The Powers and Their Attainment

Having read the preceding pages, you now may be ready to take your first step, your initial, practical
commitment to the way of witchcraft.
For your first step, it will be sufficient for you to make a token gesture. The traditional initiation rites
we defer to Chapter 7; it is entitled, "The Coven and How to Form One." Here and now it will be
sufficient for you to make a symbolic gesture which will ceremonially demonstrate your severance
from old restraints and inhibitions that in the past have acted as the main obstacles to the development
of the powers within you. Basically, these restraints can be symbolized as the yoke imposed by such
established systems of irrational thought as organized religion, be it Christianity, Judaism, or
Buddhism. Organized religion, let me emphasize. Of course, there are many other ironclad systems of
thought without occult bases which have been imposed upon the public mind from time to time, such
as Communism, Fascism, or capitalism, but these at least function under the pretence of ministering to
the bodies of mankind rather than to the good of the soul, whatever that might be.
The domain of witchcraft is the realm of the unseen and the point at which it impinges upon man's
psyche, and as it is in this very same area that the various churches have sought to dabble their
fingers, it is with these institutions that we witches take issue in principle. Ironically, you will find that
all the innovators and founders of said religions were revolutionaries in their time who took issue with
their parent religions and were usually labeled heretics of one sort or another for their pains.
So enough of all the cant—religious, political, nationalist, whatever. Overboard with the lot of it. And
this is where your little gesture comes in. No, we are not going to ask you to burn a draft card or an
American flag; the time-honoured tradition of repeating the so-called Lord's Prayer backwards is all
you have to observe. Whether you are or were a practising Christian, Buddhist, Jew, Mohammedan,
Parsee, Hindu, whatever, make no difference at all. As long as you are living in a "Christian" country,
the gesture is most effective.
It is a defiant relic from the days of the great witch persecutions, and though witches used not to be
specifically anti-Christian, many of them became so, not unnaturally, with the advent of that tide of
religiously motivated oppression and bloodshed. It is a symbol of defiance towards the dead letter as
opposed to the living spirit of organized religion.
This is what you must do:
When you are quite sure you wish to take this first step, prior to going to bed on three successive
nights, making quite sure you are not observed, light a candle and address yourself to it with the
following words. This gibberish is, in fact, the Lord's Prayer written out backwards. It is somewhat
difficult to pronounce, but struggle through as best you can. It will be no more complicated than some
of the peculiar words of power you will encounter later on, and it will be good practice for you. You
should find it easier to say on each successive occasion; the third time you will be fairly fluent. I have
written it phonetically, hence the slight difference from the usual backward spelling.
Nema! Livee morf su revilled tub
Noishaytpmet ootni ton suh deel
Suh tshaiga sapsert tath yeth
Vigrawf eu za sesapsert rua suh vigrawf.
Derb ilaid rua yed sith suh vig
Neveh ni si za thre ni
Nud eeb liw eyth
Muck mod-ngik eyth
Main eyth eeb dwohlah
Neveh ni tra chioo
Rertharf rua!
As you chant the words, use your imagination to visualize great iron shackles struck off your hands
and feet by sizzling bolts of lightning and disintegrating into molten shards to either side of you. Hear
the whine and crackle of the searing flashes as they accomplish the work of liberation, and
consciously try to feel the burden of all your inherited guilts, all those awful shalt's and shalt not's, all
that vast edifice of twaddle and claptrap, sliding easefully from your back.
When all is over, blow out the candle, uttering the witch words "So mote it be!" Should you feel any
frissons of fear creeping up your spine during the performance of what may appear to you palpable
blasphemy, it is all to the good. This is a process of purgation and catharsis and often carries with it a
certain echo of childhood fears. Don't worry, though; any cold shivers only herald the fact that your
deep mind is sitting up and taking notice. It is through your deep mind that you will develop your
powers once you have cleared away the litter and debris that usually clogs it, as indeed is generally
the case of the ordinary man-in-the-street.
Each of the three successive days when you get up in the morning, you must strive to remember who
you are, a witch, what you did the night before, and the reason you did it. Then, maintaining that same
frame of mind, embark upon the coming day.
Strictly speaking, this "unravelling" is only necessary as a gesture for the first three nights to mark
your initial step on the path.
Anyway, the feeling of release that should accompany this little rite is a sure indication that the way is
open for the powers to begin flowing within you. It is as simple as that. No risky copulation with
fellow initiates on top of damp tombstones. No messy crucifixion of toads. Just a simple loosening of
the mundane knot—a process of blessed unbinding.
As we witches say, I say to you: "Blessed be!"
Now you can begin developing your powers, the intitial step of commitment having been taken. This
is done basically in two ways: First, by making use of the four great rules of magic which form the
sides of the witches' pyramid; and second, by the observance of natural power tides within the
framework of the universe, which constantly ebb and flow, and may be utilized to great advantage as
indeed they always have been over the centuries by cultists and occultists alike.
But first I shall deal with that most important of subjects, that dark tower of sorcery itself, the witches'
pyramid.