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Of the Consecration of all magical Instruments and Materials which are used in this Art
.THE virtue of consecrations chiefly consists in two things, viz. the power of the person consecrating, and the virtue of the prayer by which the consecration is made.
For in the person consecrating, there is required firmness, constancy, and holiness of life; and that the consecrator himself shall, with a firm and undubitable faith, believe the virtue, Power, and effect thereof.
Then in the prayer by which the consecration is made it derives its virtue either from divine inspiration, or else by composing it from sundry places in the holy Scriptures, in the commemoration of some of the wonderful miracles of God, effects, promises, sacraments and sacramental things, of which we have abundance in holy writ.
There must likewise be used the invocation of divine names, that are significative of the work in hand; likewise a sanctifying and expiation which s wrought by sprinkling with holy water, unctions with holy oil, and odoriferous suffumigations. Therefore in every consecration there is generally used a benediction and consecration of water, earth, oil, fire, and suffumigations, &c. with consecrated wax-lights or lamps burning; for without lights no consecration is duly performed. You must therefore particularly observe this, that when any thing (which we call prophane) is to be used, in which there is any defilement or pollution, it must, first of all, be purified by an Exorcism composed solely for that purpose, which ought to precede the consecration;
which things being so made pure are most apt to receive the influences of the divine virtue. We must also observe that at the end of any consecration after the prayer is rightly performed, as we have mentioned, the operator ought to bless the thing consecrated, by breathing out some sentence with divine virtue and power of the present consecration, with a commemoration of his virtue and authority, that so it may be the more duly performed, and with an earnest and attentive mind. Now I shall mention here some examples, that, by these, a path may be made to the whole perfection thereof.