2'-« S. VI. 138., Aug. 21. -58.] NOTES AND QUERIES. 



155 



The metal of the seal itself, the young man 

 bearded, the dog (sometimes biting his own tail), 

 the rod or staff with serpents entwined (in H. T. 

 W.'s seal, the branch with leaves springing up 

 and spreading itself on each side of the man's 

 head, may be the engraver's version of the said 

 rod and winged cap of Mercury), are all in magic 

 lore connected with the same planet. The in- 

 scription round the edge is a more difficult matter, 

 at least so fiir as giving any meaning to it is con- 

 cerned. Such seals always had an inscription 

 round them, supposed to be the name of some 

 spirit, good or bad, with some divine name "con- 

 gruent with his spirit and office, to give it greater 

 force and efficacy " : these names being formed in 

 various ways, according to certain or rather zin- 

 certain rules, which it would require a long course 

 of study to understand at all. The general plan 

 was similar to that of the Cabalists, viz. taking a 

 sentence of Scripture, and putting together the first 

 letters of each word to form a new word (as in 

 the well-known instance of Maccabaeus, from M, 

 C, B, I, the first letters in the sentence, meaning, 

 " Who is like unto thee among the gods, O ! 

 Lord ?" So Jesii, from a sentence meaning "Mes- 

 siah shall come ;" Elion by a similar process, &c.). 

 Sometimes the last letters were taken ; sometimes 

 • the middle letters ; or, as my author says, " a let- 

 ter is put for a woril, and a letter extracted from 

 a word, either from the beginning, end, or where 

 you please ; and sometimes these names are ex- 

 tracted from .ill the letters one by one, evoi as 

 the seventy-two names of God are extracted from 

 three verses of Exodus, the first and the last 

 verses being written from the right to the left ; 

 but the middle contrariwise from the left to the 

 right ; and sometimes a word is extracted from a 

 word, or a name from a name, by the transposi- 

 tion of the letters — as Michael from Malachi ; 

 sometimes by changing the alphabet, by which 

 Jehjcah may become Kuzu ; sometimes, by reason 

 of the equality of the numbers, names are changed, 

 as Mctatron for Sadai — the letters in both making 

 up 314," &c. "And these (he very properly adds) 

 are the hidden secrets concerning which it is most 

 difficult to judge, or to deliver a perfect science; 

 neither can they be understood or taught in any 

 other language but the Hebrew." (Barrett's 

 Magus, ii. 40.) 



Anotiier way of finding out the name of a 

 spirit to any desired eOTcct, is given by the same 

 author (ii. GO.) ; which, though despairing of being 

 able to translate, I am tempted to give verbatim : — 



" Any celestial harmony being proposed to thee, to 

 Pialie an image or a ring, or any other work to be done 

 under any constcU.ition, if tliou wilt find out the spirit 

 that is the nilcr of that work, tlio figure of the heaven 

 being erected, cast ibrtli letters in their number and 

 order, from the degree of the ascendant, according to tlie 

 succession of signs througli each degree, by filling the 

 whole circle of the heavens; then those letters which fall 



into the places of the stars, the aid of which you would 

 use, being according to the number and power of those 

 stars marked without into number and order, make the 

 name of a good spirit." 



Again : 



" What letters fall into the place of the aforesaid stars 

 being marked and disposed, according to the order found 

 out above in the stars, and rightly joined together ac- 

 cording to the rules of the Hebrew tongue, make the 

 name of a genius ; to which, according to the custom, 

 some monosyllable name of Divine Omnipotence, viz. Kl 

 or Jah, is subjoined." 



" The manner of making these rings is thus : when an^- 

 star ascends iu the horoscope (fortunately), with a for- 

 tunate aspect of conjunction of the moon, we proceed to 

 take a stoue and herb that is under that star, and like- 

 wise make a ring of the metal that is corresponding to 

 the star; and in the riug, under the stone, put the herb 

 or root, not forgetting to inscribe the effect, image, name, 

 and cliaracter, as also the proper sufFume." — 3Iagus, i. 95. 



The object of making such seals is described in 

 the following passage, which, as a curious speci- 

 men of a jargon not likely to be one with whicli 

 many of your readers are familiar, I transcribe 

 entire : — 



" There are certain magic tables of numbers distributed 

 to the seven planets, which they call the sacred tables of 

 the planets; because, being rightly formed, they are en- 

 dued with many great virtues of the heavens, insomuch 

 that they represent the divine order of the celestial num- 

 bers, impressed upon them by the ideas of the divine 

 mind, by means of the soul of the world, and the sweet 

 hamion3' of those celestial raj's ; signifying, according to 

 proportion, supercelestial intelligences, which can no 

 other way be expressed than by the marks of numbers, 

 letters, and characters : for imiterial numbers and figures 

 can do nothing in the mysteries of hidden things, but re- 

 presentatively by formal numbers and figures, as they 

 are governed and informed by intelligences and divine 

 enumerations which unite the extremes of the matter and 

 spirit to the will of the elevated soul, receiving (through 

 great affection, by the celestial power of the operator), a 

 virtue and power from God, applied through the soul of 

 thp universe ; and the observation of celestial constella- 

 tions to a matter fit for a form, the mediums being dis- 

 posed by the skill and industry of the Magician.* .... 

 The sixth table is of Mercury. . . . And from it is drawn 

 a character of Blercur)', and the spirits thereof; and if, 

 with Mercuiy being fortunate, you engrave it upon silver, 

 tin, or yellow brass, or write it upon virgin parchmeut, it 

 renders the bearer thereof grateful, acceptable, and fortu- 

 nate to do what he pleases; it brings gain, and prevents 

 poverty; helps the memory, understanding, and divina- 

 tion, and to the understanding of occult things by dreams ; 

 but with an unfortunate IMercury does everything con- 

 trary to this." — Magus, i. 142. 



I hardly need add, that lege, lege, mean respec- 

 tively, " read, conceal." Jelel, the last name in 

 the inscription, is very like Jeliel, which is one 

 of the seventy-two names of angels of the class 

 Shemhamphorte : or, if we use a difTerent division, 

 Segaiel is not unlike Sackiel — the angel which 

 governs Thursday. Perhaps some other contri- 



* Qy. Have wo not had something like this in the 

 productions of the modern " spirit-rappers " ? Truly 

 there is nothing new under the sun. 



