Eighth Devil's Gate Engraving - Novem Portis

I curated the original 8th Devil’s Gate engraving made by Lucifer to distinguish it from the Aristide Torchia illustration, who changed the drawing for fear of being retaliated by the Church.

The Latin coded words in the engraving are VIC.I.T VIR., and belongs to a nice motto in Latin, VICTA IACET VIRTUS. The English translation says, VIRTUE IS CONQUERED.

The description of the xilography explains that before the fortified walls of a town, a kneeling woman (a monk in AT illustration) offers her neck to the executioner. In the background, a wheel of fortune or destiny with three people on it, – one at the summit, another climbing and another descending. The three figures on the wheel represent the three phases of the Medieval Age with the words, I rule (regno), I ruled (regnavi) and I will rule (regnabo).

To order it, the high resolution engraving is available in this section should you want to collect it and open the Eighth Gate of the Devil.

Seventh Devil's Gate Engraving - Novem Portis

I’m almost done with the Novem Portis de Umbrarum Regni and the Aristidem Torchia engravings. Still, I haven’t decided it to post the invocation ritual of the Devil that opens the Nine Gates. It is my experience in life that I’ve transformed lives, give them what they want, and no one, I mean no one appreciates my effort. My consolation is once they abandon the Master, they lose their enlightened path and become miserable people.

Anyway, the seventh plate, made by Lucifer, has the description with Latin coded words, —DIS.S P.TI.R MAG., which is not very explicit in principle but very common with Hermetic philosophers in Latin, DISCIPULUS POTIOR MAGISTRO. The English translation is, THE DISCIPLE OUTSHINES THE MASTER. Very appropriate to my introduction of this post.

A king and a begger play chess on a chess board with white squares. The Moon can be seen through the window. Beneath this and next to a closed door, two dogs are fighting. The Moon is the refuge of dead souls. The black dog and the white dog represent the Evil and the Good, destroying themselves continuously.

The high resolution print is available in this section should you want to order it in apparel and open the 7th Gate of the Devil.

Sixth Devil's Gate Engraving - Novem Portis

This is my favorite satanic plate of all Nine Gates of the Devil from Novem Portis. It includes a Latin phrase that really belongs to Lucifer’s domain but also it is a learning fact for those who meditate about Death as I did many years ago during my Tibetan years.

The Latin coded words in the engraving are written as —DIT.SCO M.R., which is in Latin, DITESCO MORI. The translation in English means, I ENRICH MYSELF WITH DEATH.

The satanic description of the plate includes a hanged man, similar to that of the Tarot card number 12, his hands tied behind his back, hung by one foot from the crenellation of the wall surrounding the castle, next to a closed postern gate. A hand clad in a gauntlet brandishes a burning sword from a loophole. Lucifer as a master of freedom suffers for Mankind’s love and give him the knowledge through sacrifice.

The high-resolution engraving is available in the Spells section in vector format and printed in apparel so you can order it and impress your boring friends.

Fifth Devil's Gate Engraving - Novem Portis

I decided that this big project of the Nine Gates of the Devil’s curated engravings from Novem Portis should belong in the Dark Shadows Collection to differentiate it from my general Dark Votum Designs in the blog. That’s why the new revised blog title.

So, let’s continue. The fifth engraving brings the Latin coded words, FR.ST.A., which means FRUSTRA. In English, the translation is IN VAIN.

The description of the engraving is about greediness and money. A miser, or a merchant, counts his gold pieces. Behind him, Death holds an hourglass in one hand and a farmer’s fork on the other. Why a fork and not a scythe? Because Death blinds and the Devil collects.

The high-resolution print is in this section so you can order it in apparel of several background colors and size selection.

Fourth Devil's Gate Engraving - Novem Portis

In the Novem Portis de Umbrarum Regni, the Book of the Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows, we find the fourth devil’s gate with the following Latin coded words, FOR. N.N OMN. A. QUE., which is, FORTUNA NON OMNIBUS AEQUE. Translated into English is, Chance Is Not The Same For All.

The description of the engraving presents a jester before a stone maze. The entrance is closed by a door. Three dice on the ground each reveal three of their faces, showing the numbers 1, 2 and 3. The bufoon symbolizes Destiny and he is the Joker of the deck. He carries the symbolic serpent in his hand. The three dice represent a symbol, meaning whoever exercise his liberty and risk everything, can win a distinct destiny.

The high-resolution print is available in this section so you can visit the page and order the apparel.

Third Devil's Gate Engraving - Novem Portis

The third devil’s gate engraving comes from the Latin coded words in the Delomelanicon, VERB. D.SUM C.S.T ARCAN., which is written as VERBUM DIMISSUM CUSTODIAT ARCANUM. The English translation, although not correct but accepted, says : Wasted Breath Keeps A Secret. The correct transliteration should be, The Missing Word Keeps A Secret.

The engraving is significative. A vagrant, or a pilgrim, heads towards a bridge which spans a river that joins heaven with hell. At each end, a fortified door bars access. On a cloud, a bowman represents the rage of God and aims in the direction of the road leading to the bridge, as if there is a terrible warning. Not recommended to play with secret things.

The high-resolution print can be ordered in this section in apparel of several background colors and size selection.

Second Devil's Gate Engraving - Novem Portis

My second curated plate includes the Latin coded phrase, CLAUS. PAT. T, which is, —CLAUSAE PATENT. The English translation is “Open That Which Is Closed”.

A hermit before a closed door. A lantern on the ground and two keys in his left hand. Next to him, a sign that resembles the Hebrew letter Teth.

The hermit means knowledge and wisdom. The black dog is the same dog that accompanies Agripa. It is the preferred animal for the Devil to reincarnate. The lamp belongs to the philosopher Diogenes, who always refused temporal powers, and asked to the powerful Emperor Alexander to move from the sun and his shadow to make the Light

The high-resolution plate can be ordered in apparel in this section in several background colors and size selection.

First Devil's Gate - Dark Book of Shadows

This project is a long design production that I finally decided to curate and make the vector designs for the bibliophiles and fans of the Novem Portis – Book of Shadows.

If you have seen the Ninth Gate movie directed by Roman Polanski you will probably recognize the engravings (xilographies), some made by Lucifer himself. The 1999 movie is the version of the Spanish book The Club Dumas, written by Arturo Perez-Reverte and it is a powerful invitation to deal with the occult.

According to the Delomelanicon, the illustrator added the Latin coded phrase at the bottom, NEM. PERV.T QUI N.N LEG. CERT.RIT, which, of course, is NEMO PERVENIT QUI NON LEGITIME CERTAVERIT, translated as ‘No one that follows the rules, gets the truth”. Lucifer changes the phrase as “Silence is Golden”, with his stamp LCF.

The plate description is very straightforward. A knight rides through a fortified town. With his finger on his lips, he counsels prudence or silence.

I didn’t bother adding the Latin secret words but the translation in English since most of the people do not care about Latin studies and Medieval languages; however I included at the top the Hebrew letters as codes.

The first design is here in this section and you’re welcome to collect all the designs. They are nine gates in total. Each one with a Saturnine philosophy about darkness. In the future, I will post the invocation ritual so you know how it is done by alchemists and magicians.

New Dark Designs From Votum Sanguinis

We've opened a new venue to complete the Trinity designs of the Pakalian Group. This one is absolutely fascinating because it will not include Mayan designs but our dark designs based on esoteric teachings and studies of the Book of Shadows and Spells.

We hope to encourage you to follow the gnostic studies of ancient years that alchemists and magicians have used in their quest to reach higher dimensions.

Our Votum Sanguinis store is also now located at Printfection and you can visit our most recent professional designs following this link here. We hope it will become as popular as our two previous stores, the 2012 Mayan Prophecy and Deadline Designs. They contain a myriad of great designs in vector format made with our unique Precision Color Management System in CMYK.

So, here's our first design teaser to inspire your taste and senses in dark but beautiful themes. And remember Silence Is Golden in our Dark Kingdom.