The purpose of this article is to produce a simple version of the neo-platonic structure behind the Chaldean Oracles so that they can be understood by modern magicians. I am trying to avoid making it too complex. One of the reasons that the Oracles have been set aside by many is because they been picked apart by academic philosophers rather than those who might have use for it. Hopefully this short article will explain the Oracles enough for a reader to piece together more of them for themselves. The Chaldean Oracles are important in the Golden Dawn, making an appearance in two of the grade rituals. But other than Wynn Westcott, who wrote a rather important translation, they were ignored. In
gods
The magic ball of Helios-Apollo
The splendid palace of their fire sublime. O best of gods, blest daemon crown 'd with fire Proculus In 1866 the archaeologist, antiquities “looter,” Prof Athanasios Rhousopoulos dug up a marble ball which was 30 in diameter covered with magical signs similar to what can be seen in the Greek Magical Papyri. The Helios-Apollo ball had been buried in the hill just outside the temple of Dionysus in Athens and was identified as a magical talisman to help someone win a combat . This was because the theatre of Dionysus had been adapted by the Romans to host gladiator fights and wild animal displays. Some of the symbols on the sphere look like fields or strategy plays. On the face of it
Inner and outer
I wrote this essay years ago for the Horus Hathor Temple of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn but I think it still stands - at least on a basic level. People often forget that there is an inner aspect to ritual. Many people think if you do the GD ritual as if it were a perfectly performed play it is enough to archive spectacular magical effects. Such people advocate turning the GD into a sort of Masonic order. But with respect to those who do attempt to do Masonic rituals in an esoteric way, the GD is a MAGICAL order were the mere performance of a rite will simply produce a minor effect where there is an overt dependence
On the nature of Gods, Spirits and Demons
What follows is cryptic writing but inside it are Ideas which should give the reader concepts which I am playing with now. These are the realms and natures of spirits.The One Thing is like light, in which darkness and shadow are one. To understand itself it created a mirror and divided itself into seven aspects and these formed the jewels of a crown for creation. From these jewels were born the seven proto-gods, the Elohim, who contained in themselves the seeds for the reflection of the One Thing. These proto-gods created matter so that it could reflect the Face of the One Thing.They divided the reflection into two; the light and its shadow became separated. Thus, the colours of the Elohim