The License to Depart

No working in the Ars Goetia, the first book of the Lesser Key of Solomon, is considered complete until the spirit called has been formally released. The Key provides an exact closing text for this purpose: "O thou Spirit N., because thou hast diligently answered unto my demands, and been very ready and willing to come at my call, I do here license thee to depart unto thy proper place; without causing harm or danger unto man or beast. Depart, I say, and be thou very ready to come at my call, being duly exorcised and conjured by the sacred rites of Magic. I charge thee to withdraw peaceably and quietly, and the peace of GOD be ever continued between thee and me. AMEN!"

The License to Depart is the deliberate counterpart to every invocation in the grimoire — the text is explicit that leaving the circle before this dismissal is spoken is dangerous, and that the whole operation stays properly bounded only once this closure has been performed. It is, structurally, an acknowledgment of what was asked for, a clear statement of release, and a blessing extended in both directions.

Adapted for general practice, the License to Depart is the necessary closing half of any working that opens a boundary, calls something forth, or names something to be examined — whether that something is a spirit, an emotion held in a Triangle of Art, an energy raised in ritual, or simply the working itself. Skipping this step, in Solomonic practice and in this adaptation alike, leaves the operation loose at the edges. This working should be performed at the end of every session that used a Circle, a Triangle, or any deliberate calling-forth, before the operator leaves the protected space.