1. Mythos Tomes
A Meditation on the Simon Necronomicon
Contributed by Andrew Pernick
Wednesday, 11 July 2007
Simon's Gate rituals discuss the existence of seven so-called Gates, or doorways to higher planes of consciousness.
The book claims that these Gates open to seven zones above the Earth, and that the Gates were known to the
Chaldeans, followers of Greek texts written in the 2nd cent. BC by Julius the Theurgist. Such followers included, in the
modern era, the Golden Dawn, whose membership rolls included, as a high-ranking member, Aleister Crowley.
The student, if he attains any success in the following practices, will find himself confronted by things too glorious or too
dreadful to be described. It is essential that he remain the master of all that he beholds, hears or conceives; otherwise he
will be the slave of illusion, and the prey of madness.
-Aleister Crowley, Liber O
A Meditation on the Simon Necronomicon and its Rituals and Gates,
Being an Argument Against such Practices in 5 Parts by Andrew Pernick
It must first be stated that Simon was a product of his times and, thus, that his Necronomicon, oft
mockingly called the 'Simonomicon', is also a product of said times. Simon was a member of the inner
sanctum of the Magickal Chylde store in downtown Manhattan, one of the principal centers of
metaphysical thought and magickal research during the 1970s-early 1980s. The other members of the
inner sanctum were known for throwing rather outlandish parties, involving the imbibing of large
quantities of liquor and the ingesting of hallucinogenic substances, as well as the use of other such
mechanisms for altering one's state of consciousness via chemical means.
It was at one such party that the inner sanctum, long since tired of having misguided fans of H.P.
Lovecraft and his ilk enter their store, convinced that Lovecraft lied when he claimed he invented the
Mad Arab's book as a plot device, and further convinced that Magickal Chylde, being an epicenter of
magickal thought, had at least one copy available for purchase, decided to craft such a book.
It must be noted that the inner sanctum crafter their fraud whilst under the influence of many
strange and assorted chemicals. That said, the book they crafted was replete with lies and omissions,
drawn from all and sundry's respective knowledge of the Occult Arts. In other words, they created a
book of traps, some more sinister than others. It is by mere negligence that the Simon Necronomicon
exists at all – each member of the inner sanctum agreed to destroy the book, then in draft form on various
scraps of paper, if they left the party last (it must be noted that Simon also agreed to this stipulation) –
Simon broke his word, however, and, instead of destroying the assorted traps, brought them together into
a pile and had the collection edited and published.
Thus, the book that was created as an act of passive-aggressive cathartic purging became a book
proper. Sales boomed, as the New Age movement hit with tsunami-like force, first along the West Coast
of the US, then spreading eastward to New York and Boston (and, it must be noted, suburbia). Through
this fad's explosion, sales skyrocketed, and frauds and snake-oil salesman sprung up. Although the so-called
'Simonomicon' should have been lost in the shuffle of fakes, frauds, pretenders, and the high noise,
low signal environment, instead it became a best-seller.
The notion that for every bad act done by a person, that person shall suffer as the result of
another's bad act was far from unknown to the inner sanctum of Magickal Chylde – they lived by that
rule (and its counterpart, that for every good act done by a person, that person shall benefit from the good
action of another). Their negligence in not destroying the pages that became Simon's Necronomicon, it
has been argued, brought about the store's downfall, as well as many and numerous personal tragedies.
Thus, the Simon Necronomicon, a book that was not supposed to exist, destroyed the epicenter of
magickal wisdom of its time, and made Simon quite wealthy. Sequels, of course, followed, although
their sales never managed to reach the same peak as the original.
{mospagebreak title=Part II&heading=Part I} With this history in mind, we begin our examination of the Ritual of Walking
and its parts,
incantations, conjurations, and invocations by first examining the foundations from which the inner
sanctum of Magickal Chylde drew their inspiration – Aleister Crowley.
Just like the New Age craze that swept the United States, and then parts of Europe, in the late-70s
through to the modern day, Crowley was a product of his time. Ever the man to lie, cheat, or otherwise
engage in acts of fraud, Crowley invented more than he had actually learned. A member of the Ordo
Templi Orientis (O.T.O. - the first and third words are often switched in position), he wrote many
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2. Mythos Tomes
and numerous works on Ceremonial Magick, which relies upon the position of the stars and planets, and
the latitude and longitude of the Mage, just to determine the exact hour and minute of the exact day a
working must be performed in order for it to work (it is worth noting that most Ceremonial Magicians
still keep, to some degree or another, this practice in their workings and, accordingly, certain workings
cannot be performed until several thousand years from now. It is their system and while they have great
success with it, such slavish devotion to hours, minutes, days, and a multi-axial rotation system of planets
and stars makes the fact that some workings are doomed to failure unless they are performed at 3:02pm
on July 9th, 6356 (for example) sound as if the entire practice of Ceremonial Magick is sheer folly).
Crowley, and the O.T.O., wrote many books, on many and numerous subjects, from Yoga to the
Qabbalah. It is also worth noting that Crowley saw nothing wrong with mixing deities from different
cultures, provided that numerically, under a Qabbalist's numerical system, all of the math worked out to a
zero-sum game. Simon, and those in the inner sanctum, when writing the rituals, rites, invocations,
incantations, conjurations, etc. that became the 'Simonomicon', saw no such need. This is of prime
importance and will be discussed presently.
Simon's Gate rituals discuss the existence of seven so-called Gates, or doorways to higher planes
of consciousness. The book (it is useless to pin all of the blame on Simon himself, as it is impossible to
know with any reasonable degree of certainty whether it was Simon or another of the inner sanctum who
indeed wrote the Gate-related portions) claims that these Gates open to seven zones above the Earth, and
that the Gates were known to the Chaldeans, followers of Greek texts written in the 2nd cent. BC by Julius
the Theurgist. Such followers included, in the modern era, the Golden Dawn, whose membership rolls
included, as a high-ranking member, Aleister Crowley.
It is from this point on that the Gate rituals become mere folly at best, a disastrous affair at worst,
especially if they are performed by one who has not mastered Form. In Ceremonial and/or Ritual
Magick, it is necessary to be highly familiar with the Form, i.e. the practices, symbols, and what we
would term “Do's and Don'ts” of ritual before one ever attempts even one's first ritual; students of
Ceremonial and/or Ritual Magick spend long periods of time learning Form before they dare attempt to
perform a Ritual. Simon, and the inner sanctum, were, in a sense, gambling on the idea that the so-called
'Simonomicon' rituals would be performed by those who knew not from Form. The current thought on
whether or not a practitioner of Ceremonial Magick can succeed without a knowledge of Form is such
that it is best to assume that one can indeed succeed, although one's results would most likely not be
anywhere near as accurate nor as potent as those of one who did know Form.
{mospagebreak title=Part III}In order to perform the Ritual of Walking, one must purify oneself for a period of a Lunar
Month,
going from the night before the New Moon to the night before the New Moon. One must abstain from
sex during that time but, in typical circumloqutious fashion, one can engage in pleasuring a woman
(which, in the 'Simonomicon', is called, cleverly enough, “worship[ping] at the Temple of ISHTAR” - a
veiled reference to the bringing about of orgasm via oral manipulations of the vagina), provided one does
not achieve orgasm oneself. It is worth noting that the 'Simonomicon' is sexist in that it assumes, rather
correctly given the demographic that would be buying the book but incorrectly given the demographic of
the New Age movement itself, that practitioners of its rituals and rites would be male. This is intentional
as it is trying to be in keeping with Crowley and older writers' treatises on the Magickal Arts. During this
Lunar Month of purification, one must forgo the consumption of meat for the final week, and of food
altogether for the final three days, with the exception of water. During this month of purification, the
practitioner is to pray to the God (probably Osiris, given that Simon et al. are using a Crowlean Form,
although it could be Enki or any other number of Gods given that the invocations span multiple disparate
pantheons) each dawn and to the Goddess (probably Isis, for the Crowlean reason, or Ishtar, given the use
of Enki, or any other Goddess one might think of, since the invocations for the Goddess also cross
disparate pantheons).
Once the night of the ritual is at hand, the practitioner is to summon the Watcher. This is a
common Ceremonial practice – Ceremonial Magick has its roots in Christian magical thought, dating as
far back as Henry Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (a.k.a. Agrippa), and it was, and is, widely thought
in Ceremonial Magick that one can be attacked by a demonic entity during the course of a ritual. Thus,
one is all but required to summon a Watcher, a metaphysical being from an astral plane, to act as a
bodyguard throughout the ritual. This is the point where the trap begins. The 'Simonomicon'
“Conjuration of the Watcher” summons Enki, a trickster God (while it is true that Enki is the Sumerian
God of water and intellect, there are several legends in which he is a trickster along the same lines as the
Norse Loki, or the Greek Goddess of Chaos Eris (the Roman Discordia), though it should be stated that these are distinct
characters, and have their own stories and personalities). It also calls upon “He of the
Name Unspeakable, the Number Unknowable.” This is a reference, thinly veiled, to the Hebrew God,
whose true name was lost with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem centuries ago, and whose true
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3. Mythos Tomes
name can only be recovered through the Qabbalistic manipulation of the Torah entire, to find the correct
hundreds-of-digits-long number which corresponds to said true name. One is advised, at this point, to
research the power of names, especially true ones. Especially on-point on this subject is Robert Graves,
specifically The White Goddess, (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2001), pp. 45-48ff.
This trap requires some careful elucidation. Under the Torah's Ten Commandments, specifically
the Second Commandment, the Hebrew God commands, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me (“alpa-
nai a-chei-rim e-lo-him yih-yeh-lek-ha lo”, in the transliterated Hebrew).” Thus, to invoke Enki and
the Hebrew God would be an offense to the Hebrew God of such a nature that, at the very least, the
person making said invocation would wind up having the entire invocation being for naught, thus leaving
him (gender assumed from Simon's text) without a Watcher; at worst, it would result in the wrath of the
Hebrew God. Either way, from this point in the ritual on, the practitioner is without the very
metaphysical being he needs to ensure his safety. This is by design.
Each Step, i.e. each Gate, has its own Seal, diagrams of which are given in the 'Simonomicon'
(pages vary depending on edition, and they vary widely). One must carry the Seal engraved on a small
metal plaque one keeps on one's person, in easy reach of one's right hand. At this point, the practitioner is to mark the
Earth before him with the Seal of the Gate through which he wishes to pass. Simon (assumed –
it very well might have been any other member of the inner sanctum) makes it clear, in keeping with
Crowlean traditions, that one must pass through each Gate one at a time, with a Lunar Month of
purification, as described above, between each Gate working.
In keeping with standard Ritual and Ceremonial Magick practices, oil lamps (preferably, as they
do not blow out easily in low to medium winds) are to be placed at the North, East, South, and West of
the ritual space, all an equal distance from an altar at the South, which itself is to face North, and are to
be lit clockwise ('Deosil') from the North. This is a standard practice that is used to separate the ritual
space from the physical world. In Ceremonial workings, it is so that any otherworldly beings outside the
ritual space before it is sanctified remain on the outside; it also serves so that anything summoned into
the ritual space cannot leave the ritual space. As will be detailed below, this is also part of the trap, as, in
Ceremonial thought, breaking the circle formed by these Watchtowers (the N,E,S,W oil lamps) can result
in disastrous side-effects such as demonic possession, or worse, depending on who one talks to.
At the altar, a brazier is lit with a flame scented by the star corresponding to the Gate through
which the practitioner is trying to pass. A Goddess image (again, probably Isis) and a God image
(probably Osiris) must be present on the altar.
The ritual itself is fairly simple. First, one lights the brazier and uses it to light, Deosil, the
Watchtowers, starting from the North, summoning each Watchtower via its respective incantation found
in the 'Simonomicon'. Since suitable Crowlean and/or Ceremonial substitutes exist, a discussion of the
Simon version of the incantations to the Watchtowers is unnecessary. One next invokes the Watcher
(and thus falls victim to the first of two traps) and plants a sword in the Earth, which must remain
untouched until the end of the ritual. The Seal of the Gate, on a small metal plaque, must then be held in the right hand
of the practitioner, and its name whispered.
It is at this point that the second trap is possible. One is then to loudly recite the Incantation of
the Walking, while walking Deosil around the depiction of the Gate that the practitioner has drawn on the
Earth. The trap here is that the second Gate's Incantation has an invocation to Azathoth. Thus, in order
to pass through the second Gate, one must not only twice invoke Enki, an infamous trickster God, but one
must also twice anger the Hebrew God, and one must also invoke Azathoth. The trap here should be
obvious to even the least educated layman. As a hint, remember the purpose, in Ceremonial Magick, of
establishing Watchtowers to create a ritual space apart from the mundane world.
One recites this incantation as many times as the number corresponding to the Gate through
which one is trying to pass. After that many recitations, the practitioner is to approach the Gate that has
been drawn upon the Earth from the South and head North until he stands at the center of the Gate, at
which point he is to fall to his knees and look directly skyward. Looking in other directions, according to
Simon et al., will most likely get one eaten by some form of demon. It is at this point that a Messenger
appears. If this is one's first Gate ritual, the Messenger is to give the practitioner a special name, a
password. This password must be used each and every time the practitioner wishes to open a gate. This
is, most likely, a third trap in that it is highly probable, given Enki's involvement, that the name given is
the practitioner's true name (again, see Graves, pp. 30-48ff). Speaking aloud one's true name makes it
known to others – one's true name, in brief, is the key to unlocking one's truest potential, but it is also an
invaluable tool for those who wish true domination over someone as if one knows an entity's true name,
he can control every aspect of what that entity does (hence why the Hebrews destroyed the true name of
their God when their Temple fell centuries ago, lest it fall into enemy hands) – given Enki's involvement,
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4. Mythos Tomes
it is highly possible that the speaking aloud of one's true name grants permission for whatever entities
might be between the Gates to have their way with the practitioner. This is speculative, as, due to the
first two traps, performing the rites and rituals for the Gate Walking is a suicidal endeavor.
At this point, once the Gate has opened (provided the practitioner has used the correct name he
had been given when he opened the first Gate), the practitioner is to stand, thank the Gods (this is plural
in Simon's text, although why is never made abundantly clear), strike the sword so that the Watcher (who
was never there in the first place) can depart, leave the Earth-inscribed depiction of the Gate, put out the
fire on the altar, and snuff the fires at the Quarters (i.e. the North, South, East, and West positions, but
doing so, again, Deosil, starting from the North – there are many warnings in Ceremonial Magick against
ever walking 'Widdershins', or 'counterclockwise', in ritual).
It is worth noting that Simon (or whomsoever actually wrote this ritual) did indeed close the ritual
according to Ceremonial traditions – one does indeed first thank the Gods (and Goddesses, depending on
the ritual and the theological system being used), then thank and dismiss the Watcher, then finally close
the Quarters. Why this order is maintained, when the rest of the ritual is a perversion of Ceremonial
practices, is a mystery. Anything written about this specific portion of the ritual would be nothing more
than idle speculation.
{mospagebreak title=Part IV}A meditation upon this set of rituals would not be complete without also looking at the
invocations and conjurations themselves. Of note is the fact that, like the rest of the 'Simonomicon', they
rely on questionable language. According to several sources, the language is infamous in this book to the
point where the exorcism ritual is actually a ritual to invoke a demon to possess the practitioner rather
than to depart from the possessed person. Others translate that ritual as a transfer of the possessing
demon from the possessed person to the person doing the ritual. In either case, the title claims it to be an
exorcism when in fact it is an invitation for demonic possession. Thus, the language in the book entire is
of questionable merit. Also, the invocations and conjurations cross multiple pantheons which were
disparate in both time and geographic location; this is how the Conjuration of the Watcher has an
invocation to both Enki and to the Hebrew God YHVH.
In other terms, Simon et al.'s Gate Rituals are little more than a series of metaphysical and
magickal traps designed to ensnare and injure those foolish enough to perform them. This is not
surprising, given that they arose out of the deep-seated anger of the inner sanctum of the Magickal
Chylde, but the extreme degree of risk associated with these rituals in particular does beg the question of
whether their purpose was truly to purge their anger or, instead, to create a Pandora's Box, knowing that
whomsoever was the last to leave, in this case Simon, although by necessity it need not have been, would
publish them, thus unleashing their creation upon the world.
{mospagebreak title=Part V}In closing, it cannot be repeated enough that this set of rituals is highly dangerous even to the
most well-trained Magus (the highest ranking of skill and honour in Crowley's O.T.O.), and thus should
never be performed. The 'Simonomicon' is an anthropological curiosity, yes, but it should never be used
as a source for workings one actually intends on carrying out. Also, in keeping with virtually every
magickal system to ever exist, there are two old axioms that must be made abundantly clear: first, once
you are thinking about doing a working, you have started that working; secondly, never read from any
text aloud, especially texts with portions in a language you do not know idiomatically and fluently –
moving your lips is equally a foolish venture. Thus, it is recommended that you purge your knowledge of
this ritual except inasmuch that you know how it works, why it is a series of traps, and that you know not
to carry it out. Doing otherwise is folly and this author accepts no responsibility for any damage to life,
limb, property, or otherwise that may result from the failure to abide by the two axioms above; this author
also does not accept any responsibility for anything arising out of the reader's negligence or the actual
performance of the 'Simonomicon' rituals.
Thanks are due to Dan Harms for his attention to this article, which has aided in the correction of several errors.
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5. Loved this book?
Other books that may be interesting to you:
Steve Roberts : "Zhine Tibetan Dream Yoga"
An interesting way of unfolding the mysteries of the inner process is through dream yoga.
A successful seeker in dream-work must be stable enough in presence to avoid being
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dreams become longer less fragmented and more easily remembered and lucidity is
developed..Waking life is equally enhanced as we find that we are increasingly protected...
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Paul Foster Case : "The Early Writings Vol Ii Esoteric Secrets Of Meditation Magic"
In 1924 Paul Foster Case expanded his First Year Course by developing two advanced
lecture series which he entitled Section C Concentration and Section D Magic. The
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time as Section A The Life Power and Section B The Seven Steps to Spiritual
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Anonymous : "Meditation Of The Four Magickal Weapons"
It has come to our notice that very little spiritual or mystical practices are being taught to
the average devotee of God in churches temples mosques and in devotional gatherings.
Hymns and songs of praise are sung however without the mystical element of sacred
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Order Of The Golden Dawn : "Meditation With The Archangel Auriel"
For this ritual the Zelator will need a black robe black and white striped nemyssand the
Outer Wand of Double Power. Upon the altar should be a black candle a paten of bread
and salt and a talismanic emblem with the Archangel Name of Uriel painted white on a
black background in Hebrew. The temple is to be arranged in accordance with the Zelator
Hall as in the second part of the initiation ceremony