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The Brass VesselPlanetary and Manuscript Sets
Mercury’s five pentacles summon spirits, seek answers and uncover knowledge, then send envoys and open closed doors. One notice reaches beyond the other categories altogether, promising effects contrary to nature from spirits that answer readily but are difficult to see. [1]
Mathers 1889
Invocation of spirits beneath the firmament.
Effects outside nature’s order and the other headings; ready answers, elusive appearance.
Invocation of Mercury’s spirits, especially the named angels; shared with the fourth figure.
Knowledge of created and hidden things, and embassies performed by the readily obedient Allatori.
Command over Mercury’s spirits and opening doors despite any fastening or resistance.
| Pentacle | Attributed purpose |
|---|---|
| The 1st Pentacle of Mercury | Invocation of spirits beneath the firmament. |
| The 2nd Pentacle of Mercury | Effects outside nature’s order and the other headings; ready answers, elusive appearance. |
| The 3rd Pentacle of Mercury | Invocation of Mercury’s spirits, especially the named angels; shared with the fourth figure. |
| The 4th Pentacle of Mercury | Knowledge of created and hidden things, and embassies performed by the readily obedient Allatori. |
| The 5th Pentacle of Mercury | Command over Mercury’s spirits and opening doors despite any fastening or resistance. |
The first Mercury figure invokes spirits beneath the firmament, with Yekahel and Agiel identified in the pentagram’s letters. The second broadens the possibilities: its written spirits bring about things contrary to nature and outside the other headings. They answer easily but are difficult to see. Mathers reads Boel among their names in the horizontal band. [1]
The third and fourth share an invocation of spirits subject to Mercury. Four angels—Kokaviel, Ghedoriah, Savaniah and Chokmahiel—enclose the third’s eight-spoked wheel. Its varied terminal characters precede the fourth’s intricate star and layered sentences. [1]
The fourth seeks understanding of created things and discovery of the hidden. It commands the Allatori to perform embassies, sending these spirits as envoys; the notice stresses their ready obedience. El stands within the twelve-pointed construction. An inner Hebrew petition asks IHVH to fix the volatile and restrict the void, while the Latin exterior speaks of lasting wisdom, virtue and knowledge. [1]
The last pentacle commands Mercury’s spirits and opens doors however they have been closed. Its ring adopts Psalm 24’s order to the gates and everlasting doors to rise for the King of Glory. In the psalm, the entrance call follows questions about who can stand in the Lord’s holy place. [1][3]
The first two figures organise Hebrew names in a pentagram and a horizontal band. The third surrounds its mystical signs with angelic names. The fourth combines Hebrew and Latin, and the fifth quarters divine names inside a Hebrew biblical verse. The first three notes give no surrounding biblical quotation; the fourth supplies its own sentence about knowledge, and the fifth explicitly cites Psalm 24. [1]
Chapter XVIII assigns Mercury a mixture of metals and mixed colours for paper. It specifies the planet’s day and hour for metal engraving. Chapter VIII gives a separate general preparation rule under Mercury, alongside requirements for the room, materials and consecration. [1]
S. L. MacGregor Mathers, 1889; printed edition, including editorial restoration of Hebrew characters. Book I XVIII, printed pp. 68–69; figures 44–48, Plates X–XI (PDF pp. 92, 95); general materials/timing, pp. 56–57
King James Version, public-domain biblical text. Genesis 1:6–8
King James Version, public-domain biblical text. Psalm 24:1–10