The Magical Ritual of the Sanctum Regnum

Listen to the words of Solomon which he spake to his son Rehoboam: “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, but the end of wisdom is the knowledge and love of Him who is the Source of all good, and the supreme Reason, whence all things do proceed.” Adonai had passed an eternity in heaven, and then created Man; so a time on earth is given to man to comprehend Adonai. In other words, the knowledge which man attains concerning the Supreme Being springs from the faculties which have been bestowed upon him at his creation, in order that he might in his turn formulate an image of the Being who has sent him into this world.

By Intelligence man conceives the ideal of God, and by Will he should turn to good works. But human will when without works is dead, or at any rate is only a vague desire: the same is true of a thought not expressed in language; it is not a word, but only a dream of the intelligence. An imagination is not a realised thing, it is only a promised something, while an act is a reality. For the same reason there is no piety without prayer, and no religion without worship. Words are the formal and social reality of ideals, and ceremonies are religion put into practice; there is no real faith unless it shows itself by actions prompted by faith. A formulated expression in words, confirmed by actions, demonstrates the two powers of a human soul. To work it is necessary to will, and to will it is necessary to formulate the desire. Actions imply ideas even if the ideals are not themselves translated into acts.