Magical
Ritual
Work
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Magical Ritual Work |
The most important work that is done in the development of a magician in the Golden Dawn system is regular ritual. Daily practice literally restructures and redefines the mind-body of the practitioner. The various aspects of his being are projected into the furniture of the temple, the implements used, and the forces visualized. He manipulates these projections thereby altering his own personality and creating a well-tuned spiritual constitution that keeps him moving on the path of his own personal evolution.
One could even compare his ritual work to the building of a chariot, such as the chariots of the Merkahbah mystics, that will carry him on his journey to the Divine. The structure and form of a daily discipled practice are eventually perceived as a substantial vehicle that moves the magician through realms of existence beyond time and space.
There are many elaborate forms of this kind of ritual, and amidst it all it is important to keep in mind that there is essentially no difference between ritual and meditation. Ritual requires the same attentiveness and the same focus on the present that meditation does. Consider it as an aid to raising consciousness. No matter what is done toward the goal of enlightenment, the need for introspective power cannot be avoided. Ritual is a help, but sheer will and perseverence in the work are required. Most are not up to it.
Presented below are the bare essentials of Golden Dawn ritual. Israel Regardie remarked that the only exercises that the would-be magician need perform all his life are two: The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram and the Middle Pillar Exercise. The first opens up the constrained awareness of the practitioner and then proceeds to eliminate negative and gross aspects of his nature. The second cleans out and slowly unblocks his psychic centers (chakrahs, etc.) and unwinds his hidden potential as an instrument of the Divine. If the aspirant is successful, he will discover that the theory and exercises described here are not what they seem--and that they are only the beginning.
No matter how these rituals appear to the critical mind of the common man, the performance of them on a daily basis is a very serious business. Do not embark on this kind of work unless you are prepared to face the consequences of speeding up your own evolution. A Tibetan Lamma once said that the Great Work is something that is best not started, but once started it is best finished. Once you begin to awaken your sleeping potential as a Divine being, there is no turning back. From that point on you are in an unfolding process that at times will be intensely painful, especially if you resist your own growth.
Following are superficial descriptions of the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram and the Middle Pillar Exercise. Performance of these exercise is aided by some knowledge of their symbolism. It would good idea to study the various symbols used.
Note: When the directions say to "vibrate," that means to drone out or chant the name given in a steady monotone, clearly enunciating all consonants and making each syllable of equal length. Feel your whole body resonating with the power you are calling up. The voice should not sound withdrawn, as in normal speach, but upfront and "all here."
Before beginning ritual, awareness, or meditative work, it is a good idea to clear and settle the mind. The following technique practiced over time is an incrementally effective way of obtaining a state of simultaneous concentration and relaxation:
The Four-fold Breath: Relax and exhale to the count of four. Hold the breath out for a count of four. Inhale to the count of four. Hold the breath in for the count of four. Repeat the cycle and continue for at least 3 minutes. Count at an even speed that is comfortable to your breathing. It may take a few days of practice till you find a pace that suits your body and obtains the desired result. Practice the Four-fold Breath before all magical workings.
Step 1: The Kabbalistic Cross
Stand facing east. Allow the body to relax. See your flesh as filled with air bubbles and visualize yourself expanding like rising bread. See the body grow beyond the confines of the room, towering above the landscape, filling up the heavens and eventually the whole universe. Despite the fact that your body is now filled by and comprising the whole universe, feel your feet firmly grounded beneath you maintaining a firm foothold in your Earthly existence.
See a sphere of blazing white brilliance just above your head. Raise the right hand up high and draw down a beam of brilliance from the sphere into the top of your head, filling the entire cranium with light. Touch the forehead and vibrate "A-toh" (Thine)
Bring the hand down before the body and touch the solar plexus (just below the sternum). Simultaneously, see the Divine white brilliance descend in a beam through the center of the body, down between the feet, into the Earth. Vibrate "Mal-kuth" (Kingdom)
Touch the right shoulder, and see the Light extend in a ray to that point. Vibrate "Va Gavurah" (and the power)
Touch the left shoulder, and see the Light extend likewise to that point. Vibrate "Va Gadulah" (and the glory)
Clasp the hands at the breast and vibrate "leh-olahm. Amen" (forever. Amen)
Step 2: The Formulation of the Pentagrams
In the
East, draw a large banishing Earth Pentagram with a fully extended right
arm and forefinger. Start at a point in front of the lower left hip,
draw an electric-bluish-white line up to a point high above and before your
head, continue the line down to a point before your right hip, up beside
and before your left shoulder, over to the right and then back down to a
point before the left hip. This a symbol of the divine power reigning over
the Elements of the universe. It shows forth the principles of all of
manifestation and of the enlightened man. See it as an all encompassing
representation of fearsome power. Breath in deeply drawing energy from the
hidden depths of the universe, and point toward the center of the pentagram,
vibrating the God-name "Yod-Heh-Vau-Heh."Feel the energy rushing out and
charging the pentagram. You may or may not feel anything physically.. Just
see the pentagram burst into electric blue flame as you vibrate the name.
Draw a white line from the center of the pentagram, making a quarter of a circle as you proceed toward the South. Stop there and draw the pentagram as before, but this time vibrate "Adonai" (my Lord)
Continue the white line to the West. Draw the pentagram and then vibrate "Eh-heh-yeh" (I am)
Continue the whitle line to the North. Draw the pentagram and vibrate "A-gah-lah" (A Hebrew anagram, spelled A-G-L-A, for "ahoh gebor leholahm Adonai" or "Thou art great forever, My Lord")
Return to the center of the circle and see the pentagrams in the air about you. Feel their heat.
Step 3: Evocation of the Archangels
Raise your arms out to your sides to form a cross, and see Raphael, the archangel of Air, standing before you in the East. His hair is blonde his skin is fair, his robe is yellow with flashes of violet, he stands atop a hill with the wind coming from the cloud-patched sky behind him, and he holds the caduceus in his right hand. Say "Before me" and then vibrate, "Rah-fah-el."
Visualize Gabriel, the archangel of Water, standing behind you in the West. His robe is blue flashing with orange. He stands in the shallows by a gushing spring. He holds a silver cup in his left hand, his hair is light brown, and his skin is fair. Feel moisture wafting in from the West. Say "behind me" and then vibrate "Gah-bree-el."
In the South, see Michael, the great archangel of Fire. His robe is brilliant scarlet flashing green. He stands in the desert, and fire rises up from the burning sands around his feet. He holds upright in his right hand a flaming iron sword. His hair is black and his skin is dark tan. Feel intense heat radiating from the South. Say "at my right hand" and then vibrate "Mee-chah-el" (the ch is pronounced softly as in the Scottish word for lake, "loch").
In the North, see Auriel, the archangel of Earth. His robes are citrine, olive, and russet. He stands on black soil from which ripe wheat springs up behind him. He holds sheaves of wheat in his left hand. His hair is black and his skin is fair. His eyes and intense , large, and dark. See cattle grazing in the field behind him. Beyond them is forest, and beyond the forest are mountains. Say "and at my left hand" and then vibrate "Or-ee-el."
Still maintaining the arms in a cross, say "for about me flame the pentagrams (see the pentagrams) and in the column shines the six-rayed star." See a hexagram floating in your torso, its uppermost angle peaks in your throat and its lower most rests in your groin. The upright triangle is made of red fire. Its blue, downward-pointing triangle wavers slightly like a reflection on water. Feel the dry heat of the flame and the cool moisture of the water. These forces intertwine in your being.
Step 4: Kabbalistic Cross
Repeat the Kabbalistic Cross as presented at the beginning. Done.
Stand in the center of the circle created in the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. Direct your attention again to the sphere of light over your head. Vibrate "Eh-heh-yeh." Feel the vibration as though it comes from that sphere. Feel the whole universe harmonize with the sound. Repeat it three more times for a total of four.
See a beam of light descend into the throat and there form a sphere of white light. Vibrate "Yah-hoh-vah El-oh-heem" four times. This is the God-name associated with Daath, the shadowy non-Sephirah of the Tree of Life. It is the door by which non-existence becomes existence.
See the beam of light descend into the center of the torso, to the solar plexus, behind the base of the sternum, and form there a sphere of white brilliance. Vibrate "Ee-aah-oh"(spelled IAO - for Isis, Apophis, and Osiris) four times.
Allow the beam to extend through the abdomen, to the genital and groin area, and form there a brilliant sphere. Vibrate "Shad-daaee-el-chai" (Almighty living God)(pronounce the ch like in the Scottish word loch) four times.
Allow the beam to descend to the feet, forming a sphere half above and half below ground. Vibrate "Ah-doh-naaee-hah-ah-retz" Lord of the Earth) four times.
Now visualize and feel the whole pillar of light traversing the height of your body. Feel it firmly rooted in the void over your head and firmly planted in the Earth beneath your feet. Light is the essence of manifestation. It is carried forth into manifestation via darkness. Feel the density of your body showing forth the brilliance within, like darkness bringing forth light.
Turn the attention to the sphere at the feet. Inhale as you draw a shimmering stream of white light up along the right side of the body and into the sphere overhead. Pause as it vanishes into the brilliance overhead. Then exhale as you allow it to stream down the left side of the body and into the sphere at the feet. Repeat this cycle three more times for a total of four.
Do the same, drawing the light up the back and down the front of the body.
Then draw the energy up the center of the body into the sphere over the head. Pause for a moment and then allow it to explode from above like a fountain and rain down into the sphere at the feet. Do this four times.
See the energy of the middle pillar expand gently, permeating an oval shaped space around your body. Feel yourself floating in this light. The foundation of your being is pure brilliance on which you are suspended. Remain in this state for up to twenty minutes. Done.
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