Working with Balam: true answers, sharp wit, and a ring made to be worn

A ring is a seal you wear, not a seal you look at

A ring with a seal is a different kind of tool from a seal on a disc. A disc can be set on an altar, placed under a candle, or put away in a clean place. A ring goes with you. It is on your hand while you work, while you speak, while you listen, and while you go about the ordinary business of the day. That carrying is part of the work, not an afterthought, and it is worth choosing deliberately, because a ring you wear without thinking about it is not being worked with in the same way as a ring you wear for a purpose, and put away properly when that purpose is done.

The ring in this article is a Balam Goetia ring with raised lettering and a gemstone, for traditional Goetia work with Balam, as a hand cast seal ring. Raised lettering, on a ring, is not decoration alone. It is the seal, and the wording around it, made to be read by touch as well as by sight, and to be present, in relief, on the surface of the ring itself, rather than engraved shallowly and lost under wear. A gemstone, set in the ring, is part of that same object, not an addition added afterwards for show. This article does not name a particular gemstone for this ring, because the wording given here does not name one, and this article does not guess at one.

Balam, and what working with him is for

In the Grimoire Companion data, Balam is a King who answers truly of past, present, and future, grants invisibility, and gives sharp wit. In the wording given for this ring, he is a terrible, great, and powerful King, who appears with three heads, the first like that of a bull, the second like that of a man, and the third like a ram's. He is described, in the older wording quoted here, as coming forth with three heads, a serpent's tail, and flaming eyes, riding upon a furious bear, and carrying a hawk on his fist, speaking with a hoarse voice, and answering perfectly.

True answers, in this context, are not the same as comfortable answers. A true answer about the past may name a cause you would rather not look at. A true answer about the present may name a situation as it is, rather than as you wish it were. A true answer about the future may name a consequence, rather than a promise. If you are working with Balam, be prepared for that kind of answer, and be clear, before you begin, about what question you are actually asking. A question that is vague will receive a vague answer, and a vague answer is hard to learn from, even if it is true in a general sense.

Sharp wit, the third office given here, is also worth taking practically. Wit, in this sense, is not cleverness for its own sake. It is the ability to see a situation clearly, to speak about it precisely, and to answer, in conversation or in counsel, with words that fit the matter at hand. If you are asking for sharp wit, name the situation where you need it: a negotiation, a teaching, a counsel, a dispute, or a piece of writing. A petition for wit in general, with no situation named, is hard to check afterwards. A petition for wit in a particular situation gives you something you can look back on, in plain language, and say whether your speech was clearer, and whether that clarity had anything to do with the work.

How a cast seal ring is made

The rings offered here are lost wax cast seals of the Daemon Demons of the various grimoires. They are pure metal which is actually cast, starting with a wax version, which is much higher quality than the 3D printed versions using metal powder and plastic that you find around the internet, which the wording here contrasts with cast work. In lost-wax casting, the ring is first worked in wax, then cast in metal from that wax form. The wax is lost in the process, which is where the name comes from, and the metal that remains is a solid, cast object, not a printed shell.

You can feel that difference when you hold it, and when you wear it. A cast ring has weight, it has a surface that shows the hand work, and it does not have the layered texture of a printed object. That process also explains why a cast ring is made to order, and why it takes time. A ring that is already listed takes about 2 to 3 weeks, while rings that are not listed, but are under the other option, take 8 weeks, because she still has not carved their waxes yet. Balam is a listed seal, so the shorter timing applies to it in principle.

Cast seals here are pictured as just discs in some cases, and you can get them like that if you prefer, but for a ring, the seal is made as a ring, to be worn, with raised lettering as named here, and with a gemstone as named here. That is a practical detail, and it is worth knowing before you order, because it affects how the ring sits on the hand, how it wears over time, and how it should be kept when you are not wearing it.

Preparing to work with a ring

Preparation is most of the work, and with a ring that preparation starts before the ring arrives. Be clear about why you are working with Balam, what you are asking for, and what you are prepared to do yourself once you have an answer. If you cannot state the matter in one clear sentence, write it down, leave it overnight, and come back to see if it still reads true. A question about past, present, or future is often worth that extra night, because the first phrasing is often not the real question.

When the ring arrives, do not start by wearing it everywhere at once. Take time to look at it, to hold it, and to set it aside in a clean place that is used for your working tools. If your practice calls for cleansing or consecration of a new tool, follow the instructions you already follow in your system. A general article like this one is not a substitute for proper teaching in the system, and it should not be used to invent a consecration rite for a ring you have not been taught to consecrate.

Prepare the room and yourself in the same way you would for any Goetia working: clear the space, set it aside for this purpose, bathe or wash, change into clothes you do not wear for ordinary errands, and know what you are going to say, in your own words, before you begin. A clear head is a working tool, just as much as a ring, oil, or incense is.

Wearing, anointing, and working with the ring

A ring is made to be worn, and wearing it is part of the work, not an afterthought. Wear it when you are working, and put it away properly when you are not, rather than leaving it in a pocket with keys and loose change, or on a bathroom shelf. A tool that is treated carelessly tends to be worked with carelessly, and that shows in the record you keep afterwards. For a ring, in particular, it is worth deciding which hand and which finger your practice calls for, if it calls for a particular one, and following that practice consistently, rather than moving the ring from finger to finger out of habit.

There are several ways to work with a seal ring, specific to each seal and each working. You can hold it in your hands while you focus on the matter at hand. You can put it under a candle during a working. You can put oil on it, deliberately, naming the purpose in your own words. You can carry it with you, or wear it as a ring, so that the working stays with you through the day. You can show it to the desired person, where that is part of your practice. Choose the way that fits the working you are actually doing, and do it deliberately, rather than doing all of them at once out of habit.

Do not use a ring as a substitute for the rest of the working. Wearing a ring and then doing nothing else, with no petition, no attention, and no closing, is not spirit work. The ring supports the work, it does not replace it. After a working, close properly, in whatever way your practice requires, and put the ring away in its proper place.

A simple working order, and knowing when to stop

The following is a general order, not a fixed script. Adapt it to the system you already work in. First, prepare the room and yourself, as above. Second, set out the ring, and any oil, incense, or candle you will use. Third, hold the ring, or anoint it, or place it under a candle, if your practice calls for it, deliberately, naming the purpose in your own words. Fourth, speak your petition, clearly and once, rather than repeating it until it loses its shape. Fifth, sit quietly for a time and listen, rather than filling every moment with more words. Sixth, close the working properly, and put the ring away in its proper place.

Afterwards, write down what you did, when you did it, and what you noticed. Not what you hoped would happen, but what actually happened, in plain language. That record is what lets you tell, weeks later, whether anything changed, and whether that change had anything to do with the work. Note the ring itself in that record: when you wore it, when you put it away, whether you anointed it or placed it under a candle, and what you noticed on days when you wore it compared with days when you did not.

Keep a short record for each working, and do not repeat the same working endlessly in the hope that repetition alone will force a result. Do the work properly, once, observe, and then decide, calmly, whether a second working, a different approach, or no further working is the right next step. Repetition without reflection is not persistence. It is noise. The ring is made for the work, blessed by Athena herself before it is sent out, and sent to you to use in your own practice. What follows from that practice, in terms of magical result, is yours to observe, not mine to guarantee. That wording is about magical result, not about delivery dates for a physical item.

Balam Goetia ring with raised lettering and a gemstone

A ring is a seal you wear, not a seal you look at. It goes with you while you work, while you speak, and while you listen.

I make these as lost wax cast seal rings, cast from a wax version in pure metal, one at a time, and I bless each one myself before it is sent out. This one is Balam, as a ring with raised lettering and a gemstone, made for traditional Goetia work with Balam, to be worn and worked with, not left in a drawer as decoration. I make no promise about what it will do for you, only that it is cast by hand, for this work.

If you want a Balam ring made in this way, this is the one I offer: Balam Goetia ring with raised lattering and a gemstone, $324 CAD. View the product

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