Esoteric Dishwashing

Recently, I was asked to participate in an exorcism and cleansing of a house that had something nasty stuck inside it.  I won’t go into all the details, especially since it was a group effort between me and some of my colleagues, but it turned out rather well for the stuff we had done.  Long story short, the first thing we did was neutralize the demon (more properly, a shade of the dead that had twisted itself into a creature of hate and loathing) and trapped it.  With the major source of the astral ick isolated, we collectively went around the house, blasted away most of the negative energies in the place, introduced nice and pleasant energies, and sealed off the property by setting in place some protective charms around the property.  I did something similar to this for a few friends’ a while back, which operated on most of the same principles, but which didn’t have nearly as bad as an astral ick as this place did.

For my friends and I, the process of cleansing a house is a lot like doing dishes.  Imagine, dear reader, that you have some kind of cooking implement, like a large pot, that’s been sitting there for a while.  You used it once way back when and let it sit in the sink for god-knows-how-long, and it smells.  Not only that, but the leftover food in it has probably started to mold and attract roaches, making your kitchen a rather unsavory and unhygienic place to be.  Left for even longer, the situation only ever gets worse, and eventually you’re gonna have to take care of that.  Barring terrible cooking experiences, the easiest time to take of things is just after you finish them up, lest any residue or grime build up on itself.  Sometimes, you just don’t have the time to wash things, or sometimes things are just too bad to clean on one’s own.  In these cases, you need to actually work in several stages to get the pot to its original clean state: removing anything that’s causing the stink or grime or mold to get worse, scour the pan thoroughly, wash it and make it pretty again, then dry it and keep it dry until further use is needed.

Similarly, performing a thorough banishing or exorcism of a house, person, or place requires several steps:

1. Blast out the causes of the ick.  It’s hard to take care of symptoms if the underlying cause isn’t fixed first.  If there’s any bad problem entity in the place, get rid of it, whether by entreating it to leave, asking higher powers to make it leave, or banishing/trapping it yourself.  Contain it, limit it, loosen its grip on the place, do what you need to to get this thing gone.  Depending on one’s method, this could be a short or long process, simple or complicated (as in anything else with magic).  This is like prying off the big chunks of food that’ve been molding and attracting bugs to the pan.
2. Scour any residual ick.  Now that the thing that’s causing the influx of astral ick is dealt with, it’s time to clean up whatever’s left over.  Take some good banishing incense, belt out a license to depart for whatever’s there that shouldn’t be, light all the candles and turn on all the lights, and wipe out whatever darkness, defilement, impurity, filth, plague, curse, crossing, or whatever is left.  Get rid of it all.  It helps to actually clean the house in addition to cleansing it: sweep, vacuum, mop, dust, wipe, the whole nine yards.  Get rid of any and all dirt and grime, material and spiritual.  In dishwashing terms, after the big chunks are gone, it’s time to take a scouring pad or brush to the rest of the pan to get it all decent for actual cleaning.
3. Cleanse, purify, and brighten the place.  Now that the place is cleared out, it’s time to make it pretty again.  Light some blessing, prosperity, happiness, or healing incense, bless the place with light, play some good music, tell some good jokes, laugh around the place, have a small low-key party for yourself.  Make your place livable and enjoyable again, now that the bad crap is out.  This would be when you take some pleasant dish soap and gently clean the pan with a sponge, making sure to cover it all in sanitizing, sweet-smelling, wholesome goodness.
4. Seal in the purity and seal off the place.  Don’t let all your hard work go to waste by letting bad stuff in right away.  Now that your domain is clean and clear, keep it that way by erecting some defenses.  Stake out the corners of your property, ask for help from the spirits of the land or angels, set up shields and wards, anoint all points of entry with protective oil, and keep the place locked down from any incoming ick and open to any incoming shinies that are actually good for you.  After all, after you finish cleaning that nasty-ass pan, you carefully set it to dry and remain sanitized and keep it away from any other dirt and grime.

The process is simple, really, and implementing it could be as easy or as difficult as you want to make it and as the situation calls for it.  For example, my friends took care of blasting out the demonic presence and trapped it on their own, and all I could volunteer was my lil’ Solomonic triangle to make sure it was kept locked down.  To scour the place out, I lit a consecrated candle in each room of the house and went around the whole house with a censer filled with tear gas-like banishing incense (star anise, black pepper, habanero pepper, basil, asafoetida, dragon’s blood, etc.) while crying out “BEGONE, BEGONE ALL EVIL SPIRITS”.  Though it smelled terrible and made us all cough (even me, wearing a thick handkerchief on my face), it definitely cleared the place out of most of the residual gunk that had built up in the place.  To cleanse it after scouring the house, I went around with a bottle of blessing and cleansing water (lemon ammonia, holy oil, Florida water, peace water, champagne, etc.) with us all telling jokes, singing songs, and laughing about the place.  We afterward went out to a fire pit in the back yard and each threw a handful of blessing incense on it (frankincense, copal, rose, lavender, bergamot, vervain, allspice, nutmeg, olive leaf, bay leaf, etc.) and let the smoke waft all in and around the house.  We went around the house afterward and nailed in four large iron nails on the corners of the property, anointed with Fiery Wall of Protection oil and other materials and wrapped in warding and shielding signs, and linked them all together spiritually in the center of the property.  All in all, the process took maybe a little over an hour.  Smooth, solid, and fast work, all things considered.

The only thing we had no control over was, as ever, the human element.  Just like how dishes remain only as clean as you make them and only for as long as you let them, it’s up to the people who live at the house to keep it clean, pure, and safe.  The way we set up the wards, no bad stuff could enter their space so long as they didn’t let it in or start shit themselves.  If that’s done, the things they’ll cause will have as much access as they will to their space, not to mention their own emotions and troubles they have to deal with.  Still, with a bit of care and some minor consultation and advice, the human element isn’t hard to manage.  It’s like repeatedly finding a dish in the sink that your roommate uses constantly but always forgets to wash after using it; no matter how clean you make it and want it to stay, unless it’s actively kept clean, it won’t stay that way.

Maintaining purity is something that has to be actively done on multiple levels over time; it’s not just a one-time thing.  You don’t take a single shower in your life and be done with it; you don’t wash a single dish and expect it to remain clean forever; you don’t banish a place once and expect it to maintain purity forever.  It has to be kept up and protected, touching things up here and there, to make sure that nothing gets too out of hand. Working with a set of forces amenable to housekeeping like this is a good idea; the angels are always helpful, as are land spirits who are usually more than willing to keep their own turf happy and pleasing.  Maintaining your own purity and authority is a good idea, too, especially if you plan to be up against anything powerful and malevolent, since you may have to apply elbow grease of a pugnacious variety in order to get shit done.  Still, it’s better than living with roaches, leeches, or mold everywhere.

Getting Burnt by the Stars, part 2: Stop Worrying and Love the Burn

Last time, I talked about the costs of magic.  It sucks, and it costs, and it will burn everything from your bank account to your soul itself, but magic is worth it.  Magic is the locked gate that keeps higher fulfillment and human realization from most of the world, and magic is the golden key that unlocks the mysteries to attaining them.  It may have a high price, but it has an even higher payoff that makes magic worth it.

Being a magician for only a few years now, but having the success and results of people who’re far older than I am (I credit having good teachers, good friends, and good allies abounding), I’ve learned a few things that helps in minimizing the burn, or at least in maintaining onself through being burned, so as to keep on keeping on.  This works for me, and I can only suggest it as part of a daily practice and regular maintenance in any magician’s life.  Even these steps may suck at times, but they help overall in minimizing the real burn going on from the real magic.

1. Sanitize.  Keep your entire sphere clean and cleansed, from the basest material components to the highest intellectual and divine ones.  Air out your house, vacuum your carpets, sweep the floorboards, dust the fanblades, wash the car, light the candles, burn the camphor, sprinkle the holy water, clean all the things.  Asperge yourself with holy water or other cleansing agents frequently.  Do regular banishing and force balancing on yourself.  Recleanse and reconsecrate your tools, talismans, and ritual space every so often.  The more astral dirt you accrue by tracking it in from the higher spheres, or the more dust you bring in from inviting higher ups down into your house, the more confused and imbalanced things get down here and up there alike.  Keep yourself, your surroundings, your tools, and your mind clean, cleansed, and clear.
2. Learn.  You can’t do anything if you don’t know how to do it.  Read any and all books you can get your hands on magic, philosophy, religion, spirituality, mathematics, literature, mythology, archaeology, linguistics, folk traditions, fiction ancient and new, science, engineering, history, economics, crafting, and more.  Take classes in whatever you have an interest in, whether it’s related to magic or not.  Talk with friends about their hobbies, experiences, stories, advice, warnings, hopes, dreams, fears, and desires.  Expanding your mind also expands the potential horizons you can explore, no matter how innocuous or trivial something may seem.  Don’t harbor any biases on what you read, study, or discuss; keep an open mind and admit anything with practical merit.  Go on roadtrips just to see new things.  Walk in big cities to see new faces and fashions.  Read blogs with political opinions opposite yours (but are well-written and reasoned).
3. Protect.  If you’ve got one foot in the door to get into the mysteries, you also leave the door ajar for ethereal nasties to come at you.  Don’t let them.  Set up barriers, shields, or guards around your house.  Make protective charms, phylacteries, or enchanted trinkets to keep on yourself.  Find out what force you best resonate with and manipulate it to act as a shield around you.  Always keep an eye out for anything awry or ominous.  Create a few magical or ritual weapons to call on or call up when needed.  Create magical oils or incenses to keep out bad things and keep in good things.  Be mindful of barriers, boundaries, and circles that have already been erected.  Don’t go looking for bad stuff just to mess with it for shits and giggles.
4. Breathe.  Breathing is the source of life down here, and aspiration shares the same root with “inspiriation” and ”spirit”.  By knowing, feeling, and controlling our breath we control our voice level, our speech and diction, our bloodflow, our thought patterns, and ultimately ourselves who are tied into material reality just as we are into spiritual reality.  Breathing is the crux of meditation, and meditation is the crux of knowing yourself, which is the holiest injunction humanity has.  Breathing, just breathing, is magical in and of itself; it’s what animates us, ensouls us, and keeps us alive and living.  Breathing is the foundation of magic, and breathing must be known, understood, and integrated constantly with oneself in order to progress.
5. Pray.  Humans, powerful as we are, were never meant to be alone in any sense of the word, nor can we make it to our goals on our own.  We need help, and prayer is how we obtain it.  Pray for guidance, for patience, for mercy, for compassion, for humility, for forgiveness, for health, for sight, for knowledge, for wisdom, for authority, for power, for light (and in that order).  Pray the Source, the gods, the angels, the celestials, the elementals, the dead, and each other for their blessings, advice, guidance, alignment, unity, and boons.  Pray to know how to use the blessings and boons given to us to the best of our abilities and for the best result for all of us.  Pray with praise, pray with emotion, pray with silence.  Pray with your entire body, soul, spirit and mind.  Pray every day, pray several times a day.  Pray.
6. Stay healthy.  Humans are amphibious, both spiritual and physical.  Magic is largely focused on the spiritual, but it always needs to bring the spiritual and astral down into the material and physical.  Be sure you don’t neglect your body, because that’s the primary vehicle you have to work magic, and the one tool you’ll always have with you in the world.  Get enough sleep every night.  Go to bed at the same time every night.  Get enough to eat every day, but no more.  Eat the proper things in the proper amounts.  Shower, wash your hair, brush your hair, brush your teeth, floss your teeth, exfoliate, deodorize.  Get at least half an hour of light physical activity every day.  Expose yourself to the elements once every so often.  Go outside and enjoy the sunlight, moonlight, starlight, wind, mist, clouds, rain, rivers, oceans, dirt, trees, and animals.  ”Healthy” has its roots in the same word as “whole”, and you need to stay whole physically in order to spiritually progress wholesomely.
7. Get dirty.  Actually go out into the world and remind yourself that you’re still a physical, material being that has physical, material needs.  Everything in moderation, yes, but also including moderation: get sick, get jacked up, get fucked up, get high, get rich, get poor, get happy, get sad, get angry, get lonely, get loved.  We’re human beings to experience human life, after all, and without that experience we’ve ultimately failed at out birth’s purpose.  Getting ourselves meshed in human life, living in the world while not wholly of it, helps keep things in perspective and shows the power of the cleansing, cleaning, Light-bearing work we’re doing.  Plus, getting dirty helps us realize that even the dirt is pure and holy, that nothing is truly separate from the Source from which it came.
8. Do it.  Complain however much you like or don’t complain at all; magic is going to suck no matter what.  That doesn’t change the fact that you’re a magician to do magic.  Do it.  Do it now.  There’s no other way, time, or place to do it.  Just do it.

The more you burn up, the more of you there is to burn until burning doesn’t need to happen anymore.  Don’t worry about what’s burnt up and gone.  Worry about what you have left to burn and what can still be purified and transmuted into the pure divine essence we really are and should be.

I’m prone to gingivitis, the inflammation of the gums generally from plaque.  Part of it’s my own dietary and hygienic habits, and part of it is my genetics and natural body’s processes.  That doesn’t mean I need to have gingivitis, much less that I should.  How do I keep my gums clean and free from the disease?  More toothbrushing, flossing daily, rinsing with mouthwash, and watching what and when I eat.  Does this all get easier with time?  Nope; it still takes as much time the hundredth day as it did the first, the same spots in my gums still need maintenance, and my food choices are still as obnoxious as ever.  Is the payoff worth it?  Totally; my teeth are whiter, my breath stinks less, my gums bleed less, and my mouth is generally healthier than before.  The payoff here is worth the cost of the daily maintenance, and if (heavens forbid) I ever have to go under for a root canal or other major dental operation, it’ll all go easier before, during, and after due to my lack of gingivitis and better oral care.

Magic works much the same way.  Dealing with the raw forces of creation and the stars is dangerous and you risk not being able to handle the influx of those energies without the proper maintenance.  Laying the foundation of daily practice to stabilize, sanctify, and secure your life goes a long way in dealing with the heavy machinery of the cosmos.  If you don’t have the rest of your house in order, don’t expect good times to result when you invite emissaries and presidents of foreign planes of existence in.  If you have your house and life in order and prepared in the proper way, you’ll still have to go through the paperwork and shopping and security drama, but the emissaries and presidents will be more pleased, more willing, and more able to help you who’ve helped yourself so much without them.  Daily or regular mainteance takes time and effort all in itself, and that’s not even where the real heart of magic lies, but it’s that very same regular maintenance that builds the tower to get to it.

Making a Phylactery

After weighing my options with the different phylacteries from the PGM, I decided to go ahead and put my skills and supplies to good use to make myself a phylactery.  It’s really a simple process, but being a ceremonial magician, I decided to throw in some consecrations for good measure.  Happily, the Key of Solomon is perfect for this, and the consecrations for the relevant materials were short and simple compared to some of the rituals in the texts.  Even though combining renaissance European magic techniques with classical Greco-Egyptian charms may seem odd, the skills and tech involved are so modular and adaptable that they can be used in tandem here neatly.

The materials I used were:

• Clean paper
• Ink (I used my recently-finished dragon’s blood ink, which writes out as a warm grey)
• Dip pen (I used a cheap plastic pen shaft with bowl nib)
• Incense (I used one stick each of frankincense, cinnamon, and myrrh)
• Holy water
• Container (I used a cheap but sturdy metal cylindrical tin, smaller than my palm)
• Magical oil (I used my Fiery Wall of Protection oil)

The steps I used to create the phylactery were:

1. Clean out and purify the container from dust, grime, and filth, physical and otherwise.
2. Consecrate the ink and pen according to the Key of Solomon (book II, chapter 14):
   

   [Thou shalt take a male gosling, from which thou shalt pluck the third feather of the right wing, and in plucking it thou shalt say:]

   Abray, Habyly, Samay, Tiedonay, Athamas, Seaver, Adonai, banish from this pen all deceit and error, so that it may be of virtue and efficacy to write all that I desire.  Amen.

   [After this thou shalt sharpen it with the quill knife of the art,] perfume it, sprinkle it, and place it aside in a silken cloth.

   Thou shalt have an inkstand made of earth or any convenient matter, and in the day and hour of Mercury thou shalt engrave thereon with the stylus of art these names: Yod He Vau He, Metatron, Iah Iah Iah, Qadosh, Elohim Tzabaoth; and in putting the ink therein thou shalt say:

   I exorcise thee, O creature of ink, by Anaireton, by Simulator, and by the name Adonai, and by the name of him through whom all things were made, that thou be unto me an aid and succor in all things which I wish to perform by thine aid.

3. Consecrate the paper according to the second method according to the Key of Solomon (book II, chapter 17), using the consecrated ink to draw the characters (this is the same method I used to consecrate the canvas tarp for my Circle of Art):
   

   …Take any parchment, and exorcise it; prepare a censer with perfumes; write upon the parchment the characters [below], hold it over the incense, and say:

   Be ye present to aid me, and may my operation be accomplished through you: Lazay, Salmay, Dalmay, Adonai, Anereton, Cedrion, Cripon, Prion, Anaireton, Elion, Octinomon, Zevanion, Alazaion, Zideon, Agla, On, Yod He Vau He, Artor, Dinotor, holy angels of God; be present and infuse virtue into this parchment, so that it may obtain such power through you that all names or characters thereon written may receive due power, and that all deceit and hindrance may depart therefrom, through God the Lord merciful and gracious, who liveth and reigneth through all the ages. Amen.

   Then shalt thou recite over the parchment these Psalms:

   • [Ps71=KJV72] Deus iudicium tuum Regi da (Give the king thy judgments, O God)
   • [Ps116=KJV117] Laudate Dominum omnes gentes (O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him)
   • [Ps133=KJV134] Ecce nunc benedicite Dominum (Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye)
   • [Dan3.57] Benedicite Omnia Opera (O all ye works of the Lord, bless ye)

   Then say:

   I conjure thee, o parchment, by all the holy names, that thou obtainest efficacy and strength, and becomest exorcised and consecrated, so that none of the things which may he written upon thee shall be effaced from the Book of Truth.  Amen.

   Then sprinkle it, and keep it as before said.
   

4. Bless the paper and prepare it for inscription according to the Key of Solomon (book II, chapter 22), using the conscrated ink to write out the godnames:
   

   Whensoever in any operation it is necessary to write characters, and thou fearest that thou wilt fail, do this: write at the beginning the name Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, and at the end the name Ain Soph; between these names write what thou wishest, and if thou hast anything especial to do bear the said written names upon the wrapper in silk, and thou shalt say over them:

   Most wise and most high creator of all things, I pray thee for thy pity and mercy that thou mayest grant such virtue and power unto these holy names, that thou mayest keep these characters from all deceit and error, through thee, O most holy Adonai.  Amen.

5. In a day and hour of Mercury or the Sun, while the Moon is waxing, write out the charm for the phylactery on the consecrated and prepared paper.  I used a more lengthy variant of PGM VII.311-316 with some personal flourishes and touch-ups.  Reading out aloud each word as its written may be suggested, but it may also be just a quirk of my own workings.
6. Anoint the paper in a five-spot pattern (a spot of oil in each of the four corners and once in the center) with the oil.
7. Fold or roll up, and store in the container.  Seal as desired.  Clean up as necessary.

Bam, protection charm get.  The consecration of ink, parchment, and paper took maybe half an hour, and was easily done.  Writing out the charm onto the paper was a little more difficult and took half an hour on its own, since my pen kept getting stuck with fibers and resin in the nib, but this may vary depending on how elaborate you want to get with the charm.  It’s just as easy to make a phylactery out of this alone as it is to combine it with other items or charms in a mojo bag or some such object.  Another alternative is to burn it into ash and using the ash to embed in some powder, chalk, vial, or part of a ring or talisman for when that level of compactness is desired; that’s not necessary here, but it’s another viable way of doing it.  I’m still deciding the best way of keeping this kind of talisman active or strong; regular “feeding” or charging isn’t a bad idea, especially under fiery/Martian/Solar forces given the Fiery Wall of Protection oil.  I’m still unclear on where to keep the thing, too; I see pros and cons to keep it on my person at all times, with me in my bag where I generally am, or in my sacred space/altar/home base.

I’ve noticed that, while ”looking” at myself, my normal sphere/energy body/aura/astral form got a neat little upgrade from equipping this charm, so to speak.  (Warning: what I’m about to say annoys even me, since it may come off as fluffy or arcanely dramatic, but it’s the best way I can describe it.)  It’s got these single-row “scrolls” of Greek letters across my sphere,in a faint but noticeable red color, slowly rotating around my system on top of my normal shields.  I’m still unclear at their exact effect, but it does apparently seem tied to the phylactery, since they weren’t there before its creation and are there now.  My HGA approves of the result, noting that they won’t last forever without some upkeep, but that the charm is potent enough to serve in combination with the oil I used.

I might have to have a friend or two poke at the recent addition to my sphere and see what happens.  It might just be me going crazy and imagining it (when isn’t that the case when you’re dealing with this stuff?), but it’s certainly a nice thing to have done for myself, you know, “just in case”.  Besides, if the recent vitriol and “religiously tolerant” intolerance keeps getting stronger without a strong smackdown, this might just come in more use than I thought.

A Treasury of Phylacteries

No, not relics of martyrs, if that’s what you’re wondering, though that would be pretty nifty.

At a recent gem show, which had dealers of all kinds of cultures peddling all kinds of wares, shinies, and pretties, I picked up a nifty little container, a small metal canister that fits together snugly and near watertight with a few loops to hold a chain or strap.  It can hold a few small objects, like a charm bag, but since the stall I got it at stocked mostly Tibetan or northern Indian things, I figure it’s a scroll canister.  I’m making use of it by tying a strap through the loops to keep it shut and to affix it to my person when I’m, say, traveling or on an adventure (which happen tolerably enough for me), and filling it with a few protective scrolls of my own.  Traditionally, these are called phylacteries, protective talismans that ward physical and spiritual harm from their bearers.  A similar thing is still done by orthodox Jews using tefillin, boxes containing sections from the Torah.

I’m currently in the process of making a potent ink: it’s a dragon’s blood ink that uses frankincense and copal resins and Abramelin oil, consecrated according to the Key of Solomon (book II, chapter 14), and mixed with a simple fluid condenser (chamomile extract and gold tincture).  It’s coming out a warm grey color, which I’m okay with, since I’m using the scrolls more for magical protection instead of artistic legibility (though that would also be nice).  This powerful ink will be used with a special pen and paper, also prepared according to the Key of Solomon, for the scrolls that I’m going to use for my phylactery.

As for the scrolls themselves, I’m considering at least two scrolls to go in this little phylactery tin: a copy of the Headless Rite written in Greek and anointed with Abramelin oil, and a phylactery text consisting of voces magicae and characteres from the PGM anointed with Fiery Wall of Protection oil.  The PGM has a huge selection of phylacteries available for the student, so I went through and got a list of some of the more complete ones from the index given in Betz’s edition.  Unless otherwise noted, they’re likely to be written down on paper or a lamen and kept with yourself for protection, though some are meant to be spoken aloud.  I’m using Romanized Greek text, so keep in mind that “TH” means theta, “Ē” means eta, and so forth.

1. PGM IV.86-87, against demons or for one possessed by a demon: “HOMENOS OHK KOURIEL IAPHĒL, deliver (add the usual) EHENPEROOU BARBARCHAOUCHE”
2. PGM VII.218-221, against daily fevers with shivering fits: “IAŌ SABAŌTH ADŌNAI AKRAMMACHAMAREI”, repeat subtracting the first letter of the previous line (AŌ SABAŌTH… then Ō SABAŌOTH…, then SABAŌTH…, etc.) followed by “ABRASAX”.
3. PGM VII.311-316: “IAŌ SABAŌTH ADONAI ABLANATHANALBA AKRAMMACHAMAREI SESENGENBARPHARANGES PEEPHRAZAŌTH ZŌTH MENE BAINCHŌŌŌCH, protect (name) whom (mother) bore from any violence both by a friendful dream and by all demons of the air.  I conjure you by the great famous name ABRAM EMEINA AEOUBAŌTH BAITHŌ BES IA IABAŌTH AGRAMAKRAMARI PSINŌTH BER ŌŌN IASŌP BARPHARANGES PNOUTE (add the usual, whatever you wish).”
4. PGM VII.317-318, to be said to the moon: “ACHTIŌPHIPH ERESCHIGAL NEBOUGOSOUALĒTH SATHŌTH SABAŌTH SABRŌTH (add the usual, whatever you wish).”  This is the basis for my full moon ritual, by the way.
5. PGM VII.579-596, to protect against demons, phantasms, sickness, and suffering; to be written on gold or silver or hieratic papyrus: “KMĒPHIS CHPHYRIS IAEŌ IAŌ AEĒ IAŌ OŌ AIŌN IAEŌBAPHRENE MOUNOTHILARIKRIPHIAE Y EAIPHIRKIRALITHANYOMENERPHABŌEAI”, followed by a series of characteres and the injunction “Protect my body and the entire soul of me, (name) (add the usual)”.  Write in the center of an ouroboros itself lined with the words “TARĒOĒĒNOUPNIBRINIASĒNŌPHEIBRINOKYLĒAIA OBZTHBABAIMENE ŌĒOPIOBM MOĒAŌPHI”.
6. PGM LXXI.1-8: “Great god in heaven revolving the world, the true god, IAŌ! Lord, ruler of all, ABLANATHANALBA, grant me this thing, grant me this favor: let me have the name of the great god in this phylactery, and protect me from every evil thing, protect me who is (name) whom (mother) bore, (mother) begot!”
7. PGM LXXXIX.1-27, adapted from the original, possibly meant to be spoken aloud: “I, Abrasax, shall deliver!  Abrasax am I!  ABRASAX ABRASICHŌOU, help NN.! Get hold of and do away with what evil comes to (name)!  Whether it is a shivering fit, get hold of it!  Whether a phantom, get hold of it! Whether a daimon, get hold of it!  I Abrasax shall deliver.  Abrasax am !  ABRASAX ABRASICHŌOU, get hold of and do away with the plague and pest afflicting (name), that which comes to (name) on this very day!  Whatever it may be, do away with it!”

What about you?  Do you have any special protective charms that’d fit in this tradition, any written charms or scrolls you use?  In this case, something like the Benedictine Vade Retro or Medal of St. Benedict works well, too:

Crux Sanctum sit mihi lux / Non draco sit mihi dux
Vade retro Satana / Numquam suade mihi vana
Sunt malae quae libas / Ipse venena bibas

May the Holy Cross be my light / May not the dragon be my guide
Go back, Satan / Ne’er tempt me with vanities
What you offer is evil / You yourself drink the poisons