Indwelling: Religiously the concept of "Immanence" is well known – the godhead is said to dwell within the flesh of every living being. Esotericists also recognize a situation in which a Spirit of some type may "dwell within" a living person, without however possessing or obsessing them.
INRI: an important acronym in both orthodox religion and in magic. The initials of a Latin phrase once placed by the Romans at the top of the Cross which stood for Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judaeorum, or "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." Medieval alchemists theorized that it meant Igne Natura Renovatur Integra or "the whole of nature is renewed by fire," or Igne Nitrum Roris Invenitur - "shining is rarely found in fire." Masonic author J.S.M. Ward attributed the initials to the first letters of certain Hebrew words used to describe the four elements (I - Yam - Water; N - Nour - Fire; R - Ruach - Air; I - Yebisah - Earth). INRI is known as the "Keyword" and is used in the Golden Dawn's Inner Order to describe the cycle of the seasons; the equinoxes and solstices, as well as the cycles of birth, death, and rebirth (I - Yod - Virgo; N - Nun - Scorpio; R - Resh - the Sun; I - Yod - Virgo).
Ireland: Although nominally Christianised, there is little doubt that the early mediaeval Irish retained many relics of their former condition of paganism, especially those which possessed a magical tendency. This is made clear by the writings of Giraldus Cambrensis, the first account we have of Irish manners and customs after the invasion of the country by the Anglo - Normans. His description, for example, of the Purgatory of St. Patrick in Lough Derg, Co. Donegal, proves that the demonology of the Catholic Church had already fused with the animism of Irish native heathenesse. He says:
" There is a lake in Ulster containing an island divided into two parts. In one of these stands a church of especial sanctity, and it is most agreeable and delightful, as well as beyond measure glorious for the visitations of angels and the multitude of the saints who visibly frequent it. The other part, being covered with rugged crags, is reported to be the resort of devils only, and to be almost always the theatre on which crowds of evil spirits visibly perform their rites. This part of the island contains nine pits, and should any one perchance venture to spend the night in one of them (which has been done, we know, at times, by some rash men), he is immediately seized by the malignant spirits, who so severely torture him during the whole night, inflicting on him such unutterable sufferings by fire and water, and other torments of various kinds, that when morning comes scarcely any spark of life is found left in his wretched body. It is said that any one who has once submitted to these torments as a penance imposed upon him,will not afterwards undergo the pains of hell, unless he commit some sin of a deeper dye.
" This place is called by the natives the Purgatory of St. Patrick. For he, having to argue with a heathen race concerning the torments of hell, reserved for the reprobate, and the real nature and eternal duration of the future life, in order to impress on the rude minds of the unbelievers a mysterious faith in doctrines so new, so strange, so opposed to their prejudices, procured by the efficacy of his prayers an exemplification of both states even on earth, as a salutary lesson to the stubborn minds of the people."
The ancient Irish believed in the possibility of the transformation of human beings into animals, and Giraldus in another narrative of facts purporting to have come under his personal notice proves that this belief had lost none of its significance with the Irish of the latter half of the twelfth century. The case is also interesting as being one of the first recorded examples of lycanthropy (q.v.) in the British Isles, and that must be our excuse for quoting it at some length.
" About three years before the arrival of Earl John in Ireland. it chanced that a priest, who was journeying from Ulster towards Meath, was benighted in a certain wood on the borders of Meath. While, in company with only a young ]ad, he was watching by a fire which he had kindled under the branches of a spreading tree, lo ! a wolf came up to them, and immediately addressed them to this effect: ' Rest secure, and be not afraid, for there is no reason you should fear, where no fear is’ The travellers being struck with astonishment and alarm, the wolf added some orthodox words referring to God. The priest then implored him, and adjured him by Almighty God and faith in the Trinity, not to hurt them, but to inform them what creature it was in the shape of a beast uttered human words. The wolf, after giving catholic replies to all questions, added at last: 'There are two of us, a man and a woman, natives of Ossory, who, through the curse of Natalis, saint and abbot, are compelled every seven years to put off the human form, and depart from the dwellings of men. Quitting entirely the human form, we assume that of wolves. At the end of the seven years, if they chance to survive, two others being substituted in their places, they return to their country and their former shape. And now, she who is my partner in this visitation lies dangerously sick not far from hence, and, as she is at the point, of death, I beseech you, inspired by divine - charity, to give her the consolations of your priestly office.'
" At this wood the priest followed the wolf trembling, as he led the way to a tree at no great distance, in the hollow of which he beheld a she - wolf, who under that shape was pouring forth human sighs and groans. On seeing the priest, having saluted him with human courtesy, she gave thanks to God, who in this extremity had vouchsafed to visit her with such consolation. She then received from the priest all the rites of the church duly performed, as far as the last communion. This also she importunately demanded, earnestly supplicating him to complete his good offices by giving her the viaticum. The priest stoutly asserting that he was not provided with it, the he - wolf, who had withdrawn to a short distance, came back and pointed out a small missal - book, containing some consecrated wafers, which the priest carried on his journey, suspended from his neck, under his garment, after the fashion of the country. He then entreated him not to deny them the gift of God, and the aid destined for them by divine Providence; and, to remove all doubt, using his claw for a hand, he tore off the skin of the she - wolf, from the head down to the navel, folding it back. Thus she immediately presented the form of an old woman. The priest, seeing this, and compelled by his fear more than his reason, gave the communion; the recipient having earnestly implored it, and devoutly partaking of it Immediately afterwards the he - wolf rolled back the skin and fitted it to its original form.
" These rites having been duly, rather than rightly performed, the he - wolf gave them his company during the whole night at their little fire, behaving more like a man than a beast. When morning came, be led them out of the wood, and, leaving the priest to pursue his journey pointed out to him the direct road for a long distance. At his departure, he also gave him many thanks for the benefit he had conferred, promising him still greater returns of gratitude, if the Lord should call him back from his present exile, two parts of which he had already completed."
" It chanced, about two years afterwards, that I was passing through Meath, at the time when the bishop of that land had convoked a synod, having also invited the assistance of the neighbouring bishops and abbots, in order to have their joint counsels on what was to be done in the affair which had come to his knowledge by the priest's confession. The bishop, hearing that I was passing through those parts, sent me a message by two of his clerks, requesting me, if possible, to be personally present when a matter of so much importance was under consideration; but if I could not attend he begged me at least to signify my opinion in writing. The clerks detailed to me all the circumstances, which indeed I had heard before from other persons; and, as I was prevented by urgent business from being present at the synod, I made up for my absence by giving them the benefit of my advice in a letter. The bishop and synod, yielding to it, ordered the priest to appear before the pope with letters from them, setting forth what had occurred, with the priest's concession, to which instrument the bishops and abbots who were present at the synod affixed their seals."
" In our own time we have seen persons who, by magical arts, turned any substance about them into fat pigs, as they appeared (but they were always red), and sold them in the markets. However, they disappeared as soon as they crossed any water, returning to their real nature; and with whatever care they were kept, their assumed form did not last beyond three days. It has also been a frequent complaint, from old times as well as in the present, tha certain hags in Wales, as well as in Ireland and Scotland changed themselves into the shape of hares, that, sucking teats under this counterfeit form, they might stealthily rob other people's milk."
In Anglo - Norman times sorcery was widely practised but notices are scarce. It is only by fugitive passages in the works of English writers who constantly rail against the superstitious nature and practices of the Irish that we glean any information concerning the occult history of the country. The great cause celebre of the Lady Alice Kyteler shook the entire Anglo - Norman colony during several successive years in the first half of the fourteenth century. The party of the Bishop of Ossory the relentless opponent of the Lady Alice, boasted that by her prosecution they had rid Ireland of a nest of sorcerers, but there is reason to believe that Ireland could have furnished numerous similar instances of black magic had the actors in them been of similar rank to the ill - fated lady - that is of sufficient importance in the eyes of chroniclers.
In this connection a work on Irish Witchcraft and Demonology by Mr. St. John D. Seymour (1913), is of striking and pregnant interest. We do not gather from it that Mr. Seymour had any previous general knowledge of the subject he handles before writing this book, and he appears to take it for granted that witchcraft in Ireland is purely an alien system, imported into the island by the Anglo-Normans and Scottish immigrants to the north. This undoubtedly is the case so far as the districts of the Pale and of Ulster are concerned, but surely it cannot be applied to the Celtic districts of Ireland. Regarding these Mr. Seymour is silent, but it will occur to most readers that the analogy of Celtic Scotland, which abounded in witches and witch customs, is powerful evidence that a system similar to that in vogue in the Highlands obtained in the aboriginal districts of Ireland. Early Irish works contain numerous references to sorcery, and practices are chronicled in them which bear a close resemblance to those of the shamans and medicine - men of savage tribes all over the world. Animal transformation, one of the most common feats of the witch, is alluded to again and again in the ancient Irish cycles, and there are few heroes in Hibernian legend who have not a fair stock of working magic at their finger - ends. Wonder - working druids, too, abound. Mr. Seymour will have it that "In Celtic Ireland dealings with the unseen were not regarded with such abhorrence, and indeed had the sanction of custom and antiquity." He also states that " the Celtic element had its own superstitious beliefs, but these never developed in this direction (the direction of Witchcraft)." This is very difficult to believe. The lack of records of such a system is no criterion that it never existed, and we have not the least hesitation in saying that a thorough examination of the subject would prove that a veritable system of witchcraft obtained in Celtic Ireland as elsewhere, although it may not have been of "Celtic" origin.
Be that as it may, Mr. Seymour's book is most interesting as dealing with those Anglo - Norman and Scottish portions of Ireland where the belief in witchcraft followed the lines of those in vogue in the mother countries of the immigrant populations. He sketches the cause celebre of the Kyteler case touches on the circumstances connected with the Earl of Ormond and notes the case of the Irish prophetess who insisted upon warning the ill fate James of Scotland on the night of his assassination at Perth. It is not stated by the ancient chronicler, quote by Mr. Seymour, from what part of Ireland the witch in question emanated - for a witch she undoubtedly was as she possessed a familiar spirit, Huthart, whom she alleged had made her cognisant of the coming catastrophe Mr. Seymour does not seem to be aware of the history of this spirit. He is the Teutonic Hudekin or Hildekin the wearer of the hood, sometimes also alluded to a Heckdekin, well known throughout Germany and Flander as a species of house - spirit or brownie. Trithemius allude to him as a "spirit known to the Saxons who attached himself to the Bishop of Hildesheim" and we find him cropping up here and there in occult history. From this circumstance it might with justice be inferred that the witch in question came from some part of Ireland which had been settled by Teutonic immigrants, and more probably from Ulster, but the data is insufficient to permit us to conclude this definitely.
From the most scanty materials, Mr. Seymour has compiled a book of outstanding interest. He passes in review the witchcraft trials of the XVI. century, the burning of dam Dubh, of the Leinster trial of O'Toole and College Green in 1327 for heresy, and the passing of the statute against witchcraft in Ireland in 1586. The prevalence of witchcraft in Ireland during the sixteenth century is proved by him to have been very great indeed, but a number of the authorities he cites, as to the existence of sorcerers in the Green Isle, almost certainly refer to the more Celtic portions of it; for example Rich and Stanihurst. He has an excellent note upon the enchantments of the Earl of Desmond who demonstrated to his young and beautiful wife the possibilities of animal transformation by changing himself into a bird, a hag, a vulture, and a gigantic serpent.
Human relations with the Devil are dwelt upon at length by Mr. Seymour in a racy chapter, and we are told how he was cheated by a doctor of divinity and raised on occasion by certain sorcerers. Florence Newton, the witch of Youghal claims an entire chapter to herself, and worthily, for her case is one of the most absorbing in the history of witchcraft. At any rate, whatever her occult powers, she splendidly succeeded in setting a whole community by the ears. Ghostly doings and apparitions, fairy possession, and dealings with the 'wee folk' are also included in the volume; and Mr. Seymour has not confined himself to Ireland, but has followed one of his countrywomen to America, where he shows how she gave congenial employment to the fanatic Cotton Mather.
Witchcraft notices of the seventeenth century in Antrim and Islandmagee comprise the eighth chapter; and the ninth and last bring down the affairs of sorcery in Ireland from the year 1807 to the present day. The last notice is that of a trial for murder in 1911, when a wretched woman was tried for killing another - an old - age pensioner - in a fit of insanity. A witness deposed that he met the accused on the road on the morning of the crime holding a statue or figure in her hand, and repeating three times " I have the old witch killed. I got power from the Blessed Virgin to kill her." It appears that the witch quoted in question threatened to plague the murderess with rats and mice; a single rodent had evidently penetrated to her abode, and was followed by the bright vision of a lady who told the accused that she was in danger, and further informed her that if she received the old pensioner's pension - book without taking off her clothes and cleaning them and putting out her bed and cleaning up the house, she would - receive dirt for ever and rats and mice. This is not an isolated case, and shows how hard such superstitions die in the more remote portions of civilised countries.
We have reviewed Mr. Seymour's book at some length because it represents practically all that exists on the subject in question. But it would be interesting to see him further his researches by an examination into such oi the native Irish records as exist. Such a course would most probably result in the rescue of a considerable amount of detail which would enable him to complete the occult history of his country.
Jeanne, D'Arc: Jeanne d'Arc was born in the village of Domremy, near Vaucouleurs, on the border of Champagne and Lorraine, on Jan. 6th, 1411. She was taught to spin and sew, but not to read or write, these accomplishments being unusual and unnecessary to people in her station of life. Her parents were devout, and she was brought up piously. Her nature was gentle, modest, and religious; but with no physical weakness or morbidity; on the contrary, she was exceptionally strong, as her later history shows.
At or about the age of thirteen, Jeanne began to experience what psychology now calls "auditory hallucinations." In other words, she heard voices - - usually accompanied by a bright light - when no visible person - was present. This, of course, is a common symptom of impending mental disorder; but no insanity developed in Jeanne. Startled she naturally was at first, but continuation led to familiarity and trust. The voices gave good counsel of a very commonplace kind, as, for instance, that she " must be a good girl and go often to church." Soon, however, she began to have visions; saw St. Michael, St. Catharine, and St. Margaret; was given instructions as to her mission; eventually made her way to the Dauphin, put herself at the head of 6,000 men, and advanced to the relief of Orleans, which was surrounded by the victorious English. After a fortnight of hard fighting, the siege was raised, and the enemy driven off. The tide of war had turned, and in three months the Dauphin was crowned king at Rheims as Charles the Seventh.
At this point, Jeanne felt that her mission was accomplished. But her wish to return to her family was over ruled by king and archbishop, and she took part in the further fighting against the allied English and Burgundian forces, showing great bravery and tactical skill. But in November, 1430, in a desperate sally from Compiegne which was besieged by the Duke of Burgundy - she fell into the enemy's hands, was sold to the English, and thrown into a dungeon at their headquarters in Rouen.
After a year's imprisonment she was brought to trial before the Bishop of Beauvais, in an ecclesiastical court. The charges were heresy and sorcery. Learned doctors of the Church, subtle lawyers, did their best to entangle the simple girl in their dialectical toils; but she showed a remarkable power of keeping to her affirmations and of avoiding heretical statements. " God has always been my Lord in all that I have done, " she said. But the trial was only pretence, for her fate was already decided. She was condemned to the stake. To the end, she solemnly affirmed the reality of her "voices," and the truth of her depositions. Her last word, as the smoke and flame rolled round her, was "Jesus" Said an English soldier, awestruck by the manner of her passing: "We are lost; we have burned a Saint." The idea was corroborated in popular opinion by events which followed, for speedy death - as if by Heaven's anger - overtook her judges and accusers. Inspired by her example and claims, and helped by dissension and weakening on the side of the enemy, the French took heart once more;' and the English were all -, but swept out of the country.
Jeanne's family was rewarded by enoblement, under the name of Do Lys. Twenty - five years after her death, the Pope acceded to a petition that the process by which she was condemned should be reexamined. The result was that the judgment was reversed, and her innocence established and proclaimed.
The life of the Maid supplies a problem which orthodox science cannot solve. She was a simple peasant girl, with no ambitious hankering after a career. She rebelled pathetically against her mission. " I had far rather rest and spin by my mother's side, for this is no work of my choosing, but I must be and do it, for my Lord wills it." She cannot be dismissed on the "simple idiot" theory of Voltaire, for her genius in war and her aptitude in repartee undoubtedly prove exceptional mental powers, unschooled though she was in what we call education. We cannot call her a mere hysteric, for her health and strength were superb. It is on record that a man of science said to an Abbe:" Come to the Salpetriere Hospital, and I will show you twenty Jeannes d'Arc." To which the Abbe responded: " Has one of them given us back Alsace and Lorraine ? " The retort was certainly neat. Still, though the Salpetriere hysterics have not won back Alsace and Lorraine, it is nevertheless true that many great movements have sprung from fraud or hallucination. May it not have been so with Jeanne ? She delivered France, and her importance in history is great; but may not her mission and her doings have been the outcome of merely subjective hallucinations, induced by the brooding of her specially religious and try? The army, patriotic mind on the woes of her country being ignorant and superstitious, would readily believe in the supernatural nature of her mission, and great energy and valour would result - for a man fights well when he feels that Providence is on his side.
This is the most usual kind of theory in explanation of the facts. But it is not fully satisfactory. How came it - one may ask - that this untutored peasant girl could persuade not only the rude soldiery, but also the Dauphin and the Court, of her Divine appointment ? How came she to be given the command of an army ? Surely a post of such responsibility and power would not be given to an ignorant girl of eighteen, on the mere strength of her own claim to inspiration. It seems, at least, very improbable.
Now it so happens (though the materialistic school of historians conveniently ignore or belittle it) that there is strong evidence in support of the idea that Jeanne gave the Dauphin some proof of the possession of supernormal faculties. In fact, the evidence is so strong that Mr. Andrew Lang called it " unimpeachable " - and Mr. Lang did not usually err on the side of credulity in these matters. Among other curious things, Jeanne seems to have repeated to Charles the words of a prayer which he had made men tally - and she also made some kind of clairvoyant discovery of a sword hidden behind the altar of Fierbois church. Schiller's magnificent dramatic poem - " Die Jungfrau von Orleans - - though unhistorical in some details, is substantially accurate on these points concerning clairvoyance and mind - reading.
The best books on the Maid are those of Mr. Anatole France (two vols.), and Mr. Andrew Lang, giving respectively the sceptical and the believing side as to the explanation of her experiences. There is also a very useful little book by Miss C. M. Antony, with preface by Father R. H. Benson.
Jinn: Singular Jinnee, plural Jineeyeh, Arabian spirits, perhaps animistic, but more probably strictly mythological like the Persian divs (q.v.). The jinn were created out of fire, and occupied the earth for several thousand years before Adam; they were perverse, and would not reform, although prophets were sent to reclaim them; they were eventually driven from the earth, and took refuge in the outlying islands of the sea. One of the number named Azazeel (afterwards called Iblees) had been carried off as a prisoner by the angels; he grew up amongst them, and became their chief, but having refused, when commanded, to prostrate himself before Adam, he was degraded to the condition of a shaytan, and becomes the father of the shaytans, or devils. The jinn are not immortal, but destined ultimately to die: they eat and drink and propagate their species; they live in communities, and are ruled over by princes: they can make themselves visible or invisible, and assume the forms of various animals, such as serpents, cats and dogs. There are good jinn and bad jinns. They frequent baths, wells, latrines, ovens, ruined houses, rivers, cross roads and market places. Finally, like the demons of the Rabbins, they ascend to heaven and learn the future by eavesdropping. But with all their power and knowledge, they are liable to be reduced to obedience by means of talismans or magic arts, and become obsequious servants until the spell is broken.
It is far from clear or certain, that the jinn of the east were borrowed from the mythology or philosophy of the west, and the practice of translating the Arabic word jinn by the Latin term "genius" arose more from an apparent resemblance in the names, than from any identity in the nature and functions of those imaginary beings. This similarity of name, however, must have been purely accidental, for the Arabs knew little or nothing of the Latin language, and not a single term derived immediately from it; demon, therefore, - and not genius was the word which they would have used if they had borrowed this part of their creed from the west. jinn appears, moreover, to be a genuine Arabic word, derived from a root signifying "to veil" or "conceal" it, therefore, means properly, "that which is veiled and cannot be seen." "In one sense," says Fruzh Utdi, author of the Gedmus, "the word jinn signifies any spiritual being concealed from all our senses, and, for that reason, the converse of a material being. Taken in this extensive sense, the word jinn comprehends devils as well as angels, but there are some properties common to both angels and jinn; some peculiar to each. Every angel is a jinn, but every jinn is not an angel. In another sense, this term is applied peculiarly to a particular kind of spiritual beings; for such beings are of three kinds; the good, which are angels; the bad, devils; and the intermediate, comprehending both good and bad, who form the class of jinn." Thus the Arabs acknowledge good and bad genii, in that respect agreeing with the Greeks, but differing from the Persians. The genii, so long familiarized to European readers by the Arabian Nights, were not the same beings, mentioned by the Arabian lexicographer, but the Divs and Devatiis of Indian romance, dressed up in a foreign attire, to please the taste of readers in Persia and Arabia.
The principal differences, therefore, between the genii of the west and the jinn of the east, seem to have been these; the genii were deities of an inferior rank, the constant companions and guardians of men, capable of giving useful or prophetic impulses, acting as a species of mediators and messengers between the gods and men. Some were supposed to be friendly, others hostile, and many believed one of each kind to be attached, from his birth, to every mortal. The former was called Agathodemon, the latter Cacodemon; and one of the latter who appeared to Cassius is represented as a man of vast stature and of a black hue, whence, no doubt, that colour has been given, in latter times, to the devil. The good genius prompted men to good, the evil to bad actions. That of each individual was as a shadow of himself. Often he was represented as a serpent; his age also varied; he was generally crowned with a chaplet of plane leaves. In coins of Trajan and Hadrian the genius places a patera with his right hand on an altar, and holds a sort of scourge in his left. his sacrifices were wholly bloodless, consisting of wine and flowers, and the person who performed the oblation was the first to taste the cup. They were adored with prostrations, particularly on the birthday, which was placed under their especial care.
The Roman men swore by their Genius, the women by their Juno. The genius of the reigning Prince was an oath of extraordinary solemnity. There were local as we as individual genii, concerning whom many particulars ma be found in " Vossius, " de Idol.
The jinn, on the contrary, who seem to be the line descendants of the Devatiis and Rakshasas of the Hind mythology, were never worshipped by the Arabs, nor considered as anything more than the agents of the Deity Since the establishment of Mohammedanism indeed, the jinn have been described as invisible spirits, and their feat and deformities which figure in romance are as little believed by Asiatics, as the tales of "Arthur's Round Table" are by ourselves. Their existence as superhuman beings is maintained by the Mussulman doctors, but that has little connection with their character and functions a delineated by poets.
Ka: The Egyptian conception of one of the seven parts of man; a spiritual double or astral body. Not only did mankind possess a Ka, but animals and inanimate objects as well. Every mortal received a Ka at birth. When he died his Ka left him, but was supposed to hover near the body and occasionally to reanimate it. For this purpose statues were placed near the mummy in which the Ka might find a temporary shelter. The Ka was provided with food by the friends of the deceased who left provisions in the tomb for its use. (See Egypt and Vampire.)
Kabala, The: A Hebrew and Jewish system of theosophy. The word signifies "doctrines received from tradition." In ancient Hebrew literature the name was used to denote the entire body of religious writings, the Pentateuch excepted. It is only in the early middle ages that the system of theosophy known as Kabbalism was designated by that name. We will first consider the Kabala as a literary production before proceeding to examine it in the light of a hand - book of Hebrew occultism. The main sources which went to the making, of the Kabala are the SepherYesirah or Book of Creation, which is a combination of mediaeval mysticism and science. The date of origin of this work has been matter of great argument, but it is perhaps safest to say that it seems to be earlier than the ninth century A.D. The Bahi or brilliant is first quoted by Nahmanides, and is usually attributed to his teacher, Ezra. It owes much to the SepherYesirah, and to a great extent foreshadows the Zohar, which is a commentary on the Pentateuch, including eleven dissertations on that book, the most important of which are the Book of Secrets, the Secret of Secrets, the Mysteries of the Pentateuch, and the Hidden Interpretation.
It pretends to the authorship of Simon ben Yohai in the second century, and it is alleged that he drew his sources from traditional dialogues between God and Adam in Paradise. It is further stated that it was discovered in a cavern in Galilee where it had been hidden for one thousand years.
While it has been proved almost beyond doubt, however, that it was written in the thirteenth century, and the capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders is alluded to, the source may well be the document described. It is also believed that Moses de Leon, who died in, and who circulated and sold the Zohar, was himself its author, however he likely stands only as an editor. At the same time there is no doubt that it enshrines a large number of very ancient and important Hebrew traditions. The matter contained in the Kabala deals with the nature of God, the sephiroth or divine emanations, of angels and of man. God, known in the Kabala as Ein Soph, fills and contains the universe. As he is boundless, mind cannot conceive him, so in a certain mystical sense he is non - existent. The doctrine of the sephiroth is undoubtedly the most important to be met within the pages of the Kabala. To justify his existence the Deity had to become active and creative, and this he achieved through the medium of the ten sephiroth or intelligences which emanated from him like rays proceeding from a luminary. The first sephiroth or emanation was the wish to become manifest, and this contained nine other intelligences or sephiroth, which again emanate one from the other - the second from the first, the third from the second, and so forth. These are known as the Crown, Wisdom, Intelligence, Love, justice, Beauty, Firmness, Splendour, Foundation and Kingdom. From the junction of pairs of sephiroth, other emanations were formed: thus from Wisdom and Intelligence. proceeded Love or Mercy and from Mercy and justice, Beauty. The sephiroth are also symbolical of primordial man and the heavenly man, of which earthly man is the shadow. They form three triads which respectively represent intellectual, moral, and physical qualities: the first, Wisdom, Intelligence and Crown; the second Love, justice and Beauty; the third Firmness, Splendour and Foundation. The whole is circled or bound by Kingdom, the ninth sephiroth. Each of these triads symbolises a portion of the human frame: the first the head; the second the arms; the third the legs. It must be understood that though 'those sephiroth are emanations from God they remain a portion, and simply represent different aspects of the One Being.
Kabbalistic cosmology posits four different worlds, each of which forms a sephirotic system of a decade of emanations, which were verified in the following manner: the world of emanations or the heavenly man, a direct emanation from the Ein Soph. From it is produced the world of creation, ~or the Briatic world of pure nature, but yet not so spiritual as the first. The angel Metatron inhabits it and constitutes the world of pure spirit. He governs the visible world and guides the revolutions of the planets. From this is formed the world of formation or the Yetziratic world, still less refined, which is the abode of angels. Finally from these - emanates the world of action or matter, the dwelling of, evil spirits, which contains ten hells, each becoming lower until the depths of diabolical degradation is reached. The prince of this region is Samael, the evil spirit, the serpent of Genesis, otherwise "the Beast." But the universe was incomplete without the creation of man; the heavenly Adam, that is the tenth sephiroth, created the earthly Adam, each member of whose body corresponds to a part of the visible universe. The human form, we are told, is shaped after the four letters Which constitute the Jewish tetragrammaton, Jhava or Y H W H, thus, the letters YHWH . The souls of the whole human race pre - exist in the world of emanations, and are all destined to inhabit human bodies. Like the sephiroth from which it emanates, every soul has ten potentes, consisting of a trinity of triads - spirit, soul, cruder soul or neptesh. Each soul, before its entrance into the world consists of male and female united into one being, but when it descends to this earth, the two parts are separated and animate different bodies. The destiny of the soul upon earth is to develop the perfect germs implanted in it, which must ultimately return to Ein Soph. If it does not succeed in acquiring the experience for which it has been sent to earth, it must reinhabit the body three times till it becomes duly purified. When all the souls in the world of the sephiroth shall have passed through this period of probation and returned to the bosom of Ein Soph, the jubilee will commence; even Satan will be restored to his angelic nature, and existence will be a Sabbath without end. The Kabala states that these esoteric doctrines are contained in the Hebrew scriptures, but cannot be perceived by the uninitiated; they are, however, plainly revealed to persons of spiritual mind.
Next considering the Kabala as occult literature, we find it stated that the philosophical doctrines developed in its pages are found to have been perpetuated by the secret method of oral tradition from the first ages of humanity., The Kabala, " says Dr. Ginsburg, when explaining the story of its birth, " was first taught by God Himself to a select company of angels, who formed a theosophic school in Paradise. After the Fall the angels most graciously communicated this heavenly doctrine to the disobedient child of earth, to furnish the protoplasts with the means of returning to their pristine nobility and felicity. From Adam it passed over to Noah, and then to Abraham, the friend of God, who emigrated with it to Egypt, where the patriarch allowed a portion of this mysterious doctrine to ooze out. It was in this way that the Egyptians obtained some knowledge of it, and the other Eastern nations could introduce it into their philosophical systems.
Moses, who was learned in all the wisdom of Egypt, was first initiated into the Kabala in the land of his birth, but became most proficient in it during his wanderings in the wilderness, when he not only devoted to it the leisure hours of the whole forty years, but received lessons in it from one of the angels. By the aid of this mysterious science the lawgiver was enabled to solve the difficulties which arose during his management of the Israelites, in spite of the pilgrimages, wars, and frequent miseries of the nation. He covertly laid down the principles of this secret doctrine in the first four books of the Pentateuch, but withheld them from Deuteronomy. Moses also initiated the seventy Elders into the secrets of this doctrine, and they again transmitted them from hand to hand. Of all who formed the unbroken line of tradition, David and Solomon were the most deeply initiated into the Kabala. No one, however, dared to write it down till Simeon ben Jochai, who lived at the time of the destruction of the second. After his death, his son, Rabbi Eleazar, and his secretary, Rabbi Abba, as well as his disciples, collated Rabbi Simon Ben Jochai treatises, and out of these composed the celebrated work called Z H R, Zohay, Splendour, which is the grand storehouse of Kabbalism.
The history of Kabbalistic origins, however, is as has been shown almost wholly fabulous, and no evidence worthy of the name can be adduced in its support. The mysticism of the Mishnah and the Talmud must be carefully distinguished from that of the Kabbalistic writings, as they are undoubtedly of very considerable antiquity. Certainly there must be some element in the concept that a certain core of mystical knowledge was passed down through the ancient Egyptians to Solomon, and thence to the modern world, and an echo of this myth is seen in Freemasonry. But the system must be considered to be one which has grown and been added to over centuries.
The Kabala has certain claims upon the modern student of mysticism. Its philosophical value is not depreciated by its modern origin, and it is regarded by many as an absolute guide to knowledge in all the most profound problems of existence. Its thesis is extensive and profound, but examination unfortunately proves it to be merely a series of dogmatic hypotheses, a body of positive doctrine based on a central assumption which is incapable of proof. This tradition, says Eliphas Levi, wholly reposes on the single dogma of magic, that the Visible is for us a proportional measure of the Invisible. In fact it proceeds by analogy from the known to the unknown. At the same time, it is a most interesting effort of the human mind.
Medieval magic was deeply indebted to Kabbalistic combinations of the divine names for the terms of its rituals, and from it it derived the belief in a resident virtue in sacred names and numbers. Certain definite rules are employed to discover the sublime source of power resident in the Jewish scriptures. Thus the words of several verses in the scriptures which are regarded as containing an occult sense, are placed over each other, and the letters are formed into new words by reading them vertically; or the words of the text are arranged in squares in such a manner as to be read vertically or otherwise. Words are joined together and re - divided, and the initial and final letters of certain words are formed into separate words. Again, every letter of the word is reduced to its numerical value, and the word is explained by another of the same quantity. Every letter of a word too is taken to be an initial of an abbreviation of it. The twenty two letters of the alphabet are divided into two halves, one half is placed above the other, and the two letters which thus become associated are interchanged. This a becomes 1, b, m, and so on. This cipher alphabet is called albm from the first interchanged pairs. The commutation of the twenty - two letters is effected by the last letter of the alphabet taking the place of the first, the last but one the place of the second and so forth. This cipher is called albah. These permutations and combinations are much older than the Kabala, and obtained amongst Jewish occultists from time immemorial.
Lastly, it should be pointed out that the Kabala has been condemned nowhere more strongly than among the Jews themselves. Jewish orthodoxy has always been suspicious of it, and as k1r. A. E. Waite has well said; The - best lesson we can learn from it is the necessity of scrupulously separating the experimental knowledge of the mysteries from their bizarre fields of speculation."
Kai: The seneschal of King Arthur, known in the French romances as Messire Queux, or Maitre Queux or Kuex. He is prominent in the Morte d'Arthur. This shows the clear Welsh origins and linkage of much of the Arthurian cycle, as Kai emanates from the Mabinogion. In the tale of Icileuh and Olwen in the Mabinogion, he is identified with a personage whose " breath lasted nine nights and days under water " and who " could exist nine nights and nine days without sleep." A wound from his sword could not be cured; he could make himself as tall as the highest tree, and so great was the heat of his nature that, during rain, whatever he carried remained dry. Originally a deity, a rain - and - thunder god, he had apparently degenerated, through a series of mythological processes, into a mere hero.
Kale-Thaung-Tho was said to be a town of wizards in lower Burma.
Kalki: The final Avatar of Lord Vishnu, the Hindu God, will incarnate himself as Kalki, the machine-man, who will come riding his white horse and with his blazing sword in his hands. This is supposed to be a future avatar of Lord Vishnu. At the end of Kali Yuga (present eon) He will punish all evil doers in this world, destroy this world and recreate the universe in a golden age.
Kostchtchie, or "Deathless": A Russian or Romanian goblin of the bogle-boe species. This horrid monster is described as having a death's head and fleshless skeleton, "through which is seen the black blood flowing and the yellow heart beating." He is armed with an iron club, with which he knocks down all who come in his path. In spite of his ugliness, he is said to be a great admirer of young girls and women. He is avaricious, hates old and young alike, and particularly those who are fortunate. His dwelling is said to be amongst the mountains of the Koskels and the Caucasus, where his treasure is concealed.
Kapila: believed by the Hindus to be the god Vishnu, son of Brahman, in the fifth of his twenty - four incarnations. He wrote a series of philosophical propositions known as the Sittras, in which he states it is by philosophical study alone that one may attain union with the deity.
Key of Solomon the King: A magical treatise of mediaeval origin, of which a number of manuscripts are extant. It is supposed to be the work of King Solomon (q.v.), but is manifestly of comparatively modern origin, and was probably written in the fourteenth or fifteenth century. It is permeated with late Jewish ideas, and its chief intention appears to be the finding of treasure, and the making of such experiments as have for their object the interference with the free will of others. The power of the Divine Name is much in evidence, and the entire work is an absurd combination of pomposity and nonsense.
The Lemegeton, or Lesser Key of Solomon, is much more noteworthy. Its earliest examples date from the seventeenth century, but may draw on very legitimate older sources, and it invokes the hierarchies of the abyss by legions and millions. It is divided into four parts, which control the offices of all spirits at the will of the operator. The first part, Goetia, contains forms of conjuration for seventy - two demons with an account of their powers and offices. The second part, Theurgia Goetia, deals with the spirits of the cardinal points, who are of mixed nature. The third book is called the Pauline Art the significance of which name is unaccountable. It deals with the angels of the hours of the day and night, and of the signs of the Zodiac. The fourth part is entitled Almadel, which enumerates four other choirs of spirits. The usual homilies regarding purity of life are insisted upon, as is the circumstance that none of the conjurations shall be applied to the injury of another.
Khalb: The Egyptian name for the shadow, which at death was supposed to quit the body to continue a separate existence of its own. It was represented under the form of a sunshade.
Lady of Lawers: One of the Breadalbane family, of Scottish origin, and married to Campbell of Lawers. This gentlewoman was believed to be gifted with prophetic powers, and her prophecies are said to be written in a book shaped like a barrel and kept in the charter room of Taymouth Castle: it is named " The Red Book of Balloch."
Laburum: is a kabbalistic sign, embodied in the Great Magical Monogram which is the seventh and most important pantacle of the Enchiridion.
Lamb: Dr. Lamb was a noted sorcerer in the time of Charles the First. The famous Richard Baxter, in his Certainty of the World of Spirits, printed in the 1690s, has recorded an appropriate instance of the miraculous performance of this man. Meeting two of his acquaintance in the street, and they having intimated a desire to witness some examples of his skill, he invited them home with him. He then conducted them into an inner room, where presently, to their no small surprise, they saw a tree spring up in the middle of the apartment. They had scarcely ceased wondering at this phenomenon, when in a moment there appeared three diminutive men, with little axes in their hands for the purpose of cutting down this tree. The tree was felled; and the doctor dismissed his guests, fully satisfied of the solidity of his pretensions. That very night, however, a tremendous hurricane arose, causing the house of one of the guests to rock from side to side, with every appearance that the building would come down, and bury him and his wife in the ruins. The wife in great terror asked "Were you not at Dr. Lamb's today ? " The husband confessed it was true. " And did you not bring something away from his house ? " The husband owned that, when the little men felled the tree, he had picked up some of the chips, and put them in his pocket. Nothing now remained to be done but to produce the chips, and get rid of them as fast as they could. This ceremony performed, the whirlwind immediately ceased, and the remainder of the night passed quietly.
Dr. Lamb at length became so odious by his reputation for these infernal practices, that the populace rose upon him in 1640, and tore him to pieces in the streets.. Nordid the effects of his ill - fame terminate here. Thirteen years after, a woman, who had been his servant maid, was apprehended on a charge of witchcraft, was tried, and in expiation of her crime was executed at Tyburn.
Lamps, Magic: There dwelt at Paris in the time of St. Louis, a famous jewish Rabbi called Jachiel, a great manufacturer of prodigies, who was regarded by the Jews as one of their saints, and by the Parisians as a sorcerer. During the night when everyone was asleep, he was wont to work by the light of a magic lamp which cast through his chamber a glorious that of day itself. He never replenished this lamp with oil, nor otherwise attended to it, and folks began to hint that he had acquired it through diabolic agencies. If anyone chanced to knock at his door during the night they noticed that the lamp threw out sparks of light of various colours, but if they continued to rap the lamp failed and the Rabbi turning from his work touched a large nail in the middle of his table which connected magically with the knocker on the street - door, giving to the person who rapped upon it something of the nature of an electric shock. The Rabbi also fashioned a menorah after the fashion of the Jews which was of a most miraculous nature. It required tallow candles like any other candelabra, but once lit, this “Lamp of the Maccabees” could not be extinguished by accident, nor would any light or other such device about it fail.
Lamps of this description were supposed to be known to the Rosicrucians, and it is said that in opening the tomb of a daughter of Cicero several lamps were found burning upon it. It is of course possible that the light from these was luminous or phosphorescent and not living flame. The magic lamp of Aladdin will occur to everyone. in this connection; and romance abounds in such vehicles of light
Lapis Exilis: the stone from which the Graal is said to be made. It is this stone which causes the phoenix to renew her youth. Lapis Exilis, according to Wolfram von Eschenbach, was synonymous with the Holy Grail.
Lapis Judaicus: Also identified with the Grail and the Talismanic stone of inexhaustible feeding power. It is sometimes called Theolithos, and seems but another name for the Lapis Exilis (q.v.) It has been confounded with the Phoenix stone. Another legend clings to it: it is said to have fallen from the crown of Lucifer, as he was banished from heaven, and remains in the keeping of the angels of the air.
Lascaris: (Alchemist of the Eighteenth Century.) It is impossible to determine the date at which this mysterious personage was born, or - to say, exactly, whence he came and where he chiefly lived. He is commonly supposed to have been active about the beginning of the eighteenth century, while Germany is held to have been the principal scene of his activities; but everything recorded concerning him reads like a romance, and suggests the middle ages rather than the day before yesterday. Sometimes he assured people that he was of Oriental origin, sometimes he maintained that his native land was the Ionian Isles, and that he was a scion of the Greek royal house of Lascaris; while on other occasions he declared that he was an archimandrite of a convent in the Island of Mytilene, and that his object in coming to Europe was to solicit alms for, the ransom of Christian prisoners in the East.
Such was his tale when, about 1700, he commenced wandering in Germany, and, while sojourning at - Berlin, he happened to fall ill and sent for medical aid. This appeared shortly in the shape of a young apothecary, Johann Friedrich Betticher by name, who chanced to be deeply interested in alchemy, so a friendship sprang up between physician and patient and when Lascaris left the Prussian capital he gave Betticher a packet of transmuting powder, at the same time instructing him how to use it successfully, yet refraining from telling him how to manufacture the powder itself. Nothing daunted, Betticher set to work speedily, concocted considerable quantities of gold and silver, grew rich, and was raised to the peerage; while simultaneously he began to find his society, and more especially his services as a scientist, courted by kings and nobles. Meanwhile, however, his supply of the precious powder had run short, and being unable to make more he found his reputation waning apace; while worse still, he had spent his newly - acquired wealth speedily, and now he found himself reduced to penury. Ultimately he was incarcerated, but during his period of durance vile he set himself to the manufacture of porcelain, and by the sale of this he eventually restored his fallen fortunes.
We presume naturally that it was gratitude to his physician which inspired the crafty alchemist to give Betticher the powder, but why did Lascaris make an analogous present at a later date ? The recipient on this occasion being one Schmolz de Dierbach, a lieutenant - colonel in the Polish Army. He, like the German apothecary, succeeded in making a quantity of gold, and, though we hear no more about him after this transmutation, we learn that a certain Baron de Creux was likewise favoured by Lascaris, the Baron's experiments proving just as successful as those of the others aforesaid. Nor were these the only people on whom our alchemist bestowed his indulgence, for one Domenico Manuel, the son of a Neapolitan mason, was likewise given a packet of transmutation powder, and, armed thus, he wandered through Spain, Belgium, and Austria, performing operations before princes and noblemen, and reaping wealth accordingly. Pride was the inevitable result of this, and though there is no reason to suppose that any patent of nobility was ever conferred on Domenico, we find him styling himself now Comte Gautano, now Comte di Ruggiero; while in one town he maintained that he was a Prussian major - general, and elsewhere he declared that he was field - marshal of the Bavarian forces. Going to Berlin in the course of his perambulations, he offered to make gold in the presence of the king; but alas his operation proved utterly futile, and he was hanged as a charlatan in consequence. This was in 1706 and in the same year, according to tradition, Lascaris himself performed some successful transmutations before a German politician named Liebknecht, a citizen of Wurttemberg. Nothing further is heard of the mysterious Greek alchemist, however, so it may be assumed that he died soon after these events. His was a curious career indeed: his generosity having scarcely a parallel in the whole history of hermetic philosophy.
Le Normand, Marie: Known as " The Sybil of the Faubourg Saint Germain, " was born at Alencon in 1772 and died at Paris in 1843. She was one of the most famous occultists and diviners of her day; but it might justly be said that her art was much more the product of sound judgment than of any supernatural gift. She predicted their futures to Marat, Robespierre, and St. just, but we hear no more of her under the Directory. When Josephine Beauharnais came into prominence as the intended wife of Napoleon, Mlle. Le Normand was received at all those houses and salons where the future empress had any influence. Josephine was extremely credulous, and used to read her own fortunes to herself on the cards; but when she found that Mme. Le Normand was an adept at this art, she often had her in attendance to assist her in it. Even Napoleon himself who was not without his own superstitions, had his horoscope read by her.
She soon set up her own salon in Paris where she read people's fortunes by means of the cards. It is not stated whether these cards were of the nature of Tarot cards, but it is more than likely that they were; but we know that she occasionally divined the fortunes of others through playing the games of piquet, sept, and other card games. She did not hide her methods from others, but the Parisian society of her day appears to have thought that her power of divination lay not in the cards she manipulated but in her personality. It has been stated by Migne that she did use the Tarot, but as he calls them "German cards," one cannot attach much importance to his statement. After the fall of the Emperor she was the rage amongst the Russian, German and English officers in Paris, and even the Emperor Alexander and other potentates consulted her. Shortly after this she went to Brussels, where she read the fortune of the Prince of Orange, but as she tried to cheat the customs she soon found herself the occupant of a Belgian prison.
By the year 1830 she had become quite forgotten, and when the newspapers announced her death on June 25th, 1843, the majority of people failed to remember her name. There is very little doubt that she was a harmless charlatan, though several contemporary historians appear to consider that she possessed mischievous tendencies; but the air of omniscience and mystery with which she surrounded herself was so absurd that by the majority of people she was looked upon, probably with justice, as a mere impostor.
Leannan Sith: Gaelic words meaning " fairy sweetheart " who may be of either sex. Mortals are advised to have nothing to do with such beings, as no good ever comes of the connection so on., as the fairy lover is pleased with his or her mortal, all goes well, but when offended, life may be the forfeit.
Levi, Eliphas: Alphonse Louis Constant, better known by his pen - name of Eliphas Levi, was a French occultist of the nineteenth century, who has been called " the last of the magi." He was born about 1810, the son of a shoemaker and through the good offices of the parish priest was educated for the church at St. Sulpice. In due course h became a deacon, taking a vow of celibacy. Shortly after this he was expelled from St. Sulpice for teaching doctrines contrary to those of the Church. How he lived during the ensuing years is not known, but about 1839 under the influence of a political and socialistic prophet name Ganneau, he wrote a pamphlet entitled The Gospel Liberty, for which he received six months imprisonment In Paris, notwithstanding his vow of celibacy, he married a beautiful girl of sixteen, who afterwards had the marriage annulled. It was probably not until Madame Constant had left him that he studied the occult sciences. At all events his writings previous to this show little trace occult influence. In 1855 he published his Doctrine of Transcendental Magic, followed in 1856 by the Ritual Transcendental Magic, and several other works key to western occultism for the next three quarters of a century. Most of his works have been translated by Mr. A. E. Waite. He died in 1875.93s
Levitation: A term in use among spiritualists to denote the raising in the air of the human body or other objects without visible means, and presumably through the agency of disembodied spirits. Thus the levitation of tables and other more or less weighty objects is a common feat among - physical " mediums, whether or not a supernatural explanation be required. The witches of olden times, too, were popularly supposed to make use of some occult mode of locomotion in their nocturnal travels, being transported through the air by the arts of their master, the Devil. And the poltergeist was also thought to suspend in the air, without visible means of support, the agent through whom he manifested himself. As a spiritualistic phenomenon levitation of the human body became known at an early stage of the movement, being recorded in connection with the medium Gordon so early as 1851. But the most important of levitated mediums was D. D. Horne, and many accounts of his feats in this direction are given by witnesses who were themselves convinced of their genuineness. It may be noted, however, that levitations usually occurred in a darkened séance - room, when the only indication ef any untoward happening was furnished by the medium's own exclamations, by the fact that his voice seemed to come from high in the air, and sometimes by his boots scraping the back of a chair or the hand of one of the sitters. The Rev. Stainton Moses, who also was levitated on several occasions, seems to have held his séances in darkness also, or at most by the light of the fire. Mrs. Guppy (nee Nicholls) was before her marriage several times levitated, notwithstanding the fact that she was extremely stout, and a curious story concerning a later levitation is told in a letter in the Echo of June 8th, 1871, for whose (anonymous) author's trustworthiness the editor vouches. About that time the writer attended a circle with Messrs. Herne and Williams as mediums, the spirits present being the famous John and Katie King. One of the sitters jokingly expressed a wish that Mrs. Guppy (then in her home some three miles distant) might be brought to the seance - room, and to this Katie King was heard to assent. While the company were laughing at the absurdity of the idea, there was a loud bump, followed by shrieks and exclamations. A match was struck, and there in the centre of the table stood Mrs. Guppy, an account - book in one hand, a pen in the other, and apparently in a state of trance. Less than three minutes elapsed between the expression of the wish and the appearance of Mrs. Guppy. The writer adds: " The possibility of her being concealed in the room is as absurd as the idea of her acting in collusion with the media."
Pseudo - historical instances of levitation may be found in abundance, especially among the early saints. St. Dunstan, archbishop of Canterbury, was observed to rise from the ground shortly before his death in 988. St. Bernard Ptolomei, St. Philip Benitas, St. Albert of Sicily, and St. Dominic, founder of the Dominican order, were all seen to be levitated while engaged in their devotions. An ecstatic nun " rose from the ground with so much impetuosity, that five or six of the sisters could hardly hold her down." It is related by his biographers that Savonarola, shortly before he perished at the stake, remained suspended at a considerable height above the floor of his dungeon, absorbed in prayer. And such instances might easily be multiplied. Lewis,
Matthew Gregory: known as "Monk " Lewis,English Author (1775 - 1818). Matthew Gregory Lewis was born in London in 1775. His father was Matthew Lewis, deputy secretary of war, and proprietor of several valuable estates in Jamaica; while his mother was Anna Maria Sewell, a lady of cultured tastes, devoted to music and various other arts. The future author showed precocity while yet a child, and on reaching boyhood he was sent to Westminster School, but while he was there an ugly cloud rose to dim his horizon, his parents quarrelling and agreeing to separate. Matthew contrived to remain friendly with both his father and mother, and in 1771 he visited Paris, while about the same time he made his first literary efforts, and in 1792 he went to Weimar in Germany where he made the acquaintance of Goethe, and also learnt German thoroughly. Two years later he was appointed attached to the British Embassy at the Hague, and while staying, there he wrote his mystical story, Ambrosio, or the Monk, which earned him his now familiar sobriquet of " Monk Lewis; - while in 1796 he entered Parliament as member for Hindon, in Wiltshire, and during the next few years he necessarily resided chiefly in London, or near it, becoming friendly the while with most of the notable people of the day. Meantime his interest in the occult had been developing apace, and in 1798 there was staged at Drury Lane a play of his, Castle Spectre, in which ghosts and the like play a prominent part, and which won great popularity among people interested in things of that nature; while in 1788 lie issued his Tales of Terror, and in 1801 a volume entitled Tales of Wonder, this being virtually an anthology of popular occult verses, some of which were supplied by Sir Walter Scott and others of which were Supplied by Lord Ormond.
In 1812 Lewis's father died, and the author accordingly found himself a very rich man. His conscience was troubled, nevertheless, by the fact that his wealth was derived from slave labour, and so, in 1815, he sailed to Jamaica, intent on making arrangements for the generous treatment of the negroes on his estates. Returning to England in 1816, he went soon afterwards to Geneva, where he met Byron and Shelley, while in 1818 he paid a last visit to the West Indies, and died at sea while returning home.
Lost Word of Lost Word of Kabbalism: Lost Word in Masonry. A word relating to some mystic plan, which though it is held to have disappeared, will at some time be restored, and will then make the whole system plain. It is not really lost, only withheld for a season. In the same way the Grail was not lost, but withdrawn to its own place and the search for it occupied the noblest figures in chivalry. It represents the Key to the enigma of Creation ; in terms of Christianity, the Kingdom of Heaven.
Libellus Merlin: (Little Book of Merlin.) A Latin tract on the subject of the prophecies of Merlin written by Geoffrey of Monmouth about 1135. Geoffrey prefaces his account of the prophecies with one concerning the deeds of a supernatural youth named Ambrosius whom he deliberately confounded with Merlin, though historic evidence tends to indicate that the deeds belong to Merlin, but the historical figure of Ambrosius is another person altogether – likely this indicates some association between Ambrosius and Merlin which must have become blurred by Geoffrey’s time.
In the manuscript by Geoffrey, Vortigern, King of the Britons, asks Ambrose Merlin the meaning, of a vision in which appear two dragons red and white in combat. Merlin replies that the Red Dragon signifies the British race which would be conquered by the Saxon, represented by the White Dragon. A long prophetic rhapsody follows, relating chiefly to the Saxon wars, and with this the work, as given in the Seventh Book of Geoffrey's Historia Regum Britanniae, concludes. It was, however, known in Iceland before 1218 in a form independent of the Historia. Likely the association, and the prophecies represent information preserved by the Welsh (from whence land Geoffrey hailed), in oral tradition, though it is also thought possible that Geoffrey drew from a supposed book on Merlin by Taliesin, which has been supposed for reasons which are not entirely unclear to have eventually made its way to Spain, perhaps with the Briton colony established in Galicia in the seventh century.
Litanies of the Sabbath: On Wednesdays and Saturdays, if the accounts speak truly, it was the custom to sing at the witches' Sabbath the following Litanies:
Lucifer, Beelzebub, Leviathan, have pity on us.
Baal, prince of the seraphim; Baalberith, prince of the cherubim; Astaroth, prince of the thrones; Rosier, prince of denominations; Carreau, prince of the powers; Belial, prince of the virtues; Perrier, prince of the principalities; Oliver, prince of the archangels; Junier, prince of the angels; Cercueil, Fume - bouche, Pierre - le - Feu, Carniveau, Terrier, Contellier, Candelier, Behemoth, Oilette, Belphegor, Sabathan, Garandier, Dolers, Pierre - Fort, Axaphat, Prisier, Kakos, Lucesme, pray for us.
It must be remarked that Satan is evoked in these litanies only in company with a crowd of others.
Lilith: According to Wierus and other demonologists, Lilith was the prince or princess who presided over the demons known as succubi. The demons under Lilith bore the same name as their chief, and sought to destroy newborn infants. For this reason the Jews wrote on the four corners of a birth - chamber a formula to drive Lilith away.
Little World: The name given to a secret society which conspired in England, in the eighteenth century, to reestablish the Stuart dynasty. Many stories are told of this society as, for instance, that the devil presided over their assemblies in person. The members were Freemasons, and are supposed to have had Templar and Rosicrucian ties, seeking to re-establish a Catholic monarchy. Elements of this group ended up dispersed to the New World, and France, where flickers could be seen as late as the late 19th century, and some remnants endure today.
It should not be mistaken that the goal of these societies was chiefly a Stuart restoration after about 1804. Rather there is every evidence that the formerly political lodges took on an occult nature, and became heirs to secrets formerly held by the Stuart Kings, including the disposition of the Templar Treasure by Henry Sinclair of Rosslyn. MacGregor Mathers (q.v.) of the Golden Dawn was deeply involved with these societies, though not in a chiefly political manner.
London Dialectical Society: In 1869 an important enquiry into the phenomena of spiritualism was undertaken by the London Dialectical Society. A committee of more than thirty members - including Alfred Russel Wallace, Sergeant Cox, Charles Bradlaugh, H. G. Atkinson, and Dr. James Edmunds - was formed, and resolved itself into six subcommittees. During the eighteen months over which their labours extended, the committee received a large quantity of evidence from believers in the phenomena, but very little from those antagonistic to the spirit hypothesis. In " The Dialectical Society's Report on Spiritualism, " published by the Society, particulars are given both of the members' own experiences and of testimonies from witnesses whose character and position made their evidence valuable. Practically every form of manifestation, both physical and automatic, is covered in the report.
Luminous Lodge and the Vril Society:A frequent visitor to Landsberg Prison where Hitler was writing Mein Kampf with the help of Rudolf Hess, was General Karl Haushofer, a university professor and director of the Munich Institute of Geopolitics. Haushofer, Hitler, and Hess had long conversations together. Hess also kept records of these conversations. Hitler's demands for German "Living Space" in the east at the expense of the Slavic nations were based on the geopolitical theories of the learned professor.
Haushofer was also inclined toward the esoteric. as military attache in Japan, he had studied Zen-Buddhism. He had also gone through initiations at the hands of Tibetan Lamas. He became Hitler's second "esoteric mentor", replacing Dietrich Eckart. In Berlin, Haushofer had founded the Luminous Lodge or the Vril Society. The lodge's objective was to explore the origins of the Aryan race and to perform exercises in concentration to awaken the forces of "Vril". Haushofer was a student of the Russian magician and metaphysician Gregor Ivanovich Gurdev (George Gurdjieff).
Both Gurdjieff and Haushofer maintained that they had contacts with secret Tibetan Lodges that possessed the secret of the "Superman". The lodge included Hitler, Alfred Rosenberg, Himmler, Goring, and Hitler's subsequent personal physician Dr. Morell. Hitler's unusual powers of suggestion become more understandable if one keeps in mind that he had access to the "secret" psychological techniques of the esoteric lodges. Haushofer taught him the techniques of Gurdjieff which, in turn, were based on the teachings of the Sufis and the Tibetan Lamas- and familiarized him with the Zen teaching of the Japanese Society of the Green Dragon.
The name of the Vril Society is based on an 1873 novel by Bulwer Lytton (the author of Zanoni), Vril: the Coming Race, which told of a hollow earth, and gave the Vril-ya slogan -- 'No happiness without order, no order without authority, no authority without unity.'
The Society also believed that Vril was the language spoken by the Atlanteans or Thulians. It was composed of sounds and clicks.
The Vril Society teaches secret revelations, the coming of the new age, the coming of the spear of destiny, the magical violet black stone, the black iron dagger of the Old Prussian Pagan faith which is also the symbol of Set, and making contact with ancient peoples and distant worlds.
The Vril Society believes that their source of power is the Black Sun, an infinite beam of light which though invisible to the human eye is real. It may also represent an underground furnace which gives energy to the races within the earth, and is identified with the forge of the God Velnius of the Old Prussian pantheon.
The Vril emblem is the 'Black Sun.’ The Black Sun symbol can be found in many Babylonian and Assyrian places of worship. They depict the Black Sun - the godhead's inner light in the form of a cross. This was not much different from the German's Knight's Cross.
There are many legends that the Vril society became privy around 1934 to an extraterrestrial spacecraft which crashed in the Black Forest region of Germany. They are said to have engineered super weapons or other great discoveries from it.
Lycanthropy: The transformation of a human being into an animal. The term is derived from the Greek words, likos a wolf, and anthropos a man, but it is employed regarding a transformation into any animal shape. It is chiefly in these countries where wolves are numerous that we find such tales concerning them. (See Werewolf.) But in India, and some parts of Asia, the tiger takes the place of the wolf; in Russia and elsewhere the bear, and in Africa the leopard.
It is usually savage animals regarding which these beliefs are prevalent, but even, harmless ones also figure in them. There is considerable confusion as to whether such transformations were voluntary, or involuntary, temporary or permanent. The man as transformed into the animal may be the very individual himself, or, on the other hand may be only his double, that is his spirit may enter the animal and his body remain unchanged. Magicians and witches were credited with the power of transforming themselves into wolves and other animal shapes, and it was asserted that if the animal were wounded that the marks of the wound would be discovered upon the wizard's body.
In France, particularly in Brittany, there were supposed to be certain sorcerers who had the means to turn themselves into a wolf, and also hereditary werewolves who roamed the night on the occasion of the full moon, or at other magical conjunctions, for example only on Candlemas Eve. And these persons were said to possess supernatural powers and strength even when they were not taking the form of the wolf.
The belief is current amongst many savage tribes that every individual possesses an animal form which he enters at death, or at will. This is effected either by magic or natural agency.
As has been said, the wolf is a common form of animal transformation in Europe. In ancient Greece the belief was associated with the dog, which took the place of the wolf. Other similar beliefs are found in India and Java and in the former country we find the werewolf in a sort of vampire form.
Guyon relates the history of an enchanter who used to change himself into different beasts.
" Certain people, " said he, " persuaded Ferdinand, first Emperor of that name, to command the presence of a Polish enchanter and magician in the town of Nuremberg to learn the result of a difference he had with the Turks, concerning the kingdom of Hungary; and not only did the magician make use of divination, but performed various other marvels, so that the king did not wish to see him, but the courtiers introduced him into his chamber. ' There he did many wonderful things, among others, he transformed himself into a horse, anointing himself with some grease, then he took the shape of an ox, and thirdly that of a lion, . all in less than an hour. The emperor was so terrified by these transformations that he commanded that the magician should be immediately dismissed, and declined to hear the future from the lips of such a rascal."
" It need no longer be doubted, " adds the same writer, that Lucius Apuleius Plato was a sorcerer, and that he was transformed into an ass, forasmuch as he was charged with it before the proconsul of Africa, in the time of the Emperor Antonine I., in the year 150 A.D., as Apollonius of Tyana, long before, in the year 60, was charged before Domitian with the same crime. And more than three years after, the rumour persisted to the time of St. Augustine, who was an African, who has written and confirmed it; as also in his time the father of one Prestantius was transformed into a horse, as the said Prestantius declared. Augustine's father having died, in a short time the son had wasted the greater part of his inheritance in the pursuit of the magic arts, and in order to flee poverty he sought to marry a rich widow named Pudentille, for such a long time that at length she consented. Soon after, her only son and heir, the child of her former marriage, died. These things came about in a manner which led people to, think that he had by means of magic entrapped Pudentille, who had been wooed in vain by several illustrious people, in order to obtain the wealth of her son. It was also said that the profound knowledge he possessed - for he was able to solve difficult questions which left other men bewildered was obtained from a demon or familiar spirit he possessed. Further, certain people said they had seen him do many marvellous things, such as making himself invisible, transforming himself into a horse or into a bird, piercing his body with a sword without wounding himself, and similar performances. He was at last accused by one Sicilius Emilianus, the censor, before Claudius Maximus, proconsul of Africa, who was said to be a Christian; but nothing was found against him.
Now, that he had been transformed into an ass, St. Augustine regards as indubitable, he having read it in certain true and trustworthy authors, and being besides of the same country; and this transformation happened to him in Thessaly before he was versed in magic, through the spell of a sorceress, who sold him, and who recovered him to his former shape after he had served in the capacity of an ass for some years, having the same powers and habits of eating and braying as other asses, but with a mind still sane and reasonable as he himself attested. And at last to show forth his case, and to lend probability to the rumour, he wrote a book entitled The Golden Ass, a melange of fables and dialogues, to expose the vices of the men of his time, which he had heard of, or seen, during his transformation, with many of the labours and troubles he had suffered while in the shape of an ass.
" However that may be, St. Augustine in the book of the City of God, book XVIII., chapters XVII. and XVIII., relates that in his time there were in the Alps certain sorceresses who gave a particular kind of cheese to the passers by, who, on partaking of it, were immediately changed into asses or other beasts of burden, and were made to carry heavy weights to certain places. When their task was over, they were permitted to regain their human shape."
The bishop of Tyre, historian, writes that in his time, probably about 1220, some Englishmen were sent by their king to the aid of the Christians who were fighting in the Holy Land, and that on their arrival in a haven of the island of Cyprus a sorceress transformed a young English soldier into an ass. He, wishing to return to his companions in the ship, was chased away with blows from a stick, whereupon he returned to the sorceress who made use of him, until someone noticed that the ass kneeled in a church and did various other things which only a reasoning being could do. The sorceress who followed him was taken on suspicion before the authorities, was obliged to give him his human form three years after his transformation, and was forthwith executed.
"We read," says Loys Guyon, - that Ammonius, a peripatetic philosopher, about the time of Lucius Septimius Severus, in the year 196 A.D., had present at his lessons an ass whom he taught. I should think that this ass had been at one time a man, and that he quite understood what Ammonius taught, for these transformed persons retain their reason, unimpaired, as St. Augustine and other writers have assured us.
Fulgose writes, book VIII., chapter II., "that in the time of Pope Leon, who lived about the year 930, there were in the Black Forest region of Germany two sorceresses who used thus to change their guests into beasts, and on one occasion she changed a young mountebank into an ass, who, preserving his human understanding, gave a great deal of amusement to the passers - by. A neighbour of the sorceresses bought the ass at a good price, but was warned by them that he must not take the beast to a river, or he would lose it. Now the ass escaped one day and running to a nearby lake plunged into the water, when he returned to his own shape. Apuleius says that he regained his human form by eating roses."
" There are still to be seen in Egypt asses which are led into the marketplace to perform various feats of agility and tricks, understanding all the commands they receive, and executing them: such as to point out the most beautiful woman of the company, and many other things that one would hardly believe; and Belon, a physician, relates in his observations that he has seen them, and others also, - who have been there, and who have affirmed the same to me."
" One day there was brought to St. Macarius, the Egyptian, " says Calmet, " an honest woman who had been transformed into a mare by the wicked art of a magician. Her husband and all who beheld her believed that she had really been changed into a mare. This woman remained for three days without taking any food, whether suitable for a horse or for a human being. She was brought to the priests of the place, who could suggest no remedy. So they led her to the cell of St. Macarius, to whom God had revealed that she was about to come. His disciples wished to send her away, thinking her a mare, and they warned the saint of her approach, and the reason for her journey. He said to them: ' It is you who are the animals, who think you see that which is not; this woman is not changed, but your eyes are bewitched." As he spoke he scattered holy water on the head of the woman, and all those present saw her in her true shape. He had something given her to eat and sent her away safe and sound with her husband.
Lugh: An Irish deity. The following story is told of him.
'Nuada of the Silver Hand, he was holding a great feast at Teamhair one time, after he was back in the kingship. And there were two door-keepers at Teamhair, Gamal, son of Figal, and Camel, son of Riagall. And a young man came to the door where one of them was, and bade him bring him in to the king. "Who are you yourself?" said the door-keeper. I am Lugh, son of Cian of the Tuatha de Danann, and of Ethlinn, daughter of Balor, King of the Fomor," he said; " and I am foster-son of Taillte, daughter of the King of the Great Plain, and of Echaid the Rough, son of Duach." "What are you skilled in?" said the door-keeper; "for no one without an art comes into Teamhair." "Question me," said Lugh; "I am a carpenter." "We do not want you; we have a carpenter ourselves, Luchtar, son of Luachaid." "Then I am a smith" "We have a smith ourselves, Colum Cuallemeach of the Three New Ways." "Then I am a champion." "That is no use to us; we have a champion before, Ogma, brother to the king." "Question me again," he said; "I am a harper." "That is no use to us; we have a harper ourselves, Abhean, son of Bicmos, that the Men of the Three Gods brought from the bills." "I am a poet," he said then, "and a teller of tales." "That is no use to us; we have a teller of tales ourselves, Erc, son of Ethaman." "And I am a magician." "That is no use to us; we have plenty of magicians and people of power." "I am a physician," he said. "That is no use; we have Diancecht for our physician." "Let me be a cup-bearer," he said. "We do not want you; we have nine cup-bearers ourselves." "I am a good worker in brass". "We have a worker in brass ourselves, that is Credne Cerd."
Then Lugh said: "Go and ask the king if he has anyone man that can do all these things, and if he has, I will not ask to come into Teamhair." The door-keeper went into the king’s house then and told him all that. "There is a young man at the door," he said, "and his name should be the Ildánach, the Master of all Arts, for all the things the people of your house can do, he himself is able to do every one of them." "Try him with the chess-boards," said Nuada. So the chess-boards were brought out, and every game that was played, Lugh won it. And when Nuada was told that, he said: "Let him in, for the like of him never came into Teamhair before."
Then the door-keeper let him pass, and he came into the king’s house and sat down in the seat of knowledge. And there was a great flag-stone there that could hardly be moved by four times twenty yoke of oxen, and Ogma took it up and hurled it out through the house so that it lay on the outside of Teamhair, as a challenge to Lugh. But Lugh hurled it back again that it lay in the middle of the king’s house. He played the harp for them then, and he had them laughing and crying, till he put them asleep at the end with a sleepy tune. And when Nuada saw all these things Lugh could do, he began to think that by his help the country might get free of the taxes and the tyranny put on it by the Fomor. And it is what he did, he came down from his throne, and he put Lugh on it in his place, for the length of thirteen days, the way they might all listen to the advice he would give.
This now is the story of the birth of Lugh. The time the Fomor used to be coming to Ireland, Balor of the Strong Blows, or, as some called him, of the Evil Eye, was living on the Island of the Tower of Glass. There was danger for ships that went near that island, for the Fomor would come out and take them. And some say the sons of Named in the old time, before the Firbolgs were in Ireland, passed near it in their ships, and what they saw was a tower of glass in the middle of the sea, and on the tower something that had the appearance of men, and they went against it with Druid spells to attack it. And the Fomor worked against them with Druid spells of their own; and the Sons of Named attacked the tower, and it vanished, and they thought it was destroyed. But a great wave rose over them then, and all their ships went down and all that were in them.
And the tower was there as it was before, and Balor living in it. And it is the reason he was called "of the Evil Eye," there was a power of death in one of his eyes, so that no person could look at it and live. It is the way it got that power, he was passing one time by a house where his father’s Druids were making spells of death, and the window being open he looked in, and the smoke of the poisonous spells was rising up, and it went into his eye. And from that time he had to keep it closed unless he wanted to be the death of some enemy, and then the men that were with him would lift the eyelid with a ring of ivory.
Now a Druid foretold one time that it was by his own grandson he would get his death. And he had at that time but one child, a daughter whose name was Ethlinn; and when he heard what the Druid said, he shut her up in the tower on the island. And he put twelve women with her to take charge of her and to guard her, and he bade them never to let her see a man or hear the name of a man.
So Ethlinn was brought up in the tower, and she grew to be very beautiful; and sometimes she would see men passing in the currachs, and sometimes she would see a man in her dreams. But when she would speak of that to the women, they would give her no answer.
So there was no fear on Balor, and be went on with war and robbery as he was used, seizing every ship that passed by, and sometimes going over to Ireland to do destruction there.
Now it chanced at that time there were three brothers of the Tuatha de Danann living together in a place that was called Druim na Teine, the Ridge of the Fire, Goibniu and Samthaan and Cian. Cian was a lord of land, and Goibniu was the smith that had such a great name. Now Clan had a wonderful cow, the Glas Geibheann, and her milk never failed. And every one that heard of her coveted her, and many had tried to steal her away, so that she had to be watched night and day.
And one time Cian was wanting some swords made, and he went to Goibniu forge, and he brought the Glas Geibheann with him, holding her by a halter. When he came to the forge his two brothers were there together, for Samthaan had brought some steel to have weapons made for himself; and Cian bade Samthaan to hold the halter while he went into the forge to speak with Goibniu.
Now Balor bad set his mind for a long time on the Glas Geibheann, but he had never been able to get near her up to this time. And he was watching not far off, and when he saw Samthaan holding the cow, he put on the appearance of a little boy, having red hair, and came up to him and told him he heard his two brothers that were in the forge saying to one another that they would use all his steel for their own swords, and make his of iron. "By my word," said Samthann, "they will not deceive me so easily. Let you hold the cow, little lad," he said, "and I will go in to them." With that he rushed into the forge, and great anger on him. And no sooner did Balor get the halter in his hand than he set out, dragging the Glas along with him, to the strand, and across the sea to his own island.
When Cian saw his brother coming in he rushed out, and there he saw Balor and the Glas out in the sea. And he had nothing to do then but to reproach his brother, and to wander about as if his wits had left him, not knowing what way to get his cow back from Balor. At last he went to a Druid to ask an advice from him; and it is what the Druid told him, that so long as Balor lived, the cow would never be brought back, for no one would go within reach of his Evil Eye.
Cian went then to a woman-Druid, Birog of the Mountain, for her help. And she dressed him in a woman’s clothes, and brought him across the sea in a blast of wind, to the tower where Ethlinn was. Then she called to the women in the tower, and asked them for shelter for a high queen she was after saving from some hardship, and the women in the tower did not like to refuse a woman of the Tuatha de Danann, and they let her and her comrade in. Then Birog by her enchantments put them all into a deep sleep, and Cian went to speak with Ethlinn. And when she saw him she said that was the face she had seen in her dreams. So she gave him her love; but after a while he was brought away again on a blast of wind.
And when her time came, Ethlinn gave birth to a son. And when Balor knew that, he bade his people put the child in a cloth and fasten it with a pin, and throw him into a current of the sea. And as they were carrying the child across an arm of the sea, the pin dropped out, and the child slipped from the cloth into the water, and they thought he was drowned. But he was brought away by Birog of the Mountain, and she brought him to his father Cian; and he gave him to be fostered by Taillte, daughter of the King of the Great Plain. It is thus Lugh was born and reared.
And some say Balor came and struck the head off Cian on a white stone, that has the blood marks on it to this day; but it is likely it was some other man he struck the head off, for it was by the sons of Tuireann that Cian came to his death.
And after Lugh had come to Teamhair, and made his mind up to join with his father’s people against the Fomor, he put his mind to the work; and he went to a quiet place in Grellach Dollaid, with Nuada and the Dagda, and with Ogma; and Goibniu and Diancecht were called to them there. A full year they stopped there, making their plans together in secret, the way the Fomor would not know they were going to rise against them till such time as all would be ready, and till they would know what their strength was. And it is from that council the place got the name afterwards of "The Whisper of the Men of Dea".
And they broke up the council, and agreed to meet again that day three years, and everyone of them went his own way, and Lugh went back to his own friends, the sons of Manannan.
And it was a good while after that, Nuada was holding a great assembly of the people on the Hill of Uisneach, on the west side of Teamhair. And they were not long there before they saw an armed troop coming towards them from the east, over the plain; and there was a young man in front of the troop, in command over the rest, and the brightness of his face was like the setting sun, so that they were not able to look at him because of its brightness.
And when he came nearer they knew it was Lugh Lamhfada, of the Long Hand, that had come back to them, and along with him were the Riders of the Sidhe from the Land of Promise, and his own foster-brothers, the sons of Manannan, Smithgeiger, the White Flower, and Goitne Gorm-Shuileach, the Blue-eyed Spear, and Sine Sine Dearg, of the Red Ring, and Donall Donn-Ruadh, of the Red-brown Hair. And it is the way Lugh was, he had Manannan’s horse, the Aonbharr, of the One Mane, under him, that was as swift as the naked cold wind of spring, and the sea was the same as dry land to her, and the rider was never killed off her back. And he had Manannan’s breast-plate on him, that kept whoever was wearing it from wounds, and a helmet on his head with two beautiful precious stones set in the front of it and one at the back, and when he took it off, his forehead was like the sun on a dry summer day. And he had Manannan’s sword, the Freagarthach, the Answerer, at his side, and no one that was wounded by it would ever get away alive; and when that sword was bared in a battle, no man that saw it coming against him had any more strength than a woman in childbirth.
And the troop came to where the King of Ireland was with the Tuatha de Danann, and they welcomed one another.
And they were not long there till they saw a surly, slovenly troop coining towards them, nine times nine of the messengers of the Fomor, that were coming to ask rent and taxes from the men of Ireland; and the names of the four that were the hardest and the most cruel were Eine and Eathfaigh and Coron and Compar; and there was such great dread of these four on the Tuatha de Danann, that not one of them would so much as punish his own son or his foster-son without leave from them.
They came up then to where the King of Ireland was with the Riders of the Sidhe, and the king and all the Tuatha de Danann stood up before them. And Lugh of the Long Hand said: "Why do you rise up before that surly, slovenly troop, when you did not rise up before us?"
"It is needful for us to do it," said the king; "for if there was but a child of us sitting before them, they would not think that too small a cause for killing him." "By my word," said Lugh, "there is a great desire coming on me to kill themselves." "That is a thing would bring harm on us," said the king, "for we would meet our own death and destruction through it." "It is too long a time you have been under this oppression," said Lugh. And with that he started up and made an attack on the Fomor, killing and wounding them, till he had made an end of eight nines of them, but he let the last nine go under the protection of Nuada the king. "And I would kill you along with the others," he said, "but I would sooner see you go with messages to your own country than my own people, for fear they might get any ill-treatment."
So the nine went back then till they came to Lochlann, where the men of the Fomor were, and they told them the story from beginning to end, and how a young well-featured lad had come into Ireland and had killed all the tax-gatherers but themselves, "and it is the reason he let us off," they said, "that we might tell you the story ourselves."
"Do you know who is the young man?" said Balor of the Evil Eye then.
"I know well," said Ceithleann, his wife; "he is the son of your daughter and mine. And it was foretold." she said, "that from the time he would come into Ireland, we would never have power there again for ever."
Then the chief men of the Fomor went into a council, Eab, son of Neid, and Seanchan, grandson of Neid, and Sital Salmhor, and Liath, son of Lobais, and the nine poets of the Fomor that had learning and the gift of foreknowledge, and Lobais the Druid, and Balor himself, and his twelve white-mouthed sons, and Ceithleann of the Crooked Teeth, his queen.
And it was just at that time Bres and his father Elathan were come to ask help of the Fomor, and Bres said: "I myself will go tor Ireland, and seven great battalions of the Riders of the Fomor along with me, and I will give battle to this Ildánach, this master of all arts, and I will strike his bead off and bring it here to you, to the green of Berbhe." "It would be a fitting thing for you to do," said they all. "Let my ships be made ready for me," said Bres, "and let food and provisions be put in them."
So they made no delay, but went and got the ships ready, and they put plenty of food and drink in them, and the two swift Luaths were sent out to gather the army to Bres. And when they were all gathered, they made ready their armour and their weapons, and they set out for Ireland.
And Balor the king followed them to the harbour, and he said: "Give battle to that Ildánach, and strike off his head; and tie that island that is called Ireland to the back of your ships, and let the destroying water take its place, and put it on the north side of Lochlann, and not one of the Men of Dea will follow it there to the end of life and time."
Then they pushed out their ships and put up their painted sails, and went out from the harbour on the untilled country, on the ridges of the wide-lying sea, and they never turned from their course till they came to the harbour of Eas Dara. And from that they sent out an army through West Connacht and destroyed it altogether, through and through. And the King of Connacht at that time was Bodb Dearg, son of the Dagda.
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