On Occult Philosophy

otherwise made manifest, so that he receives his deserved reward from the executioner. The same is to be understood of a thief; he steals, breaks in, and climbs, until the loop of the rope catches him and he is thus hanged in it. In the same way, it happens to a Nigromantico necromancer: he calls, conjures, tortures, and torments the spirits as long as God permits him with his curses. But now, when his hour is here and the time brings the roses, as the saying goes, he overlooks the danger, errs in the conjuration, and does not make the circle correctly, as they then often say: "You have erred in the conjuration, you have not made the circle right, you have not castigated yourself properly, or your Sigilla seals and pentacula pentacles/amulets are false; therefore, take your lashes." Thus he is paid with hard currency for what has been owed to him for a long time and should have been received long ago; he is then honestly finished off by the spirit, which gives him a mark that he must carry his whole life.