The Circle

The circle is an essential component of every magical ritual. It is a special delineated space for magician to operate, offering both safety and visibility. By examining the words and figures that make up the circle we can gain an understanding of both the ceremony and its creator/operator. Here is the circle as given in the Triangular Book.

We note a few things of interest.

First, the general visual structure is that of two concentric circles and a triangle that reaches out from the center to the outer boundary. This is an unusual formation, as most grimoires prefer to not mix their circles with triangles. Typically, circle is for the human operator and triangle is for the conjured spirit.

Second, we have a specific indication of the directions: North/Nord and South/Sud in stylized letters and East/West in symbols of hearts with flames.

Third, positions for the Operator/Master and Assistant/Levite are provided by circles.

Beyond that, we get into an area of mysteries and interpretation.

When we examine the symbols between the circles that correspond to cardinal directions (N/E/S/W), we find neither letters (ciphered or plaintext) nor recognizable seals. Whereas E and W appear as a stylized combination of letters, the ones at N and S look more akin to an astronomical arrangements (e.g. sunrise and sunset, nodes of the moon). Going from W to E, we can make out something that appears to be letters A-Z-O-T-H.

Further, in the corners of the triangle we see three ciphered letters: P, V, and T.

In the diagram above, we use the cipher key/values provided with Wellcome 4668 as it provides the cleanest glyphs. It is tempting to say that these letters (P, V, and T) represent certain objects or stages of the ritual. Currently, such ideas are not substantiated by the text itself. The best we can do is provide a list of all candidate words in original language of the manuscript, French, and hope that it eventually leads someone to a solution.

Words starting with letter P:

Words starting with letter V:

Words starting with letter T:

As we will see in another post, the arrangement of three ciphered letters makes its appearance a few more times throughout the text. Again, it is tempting to speculate that there may be a connection implied between the figures. At this time, we simply do not have enough data to reach that conclusion.

Know something I don’t? Have a theory to share? Send me an email (bottom of each page) and let me know.