Cimejes

(Revision as of 08:53, 19 Nov 2005)

Categories: Grimoires

Cimejes, also known by the alternate names Cimeies, Kimaris and Cimeries, is most widely known as the 66th demon of the third part of the Lemegeton (popularly known as the Ars Goetia). He is described as a goodly warrior riding a black horse, and possesses the abilities of locating lost or hidden treasures, teaching trivium (grammar, logic and rhetoric) and making a man into a warrior of his own likeness. He holds the rank of marquis, and is served by 20 legions. He also rules over all the spirits of Africa. Much the same description is found in the earlier text of Johann Weyer's catalog of demons, Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (published 1563). Earlier still is the Munich Handbook of Necromancy: Clm 849 (published by Richard Kieckhefer, as Forbidden Rites: a necromancer's manual of the 15th century 1998) which lists an entity named Tuvries with much the same characteristics, except that he has 30 legions of servitors, and can cause a person to cross seas and rivers quickly. Most likely, Tuvries is a mistranscription of Cymries.

Cimejes, as Cimeries, is also found on Anton LaVey's list of infernal names, although it is not known why LaVey chose Cimejes as one of the comparatively few Goetic daimons included. Aleister Crowley, in 777, gives Cimejes the Hebrew spelling KYMAVR and attributes him to the four of disks and the third decan of Capricorn by night. KYMAVR may allude to "Khem-our" (black light), a form of Horus mentioned in H. P. Blavatsky's Secret Doctrine. In Sepher Sephiroth, he is listed as KYTzAVR, with a gematria of 327, although KYMAVR=277. Since Tzaddi=90, which is also Mem spelled in full, the gematric substitution may be deliberate or a blind.

In Harleian Ms. 6482, titled "The Rosie Crucian Secrets" (printed by the Aquarian Press, 1985), Dr. Rudd lists Cimeries as the 26th spirit made use of by King Solomon. He also attributes an angel Cimeriel to one of Dee's Enochian Ensigns of Creation, the tablet of 24 mansions (see McLean, Treatise on Angel Magic). The earliest mention of Chamariel is in Rossi's Gnostic tractate (see Meyer and Smith, Ancient Christian Magic). It is probable that the earliest mention of Cimejes is also Coptic, found in the London oriental mss 6796 where the name "Akathama Chamaris" appears (Meyer and Smith). In this text, the entity in question does not appear to be evil; rather, he is addressed as a godlike helping spirit. Coincidentally (or not!) akathama turns out to be a Sanskrit term meaning "without words" or "unconditioned." Perhaps the "wordless" Chamaris is in contrast to his fallen, demonic form, the rhetorician Cimejes.

Baskin's Dictionary of Satanism speculates that Cimeries is derived from Cimmerians, a warlike people mentioned in the works of several classical authors as dwelling totally in darkness. It is also possible that Cimeries is derived from Chimaira, the three-headed, fire-breathing lion-goat-serpent who eventually became one of the guardians of the underworld. There is a precedent, considering that the harmless Phoenix is also demonized in the Goetia. More likely, both Chimaira and Cimejes (and perhaps Cimmerian as well, although scholars of Indo-European would dispute this) derive from a Phoenician or Hebrew root KMR (kamar) meaning fire, darkness and desire. Cimeriel would then literally mean "darkness of god."

See also

• The Lesser Key of Solomon
• Ars Goetia.

References

• Wikipedia (2005). Kimaris (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimaris). Retrieved Nov 19, 2005