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 Pragmatic Magics:

A
Grimoire of
Modern Sorcery
by
Brother MOLOCH 969
Sorcerer & Vodu Houngan

Edited by Brenda Mullen

Copyright© 1993, 1997 & 2010 by Brother MOLOCH 969

www.MolochSorcery.com - All Rights Reserved

Unauthorized duplication in any manner Is unlawfully prohibited

 2

Contents �
Introduction 3
Beg i nning Sorcery 8
Consecration 12
Herba l Sorcery 21
Sorcerous Reci pes 31
M editational M ethods 42
D i a ri es 45
Ti m i ng 50
Sorcerous Use of Crysta l s & Stones 55
Cand l e Sorcery 60
Too l s and Suppl i es 65
Magica l Menta l Exercises 70
Ti beta n Mental Tra i n i ng 74
Ele menta l Sorcery 82
Rituals 87
Bibl iog ra p hy 126
Appendice I 133
Appendice II 137
Appendice III 143
 3

Introduction

Th i s is a cha pter that very few people w i l l actually take

ti me to read . I 'm a l most te m pted to ski p over it but I thi n k
that I ca n cover more g round a n d add a few more th i ngs that
the book d oesn 't have .
Let me beg i n by sayi ng that there i s no such thing as a
one i ncl usive med itati o n ; spe l l or ritual that you ca n do that
w i l l bri ng everything you desi re . Sorry, but it's true. Merl i n,
Levi , Gard ner a n d even the vau nted powers of Crowley
cou l d n 't d o that so don't thi n k I 've a ny u n iverse shatteri ng
secret herei n . The closest th i ng to this m i racle spe l l wou l d be
for you to work a si m ple mag ica l ritual for you rself that wou l d
ba n i s h a l l fears, phobias a nd doubts . B y accom p l i s h i ng thi s
state o f m i nd , y o u ca n ach i eve anyth i ng y o u desi re fo r there i s
nothi ng t o h o l d y o u back !
Cyn i cs say there is no such th i ng as Psych ic Powers or
M a g i c . Who a re they? Have you ever known a successfu l
cyn i c? I haven 't, so I d o n 't l i sten to them and I 'd sug gest you
i g nore the i r nonsense.
Mag i c is manifested th roug h the consci ousness a nd
control l ed energy m a n i p u l ati o n . That's it, energ y
m a n i pulati o n . H O W y o u ma n i pu l ate energy is another m atter .
The best w a y to l ea rn i s practice what I've written here i n a nd
ta p i nto your m i n d . Ah ... the h u m a n m i nd . Many schol a rs
through the centu ries have written about the a b i l ities of the
m i nd and even today with a l l of o u r psycho l og i ca l resea rch
a n d scientifi c data , u n l ocki ng those powers of the m i nd is sti l l
a mystery . With o nly m i nor prog ress u nder o u r belt the best
we ca n do i s theorize on how the m i nd operates .
The fi rst step i n successfu l p ractica l mag i c i s bel i ef i n
YOU rself! You 've g ot to bel i eve that you a re capable of doi ng
mag ic (as wel l as a nything that you put you r m i nd to) a nd it
should work for you . Th i s i s very hard to d o especi a l l y l iving in
the worl d today where we're bom b a rded menta l l y with a l l of
the doubts, negative th i n kers, cyn i cs, corru ption, evi l ,
adverti s i n g , deceit, lies, etc .
If you d o n 't bel i eve i n you rself who w i l l ? Maybe you r
M o m but i f you show a coward l y attitude then she may have
her doubts a bout you as wel l . Bel i eve in yourself fi rst and
forem ost. I F you have to, sit i n front of a m i rror sta ri ng at
you rself a nd say positive th i ngs l i ke "I l i ke you ! I love you !
 4

You a re my best friend!" You 're not fool i ng you rsel f onl y
conditioning it li ke a m uscl e . But l i ke m uscle bui l d i ng , you can
choose to condition your m ind l i ke a body builder who shows
all the b u l k ( but isn't a l l that strong ) or l i ke a power l ifter who
l ooks fat but i s i ncredibly strong . You have to ask yourself, 'do
I just want to l oo k the part o r d o I wa nt to be the part?'
Ask you rself a nother q u estion, 'what do I rea l l y wa nt?'
Are n 't you ti red of try i ng to foo l you rself? Wou l d n 't you rather
have superior menta l , emoti ona l and spi ritual strength? Then
you need to cu lti vate fa ith in you rself. Beli eve in n o one but
you rself. The Gods a re there for you not you there for them .
They don't need you , you need you! Peri od !
Now, on to d evelop the second tal ent, you r i ro n cl ad
wil l . Thi s i s rea l ly tou g h . Essentia l l y th i s i s you r word. You tel l
you rself you will kee p a pro m i se, and then keep it.
It doesn't matter whether you g ave a p ro m i se to
yourself or to someone else, you m u st beg i n keepi ng you r
word . Thi s i s beca use saying power words l i ke "So m ote i t
be ! " o r "So be i t ! " without honestly meani ng them , you r m ag i c
i s not going to have the psych i c oom p h it needs . You r word i s
you r bond . I f you break you r bond , then your word means
noth i ng ! You m ust keep you r word to others and to yourself.
How do you do th is? Good q uestion !
Fi rst, make n o pro m i ses that you a re not sure that you
can keep. Th i s means ONLY m a ke a p ro m i se when you know it
w i l l be kept. Do n ot g ive you r word u n l ess you know without a
doubt you will be able to keep it. Why? Because the Hermetic
axiom which states 'As Above, So Below; So Below, As Above'
shows that you 're a reflection outwa rd l y of you r i n ner self a n d
vi ce-versa .
If you break p ro m ises outward l y to friends, fam i ly, neig hbors,
stra ngers and you rself, then inwardly your spi ritu a l self w i l l
say "Rig ht. You want a new ca r. S o m u st i t be h u n h ? Where
have I heard that befo re?"
I n su m m a ry , i f you are u nsure if you 'l l be a b l e to keep
that word of you rs, then use word s l i ke "I'll try, maybe,
possi ble" and etc, so you won't b rea k you r bon d . Thi s way,
you a re n ot creati ng a n oath to a nythi ng a n d you have a n
escape hatch . If you a re cornered b y someone t o b e specific,
don't tel l them som ething that they want to hear. Be truthful
a nd fig ht you r way out of the corner by tell i ng them you a re
 5

not g o i ng to m ake a p ro m i se because you do not know if you

can keep it. Or sim ply re-emphasize the words "I'l l try but I
won't p ro m i se you , okay?" and this s hould suffi ce to most. If
not, then si m ply wei g h how m uch you feel the oath is worth.
Emoti on is the fi nal cornerston e of magic. Emotion
fue l s the energ y necessary to work spel l s and ritua l s . You
m ust be able to work you rself u p into a n e m otional frenzy
over what it is you want to acco m p l i s h .
Ever see someone i n real life o r i n a m ovie where the
person sta rts crying , balling and wai ling to such an emotional
frenzy, that you know something is g oing to happen?
Thi s i s a form of manifestation . The person got worked
u p enoug h and did somethi ng d rastic. This is where the
Sorcerer and the m u nd ane pa rt company. The mortal wastes
that e nergy by not directing it towa rd a specific goal and s/he
leaves everythi ng in h i s/her l ife to chance .
You need to work yourself u p i nto a n emotiona l frenzy
to acco m plish you r mag i c . If you can 't then maybe you can
try basket weaving and l eave magic to the professionals.
Seriously tho u g h, you have to loose the bonds of your
emotions, but in a controlled fashion ! Do so, and the world is
your footstool . N othi ng w i l l be denied you ever aga i n ! But
rem e m ber, with g reat power come great responsibility. M i suse
your power and you wi l l reg ret it. Work you r mag i c within
your wi l l and beautifu l experiences will res u l t for you .
There a re m a ny types of emoti o n . Gri ef, a nger, hatred ,
love, l u st, happi ness, m elancholy, depression, etc. The m ost
effective is a com bination of anger and l ust. The m ost
com m on e m otio n used i n today's world is FEAR. If you don't
beli eve me, check out Mazlow's hierarchy of needs. Self­
preservation is our p ri m a l i nstinct but we can tra nsfo rm that
fea r into anger which usually wi l l a l l ow us the necessa ry
e nergy to " g et the ball rol l i ng." Consider gettin g u p the
cou rage l i ke m a ny self- made m i l lionai res who got fed u p
work i ng for someone else a n d not g etti ng a nything rewa rd i ng
out of it. They transformed their fea rs i nto anger to fuel them
to the top .
Grief i s a negl ected e m otion i n which w e si m ply a l l ow
o ursel ves to m o u rn our l oss. This i s a waste because the
e nerg y i s there to use a nd it dimi nishes q u i ckly or i n other
word s, use it o r lose it ! Try remembering someone (who was
 6

close to you ) either by dying or m ovi ng away from you . That

a l o ne wi l l d rive you to tears but it w i l l also well up a l l of that
gri ef w h i ch you can s i p hon off to you r working . You ca n't bri ng
the person back fro m the dead but you ca n use the g ri ef in a
cha nneled way to acco m p l i s h other things which can benefit
you , the i r m e mory , o r others i n genera l .
H a p piness is a n othe r wasted emoti on . M ost people l i ke
to bask in it without using the restorative energ i es i t cal l s i nto
action . D i rect this energy i nto your heart, lungs, liver, or any
pa rt of your anatomy to heal a ny phys i ca l , menta l , emoti onal
a nd spi ritual a i l ments you have . Also, i nfuse you rself with this
powe r and wash away fears, d oubts, wo rri es, etc. Every notice
how little these th i ngs a re when you're feeling happy? You feel
i ndestructi b l e ! The sad pa rt is that this feeling doesn't l ast
l ong so u se it quickl y .
Depress i o n a n d melanchol y a re d readed states.
Anyone who has fel t this way knows what I'm tal ki ng about.
This usual l y sets in after you've i nwa rd l y g rieved a bout some
l oss. The cure for th is is vari ed for each i ndividual a n d thei r
particu l a r situation .
What I try to d o i s convert m y d e p ression i nto g ri ef,
ang er/hatred, etc, w hich I can deal with . Depressi o n is ru led
by Saturn and m a ny fool s feel that Saturnian energ i es are
punitive i n nature but in real i ty this is only one aspect of
Satu rn . Depression ca n be d efeated a n d its energ y used
positivel y . It is d i ffi cult to g et the g u m ption to work ritu a l or
m a g i c when you feel depressed, but you shou l d try . I sugg est
usi ng "e m otional alchemy" as stated earl i er. Also you can
chan nel this energy i nto so me proj ect, done i n a magical
circle , w h i ch can be used to d o som ething good.
Love is a little u sed emotion in magic. Why? Because
few believe it works. Seldom d o we d o ritu a l when we love
someone or so m ething . Usua l l y we wait u nti l we're fed u p
w ith the situation a n d then ZAP ! We u n l eash the thunderbolts
of power. Rea l l y , if we used l ove energ y more often , we'd n ot
need to u nleash the thu nderbolts so much. This i s a shame
s i nce it is so abundant a n d fre e . We all want to love a n d feel
l oved , so why not cha n nel this i nto some of the prosperity,
success and wel l - bei ng type of rites?
 7

In closi ng , I'd l i ke to say thanks for trying my book.

There i s so m uch nonsense out there o n the occult that it i s
h a rd fo r anyone fro m the novice t o the advanced practitioner
to fi nd a nyth i ng worthwhi l e to use .
Some of tl1e a rts i n thi s book may seem dark, but the
truth i s that shamans and mag i ci a ns of old bel ieved that one
must e m b race the darkness fu l l force and bear the bru nt of
the d a rk n i g ht of the sou l to make it out i nto the l i g ht. In
modern ti mes you may have to hit rock botto m before you
can pu l l you rself out a nd i nto the worlds of l i g ht.
J u st because I 've shown you how to properly hex and
curse, does not mean that you need to d o so. Bei ng p repa red
for any eventual ity is the m a rk of a true Sorcerer. There may
be a ti me when you will have to hex someone or som eth i ng .
Hopefu l l y that time won't ever come but i f i t does, then d o so
with zeal a nd be done with it.
Peace ! Power! Prosperity !
Brother Moloch 969
Apri l 19993
 8

I Beginning Sorcery
Sorcery is a n a rt NOT a sci ence . It's the knack of
k nowi n g what to use, h ow to u se i t & when to use it. The
mode rn Sorcerer u ses whatever works to m a ke sure h i s
m a g i c is effective. This m e a n s as a Sorcerer, y o u w i l l need to
i nvestig ate a nd try the spel ls, rituals, a n d methodology fro m
other tra d i tions, Techn i ca l ly Sorcery i s not a science u n l i ke
MagicK which has been ca l l ed a spi ritu a l sci ence .
We have the pra cti ces down without furthe r need to
explore any new a reas u nti l we learn to master what we know
a l read y . R e m e m ber you can 't put the cart before the horse!
To begin w i th , most of you a re p robably li ving a l ife of
personal p rejudices, self-im posed g u ilt and a medi ocre sa l a ry
t o live o n . W h i le thi s may not be b a d i n you r eyes, i t w i l l
hamper you r spi ritual prog ress and affect your attitude toward
the world at l a rg e . It a lways seems that when one a l lows
themselves to l i ve such a hard l ife, that you begin to blame
others or "society" for n ot g etting the g ood brea ks a n d such
that others seem to get.
You r i n ner attitude refl ects you r oute r self. The
Herm etic axiom "as a bove, so below ... " i s true for th i s fact .
You r outer l ife is a m i rror refl ecti on of you r m i nd , w h i ch d aily
swi m s i n nonse nse - not that a nyone has m u ch of a choice to
actually a bsorb the nonsense but with a l l of the self- i m posed
g u i lt, prej ud i ces, h atreds, pl us a l l of the cra p from advertising
that you're subjected to, it's no wonder it's hard for a ny of us
to th i n k rati onally.
W hy i s this? You are carrying a b u rden of g u ilt a round
with you from you r earl i est upbri n g i ng s . Few of you were
l ucky enou g h to have pa rents who tol d you that you cou l d
m a ke it t o t h e top if y o u rea l l y wa nted it. M ost o f y o u have
pa rents who either have a down rig ht 'l oser' menta l ity or a the
more common medi ocre -is- g ood attitude . They bel ieve
someo ne el se contro l s the m , and they're rig ht! Sorcery can
help you cha nge YOU R l i fe when coupled w i th rational thinking
a nd a better attitud e from you .
Everyday we're constantly bo m barded with psychi c
messages throug h advertisem ents, off-ha nd com ments,
state ments from the news m ed i a , i ncl uding the si lly nonsense
we keep tel l i ng o u rsel ves. These 'messa g es ' beg i n to g u m u p
the machi nery o f o u r m i nds over a period o f ti m e a n d
 9

eventual l y we beg i n to bel i eve this nonsense! What d oes one

d o a bout it?
Fi rst, beg i n a da i ly routine of Uncrossing Ritu a l s . Why?
Because you need to sta rt shutting out a l l that ga rbage and
you also need to n eutra l i ze what's a l ready fi rmly rooted in
you r head. Fi nal ly, you m u st start a daily routi ne of Protection
ritua ls which wi l l strengthen you r a bi l ity to keep out the
garbage .
Protection ritu a l s i n and of themselves a ren't enou g h to
keep out a l l of the ga rbage messages but they wi l l help
harden your a u ra so you can hand l e the pressu res of the
worl d on a m ore even basis. The o n l y way to keep a lot of that
g a rbage m enta l i ty at bay i s to become a recluse but even that
has a " m enta l ly u nbalanced " side-effect to it - it can make
you g o crazy.
N ow that we know what we need to sta rt off with, l et's
l ook at how a si m pl e ritual should be done.

1 2

4
c

The fi g u re above shows a si m pl e a ltar l ayout . #1 & #2

a re the a lta r can d l es w h i ch should be white when doi ng
positive worki ngs or black when d o i n g negative worki ngs. #3
is the objective ca n d l e of what the rite i s for (i.e. love, peace ,
sex, prosperity, & etc) . #4 i s the Astral candle w h i ch
rep resents you o r the person for whom you are worki ng the
ritual for.
Let's assu me this i s going to be a Protection ritual. The
above layout is a standard layout thus we 'll anoi nt the a lta r
ca ndles with Protection o i l , the astra l ca ndle with a n
a ppropri ate Zod iac o i l (Ari es if you 're Aries, Tau rus if Taurus,
 10

etc.) . The objective candle w i l l then be anoi nted with

Protection o i l si nce that's the o bjective here. You coul d u se
Anoi nting oil o n the altar can d l es if you wish or are u n a ble to
have enough Protection o i l for a l l can d l es. Anointi ng o i l i s one
of the all pu rpose b l ends.
Before sta rti ng the ritual, take a ritual bath. If you
don't have a tu b o n l y a s hower, then take a ritua l shower.
Quiet your m i nd by sl owi ng it down a fracti on and wi l l it to
clear itself of all i ncom i ng messages . Th i s usual l y takes a littl e
practice to g et real l y g ood at it. Visu a l i ze a l l of the psychic d i rt
fl owi ng down t h e d ra i n . You ca n say a chant such as "0
Water, cl eanse m y heart, mind & sou l" o r recite a Psa l m such
sSl.
After the bath or shower, anoi nt you rself with fi rst your
Zod i ac oil then you r Protection oi l . (See my Moloch's Guide to
Using Sorcery Form u las for m ore on how to a n o i nt yourself
p roperl y & othe r form u l a techn i ques)
N ext you need to d o a bit of ritual preparatio n such as
a noi nti ng candles m i xi n g i ncense, consecrati ng and charg i ng
ca n d l es, etc. Gather any needed herbs, roots, powders ,
ta l i smans, etc, before you lig ht your fi rst ca n d l e . F o r the sake
of brevity, we 'l l assume you've done all you 've needed to do
for now .
Lig ht the ince nse which shou l d be one of the p rotective
reci pes such as Protectio n . N ext, lig ht candle num ber one on
your rig ht and make a si nce re petition to the h i g her forces to
watch over you such as :
"I ask my Ancestors & Guardian Spirits to ward & protect me
while I perform this Spiritual Working; as I will, thus shall it
ber
Next, l i g ht candl e n u m ber two, and repeat your
petition. N ow sit/sta nd erect and perform a sim ple charg i ng
exerc i se to fi l l you rself with energy. This can be i n the form of
the M i d dle Pi l l ar rite , Tree M ed i tatio n, Chakra Recharg i ng
ritual , etc . [If you aren't at th i s poi nt, flip back to them and
study them to m ake sure you have one ready.] Now you 're
g o i ng to constru ct a Power Ci rcle fo r p rotectio n . [See later i n
thi s book] .
Light your Astra l candle and say:
 11

"This candle is me here & on the Astral Plane. Let my inner

fire be lighted in like manner. Candle, illuminate my being, for
I am I! "
Now, l i g ht the Objective candle and focus yourself on
the objective at h and. [In thi s case, we are concerned with
Protecti o n ] . As you l i g ht th is ca ndle say someth i n g li ke:
"Spirits grant me my wish fulfilled through the aid of this
Battery of Power! Oh candle, release thy power to protect m e !
Rally the Spirits of Mars to assist my plight! Come Martial
Spirits, Protect me ! "
In your m i n d 's eye, visual ize you rself with a ri ng of
fl a m i ng power a l l a bout you r a u ra . See it clearly as it is there
to strengthen you r own psychic shiel d .
Once you feel more secure, you may exti n g u ish the
ca nd les or a l l ow the i n ce nse and ca n d l es to burn conti n uously
u nti l they go out of the i r own acco rd . It's totally u p to you.
In this rite , it's preferred to use the seven day jar
ca n d l es and place them safely so you won't have to worry
a bout them burni ng for a week but m a ke sure you don't al low
your pets or kids to enter this a rea . Many house fi res have
been sta rted because so me 'ge n i us' a l l owed a n i m a l s or kids to
play in roo m s with live candles burn i ng!
Thi s si m pl e ritual is an exa m p l e to show you how you
can g a i n psych i c protection everyday . Reg ular use w i l l spare
you r home e nvi ro n ment of the ills of the worl d . It wi l l be
eas i e r for you to unwind and you'l l have m uch less stress and
worry .
 12

II Consecration
What is consecrati o n ? It is fi rst the cleansing of a n
ite m then the formal dedication o f sai d i tem a n d fi nally the
charg i ng with the magica l power of that item . That, dear
student, in a nutshel l i s consecrati on .
Presented here is a s i m ple consecration form u l a for
your use . You should cleanse, ded i cate , and charg e a l l of your
tools, he rbs , o i l s, etc, prior to use. [Note : don't spri nkle water
on the bare herbs or m i x with the o i l s . Spri nkli ng the i r
contai ners is sufficient. You don't wa n t fore i g n properties i n
t h e mixtu res or reci pes] .

Sacred Water Consecration

Pl ace a d i sh of water on the alta r, and hold you r hands
a bove the water with forefi nger poi nti ng down w h i l e say i ng :
"I exorcise you, 0 Creature of Water tha t you cast out from
yourself all impurities and uncleanness of the Spirits of the
world of phantasm. I do so in the names of MERTALIA,
MUSCALIA, DAPHALIA, ONEMALIA, ZITANESIA! As I will, thus
shall it ber
Remove the bowl from the a ltar and repl ace it with a
d i sh of salt, sayi ng:
"Blessings be upo n you Creature of Salt. Le t all malign ity and
hindrance be cast forth from you and let all good enter into
you. Thus I bless you and invoke invoke that you may aid me
and my Sorceries! "
Chang i n g over to the bow l s aga i n on the pen tacle , pour
the Salt into the W ater sti rring clockw ise wh i l e sayi ng :
"In the names of YAMENTON, YARON, TANTONON,
ZARMESITAN, TILEION, TIXMION. Be a ware, water purifies
the body, but the Lustral Waters purifies the soul. Thus I
declare your water is holy ! As I will, thus shal it be!"
There'l l be a ti m e when it'l l be necessary fo r you to
consecrate the tool s you w i s h to use, l i ke the staff, Power
Bag , robe, alta r, candle holders , can d les, etc. You can do this
with the fol l ow i n g ritual :
 13

Sacred Object or Tool Consecration

Place object or tool on a ltar, l ay hands on it and say :
"In the name of Ghob, Ruler of the Gnomes, I consecrate you
with the element of Earth!"
Visual ize energ y com i ng from your hands havi ng a cool
a nd d ry feel and smelling a bit musty . See this energy as
black ferti l e soi l . Thi s is the element of Earth . Soa k it u p from
the Ea rth M other herself throug h the soles of your feet and
out throug h you r hands i nto the object on the a lta r.
S pri nkle with the Lustral Waters and say :
"In the n a m e of N i cksa , Ruler of the U n d i n es , I consecrate you
with the element of Water. "
N ow visua l i ze the sa m e way you did with the Earth
ele ment but with the element of Water. Feel i ts moist, cool
properti es fl owi ng thro u g h you i nto the object on the alta r.
See it as a blue founta i n pouring forth from you r i n ner bei ng .
Thi s i s you r founta i n of youth .
Pass object throug h i ncense smok e and say:
"In the name of Paralda, Ruler of the Sylphs, I consecrate you
with the element of Air!"
In your m i n d 's eye, visua l i ze a whi rlwi nd of force
wel l i ng u p withi n you . Feel the wa rm , moist b reeze of a su n ny
morning fl owing from you r i n ner self out i nto the object. As
you vi sualize the ele ment of a i r, see a l so the color of yellow
e m a n ati n g from you .
Final ly, pass object a bove a can d l e's fla me and say :
"In the name of Djinn, Ruler of the Salamanders, I consecrate
you with the element of Firer
Now see the element of fi re come spri ng i ng forth i nto
the object throug h your hands. Feel the heat a n d dryness
w h i l e seeing the col o r of sca rlet red ema nati ng. See the
molten lava of a volcano as you r i n ner sou rce of fire.
It i s wise to name yo ur item because then it will have
power & a l i fe force . Give it w hatever name you choose & the n
hold the i te m between t h e palms o f you r h a n d s and i nfuse
your will and energy i nto it as fiercel y as you a re able while
saying:
 14

"I name you (insert name here) & I give life to you with the
Divine Power of my immortal sou. Arise creature of Spirit to
live and to be used by me as I see fit for all my Sorceries. As I
will thus shall it be!"
Now i nh a l e the power of spi rit fro m the very a i r a round
you . It i s the energy force that l i es between the atoms
themselves a nd it is a l so the power which can cause m i racles
to tra nspire. Fee l it as pure power and vi s u a l i z e it as cl ear,
translucent energy free from a l l i m pu rities.
O n ce fi n i s hed , you have con secrated the object with
the five elements co m pletely . Most S o rce rers never bother to
i n fuse the element of S pi rit i nto a nything as they feel it's not
necessary . W hether it is or not i s debatable, but I feel much
more at ease when I i nfuse t h i s energy i nto my tools .
To keep a tool cha rged u p to the ma x , I si mply put the
tool u nder a pyra mid and a l l ow it to d raw forth currents of
energ y . It keeps a powe r bag fu l ly charged, and i s a l so a sure
fi re method of kee p i n g ta l ismans charg ed up . Pyramid
energies a re fantasti c to uti l ize a nd every S orcere r should
have several , in d i fferent colors , fo r di fferent pu rposes .
Another s m a rt thi n g to do is m a ke a pyra m i d out of
w i re or copper tu bing l a rg e enoug h so that it fits ove r you r
altar. This is exce l lent to use i n additi on to a ca ndle ritual .
Pl ace the pyra m i d d i re ctl y over the a lta r to hel p charg e the
h a l l owed a rea for the p u rpose d esi red . It d oesn 't inh i bit the
free flow of the cand les from d o i n g thei r task, nor w i l l it i n h i bit
the s pirits from doing w hat the i r s u p p o sed to d o .
Beg i n b y taki ng a plai n sheet o f paper. Using a
d raftsman's com pass, fi nd the center of the paper and p lace
the compass' p o i nt there and d raw a l a rge enough ci rcle to fit
on the sheet of paper. N ow usi ng a p rotracto r, fi nd a
refe rence poi nt o n the c i rcle and m a rk off 5 hash m a rks on
the ci rcl e that a re exact l y 72 deg ree s apart from one another.
D raw fro m each hash m a rk o n the circ l e to the center poi nt
the n connect each hash mark on the ci rcle . You have a
pe n tagon with five l i nes goi ng from the ci rcl e's divider marks
to the center. N ext, using scissors o r an e xa ct o knife, cut on
the l i nes that m a ke u p the penta g o n . These lines when cut w i l l
b e the base o f the pyra mid . Then cut u p only o n e l i ne o f the
pentagon to the cente r. Now fold a l l fo u r remain i ng lines and
you wi l l overla p one of the folds so it will resemble a pyra m i d .
Tape or g l ue a n d you're done !
 15

It may be w i se to use l i g ht paper cardboard for yo u r pyra m ids

only because they can withsta nd being knocked around.

To Use You r Pyram id of Power

Al i g n the base of the pyra m i d due north with the a i d of
a d i recti onal compass . Tilt the pyra m id to one side a nd p l a ce
the o bject to be cha rged underneath it. Place your hands
a round the outside u p toward the ti p of the pyra m i d and wi l l
som e energy to e ncapsul ate the pyra m i d . Wi l l the pyram i d to
begi n conti nuously reg e nerating i ts energy i nto the object a nd
si m ply l eave it alone. It hel ps if you beg i n thi s o n the day
afte r a New Moon and leave the o bject in the pyramid
ch a m ber u ntil the Fu l l Moon .
 16

The Power C ircle

"I summon the e up, Circle of Power, that you be a boundary
between the worlds of men a nd the realms of the Spirits! Be
my protector & my guardian to both preserve and contain the
po wer th a t we shall raise within you. Wherefore shall I bless
and consecrate thee, 0 Power Circler
D raw the ci rcle cl ockw i se as a peri meter w h i ch you can
safe l y work i n . It serves not o n l y as a protective bubble for
you when trouble th reatens, but a l so as a generator for the
power you su m m o n u p .
Take u p you r Sorce re r's Staff a n d a l l ow the energy to
e nter you from a bove . Poi nt the staff d own to the g round &
vi sualize energ y flowi ng out form the staff's poi nt. W a l k
cl ockwise! and chant t h e a bove cha rm . The charm's purpose i s
to focus your m i nd as y o u su m mo n the energy when drawi n g
the circle as well a s su m mo n t h e S piri ts w h o will ass i st you i n
creati ng thi s space.
After this i s com p l eted , g o o n to ca l ling the E l e mental
Spi rits to fortify the c i rcle's peri meter. It i s s i m i l a r to h iring
fou r secu rity g u a rds to g u ard the fou r sides of a b u ilding .
Thei r job i s to keep out u nwanted i nfluences & keep i n your
energy u nti l you a re ready to release it.
Begi n by faci ng due East. Close your eyes a nd fi nd the
center of your bei ng. Re- l i nk this center with the forces of
ti m e, space and rea l i ty . Sta rt at the top poi nt of the
pentag ra m and d raw to the bottom l eft poi nt. Conti n u e this
m ovement u pward to the rig ht horizontal po i nt then towa rd
the left horizo ntal poi nt. Now m ove your staff to the bottom
rig ht point & then upward to the top poi nt. Visua l i ze this
sym bol as bu rning white hot. Stab the pentagra m 's center and
will some of you r e nergy to fl ow i nto the center of the
pentag ra m g i v i ng i t l i fe a nd say :
"Spirit Watchers of the East, I stir, summon, call thee forth!
In the name of Paralda, Ruler of the Sylphs, come ward &
witness my rite now; as I will, thus shall it be!"
Pol itely bow & then turn clockwise & face west . Draw
the sa m e star shaped pentagra m , charg e it and say:
"Spirit Watchers of the West, I stir, summon, call thee forth!
In the name of Nicksa, Ruler of the Undines, come ward &
witness my rite now; as I will, thus shall it be!"
Other documents randomly have
different content
wander from one spot to another was so considerable, that the
owners of the flocks engaged in war, and exposed their own lives, in
order to obtain so valuable a possession.
As to the figurative passages, they are far too numerous to be
quoted, and are found throughout the whole of the Old and New
Testaments. For example, see Psalm lxxix. 13, "So we Thy people
and the sheep of Thy pasture will give Thee thanks for ever." And
again, "I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers,
and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a
good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold
be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they
feed upon the mountains of Israel" (Ezek. xxxiv. 13, 14).
We will now look at one or two of the passages that mention
watering the Sheep—a duty so imperative on an Oriental shepherd,
and so needless to our own.
In the first place we find that most graphic narrative which occurs in
Gen xxix. to which a passing reference has already been made.
When Jacob was on his way from his parents to the home of Laban
in Padan-aram, he came upon the very well which belonged to his
uncle, and there saw three flocks of Sheep lying around the well,
waiting until the proper hour arrived. According to custom, a large
stone was laid over the well, so as to perform the double office of
keeping out the sand and dust, and of guarding the precious water
against those who had no right to it. And when he saw his cousin
Rachel arrive with the flock of which she had the management, he,
according to the courtesy of the country and the time, rolled away
the ponderous barrier, and poured out water into the troughs for the
Sheep which Rachel tended.
About two hundred years afterwards, we find Moses performing a
similar act. When he was obliged to escape into Midian on account
of his fatal quarrel with a tyrannical Egyptian, he sat down by a well,
waiting for the time when the stone might be rolled away, and the
water be distributed. Now it happened that this well belonged to
Jethro, the chief priest of the country, whose wealth consisted
principally of Sheep. He entrusted his flock to the care of his seven
daughters, who led their Sheep to the well and drew water as usual
into the troughs. Presuming on their weakness, other shepherds
came and tried to drive them away, but were opposed by Moses,
who drove them away, and with his own hands watered the flock.
Now in both these examples we find that the men who performed
the courteous office of drawing the water and pouring it into the
sheep-troughs married afterwards the girl to whose charge the
flocks had been committed. This brings us to the Oriental custom
which has been preserved to the present day.
The wells at which the cattle are watered at noon-day are the
meeting-places of the tribe, and it is chiefly at the well that the
young men and women meet each other. As each successive flock
arrives at the well, the number of the people increases, and while
the sheep and goats lie patiently round the water, waiting for the
time when the last flock shall arrive, and the stone be rolled off the
mouth of the well, the gossip of the tribe is discussed, and the
young people have ample opportunity for the pleasing business of
courtship.
As to the passages in which the wells, rivers, brooks, water-springs,
are spoken of in a metaphorical sense, they are too numerous to be
quoted.
And here I may observe, that in reality the whole of Scripture has its
symbolical as well as its outward signification; and that, until we
have learned to read the Bible strictly according to the spirit, we
cannot understand one-thousandth part of the mysteries which it
conceals behind its veil of language; nor can we appreciate one-
thousandth part of the treasures of wisdom which lie hidden in its
pages from those who have eyes and cannot see, ears and cannot
hear.
Another duty of the shepherd of ancient Palestine was to guard his
flock from depredators, whether man or beast. Therefore the
shepherd was forced to carry arms; to act as a sentry during the
night; and, in fact, to be a sort of irregular soldier. A fully-armed
shepherd had with him his bow, his spear, and his sword, and not
even a shepherd lad was without his sling and the great quarter-
staff which is even now universally carried by the tribes along the
Nile—a staff as thick as a man's wrist, and six or seven feet in
length. He was skilled in the use of all these weapons, especially in
that of the sling.
In England, in these days, the sling is only considered as a mere toy,
whereas, before the introduction of fire-arms, it was one of the most
formidable weapons that could be wielded by light troops. Round
and smooth stones weighing three or four ounces were the usual
projectiles, and, by dint of constant practice from childhood, the
slingers could aim with a marvellous precision. Of this fact we have a
notable instance in David, who knew that the sling and the five
stones in the hand of an active youth unencumbered by armour, and
wearing merely the shepherd's simple tunic, were more than a
match for all the ponderous weapons of the gigantic Philistine.
It has sometimes been the fashion to attribute the successful aim of
David to a special miracle, whereas those who are acquainted with
ancient weapons know well that no miracle was wrought, because
none was needed; a good slinger at that time being as sure of his
aim as a good rifleman of our days.
The sling was in constant requisition, being used both in directing
the Sheep and in repelling enemies: a stone skilfully thrown in front
of a straying Sheep being a well-understood signal that the animal
had better retrace its steps if it did not want to feel the next stone
on its back.
Passing his whole life with his flock, the shepherd was identified with
his Sheep far more than is the case in this country. He knew all his
Sheep by sight, he called them all by their names, and they all knew
him and recognised his voice. He did not drive them, but he led
them, walking in their front, and they following him. Sometimes he
would play with them, pretending to run away while they pursued
him, exactly as an infant-school teacher plays with the children.
Consequently, they looked upon him as their protector as well as
their feeder, and were sure to follow wherever he led them.
We must all remember how David, who had passed all his early
years as a shepherd, speaks of God as the Shepherd of Israel, and
the people as Sheep; never mentioning the Sheep as being driven,
but always as being led. "Thou leddest Thy people like a flock, by
the hands of Moses and Aaron" (Ps. lxxvii. 20); "The Lord is my
Shepherd.... He leadeth me beside the still waters" (Ps. xxiii. 1, 2);
"Lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies" (Ps. xxvii. 11);
together with many other passages too numerous to be quoted.
 SHEEP FOLLOWING THEIR SHEPHERD.
"He calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out."—John x.3.

Our Lord Himself makes a familiar use of the same image: "He
calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he
putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep
follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not
follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of
strangers" (John x. 3-5). And again at verse 26: "Ye believe not,
because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear
my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."
Although the shepherds of our own country know their Sheep by
sight, and say that there is as much difference in the faces of Sheep
as of men, they have not, as a rule, attained the art of teaching their
Sheep to recognise their names. This custom, however, is still
retained, as may be seen from a well-known passage in Hartley's
"Researches in Greece and the Levant:"—
"Having had my attention directed last night to the words in John x.
3, I asked my man if it were usual in Greece to give names to the
sheep. He informed me that it was, and that the sheep obeyed the
shepherd when he called them by their names. This morning I had
an opportunity of verifying the truth of this remark. Passing by a
flock of sheep, I asked the shepherd the same question which I had
put to the servant, and he gave me the same answer. I then bade
him call one of his sheep. He did so, and it instantly left its
pasturage and its companions, and ran up to the hands of the
shepherd, with signs of pleasure, and with a prompt obedience
which I had never before observed in any other animal.
"It is also true that in this country, 'a stranger will they not follow,
but will flee from him.' The shepherd told me that many of his sheep
were still wild, that they had not learned their names, but that by
teaching them they would all learn them."
Generally, the shepherd was either the proprietor of the flock, or had
at all events a share in it, of which latter arrangement we find a
well-known example in the bargain which Jacob made with Laban,
all the white Sheep belonging to his father-in-law, and all the dark
and spotted Sheep being his wages as shepherd. Such a man was
far more likely to take care of the Sheep than if he were merely a
paid labourer; especially in a country where the life of a shepherd
was a life of actual danger, and he might at any time be obliged to
fight against armed robbers, or to oppose the wolf, the lion, or the
bear. The combat of the shepherd David with the last-mentioned
animals has already been noticed.
In allusion to the continual risks run by the Oriental shepherd, our
Lord makes use of the following well-known words:—"The thief
cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come
that they might have life, and have it more abundantly. I am the
Good Shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But
he that is an hireling, ... whose own the sheep are not, seeth the
wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf
catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth because
he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep."

THE SHEEP.
"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures."—Psalm xxiii. 2.
Owing to the continual moving of the Sheep, the shepherd had very
hard work during the lambing time, and was obliged to carry in his
arms the young lambs which were too feeble to accompany their
parents, and to keep close to him those Sheep who were expected
soon to become mothers. At that time of year the shepherd might
constantly be seen at the head of his flock, carrying one or two
lambs in his arms, accompanied by their mothers.
In allusion to this fact Isaiah writes: "His reward is with Him, and His
work before Him. He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall
gather the lambs with His arms and carry them in His bosom, and
shall gently lead them that are with young" (or, "that give suck,"
according to the marginal reading). Here we have presented at once
before us the good shepherd who is no hireling, but owns the
Sheep; and who therefore has "his reward with him, and his work
before him;" who bears the tender lambs in his arms, or lays them in
the folds of his mantle, and so carries them in his bosom, and leads
by his side their yet feeble mothers.
Frequent mention is made of the folds in which the Sheep are
penned; and as these folds differed—and still differ—materially from
those of our own land, we shall miss the force of several passages of
Scripture if we do not understand their form, and the materials of
which they were built. Our folds consist merely of hurdles, moveable
at pleasure, and so low that a man can easily jump over them, and
so fragile that he can easily pull them down. Moreover, the Sheep
are frequently enclosed within the fold while they are at pasture.
If any one should entertain such an idea of the Oriental fold, he
would not see the force of the well-known passage in which our Lord
compares the Church to a sheep fold, and Himself to the door. "He
that entereth not by the door into the sheep fold, but climbeth up
some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that
entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the
porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice.... All that ever came
before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear
them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved,
and shall go in and out, and find pasture."
Had the fold here mentioned been a simple enclosure of hurdles,
such an image could not have been used. It is evident that the fold
to which allusion was made, and which was probably in sight at the
time when Jesus was disputing with the Pharisees, was a structure
of some pretensions; that it had walls which a thief could only enter
by climbing over them—not by "breaking through" them, as in the
case of a mud-walled private house; and that it had a gate, which
was guarded by a watchman.
In fact, the fold was a solid and enduring building, made of stone.
Thus in Numbers xxxii. it is related that the tribes of Reuben and
Gad, who had great quantities of Sheep and other cattle, asked for
the eastward side of Jordan as a pasture-ground, promising to go
and fight for the people, but previously to build fortified cities for
their families, and folds for their cattle, the folds being evidently, like
the cities, buildings of an enduring nature.
If the reader will refer to the upper left-hand corner of the large
illustration, he will see in the distance the fold into which the sheep
are gathered at nightfall, and will perceive that it is a strong stone
building, with walls of a considerable height. In some places the
folds are simply rock caverns, partly natural and partly artificial,
often enlarged by a stone wall built outside it. It was the absence of
these rock caverns on the east side of Jordan that compelled the
Reubenites and Gadites to build folds for themselves, whereas on
the opposite side places of refuge were comparatively abundant.
See, for example, the well-known history related in 1 Sam. xxiii. xxiv.
David and his miscellaneous band of warriors, some six hundred in
number, were driven out of the cities by the fear of Saul, and were
obliged to pass their time in the wilderness, living in the "strong
holds" (xxiii. 14, 19), which we find immediately afterwards to be
rock caves (ver. 25). These caves were of large extent, being able to
shelter these six hundred warriors, and, on one memorable occasion,
to conceal them so completely as they stood along the sides, that
Saul, who had just come out of the open air, was not able to discern
them in the dim light, and David even managed to approach him
unseen, and cut off a portion of his outer robe.
That this particular cave was a sheepfold we learn from xxiv. 2-4:
"Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and
went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.
And he came to the sheepcotes by the way." Into these strongholds
the Sheep are driven towards nightfall, and, as the flocks converge
towards their resting-place, the bleatings of the sheep are almost
deafening.
The shepherds as well as their flocks found shelter in these caves,
making them their resting-places while they were living the strange,
wild, pastoral life among the hills; and at the present day many of
the smaller caves and "holes of the rock" exhibit the vestiges of
human habitation in the shape of straw, hay, and other dried
herbage, which has been used for beds, just as we now find the
rude couches of the coast-guard men in the cliff caves of our shores.
The dogs which are attached to the sheepfolds were, as they are
now, the faithful servants of man, although, as has already been
related, they are not made the companions of man as is the case
with ourselves. Lean, gaunt, hungry, and treated with but scant
kindness, they are yet faithful guardians against the attack of
enemies. They do not, as do our sheepdogs, assist in driving the
flocks, because the Sheep are not driven, but led, but they are
invaluable as nocturnal sentries. Crouching together outside the fold,
in little knots of six or seven together, they detect the approach of
wild animals, and at the first sign of the wolf or the jackal they bark
out a defiance, and scare away the invaders. It is strange that the
old superstitious idea of their uncleanness should have held its
ground through so many tens of centuries; but, down to the present
day, the shepherd of Palestine, though making use of the dog as a
guardian of his flock, treats the animal with utter contempt, not to
say cruelty, beating and kicking the faithful creature on the least
provocation, and scarcely giving it sufficient food to keep it alive.
Sometimes the Sheep are brought up by hand at home. "House-
lamb," as we call it, is even now common, and the practice of house-
feeding peculiar in the old Scriptural times.
We have an allusion to this custom in the well-known parable of the
prophet Nathan: "The poor man had nothing, save one little ewe
lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up
together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat,
and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him
as a daughter" (2 Sam. xii. 3). A further, though less distinct,
allusion is made to this practice in Isaiah vii. 21: "It shall come to
pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two
sheep."
How the Sheep thus brought up by hand were fattened may be
conjectured from the following passage in Mr. D. Urquhart's valuable
work on the Lebanon:—
"In the month of June, they buy from the shepherds, when
pasturage has become scarce and sheep are cheap, two or three
sheep; these they feed by hand. After they have eaten up the old
grass and the provender about the doors, they get vine leaves, and,
after the silkworms have begun to spin, mulberry leaves. They
purchase them on trial, and the test is appetite. If a sheep does not
feed well, they return it after three days. To increase their appetite
they wash them twice a day, morning and evening, a care they
never bestow on their own bodies.
"If the sheep's appetite does not come up to their standard, they
use a little gentle violence, folding for them forced leaf-balls and
introducing them into their mouths. The mulberry has the property
of making them fat and tender. At the end of four months the sheep
they had bought at eighty piastres will sell for one hundred and
forty, or will realize one hundred and fifty.
"The sheep is killed, skinned, and hung up. The fat is then removed;
the flesh is cut from the bones, and hung up in the sun. Meanwhile,
the fat has been put in a cauldron on the fire, and as soon as it has
come to boil, the meat is laid on. The proportion of the fat to the
lean is as four to ten, eight 'okes' fat and twenty lean. A little salt is
added, it is simmered for an hour, and then placed in jars for the use
of the family during the year.
"The large joints are separated and used first, as not fit for keeping
long. The fat, with a portion of the lean, chopped fine, is what
serves for cooking the 'bourgoul,' and is called Dehen. The sheep are
of the fat-tailed variety, and the tails are the great delicacy."
This last sentence reminds us that there are two breeds of Sheep in
Palestine. One much resembles our ordinary English Sheep, while
the other is a very different animal, being to the ordinary Sheep
what the greyhound is to the rough terrier. It is much taller on its
legs, larger-boned, and long-nosed. Only the rams have horns, and
they are not twisted spirally like those of our own Sheep, but come
backwards, and then curl round so that the point comes under the
ear. The great peculiarity of this Sheep is the tail, which is simply
prodigious in point of size, and is an enormous mass of fat. Indeed,
the long-legged and otherwise lean animal seems to concentrate all
its fat in the tail, which, as has been well observed, appears to
abstract both flesh and fat from the rest of the body. So great is this
strange development, that the tail alone will sometimes weigh one-
fifth as much as the entire animal. A similar breed of Sheep is found
in Southern Africa and other parts of the world. In some places, the
tail grows to such an enormous size that, in order to keep so
valuable a part of the animal from injury, it is fastened to a small
board, supported by a couple of wheels, so that the Sheep literally
wheels its own tail in a cart. It has been thought by some systematic
naturalists that this variety is a distinct species, and the broad-tailed
breeds of Sheep have, in consequence, been distinguished by
several names. For example, the present variety is called Ovis
laticaudatus by several authors, Ovis laticauda platyceros by another,
and Ovis cauda obesa by another. The broad-tailed Sheep of Tartary
is called Ovis steatopyga. Another author calls it Ovis macrocercus;
and the broad-tailed Sheep of Southern Africa is called Ovis
Capensis. Yet they are in reality one and the same variety of the
common domesticated Sheep, differing in some particulars according
to the conditions in which they are placed, but having really no
specific distinction. It is, by the way, from the wool of the unborn
broad-tailed Sheep that the much-prized Astrachan fur is made.
The various Scriptural writers seem never to have noticed the
difference between the breeds of Sheep; the names that are
employed denoting the different ages and sexes of the Sheep, but
having no reference to the breed.
For example, the word "Tâleh" signifies a very young sucking lamb,
such as is mentioned in 1 Sam. vii. 9: "And Samuel took a sucking
lamb (Tâleh), and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the
Lord." The same word is used in Isa. lxv. 25:
"The wolf and the lamb (tâleh) shall feed together;" the force of this
well-known passage being much increased by the correct rendering
of the word "tâleh." The Jewish Bible renders the word as "a lamb of
milk."
The word "kebes," or "keves," (the e being pronounced like the
same letter in the word "seven") signifies a male lamb of a year or
so old, the feminine being "kebesah." When the young lamb was
weaned, and was sent to pasture, it was called by another name, i.e.
"kar," this word being evidently derived from the Hebrew verb which
signifies to skip. The adult ram is signified by the word "ayil," or
"ail," and the ewe by "rakal."
Frequent reference to the fat of the tail is made in the Authorized
Version of the Scriptures, though in terms which would not be
understood did we not know that the Sheep which is mentioned in
those passages is the long-tailed Sheep of Syria. See, for example,
the history narrated in Exod. xxix. 22, where special details are given
as to the ceremony by which Aaron and his sons were consecrated
to the priesthood. "Thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump,
and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver,
and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them." In the Jewish
Bible the passage is given with much more precision, "Thou shalt
take of the ram the fat, and the fat tail," &c. The same rendering is
used in Lev. iii. 9: "And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the feast
offering a fire offering unto the Eternal; the fat thereof, and the
whole fat tail shall he take off hard by the backbone; and the fat
that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards."
But though this particular breed is not very distinctly mentioned in
the Bible, the Talmudical writers have many allusions to it. In the
Mischna these broad-tailed Sheep are not allowed to leave their folds
on the Sabbath-day, because by wheeling their little tail-waggons
behind them they would break the Sabbath. The writers describe the
tail very graphically, comparing its shape to that of a saddle, and
saying that it is fat, without bones, heavy and long, and looks as if
the whole body were continued beyond the hind-legs, and thence
hung down in place of a tail.
The Rabbinical writers treat rather fully of the Sheep, and give some
very amusing advice respecting their management. If the ewes
cannot be fattened in the ordinary manner, that end may be
achieved by tying up the udder so that the milk cannot flow, and the
elements which would have furnished milk are forced to produce fat.
If the weather should be chilly at the shearing time, and there is
danger of taking cold after the wool is removed, the shepherd
should dip a sponge in oil and tie it on the forehead of the newly-
shorn animal. Or, if he should not have a sponge by him, a woollen
rag will do as well. The same potent remedy is also efficacious if the
Sheep should be ill in lambing time.
That the Sheep is liable to the attack of the gadfly, which deposits its
eggs in the nostrils of the unfortunate animal, was as well known in
the ancient as in modern times. It is scarcely necessary to mention
that the insect in question is the Æstrus ovis. Instinctively aware of
the presence of this insidious and dreaded enemy, which, though so
apparently insignificant, is as formidable a foe as any of the beasts
of prey, the Sheep display the greatest terror at the sharp, menacing
sound produced by the gadfly's wings as the insect sweeps through
the air towards its destination. They congregate together, placing
their heads almost in contact with each other, snort and paw the
ground in their terror, and use all means in their power to prevent
the fly from accomplishing its purpose.
When a gadfly succeeds in attaining its aim, it rapidly deposits an
egg or two in the nostril, and then leaves them. The tiny eggs are
soon hatched by the natural heat of the animal, and the young
larvæ crawl up the nostril towards the frontal sinus. There they
remain until they are full-grown, when they crawl through the
nostrils, fall on the ground, burrow therein, and in the earth undergo
their changes into the pupal and perfect stages.
It need hardly be said that an intelligent shepherd would devote
himself to the task of killing every gadfly which he could find, and,
as these insects are fond of basking on sunny rocks or tree-trunks,
this is no very difficult matter.
The Rabbinical writers, however, being totally ignorant of practical
entomology, do not seem to have recognised the insect until it had
reached its full larval growth. They say that the rams manage to
shake the grubs out of their nostrils by butting at one another in
mimic warfare, and that the ewes, which are hornless, and are
therefore incapable of relieving themselves by such means, ought to
be supplied with plants which will make them sneeze, so that they
may shake out the grubs by the convulsive jerkings of the head
caused by inhaling the irritating substance.
The same writers also recommend that the rams should be furnished
with strong leathern collars.
When the flock is on the march, the rams always go in the van, and,
being instinctively afraid of their ancient enemy the wolf, they
continually raise their heads and look about them. This line of
conduct irritates the wolves, who attack the foremost rams and seize
them by the throat. If, therefore, a piece of stout leather be fastened
round the ram's neck, the wolf is baffled, and runs off in sullen
despair.
Generally, the oldest ram is distinguished by a bell, and, when the
flock moves over the hilly slopes, the Sheep walk in file after the
leader, making narrow paths, which are very distinct from a distance,
but are scarcely perceptible when the foot of the traveller is actually
upon them. From this habit has arisen an ancient proverb, "As the
sheep after the sheep, so the daughter after the mother," a saying
which is another form of our own familiar proverb, "What is bred in
the bone will not come out of the flesh."

We now come to the Sheep considered with reference to its uses.

First and foremost the Sheep was, and still is, one of the chief
means of subsistence, being to the pastoral inhabitants of Palestine
what the oxen are to the pastoral inhabitants of Southern Africa.
To ordinary persons the flesh of the Sheep was a seldom-tasted
luxury; great men might eat it habitually, "faring sumptuously every
day," and we find that, among the glories of Solomon's reign, the
sacred chronicler has thought it worth while to mention that part of
the daily provision for his household included one hundred Sheep.
No particular pains seem to have been taken about the cooking of
the animal, which seems generally to have been boiled. As, however,
in such a climate the flesh could not be kept for the purpose of
making it tender, as is the case in this part of the world, it was
cooked as soon as the animal was killed, the fibres not having time
to settle into the rigidity of death.
Generally, when ordinary people had the opportunity of tasting the
flesh of the Sheep, it was on the occasion of some rejoicing,—such,
for example, as a marriage feast, or the advent of a guest, for whom
a lamb or a kid was slain and cooked on the spot, a young male
lamb being almost invariably chosen as less injurious than the ewe
to the future prospects of the flock. Roasting over a fire was
sometimes adopted, as was baking in an oven sunk in the ground, a
remarkable instance of which we shall see when we come to the
Jewish sacrifices. Boiling, however, was the principal mode; so much
so, indeed, that the Hebrew word which signifies boiling is used to
signify any kind of cooking, even when the meat was roasted.
The process of cooking and eating the Sheep was as follows.
The animal having been killed according to the legal form, the skin
was stripped off, and the body separated joint from joint, the right
shoulder being first removed. This, it will be remembered, was the
priest's portion; see Lev. vii. 32: "The right shoulder shall ye give
unto the priest for an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace
offerings." The whole of the flesh was then separated from the
bones, and chopped small, and even the bones themselves broken
up, so that the marrow might not be lost.
A reference to this custom is found in Micah iii. 2, 3, "Who pluck off
their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; who
also eat the flesh of my people ... and they break their bones, and
chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron."
The reader will now understand more fully the force of the prophecy,
"He keepeth all His bones: not one of them is broken" (Psa. xxxiv.
20).
The mixed mass of bones and flesh was then put into the caldron,
which was generally filled with water, but sometimes with milk, as is
the custom with the Bedouins of the present day, whose manners
are in many respects identical with those of the early Jews. It has
been thought by some commentators that the injunction not to
"seethe a kid in his mother's milk" (Deut. xiv. 21) referred to this
custom. I believe, however, that the expression "in his mother's
milk" does not signify that the flesh of the kid might not be boiled in
its mother's milk, but that a kid might not be taken which was still in
its mother's milk, i.e. unweaned.
Salt and spices were generally added to it; see Ezek. xxiv. 10: "Heap
on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well." The
surface was carefully skimmed, and, when the meat was thoroughly
cooked, it and the broth were served up separately. The latter was
used as a sort of sauce, into which unleavened bread was dipped. So
in Judges vi. 19 we read that when Gideon was visited by the angel,
according to the hospitable custom of the land, he "made ready a
kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a
basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him
under the oak, and presented it to him."
Valuable, however, as was the Sheep for this purpose, there has
always existed a great reluctance to kill the animal, the very sight of
the flocks being an intense gratification to a pastoral Oriental. The
principal part of the food supplied by the Sheep was, and is still, the
milk; which afforded abundant food without thinning the number of
the flock. As all know who have tasted it, the milk of the Sheep is
peculiarly rich, and in the East is valued much more highly than that
of cattle. The milk was seldom drunk in a fresh state, as is usually
the case with ourselves, but was suffered to become sour, curdled,
and semi-solid.
This custom exists at the present day, the curdled milk being known
by the name of "leben." It is worthy of notice that all the Kaffir tribes
of Southern Africa, who live almost entirely on milk, also use it
curdled, under the name of "amasi," and utterly refuse to drink it in
its fresh state, looking upon new milk much as we should look upon
unfermented ale. It is curdled by being placed in a vessel together
with some of the already curdled milk, and the usual plan is to
preserve for this special purpose a vessel which is never wholly
emptied, and which is found to curdle the milk with great rapidity.
"Leben" is exceedingly nutritious, and especially adapted for
children, who, when accustomed to it, will very much prefer it to the
milk in a fresh state. Two separate words are used in the Old
Testament to distinguish fresh from curdled milk, the former being
called Châlâb, and the latter Chemhah.
For butter (if we may accept the rendering of the word) the milk of
the cow or the goat seems to have been preferred, although that of
the Sheep also furnishes it. This distinction is drawn even in the
earliest days of Jewish history, and in the Song of Moses (Deut.
xxxii. 13, 14) we find this passage, "He made him to suck honey out
of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock; butter of kine and milk of
sheep, with fat of lambs."
There is, however, a little uncertainty about the word which is
translated as butter, and as this word is only used in a very few
passages, we will refer briefly to them. The first mention of butter
occurs in Gen. xviii. 8, where we are told that Abraham "took butter,
and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before
them." In this passage we find the words "chemhah" and "châlâh"
are used, the former being translated in the Jewish Bible as "clotted
cream." Abraham therefore gave his angelic guests their choice of
milk, both fresh and curdled. In the passage from Deut. xxxii. 14,
which has already been mentioned, the same words are used, as
they are in the well-known passage in the history of Jael and Sisera
(Judges v. 25): "He asked water, and she gave him milk (châlâb);
she brought forth butter (chemhah) in a lordly dish."
Again, the butter which Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai brought to David,
together with honey, was the chemhah (2 Sam. xvii. 29). In the
familiar passage, "Butter and honey shall He eat" (Isa. vii. 15), the
same word is used; and so it is in Job xx. 17, "He shall not see the
rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter."
But in Prov. xxx. 33, "Surely the churning (mitz) of milk (châlâb)
bringeth forth butter" (chemhah), we have a proof that the
chemhah, whatever it may be, is produced by the churning or
pressure of the fresh milk. As to the exact force of the word "mitz"
there is a little doubt, some persons translating it as pressure, and
others as agitating or shaking, a movement which, when applied to
milk, would be rightly translated as churning. This latter
interpretation is strengthened by the context, "Surely the churning
(mitz) of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing (mitz) of the
nose bringeth forth blood."
It is most probable that the chemhah may signify both clotted cream
and butter, just as many words in our language have two or more
significations. Some commentators have thought that the ancient
Jews were not acquainted with butter. This theory, however, is
scarcely tenable. Butter is used largely at the present day, and is
made after the simple fashion of the East, by shaking the cream in a
vessel, exactly as it is made among the black tribes of Southern
Africa and other parts of the world. And, considering the unchanging
character of institutions in the East, we may assume as certain that
the ancient inhabitants of Palestine were, like their modern
successors, acquainted both with the clotted cream and true butter.
Moreover, two substances, butter and honey, which are mentioned in
Samuel, in Job, and in Isaiah, as connected with each other, are still
eaten together in the East.
A reference to the milk of Sheep is to be found in the New
Testament: "Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit
thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the
flock?" (1 Cor. ix. 7).
In this country the milk of the Sheep is scarcely ever used, but in
Scotland, especially in the great Sheep-feeding districts, its milk is
valued as it deserves, and is specially employed for the manufacture
of cheese.
The mention of cheese brings us to another branch of the subject.
Gesenius thinks that the chemhah mentioned in Prov. xxx. must be a
kind of cheese, on account of the word "mitz," i.e. pressure. Thus
the word "cheese" occurs three times in the Authorized Version of
the Bible, and in all these passages a different word is used. We will
take them in their order. The first mention occurs in 1 Sam. xvii. 17,
18, "And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an
ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the
camp to thy brethren; and carry these ten cheeses unto the captain
of their thousand." In this passage the word which is rendered
"cheeses" in the Authorized Version is "charitz," a term which is
translated in the Jewish Bible as "slices of cheeses," on account of
the etymology of the word, which is derived from a root signifying
slicing or cutting.
Another word is used in 2 Sam. xvii. 29, where, among the
provisions that Barzillai brought to David, is mentioned "cheese of
kine." The Hebrew word "shaphôth," which is translated as cheese,
derives its origin from a root signifying to scrape.
The third term translated as cheese is to be found in Job x. 10,
"Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese?"
The word "gebînah," which is here translated as "cheese" both in the
Authorized Version and the Jewish Bible, is derived from a root
signifying to curdle.
Here, then, we have three passages, in each of which a different
word is mentioned, and yet these words have been translated in a
precisely similar manner, both in our own version and in the Jewish
Bible. The subject is so well summed up by the Rev. W. L. Bevan, in
Smith's "Dictionary of the Bible," that we may insert here the
passage:—
"It is difficult to decide how far these terms correspond with our
notion of cheese, for they simply imply various degrees of
coagulation. It may be observed that cheese is not at the present
day common among the Bedouin Arabs, butter being decidedly
preferred. But there is a substance closely corresponding to those
mentioned in 1 Sam. xvii., 2 Sam. xvii., consisting of coagulated
buttermilk, which is dried until it becomes quite hard, and is then
ground. The Arabs eat it with butter. (Burckhardt, 'Notes on the
Bedouins,' i. 60.)
"In reference to this subject, it is noticeable that the ancients seem
generally to have used either butter or cheese, but not both. Thus
the Greeks had in reality but one expression for the two; for
βούτερον=βοῦς-τυρός ('cheese of kine'). The Romans used cheese
extensively, while all nomad tribes preferred butter. The distinction
between cheese proper and coagulated milk seems to be referred to
in Pliny xi. 96."
The reader will observe that this opinion exactly coincides with that
which was expressed a few lines above, namely, that the Hebrews
used one word to express both butter and cheese. The coagulated
and dried buttermilk—i.e. the "leben" of the Bedouins, and the
"amasi" of the Kaffir tribe—may well be the "shaphôth bâkâr," or
"scrapings of the kine," as being necessarily scraped off the stone or
metal plate on which it was dried.

We now come to a portion of the Sheep scarcely less important than

the flesh and the milk, i.e. the fleece, or wool.
In the ancient times nearly the whole of the clothing was made of
wool, especially the most valuable part of it, namely the large
mantle, or "haick," in which the whole person could be folded, and
which was the usual covering during sleep. The wool, therefore,
would be an article of great national value; and so we find that when
the king of Moab paid his tribute in kind to the king of Israel, it was
carefully specified that the Sheep should not be shorn. "And Mesha
king of Moab was a sheep-master, and rendered unto the king of
Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams,
with the wool."
The wool of the Sheep of Palestine differed extremely in value; some
kinds being course and rough, while others were long, fine, and soft.
The wool was dressed in those times much as it is at present, being
carded and then spun with the spindle, the distaff being apparently
unused, and the wool simply drawn out by the hand. The shape of
the spindle was much like that of the well-known flat spinning-tops
that come from Japan—namely, a disc through which passes an axle.
A smart twirl given by the fingers to the axle makes the disc revolve
very rapidly, and its weight causes the rotation to continue for a
considerable time. Spinning the wool was exclusively the task of the
women, a custom which prevailed in this country up to a very recent
time, and which still traditionally survives in the term "spinster," and
in the metaphorical use of the word "distaff" as synonymous with a
woman's proper work.
Only a few passages occur in the Scriptures in which spinning is
mentioned. In Exod. xxxv. 25 we are told that, when the people
were preparing the materials for the Tabernacle, "all the women that
were wise-hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which
they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of
fine linen." It is true that in Prov. xxxi. 19 there is mention both of
the distaff and spindle: "She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her
hand holds the distaff;" but the word which is translated as "distaff"
is more probably the flat disc which gave to the spindle its whirling
movement. Buxtorf's "Hebrew Lexicon" favours this interpretation,
translating the word as "verticulum, quasi fusi directorium," the word
being derived from a root signifying straight, or to keep something
else straight.
The only other reference to spinning is the well-known passage,
"Consider the lilies, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they
spin: and yet I say unto you, That Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these."
When spun into threads, the wool was woven in the simple loom
which has existed up to our own day, and which is identical in its
general principles throughout a very large portion of the world. It
consisted of a framework of wood, at one end of which was placed
the "beam" to which the warp was attached; and at the other end
was the "pin" on which the cloth was rolled as it was finished.
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