The Necromantic Ritual Book by Leilah Wendell
(Westgate Press, 1995)
This thin, little monograph is a thing of beauty. Black covers inlaid with silverleaf written throughout in old English font with beautiful artwork and page borders. It is clear from the title that the author has a love affair with death itself—not romantic but necromantic. She makes clear that the rituals she describes constitute neither black nor white magic but “rites of twilight.” She writes:
“In High Necromantic practice, the cadaver is simply a consecrated catalyst—an empty chalice, if you will, that we will attempt to fill with a potent spirit. It is the host body. The death house is not violated, nor is the host. All elements are treated with the love and sacrosanctity a true magician must have if he or she ever hopes to succeed in contacting and sharing consciousness with a divine entity.” The divine entity is Death himself (Wendell refers to Death in the masculine although a male magician might just as easily regard this entity as female).
Despite the romance of death, Wendell makes clear that necrophilia or using a corpse for sex is never to be done. She stands opposed to Crowley’s “Do what thou wilt” philosophy. What is obvious is that Wendell does herself feel sexual desire when practicing necromancy on a corpse. In her book,
Encounters with Death, the cover features a comatose or even dead woman in the arms of a black veiled corpse or this is Azrael, the angel of death.
This life-size piece called “The Gift” was created by Leilah Wendell and George Hisham and depicts Wendell herself in the arms of Death. It stands at the Grand Midway Hotel in New Orleans which is also the location of Westgate Press.
I have always been intrigued by the statuary found in charnel houses and mortuaries. There is undoubtedly a kind of romance we have with death:
Wendell’s system is a kind of astrological magic but rather different from the kinds you most encounter while perusing the Black Books. She believes in star gates and earth gates that serve as portals to other dimensions including that land beyond the veil. Where these points coincide is where temples should be built so that the right energy is channeled through the place for which the rituals work the best.
For the record, I’ve never performed these rituals. I’m not much of a necromantic. These are not rituals that Wendell recommends to a total novice. She feels that one must introduce oneself to Death first to overcome the normal fear we have of it. She says all fear must be overcome and the best way to overcome it is attend funerals, work in funeral homes or mortuaries, stroll through graveyards and the like. Get used to death until it becomes as a friend. When doing the rituals, first learn them from someone skilled in their use.
One must then procure the proper materials and charge them. The charging is done via the emotions. You must assemble a “golem” from an armature and a base. The armature can be a skeleton of simulated skeleton or it can be made from tree branches which must be fashioned and glued together to form the golem’s skeleton. Afterwards, let it dry and settle and then put “flesh” on the bones using clay in layers. After you build the frame and prop it up, you must pose it and “clothe” it so that it exudes the appropriate feeling you want to it convey. The cloth must be stiffened and the whole thing should be varnished over.
What should your golem look like? It can look like whatever you want it to for the rituals. You can make an image of Azrael or perhaps a transi or maybe someone you love who has passed on. Whatever puts you in the mood to contact Death during your rituals.
The golem, however, is not an idol. It is a talisman to help you focus your energies. It must treated respectfully but not worshiped. The most important ritual is “High Necromancy” where you become one with Azrael and see through his eyes. This requires a private temple and a corpse and should be performed at the times of the year when the “West Gate” is aligned with the earth. I won’t describe it too much. You’ll have to get the book if you’re interested (I think if is available in pdf format online). Again, I’ve never performed this ritual as this kind of thing is not my bag but Wendell’s writings are good for seeing death in a different light.