Much has been speculated about the Allatori, in the wake of the description in Clavicula Salomonis, MS Aub 24, 1674 which I will not repeat here. However I will say that the description from that grimoire is nothing like what I and others familiar with the Fourth Pentacle of Mercury have experienced. To set the record straight, my scryer and I worked with the spirits of the Fourth of Mercury to ask them about their nature.
Spirit communication is an imperfect art that often involves an attempt to make sense of words and images representing both metaphorical and literal meanings, with beings who have wildly different contexts for even basic concepts. This article represents the best efforts of two experienced practitioners to faithfully convey the information from the spirits.
I have been working with the Allatori for over four years at this point, and I have found them to be both incredibly helpful and absolutely delightful. They are also some of the easiest spirits to contact that I work with. We have discussed what they can do in relation to helping people before, but this was the first conversation we had about their nature. Please read all of it before coming to conclusions. Their frequent use of wind analogies has probably confused practitioners.
I started off reading the description from that grimoire, which they say slanders them, and I completely agree. I told them I would write something more accurate about their nature if they could work with me to explain it and answer some clarifying questions.
When I initially asked them what type of spirits they were, they seemed a little exasperated. I wouldn’t ask another person what type of human they were, would I? I explained that I am asking them this because they, of all the hosts I work with, are some of the best at knowing the minds of men, so they would know what I mean when I try to classify them.
“We are wind and our knowledge is most becoming. We are there for your entertainment in all matters of the mind. Seek what you shall know and we will happily bring it to you, that is our nature.”
I asked if they were aerial spirits. They said wind, not air, but clarified to say specifically intellect- the mental winds. I asked them to tell me of the mental winds.
“They blow through your mind like winds stirring up your thoughts, like wind in the sail. You might also call it ‘arrow of thought’. We are not like that but we belong to it. We take it with us when we go and through that we find out what we need to know. We ride the minds of men like you would sail on the sea.”
They communicated that the motive force of the winds are important to this analogy. The winds go and do things of their own accord. Their nature is of the wind in that they propel thinkers to the conclusion.
I asked if they were mercurial spirits. They do not think of themselves in this way, but it is “close enough.” I asked if they were elemental spirits and they said they are not.
They also have their own name for their tribe which roughly translates to “the people.” They say they were always one people.
There are a great many of them all over the world, with a cohesiveness. They are specialists in finding information, helping students, travelers, and all those that have movable minds.
I want to once again say that these spirits of the Fourth of Mercury have been great friends and allies to me, especially helping me with my research. Their description does seem to aptly fit my experiences, and I do find that they help propel me towards answers to complicated questions. I am glad to be able to let the spirits have their say about their own nature and I hope this helps answer some lingering questions.
This post was originally a Practical Occult newsletter dated September 7th, 2022.
Author: Alison Chicosky
Alison Chicosky is a scholar and practitioner of a variety of forms of thaumaturgy with a focus on results-based magic. While especially interested in both Solomonic magic and the Graeco-Egyptian magic of the Greek Magical Papyri, she is also well versed in soul-flight and psychic magic of various kinds. The founder and force behind Practical Occult (www.practicaloccult.com), she strives to provide pentacles and other enchanted items drawn from a broad background of rigorously studied ancient arts, leveraging the systems of the past for practical modern use.