The Western Gate

Fragment of a Graeco-Egyptian Work upon Magic
Charles Whycliffe Goodwin
Edited and Reformatted by A.D. Mercer
Ninth Circle Press

“Bornless” (ἄῤῥενος / agenētos) → without origin, beyond time
“Headless” (ἀκέφαλος) → beyond form, beyond anthropomorphic limitation

In my own surviving journals^* (Book of Shadows ) that I have there is always a page of an annotated ritual, born (!) from, The Bornless ritual, and as Crowley subsequently fashioned it poetically into LiBer Samekh, it was a ritual and ‘idea’ that I always found somewhat arrogant, to stand there as a God, or EA Koeting, proclaiming all other Gods would fear you etc. However from this I reasoned, to take actual facts about oneself, i.e; that I am a double Libran, that I was born in East London etc and ok, poetically, rhetorically and flowerup- arrange these objective facts that I could stand in a circle proclaiming, I am this !

I never did perform Liber Samekh or The Bornless Ritual as intended. I had the book that Andy Mercer alludes to, The Hanz Dieter Betz book which I half heartedly studied and was subsequently pilfered by someone.
This release from IX Circle Press uses Charles Wycliffe Goodwin’s translation (The text for this book is available here at ;-https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1401928241/view?partId=nla.obj-1401941949) and comes complete with the source Greek etc.
It goes without saying, if you can’t read Greek, then definitely,it’s all Greek to me will be an oft repeated comment, together with Latin, and a touch of Hebrew. I cannot read Greek except the maths bits, and trod upon these murky waters wondering why I bothered. But. This is a book of study, why should the head of the Baptist be offered on a plate. Aye, the headless.
Yes we can be given books where all the work is done for you, and we can expect every Greek and Hebrew and Sanskrit text to always have its translation broken down for us every time a quote appears. It used to annoy me that the highbrow liked to punctuate their paragraphs with Latin just to impress, whilst us plebs can but frown at our inadequacies and also at the same time laugh at the idiots performing circus babble. Us commoners at Comprehensive teaching in the UK only ever got offered French or German, and no-one wanted the German option. All I learnt to say in French was ” I’m English I cant speak French” and “How much does that flick-knife cost?”
But, back to this fragment of Greek Magical Papyri , It is a wonderful exercise to root out the strange scribbles of Greek, just as dusting of a fragment of a metal detecting find can offer. You can photo a section upload it to AI if you want and it will give you varying degrees of interpretation.
There are anomalies, words to herbs that are speculative like some missing ingredient that elicits debate ~ Shakespeare’s~ eye of a newt (mustard seed apparently but I was always taught it was deadly night shade berry), and for the purist, if there is doubt then will the ritual ever be complete? That missing word! that misinterpretation, the wrong incense or symbol. We occultists can be OCD.

In essence as stated, The practioneer performing the bornless one ritual identifies themselves as a cosmic, boundary-transcending deity to gain authority, protection, and the power to command all spirits. It is hoped to achieve the nature of ones true will, or at best divine union, or at least a purification. Or at worse a complete waste of time and energy but none the less a fun experience.
There are barbarous names to recite, many tongue twisting polysyllabic names. All of which can be studied and further researched.
The ‘scraps’ of rituals and spells included in Goodwins version of which this is pretty much a copy ironically do not leave the quester dumbfounded and frustrated but rather ignites a curiosity to uncover more from the vast PGM’s that are waiting to be devoured and hell unleashed, there are some gems down in the dragons den.
In the main, and for adaptation and rumination the section most are concerned with for the rite of ones will, divine union, purification, frolics is and I only give a generalised version here ;-
I call thee, the headless one, that didst create earth and heaven, that didst create night and day, thee the creator of light and darkness. Thou art Osoronnophris, whom no man hath seen at any time; thou art Iabas, thou art Iapos, thou hast distinguished the just and the unjust.
Thou didst make the female and the male, thou didst produce the seed and the fruit, thou didst form men to love one another and to hate one another.
I am Moses thy prophet, to whom thou didst commit thy mysteries, the ceremonies of Israel; thou didst produce the moist and the dry and all nourishment. Hear me!
For I am the angel of Pharaō Prostasios; this is thy true name, handed down to the prophets of Israel. Hear me, and make all spirits subject unto me, so that every spirit of heaven and earth, under the earth and on the earth, of water and of air, and every spell and scourge of god may be obedient unto me.
Now of course at first glance, there’s a lot of pretence and method acting to be had. Taking this away and reworking and expanding and using all other sources arrives at something akin to Crowley’s Liber Samekh, link added up there ↑ somewhere

Many will not like this book not least because it sold out in the first 48 hours, because it is not to be read and cast aside, “done that- stamped…Next!” Most want a safe easy LLewellyn no ambiguity or necessity to research.
This book is to be analysed, gaps filled in where others have trod, maybe, or where the curious dare to venture. For me, it’s nice to have a copy again especially as Betz’s translation of the Bornless Ritual is included, as is Crowleys.
What is appetising for the seeker of treasure is where this will lead !…

Examples of Papyri Graecae Magicae.
Internet searches will yield PDF formats of most of these, I could do the work for you if I was so inclined to be a servant, but you get the gist;-I will however include link HERE for a general book on such beautiful things….

PGM I – IV (Large Codices from the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris): These contain some of the longest and most important handbooks.
PGM I includes a spell for a direct vision (PGM I.1-42).
PGM II includes a charm to cause insomnia (PGM II.1-64).
PGM III contains the famous “Mithras Liturgy” (PGM IV. 475-829), a lengthy ascension ritual.
PGM IV, the “Great Magical Papyrus of Paris,” is the largest single codex and contains the “Mithras Liturgy” and the “Stele of Jeu” (IV. 86-87), among many other spells.
PGM V (Various Texts,including Goodwin’s Fragment): A collection of shorter, complete texts. This includes PGM V. 1-53 & 54-69 (dream oracle spells from Goodwin’s Fragment) and
PGM V. 96-172 (the “Sword of Dardanos” erotic binding spell from Goodwin’s Fragment). It also contains PGM V. 213-303, a “Gloriana” spell for success.
PGM VII (British Museum Papyri): A handbook with a “Charm to Silence Dogs” (VII. 1-148), a “Request for a Dream Oracle” to Besas (VII. 149-154), a “Wish-granting Charm” using a lamp (VII. 167-186), and a short “Spell to Acquire an Assistant” (VII. 215-218).
PGM VIII (A Single Papyrus from the British Museum): Contains a “Love Spell of Attraction” using apples (VIII. 1-63).
PGM X (Papyrus from Leiden): Contains a “Spell to Win Favor” (X. 1-26).
PGM XII (Papyri from the British Museum and Leiden): Contains the “Prayer of Jacob” (XII. 14-95), a “Spell to Ward off a Ghost” (XII. 107-121), a “Spell for Revelation” using a boy medium (XII. 160-178), and the famous “Ring-Charm for All Purposes” (XII. 270-350).
PGM XIII (The “Eighth Book of Moses”): A major treatise on cosmogony and the power of divine names, with rituals for immortality and meeting a god (XIII. 1-343).
PGM XIV (Papyrus from the British Museum): A collection of “Charms and Remedies” (XIV. 1-92) and a “Spell to Acquire a Familiar Spirit” (XIV. 93-114).
PGM XXXVI (The “Hymn to the Sun”): Contains a powerful “Hymn to Helios” (XXXVI. 1-34), spells to acquire an assistant (XXXVI. 35-68), bind a lover (XXXVI. 69-101), an “Invocation for any Purpose” (XXXVI. 102-133), the “Lychnomancy of Apollonius” or lamp divination (XXXVI. 134-160), a “Spell to Cause Separation” (XXXVI. 161-177), a “Spell to Send a Dream” (XXXVI. 178-187), a “Charm to Win Favor” (XXXVI. 211-230), a “Spell to Cause Insomnia” (XXXVI. 256-264), and a “Spell for Victory” (XXXVI. 275-283).
Other Notable Standalone Spells: These include PGM XXXV. 1-42, the “Invisibility Spell using a Beetle’s Earth” (the “Ring of a Beetle”); PGM LXII. 1-24, a “Spell to Uncover a Thief” using a boy and a lamp; and PGM CXXII. 1-55, a “Spell to Cause Separation” using a lead tablet.

*I ritually would burn whatever journal I worked on the previous 12 months at Samhain, it was cathartic, so I convinced myself, it told me the impetus to do better would arise as a result. In hindsight, I lost a lot of good drawings and memories and maybe Slash and burn doesnt promote better regrowth. It’s done now no good crying over dripping udders.

Header Image from;- Anne Boleyn’s Execution by Jan Luyken 1699