Working with Zagan: wit, worth, and turning
Zagan, and what turning means here
Zagan is listed in the Grimoire Companion as a King who makes the wise wiser and fools understanding, and who turns wine to water and base metal to coin. That entry is vivid, and it is easy to take it literally and miss the point. Turning, in this entry, is about a change of nature and of value: something taken one way becomes something else, something base becomes something of worth, something muddled becomes clear. The wine and the metal are the old emblems for that turning, and they point to a working that is about transformation of judgement and of worth, not about a trick performed for its own sake.
Making the wise wiser is a different kind of petition from asking for knowledge from nothing. It assumes something is already there: study, experience, a working mind, and asks that it be sharpened rather than replaced. That is a humbling frame, and a useful one. Before any Zagan working, ask what wisdom you already have in the matter, and where it stops short. Is there a subject you have studied but not understood, a decision you have weighed but not settled, a situation you can describe but cannot yet judge? A petition that names that edge, plainly, will be clearer than a general request to become wise, and it will be easier to read afterwards, because you will be able to tell whether your judgement on that specific matter has actually sharpened.
Making fools understanding is the companion phrase, and it, too, deserves a plain reading. It does not mean making other people look foolish. It means a state of not understanding giving way to understanding, in the person doing the work. If you are the one who is confused, say so in the petition, in your own words. There is no advantage in dressing confusion up as certainty before a working. The working is clearer when the confusion is named, because then you know what understanding would look like when it arrives: a decision you can state, a course you can follow, a distinction you can draw that you could not draw before.
Worth, and the base metal in the room
Turning base metal to coin is the most quoted part of Zagan's entry, and the most misunderstood. Read as a promise of wealth from nothing, it leads to workings that are really about impatience, and to disappointment that has nothing to do with the spirit. Read as an emblem of worth, it asks a sharper question: what in your work, your craft, or your situation is currently base, in the sense of unworked, unvalued, or overlooked, and what would it take to bring it to a form where its worth is recognised?
That question has ordinary-world answers that belong alongside any working. A craft improved by practice, a piece of work finished rather than left half done, a skill studied until it can be shown plainly, a price set with confidence rather than apology, all of these are turnings of a kind, from something unformed to something of recognised value. A Zagan working that supports that kind of turning, and that is paired with the work itself, sits on firmer ground than a working that asks for worth while leaving the work undone. Ask yourself, before you anoint anything, what base material you are actually bringing to the working: a skill, a project, a negotiation, a judgement that needs to be made well.
It is also worth asking whether the worth you seek is measured by others or by yourself. Coin is valued because others accept it, and that is a real part of worth in the world. But a working aimed only at others' approval, without any change in the work itself, will feel thin when you speak it. A working aimed at making your own judgement clearer, and your own work better formed, leaves you with something you can observe whether or not anyone else notices straight away: a decision made, a piece finished, a standard held.
Preparation before any anointing
Preparation is most of the work. Clear the space you will use, set it aside for this purpose, and put away the things that pull your attention elsewhere. If you have a regular working space, use it, so the place itself starts to carry the association. Then prepare yourself in the ordinary ways that mark a time as set apart: wash, change into clothes you do not wear for errands, eat simply beforehand if you can, and avoid beginning when you are exhausted or already agitated. A clear head is a working tool, just as much as oil or incense is.
Next, prepare the words you will use. Know what you are going to say, 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. If the work is judgement, state the matter to be judged in one sentence. If the work is worth, name the work or project whose worth is at issue, and what turning you are asking to see in it. Keep it direct, keep it honest, and keep it to the matter at hand. Work from the instructions and teaching you already follow in the Goetia system. A general article like this one is not a substitute for proper teaching, and it should not be used to invent a rite for a spirit you have not studied.
Why anointing, and why oil at all
Anointing is a way of marking something, or someone, for a purpose. In practice, it is often done on the hands, the forehead, or on a tool, seal, or candle that will be used in the working. The act itself is simple, and that simplicity is the point. You are not hiding the work behind complicated gestures. You are touching the thing, naming the purpose, and doing it deliberately. With Zagan work, that deliberateness matters, because judgement and worth are both easy to talk about in general terms and hard to pin down. Anointing slowly, with the specific matter in mind, is a way of refusing to let the petition stay vague.
Oil is used for anointing because it stays. It does not evaporate in a moment like scent on the air, and it does not wash off at the first touch. It remains on the skin or on the tool while you work, and that staying quality is part of how it functions in a ritual setting. You can smell it, you can feel it, and you are reminded, through the whole working, of what you set out to do. For a working about judgement, that reminder is useful: it keeps the question in front of you when your mind wants to settle for the first easy answer.
That is also why the quality of the oil matters in practice, not as a luxury, but as a matter of attention. An oil made in a hurry, from synthetic scent, does not carry the same weight in the room as an oil made for this specific work, from real materials, in a small batch. You will notice the difference when you open the bottle, and you will notice it again halfway through the working, when the scent is still there and still clear.
How the Zagan oil is made here
I hand make all of my own perfumes, colognes and oils from only pure essential oils, roots and herbs. I do not use any extraneous ingredients or fillers. I also do not use any synthetics. Sometimes there is the odd gemstone thrown in as well. Each batch of oil is hand made when you order, not pulled from a warehouse shelf months in advance.
That made-to-order point matters for a working like this. It means the oil has not been sitting, opened and closed, through other people's orders. It is made for your order, and then blessed by me myself before it is sent out. I make no promise about what it will do for you, only that it is made by hand, for this work, and not mass produced. The oil is made for anointing and ritual use, from essential oils, roots and herbs, and it should be treated as a ritual oil, not as a food, a medicine, or a skin treatment. If you have sensitivities to essential oils, test a small amount first, or do not use it on skin at all, and anoint a tool or candle instead.
Incense, and a simple working order
Incense and oil are often used together in Goetia work, and Zagan work is no exception. They do different jobs in the room. The oil marks and anoints. The incense fills the space and sets the atmosphere for the working itself. If you are doing a full working, rather than a single anointing, use both. Anoint first, with a clear purpose in mind, 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.
The following is a general order, not a fixed script. First, prepare the room and yourself, as above, and write down the matter to be judged, or the work whose worth is at issue, in one clear sentence. Second, set out the seal, tool, or candle you will use, and the oil and incense. Third, anoint, deliberately, naming the purpose in your own words. Fourth, light the incense and let the space settle. Fifth, speak your petition, clearly and once, rather than repeating it until it loses its shape. Sixth, sit quietly for a time and listen, rather than filling every moment with more words. Seventh, 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. For Zagan work, that record should include the judgement itself: what you decided, what distinction you drew, what you understood afterwards that you did not understand before. A record that only notes feelings, without noting judgements made and work done, will not let you tell, weeks later, whether anything actually turned.
Keeping a record, and knowing when to stop
Keep a short record for each working: date, purpose in one sentence, oil and incense used, what you did, and what you noticed afterwards, over days and weeks, not just on the night itself. If nothing changes, that is also information. It may mean the petition was unclear, the timing was wrong, the work was not appropriate, or simply that the situation needs a different approach, such as study, practice, finishing the work, or a plain conversation in the ordinary world.
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. With judgement work especially, repeated workings can become a way of postponing a decision that the record already shows you are ready to make.
Sometimes the right answer is not a spirit working at all. If the situation is a legal matter, a safety matter, or a medical matter, deal with that matter in the ordinary world first, or at the same time. Ritual work is not a substitute for a lawyer, a doctor, or for leaving a dangerous situation. If you are unsure whether a working is appropriate, wait, ask a teacher you trust, or choose a simpler practice first and see how that sits.
Zagan oil, and Zagan incense to go with it
If you are doing spirit work with Zagan, the oil is for anointing, not for show.
I hand make Zagan oil myself, from pure essential oils, roots, and herbs, with no synthetics and no fillers, and I bless it myself before it is sent out. It is made in small batches, when you order, for anointing and spirit work with Zagan. I make no promise about what it will do for you, only that it is made by hand, for this work, and not mass produced.
If you want the oil for that work, this is the one I offer: Zagan Goetia grimoire demon evocation oil, $44 CAD, 1/2 oz bottle. View the product
I also make the incense to go with it, for the same work: Zagan Goetia incense, $44 CAD. View the product
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