as a master magician working for Popes, Dukes and Emperors - creating armies, making gold and forcing Bishops to confess their thievery.

The ending brings us back into the world of today - and a rather humorous, yet fitting conclusion.

And I repeat - the story is real, from a real book. It is factual biography that the author Abraham, the Jew from Worms wrote as a legacy for his son over 600 years ago. And the book is out there (Published by Ibis Press Nicolas-Hays) and rendered into modern English by the same two men who cast the spell that sets off the story.

Seekers

Sacred Wedding

Abraham is dressed as bridegroom, we are at his Jewish wedding with dancing music. There are gifts on table including piles of gold coins (and why not a modern toaster and coffee percolator?)  Voice over by Abraham, “Married, to my cousin I received a good dowry. But I still sought to receive my Holy Guardian Angel.”

Abraham speaks, “I had the wisdom (a moving figure of Horus appears mistily on his right - see book page 204) but I still needed to develop my intuition, to meet wisdom and her sister who leads the way to the secrets (we see a picture of Anubis on a manuscript sheet.) I had learnt from Abramelin that the way to find her was through a period of retreat, confession and praise to God. So I rented out my business and organized my household to give me 18 months to praise Adonai.” So saying Abraham leads us through his living room (where he sleeps with his wife and eats) to the prayer room and out a door to the veranda which has a layer of sparkling white sand covering the floor.

Invoking the Angel

Voice over continues as Abraham goes through his daily actions (see Bk3 Ch12). Gradually, the light and focus in rooms change, the music builds up to create a feeling of expectation.

Finally, after the third period of 6 months (interspersed with Jewish holy days) the day to invoke and hold discussions with the Holy Guardian Angel arrives (Bk3 Ch13).

Abraham wears simple mourning clothes, prays humbly. The Holy Guardian Angel appears - one wing comes from his body, one from the ceiling and one from the incense smoke on the altar. (This is a repetition of the scene in Egypt where Abramelin did the same invocation). 

Evocation

Abraham has a conversation with Holy Guardian Angel - voice over - “My Holy Guardian Angel told me how to deal with the elemental beings and the unredeemed spirits. He told me they are waiting unseen (Bk3 Cp14) and that I should call on Jehovah, Adonai, and Zabaoth. He told me how I should prepare for the elemental Kings, the Dukes and unredeemed spirits.”

Abraham washes, wears a white robe, yellow overlay and tie, prepares room by sealing with oil and smokes. He prays to God for the power God gave to Moses, Aaron and Elijah. Holy Guardian Angel stands/hovers in background. Abraham sings the names, “Jehovah, Adonai, Zabaoth,” and wand in hand faces the veranda door and calls out, “Lucifer (who comes out of fire), Leviatan (who appears from a rock), Satan (who comes in a puff of wind) and Belial (who manifests out of a puddle on the sand).

The view changes so we stand on the veranda, looking at Abraham in the prayer room.  The kings mull about, angry, yet unable to leave. Abraham says, “You have been called here because I am a human who carries the power of Adanoi, Jehovah, Zabaoth in me so you must respond to me ... there is considerable discussion and the kings make threatening movements, they suggest deals (see Bk 3 Ch17), The Holy Guardian Angel standing in the background gives Abraham flashes of light and as he argues with the kings. In end Abraham makes the kings swear that they will reappear tomorrow and bring with them their dukes with their servants. Kings disappear leaving marks in the sand - of a puddle, a rock, some white feathers and a smoldering fire.

Sand with remnants scattered on it. Abraham calls, Kings slowly appear, subdued but angry. Abraham than calls, Astarot, Magot, Asmodee, Belzebud, Oriens, Paimon, Ariton, Amaimon and the spirit dukes appear, some quickly, some slowly. All have next to them the strangest of servants/creatures - a troop of elves, a horse, a gnome, beautiful girls, a weight lifter ... Abraham calls on the names of God (see Bk 3 Ch17 & 18). He demands 4 servant spirits for each quarter of the day and night - more discussions and arguments. The Holy Guardian Angel gives Abraham power (see Bk3 Ch16 &17).

Slowly all fade away leaving beautiful girl (or other) who follows Abraham like a dog and helps clear up the sand. She lies, swears, attacks - Holy Guardian Angel touches Abraham who uses the wand and knocks three times on the altar. In desperation he then blasts a hole in the sand and dissolves her leg. She keeps standing, as if nothing happened, moves normally and is submissive.

Abraham, alone at the ritual washing well - voice over - Abraham moves his hand in a strange way and two candles move towards him and give light to what he is doing, a gnome (indistinct) is holding them. “With the two sisters, wisdom and inspiration on either side of me (shapes appear and fade) and my Holy Guardian Angel to guide me I became adviser to Bishops, Popes, and even the Kaiser, I have done many things - but first the Bishop, my friend - we find ourselves in a plush Bishop’s apartment. 

Holy Wisdom & Sacred Magic