Whisperers
Page 13
Typical of Inquisitorial justice was the case of Pierre Vallin. By the time the Inquisition caught up with him, Vallin was an old man and understandably frightened. He confessed at once to having sold his soul to the Devil some sixty-three years earlier, then gave the court an imaginative account of everything he thought the Inquisitor might want to hear, detailing a life of evil that included raising tempests, flying on a broomstick, and having sex with a succubus. When asked about his accomplices in this nefarious existence, he gave the names of four “witches” whose death had placed them beyond the reach of the Inquisition forever. Unfortunately, his Inquisitor suspected he was holding something back and ordered that Vallin be “put to the Question,” a euphemism for interrogation under torture.
In the Dark Ages, those suspected of spirit contact frequently found themselves in the torture chambers of the Inquisition.
By the time of Vallin’s trial, the Inquisition had refined its approach to torture. There were now several stages to the process. For the first, often recorded as “without torture,” he was stripped, bound, flogged, stretched on the rack until his bones cracked, then crushed with thumbscrews until his fingers burst. This treatment persuaded Vallin to give five more names—not, unfortunately, enough to satisfy his Inquisitor, who ordered him taken to the kitchens of the Castle of Quinezonasium where he underwent three sessions of strappado, a procedure during which his hands were tied behind his back, then fastened to a rope fed through a pulley high above in the roof. He was then slowly hoisted upward some fifteen or twenty feet and left dangling in agony for several hours. Five further names were extracted. Vallin was lucky his Inquisitor left it at that. The strappado sessions were recorded as “ordinary torture.” A further level of persuasion by pain, “extraordinary torture” typically left victims permanently crippled or dead. One favored practice was to burn off a victim’s foot, then present him with the charred bones in a bag as a souvenir.
Against this background, it is easy to appreciate why the professional intermediary—priest, medium, oracle, shaman—disappeared so quickly from the public eye in medieval Europe. But this is not to say that spirit contact ceased. Advice from the Beyond was so useful, or perhaps just so alluring, that there remained those prepared to risk torture and death in order to receive it. Such individuals were wizards and witches, magical practitioners who sometimes used herbal drugs like thorn apple12 to stimulate visionary experiences, and participated in rituals designed to conjure spirits. From the eighth to the eleventh centuries CE, Qabalistic texts like the Sepher Yetzirah made their way into European Jewish circles and, based as they were on the experiences of the Merkava mystics, promised spirit contact at the highest level. Even though Talmudic doctrine warned about the dangers of esoteric practice, several mystical fraternities were established in France, Spain, and Germany. But medieval forms of contact generally differed from those of the classical world in one important respect. Throughout the Dark Ages, belief in the Devil and his minions as living, breathing, and, above all, intervening, entities was strongly fostered by the Church and all but universal. But while the doctrine inspired fear in the many, for a certain minority mind-set, it was a short step from trying to avoid Satan to attempting to enslave his minions. Church disapproval ensured that the day of the openly practicing intermediary was gone, so the onus of spirit contact was thrown, for the first time in centuries, on the individual who sought their aid. The question was how to do it. The answer was provided by an increasing proliferation of grimoires, the notorious “black books” of magic. Specialist authority, Sir Keith Thomas writes:
Since classical times, it had been believed that, by following the appropriate ritual, it was possible to get in touch with supernatural beings … Many such rituals were extant during the Middle Ages … Usually they circulated in manuscript and were guarded with the utmost secrecy by their owners: which was hardly surprising, since for much of the period, the conjuration of spirits was a capital offence … These works opened up to the reader the possibility of invoking the whole hierarchy of angels and demons, each with their own names and attributes. The rituals for such spirit-raising varied, but usually involved such procedures as drawing chalk circles on the ground, pronouncing incantations, observing ritual conditions of fasting and prayer, and employing such apparatus as holy water, candles, sceptres, swords, wands and metal lamina. There is no doubt whatsoever that these rituals were extensively practiced, both by contemporary intellectuals and by less educated would-be magicians. The so-called “Books of Magic” … contain quite explicit formulae for invoking spirits and there is no shortage of evidence for such séances in the manuscript “Books of Experiments” which have survived.13
A study of the grimoires indicates a distinct change in attitude toward spirit entities during this period, possibly occasioned by an unconscious acceptance of Church doctrines. Where the spirits of ancient shamanism were treated with respect and the speaking statuary of Jaynes’s investigations approached with awe, medieval conjurers viewed communicating entities as servants or slaves to be commanded, cajoled, threatened, or bullied into submission. The following extract from one of the most popular grimoires, Clavicula Salomonis or “Key of Solomon,” gives a flavor of the new approach. In it, the wizard is instructed on what to do if the spirits prove recalcitrant in the face of milder conjurations:
If they then immediately appear, it is well; if not, let the master uncover the consecrated pentacles which he should have made to constrain and command the spirits, and which he should wear fastened round his neck, holding the medals (or pentacles) in his left hand, and the consecrated knife in his right; and encouraging his companions, he shall say with a loud voice:—
Here be the symbols of secret things, the standards, the ensigns, and the banners, of God the conqueror; and the arms of the almighty One, to compel the aerial potencies. I command ye absolutely by their power and virtue that ye come near unto us, into our presence, from whatsoever part of the world ye may be in, and that ye delay not to obey us in all things wherein we shall command ye by the virtue of God the mighty One. Come ye promptly, and delay not to appear, and answer us with humility.
If they appear at this time, show them the pentacles, and receive them with kindness, gentleness, and courtesy; reason and speak with them, question them, and ask from them all things which thou hast proposed to demand.
But if, on the contrary, they do not yet make their appearance, holding the consecrated knife in the right hand, and the pentacles being uncovered by the removal of their consecrated covering, strike and beat the air with the knife as if wishing to commence a combat, comfort and exhort thy companions, and then in a loud and stern voice repeat the following conjuration:—
Here again I conjure ye and most urgently command ye; I force, constrain, and exhort ye to the utmost, by the most mighty and powerful name of God EL, strong and wonderful, and by God the just and upright, I exorcise ye and command ye that ye in no way delay, but that ye come immediately and upon the instant hither before us, without noise, deformity, or hideousness, but with all manner of gentleness and mildness.
I exorcise ye anew, and powerfully conjure ye, commanding ye with strength and violence by him who spake and it was done; and by all these names: EL SHADDAI, ELOHIM, ELOHI, TZABAOTH, ELIM, ASHER EHEIEH, YAH, TETRAGRAMMATON, SHADDAI, which signify God the high and almighty, the God of Israel, through whom undertaking all our operations we shall prosper in all the works of our hands, seeing that the Lord is now, always, and for ever with us, in our heart and in our lips; and by his holy names, and by the virtue of the sovereign God, we shall accomplish all our work …
But if ye be still contumacious, we, by the authority of a sovereign and potent God, deprive ye of all quality, condition, degree, and place which ye now enjoy, and precipitate ye into and relegate ye unto the Kingdom of Fire and of sulphur, to be there eternally tormented. Come ye then from all parts of the earth, wheresoever ye may be, and behold the symbols and names of that triumphant s
overeign whom all creatures obey, otherwise we shall bind ye and conduct ye in spite of yourselves, into our presence bound with chains of fire, because those effects which proceed and issue from our science and operation, are ardent with a fire which shall consume and burn ye eternally, for by these the whole Universe trembleth, the earth is moved, the stones thereof rush together, all creatures obey, and the rebellious spirits are tormented by the power of the sovereign creator.14
It is worth noting the second major change in spirit communication during this period—the overwhelming reliance on Judeo-Christian imagery in the evocation rituals. Claims to speak with the authority of God and Jesus Christ seem to be a universal feature of the grimoires, despite the Church’s stance on the practice of evocation. Reading the “black books,” one is left with the distinct impression that their authors were highly religious men, or at least absolute believers in the sovereignty of Jehovah and/or his Christian Son. Hand in hand with this conviction was the assumption that enslaving demons was a legitimate activity, since it gave them an opportunity to do some honest work for a change. Calling on the angels, for which instructions are given in some of the grimoires, usually produced a change of tone. The heavenly messengers were begged rather than commanded to appear, although even in supplication the arrogance of the conjurer was never far from the surface. But the practice of evocation was not confined to infernal and celestial spirits. The medieval scholar Michael Scot (c. 1175–c. 1234) wrote that contemporary occult practice included necromancy, the conjuration of the spirits of the dead.15
With few exceptions, conventional historians see spirit communications as a hidden (and unimportant) influence on society throughout the Middle Ages, largely ignoring the fact that the Church’s vigorous attempts to stamp it out suggest a serious problem. But even the most conventional cannot entirely ignore two striking examples of spirit contact of glaringly obvious historical import—and twenty-first-century implications.
7. ROOTS OF ISLAM
THE DARKNESS THAT ENVELOPED EUROPE DURING THE EARLY MIDDLE Ages was not a worldwide phenomenon. The lights of learning that went out across Europe, as the Romans retreated, remained lit throughout the Middle East where Arab respect for and development of the sciences was a beacon to the world. Yet, as in every earlier civilization, contact with the spirit world remained. Prior to the advent of Islam, Arabs “lived and died with magic—they spoke to the good genii, the Djinns.”1 Against this cultural background, in 570 CE, there occurred the birth of a child who was destined literally to change the world. His name was Ab al-Qsim Muammad ibn Abd Allh ibn Abd al-Mualib ibn Hshim. Today he is known more simply as Muhammad.
The boy’s parents, Abd Allh and minah, belonged to the ruling tribe of Mecca responsible for guarding the city’s most sacred shrine, the Ka‘bah, while his grandfather, Abd al-Mualib, was a community leader. Nonetheless, his earliest years proved hard. His father died before the boy’s birth. In accordance with the custom held by all the great Arab families at the time, his mother, minah, sent him as a baby to live among the Bedouin tribesmen of the deep desert. The belief held was that life in the desert taught a boy nobility and self-discipline, while giving him a taste for freedom. It took him away from the potential corruption of the city and offered escape from the cruel dominance of time. In some ways most important of all, it exposed him to the eloquent Arabic spoken by the Bedouin and instilled in him special skills as a speaker. The desert was seen as a place of sobriety and purity. To send a child there was to renew a bond that had existed for generations.
During his sojourn in this empty wilderness, Muhammad had his first spiritual experience:
A desert encampment similar to that in which the Prophet Muhammad had his first spiritual experience during his sojourn with the Bedouin as a child
There came onto me two men, clothed in white, with a gold basin full of snow. Then they laid upon me and, splitting open my breast, they brought forth my heart. This likewise they split open and took from it a black clot which they cast away. Then they washed my heart and my breast with the snow.2
When Muhammad was six years old, his mother died, and he was placed in the care of his grandfather. But the old man himself died just two years later and the boy’s upbringing was entrusted to an uncle, Ab lib. Apparently he did a good job, for Muhammad grew into a young man whose character eventually earned him the nickname al-Amn, or “Trusted One.” Citizens of Mecca took to seeking him out as an arbiter in their disputes. Muhammad’s appearance was, according to early sources, quite striking:
[He] was neither tall nor lanky nor short and stocky, but of medium height. His hair was neither crispy curled nor straight but moderately wavy. He was not overweight and his face was not plump. He had a round face. His complexion was white tinged with redness. He had big black eyes with long lashes. His brows were heavy and his shoulders broad. He had soft skin, with fine hair covering the line from mid chest to navel. The palms of his hands and the soles of his feet were firmly padded. He walked with a firm gait, as if striding downhill. On his back between his shoulders lay … a mole.3
The mole, first noticed by his guardian almah immediately after the vision of the two men in white, was important. Its placement identified it as the Seal of Prophethood, a visible sign of the young man’s destiny.
Muhammad was first married at the age of twenty-five. He accepted the proposal of his employer at the time, a wealthy Meccan woman named bint al-Khuwaylid, who bore him two sons and four daughters. Both boys died young. Ten years later, Muhammad was one of the most respected figures in his native city. He was still being asked to arbitrate on disputes, but by now these were as often civil as personal and sometimes extremely important. On one occasion, for example, the main tribes of the region were at odds over the question of which of them should place the holy black stone in position in the newly restored Ka‘bah. Muhammad was called in to resolve the situation, which he did by placing the stone on his cloak, which was spread on the ground, then having representatives of each tribe lift a corner of the cloak until the stone reached a height where it could be set into the wall.
By now, Muhammad was spending much of his time in prayer and meditation, often in the solitude of the desert. The practice brought him religious visions, some of which he described as like “the breaking of the light of dawn.”4 In the year 610 CE, when Muhammad was forty years old, one of his desert trips brought an experience that was to change his life. Meditating in the cave of al-ir in the Mountain of Light (Jabal al-Nr) near Mecca, a spirit with the appearance of a man embraced him and demanded that he “recite.” When Muhammad demurred, the entity embraced him again three times and began to dictate a lengthy message. Muhammad panicked—he thought he might be at risk of possession by djinn or demons—and fled from the cave. The voice pursued. Arab tradition holds that at this point it told Muhammad he was the messenger of God, while the voice itself belonged to the archangel Gabriel. Muhammad believed none of it and ran down the mountain. But then he looked back and discovered that the sky had turned green and was filled in whatever direction he looked by the immense form of an angel.
When Muhammad reached home, he told his wife of the experience. She accepted his story without hesitation and sent for her cousin Waraqah, a particularly devout Christian who nonetheless confirmed that Muhammad had indeed been chosen as God’s prophet. Muhammad himself had a second revelation shortly thereafter. It was the beginning of a process that was to last twenty-three years and resulted in the Qur’n (Koran), the sacred scripture of Islam that contains, in Muslim belief, the word of God revealed through Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad. According to early traditions, Gabriel brought the Qur’n directly to the Prophet’s heart, suggesting an emotional rather than intellectual transference. Gabriel is represented on the Qur’n as a spirit whom the Prophet could sometimes see and hear. Apparently, the revelations occurred in a state of trance, accompanied by heavy sweating. They carried their own conviction, strong enough to split a mountain from fear of God
, according to the scriptures themselves. The Qur’n describes itself as the transcript of a heavenly book written on a preserved tablet with no earthly source.
The Mountain of Light, near Mecca, where Muhammad first encountered the Archangel Gabriel
It took Muhammad three years before he gained the confidence to preach his revelation to the public at large, although he did explain the message to his family, and even a few close friends, in the interim. A tiny group formed around him, but small though it was, this group proved to be the seed from which the whole of Islam eventually grew. It was not an easy growth. Most influential figures in Mecca rejected the new doctrine, which preached a strict monotheism, opposed idolatry, and consequently threatened trade. At the time, the Ka‘bah was the focus of almost all Arab religious cults and a magnet for lucrative pilgrimages. If the new religion took hold, who could tell what would happen to the Ka‘bah’s favored status? Who could tell what would happen to commerce?
Despite everything, Islam did manage to grow, although opposition increased as its influence spread. Early converts found themselves persecuted and even tortured. But in 619 CE, Muhammad himself underwent his supreme religious experience while spending the night in an open sanctuary attached to the north wall of the Ka‘bah. While traditions vary slightly, there is general agreement that he was transported by Gabriel on a winged horse to the city of Jerusalem. There they went to the rock on which Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son5 and hence to heaven itself, ascending through higher states of being toward God. At one point, Gabriel told Muhammad he could go no farther because to do so would risk burning his wings in the glory of the Almighty. Muhammad, however, was permitted to continue until, prostrate before the divine throne, he received the ultimate storehouse of Islamic knowledge, including the final form and number of the daily prayers.