The Witches' Pyramid

The acquisition of a witch's basic power is rooted in the observance of four simple rules, sometimes
known as the witches' pyramid. There are the four cornerstones of magic from which the whole
mysterious edifice of witchcraft rises. The rules in themselves are not magical, but the joint
application of them is. You must apply them sedulously, knowing that only in accordance with what
you are willing to invest will you gain anything in return.
The four cornerstones of the witches' pyramid are: a virulent imagination, a will of fire, rock-hard
faith, and a flair for secrecy.
Imagination being the ability to conjure up within your mind sights and scenes to delight the senses
and entertain the fancy, it is the tool par excellence of the artist, inventor and inveterate onanist. The
greatest and the most notorious personalities in the history of mankind have all possessed this power
to a great degree, and I suspect you, the reader, also do. Otherwise you wouldn't be reading this book.
The ability to indulge in a flight of fancy is of paramount importance to a witch, for it is through this
dark glass that she in fact will cast her spells and set the world afire with her incantations.
Therefore, as a witch, nurture your imagination, treasure your fantasies. Magically speaking, you will
probably put every one to excellent use. The more emotional and deeply knotted the roots of your
secret visions are, the more potent will they be to effect the working of your charms. The success of
all your spells will depend on just how much of a head of emotional steam you can work up over
them. The more tempestuous the emotion, the better is your chance of success. You must really be
prepared to roll on the ground and gnash your teeth in ecstasy or hate whenever you enter your
charmed circle of practice.
Apropos of this, many modern witches employ the method actor's device of sense memory to jar their
jaded emotional voltages into the correct spark-spitting intensity.' This is known variously in the craft
as linking, commemoration, or picking up one's contacts. However, meaningful memories apart, you
can use anything you like to turn you on and get the current flowing: perfumes, sounds, strobe lights,
wild dancing, sex, mantrams, hymns, and so on—wherever your preference lies. Anything and
everything may be pressed into service to get your imagination crackling and those cold shivers
running up and down your spine.
This, of course, is the rationale behind the traditional trappings of witchcraft—quite apart from the
paraphysical implications of the rituals. A suitable setting for your magical acts is therefore requisite
as one of the primary stimulants to your witchly imagination. A living room or den is about the best
most of us can manage in these days, but this is where your imagination comes in and invests the
place of working with all the mystery and terror sufficient to start your black juices flowing. The
occasional grotesque statuette or bizarre print is all to the good. In fact, as a witch, you will be obliged
to collect around yourself over the course of time a good complement of sorcerers trinkets. They don't
necessarily have to be the genuine articles—real skulls and goat's-foot candlesticks are hard to come
by and somewhat expensive—but seeing that atmosphere is so important, it is worth investing in the
odd dime-store Pacific Island devil mask or reproduction of a medieval astrological chart. It will
probably grow to be a passion with you as time passes, and you may soon find yourself having to
resist sternly the lure of any junk or antique shop you happen to pass, purely in the interests of
economy.
So treasure up your fantasies. The controlled daydream is one of the main keys to being a successful
witch. In fact, dream on, the richer and more fantastic the better!
The second side of the witches' pyramid of power is firmly labeled "will." It almost goes without
saying that the establishment of a potent will is one of the main goals of a practitioner of the Black
Arts. The will in this instance is a magical one, however, and if viewed out of magical context and
within the framework of everyday life, would constitute a splendid example of extravagant
egocentricity or even megalomania. It is the will of a spoiled child we are dealing with here, one
which brooks no opposition and impudently stares down any attempt at resistance with a basilisk eye.
This will is switched on during the actual magical operation, and it functions hand in hand with the
bubbling and boiling emotions evoked by means of your wicked imagination. It is in effect the lens
through which the burning emotions are focused. In order to sharpen your will to the correct
needlepoint, you may wish to employ one or two aids in the form of simple exercises designed to help
concentration. Eastern disciplines such as certain yoga meditation exercises can be used. They are
very wearisome, but they do work, with perseverance.
Meditating on the single flame of a candle is also good, as is keeping the attention fixed upon a
painted dot within a circle for half an hour without budging. The attempt to gaze at the second hand of
a watch completing the circuit of one minute, maintaining one's awareness of the hand at every second
is also very rewarding, and is frequently used by witches as a toning-up exercise for the will, here
used to direct the attention.
You must begin to assert yourself; it doesn't matter on precisely what, but generally. Then, once you
have begun to feel the intoxication of a powerful will growing within you, you should start exercising
it in little matters of no consequence. To use it disinterestedly at first is the best way to begin, so
concentrate on inconsequential things that you normally wouldn't give a fig about, and before you
embark on them, become aware of the fact that you are now switching on your magical will. Getting
the best of an argument is a good exercise, where brute force may be unnecessary, but persistence
often wins success. Every day will bring a mass of little opportunities to sharpen your will; they are
all grist for the mill. As I say, persistence is the watchword here. A whole host of clichés spring to
mind to illustrate the point, and they are all equally valid.
"If at once you don't succeed, try, try, try again." "Perseverance brings success." And so on.
One word of caution, however. Don't try willing anything which deep down you yourself are
convinced is impossible. In all probability it won't come about, and this will prove a serious blow to
your faith in yourself. Start with little things which you know can be effected. Leave the extinguishing
of candles by mental action or the levitating of ashtrays to the adept for the time being.
Remember, the point is to make the "bendable" world bend to your will. After all, your ambition is to
become a witch, not God, and it would be wise to bear in mind that there is a difference. To cultivate
your magical will means that first and foremost you must know what you want; you then proceed to
narrow down your field of attention to encompass just that one thing, keeping it before your
awareness all the time. Then you go and get it. Keep at it. This doggedness and the attitude of mind it
engenders has to be part of your witch personality during the magical operation.
"As my will, so mote it be!" These are the magic words.
Which brings me to the third side of the witches' pyramid on which is etched in mighty letters of
refulgent gold the word FAITH. Now this may seem a strange thing for a witch to concern herself
with, but it is quite true to say that all magical power is largely dependent on this, whether it be
wielded by people calling themselves witches or saints, as the case may be. Whether you cast a spell
for the sake of a church, yourself, or anyone else makes not one jot of a difference. A spell is a spell,
whether it sounds like a prayer or an incantation.
Paracelsus put the matter in a nutshell when he wrote: "Through Faith the Imagination is invigorated
and completed, for it really happens that every doubt mars its perfection ..."
Unless you possess a rock-firm faith in your own powers and in the operability of your spell, you will
not achieve the burning intensity of will and imagination which is requisite to make the magic work.
Faith is the vice in which you hold steady your crucible will, into which you pour the molten metal of
your virulent imagination. If you reflect on it, you will see in effect that imagination and faith are both
very intimately connected with the will. Faith is that which sweeps away all remaining objections and
clears the decks for immediate action. It is one of those valuable props which support you temporarily,
in the course of your magical operation, and allow you to believe in the inevitability of the success
which is bound to be attendant upon it. It is one more means of attaining that special state of selfimposed
and hopefully temporary megalomania which is the sine qua non of all true acts of sorcery.
You must be well aware of the great part faith plays in the dealings of those individuals who wrestle
with the more arcane aspects of fate in one way or another. A spiritual healer or a master gambler
would no more approach a prospective patient or crap game cold, without the flame of faith I in their
powers to warm them, than would a microscopist approach his specimen without a microscope. At a
rudimentary level, if you didn't have the faith you could do it, you could no more put one foot before
the other and cross the road in the manner you do every day, than could a two-month-old baby. In
magical matter, faith is de rigueur, and due to this fact it merits a whole side of the witches' pyramid
to itself.
While we are on the subject of faith, it would be as well to mention at this point that you as a witch
must never break your word. If you do not think you are going to be able to fulfil a promise, do not
make it, even if there is only the faintest possibility that you may not be able to come through. The
reason for this should be readily apparent to you, bearing in mind all we have said already on the
subject of the magical will and faith. You are trying to cultivate a state of mind which you can switch
on at will, whereby it is absolutely natural and in accordance with the nature of things that whatever
you say is going to come true. In this case, the words of the spell. Each and every time you break your
word, whether the reason for it be outside your control or not, you chip away a little of that
assiduously worked for faith in yourself, which you are trying so hard to cultivate. That's all. Nothing
to do with morals or ethics in this case, A witch's word is a witch's word, and is never given lightly.
The fourth and last theoretical consideration of the pyramid to contend with as a witch is the
important one of secrecy. Now witchcraft consists of knowledge, and knowledge brings power. Power
shared is power lost. Although we have entered the Age of Aquarius, along with its attendant freedom
and loosening of restrictions, it will still be very much in your own interests as a witch to shroud
certain of your doings in a reasonable veil of secrecy. Apart from the fun and glamour involved in so
doing, there are one or two practical considerations in addition to a magical one which also make this
maxim of secrecy meaningful. If someone obliquely gets to hear that you, a witch, are performing a
magical operation for or against him, whether or not he believes or disbelieves in your powers, way
down inside him his deep mind will hear and take notice. And this is half the battle won. Nothing so
arouses the deep mind's attention in anyone than the call of the dark, arcane, and mysterious.
Deep calleth unto deep; there is a natural affinity in all men's souls for that which is half hidden in a
twilight world, and once you have gained the attention of a person's deep mind, you may then proceed
to work on it, using your own as a broadcasting unit for your wishes. This is the essence of witchcraft.
So any half-told hint that you are actually about to cast a spell can do wonders to prepare the ground
in your victim, even before the operation is actually performed. Hence much of the half-veiled secrecy
of witches. This is no matter purely of fun and frolic, although undoubtedly this comes into play also.
Secrecy per se can get remarkable results. Nothing succeeds like a secret, whatever it may be,
however puerile or nonsensical, when you are striving to draw someone's attention. Once you have
that attention, then you can begin your sorcery in good and earnest.
So practise dropping the occasional portentous hints about your magic, never of course being too
explicit, but always striving to convey just enough to activate people's curiosities without making
them too sceptical. Of course, you will have to be selective with what you say to people. Not everyone
is susceptible to the same pitch. With some, after being pressed in vain to say more, you may find
yourself confronted with the retort, "Well, don't tell us if you don't want to; see if we care!" But they
do. And it has aroused their interests sufficiently for them to expend energy on an emotion of
petulance. The worst kind of response to your engineered secrecy is one of "Oh, really ... Did I tell
you about that movie I saw the other day?" So be discriminating with your portentous hints. Sum up
your audience or victim before you slyly murmur in their ears.
Another, more mundane reason for preserving a modicum of secrecy is this: Though the burning days
are over, you must still keep one eye open for the law on one or two points. For instance, should one
of your wax voodoo dolls be brought into court and shown as sufficient evidence of your practice of
psychological intimidation upon an intended victim, you could find yourself in trouble with a lawsuit
on your hands and heavy damages may be awarded against you.
Witchcraft pure and simple may not be illegal in Western non-Catholic countries any more, but you as
a practising witch can find yourself in faintly treacherous waters if you are not always wary of where
you are heading. As a witch, you should, for example, familiarize yourself with the existing witchcraft
laws, if any, of the place where you reside. For instance, in certain of the states of America, to take
money for any form of occult work, including witchcraft, can under certain circumstances still be
regarded as a criminal offence.
In England, since 1951 when the old witchcraft laws were finally repealed, there now operates a law
entitled the Fraudulent Mediums Act, which states that persons taking money for fraudulent practices
involving purported supernatural activities can, in fact, still be held subject to prosecution by due
process of the law. But only for fraud, not heresy. So it pays to watch your step.
If in the course of your career in the Black Arts a friend asks you as a witch to do some special favour
for him, take care not to ask money for your services, however strong the temptation. Allow your
friend to purchase the necessary materials for the spell. There is also no objection to his returning
favour for favour after the operation. But no hard cash, if you're wise. Apart from the legal aspects, a
direct financial transaction is also counselled against by a very ancient magical law. For some reason
real monetary involvement appears to vitiate the potency of the magic. Try it if you don't believe me.
Most witches I know have generally found it to be the case.
In all probability then, you will be able to bind your spells blithely without police interference as long
as you do not actually get caught taking money for them or instigating any obvious antisocial
activities such as blackmail, extortion, intimidation, or flagrant sexual practices of which the state
may not approve.
With these mundane considerations disposed of, we can now return to our study of the final
cornerstone of the magical pyramid, namely magical secrecy.
When you cast a spell, you will in effect be putting some very delicate "machinery" into operation.
The machinery itself is made out of the stuff that dreams are made of, and the electricity that flows
through it will be your own pulsating emotions and desires. Now in order to assemble this machinery
in the first place and then make it move, you are going to have employed your burning will, rock-firm
faith, and virulent imagination in equal, strenuous amounts. You will have slaved away to work
yourself into the right intense frame of mind where it would be inconceivable that the magic could
possibly fail.
Now supposing at just that precise moment the door to your place of working were to open and your
husband or maybe your mother-in-law were to confront you, uttering words to the effect of, "Audrey!
What are you doing dressed up like that in here? And why haven't you got any lights on? You'll strain
your eyes ... And what's all that terrible smoke? Are you trying to set the place on fire? ..."
Total anticlimax. And probably the finish of your witchcraft for quite a while. You may well try to
employ your basilisk gaze at that point, but unless you have a very well developed magical will, it will
probably avail you naught.
No, all possibilities of authorized intrusion must be strictly limited. It is not worth the battering to
your newly burgeoning witch's ego. A disaster like that can set months of hard work to little or no
account.
So, bearing all these considerations in mind, shroud yourself with a certain amount of reasonable
secrecy, especially about the time and place of your magical operations. Of course, if it is a rival witch
or maybe a whole coven that is interested in busting up your operation, then should they know the
nature of the magic you are going to work, they will probably be able to figure out the time when you
are going to perform—say around the full moon. If they are worth their magical salt, they may also
even figure out the place, by means of a divination.
Then it will be a matter of may the best witch win; magic against countermagic. But this is more
properly a subject for Chapters 5 and 6, which deal with countermagic and attack. Here I shall restrict
myself to sensible advice concerning the relatively simple matter of preserving a modicum of secrecy
about your personal magical activities. You don't have to become paranoid, just avoid inviting trouble.
Now we have dealt briefly with the four cornerstones of magical practice, and they should speak for
themselves. They reward contemplation. All successful witchery stems from their accurate
employment. You can burn your Cabalistic books and drown your yoga sutras—they will avail you
nothing in your quest for power unless you have already understood and mastered the ideas embodied
in the witches' pyramid, the four great rules of magic which are the keys to all practical operations in
the world of the unseen.