Illustrates Horacio Gama
Edition Felipe van Deursen
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REPORT “SUPERNATURAL RITUALS”
– voodoo doll
– Ritual of Necromancy
– Offering to the orixás
– Wiccan ceremony
– Islamic exorcism
– Hindu black magic
Religion – Judaism
Emergence – 10th century BC, Israel
Where is it most practiced? – Israel, Europe, North and South America
Practitioners – 14 million
– (Horace Gamma)
1. STRENGTH AND OBEDIENCE
For the faithful, the golem it is a being made of clay, which comes to life by magic and does whatever its creator tells it to. As it has an enormous strength, it is very useful to defend people. But it can also be made in a smaller size for sending messages. The creation ritual has been performed since the 16th century, following the rules described in the book Sefer Yetzirah (“Book of Creation”)
2. LAMB’S BLOOD
Before starting to develop the creature, the rabbi selects the characteristics it will have. Based on this decision, he chooses the sigil, the symbol that will represent him. Afterwards, he goes to a cemetery, where he collects dirt just below the surface of the soil. He mixes the material with water and the blood of a sacrificed lamb. The resulting clay takes shape on its own
3. DESIGNED PERSONALITY
On the chest of the clay being, the rabbi draws the sigil. The illustration is important because it has a direct relationship with some angel or demon that will influence the monster’s personality. The creator also draws a chalk circle around the golem and then summons him to come to life. The two negotiate how long the monster will be obedient.
4. CLAY IN WATER
However, the golem can work for a maximum of one month. Afterwards, it would spiral out of control. When the agreed period is over, the creator recites a prayer of expulsion. Using fingers wet with water, the rabbi erases the sigil of the golem, which loses the movements. Next, take the monster, now inanimate, to a place with running water and slowly remove pieces of clay.
PLAGUE MONSTER
According to tradition, the first rabbi to try to create a golem was the Polish Judah Loew ben Bezalel. In the 16th century, he would have made a being of clay to defend the Prague ghetto, in the Czech Republic. He would be a powerful creature, very strong, able even to turn invisible. But he had the disadvantage of not being able to act on the Sabbath, in obedience to Jewish law. To this day, Prague residents proudly display T-shirts, posters and dolls of him, who has become a kind of tourist symbol of the city, alongside the writer Franz Kafka