The PGM in Practice: The Baboon Business Box Pt. 1
An Adaptation of The Binding Love Spell of Astrapsoukos (PGM VIII.1-63)
In this series, I offer adaptations of PGM spells that have worked well for me, to help make the PGM more accessible to modern practitioners. Please do not feel confined to using my spells as written, just as you should not feel constrained by the original text. Simply embrace the creative spirit of those ancient sorcerers, take inspiration if you will, and start enchanting! This is part 1 of 2 of a series on the Binding Love Spell of Astrapsoukos.
The Spell
The English translation of the spell, adapted for readability from Betz, goes as follows:
Invocation:
"Come to me, lord Hermes, as fetuses do to the wombs of women. Come to me, lord Hermes, who collects the sustenance of gods and men; come to me, NN, Lord Hermes, and give me favour, sustenance, victory, prosperity, elegance, beauty of face, strength of all men and women. Your names in heaven are LAMPHTHEN OUOTHI OUASTHEN OUOTHI OAMENOTH ENTHOMOUCH. These are your names in the 4 quarters of heaven. I also know what your forms are: in the East you have the form of an ibis, in the west you have the form of a dog-faced baboon, in the north you have the form of a serpent, and in the south you have the form of a wolf. Your plant is the grape which is the olive. I also know your wood: ebony. I know you, Hermes, who you are and where you come from and what your city is: Hermopolis.
Come to me, lord Hermes, many-named one, who knows the things hidden beneath heaven and earth. Come to me, NN, lord Hermes; serve me well, benefactor of the world. Hear me and make me agreeable to all the forms throughout the inhabited world. Open up for me the hands of everyone who dispenses gifts and compel them to give me what they have in their hands. I also know your foreign names: 'PHARNATHAR BARACHEL CHTHA.' These are your foreign names.
Just as Isis, the greatest of all the gods, invoked you in every crisis, in every district, against gods, men, daimons, and creatures of water and earth. And just as she held your favour, and gained victory against gods and men and over all the creatures beneath the world, so also I, NN, invoke you. Wherefore, give me favour, form, and beauty. Hear me, Hermes, benefactor, inventor of drugs; be easy to talk to and hear me, just as you have done everything in the form of your Ethiopian dog-faced baboon, the lord of the chthonic daimons. Calm them all and give me strength, beauty (add the usual), and let them give me gold and silver and every sustenance which will never fail. Preserve me always, through all eternity, from drugs and deceits, every slander and evil tongues, from every daimonic possession and from every hatred of both gods and men. Let them give me favour and victory and business and prosperity.
For you are I, and I am you; your name is mine, and mine is yours. For I am your image. If something should happen to me during this year or this month or this day or this hour, it will happen to the great god ACHCHEMEN ESTROPH, the one inscribed on the prow of the holy ship. Your true name has been inscribed on the sacred stele in the shrine at Hermopolis where your birth is. Your true name: OSERGARIACH NOMAPHI. This is your name with fifteen letters, a number corresponding to the days of the rising moon; and the second name with the number 7, corresponding to those who rule the world, with the exact number 365, corresponding to the days of the year. Truly: ABRASAX. I know you, Hermes, and you know me. I am you, and you are I. And so, do everything for me, and may you turn to me with Good Fortune and Good Daimon, immediately, immediately; quickly, quickly."
Instructions:
Take a piece of olive wood and make a small dog-faced baboon sitting down, wearing the winged helmet of Hermes and a box on its back, and inscribe the name of Hermes on the papyrus and put it in the box. Write in myrrh ink, praying for what you do or what you wish, and after putting a lid on, burn incense and place it where you wish in the middle of the workshop.
And the name to be written is: "PHTHORON PKTHIONE THOYTH."
In addition, write also these great names:
"IAO SABAOTH ADONAIE ABLANATHANALBA AKRAMMACHAMAREI, 365, give to the workshop business, favour, prosperity, elegance, both to NN himself and to his workshop, immediately, immediately; quickly, quickly."
Commentary
At some point I may well publish, either on this blog or in a pamphlet, a detailed commentary on the invocation in this spell, as it has many fascinating features. However, the focus of this article is purely practical, so instead I shall summarise the key magical processes that I find underlying this working:
1. The God as Lover
The so called ‘Binding Love Spell of Astrapsoukos’ (PGM VIII.1-63) is generally assumed to be mislabelled, given that it is not a love spell, but rather a business spell. However, from reading the invocation, one could interpret the ‘love binding’ element as referring, not to a human target, but to the close personal relationship that the spell establishes between you and Hermes. The invocation is effectively one long demonstration of the knowledge that one has of the god. This was the kind of knowledge that was traditionally reserved for the temple priesthood. Thus, in reciting it, the magician is laying claim to the same authority as a priest of Hermes. Another way to look at is as the way one knows a lover. Your lover, your life partner, is someone that you should know inside and out, and they should know you in the same way. Your spirits are almost intertwined, woven together by shared love, experience, and understanding of each other. This invocation establishes a similar relationship between you and Hermes, thus making him more inclined to listen you. I would suggest reading the invocation just as one would speak to a lover, and observing how your relationship with the god develops over repeated use of this spell.
2. The God as Self
Towards the end of the spell, the relationship between the god and the magician deepens, as the magician identifies with the god himself. This is a common technique in the PGM for assuming spiritual authority. This is not a self-invocation, but rather a method of claiming the god’s authority for your own. However, I have found that regular use of the spell does slowly make the presence of Hermes more perceptible in your life; he does start to become a part of you. While the power of the spell begins as being externalised in the wooden baboon, over time it becomes internalised and becomes your power.
3. The Dog Faced Baboon
The form of Hermes that one creates a statue of is the “dog-faced baboon” which we are told in the invocation is his form in the West and is “the lord of the chthonic daimons.” The West is the direction associated with the Underworld, and Betz associates this form with Anubis. Thus, this might suggest that this spell works through the agency of Underworld, earthy spirits, under the direction of Hermes. This tells us that this spell is not a work of theurgy, but works with earthy spirits in order to generate real, physical results.
Creating the Baboon Box
Carving a baboon out of olive wood, according to the specifications given above, is likely beyond the carpentry skills of most magicians, it certainly is beyond mine! Therefore, I purchased an olive wood box. (If you can’t find olive wood, do divination to see what other woods may be suitable.) Then I found a simple line drawing of a baboon online, added a winged helmet by hand, and traced it onto the lid of the box. I then went over the tracing with an engraving pen, and then a gold pen. You could also use a pyrography pen if you wish.
This the outline I used, minus the winged helmet:
On the inside lid of the box, I engraved the sacred names in Ancient Greek, along with a slightly amended version of the petition. I chose to use the Ancient Greek, rather than Betz’ English transliteration, because it was believed in the ancient world that names of power only worked in their original language. Here is the Greek and the petition I used:
“Give me business, favour, prosperity, elegance, both to me (insert your name) myself, and to all my business ventures, immediately, immediately; quickly, quickly.”
You can adapt this petition to a specific business/location if you wish. However, I would not be too specific about what you want this success to look like. You can specify that in later spells that you cast with the box.
You can just as easily get an olive wood board and engrave that instead.
Consecrating the Baboon Box
Timing: There are mixed views on the importance of timing in the PGM. Personally, I do not find it to be all that important. If you prefer, feel free to do this in the day and hour of Mercury during the Waxing Moon, with suitable astrological elections if you really want to. Otherwise, just do it when you can.
You will need:
Any incense you feel is appropriate. Some potentially suitable suggestions are: kyphi, frankincense, a Mercurial incense, road opening incense, or a money drawing incense.
Your engraved baboon box
Myrrh essential oil (if you cannot get hold of it, the relevant step can be omitted)
A white candle
The Ritual
Prepare your magical space and yourself however you prefer.
Burn the incense and hold the box in the smoke.
Recite the invocation while gazing at the box as you would a lover. Where it says (add the usual) this means insert any specific petitions. This is where you can add anything that is not covered by either the petition written in the box or in the rest of the invocation. When you get to the the voces magicae, given in capital letters, I suggest vibrating or singing them.
Chant/vibrate the voces magicae on the inside of the box until you feel the connection to Hermes is fully established.
State your petition as written in the box.
Anoint the inside of the box with Myrrh oil.
Set the box up somewhere pride of place in your home, temple, or workspace.
Make regular incense offerings to it, along with reciting the invocation. This helps maintain the connection between you, the box and Hermes, and keeps the magic running smoothly. I tend to do it in the first couple of days after the New Moon.
I hope you have find this article useful! Be sure to look out for part 2, where I share a specific spell that uses the box to kickstart a new business venture.
Useful Links
https://practicaloccult.com/store/Hermes-Thoth-Prosperity-Box-p327217108
A box much like the one I describe making here, made and consecrated by the brilliant Alison Chicosky. I cannot recommend her work highly enough!
This is the botanica where I buy most of my herbs, candles, incenses and oils.
The text of the original spell is adapted from: Betz, H. D. (1996) The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation Including the Demotic Spells. Vol. 1. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Fantastic work TJ! 🤩✨ Thank you so much for sharing! Xx