Dantalion and the bath: thoughts, arts, and three days of preparation
Dantalion, and what working with him is for
Dantalion is a Duke in the Goetia, and the Grimoire Companion entry for him is specific: he knows the thoughts of all and can change them at will, he teaches arts and sciences, and he stirs love. That is a wide entry, and it is worth unpacking carefully, because each part of it points to a different kind of work, and the bath offered here is a preparation for that work, not a substitute for it.
Knowing thoughts, in this tradition, is not about eavesdropping. It is about understanding: understanding what another person actually means, what they are holding back, and what is driving them, even when their words say something else. It is also about understanding your own thoughts, which are often less clear to you than you suppose. A working that begins with that kind of understanding is different from a working that begins with an assumption about what someone thinks. The first can be acted on. The second usually cannot.
Teaching arts and sciences is the second part of the entry, and it connects Dantalion work with study, with making, and with the disciplined learning of a craft. Stirring love is the third part, and it should be read in the same careful way as the rest of the entry. Be specific about what kind of love you mean: affection, reconciliation, attraction, or a relationship held steady. A vague wish in this territory is hard to read afterwards, and a clear petition is easier to work with, and easier to judge honestly later.
Why a bath, and why before the working
A magick bath is a preparation, and preparation is most of the work. The bath offered here is made from only pure roots, herbs, and sometimes essential oils, with no synthetics used. A bath made from real roots and herbs is a physical, sensory preparation: warm water, plant matter, scent, and time set aside, all working together to mark the transition from ordinary activity to ritual work.
The bath is not the working itself. It is what you do before the working, to get yourself into a state where you can listen, speak clearly, and notice what changes. If you go into a Dantalion working straight from a rushed day, with your mind still full of errands and arguments, the working will have to fight against that noise. A bath, taken deliberately, over three days, gives the noise time to settle, and gives the purpose of the working time to become clear.
How the bath is used
To use the bath, you add it to a pot of water, approximately one litre or so. If you pour everything in, including the bits of herbs, use a strainer to get the chunks out after your bath, or one of those fish tank nets, or a bird catching net.
That three-day rhythm is the structure of the preparation. One bath is a wash. Three baths, on three consecutive days, are a discipline, and a discipline is what prepares you for a working that asks for clarity about thoughts, about learning, and about love. Do not compress the three days into one long soak and call it the same thing. The days between the baths are part of the preparation, because they are the days when you notice what is changing in your own thinking.
Take the bath at a time when you will not be interrupted, and when you do not have to rush straight into something else afterwards. Bathe, or at least wash thoroughly, and then sit for a time before you do anything else. Use that time to think, in plain terms, about the working ahead: what you are asking, who is involved, and what you are prepared to do yourself. If you cannot state the matter in one clear sentence after three days of preparation, you are not ready to begin the working itself, and that is useful information, not a failure.
Preparing the room and yourself, alongside the bath
While the three days of baths are under way, prepare the room and the working in the same steady way. Clear the space you will use, set it aside for this purpose, and keep it that way. If you have a regular working space, use it. If you do not, choose one place and use it consistently, so the place itself starts to carry the association with this work.
Prepare the words you will use in the working itself, in your own words, and know what you are not going to say. A petition that tries to cover every possible outcome usually covers none of them well, and that is especially true in Dantalion work, where the matter may involve thoughts, learning, or love, each of which deserves its own clear statement. Keep the petition direct, keep it honest, and keep it to the matter at hand.
Eat simply on the days of the baths if you can, and avoid starting the working itself when you are exhausted, drunk, or already agitated. A clear head is a working tool, just as much as a bath, an oil, or an incense is, and a bath taken while you are already worn out will not, by itself, supply the clarity that rest would have given you.
Oil and incense to go with the bath
A bath prepares the practitioner. Oil and incense prepare the working itself, and the room it is done in. Dantalion has a matching oil and a matching incense, both for spirit work with Dantalion, and both are natural companions to a bath taken in preparation for Dantalion work. The oil is for anointing: on the hands, the forehead, or on a tool, seal, or candle that will be used in the working. The incense fills the space and sets the atmosphere for the working itself, and it is also used for fumigating the tools and talismans that will be used in it.
If you are doing a full working, rather than only taking the baths as a preparation, use the companions in the order that fits your practice: bath first, over three days, then anoint, then light the incense and let the room settle before you speak your petition. Do not rush from lighting to speaking. Give the room a moment to change, and give yourself a moment to notice that change. That pause is part of the work, not a delay in it.
A simple working order, to adapt to your own practice
The following is a general order, not a fixed script. Adapt it to the system you already work in. First, take the bath each day for three days in a row, following the instructions above, and use the days between baths to clarify your purpose. Second, prepare the room and yourself, as above. Third, set out the seal, tool, or candle you will use, and the oil and incense. Fourth, anoint, deliberately, naming the purpose in your own words. Fifth, light the incense and let the space settle. Sixth, speak your petition, clearly and once, rather than repeating it until it loses its shape. Seventh, sit quietly for a time and listen. Eighth, close the working properly, in whatever way your practice requires, and put the tools away in their 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. Note the baths in that record: which days you took them, how you felt afterwards, and whether your thinking about the matter became clearer over the three days. That record is what lets you tell, weeks later, whether anything changed, and whether that change had anything to do with the work.
What not to do
Do not use the bath as a substitute for the rest of the working, and do not use the working as a substitute for ordinary action. If the matter involves another person, you will still need to speak to that person, in ordinary terms, at some point. If the matter involves learning an art or a science, you will still need to study. If the matter involves a relationship, you will still need to act in that relationship, day by day, not only on the night of the working.
Do not use bath water containing herb matter carelessly in plumbing that it could block. If you have sensitivities to particular herbs or essential oils, test carefully, or do not use the bath on skin at all, and choose a different form of preparation. If the bath irritates your skin, stop, rinse, and reconsider. That is information, not a test of dedication.
What this article does not promise
No guaranteed magical result is promised anywhere in this article. That wording is about the work itself, not about delivery dates for physical items. The bath is made from pure roots, herbs, and sometimes essential oils, with no synthetics, for preparation for work with Dantalion. What follows from that practice is for the practitioner to observe, over time, and to record honestly. If the matter in hand is a legal, medical, or safety matter, deal with that matter in the ordinary world as well, through the proper channels.
Dantalion bath, and Dantalion oil and incense to go with it
A bath taken over three days is a preparation, not a shortcut, and it is made to be used before the working itself.
I make Dantalion baths from only pure roots, herbs, and sometimes essential oils, with no synthetics used. You add the bath to a pot of water, approximately one litre or so, strain out the herb matter after your bath, and it is best to take each bath each day for three days in a row. I make no promise about what it will do for you, only that it is made by hand, for this work.
If you want the bath for that work, this is the one I offer: Dantalion Goetia bath, $44 CAD. View the product
I also make the companions for the same work: Dantalion Goetia grimoire demon evocation oil, $44 CAD, and Dantalion Goetia incense, $44 CAD. View the product View the product
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