Working with Buer: a seal made to be carried, not a picture of one

A seal is not a picture of a seal

A seal for Buer should be a seal, not a picture of one. That distinction sounds simple, and it is, but it changes how you work with the thing in your hands. A picture can be looked at. A seal can be carried, anointed, fumigated, placed on an altar, and worked with over time. It has weight, it has a surface you can touch, and it stays with you after the working is over, in a way a printed image does not.

That is why the form of a seal matters in traditional Goetia work, and why a seal that is made properly is different from a seal that is merely reproduced. The seal in this article is for traditional Goetia work with Buer, as a hand cast seal, in pendant form, 2 inches. It is made to be carried and worked with, not left in a drawer as decoration, and not filed away as a reference image.

If you are new to this kind of work, it is worth asking yourself, before you order anything, whether you actually want a working tool, or whether you want a picture to look at. Both have their place, but they are not the same thing, and ordering one when you meant the other leads to disappointment that has nothing to do with the quality of the object.

Buer, and what working with him is for

Athena presents Buer as a spirit to work with for healing, and for help with acute care.

She recommends working with Buer to all healers, as he can be of good help. She also says Buer provides familiars to help with acute care, and that when Buer does help you, you should not forget to return the favour, by volunteering at a local hospital, doing some healing yourself, or perhaps by a donation.

That last point is worth pausing on. It frames Buer work, in Athena's presentation, not as a one-way request, but as a working that carries a return with it. If you are a healer, or if you are doing healing work for others, that framing may be the reason Buer comes up for you at all. If you are not a healer, and you have no connection to healing work, ask yourself plainly whether Buer is the right focus for your working, or whether you are reaching for a name because it is familiar, rather than because it fits the work you actually need to do.

Nothing in this article promises a medical result, and nothing here should be read as medical advice or as a substitute for medical care. Healing work in this context means ritual and spiritual work, done by a practitioner, alongside ordinary medical care where that care is needed, not instead of it. If you, or someone you are working for, needs medical attention, get that attention first, in the ordinary world.

How a lost-wax cast seal is made

The seals 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. That is a different process, and a different result, from the 3D printed versions using metal powder and plastic that you find around the internet, which contrasts with cast work.

In lost-wax casting, the seal 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: a cast seal 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 seal is made to order, and why it takes time.

Cast seals here are pictured as just discs, and you can get them like that if you prefer, but for a pendant, a bail is either cast onto the seal, or soldered on, depending on the metal used, and that affects how the pendant hangs. That is a practical detail, and it is worth knowing before you order, because it affects how the pendant hangs and how it will wear over time.

Preparing to work with a seal

Preparation is most of the work, and with a seal that preparation starts before the seal arrives. Be clear about why you are working with Buer, what you are asking for, and what you are prepared to do yourself, including the return favour Athena mentions for Buer work. 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.

When the seal 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 seal 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 seal, oil, or incense is.

Carrying, anointing, and fumigating

A pendant seal is made to be carried, and carrying 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.

Anointing a seal is a way of marking it for a purpose. In practice, that is often done with a matching oil, applied deliberately, naming the purpose in your own words. Fumigating a seal is the companion practice: passing it through incense smoke, to start a working, and for fumigating the tools and talismans that will be used in it. Both practices are mentioned in general incense and oil practice on this site, and both can be used with a seal, if your practice calls for them.

Buer also has a matching incense and a matching oil, both at $44 CAD, for spirit work and spellwork with Buer, made in small batches when you order. This article is about the seal, so it does not turn into a second article about oil or incense, but it is worth knowing that those companions exist, because a seal that is never anointed or fumigated, and is only worn as jewellery, is not being worked with in the same way as a seal that is prepared for a working and then carried.

Do not use a seal as a substitute for the rest of the working. Carrying a seal and then doing nothing else, with no petition, no attention, and no closing, is not spirit work. The seal supports the work, it does not replace 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, prepare the room and yourself, as above. Second, set out the seal, and any oil, incense, or candle you will use. Third, anoint or fumigate the seal, 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, in whatever way your practice requires, and put the seal 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 seal itself in that record: when you wore it, when you put it away, whether you anointed or fumigated it, and what you noticed on days when you carried it compared with days when you did not.

Care for a cast pendant

Care for a cast metal pendant is practical, not mystical, and it is worth stating plainly. Pure cast metal will show wear over time, especially if it is worn every day, against skin, against clothing, and against other objects. That wear is normal for a working tool, and it is not a sign that the seal has stopped working. It is a sign that it has been carried.

Keep the pendant in a clean, dry place when you are not wearing it, away from other metal objects that could scratch it. Clean it gently, with a soft cloth, and do not use harsh chemicals or abrasive cleaners on it, unless you know, for the specific metal involved, that such a cleaner is safe.

If the bail loosens, or if the pendant shows damage, stop wearing it until it can be repaired properly. A tool that is falling apart is a distraction in a working, and a safety risk if it can fall off unnoticed. That is a practical point, but it is also a working point: a tool you are worried about losing is a tool you cannot focus with.

Keeping a record, and knowing when to stop

Keep a short record for each working: date, purpose in one sentence, seal and any oil or 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.

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.

And remember the return favour in Athena's Buer wording. If Buer does help you, in her terms, do not forget to return the favour, by volunteering, by doing some healing yourself, or by a donation. That return is part of the working as she presents it, not an optional extra added afterwards.

#SealCarried #Pendant2Inches #LostWaxCast #CastSeal #TraditionalGoetia #Seal #Healing #Daemon #Goetia #Spirit