St Anthony The Abbot The Great Saint You Don't Know

While the craze surrounding Saint Cyprian and Saint Expedite is abound in social media and occult blogs, many terrific hardworking and reliable saints often go unnoticed. Saint Cyprian enjoys popularity amongst would be necromancers and goetic magician due to his history as pagan sorcerer that converted, as well as, a body of books written under his name. While Saint Expedite found his claim to fame from folk magicians and practitioners of Afro-Caribbean traditions. Most occultists tend to solely on these two saints and rarely get to know many more.

I want to bring to the table a saint that I have come to know as being extremely reliable and willing to do just about anything the magician would request. Not only is he known to be a reliable spirit, but he can also called upon to defend from and communicate with wrathful dead and demons. I am referring to no less than Saint Anthony the Great, also known as "Anthony the abbot" "Anthony of Egypt" "Anthony of Thebes" and "Anthony the Anchorite."

Born in 251 AD, Anthony, like many early Christians he sought to live as the Apostles lived and set out to live a monastic life of asceticism. After the death of his parents at the age of 20, he received a substantial inheritance of land. Anthony ended up selling and giving away most of his inheritance and giving the funds to the poor before beginning his life of asceticism.

Certain legends claimed that during his early years as a disciple to another monastic near his home where he worked as a swineherd, this is why some of his Roman Catholic depictions place a pig at his side. This form of monasticism was quite common for the time period where many monks would take lodging outside of cities. It is after this point in his life we see a departure from tradition that makes him very unique.

Anthony would depart for the desert at the age of 35 to live in an old Roman fort in absolute solitude. Although he would see no visitors (despite the demand), people would supply food to him by throwing it over the wall. He was known for nourishing himself on only salted bread and water while only eating in the evenings. He would fast for two days at a time for the sake of purity. 

Eventually, he would begin to take in visitors and other would be monastics who turned to him for his guidance. His teachings would become the foundation of monastic lifestyles and he gained the title "The Father of Monasticism." 

At an unspecified time in his history he took a retreat into a tomb or cave. Here he was afflicted with boredom and tempted with visions of lustful women. Further demons came and physically assaulted and tormented him leaving his body for dead. When his disciples found his body and began to morn his death he immediately rose and asked to be brought back into the tomb to confront the spirits again. This time a the demons were driven off by a bright holy light. 

I digress that there are many stories and myths surrounding the mysticism of Saint Anthony the Great, however, this article is merely to bring your awareness to his existence. My personal experiences with this Saint has generally revealed a sense of polite austerity and a sense of willingness to labor. 

Generally when doing service for him, I would have a glass of water offered to him and occasionally a small glass of liquor when I make requests. I would prepare myself with a recitation of the Jesus Prayer "O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner," following with The Lords Prayer, and Hail Mary's. I also have made use of his litany when I ask him to consecrate the wanga I am working: 

Litany of Saint Antony the Great

First of all monks, your name they hail, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Charity has gained such heights for you, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Wonderworker known for favors gained, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Humbly you obeyed with strength and love, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Shield for those who came to seek your aid, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Healer of all ills and guide for souls, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Spring and treasure house of charity, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Ever shining star and lamp of light, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Table of the Law and Gospel book, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Guide of those in doubt and ignorance, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Lamp of those who walk in darkness now, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Light of Holy Mother Church, your merits shines, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Peace for those who dread the enemy, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Gladness for the sad, strength for the tried, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Faithful to your word and ever true, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Sun of monks and nuns and start for all, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Temple arch who holds the power of God, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

V. Pray for us, Great Saint Antony

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ

Let us Pray:

Father Antony, you equaled Elias in his zeal and followed John the Baptist in his holy way of life. You peopled the wilderness and established the world on the firm foundation of your prayers. Intercede with Christ God that He may save our souls. Amen

As a Saint that rebukes evil spirits I have found him very helpful with rooting out troublesome spirits. He sends them off in a hurry with very little effort. For this I will recite Psalm 93 for him.

I cannot emphasize enough the reliability of this hardworking Saint. He is always there when I calling and always willing to help. I hope that you will invite him into your temple space.

The Head Spirit Vs The HGA

There seems to be a great deal of confusion and erroneously held beliefs between the western concept of the Holy Guardian Angel and the Head Spirit of Haitian Vodou. At some point in my development I actually believed that they were similar, but as I grew in my understanding and within my tradition I realized that they are two entirely different phenomenon. It is my intention to point out the differences between the two different concepts and demonstrate the continued colonialism of westerners into foreign traditions.

The HGA in Origin

The notion of guardian angles was largely championed by Christianity in the 5^th century, although there is a mentioning in both Islam and Zoroastrianism, Christians expanded deeply upon the concept liturgically and theologically. In Catholicism the guardian angel is an angel set to preside over each individual from birth. Through daily prayer and devotion, one develops a working relationship with this angel. One famous instance of this is recorded in the life of the stigmatic Padre Pio, who claimed that he could see and speak to his guardian angel from a very young age. The guardian angel is consistently described as an external force meant to guide the faithful and guard them from danger and demonic forces.

The Holy Guardian Angel in the Abramelin

The Holy Guardian Angel commonly called the “HGA” was a concept that originated in a medieval grimoire commonly called the Abramelin naming an author of Abraham von Worms, supposedly legitimizing the magic in the grimoire as being Jewish in origin. This type of notion was popular in texts of the time that the Jews in their closed culture were hiding esoteric mysteries from the goyim. What makes the claim of that the grimoire is Jewish in origin stands as a dubious claim is the fact that it is written in German instead of Yiddish, which would have made sense if we are to believe its supposed origins. The primary claim of this particular grimoire is that it is to place the magician in contact and communication with his very own Holy Guardian Angel, and in doing such would confer authority to the magician over all “unredeemed spirits” upon the earth. The supposed method was given to Abraham von Worms by an Egyptian mystic by the name of Abramelin.

The HGA and the Magical Revival

In my younger years I readily swallowed the story of this Jewish mystic writing down the secrete magic of Abramelin in the form of letter to his son Lamech. I mean it all fit my immature model of the magic and the universe as was introduced to via the Golden Dawn’s founder Samuel L. Macgregor Mather’s and espoused by Aliester Crowley, the self-proclaimed prophet of the Aeon. Mather’s original translation called The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, was based on French manuscripts that were resting in the Bibliotheque de l’Arsenal. Unknown to Mather’s was the numerous flaws omissions in the translation and seals from the manuscript he was working from. However, the concept of the Holy Guardian Angel and the Knowledge and Conversation thereof would become the focal point of the teachings of the Golden Dawn and later that of Crowley’s A.’.A.’..

The influence of the Golden Dawn, Crowley, and Thelema upon the modern understanding and practice of magic would become immeasurable. These concepts would be parroted from generation after generation of aspiring magicians without question and would eventually became canon for all novices. The pervasive ideology of the need for a guardian angel reached peak levels of nonsense when Satanic and Luciferian magicians claimed the notion of a Guardian Demon that was in opposition to the supposed Holy Guardian Angel. All the while not a single person making a claim to neither confirmed nor denied their own gnosis or knowledge and conversation. Most would begin a circular argument that someone must complete the supposed rite and know for themselves. The nonsense of not being able to adequately prove let alone discuss the phenomenon should give any reasonable person a moment of pause. In fact, the continued obscurity of the HGA by magicians that have supposedly attained this union flies in the face of the “wisdom” of the Abramelin itself:

“Everyone should be able to describe properly everything that he has seen and learned. A clear description of what has been seen gives listeners the opportunity to judge whether a traveler’s boasts are true.” –Abraham von Worms

Haitan Vodou and Colonialism

Haitian Vodou, the indigenous religion of Haiti well known for its influence over the Haitian revolution as well as having a large influence over Haitian politics has always been a source of fascination of Americans. The journalist William Seabrook published a rather sensationalist account of Haitian Vodou in his book The Magical Island in 1921. A book that would later inspire the film White Zombie. The notion of wild orgies and midnight fire-lit ceremonies where priests of invisible dark forces would be the source of a great deal of media while simultaneously distorting the ancestral traditions of the Haitian people.

In 1964 a man by the name of Michael Bertiaux would travel to Haiti and claim his initiation into Haitian Vodou, as well as, stake claims to an order of dubious origins known as the OTOA by which he somehow becomes the sole authority. (Sounds very similar to Crowley and the OTO, huh?) He would publish essays of his version of Vodou that would later be compiled under a single text called the Voudon Gnostic Workbook. This collection ranging from simple hoodoo spells to rambling virtually incoherent nonsense of homosexual sex magic, pseudo-Loas, and secret initiations would become fuel for a movement to gain access to the secret magic of the Haitian people. The overall tone of his work smacks of an intelligent white man who took mystical knowledge from another people only to improve upon it.

A more modern author, published under the name of E.A. Koetting would publish another pseudo-Haitian Vodou grimoire known as The Spider and the Green Butterfly. Making bold claims of having “backdoor initiations” or being able to command the powers of the Loa. He goes as far as claiming that a counsel of “Master Houngans” convened over his because the information was so incredibly crucial. What the work did offer however was a collection of poorly compiled information on a handful of Loas (one of which was even mis-gendered) and pseudo-ceremonies that have no foundation in the actual practice of Haitian Vodou.

Now this essay isn’t meant to pick on individuals who have made a profit by exploiting traditions that they have no valid claim to, I am merely setting the stage for my next point.

The Met Tet and Initiation

Within Haitian Vodou it is understood that Vodouisants have a Met Tet commonly referred to as Head Spirit, a being that presides over the spirituality of the individual. The purpose of the Head Spirit is better understood by the literal translation of Met Tet: Head Master. This spirit governs and protects the spirituality of the vodousiant. This relationship is secured only by initiation whereby a houngan (priest) prepares the head and soul of the initiate to receive the spirit. After the initiation the Head Spirit now resides in the head of the initiate. Possession play a necessary role in the initiation and must occur in order for the rite to be considered successful. The spirit will mount its “horse,” perform magic, offer advice, and voice concerns. The result of this union numbers the initiate among the ancestors of the society that initiated them, and grants a tremendous amount of spiritual authority. What is interesting is that the notion of guardian angels exists in some Vodou societies as a separate spiritual phenomenon that is tied to the influences of Catholicism in Vodou.

This process vastly differs from the asceticism of the Abramelin which involves solitude, prayer, and meditation. It also differs in the certainty of attainment of the spirit and the knowledge that the spirit that has been encountered is correct. The HGA is described an external force in the text while the Head Spirit exists within the head of the initiate. While the Holy Guardian Angel gives authority over “unredeemed spirits” the Head Spirit grants authority over the spirituality of the initiate and grants generational authority from all ancestors affiliated with the society. To this end, we are absolutely dealing with two different phenomenon, each one unique and each deserving the respect of individual recognition. Conflating the notion of the Holy Guardian Angel with the Head Spirit serves only the interest of a certain few who are seeking validity without having to explain themselves. 

Stop colonizing other traditions and work to understand your own.