Kenneth Grant and the Witches Sabbath

Who or what is this Devil, adored by the witches? The term itself, “Witches Sabbath”, is archaic and bound up with many false trails. A Catholic clergyman dreamed up ‘Witchcraft’ in the 15th century – and all the trappings of frogs, black cats and women riding upon broomsticks. It was the same notion that sent thousands of women and men to the stake. The Witches Sabbath is an example of confusion confounded with error, as the Sabbath is the Jewish name for the seventh day on which the Lord was said to have rested after creating the universe, as according to the book of Genesis. That day is Saturday, Shabbathai, which is also the Hebrew name for the sphere of Saturn – the astrological ruling planet of Capricorn, the Goat-footed God. Capricorn corresponds to the Hebrew letter Ayin, “an eye”. Every-thing is in the eye of the beholder, and those who truly ‘see’ the Witches Sabbath, so-called, are specially chosen. Is there any magical sense or meaning in the Witches Sabbath? It takes someone with a peculiar genius to find one. And that person was the extraordinary writer on the occult, Kenneth Grant. © Oliver St. John 2015 Visit Ordo Astri, Thelemic Magical Collegium: www.ordoastri.org