THEFURTHERINGINSTITUTEWHERE MUNDANE & ARCANE INFORMATION MEET

Second edition, revised and expanded · 2026

The Rites of One

A modern book of the works — the principles, the preparations, the squares, and the seventeen works, each with its own mark and its own words

By

Miguel Harvey

The members’ library of The Furthering Institute

A black leather book with a single gold mark on its cover, on dark velvet beside a candle

Second edition, revised and expanded · 2026 · The members’ library

The Rites of One

A modern book of the works — the principles, the preparations, the squares, and the seventeen works, each with its own mark and its own words

By Miguel Harvey · Published by The Furthering Institute

The institute’s working system, written out by Miguel Harvey and set out in full: the introduction to the practice, the principles it rests on, the preparation of the operator, the nine tools, the timing of a working, the magickal squares and seals given as plates, and seventeen works — each with a mark drawn for it, words written for it, and a definition of its own. It is written to be worked rather than admired, and it prints as a book.

A mark is not a lever. It is a place to put your attention, and a way of knowing later that you put it there.

Read the bookThe members’ room

The book prints from this page on any home printer: a fresh sheet for every chapter, for every mark and for every plate, on a cream page, with the title and the author line at the head of every sheet, and without the navigation or the footers. The practice editions in the members’ library are downloadable as files.

The Rites of One · By Miguel Harvey

Contents

  1. IAn introduction to magick and mystical practiceWhat this book means by magick, what it takes from the old books, and what it refuses to claim.
  2. IIThe principles and the theoryNine working assumptions, and the reasoning that holds them together.
  3. IIIThe preparation of the operatorSeven things done before any working in this book is begun.
  4. IVThe tools, materials and implementsNine things, all of them ordinary, none of them bought for show.
  5. VThe timing, the hours and the daysWhen a working is begun, how long it is kept, and when it is closed.
  6. VIThe names, the squares and the sealsHow a name is used, how a square is built, and the plates that go with this book.
  7. VIIThe worksSeventeen workings, each with its own mark, its own words and its own definition.
  8. VIIIThe squares and the sealsFive magickal squares and two seals, given as plates with their definitions.
  9. IXAppendices and reference tablesThe hour, the moon, the days, the plants, the stones, the ledger and the index of marks.

The works

Seventeen marks

  1. IThe Threshold and the Chord
  2. IIThe Lamp Kept Against the Dark
  3. IIIThe Striking Out
  4. IVThe Course of Stones
  5. VThe Two Triangles Undone
  6. VIThe Hand Laid Over
  7. VIIThe Road of the Increase
  8. VIIIThe Cup Held Open
  9. IXThe Key of Small Doors
  10. XThe Bar Lifted
  11. XIThe Two Vessels and the Single Line
  12. XIIThe Knot That Has No Entry
  13. XIIIThe Centre and the Line Out
  14. XIVThe Crescent of the Kept Nights
  15. XVThe Open Hand Over Water
  16. XVIThe Veil and the Falling Trace
  17. XVIIThe Returning Spiral

Read the first six chapters before you work anything. A reader who begins at the marks will find that nothing holds together — which is the correct experience, and a useful one.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey

Chapter I

An introduction to magick and mystical practice

What this book means by magick, what it takes from the old books, and what it refuses to claim.

Magick, as this book uses the word, is the deliberate arrangement of attention: a place chosen, an hour fixed, a mark drawn, a word said aloud, and an honest account kept of what was done. It is a craft before it is a belief. A person who keeps the hour and writes it down is working, whether or not they believe anything at all about the outcome — and a person who believes everything and keeps nothing is not.

This is the plainest statement the institute can make about the old arts, and it is where every student begins: the practice is a practice. It is done with the hands, at a table, at an hour, in a room. The room does not have to be beautiful, the tools do not have to be old, and the practitioner does not have to be certain of anything. What the work requires is that it be done the same way twice, and written down.

The book stands in a tradition and it says so. The Key of Solomon, the works attributed to Albertus Magus, the collection known as the Seventh Book of Moses, and the Abramelin material are the four great houses of the old working books, and every serious student should meet them at source, in their own words, in their own time. This book does not reprint them and does not paraphrase them. It takes from them the things they agree on — that a work is prepared before it is performed, that the hour is as much a part of the work as the words, that a mark is a record as much as it is a sign, and that a practitioner keeps their own counsel — and it sets them out in the institute's own order, with its own marks and its own definitions.

It is worth saying plainly what that means. The marks in this book are new. They were drawn for the institute, one for each work, and every one of them is defined here in full: what it is for, what it governs, how it is drawn, how it is charged, and how it is retired. The squares and the seals are given as plates, with their definitions. The words are the institute's own. Nothing here is a transcription, and no passage of any book still in copyright has been carried over. A student who wants the older systems should buy the older books, and will find them worth the trouble.

The book also refuses a claim that the old books often make and that the institute will not make for them: that a mark, a word or an hour causes a particular result in the physical world. We do not teach it and we do not deny it. What we teach is the method, and what the practitioner can be certain of is narrower and better than a promise: what they did, when they did it, how they said it, and where the record is. That certainty is the whole of what is offered here, and it is more than most people have.

A word on the word itself. The older books spelled it with a k to mark it out from stage conjuring, and this book keeps that spelling out of respect for the distinction, not for ornament. There is no audience in any of these pages. A work is done alone, at an hour, with the door shut, and it is spoken of to no one. That is not secrecy for its own sake. A working that is talked about becomes a performance, and a performance is measured by its reception instead of by its record.

Finally, a word to the reader who comes to this book out of curiosity rather than intention. Read it in order. The chapters are arranged the way a working is arranged — preparation before tools, tools before timing, timing before the works — and a reader who begins at the marks will find that nothing holds together. That is the correct experience and a useful one. Come back to the beginning and the marks will read as they were meant to: as the last and smallest part of a long, plain, patient practice.

  • 01Magick here means the deliberate arrangement of attention: place, hour, mark, word, record.
  • 02The book stands in the old tradition and is not a reprint of any part of it. Marks, words and arrangement are the institute's own.
  • 03The four houses it draws its manner from: the Key of Solomon, Albertus Magus, the Seventh Book of Moses, and the Abramelin material. Read those at source.
  • 04Nothing here claims to cause a particular result in the physical world. What is promised is the method and the record.
  • 05One practitioner, one hour, one mark. No audience, and nothing spoken of outside the room.
The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey

Chapter II

The principles and the theory

Nine working assumptions, and the reasoning that holds them together.

These are not articles of belief to be professed. They are working assumptions, and the whole of the practice is arranged around them. A practitioner who does not hold them will find that the book still works, provided the hours are kept — which is itself the first principle stated in another way.

The theory of the thing is a grammar rather than a physics. The old books describe a world in which everything answers to everything else: a plant to a planet, an hour to a name, a metal to a day. Read as physics, that is a claim nobody can check. Read as a grammar, it is a way of deciding what to put on a table and when to sit down at it, and it is a remarkably good one. It gives the practitioner a reason to choose rosemary over wormwood on a Tuesday, and the discipline of choosing deliberately is worth more to the work than the correctness of the choice. This is the honest reading, and the institute teaches it that way.

The hour is the unit of the practice. Not the day, not the week, not the season — the hour, kept whole, at the same time, in the same place, by the same person. A short hour kept is worth more than a long hour postponed, and a practitioner who keeps one hour a week for a year will have a practice, while one who plans an elaborate rite and never holds it will not. The whole system is built to make the hour small enough to keep.

A mark is a place to put attention and a record that attention was put there. It is drawn, it is charged, it is used, and it is retired. It is not a key that opens anything by itself; it is a knot in a thread that lets the practitioner find the same place again. That is why the book defines every mark in full rather than leaving it to be intuited, and why the ledger matters more than the mark does.

The record is kept honestly, and that includes failure. A working that produced nothing is written down exactly as plainly as one that produced something, with the same date, the same hour and the same words. A practice that only records its successes teaches nothing, because the only thing a practitioner can actually learn from is the difference between two hours that were kept the same way and ended differently. An honest ledger is the most valuable object in this system and the only one that cannot be bought.

Nothing is claimed of the world. The book states this once in each chapter because it is the thing most easily forgotten, and because a practitioner who forgets it will begin to work for outcomes rather than to keep the hour, and the practice will quietly die of it. The work is the hour. The record is the proof. Whatever else may or may not follow is not the institute's to promise.

And the last principle is the one that keeps the rest alive: the work is closed as carefully as it is opened. A practitioner who opens a working and does not close it is holding something open in the middle of their life, and after a season of that the room, the table and the hour all begin to feel like a debt. The closing returns the practitioner to the ordinary day, which is where the work was going the whole time.

  • 01Everything is prepared before it is performed. The preparation is the work; the performance is the record of it.
  • 02The hour is the unit — not the day, not the week. A short hour kept is worth more than a long hour postponed.
  • 03A mark is a place to put attention, and a record that attention was put there. It is not a lever.
  • 04A word said aloud in a still room carries further than a thought carried about all day.
  • 05The body is part of the instrument. It is washed, fed, rested and set down before the work begins.
  • 06Nothing is borrowed. A tool, a cloth, a bowl or a mark taken from another practitioner's hand carries their hours with it.
  • 07The work is closed as carefully as it is opened. The closing is not a formality; it is the return.
  • 08The record is kept honestly. A working that failed is written down as plainly as one that did not.
  • 09Nothing is claimed of the world. What is claimed is the hour, the mark and the record.
The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey

Chapter III

The preparation of the operator

Seven things done before any working in this book is begun.

The old books begin with the preparation of the operator and treat it at length, and this one follows them, because the preparation is where most practices are actually won or lost. None of the seven is difficult, none of them requires anything that cannot be found in an ordinary house, and all of them are repeated every time.

The operator is the instrument that matters most and the one most often neglected. A practitioner who is tired, angry, hungry or grieving will keep an hour that looks correct from the outside and holds nothing on the inside. The preparation does not remove those states — nothing does — but it sets them down at the door, which is all the work requires. A practitioner who cannot set them down should postpone the hour rather than keep it badly. The book treats a postponed hour as a kept one, provided the ledger says so.

The body is dealt with first and plainly. Sleep enough to be present, eat enough not to be distracted, and do not begin a working after drink. Wash the hands and the face in cold water and rinse the mouth: this is the first of the seven and it is done before anything else is touched, because it is the line drawn between the ordinary hour and this one. Practitioners who keep the line in this small physical way find the rest of the preparation easier, and those who skip it find that the hour never quite starts.

The room is next, and the rule is simple: a room cleared of everything that is not part of the working. No screen, no second book open, nothing waiting to be answered. A telephone in the room ends the hour — not because a telephone is profane but because a practitioner who is listening for it is not listening to anything else. If the room cannot be cleared, the work waits. This is not severity; it is arithmetic.

Then the hour, which is fixed and written down, and then kept at the same time of day for the whole season of the working. The hour is chosen for what the practitioner can actually keep, not for what sounds auspicious. Four in the morning is a fine hour for a person who is already awake at four, and a poor one for everybody else. The discipline is not in the hour chosen; it is in choosing one and holding it while the week goes on around it.

The breath settles the instrument. Four counts in, four held, six out, seven times. It is not meditation and it is not a trance and it is not meant to produce an experience. It is a way of arriving. A practitioner who has done it seven times is in the room; one who has not is still in the day.

The cup is set on the table and left untouched until the closing. It is not drunk during the work and it is not a libation. It is a plain marker of the fact that an hour has been opened and has not yet been closed, and it is poured away at the end for the same reason. The fast of speech runs from the beginning of the preparation to the closing: no speech except the words of the working itself. This is the hardest of the seven and the one that changes the most.

The seventh preparation is the closing itself, and it belongs on this list because it must be decided before the hour begins and not after it. The words of the closing are said in full, the cup is poured away, the lamp is put out, and the ledger is written up before anything else is done. A closing that is shortened, or left until tomorrow, is the single most common way a practice ends. The book asks the practitioner to promise the closing before the opening, every time.

  • 01The washing. Hands and face in cold water, and the mouth rinsed. It is done first because it marks the line between the ordinary hour and this one.
  • 02The plain room. A room cleared of everything that is not part of the working. If the room cannot be cleared, the work waits.
  • 03The hour. Fixed, written down, and kept at the same time of day for the whole season of the working.
  • 04The breath. Four counts in, four held, six out, seven times. It is not meditation and it is not a trance. It is the settling of the instrument.
  • 05The cup. Water in a plain cup, set on the table and left untouched until the closing. It is not drunk during the work.
  • 06The fast of speech. From the beginning of the preparation to the closing, no speech except the words of the working itself.
  • 07The closing. Decided before the hour begins: the words in full, the cup poured away, the lamp out, the ledger written up at once.
The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey

Chapter IV

The tools, materials and implements

Nine things, all of them ordinary, none of them bought for show.

The tools of this system are deliberately plain, and that is a decision rather than an economy. A practitioner who begins with a lamp, a cup, a dish of salt and a ruled book has everything the book requires, and will be working within the week instead of saving for a year. Every one of the nine is kept for this work alone, stored together when the hour is over, and never lent.

The old books name their instruments elaborately and instruct that they be made at particular times by particular hands. This book keeps the discipline of keeping a separate set of things and drops the rest. What matters is not that a tool is rare but that it is yours, that it is kept apart, and that it is the same tool every time. A knife that is used to open parcels is not a working tool; a knife that is taken out of a cloth on the table is, whatever it cost.

Nothing is borrowed and nothing is taken from another practitioner's hand. A tool carries the hours that have been kept with it, and a borrowed tool carries somebody else's. This is the one prohibition in the whole system and it is kept without exception. If a tool is missing, the work is postponed or the substitute named in the ledger; it is never improvised from another person's kit.

The materials are the working shelf: one dried plant per work, chosen from the institute's apothecary; one stone, chosen by the hand rather than by the entry; salt; water; a dark undyed cloth; a plain iron nail or blade kept wrapped; and a lamp. The book names a plant and a stone for every work in the section that follows, and the practitioner who has none of them may still keep the hour with the lamp, the cup and the ledger, and note in the ledger what was left out.

The cloth is washed between workings. The salt is returned to the ground out of doors at every closing. The plant is burned or buried and never kept from one working to the next. The iron is wrapped again and put away. The lamp is the first tool out and the last tool put away, and the putting out of it is the last act of every working in this book.

The ninth tool is the ledger, and it is the only one that is written on and the only one that outlives the working. Paper, ruled by hand, one page per working, with the date it was begun, the hour kept, the words said, and the date it was closed. A machine may be used for nothing in this system that the ledger holds. The ledger is where the practice actually lives, and a practitioner who loses it has lost the work itself, not a record of it.

  • 01The lamp. A single light, oil or wax, lit at the opening and put out at the closing. The first tool and the last.
  • 02The cup. Water, for the setting of the hour and the washing of the hands. Emptied at every closing.
  • 03The dish of salt. Dry salt in a shallow dish, for the marking of a boundary on a table or a threshold. Returned to the ground outdoors when a working is closed.
  • 04The cloth. One cloth, dark and undyed, folded and kept for the working surface. Washed between workings.
  • 05The iron. A plain iron nail or blade, kept wrapped in cloth, used for the cutting and the closing of a line.
  • 06The bowl. For the sounding, where a working calls for sound: a struck bowl, a drum, or the hand on wood.
  • 07The plant. A single dried herb for the work, chosen from the institute's shelves. One plant, not a mixture.
  • 08The stone. A single stone, chosen by the hand rather than by the card, kept for the whole season of the working and cleansed before and after.
  • 09The ledger. Paper, ruled by hand, one page per working. The only tool that is written on, and the only one that outlives the working.
The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey

Chapter V

The timing, the hours and the days

When a working is begun, how long it is kept, and when it is closed.

The old books time a working by the moon, by the planet of the hour, by the day of the week and by the season of the year. This system keeps that discipline in a plainer form, because a practitioner who cannot keep the calendar of a planet will keep no calendar at all. What follows is the whole of the timing this book asks for, and it can be held in the head.

The hour of the day is fixed first and does not move. This is the only timing rule with no exceptions. The hour is chosen for what can be kept, written in the ledger, and held at the same time for the whole season of the working. Where a working must be begun at sunrise, the book says so; where it must be begun at the hour before dawn, the book says so. Everywhere else, the practitioner's own hour stands.

The moon sets the beginning and the closing of a working. The works of clearing, striking out, uncrossing and concealment are begun in the dark of the moon and closed at the full. The works of drawing, healing, increase, agreement and keeping are begun at the full and closed at the dark. A working is closed on the corresponding phase of the moon on which it was begun, and never carried through a second month without being renewed deliberately, in the ledger, on the page.

The days of the week have traditional characters, and the book keeps them because they are a good habit rather than because they are a law. Monday for the water works, Tuesday for the works of iron and of striking out, Wednesday for the works of the mind and the address, Thursday for the works of increase, Friday for the works of drawing and of the heart, Saturday for the works of the boundary and of the house, and Sunday for the works of light and of the closing. A practitioner who keeps the hour on the wrong day keeps it anyway, and notes the day in the ledger.

The season sets how long a working is kept. The works of the threshold and of clearing are kept for one month. The works of the ledger, the road, the knot and the agreement are kept for three. The work of the lamp and the work of the house are kept for a year, renewed at the same phase. And every working in this book is kept for its stated term and then closed, because a working left standing is the one thing this system genuinely calls a fault.

A closing that is missed is done at the next phase and the ledger says plainly that it was late. Nothing in this book is spoiled by an honest late closing, and nothing in it is saved by a false one. If a season of work has been abandoned entirely — and it will be, at some point, by every practitioner — the practitioner begins again at the first work, the lamp, rather than trying to resume where they stopped. That is what the first work is for.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey

Chapter VI

The names, the squares and the seals

How a name is used, how a square is built, and the plates that go with this book.

Every working book in the tradition carries names, and most of them carry the same ones: the long strings of letters that are said over a mark, the names of the hours, the names of the directions, and the names that are written into the squares. This book does not print them. Not because they are secret, but because they belong to the books that hold them, and a practitioner who takes a name from a page without the book around it is holding a word with no house to live in. The older systems should be met at source. What this book teaches instead is how a name is used, so that a practitioner who does meet the older systems can work with them.

A name, in this practice, is an address. It fixes who or what is being spoken to, in the way that a street and a number fix a house. That is the whole of its function. The practitioner writes it in the ledger, says it aloud once, and does not repeat it. A name repeated is a name worried at, and a practitioner worrying at a name has stopped working and started pleading. Say it once, plainly, and then keep the hour.

Where this book needs a name it uses its own: the names of the seventeen works, and the name of the person the work is done for or the matter it concerns, written in the practitioner's own hand. That is sufficient. The institute holds that a work kept carefully with plain words is worth more than a work performed with an elaborate address the practitioner does not understand, and it has never seen anything in a decade of teaching to contradict that.

The magickal square is the other half of this chapter, and it is the most useful object in the book. A square is a ruled grid of numbers in which every row, every column and both diagonals sum alike. That single property is what makes it a square rather than a table, and the property is not mysterious — it can be checked with a pencil in a minute, by anybody. What the tradition has always done with the square is write it: on paper carried on the person, on the underside of a dish set on the table, on the first page of a ledger, or in the dish of salt for the works of the boundary. A square is written, not spoken.

A practitioner builds a square by hand, and building one is worth an evening. Choose the size: four for the works of a person, five for the works of a place or a season. Write the numbers from one to sixteen, or one to twenty-five, in order, in a ruled grid. Then hold the grid still and turn the diagonals end for end — the corner numbers exchange with the corner numbers, the middle of each edge with the middle of the opposite edge. What comes out of that reversal is a square, and the practitioner has made it, which is the point. The plates given in the chapter that follows are models and examples of the finished article, not objects to be copied out and carried without understanding them.

The seals are the small closed figures given at the end of the plates: a circle with one bar through it, and a square with a circle at each corner and one at its centre. The first is the seal of the boundary and is set at the foot of a page where a term has been set, or pressed into the salt at the notch. The second is the seal of the house and is set on the first page of the ledger of a place, or drawn small on the underside of the table where the work is kept. Both are defined in full in the plates that follow, with the rest of the squares.

A last word on the marks of the works themselves. Each of the seventeen works carries its own mark, given in full in the chapter that follows, and the method of drawing a new one is taught there so that a member may extend the system in their own hand. The marks are used in four places and no others: drawn small in the ledger beside the page of the working; drawn in the air with the finger at the opening; set in wax or ink on the cloth or the jar; and set in the dish of salt for the works of the boundary. A mark is never written on a person and never given away. A mark is retired when its working is closed: the paper it was drawn on is burned over the dish, the ash returned to the ground outdoors, and the page closed with the date and the word closed.

The works

The seventeen workings

Each work is given in full: what it is for, what is done before the first hour, when it is begun and closed, what stands on the table, the working itself written out step by step, the words to be said, and the mark with its definition. A work is begun, kept for its season, and closed — never left standing, and never two at once.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
A thin circle crossed by a single straight chord, with a small square notch sitting on the chord

The mark of this work

Work I

The Threshold and the Chord

What it is for

The setting of a term: a room given to one matter, a month held for a decision, a boundary around a piece of work. It is the plainest of the works, the one every other work stands inside, and the one to learn first after the lamp.

The preparation

The room cleared and the cloth laid. The term written out in one sentence in the ledger before the hour begins, with the date it will be lifted. The dish of salt, the wrapped iron, and one dried plant of the boundary set to the right of the dish.

The timing

Begun in the dark of the moon at the practitioner's fixed hour, kept at that hour each evening of the term, and lifted on the corresponding phase. Never carried through a second moon. Kept for one month.

The materials

Dish of salt, wrapped iron, dark cloth, one lamp, one dried plant of the boundary — rue, rosemary or wormwood — and the ledger.

The working

  1. 01Clear the room and lay the cloth on the table. Set the lamp at the far edge and light it.
  2. 02Draw the circle in the salt with the finger, working sunwise, in one pass and without lifting the hand.
  3. 03Set the chord across the circle with the iron, from the left of the circle to the right, and press it into the salt.
  4. 04Set the notch at the point where the practitioner will enter and leave: a small square, pressed into the salt with the thumb.
  5. 05Say the words of the setting once, standing outside the circle and facing it.
  6. 06Step in through the notch. Do the work the term was set for, if there is work in that hour. If there is not, keep the hour in silence.
  7. 07Leave by the notch. Put out the lamp. Write the date in the ledger, and nothing else.

The words

  • Here I set the term.
  • This far, and until this hour.
  • What stands inside stands.
  • What stands outside waits at the notch.
  • When the moon has turned, I lift it.

The mark and its definition

The circle is the place and the chord is the term laid across it. The notch is the door, and its smallness is the whole teaching: a boundary with a door in it is a boundary a person can live inside. The mark is drawn in one pass from the top, sunwise, with the chord added last and the notch set after it. It is charged by being drawn three times in the ledger before the first hour and then not drawn again until the closing, when it is drawn once more and the page closed.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
A tall lantern form drawn in a single fine line, with one straight ray rising from the top

The mark of this work

Work II

The Lamp Kept Against the Dark

What it is for

Protection: for a person, a household, a journey, or a season of difficulty. It is a work of keeping rather than of striking, and it is kept for as long as the danger is felt and one hour longer.

The preparation

The lamp, the dish of salt, the wrapped iron, and a bundle of rosemary or bay. The name of what is being protected written in the ledger in one line, and beneath it the plainest statement of what is feared, also in one line.

The timing

Begun at sunset on the first evening the practitioner can keep it. Kept every evening at that hour for seven nights, then once a week until it is closed. Closed at the full moon, with the lamp put out and the salt returned to the ground.

The materials

One lamp, one dish of salt, wrapped iron, a bundle of rosemary or bay, the cup, and the ledger.

The working

  1. 01Wash the hands and set the cup. Light the lamp and place it at the center of the cloth.
  2. 02Set the dish of salt to the left of the lamp and draw a single line of salt from the dish to the threshold of the room.
  3. 03Lay the bundle of rosemary beside the dish, and the wrapped iron across the line of salt.
  4. 04Say the words once, standing, with the hands open at the sides.
  5. 05Sit with the lamp for the length of the hour. If there is nothing to do, do nothing. Do not read, and do not speak.
  6. 06At the end of the hour, say the last line of the words and put out the lamp. Leave the salt in place until the morning.
  7. 07Write the date in the ledger. On the seventh night, and on the closing night, write the whole of the words out as well.

The words

  • The lamp is lit and the dark is outside it.
  • What is mine stays mine.
  • What is not mine keeps to its own road.
  • I do not call, and I do not answer.
  • The hour is kept, and the light is out.

The mark and its definition

The lantern is the household and the ray is what is kept alight in it. The mark is drawn with the ray rising and never falling, because light that goes up is a light that is not thrown at anybody. It governs the seven nights and the weekly keeping after them. It is used on the cloth, drawn small in the ledger, and drawn once in the air at the threshold on the seventh night. It is retired by burning the paper it was drawn on and returning the ash to the ground with the salt.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
One long diagonal line crossed by two shorter diagonals, with three small dots beneath its lower end

The mark of this work

Work III

The Striking Out

What it is for

Banishing and cleansing: the clearing of a room, a person or a season of what has settled in it. It is used before every other work and after every difficult one, and it is the work a practitioner will use most often in a lifetime.

The preparation

The windows opened, the room swept, and the sweepings carried out of doors before anything else is done. The dish of salt, the wrapped iron, the bowl for sounding, and a bundle of the cleansing plant.

The timing

Kept in daylight, on a dry day, or in the first hour after sunrise. Never begun after dark, because this is a work of clearing and the clearing is done while the light is going up. Kept once, and repeated only when the room has been used again.

The materials

Dish of salt, wrapped iron, the bowl for sounding, a bundle of juniper, rosemary or dried stems, the cup, and the ledger.

The working

  1. 01Sweep the room from the farthest corner to the door, and carry the sweepings out of doors at once.
  2. 02Open the windows. Strike the bowl once and let the sound die completely before anything else is done.
  3. 03Light the bundle and carry the smoke from the farthest corner of the room to the door, working steadily and without hurrying.
  4. 04Set a line of salt across the threshold and leave it there for the day.
  5. 05Stand at the door with the iron in the right hand and say the words.
  6. 06Wash the hands in cold water, pour the cup away out of doors, and put the iron back in its cloth.
  7. 07Write the date and the room in the ledger. If the work was done for a person rather than a place, write their name instead.

The words

  • What was said here is said.
  • What was done here is done.
  • I strike it out, and the line stays struck.
  • Three things remain: the floor, the light, and the hour.

The mark and its definition

The long diagonal is the matter as it stood; the two short lines are the strikes drawn through it; the three dots beneath are what is left when the strikes are done — the floor, the light, the hour. The mark is drawn quickly, and it is meant to be. It governs the sweeping, the smoke and the line of salt. It is used on the threshold, drawn once in the air over the sweepings, and drawn small in the ledger. It is retired the same day it is used, with the paper burned out of doors.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
A hand-ruled plate showing a lantern above a course of stones laid in a row

The mark of this work

Work IV

The Course of Stones

What it is for

A work for a place that must hold: a home, a shop, a working room, a piece of ground. It is set once and renewed once a year, and it is the work that makes every other work in that place easier to keep.

The preparation

The four corners of the place walked and named aloud, in order, before anything is set. Salt in the dish, water in the cup, and a stone chosen by the hand — a plain one, kept for the house and for nothing else.

The timing

Begun at the new moon, in daylight, and renewed at the same phase the following year. The renewal is the same working done again, with the same stone, and it is written on the same page of the ledger.

The materials

Dish of salt, the cup, the house stone, the wrapped iron, one dried plant of the keeping work — bay or rosemary — and the ledger.

The working

  1. 01Walk the four corners of the place, naming each aloud in the practitioner's own words. Do this before anything is set down.
  2. 02Set a pinch of salt at each of the four corners, walking the same route in the same order.
  3. 03Set the house stone in the middle of the principal room, and the plant beside it.
  4. 04Stand at the threshold, facing in. Draw the course of stones in the air with the right hand, working from the ground upward.
  5. 05Say the words at the threshold, facing in, once. Then close the door and keep the hour in silence.
  6. 06Return the stone to where it is kept. Wash the hands. Sweep the salt from the corners and return it to the ground out of doors.
  7. 07Write the date, the address in one line, and the word set in the ledger.

The words

  • Nine stones and a light above them.
  • This place holds.
  • What comes in peace stays in peace.
  • What comes otherwise finds the wall.

The mark and its definition

The stones are the course laid one by one and the lantern above them is the house lit from within. The mark is drawn from the bottom up, because a house is built that way, and the lantern is drawn last. It governs the four corners, the threshold and the house stone. It is used at the threshold in the air, in the ledger, and once a year on the renewal. It is retired only if the practitioner leaves the place, and then the paper is burned and the ash scattered on the ground at the door.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
Two overlapping triangles crossed by a single horizontal bar

The mark of this work

Work V

The Two Triangles Undone

What it is for

Uncrossing and reversal: for a matter that has gone crossed, a run of difficulty that will not break, or a thing done against the practitioner. It undoes the crossing. It does not return it, and it is never worked against a named person.

The preparation

The two triangles drawn on the cloth in salt, one above the other and overlapping. The crossed matter written beneath the lower triangle in one line, without excuse and without naming anyone.

The timing

Begun in the dark of the moon and kept for one month at the fixed hour, one line added to the ledger each evening. Closed at the full moon with the bar drawn across both triangles.

The materials

Dish of salt, wrapped iron, dark cloth, one dried plant of the uncrossing work — hyssop, rue or agrimony — and the ledger.

The working

  1. 01Draw the upper triangle in the salt with the finger, then the lower one, so that the two overlap.
  2. 02Write the crossed matter beneath the lower triangle on a slip of paper and set it under the dish.
  3. 03Each evening of the month, add one line to the ledger naming where the crossing showed itself that day. Do not interpret it and do not argue with it.
  4. 04On the closing evening, draw the bar across both triangles with the iron and press hard enough to move the salt.
  5. 05Sweep the salt from the center outward to the edges of the cloth, and gather it with the paper.
  6. 06Carry both out of doors and return them to the ground. Say the closing line with the back turned.
  7. 07Write the word closed in the ledger and the date, and begin nothing new for three days.

The words

  • It was crossed.
  • I do not cross it back.
  • The line is drawn, and the two are one, and the one is nothing.
  • It goes out with the salt.

The mark and its definition

The two triangles are the matter crossed over itself, drawn so that they overlap, because no crossing is ever made of two clean opposites. The bar is the line drawn across both: it does not reverse the crossing, it ends it. The mark is read as a thing finished rather than a thing repaid. It governs the month of lines and the closing. It is used on the cloth, in the ledger, and once in the air over the sweepings at the closing.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
An open hand reduced to straight lines, palm down, hovering above a small square

The mark of this work

Work VI

The Hand Laid Over

What it is for

Healing and health: for a person who is unwell, and for the practitioner's own body when it is worn. It is worked alongside whatever a physician has ordered and never instead of it, and the institute says that plainly.

The preparation

Hands washed and warmed. The square drawn on the cloth and the name of the person written inside it and covered with the hand before the hour begins. One plant of the healing work set beside the square.

The timing

Kept at the hour of waking or the hour of sleep, whichever the person can actually keep, on three consecutive days. Renewed only if asked, and never kept standing past the ninth day without a fresh asking.

The materials

Dark cloth, the cup of water, one dried plant of the healing work — yarrow, calendula or plantain — the lamp, and the ledger.

The working

  1. 01Set the square on the cloth and write the name inside it. Cover it with the palm and leave it covered.
  2. 02Set the plant beside the square and the cup at the head of the cloth. Light the lamp.
  3. 03Wash and warm the hands, and dry them on the cloth kept for the work.
  4. 04Lay the open hand over the square, palm down, without touching it. Hold for the length of nine slow breaths.
  5. 05Draw the hand once in the air over the person, or over the part of the body that is unwell, from the head downward. Do this once and do not repeat it in the hour.
  6. 06Say the words, then put out the lamp, wash the cloth and the hands, and pour the cup away.
  7. 07Write the name, the day and one line on what changed, or that nothing changed. Nothing changed is written as plainly as anything else.

The words

  • The hand is open and the hand is empty.
  • What is asked for is asked plainly.
  • The body knows its own work.
  • I add only the hour.

The mark and its definition

The square is the work and the hand is drawn open above it, not closed on it. The mark teaches the whole of the matter: the hand is offered, and what is healed is not the practitioner's to hold. It governs the three days and the ninth. It is used on the cloth, over the person in the air, and drawn small in the ledger beside the name. It is retired at the closing by burning the paper and washing the cloth.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
A zigzag line of sharp angles running between a small dot on the left and a small circle on the right

The mark of this work

Work VII

The Road of the Increase

What it is for

Prosperity and abundance: for a long matter of increase — a trade growing, a debt being paid down, a household being set on firmer ground. It is a work of the count, drawn as a road rather than as a shape.

The preparation

The distance stated in weeks and written in the ledger before the mark is drawn. The road drawn once, at full length, with the dot set at the beginning and the circle at the end. A coin or a key kept on the person for the whole term.

The timing

Begun in the first hour after sunrise on the first day of the month. One angle added to the road each week. Closed when the circle is reached, or at the year's end if it is not, and the ledger says which.

The materials

Ledger, pen, a coin or a key carried on the person, one dried plant of the increase work — bay, cinnamon or alfalfa — and the wrapped iron.

The working

  1. 01Write the distance in weeks in the ledger, in one line, and the date the road was begun.
  2. 02Draw the road once at full length, the dot at the beginning and the circle at the end, without lifting the pen.
  3. 03Say the words once, standing, with the coin or key in the closed right hand.
  4. 04Each week, add one angle to the road, in the same hand and at the same size, and write one line on what the week brought.
  5. 05Carry the coin or key for the whole term. It is not spent, given away or lent.
  6. 06When the circle is reached, draw it in fully and close the page. Say the last line and put the coin or key away.
  7. 07Copy the finished road into the front of the ledger, where it stays.

The words

  • The road is not straight and I am not sorry for it.
  • One angle a week, and the week is kept.
  • I count what comes and I do not count what does not.
  • The circle is at the end and it is not today.

The mark and its definition

The zigzag is the road, the dot is the day it began, and the circle is the matter finished. It is the only mark in this book that grows, and it is drawn slowly on purpose. It governs the weekly angle and the closing. It is used in the ledger, on the coin or key if the practitioner wishes, and once in the air over the road at the closing. It is retired when the page is closed, and the finished road is copied forward rather than burned.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
A wide shallow cup with one straight line descending into it from above

The mark of this work

Work VIII

The Cup Held Open

What it is for

Love and attraction: for drawing a person, a place or a situation toward the practitioner — an introduction, a reconciliation, a meeting that has been waited for. It is a work of invitation and it is never worked on a named person against their will.

The preparation

The asking written out once in the ledger, plainly and without ornament. The cup set on the cloth with water in it, and the plant of the drawing work set to its right.

The timing

Begun at the full moon and kept at the same evening hour for one month. Closed at the dark of the moon, with the water poured away and the cup dried.

The materials

The cup, water, dark cloth, one dried plant of the drawing work — rose, jasmine or vervain — the lamp, and the ledger.

The working

  1. 01Set the cup on the cloth with water in it, and the plant beside it. Light the lamp.
  2. 02Draw the descending line in the air above the cup with the finger, from above the water down to its surface, once.
  3. 03Say the words, standing, with both hands open at the sides. Say the asking once and in full.
  4. 04Sit with the cup for the length of the hour. Do nothing further. Do not repeat the asking, and do not look into the water.
  5. 05At the end of the hour, say the last line and put out the lamp. Leave the cup where it stands until the morning.
  6. 06Each evening of the month, keep the hour in the same way and write one line in the ledger. Write nothing about the person.
  7. 07At the closing, pour the water away out of doors, dry the cup, and write the word closed.

The words

  • The cup is open and the line comes down into it.
  • I ask plainly and I do not close my hand.
  • What comes, comes of its own wish.
  • What does not come was not mine.

The mark and its definition

The cup is the asking and the descending line is what is asked for, given up rather than held. The mark is drawn open at the top, because a closed cup is a demand. It governs the month of evenings and the closing at the dark. It is used on the cloth, in the ledger, and drawn once in the air above the water at the opening. It is retired by drying the cup and closing the page; the paper is not burned, because an asking is not a thing to be destroyed.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
An angular key-like form drawn in one line: a vertical stem with three descending teeth and a looped head

The mark of this work

Work IX

The Key of Small Doors

What it is for

Influence and favour: for a way that has closed — an unanswered letter, a door that was shut too quickly, a person whose favour is needed and cannot be commanded. It is the work of approach, not of force.

The preparation

The mark drawn on paper, and beside each of the three teeth one plain, ordinary action the practitioner will actually take. The paper folded and carried on the person for the three days.

The timing

Kept in the first hour after sunrise, three mornings running. The three actions are carried out within the week, or the work is not begun again.

The materials

Paper, pen, the folded paper carried on the person, one dried plant of the favouring work — bay, cinnamon or lemon balm — and the wrapped iron.

The working

  1. 01Draw the mark on the paper, at the top, in one hand and without hesitation.
  2. 02Write one action beside each of the three teeth. Each must be something the practitioner can do that week without asking anyone's permission.
  3. 03Say the words once, standing, holding the paper at the bottom edge.
  4. 04Fold the paper three times and carry it on the person for three days.
  5. 05Each morning, take it out, read the three actions aloud once, and put it away again.
  6. 06On the third evening, burn the paper over the dish and return the ash to the ground out of doors.
  7. 07Write the three actions and the dates they were done in the ledger. Write what came of them, or that nothing came.

The words

  • I do not force the door.
  • I bring three keys and one of them will turn.
  • I come plainly, and I come once.
  • If it stays shut, it was not the door.

The mark and its definition

The looped head is the practitioner, the stem is the approach, and the three teeth are three ways in. A key with one tooth is a demand; this mark has three, and that is the whole of its teaching. It governs the three mornings and the three actions. It is used on the paper, in the ledger, and once in the air over the folded paper on the third morning. It is retired by burning the paper, and the three actions outlive it in the ledger.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
A hand-ruled plate showing a doorway of two uprights and a lintel with a bar lifted above the opening, and a sheaf of stems beside it

The mark of this work

Work X

The Bar Lifted

What it is for

The opened way: for a matter already in motion that has stopped — a document held, an application stalled, a decision that has been waited on past its season. It lifts the bar. It does not open a new door.

The preparation

The doorway drawn on the cloth and the bar drawn above the opening, in salt. The stalled matter written on a slip of paper and set inside the frame. Three dried stems tied at the middle and laid beside it.

The timing

Kept on the day the practitioner learns the matter has stalled, at whatever hour can be kept, and once only. If the way does not open, the work is not repeated: the ledger records it and the matter is left.

The materials

Dark cloth, salt, the wrapped iron, a slip of paper, three dried stems tied at the middle, and the ledger.

The working

  1. 01Draw the doorway on the cloth in salt: two uprights and a lintel, the opening left clear.
  2. 02Draw the bar in the salt above the opening, resting on the two uprights.
  3. 03Set the slip of paper inside the frame, face up, with the matter written in one line.
  4. 04Say the words once, standing, with the wrapped iron held across the palms.
  5. 05Lift the bar with the iron, in one movement, and set it down to the right of the frame.
  6. 06Lay the tied stems across the threshold of the drawing, and leave the whole of it standing until the morning.
  7. 07In the morning, gather the salt and the paper and return them to the ground out of doors. Write the date and the word lifted.

The words

  • The door is not locked; the bar is on it.
  • I lift the bar and I do not push.
  • What was waiting was waiting for this.
  • It goes now or it does not, and either way the hour is kept.

The mark and its definition

The frame is the doorway, the bar lifted above it is what was in the way, and the sheaf beside it is what is carried through once the way is open. The mark is drawn with the bar raised and never removed, because a way opened by taking the door off its hinges is not a way anyone can walk through twice. It governs the single keeping and the lifting. It is used on the cloth, in the air over the doorway at the lifting, and in the ledger.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
A hand-ruled plate showing two shallow vessels, one above the other, joined by a single curving line

The mark of this work

Work XI

The Two Vessels and the Single Line

What it is for

Agreement: for two people who must come to the same table — partners, siblings, a buyer and a seller, a household divided. It is a work of agreement and not of victory, and it is never worked to bring one party round.

The preparation

Two shallow vessels set one above the other on the cloth, water in the upper and nothing in the lower. The two names written in the ledger on facing lines, with the matter between them in one line.

The timing

Begun at the full moon and kept at the same hour for nine evenings. Closed on the ninth with the water poured away and the vessels dried and put apart.

The materials

Two plain vessels, water, dark cloth, one dried plant of the agreement work — sage or lavender — the lamp, and the ledger.

The working

  1. 01Set the two vessels on the cloth, one above the other, and fill only the upper one with water.
  2. 02Set the plant between them and light the lamp.
  3. 03Draw the single curving line in the air from the rim of the upper vessel to the rim of the lower, touching both and closing neither.
  4. 04Say the words once, standing, with a hand resting lightly on each vessel.
  5. 05Keep the hour in silence. On each of the nine evenings, write one line in the ledger on where the two parties actually stand.
  6. 06On the ninth evening, pour the water away out of doors, dry both vessels, and set them apart from one another.
  7. 07Write the word closed and the date. If no agreement was reached, write that, and begin nothing else for a week.

The words

  • Two vessels and one line between them.
  • I do not pour into the other's cup and I do not empty my own.
  • What is between us is the line, and the line holds.
  • Let the ninth evening find it still holding.

The mark and its definition

The two vessels are the two parties and the single curving line is what passes between them, touching both and closing neither. The mark is drawn so that neither vessel stands above the other, which is why the upper one is never drawn larger. It governs the nine evenings and the closing. It is used on the cloth, in the ledger on the facing lines, and once in the air between the vessels at the opening.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
A dense, symmetrical knot of straight strokes forming no letter of any alphabet

The mark of this work

Work XII

The Knot That Has No Entry

What it is for

Binding and commanding: the holding of a thing to its own course — a habit that must be kept, an agreement that must hold, a word that must stand. It is never used to take the will from another person, and the institute does not teach it for that.

The preparation

The knot drawn on paper, and the matter written beneath it in three words and no more. The paper folded twice and tied with a single thread, and the thread knotted once only.

The timing

Kept once, on the evening the binding is made, at the fixed hour. Renewed only if the matter is spoken of again by someone else, and then renewed deliberately and written as a renewal.

The materials

Paper, pen, one thread, wrapped iron, one dried plant of the binding work — wormwood, rosemary or nettle — and the ledger.

The working

  1. 01Draw the knot on the paper, working outward from the center so that no single line can be followed through it.
  2. 02Write the matter beneath it in three words and no more.
  3. 03Say the words once, holding the paper at the top edge and the iron in the other hand.
  4. 04Fold the paper twice, tie it with the single thread, and knot the thread once.
  5. 05Lay it in the ledger, between the pages, at the page of the working. It stays there for as long as the binding must hold.
  6. 06When the matter is finished, cut the thread, burn the paper over the dish, and return the ash to the ground out of doors.
  7. 07Write the date it was tied and the date it was cut, and the word closed.

The words

  • What is bound here is bound to its own word.
  • I do not bind the will of another.
  • The knot has no entry, and it holds.
  • When the thread is cut, the binding is finished and the paper burns.

The mark and its definition

The knot is drawn dense and symmetrical so that no single line can be followed through it from the outside. That is the teaching: a thing properly bound has no entry point for anyone else. It governs the term of the binding. It is used on the paper, in the ledger beside the tied page, and once in the air over the paper before it is folded. It is retired when the thread is cut.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
A hexagon with a single dot at its centre and one short line leaving the top edge

The mark of this work

Work XIII

The Centre and the Line Out

What it is for

Divination and scrying: for an answer that will not come by thinking — a choice between two goods, a matter that has gone quiet, a question carried too long. It is a work of looking, not of asking twice.

The preparation

The room darkened but for one lamp. The bowl of water or the black mirror set on the cloth, and the question written in one line on a slip of paper and folded face down beneath the dish.

The timing

Kept in the first hour after sunset, on the night of the full moon or the night after it, and never more than once in a month on the same question. Kept once and closed the same night.

The materials

The lamp, a dark bowl of water or a black mirror, dark cloth, one dried plant of the seeing work — mugwort, yarrow or wormwood — and the ledger.

The working

  1. 01Darken the room but for the lamp, and set the bowl or the mirror on the cloth.
  2. 02Write the question in one line, fold the paper, and set it face down beneath the dish.
  3. 03Say the first two lines of the words, standing, with the hands at the sides.
  4. 04Sit and look into the water or the mirror for the length of the hour. Do not stare and do not blink it away. If nothing comes, look for the whole of the hour and then stop.
  5. 05Say the last two lines, and put out the lamp before anything else is written.
  6. 06Write in the ledger the question, the hour, and what was seen or that nothing was seen. Write it plainly and add nothing to it.
  7. 07Burn the folded question over the dish and return the ash to the ground out of doors. Close the page the same night.

The words

  • The centre is still and I do not move it.
  • I have asked once and I will not ask again.
  • What is shown, I will take as it is shown.
  • What is not shown, I will do without.

The mark and its definition

The hexagon is the still field, the dot at its centre is the practitioner's attention, and the single line leaving the top is what goes out from it. The mark is drawn open at one point, because a closed field shows nothing. It governs the single keeping and the closing on the same night. It is used on the cloth, in the ledger beside the question, and once in the air above the water at the opening. It is retired the same night with the folded question.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
A crescent moon with short tick marks spaced along its outer curve

The mark of this work

Work XIV

The Crescent of the Kept Nights

What it is for

Dream work and visions: asking a question of the night, holding an intention through the hours that are not kept consciously, and remembering what comes. It is the only work in this book that is kept while asleep.

The preparation

The question or the intention written in one line before sleep. The ledger set open by the bed with the pen laid across it, and the plant of the night work in a small dish beside it.

The timing

Begun at the full moon and kept for one month of nights, one tick drawn each morning that a dream is remembered. Closed at the dark of the moon, with the crescent drawn whole and the blank nights counted.

The materials

Ledger, pen, a small dish of the plant of the night work — mugwort, lavender or chamomile — one stone kept under the pillow for the term, and the lamp.

The working

  1. 01Before sleep, write the question in one line in the ledger and set the pen across the page.
  2. 02Set the dish of the plant beside the ledger and the stone under the pillow.
  3. 03Say the first two lines of the words with the lamp still lit, then put the lamp out.
  4. 04In the morning, before speaking to anyone, write whatever was remembered. If nothing was remembered, draw nothing and leave the night blank.
  5. 05Each morning that something was remembered, draw one tick on the crescent, at the same size as the others.
  6. 06At the dark of the moon, draw the crescent whole, count the blank nights aloud once, and read the month through.
  7. 07Close the page with the date, and take the stone out from under the pillow and cleanse it.

The words

  • The night is kept as well as the hour.
  • I ask once, and I sleep.
  • What comes, I write before I speak to anyone.
  • The nights I miss are left blank.

The mark and its definition

The crescent is the month and the ticks are the nights actually kept. The mark is a true record, and it is meant to show its gaps. It governs the month of nights and the closing. It is used in the ledger beside the bed, and once in the air over the pillow at the opening. It is retired at the dark of the moon, and the page is closed rather than burned, because the month is a record and not a thing to be destroyed.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
A hand-ruled plate showing an open hand held above three waves of water

The mark of this work

Work XV

The Open Hand Over Water

What it is for

Spirit contact and communion: the work of address — the naming of a person who has died, a teacher, an ancestor, or a presence a place is known for. It is a work of speaking and waiting, and it makes no demands of anyone.

The preparation

A bowl of clean water set on the cloth, and nothing else on the table but the lamp and the plant. The hand washed and dried. The name written in the ledger with the reason for the address in one line.

The timing

Kept at the hour before dawn, in a room with the window open, on one morning only, and repeated no more than four times in a year for the same name. Never on a night the practitioner has not slept.

The materials

A bowl of clean water, dark cloth, the lamp, one dried plant of the address — rosemary, mugwort or elderflower — and the ledger.

The working

  1. 01Open the window before the hour and set the bowl of water on the cloth.
  2. 02Write the name and the reason in the ledger, in one line each.
  3. 03Say the first two lines of the words with the right hand held open above the water, palm down.
  4. 04Say the name once. Say it plainly and do not repeat it.
  5. 05Sit with the open hand over the water for the length of the hour, and ask nothing. If something is felt or heard, write it down afterward and do not answer it in the hour.
  6. 06Say the last two lines, put out the lamp, and pour the water out of doors.
  7. 07Write the hour, the name, and what came, or that nothing came. Write it the same morning.

The words

  • I say the name and I say it plainly.
  • I ask nothing and I require nothing.
  • If you are near, the water is here.
  • If you are not, the name has been said, and that is not nothing.

The mark and its definition

The open hand is the address and the three waves beneath it are the water that carries it. The hand is drawn empty and open, because a hand that is holding something cannot be offered. It governs the single morning and the four keepings in a year. It is used on the cloth, in the ledger beside the name, and once in the air above the water at the opening. It is retired by pouring the water away and closing the page.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
A hand-ruled plate showing three long curves crossing a single straight threshold line, with a scatter of small dots falling away to the right

The mark of this work

Work XVI

The Veil and the Falling Trace

What it is for

Invisibility and concealment: for going quietly — a journey that should attract nothing, a matter that should not be talked about, a season in which the practitioner would rather be passed over. It is a work of concealment and not of deception.

The preparation

The practitioner's own name written small in the ledger beneath a single ruled line. The veil drawn across the threshold of the room or the door of the house in salt, and the dark cloth laid inside the line.

The timing

Begun in the dark of the moon and kept for one month, at the fixed hour, with the line of salt renewed each week. Lifted at the full moon, with the salt swept outward and returned to the ground.

The materials

Salt, a grey or dark cloth, one dried plant of the concealing work — fern, wormwood or mullein — the wrapped iron, and the ledger.

The working

  1. 01Draw the threshold line in salt across the doorway, and set the dark cloth inside it.
  2. 02Write the practitioner's own name small in the ledger beneath a ruled line, and the reason for going quietly beneath that.
  3. 03Draw the three curtains in the air above the line with the finger, left to right, and say the words standing on the inside.
  4. 04Set the wrapped iron across the line and leave it there for the month, renewing the salt each week.
  5. 05Each week, write one line on whether the practitioner was noticed when they would rather not have been. Write it without complaint.
  6. 06At the full moon, sweep the salt outward through the door and carry it to the ground. Take up the iron and put it away.
  7. 07Write the word lifted and the date, and close the page.

The words

  • I do not hide what is mine.
  • I keep it off the road.
  • Three curtains and one line, and the trace falls away behind me.
  • What is not looked for is not found.

The mark and its definition

The three curves are the curtains drawn across the way and the line is the threshold they are drawn on; the dots falling away are the trace, given up rather than guarded. The mark is drawn left to right, in the direction of travel. It governs the month and the weekly renewal. It is used on the threshold in salt, in the ledger, and once in the air at the opening and once at the lifting.

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A spiral of about two and a half turns with a straight tail leaving the outer end

The mark of this work

Work XVII

The Returning Spiral

What it is for

The closing of a season of work and the return to ordinary life. It is the last work of every other work, the one most often left out, and the one that keeps a practice alive.

The preparation

The ledger open at a fresh page. The names of every work kept through the season written out in order, in the practitioner's own hand, before the hour begins.

The timing

Kept on the evening the season ends, at the hour the whole season has been kept at. Once, and then the book is set down until the next season is opened with the first work.

The materials

Ledger, pen, the lamp, the cup, the dark cloth, and the iron.

The working

  1. 01Set the cloth, light the lamp and set the cup. Write the names of the works kept through the season in order.
  2. 02Draw the spiral on the fresh page, turning inward, in one pass.
  3. 03Draw the tail from the outer turn and let it run off the edge of the page. It is meant to be unfinished.
  4. 04Read the names aloud once, in the order they were worked, and say the first three lines of the words.
  5. 05Draw the bar of the closing across the page with the iron, from left to right, once.
  6. 06Put out the lamp, pour the cup away out of doors, wash the cloth, and say the last line standing at the door.
  7. 07Close the ledger on the page. Do not open it again until a new season is begun with the lamp.

The words

  • The season turns in on itself.
  • I read the names and I close the page.
  • The lamp goes out and the day begins.
  • I return.

The mark and its definition

The spiral is the season turning in on itself and the straight tail leaving the outer turn is the ordinary day, which is where the work was going the whole time. The mark is the only one in the book that is drawn unfinished on purpose. It governs the closing of every other work. It is used in the ledger at the end of a season, and once in the air at the door. It is never retired, because it is the mark of returning and it is used again.

The grimoire

The magickal squares and the seals

A square is a ruled grid of numbers in which every row, every column and both diagonals sum alike. A practitioner builds one by hand rather than copying it, and the building is worth an evening. The plates below are given as models and as examples of the finished article, each with its own definition.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
A hand-ruled four by four grid of numerals on parchment, with a circular seal above and below

Magickal square · four by four

The Square of the Four, first arrangement

Sixteen cells, the numerals one to sixteen, every row, every column and both diagonals summing to thirty-four. It is the square of a person, and it is the one most often written: on a slip of paper carried on the person, on the first page of a ledger of one working, or on the underside of the dish at a table where a single matter is kept. Write it by hand, check one row with a pencil, and then write the name of the working small beneath the lower seal. It is not spoken. It is written, kept, and burned with the paper of the working it was written for.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
A hand-ruled four by four grid of numerals in a different arrangement, with a seal above and below

Magickal square · four by four

The Square of the Four, second arrangement

The same sixteen numerals in a different order, and the same sum in every direction. A second arrangement exists because two works are never written on one sheet: a practitioner keeping two matters at once writes the first square for the first and the second for the second, so that the pages are not confused when the ledger is read back a year later. Use it where the first arrangement has already been written for another working in the same season.

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A hand-ruled four by four grid of numerals in a third arrangement, with seals above and below

Magickal square · four by four

The Square of the Four, third arrangement

The third arrangement of the sixteen, kept for the works of the boundary, where the square is written in the dish of salt rather than on paper. Drawn in salt it is not carried anywhere and not burned; it is swept outward at the closing and returned to the ground, in the same way as the salt of the threshold. Where a practitioner must write three squares in a season, this is the third.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
A hand-ruled five by five grid of numerals on parchment, with a seal above and below

Magickal square · five by five

The Square of the Five, first arrangement

Twenty-five cells, the numerals one to twenty-five, every row, every column and both diagonals summing to sixty-five. It is the square of a place and of a season, and it is the one written into the ledger of a house: on the inside cover, or on the first page of the year. Where the square of the four governs one working, this one governs the room the working is kept in and the twelve months it is kept across. It is renewed at the same phase each year and the old page is kept rather than destroyed.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
A hand-ruled five by five grid of numerals in a second arrangement

Magickal square · five by five

The Square of the Five, second arrangement

The twenty-five numerals in a second order, summing alike in every direction. It is kept for the works of the increase and of the road, where the square is written on the first page of the ledger and the road is drawn beneath it, so that the two are kept on one sheet for the whole of the term. A practitioner building this one by hand should build it from the numerals rather than copy the plate, and check one row and one diagonal before writing it into the book.

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A closed circle with a single horizontal bar drawn through it, in ink on parchment

Seal

The Seal of the Boundary

A closed circle with one bar through it. It is the seal of the boundary and it is set where a term has been set: at the foot of the ledger page of a working of the threshold, in the dish of salt at the notch, or drawn small on the underside of the table where the hour is kept. It is drawn in one movement, circle first and bar second, and it is never drawn open. It is retired with the working it was set for, by the burning of the page or the sweeping of the salt.

The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey
A square outline with four small circles at its corners and one at its centre, in ink on parchment

Seal

The Seal of the House

A square with a small circle at each corner and one at the centre: the four corners of a place and the person standing in the middle of it. It is set on the first page of the ledger of a house, on the doorpost inside the threshold, or drawn on the underside of the working table. It is the seal that answers the course of stones, and a practitioner who has set the house writes it once a year at the renewal, on the same page, in the same hand.

Appendices

Reference tables

Everything the working chapters refer to, gathered in one place so that a practitioner with the book open on the table does not have to turn back through it.

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Table A — The shape of the hour

Every working in this book has the same shape. Only the words, the plant and the mark change.

Before the hour
Hands and face washed in cold water, mouth rinsed, room cleared, cloth laid, materials set out.
At the hour
The lamp is lit. This is the opening of the hour and it is done at the stated time and not before.
The first minutes
The mark is drawn in the air with the finger, once, and the name or the matter is written in the ledger.
Then
The words are said once, standing, in full. They are not repeated in the hour.
The body of the hour
The practitioner sits. If the working has steps, they are done now, in order and without hurrying.
The last minutes
The closing words are said in full. This is never shortened, whatever the hour has been like.
Immediately after
The cup is poured away out of doors, the cloth is washed, the iron is wrapped, the salt is returned to the ground.
Last of all
The lamp is put out, the ledger is written up, and the page is closed with the date.
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Table B — The moon and the works

A working is begun on one phase and closed on its opposite. Nothing in this book is begun on a phase not named here.

Dark of the moon
The works of clearing, striking out, uncrossing and concealment: the threshold, the striking out, the two triangles undone, the veil.
Full moon
The works of drawing, healing, increase, agreement and keeping: the cup, the hand laid over, the road, the two vessels, the kept nights.
New moon
The works of the place and of the year: the course of stones, and its renewal.
Either phase, once
The works kept once only and closed the same day: the bar lifted, the centre and the line out, the knot, the open hand over water.
The closing
Every working is closed on the phase opposite to the one it was begun on. A late closing is written as late and is not a fault.
The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey

Table C — The days and their characters

Kept as a habit and not as a law. A practitioner who keeps the hour on the wrong day keeps it anyway and notes the day in the ledger.

Monday
The water works: the still pool, the open hand over water, the cup.
Tuesday
The works of iron and of striking out: the striking out, the two triangles undone, the bar lifted.
Wednesday
The works of the mind and of the address: the centre and the line out, the open hand over water.
Thursday
The works of increase: the road, the square of the five, the knot.
Friday
The works of drawing and of the heart: the cup held open, the two vessels, the kept nights.
Saturday
The works of the boundary and of the house: the threshold, the course of stones, the veil.
Sunday
The works of light and of the closing: the lamp kept against the dark, the returning spiral.
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Table D — The plants of the working shelf

One plant per working, from the institute's apothecary. One plant and not a mixture. The physical and metaphysical accounts of each are on its own entry on the shelves.

Rosemary
The lamp kept against the dark, the course of stones, the open hand over water.
Bay laurel
The road of the increase, the key of small doors, the course of stones.
Wormwood
The threshold, the knot that has no entry, the veil, the centre and the line out.
Rue
The threshold, the two triangles undone.
Agrimony
The two triangles undone, the striking out.
Yarrow
The hand laid over, the centre and the line out.
Calendula
The hand laid over.
Plantain
The hand laid over, the striking out.
Juniper
The striking out, the course of stones.
Lavender
The two vessels, the crescent of the kept nights.
Sage
The two vessels, the striking out.
Jasmine
The cup held open, the crescent of the kept nights.
Rose
The cup held open.
Vervain
The cup held open.
Lemon balm
The key of small doors, the two vessels.
Cinnamon
The road of the increase, the key of small doors.
Alfalfa
The road of the increase.
Mugwort
The centre and the line out, the crescent of the kept nights, the open hand over water.
Chamomile
The crescent of the kept nights.
Elderflower
The open hand over water.
Fern
The veil and the falling trace.
Mullein
The veil and the falling trace.
Nettle
The knot that has no entry.
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Table E — The stones of the working shelf

One stone, chosen by the hand rather than by the entry, kept for the whole season of the working and cleansed before and after.

Black tourmaline
The lamp kept against the dark, the striking out.
Black obsidian
The striking out, the centre and the line out.
Smoky quartz
The two triangles undone, the veil.
Clear quartz
Any working, cleansed between seasons.
Amethyst
The centre and the line out, the crescent of the kept nights.
Moonstone
The crescent of the kept nights, the cup held open.
Rose quartz
The cup held open, the two vessels.
Green aventurine
The road of the increase.
Citrine
The road of the increase, the key of small doors.
Pyrite
The road of the increase, the knot.
Tiger eye
The key of small doors, the bar lifted.
Bloodstone
The hand laid over.
Carnelian
The hand laid over, the course of stones.
Hematite
The course of stones, the threshold.
Jade
The two vessels, the course of stones.
Selenite
The threshold, the house stone of a working room.
Howlite
The crescent of the kept nights.
Lepidolite
The crescent of the kept nights.
Labradorite
The veil and the falling trace.
Sodalite
The open hand over water.
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Table F — The page of the ledger

One page per working, ruled by hand, written up before anything else is done after the hour.

The head
The name of the work, its number, and the date it was begun.
The hour
The time of day kept, and the phase of the moon it was begun on.
The matter
One line stating what the working is for. One line only, and no elaboration afterward.
The materials
What was on the table, including anything the book names that was not available.
The words
The words of the working written out in full, once, on the first evening and not again.
The keeping
One line for each hour kept. A short line is correct. A blank line is not filled in later.
The closing
The date of the closing, the phase, and the word closed. If it was late, the word late before it.
The record
What came of it, written as plainly as it happened, or the words nothing came.
The Rites of OneMiguel Harvey

Table G — The seventeen marks at a glance

The marks are given in full in the chapter before this one, each with its definition. This is the index for the practitioner who is looking for one.

The Threshold and the Chord
The setting of a term, and its lifting.
The Lamp Kept Against the Dark
Protection, for a person, a house or a season.
The Striking Out
Banishing and cleansing, before and after other works.
The Course of Stones
A place that must hold, set once and renewed yearly.
The Two Triangles Undone
Uncrossing and reversal, without return.
The Hand Laid Over
Healing and health, alongside the physician and never instead of.
The Road of the Increase
Prosperity and abundance, kept as a count.
The Cup Held Open
Love and attraction, as invitation and never as force.
The Key of Small Doors
Influence and favour, by three ways in.
The Bar Lifted
A way that has stopped and must be opened.
The Two Vessels and the Single Line
Agreement between two parties.
The Knot That Has No Entry
Binding and commanding, to a thing's own word.
The Centre and the Line Out
Divination and scrying, asked once.
The Crescent of the Kept Nights
Dream work and visions, kept through the month.
The Open Hand Over Water
Spirit contact and communion, without demand.
The Veil and the Falling Trace
Invisibility and concealment, for going quietly.
The Returning Spiral
The closing of a season, and the return.

Colophon

On the making of this book

The Rites of One, by Miguel Harvey

Author. Miguel Harvey.

Published by. The Furthering Institute, for the members’ library.

Title. The Rites of One.

Edition. Second edition, revised and expanded, 2026.

Sources. The Key of Solomon, the works attributed to Albertus Magus, the collection known as the Seventh Book of Moses, and the Abramelin material — together with the manner of the older occult press and the working books that came through it. These are the four houses this book draws its manner from, and a student should meet them at source. Nothing in this book is a transcription of any of them, and no passage of any work still in copyright has been carried over. The marks are new, the squares and seals were drawn for this edition, the definitions are new, and the arrangement is the institute’s own.

The marks. Seventeen workings, seventeen marks, each drawn for its work and defined in full — what it is for, what it governs, how it is drawn or charged, and how it is used and retired. The plates are given as models; the method of drawing a new mark in the practitioner’s own hand is set out in Chapter VI so that the system may be extended and not merely used.

What it does not claim. The institute does not teach, and this book does not claim, that a mark, a word or an hour produces a particular result in the physical world. What the practitioner holds is the method, the hour and the record. That is the whole of what is promised here.

Here ends the book of the works. Keep the hour, keep the mark, keep the ledger, and close as carefully as you open.

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