Watchtower (magic)
Encyclopedia
A Watchtower is a spirit guardian of one of the four cardinal points in both ceremonial magic
and the neopagan religion of Wicca
. Alternately, the Watchtowers are the abodes of the guardians. Often believed to represent the four elements
, the Watchtowers are invoked during ritual to cast the magic circle
. They may be pictured in the imagination or represented with tablets or other physical symbols.
In many Wicca and Witchcraft systems the Watchtowers are evocational symbols of spiritual beings known as the Watchers. Each Watchtower is associated with one of the four quarters of north, east, south and west. In some traditions the Watchtowers are associated with the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water. They are also each linked to a specific star. The north Watchtower is Fomalhaut
, the east is Aldebaran
, Regulus
marks the south, and Antares
is the west. Archangel
s are also used; the North / Earth Watchtower is Uriel
, the East / Air Watchtower is Raphael
, the South / Fire Watchtower is Michael
, and the West / Water Watchtower is Gabriel
.
were associated with these towers and with demarcation in general, as well as seasonal themes related to agriculture . Here we may find a connection between the Lares and the Grigori
of Italian Witchcraft. These towers may be the foundation of the "Watchtowers" appearing in the ritual circles of Wiccans and other modern witches.
system revealed to the Elizabethan magician John Dee
and his scryer
Edward Kelley
, which was later developed into a working system of magic by S.L. MacGregor Mathers. According to Dee’s diaries, the two men summoned an angel, which Kelley saw in an obsidian mirror; Dee recorded the revelations which Kelley narrated to him. Among the surviving records of the Angelic Operations is A Book of Supplications and Invocations which "deals with the Invocation of the Angels who preside over the Four Quarters of the Terrestrial sphere."
At the core of the instructions was the Angelic Table: a grid of 25x27 squares, each square containing a letter. The Angelic Table is subdivided into four lesser grids for the four elements and the four directions, bound together by the cross-shaped Tablet of Union. They are used to call upon the aid of angels ruling over the four directions. The names of God and the angels to be used in the invocations are extracted from the tablets. The four tablets are often called the Enochian Tablets because the letters may be written in the Enochian
alphabet also revealed to Dee and Kelley by the angel.
Dee’s work was revived and expounded upon by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
, primarily through the work of S.L. MacGregror Mathers. In the Golden Dawn magical system, the four Angelic/Enochian Tablets became the four Watchtowers. Each Watchtower was attributed to a direction and an element, by the Golden Dawn.
The Tablet of Union was rearranged to form a rectangle attributed to Spirit or Ether
. The tablets were brightly colored; squares attributed to the elements were painted in the color of that element, with lettering in complementary colors.
The use of complementary colors, called flashing colors in the Golden Dawn, means that the Watchtowers belong to the class of talismans called flashing tablets. The flashing colors were supposed to draw energy from the atmosphere. The painted tablets were placed on the walls of the temple during some rituals to symbolize the four quarters. A favorite ritual in the Golden Dawn was the Opening by Watchtower. This is actually a preliminary ritual to purify space and call upon the guardians of the four quarters, similar to casting the magic circle in Wicca. As part of the Opening by Watchtower, the practitioner uses the elemental weapons to summon the angels of the quarters. In the south, for instance, the practitioner uses the Fire Wand
to trace an invoking Fire Pentagram
, then summons the angels using the three names of God found in the Fire Tablet:
There is no evidence in Dee's original writings that either he, Kelly or the angels attributed these quadrangles of the Great Table, to the elements as the Golden Dawn did. There is therefore, no evidence that the name Oip Teaa Pdoce is in fact, a holy name for the God relevant to the element fire. There is no doubt though, that it is certainly a holy name relevant to spirits whose names are found in the Southern Quadrangle of the Great Table or Tablet.
The Watchtowers were among the Golden Dawn concepts introduced into Wicca (modern witchcraft) by its founder Gerald Gardner
. The complicated tablets and Enochian names were largely abandoned, but Wicca retained the Watchtowers as "the four cardinal points, regarded as guardians of the Magic Circle". They are usually mentioned during the casting of the circle. In a conservative tradition such as Gardnerian
or Alexandrian Wicca
the invocation of the Watchtowers begins in the east; the practitioner traces an invoking Earth Pentagram while saying;
; traditional attributions derived from the British climate may not appeal to or work for practitioners in other climates. A special instance of this problem is the circumstance of Wiccans living in the southern hemisphere, who tend to perceive the north, not the south, as the direction most characterized by fire and heat. Some Neopagans choose to follow the practices of a historical pagan group with whom they identify, or conform to local traditions; either choice may dictate a change of attributions.
Ceremonial magic
Ceremonial magic, also referred to as high magic and as learned magic, is a broad term used in the context of Hermeticism or Western esotericism to encompass a wide variety of long, elaborate, and complex rituals of magic. It is named as such because the works included are characterized by...
and the neopagan religion of Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
. Alternately, the Watchtowers are the abodes of the guardians. Often believed to represent the four elements
Four elements
Four elements may refer to:* Classical elements, such as air, fire, earth and water* 4 Elements, an album by Chronic Future* Group 4 element, one of the chemical elements in Group 4 of the periodic table...
, the Watchtowers are invoked during ritual to cast the magic circle
Magic circle
A magic circle is circle or sphere of space marked out by practitioners of many branches of ritual magic, which they generally believe will contain energy and form a sacred space, or will provide them a form of magical protection, or both. It may be marked physically, drawn in salt or chalk, for...
. They may be pictured in the imagination or represented with tablets or other physical symbols.
In many Wicca and Witchcraft systems the Watchtowers are evocational symbols of spiritual beings known as the Watchers. Each Watchtower is associated with one of the four quarters of north, east, south and west. In some traditions the Watchtowers are associated with the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water. They are also each linked to a specific star. The north Watchtower is Fomalhaut
Fomalhaut
Fomalhaut is the brightest star in the constellation Piscis Austrinus and one of the brightest stars in the sky. Fomalhaut can be seen low in the southern sky in the northern hemisphere in fall and early winter evenings. Near latitude 50˚N, it sets around the time Sirius rises, and does not...
, the east is Aldebaran
Aldebaran
Aldebaran is a red giant star located about 65 light years away in the zodiac constellation of Taurus. With an average apparent magnitude of 0.87 it is the brightest star in the constellation and is one of the brightest stars in the nighttime sky...
, Regulus
Regulus
Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation Leo and one of the brightest stars in the night sky, lying approximately 77.5 light years from Earth. Regulus is a multiple star system composed of four stars which are organized into two pairs...
marks the south, and Antares
Antares
Antares is a red supergiant star in the Milky Way galaxy and the sixteenth brightest star in the nighttime sky . Along with Aldebaran, Spica, and Regulus it is one of the four brightest stars near the ecliptic...
is the west. Archangel
Archangel
An archangel is an angel of high rank. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Michael and Gabriel are recognized as archangels in Judaism and by most Christians. Michael is the only archangel specifically named in the Protestant Bible...
s are also used; the North / Earth Watchtower is Uriel
Uriel
Uriel is one of the archangels of post-Exilic Rabbinic tradition, and also of certain Christian traditions...
, the East / Air Watchtower is Raphael
Raphael (archangel)
Raphael is an archangel of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, who in the Judeo-Christian tradition performs all manners of healing....
, the South / Fire Watchtower is Michael
Michael (archangel)
Michael , Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; , Mikhaḗl; or Míchaël; , Mīkhā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael...
, and the West / Water Watchtower is Gabriel
Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus...
.
In Roman religion
In archaic Roman religion, small towers were built at the crossroads, and an altar was set before them upon which offerings were given to nature spirits. Guardian spirits known as LaresLares
Lares , archaically Lases, were guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries or fruitfulness, hero-ancestors, or an amalgam of these....
were associated with these towers and with demarcation in general, as well as seasonal themes related to agriculture . Here we may find a connection between the Lares and the Grigori
Grigori
The Watchers is a term found in the Old Testament Book of Daniel, and later sources, which is connected to angels...
of Italian Witchcraft. These towers may be the foundation of the "Watchtowers" appearing in the ritual circles of Wiccans and other modern witches.
In the Enochian system
In the Enochian system of magic, brought to public attention by Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelly in the 16th century, we find the inclusion of Watchtowers as complex evocational designs. Some people believe that the Watchtowers have their origin in the Enochian magicEnochian magic
Enochian magic is a system of ceremonial magic based on the evocation and commanding of various spirits. It is based on the 16th-century writings of Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelley, who claimed that their information was delivered to them directly by various angels. Dee's journals contained the...
system revealed to the Elizabethan magician John Dee
John Dee (mathematician)
John Dee was an English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I. He devoted much of his life to the study of alchemy, divination and Hermetic philosophy....
and his scryer
Scrying
Scrying is a magic practice that involves seeing things psychically in a medium, usually for purposes of obtaining spiritual visions and less often for purposes of divination or fortune-telling. The most common media used are reflective, translucent, or luminescent substances such as crystals,...
Edward Kelley
Edward Kelley
Sir Edward Kelley or Kelly, also known as Edward Talbot was an ambiguous figure in English Renaissance occultism and self-declared spirit medium who worked with John Dee in his magical investigations...
, which was later developed into a working system of magic by S.L. MacGregor Mathers. According to Dee’s diaries, the two men summoned an angel, which Kelley saw in an obsidian mirror; Dee recorded the revelations which Kelley narrated to him. Among the surviving records of the Angelic Operations is A Book of Supplications and Invocations which "deals with the Invocation of the Angels who preside over the Four Quarters of the Terrestrial sphere."
At the core of the instructions was the Angelic Table: a grid of 25x27 squares, each square containing a letter. The Angelic Table is subdivided into four lesser grids for the four elements and the four directions, bound together by the cross-shaped Tablet of Union. They are used to call upon the aid of angels ruling over the four directions. The names of God and the angels to be used in the invocations are extracted from the tablets. The four tablets are often called the Enochian Tablets because the letters may be written in the Enochian
Enochian
Enochian is a name often applied to an occult or angelic language recorded in the private journals of John Dee and his seer Edward Kelley in the late 16th century. The men claimed that it was revealed to them by angels...
alphabet also revealed to Dee and Kelley by the angel.
Dee’s work was revived and expounded upon by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was a magical order active in Great Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which practiced theurgy and spiritual development...
, primarily through the work of S.L. MacGregror Mathers. In the Golden Dawn magical system, the four Angelic/Enochian Tablets became the four Watchtowers. Each Watchtower was attributed to a direction and an element, by the Golden Dawn.
- The Great Eastern Quadrangle of AirAir (classical element)Air is often seen as a universal power or pure substance. Its supposed fundamental importance to life can be seen in words such as aspire, inspire, perspire and spirit, all derived from the Latin spirare.-Greek and Roman tradition:...
- The Great Western Quadrangle of WaterWater (classical element)Water is one of the elements in ancient Greek philosophy, in the Asian Indian system Panchamahabhuta, and in the Chinese cosmological and physiological system Wu Xing...
- The Great Northern Quadrangle of EarthEarth (classical element)Earth, home and origin of humanity, has often been worshipped in its own right with its own unique spiritual tradition.-European tradition:Earth is one of the four classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and science. It was commonly associated with qualities of heaviness, matter and the...
- The Great Southern Quadrangle of FireFire (classical element)Fire has been an important part of all cultures and religions from pre-history to modern day and was vital to the development of civilization. It has been regarded in many different contexts throughout history, but especially as a metaphysical constant of the world.-Greek and Roman tradition:Fire...
The Tablet of Union was rearranged to form a rectangle attributed to Spirit or Ether
Aether (classical element)
According to ancient and medieval science aether , also spelled æther or ether, is the material that fills the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere.-Mythological origins:...
. The tablets were brightly colored; squares attributed to the elements were painted in the color of that element, with lettering in complementary colors.
- Air - yellow with violet letters
- Water - blue with orange letters
- Earth - black with green letters
- Fire - red with green letters
The use of complementary colors, called flashing colors in the Golden Dawn, means that the Watchtowers belong to the class of talismans called flashing tablets. The flashing colors were supposed to draw energy from the atmosphere. The painted tablets were placed on the walls of the temple during some rituals to symbolize the four quarters. A favorite ritual in the Golden Dawn was the Opening by Watchtower. This is actually a preliminary ritual to purify space and call upon the guardians of the four quarters, similar to casting the magic circle in Wicca. As part of the Opening by Watchtower, the practitioner uses the elemental weapons to summon the angels of the quarters. In the south, for instance, the practitioner uses the Fire Wand
Wand
A wand is a thin, straight, hand-held stick of wood, stone, ivory, or metal. Generally, in modern language, wands are ceremonial and/or have associations with magic but there have been other uses, all stemming from the original meaning as a synonym of rod and virge, both of which had a similar...
to trace an invoking Fire Pentagram
Pentagram
A pentagram is the shape of a five-pointed star drawn with five straight strokes...
, then summons the angels using the three names of God found in the Fire Tablet:
- OIP TEAA PEDOCE
- In the names and letters of the Great Southern Quadrangle, I invoke ye, ye Angels of the Watch-tower of the South.
There is no evidence in Dee's original writings that either he, Kelly or the angels attributed these quadrangles of the Great Table, to the elements as the Golden Dawn did. There is therefore, no evidence that the name Oip Teaa Pdoce is in fact, a holy name for the God relevant to the element fire. There is no doubt though, that it is certainly a holy name relevant to spirits whose names are found in the Southern Quadrangle of the Great Table or Tablet.
The Watchtowers were among the Golden Dawn concepts introduced into Wicca (modern witchcraft) by its founder Gerald Gardner
Gerald Gardner
Gerald Brousseau Gardner , who sometimes used the craft name Scire, was an influential English Wiccan, as well as an amateur anthropologist and archaeologist, writer, weaponry expert and occultist. He was instrumental in bringing the Neopagan religion of Wicca to public attention in Britain and...
. The complicated tablets and Enochian names were largely abandoned, but Wicca retained the Watchtowers as "the four cardinal points, regarded as guardians of the Magic Circle". They are usually mentioned during the casting of the circle. In a conservative tradition such as Gardnerian
Gardnerian Wicca
Gardnerian Wicca, or Gardnerian Witchcraft, is a mystery cult tradition or denomination in the neopagan religion of Wicca, whose members can trace initiatory descent from Gerald Gardner. The tradition is itself named after Gardner , a British civil servant and scholar of magic...
or Alexandrian Wicca
Alexandrian Wicca
Alexandrian Wicca is a tradition of the Neopagan religion of Wicca, founded by Alex Sanders who, with his wife Maxine Sanders, established the tradition in the United Kingdom in the 1960s...
the invocation of the Watchtowers begins in the east; the practitioner traces an invoking Earth Pentagram while saying;
- Ye Lords of the Watchtowers of the East, ye Lords of Air; I do summon, stir and call you up, to witness our rites and to guard the Circle.
Modern adaptations
Many Wiccan circle-castings no longer mention the Watchtowers by name. Another important development is experimentation with the attribution of elements to the directions, instead of adhering to the attributions used by the Golden Dawn and Gardnerian Wicca (north/earth, east/air, south/fire, west/water). Many Wiccans perceive themselves as participants in an earth-based religion; they believe their practices should reflect their living experience of the local environment. Both the Golden Dawn and early Wicca had their home in the British IslesBritish Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
; traditional attributions derived from the British climate may not appeal to or work for practitioners in other climates. A special instance of this problem is the circumstance of Wiccans living in the southern hemisphere, who tend to perceive the north, not the south, as the direction most characterized by fire and heat. Some Neopagans choose to follow the practices of a historical pagan group with whom they identify, or conform to local traditions; either choice may dictate a change of attributions.