Grimoire of the Necronomicon

by Donald Tyson

  It is within the power of Nyarlathotep to take on whatever shape or form he desires, and to move through the gateways of Yog-Sothoth freely. No world or dimension of reality is forbidden to him, yet no matter how wide his wanderings, he is drawn back always to this world in memory of the goddess who sleeps at its heart. When Azathoth pipes his music, and the blind gods dance, Nyarlathotep must fulfill their purposes, for he is their messenger. He rebels against this servitude and seeks to bring about purposes of his own, for his advantage or amusement. Sometimes he succeeds, but sometimes he fails, for Azathoth is capricious in his madness. What man or god may know the song he will choose to play?

  Nyarlathotep is given power as messenger of the blind gods of creation over the gods of earth that have arisen from the desires and aspirations of mankind. The gods of earth are bound to the earth. They are formed from the dreams of Barbelzoa. She hears in her sleep the crying out of humanity for justice and truth and her dreaming mind brings forth gods and goddesses that are composed of these principles. She hears the groans of lust and the cries of war, and her dreaming mind shapes gods and goddesses of love or hate. All gods of earth are mere fancies of dreaming Barbelzoa, shadows of her sleepy thoughts. They arose in response to the yearnings of humanity, and to humanity and its needs they remain forever bound.

  Nyarlathotep resents these earthly deities and has gathered them together in a great throne room in the place known as Kadath in the Cold Waste. He keeps them as pets for his own amusement, and it is only with his approval that they are permitted to answer the prayers of mankind. In this way he seeks to make himself into a smaller image of Azathoth, for as Azathoth rules the cosmos and all its dimensions, so Nyarlathotep seeks to rule this world, which is the body of the dreaming goddess. He hates the gods of earth, for in them is a nobility and purity that he lacks within himself. They are powerless to resist him, and tremble at the sound of his footsteps.

  Of all the playthings Nyarlathotep has found upon this world, none amuses him more than the race of man. He is known among men as the Crawling Chaos, because his appearance is often followed by madness. Those who walk in deserts or through wildernesses by night sometimes meet this god and converse with him, never knowing with whom they spoke, or how near they were to death. It is the caprice of Nyarlathotep to hold conversations with men or women when the mood strikes his fancy, and then he may impart to them arcane secrets of precious value. Yet if they approach him when he is angry, he will reach out his bony black hand and touch them upon the forehead, and their bodies will at once crumble to flakes of black dust as their souls are eaten by him.

  The god may be recognized by his black robes that are wrapped about his long and thin body. Often he walks the desert veiled, but those who have glimpsed behind the veil run mad and scream that he has no face. Yet he may put on any face he chooses as a mask, for none of them are his own. His true face was once carved upon the head of the great statue of Egypt known as the Sphinx, before the pharaoh Kephren in a fit of fury commanded that it be struck off, and placed his own image on the head of the statue. It is whispered that the Order of the Sphinx preserves his true image in their subterranean vaults. Who can say, for those who venture beneath its tail never emerge.

  Seal of Nyarlathotep

  This is the seal of Nyarlathotep that is to be inscribed on all instruments and charms devoted to his service or worship. It is not to be confused with his sigil that is extracted from his name upon the magic square of Mercury. Both have power to attract the notice of the god, though neither will guarantee his wayward favor, which he sometimes extends to those who worship him or serve him, but sometimes withholds. Only the Great Seal of the Old Ones can compel him to obedience. Think long before you use it. Nyarlathotep never forgets an insult, and never forgives. It is better to propitiate him with offerings and sacrifices and prayers of praise. Those he chooses to favor wax great in wealth and authority, for a time. Eventually the interest of the Creeping Chaos wanders, and he withdraws his favor and seeks other amusements, leaving them to their own fate.

  Sigil of Nyarlathotep

  It is best to petition Nyarlathotep in matters that fall under the authority of the sphere of Mercury, for there is harmony between the affairs of this sphere and the nature of Nyarlathotep, who is a messenger for the dancing archons. The magic square of Mercury has power to attract his notice, as does his sigil formed on that square from his name. Nyarlathotep does not dwell in the sphere of Mercury—the length and breadth of the entire cosmos is his home—but he has a harmony with this sphere that may be used by practitioners of magic in their dealings with him. Of the six directions, that most in accord with this god is the depths, and this is as it should be, for he is called the Creeping Chaos.

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  Yog-Sothoth

  The remaining of the three high lords of the archons is Yog-Sothoth, god of portals. He rules all goings in, and all comings out. Doors are the mouth of Yog-Sothoth, and windows are his eyes. Whenever a threshold is crossed, this god is aware, and it can only be crossed when he permits it. He is both the gate and the key. None may pass through a portal that he has locked. He rules transitions between spheres and between worlds, and regulates them as he sees fit, according to his own sense of necessity that is conditioned by the changing patterns of the heavens.

  On certain festival dates the gates of Yog-Sothoth swing wide, but on other dates they remain shut. Chief among the openings is the festival known as May Eve, occurring on the final night of the month of April, and almost as potent for openings is the festival known as the Eve of All Hallows, occurring on the final night of the month of October. In addition to these mighty festivals, upon the spring and autumnal equinoxes the separation between worlds becomes thin and easily crossed. At these dates in the wheel of the year, the gates of Yog-Sothoth may be opened by rites of worship, by sacrifices, and by the use of the Long Chant that is written in some lesser-known copies of the Necronomicon—for all earthly editions of this black book beneath the throne of Azathoth are imperfect copies, and all are incomplete.

  Head and Tail of the Dragon

  The symbol called the Head of the Dragon is potent in opening the gates of Yog-Sothoth, whatever kind they may be, but the symbol known as the Tail of the Dragon closes the gates and seals them shut against the transition of those things best kept on the other side. When a gate is opened, creatures who wait for just this chance attempt to force their way through. If they are quick, they may succeed. Be ever watchful for their lurkings and their advances. Do not be deceived by their blandishments and lies, for they use whatever trick offers itself if it will aid in their transitions. When a gate is passed, it is best to seal it shut by forming the Tail of the Dragon with a gesture of the right hand upon the air. Yog-Sothoth is vigilant against the greater outrages, but he may fail to notice the lesser outrages.

  Yog-Sothoth remains invisible except when he opens a gateway, and then he appears as a gathering of rotating iridescent spheres that intersect and overlap, their periods and proportions defining the conditions under which the gate was opened, and the place to which it leads, for those able to read them. Their harmonies are mathematical and musical. The opening of a gateway is not in the sounds of these turning spheres, nor in the silences between the sounds, but in the ever-shifting balance created between the sounds and the silences. Each circle is a world. Where they touch and overlap are gates. Such is the face of Yog-Sothoth, which is the face of the cosmos.

  When the soul of a man is liberated from his house of flesh and bone, which happens during dreams and at those times when through some accident the soul is struck out by violent force and flies free, Nyarlathotep may lead the soul to any place or any world, even to the throne of chaos itself, but the Creeping Chaos is only able to act as guide with the sufferance of Yog-Sothoth, who may seal the gates against him if he so chooses. Yog-Sothoth cannot be bullied, not even by Nyarlathotep, and he can only be petitione
d by rites and sacrifices on those dates and times that are conducive to the opening of the gates. When the stars conspire in their windings to deny transition, Yog-Sothoth must obey. Not even the Long Chant will move him at these unfavorable times.

  Seal of Yog-Sothoth

  Use the seal of Yog-Sothoth to summon the god of portals. He is best called within a stone circle upon a high place, for he dwells in the upper firmament, and descends through the spheres to approach the earth. His greatest harmony is with the sphere of the sun. He is therefore best petitioned by rites and sacrifices in matters that pertain to this sphere, and in all matters that require transition from one place or condition to another. The magic square of the sun has power in his rites. The direction of space that has greatest affinity for his nature is the heights, for he dwells in the upper regions.

  Sigil of Yog-Sothoth

  Remember, Nyarlathotep is the guide, but Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Physical travel between worlds is rare and fraught with danger. It is better to use the gates of this god to travel in the spirit, in a body of astral light. This can be done in dreams, or by the deliberate projection of the astral shell. Call upon Yog-Sothoth to open the gate, but on Nyarlathotep to lead the way. Those who pass through the gates in their physical shells seldom return, and if they do come back after the long passage of years, they often run mad.

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  Yig

  Among the lesser lords of the Old Ones who do not dwell near the throne of chaos but upon or near this fallen world that shields the dreaming goddess, Yig is the most distant and difficult to understand. Some sages deny that he is even one of the Old Ones, but if he is not of their pure blood, it is certain that he is of their fraternity, for Yig and the Old Ones have had dealings since the beginning of time. In the vast subterranean land of K’n-yan, Yig is worshipped alongside Cthulhu with equal reverence by the alien race that dwells there.

  Yig is father to all serpents, and those of serpent kind such as the salamanders and the dragons that dwell between the worlds and are glimpsed by men but seldom. He can walk the earth unseen, but when he puts on form, it is that of a great serpent, or sometimes that of a man with the head of a snake. All lesser serpents bend to his will and do his bidding. He seldom speaks but prefers to hiss in the voice of his many children. When he enters the body of a man and drives out his soul, the possessed man falls to the ground and writhes his limbs sinuously, making hissing sounds with his lips and flicking out his tongue to taste the air.

  It is within the power of Yig to breed with mortal women and engender hybrids in their wombs. This he does seldom, since there is little value in such servants who bear a form mostly human but lack intelligence and are mute. They writhe all their long lives on their naked bellies, and prefer to lie curled up in dark places, where they sleep and perchance dream the dreams of serpents. Their blood has virtue in prolonging the normal span of life, and it is for this reason alone that they are sought. Those who displease Yig by mocking him, or by mistreating or slaying his sinuous children, are killed by the bites of many serpents, or sometimes are driven mad by the visitation of the god himself.

  Yig knows the ancient secrets that lie hidden in cold and dark places at the edges of the world. He knows the ways that lead deep through the twisting bowels of the earth, and what forgotten things still dwell there. His memory is long, and he never forgets. He is the most ancient of the lesser lords, almost as old as Nyarlathotep himself. He favors those who do him worship, and enjoys the dancing and songs of his worshippers. Rhythmic drumming is the music best liked by Yig, and rhythmic chants are his preferred song. Those who adore him also adore his children and refrain from doing them harm, for every serpent, even the smallest and meekest, is mighty Yig himself in a form of flesh. Their eyes are his eyes, their teeth are his teeth.

  Seal of Yig

  Use the seal of Yig to summon and propitiate the god with praise and pledges of service. He never sleeps, for his eyes never close, and he is always watchful. When called with proper rites and offerings, he will come. It is easy to win his friendship, but woe to him who chances to step upon a snake, for it is certain that Yig will punish him.

  Sigil of Yig

  The harmony of Yig is the sphere of Saturn, which is the most remote of the spheres of the heavens recognized in the ancient texts. Call upon this god in works that pertain to this distant sphere, such as matters of arcane wisdom, prudence, renewal, and long life. The magic square of Saturn is useful in his rites. It does not possess power over the god, but it resonates with the nature of the god and acts as a beacon inviting his approach. The direction of space most naturally in harmony with Yig is the gateway of the north.

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  Shub-Niggurath

  Alone among the greater and lesser lords of the Old Ones, Shub-Niggurath is female. She is the mother of monsters. The other lords of the Old Ones, and many other gods besides, such as the toad-god Tsathoggua, breed offspring in her womb, for she will lie with anyone who offers. Her common title is the Goat With A Thousand Young. Like the goat, she is ever ready to copulate. Azathoth, lord of the black throne whose true name must not be spoken, is her spouse, and they remain linked in perpetual sexual congress on a higher plane, so that the womb of Shub-Niggurath is never empty, but forever spills forth its chaotic fruits. Yet she is an adulteress and under the veil of Azathoth’s madness she lusts and is sated with myriads of strange gods.

  In dreams she comes to those who seethe with unsatisfied desire. To men she comes as a beautiful woman in the beginning of the communion, but as she grows more certain of her power over her enthralled lovers, she lets her mask slip and reveals her bestial countenance. By then her lovers are too deeply mired in excesses of the senses to reject her odious embrace. The men of her cult even come to prefer her inhuman form. To women she appears as a demon of lust to seduce them, but if they resist she violates them in their dreams. Shub-Niggurath has the organs of both sexes at her loins, so that she can lie with both male and female.

  Among the witches of Europe who practiced black magic in past centuries, she was known as the Black Goat of the Woods. Priests in their ignorance called her the Devil, but those of the black covens, where rituals of chaotic magic were worked in circles of blood using the fat of murdered infants, worshipped her as their dark goddess of the black moon. The waning crescent is her sign, the scent of monkshood and nightshade her perfume, the goat her favored creature. She presides over the black witch cults with Nyarlathotep, who amuses himself with the worship of men and with instructing them in the doing of chaotic works. He was known long ago as the Black Man from his custom of wearing a black robe and cloak, and veiling his face from view with a black mask.When a candidate witch is brought before Nyarlathotep for marking, he takes that person, who lies entranced while the soul leaves his body, through the gates of Yog-Sothoth to the black throne at the center of chaos, and there the candidate inscribes his name in the Necronomicon in blood. For this reason the Necronomicon has been called “the book of dead names,” since all who sign it relinquish the petty intents of their present lives to serve a higher purpose, and become as the walking dead who dwell not in this life but in the next. A more precise translation of the title would be “the book of the laws of the dead,” for by its power those who sign it are bound for eternity, and must remain obedient to the laws written on its pages.

  Shub-Niggurath takes many forms in dreams, some beautiful and others horrifying. She possesses no true form, but all her shapes and attributes merely signify aspects of her nature. As her spouse, Azathoth, is at his primal essence the very vortex of chaos itself, so Shub-Niggurath is the womb of creation, which has become corrupted since the fall of Barbelzoa and the madness of Azathoth. Before the violation and descent in sinfulness of the goddess Barbelzoa, the womb of Shub-Niggurath gave forth noble and true offspring. Barbelzoa was her first-born. The madness of Azathoth made her womb murky with swirling chaos and in
toxicated her with lust, so that she breeds with anything, and her womb generates in kind.

  Necromancers who have pierced with keen sight beneath the layers of her many masks say that she has the horned, hairy head of a goat, coupled with a goat’s hairy legs and cloven hooves, but the soft arms and rounded breasts of a beautiful woman. At her groin the two sexes strangely merge. Some have thought to link her with the Baphomet of the Knights Templar, but that is a mystery not to be revealed. By her odor you may know that she is present even when she stands invisible. She has the harsh scent of rut, like to the musk of the deer. Her sexual parts forever drip with lust, even though her belly is perpetually domed with the life growing in her womb, nor is her womb ever empty, but as soon as it gives forth its fruit becomes again impregnated.

  Seal of Shub-Niggurath

  The seal of Shub-Niggurath is formed from the primal shapes of the letters in her name, and has power to summon her awareness and to petition her for favors in her natural sphere of desire and pleasure. The planet most in accord with her nature is Venus, and for this reason the magic square of Venus, with the sigil of Shub-Niggurath that may be generated from her name upon that square, has power in her rituals and charms. The direction of the six directions of space that is most in harmony with her nature and purposes is that of the east, the quarter of spring, the lush green seedlings of which express her endless fertility.