of hemlock, 3/4 oz. of henbane, 2 oz. of opium, 1
oz. of mandrake roots, 2 oz. of poppy seeds, 1/2 oz. of assafoetida,
and 1/4 oz. of saffron.
"Are these preparations absolutely necessary?" Kelson asked.
"Absolutely," Karaver said. "English clairvoyants will, doubtless,
tell you they are not necessary. It is their custom, with a few
slipshod instructions, to lead you to suppose that getting on the
Astral Plane is mere child's play. It is not! It is extremely
difficult and can only be done, in the first place, through the
guidance of a skilled Oriental occultist."
He then took a sword, and with it making the sign of a triangle in the
air, afterwards scratched a triangle on the floor, over which, in red
chalk, he superscribed a tree, an eye, and a hand. Then he heated the
mixture in the iron vessel over an oil stove. As soon as fumes arose
from it, he placed it on the tripod, crying, "Great Spirits of the
mountains, rivers and bowels of the earth, invest me with the heavy
seal, in order that I may conduct these three seekers after knowledge
to the realms of thy eternal phantoms."
Immediately after this oration Karaver, dipping a twig of hazel in the
fumigation, waved it north, south, east and west crying "Give me
authority! Give me Ka-ta-la-derany;" and then kneeling down in front
of the brazier, in a droning voice repeated these words:
"Green phantom figures of the air,
A ready welcome see that you prepare.
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