Your name is Keryx. You are standing in your house.
You are about to perform a magical ritual to summon an assistant that you learned from Pnouthis, the sacred scribe.
You recall [[what he told you]] about the ritual.
You learned about the ritual from a book of instructions that Pnouthis wrote out for you. "The spell of Pnouthis," he told you, "has the power to persuade the gods and all the goddesses. I shall write you from it about acquiring a holy assistant."
You have prepared all of the necessary components that Pnouthis explained to you. They are all laid out before you, as is the book.
[[Examine the items.]]
[[Examine the book.]]
The following items are laid out before you.
A pure garment, a black Isis band, a falcon's head, uncut frankincense, rose oil, an earthen censer, the plant heliotrope, a thread, engraving tools, myrrh troglitis, a myrtle branch, the components for a fire.
You have put the other components necessary [[in the dining room]].
The book that Pnouthis put together for you lies before you. There is a lot of information about this ritual.
[[What can the spirit do for me?]]
If you give him a command, straight-way he performs the task: he sends dreams, he brings women, men without the use of magical material, he kills, he destroys, he stirs up winds from the earth, he carries gold, silver, bronze, and he gives them to you whenever the need arises.
And he frees from bonds a person chained in prison, he opens doors, he causes invisibility so that no one can see you at all, he is a bringer of fire, he brings water, wine, bread and [whatever] you wish in the way of foods: olive oil, vinegar - with the single exception of fish - and he will bring plenty of vegetables, whatever kind you wish, but as for pork, you must not ever tell him to bring this at all! And when you want to give a [dinner], tell him so. Conjure up in your mind any suitable room and order him to prepare it for a banquet quickly and without delay. At once he will bestow chambers with golden ceilings, and you will see their walls covered with marble - and you consider these things partly real and partly just illusionary - and costly wine, as is meet to cap a dinner splendidly. He will quickly bring daimons, and for you he will adorn these servants with sashes. These things he does quickly.
(if: (history:) contains ("in the dining room"))[Now you are ready to [[say the first spell]].](else:)[
Now that you know this, you can [[examine the items->Examine the items.]] you prepared.]
In the dining room of your house, there is a large feast laid out with all types of foods. There is Mendesian wine available.
An uncorrupted boy waits there to serve the meal.
Before you can sit down to the meal, however, you must [[take your spell components to the roof]].
You gather up your spell components and head up towards the roof of your house.
Before you reach the top, you pause to clothe yourself in [[the pure garment]].
Now suitably dressed, you stand on the roof of your home.
You remember what Pnouthis wrote in [[the book->Examine the book.]].
The sun is beginning to disappear below the horizon. It is time to [[say the first spell]].
You speak the first spell to Helios:
"ORI PI … AMOUNTE AINTHYPH PICHAROUR RAIAL KARPHIOUTH YMOU ROTHIRBAN OCHANAU MOUNAICHANAPTA/ZO ZON TAZOTAZO PTZAO MAUIAS SOUORI SOUO OOUS SARAPTOUMI SARACHTHI A … RICHAMCHO BIRATHAU OPHAU PHAUO DAUA AUANTO ZOUZO ARROUZO ZOTOUAR THOMNAORI AYOI PTAUCHAREBI AOUOSOBIAU PTABAIN AAAAAAA AEEIOYOYOOIEEA CHACHACH CHACHACH CHARCHARACHACH AMOUN O EI / IAEOBAPHRENEMOUNOTHILARIKRIPHIAEYEAIPHIRKIRALITHON OMENERPHABOEAI CHATHACH PHNESCHER PHICHRO PHNYRO PHOCHOCHOCH IARBATHA GRAMME PHIBAOCHNEMEO."
You repeat this spell seven times.
The sun [[sets]].
The next part of the ritual takes place at dawn.
You could [[spend the night on the roof]], or [[retreat inside]] to sleep in your bed.
You decide to spend the night on the roof instead of going inside. You are too anxious about the spell to sleep, after all.
It is a long night, but eventually the sun begins to rise. You must begin [[the next steps->back on the roof]].
You retreat inside to sleep in your bed for the night.
Anxious about the spell, you do not sleep very well. You are up a while before dawn and go [[back on the roof]].
Before the sun rises you prepare for the next steps.
Place the heliotrope plant [[in the earthen censer]].
You hail the rising sun as you shake the falcon head in the air.
Next, you must [[burn]] the frankincense.
You need this plant reduced to ashes. You must [[burn it]].
The heliotrope eventually catches fire and smokes a great deal before burning down into a pile of ashes.
On top of the ashes you place [[uncut frankincense]].
The preparations are now complete for the ritual.
Just before the sun rises, you tie the black Isis band over your eyes, and grasp the falcon's head in your right hand.
The sun begins to rise, and you must [[hail it]].
You light the uncut frankincense on fire. Next, you pour the rose oil onto the censer. The sacrifice is now complete.
Time to [[recite the spell]].
You recite the spell.
(Spell text required)
You look around for some [[sign]] that it worked.
Almost immediately a falcon appears in the sky. You watch as it flies [[towards you]].
The falcon lands and stands right in front of you.
Its wings flap in mid-air, and it [[drops something]] before immediately taking flight again, disappearing up high into the sky.
You look at what the falcon dropped. It is an oblong stone, just as the book said.
You are done for now. The next part of the ritual takes place in the evening. But there is still much to do.
You need to [[carve and engrave]] the stone as Pnouthis described.
You need to [[clear the sacrifice]] for the next one.
You need to carve and engrave the stone for the next step of the ritual. Luckily you have your engraving tools all prepared.
You flip open the book and examine what [[needs to be engraved]].
You clear the remains of the sacrifice from the censer to prepare for the next one.
(if: (history:) contains ("carve and engrave"))[Now you are ready to [[continue the ritual]].]
(else:)[Now you need to [[carve and engrave]] the stone.]
The stone needs to include the following images:
Helioros as a lion-faced figure, holding a celestial globe and a whip in his left hand, with a serpent biting its tail in a circle around him.
On the exergue of the stone, the following name should be carved (and Pnouthis says you must conceal it from being seen):
ACHA ACHACHA CHACH CHARCHARA CHACH.
You start [[engraving]].
When this image and text is engraved, you shape the stone and put a hole in it for the string.
You find the Anubian string, and put it through the hole so it can be worn around the neck.
(if: (history:) contains ("clear the sacrifice"))[Now you are ready to [[continue the ritual]].]
(else:)[Now you need to [[clear the sacrifice]].]
You wait until the evening to continue the next part of the ritual.
Putting the engraved stone around your neck, you prepare the next sacrifice on the censer. You start by burning myrrh troglitis, while facing the rising moon.
You must [[address Selene]], the moon goddess, with an appropriate hymnic spell.
You address the goddess Selene as you make the sacrifice.
"INOUTHO PTOUAUMI ANCHARICH CHARAPTOUMI ANOCHA ABITHROU / ACHARABAUBAU BARATHIAN ATEB DOUANANOU APTYR PANOR PAURACH SOUMI PHORBA PHORIPHORBARABAU BOETH AZA PHOR RIM MIRPHAR ZAURA PTAUZOU CHOTHARPARACHTHIZOU ZAITH ATIAU IABAU KANTANTOUMI BATHARA CHTHIBI ANOCH."
Now you must [[light a fire]].
You light a fire, and pick up a branch of myrtle.
You must [[shake it]] and salute the goddess.
At once, a blazing star appears in the sky, and descends above you. It comes to a stop over your roof top, and begins to [[dissolve]].
The star turns into the angel you have summoned, and who has been sent to you.
You remember Pnouthis told you not to be afraid, and to approach the god, take his right hand, kiss him, and say another incantations.
You [[approach the god]].
Taking the angel's hand, you kiss it and speak these words:
"OPTAUMI NAPHTHAUBI MAIOUTHMOU METROBAL RACHEPTOUMI AMMOCHARI AUTHEI A … TAMARA CHIOBITAM TRIBOMIS ARACHO ISARI RACHI IAKOUBI TAURABEROMI ANTABI TAUBI."
The angel replies, but you need to [[ask his name]].
You ask the god for his name:
"What is your divine name? Reveal it to me ungrudgingly, so that I may call upon it."
You wait for the god [[to answer]].
The god tells you his name: "SOUESOLYR PHTHE MOTH".
<center><h1>Ritual Recreation</h1></center>
A recreation of a ritual from the Greek Magical Papyrus (PGM I.42-195) titled "The spell of Pnouthis, the sacred scribe, for acquiring an assistant". Translation from the original text by Hans Dieter Betz.
Betz, Hans Dieter. <i>The Greek magical papyri in translation, including the Demotic spells.</i> Vol. 1. University of Chicago Press, 1996.
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