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(Number 438)
Lesser banishing ritual of the Pentagram
hi. i have heard about a certain ritual that can improve or protect
one's aura.I think its called the Lesser banishing ritual of the
pentagram. Does anyone kw hw to perform it? thks.
(Another menber's answer)
Do a search for it on the internet, or u can look it up in regardie's
books or modern magick by donald michael kraig, tho I must warn u
that DMK's version is strictly not the original but rather a sort of
Crowley's stella ruby
(My answer)
Your question regarding the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram
has more or less been answered by Thyrmaximus with the important note
about whether or not it is DMK's version and I'm guessing that the
web would be full of much more information on all of this, but how
accurate; I don't know.
This ritual really is High Magick or otherwise known as Ceremonial
Magick and not Wicca (where it won't mix at all in its present state,
but I have added a revised working for anyone interested at the end
of this posting).
Anyway, I found of course a lot of references to it in Francis King
and Stephen Skinner's book, "Techniques of High Magic", (my copy
being from 1977). Actually the Lesser Banishing Ritual goes hand in
hand with, "The Qabalistic Cross" and then followed by the Lesser
Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. The book admonishes people to
ensure that they actually do practice and tells students how to learn
step by step and actually do the workings.
Most people in the Group know how strongly I feel about the "talkers"
and the "do'ers" and this still stands even more so in working with
High Magick. Actually it is really true that many people do not ever
really get past the talking stage in the Craft, (or any occult
practice for that matter) and all these various experts are running
around telling everyone "how to", but often their information is only
gleaned from books and internet themselves and when one asks about
the personal experiences of doing "regular rituals and magick" the
truth will probably come out that they haven't "actually" done it at
all, or if they have, with no results. As I've just said, it's
virtually impossible to talk about what can't be expressed. One must
do!
One of the major obstacles in getting in contact with your deeper
self and the Ancient Powers; is a strong temptation to do no real
practical work – to put off such actual experimentation until one
has "read a few more books" or "acquired some more magickal
equipment". I hope that doesn't sound too close to home to our
members.
To give into this temptation is fatal. From postponing one's
activities from day to day, one goes on to postpone them from week to
week, from month to month and – eventually from year to year. It is
essential that this should not happen, that you should start your
actual magickal work NOW, even if alone. This fact is also so aptly
put by the authors of the above-mentioned book, so I'm not alone in
thinking this.
There are a lot more `informed' members of this group regarding High
Magick than I could ever be and I had hoped they would come back with
some help in the matter. However, as for the Lesser Banishing Ritual
of the Pentagram improving or protecting one's aura; it would be for
one of the followers of this occult way to answer more fully.
Actually, the best exercise for regular use, (in following this
particular occult path), is to work every day and at the same hour if
possible, comprising at the minimum of the Lesser Banishing Ritual of
the Pentagram. This banishing ritual appears before any other work
is considered and usually done at the start of all ritual High Magick
workings.
Therefore, it is just as well to learn it well as soon as you can.
This should be done gradually, so say Francis King and Stephen
Skinner, beginning with just the The Qabalistic Cross and gradually
adding each section, the inscription of the pentagram, and the
invocation of the Archangles, as they become more proficient in the
proceeding sections.
As I said earlier, The Qabalistic Cross and the Lesser Banishing
Ritual of the Pentagram are used in conjunction. They were as far as
I can tell apart of the initial knowledge lectures for Neophytes
within the Order of the Golden Dawn. Neophytes were to commit these
rituals to memory and perform them on a daily basis as I mentioned
and became an important part of all ritual.
From what I know, The Qabalistic Cross is actually referred to as
the "Mantle of Power", and is utilized to spiritually align, and
empower the magician and perhaps that's where you get the idea of
improving or protecting one's aura.
In this sense "Empowerment" is a key element, because as in
performing the ritual, you are identifying oneself with the deity.
And, as you'll see in the following ritual, in touching the different
points in the body, you are charging and becoming aware of five of
the body's charkas.
When performing the Qabalistic Cross, as well as any other occult
ritual I guess, the practice of visualization and imagination are of
vital importance. While charging each body charkas, the practitioner
must firmly visualize a `pillar' of brilliant radiance descending
into the crown of your head and down through each chakra being
activated.
In the Golden Dawn tradition of High and Ceremonial Magick, the
Qabalistic Cross is performed before and after `every' ritual
working. The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram is also useful
for clearing out a space prior to doing a larger ritual. The idea is
that it will banish any undesirable spirits (provided they aren't too
dark and nasty, where stronger rituals will be needed).
The language used in the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram is
of course Hebrew. The names used at the four quarters are four
different names given for the absolute spirit within the Qabalah.
They are:
YHVH - this is called the Tetragrammaton, or the name of god, which
cannot be named. It is pronounced by sounding the Hebrew letters:
Yod He Vau He.
ADNI - pronounced Adonai, meaning "Lord."
AHIH - pronounced Eheieh, meaning "to be" or "existence."
AGLA - this isn't a word in and of itself, but is notariqon of:
A - AThH - Ateh
G - GBVR - Gebor
L - LOVLM - Le Olahm
A - ADNI - Adonai
Meaning "Thou art mighty for ever, O Lord."
Finally, the entities invoked at the conclusion of the Lesser
Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram are the Four Archangels Of The
Tetramorph. Each archangel represents one of the four elements.
Raphael = Air; Michael = Fire; Gabriel = Water; and Uriel =
Earth.
The four archangels effectively act as guardians and assist the
magician in dispelling whatever it is you want to banish. When
performing the ritual, the practicioner, as said earlier, must
strongly visualize each archangel standing in the respective quarter
as they are summoned.
I. Qabalistic Cross
Face East.
Touch your forehead and say ATEH (thou art).
Touch your genitals and say MALKUTH (the Kingdom).
Touch your right shoulder and say VE-GEBURAH (and the Power).
Touch your left shoulder and say VE GEDULAH (and the Glory).
Clasp your hands in front of you and say LE-OLAM (for ever).
Then, vibrate the mantra AUM ......
II. Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram
Take your Ceremonial Dagger, (basically the Athame) and draw the
banishing Pentagram of Earth to the East and, bringing the Athame to
the center of the Pentagram, "vibrate" the deity name -- YOD HE VAU
HE - imagining that your voice carries forward to the East of the
whole Universe.
Holding the Athame out before you, go to the South, make the
Pentagram and once again, strongly `vibrate' the deity name -- ADONAI.
Go to the West, make the Pentagram and vibrate EHEIEH.
Go to the North, make the Pentagram and vibrate AGLA.
Return to the East and complete your circle by bringing the point of
the Athame to the center of the first Pentagram.
Stand, in the center of the circle, with arms outstretched in the
form of a cross and say:
"BEFORE ME STANDS RAPHAEL
BEHIND ME GABRIEL
AT MY RIGHT HAND MICHAEL
AT MY LEFT HAND URIEL
BEFORE ME FLAMES THE PENTAGRAM AND ABOVE ME SHINES THE SIX-RAYED
STAR."
III. Conclude by repeating the Qabalistic Cross.
Stand in the center of the circle, feet together, facing east. Using
your thumb, touch the center of your forehead, and vibrate "Ateh."
As you say "Ateh," imagine a ball or dome of brilliant white light
forming above your head.
Still using your thumb, gesture down the centerline of your body
until your thumb is pointing at the ground between your feet.
As your gesture moves downwards, imagine a column of white light
about 3" thick, descending through the center of your body at the
same rate of speed (as if you were "drawing" the column with your
gesture). Try to feel the column as if it were filled with a
vibrating energy that sets up a sympathetic vibration in your body
where it touches it. Vibrate "Malkuth."
Imagine the column of light descending into the ground below your
feet. Once there, it forms another ball of light; this ball starts
out a dark red, but quickly becomes brighter and whiter as more
energy enters into it.
Touch your right arm just below the shoulder and vibrate "ve-
Geburah." Imagine a small ball of light forming where you touch.
Move your hand to the same point on your left arm and vibrate "ve-
Gedulah."
As you move your hand, imagine another line of white light being
traced horizontally through the center of your body, intersecting the
vertical column about where your heart is. When the line reaches
your left arm, imagine another small ball of light forming there.
Then imagine a flow of energy back and forth between them. Try to
feel that energy as it passes through your body.
Make a clockwise circle about 6" across around your heart.
Vibrate "le-Olahm.". As soon as you complete this circle, imagine a
big pink rose blooming inside it, with its stem at the intersection
of the horizontal and vertical lines of the cross. Imagine that you
can feel the movements of its petals in your heart as it unfolds.
When it is completely unfolded, imagine a rose-pink radiance being
emitted from it in all directions. This radiance expands until it
completely encloses the cross and your body.
Bring your arms down to your sides, relax as much as you can while
still standing straight, and take a few moments to appreciate and
feel everything that you have visualized so far.
Then vibrate "Amen." Let the above visualizations fade. Don't try
to "erase" them, just stop giving attention to their maintenance. If
they continue to exist without any effort on your part, that's fine.
If they disappear, that's fine, too.
Advance to the east point of the circle. Draw a large [Earth
banishing] pentagram with your wand, or with the pointed fingers of
your hand. The lines of all the pentagrams, and the circle
connecting them, should be visualized in a blue-white color. The
appearance and color of a "Star Wars" light-sword is just about
right.
Make a stabbing gesture at the center of the pentagram with wand or
hand, and vibrate "Yahweh."
As you vibrate the name, imagine the inside of the pentagram becoming
an open window into the Realms of Air. Beyond the window, you should
imagine some landscape that seems Airy to you. Whatever it is, you
should feel that the landscape embodies the force of Air.
Once you have the landscape firmly visualized, imagine a cool wind
blowing into your circle through the pentagram. This wind fills up
the circle and blows through your body and soul, blowing out and
replacing the Airy elements of your own nature. Keep feeling this
wind until you feel cleaned out and filled with Airy power.
Note: If you are banishing, you should next feel the power sweeping
out of yourself and the circle, back through the pentagram. After
which you should imagine the "window" closing again. Same for all
the following quarters.
Move clockwise around the circle until you come to the south.
Starting at the center of the eastern pentagram, draw a blue-white
line as you go. Face the south and draw a large pentagram. Make the
stabbing gesture at the center of the pentagram, and
vibrate "Adonai."
Move clockwise to the west, drawing a segment of the circle as you
go. Face the west, and draw a large pentagram. Make the stabbing
gesture at the center of the pentagram, and vibrate "Eheieh."
Imagine the pentagram becoming a window into the Realms of Water.
Imagine a watery landscape. I use either an endless region filled
with water; or an underwater view of a reef with plenty of fish and
plant life, and waves crossing the surface overhead.
With the landscape visualized, imagine Water pouring into the circle
and yourself, washing out any impurities and replacing them with its
own pure power. Keep feeling this until you feel clean and totally
filled with Water.
Move clockwise to the north, drawing the circle as you go. Face the
north, draw a large pentagram. Make the stabbing gesture at the
center of the pentagram and vibrate "AGLA."
Imagine the pentagram becoming a window into the Realms of Earth,
beyond which you can see some landscape that seems supremely "Earthy"
to you.
Imagine the Earthy power moving through the pentagram, filling up the
circle and yourself, making any impurities so inert and heavy that
they fall downwards out of your body, to be replaced by a pure earth
force. Keep feeling this until you feel clean and totally filled
with Earth.
Complete the circle by returning clockwise to the east, drawing the
line as you go. Return to the center of the circle and face east.
Standing in the center of the circle, try to see all four landscapes
at once, and feel the power of all four elements focused on you
through the pentagrams.
Say: "Before me stands Raphael; behind me stands Gabriel; on my right
hand is Michael; on my left hand is Ariel." The names of the
archangels should be strongly vibrated.
The angels should be imagined appearing as their names are vibrated.
Each should be seen as an immense figure on the horizon beyond the
landscape in their quarter. You should have a definite sense of them
as sapient, self-aware beings of great power, come to aid you in your
work. The landscapes represent the natural, non-sapient force of the
elements; the archangels represent the divine powers that rule and
direct those elements.
The archangels should have some form that signifies - in your mind -
their rulership, if you will, over their elements. Try and see them
as figures in robes the color of the elements perhaps. Raphael has
blond hair that moves in an invisible breeze; he holds a fan in his
right hand pointed towards you. His face has an aquiline cast.
Gabriel has dark hair with a bluish cast, dark skin, and holds a
silver cup towards you. The robes seem to move in an invisible
current. Michael has hair and eyes like flames, a slightly fox-like
cast to his face they say, and his robes seem to be made of woven
threads of fire. He holds a flaming sword pointed towards you. Ariel
wears black or green robes. The face is rounded, and of a nut-brown
color, holding a disk-like pentacle with one face pointed towards
you.
Imagine each of the archangels sending a benediction to you through
his or her weapon.
Stand with your arms stretched out to the sides, and feet apart.
Say: "About me flames the pentagram..."
Imagine a big, glowing pentagram forming about your body, its points
congruent with your head, hands, and feet. Remember that the
pentagram signifies rulership of the Spirit over the four elements,
and that by identifying it you are claiming that rulership for
yourself. Try to feel yourself as Spirit, connected to the four
elements, but also above them.
Say: "... and in the column shines the six-rayed star." Imagine a
large golden hexagram, the same width as your circle, forming in the
air above you. Rays of power shine radially outwards from each of
its points. The lowest point of the hexagram is congruent with the
highest point of the pentagram previously visualized.
The hexagram signifies the planetary or "heavenly" realms that are
above the worlds of the elements. Elemental Spirit is a summation of
concentration of these heavenly forces. By claiming the power of the
elemental Spirit, you are also declaring your freedom from the rule
of the mundane world, and claiming the right to enter into and work
in those higher realms. But as yet, you have only touched the lowest
portion of those realms, thus only the lowest point of the hexagram
touches yourself.
For those Wiccans that feel some sort of connection with the above,
there have been various working that have been sort of "built off"
this ritual and I thought I'd list it here for those that are
interested.
This meant linking techniques leading to a sort of joint ritual
involving a basis for Wiccans instead of Ceremonial Qabalists
(whether OTO, Thelemite or whatever).
The primary source of God Forms was from Paul Huson's
book, "Mastering Witchcraft".
A ritual can actually be easily modified in many ways, to refit it
for a different set of symbols, for example. Therefore, some
research into alternate symbols for the Lesser Ritual of the
Pentagram can be worked here for a lunar-feminine current (Wicca),
whereas perhaps some might want to use more solar-masculine symbols
as in Ceremonial working of (Thelemite). It's entirely up to the
individual and I only am saying all of this for interest.
The Qabalistic Cross might be used as is, though you could use the
English if you don't feel that the Hebrew is relevant. I am sure
any Chritian might recognize the words as being similar to the end of
the Lord's Prayer in the King James Version: 'Unto thee, the Kingdom
and the Power and the Glory, forever! Amen.'
If you dislike such a specifically Christian form, it may be replaced
with the words KETHER (KEH-THER), MALKUTH, GEBURAH, GEDULAH (or
Crown, Kingdom, Power, Mercy), the spheres of occult energy that you
are invoking with the Q-Cross.
The mental images remain the same. You could even avoid these Hebrew
symbols entirely, using Names and formulae more suitable to raising
the Cone of Power, which is what you are doing here in Wiccan terms.
The principle therefore, would be:
Invoke strongly the presence of perhaps a Supreme Creative Principle
as you conceive it (or Them) to be. If just the Goddess, perhaps
using just the name for the Goddess as Creatrix would be most
suitable.
Draw down power from this Godhead and project it through your body
into the Earth. Invoke strongly this Supreme symbol in your
Tradition: maybe the God - or the Goddess, or even the Lord of the
Trees, John Barleycorn, the ever-born and dying One. Anything that
feels comfortable and can be heavily drawn into.
Establish on your right side the Active Principle - Yang, if you
will - the Projective Energy of the Universe. A God image, I should
think.
Establish on your left side the Passive Principle - Yin - the
Receiving Energy of the Universe. A Goddess force therefore.
Strongly visualize yourself at the center of these axes between the
Infinities. This centers you at the middle of the Sacred Space to be
created - the still point at the center of the universe.
The Pentagrams
Again, the pentagram should be used. This symbol is universal to
many, many systems of magick, including Wicca, as most of you know.
The five-pointed star has supreme power over the Elements: Spirit,
Fire, Water, Air and Earth. It drives off negative influences and
attracts positive ones. It is an essential part of the rite and
there is no symbol that can take its place as effectively.
The Names
Ceremonial and High Magick practicioners prefer using the Hebrew God-
Names as is. In this connection they express formulae that govern the
Elements and are no more religious than E=MC squared though.
However, there are equivalent Wiccan God-Names, which are described
in the next section, as substitutes for the Archangels.
The use of the same Names to activate the stars and to invoke the
Elemental force is quite in keeping with the Wiccan tradition, which
does not use the same hierarchical system of God-Name, Archangel,
Angel, Ruler, Spirit, etc., that Qabalism does.
The Archangelic Invocation
Instead of the Hebrew Archangels previously described, perhaps you
could use Wiccan Deities to invoke the 'pure' form of the Elements.
AIR-EAST:
The Air image in Wicca seems to be masculine and relates to Herne,
the Black Man, the messenger of the Gods, or the Sky Gods: Odin, or
Lugh as the rising Sun God. The God can be imagined as riding through
the night sky, at the head of the Wild Hunt, or rising above the
branches of the world-ash. Instead of the Sword given to Raphael,
the God might carry a staff, spear or wand, which is attributed to
Air in most Wiccan traditions.
FIRE-SOUTH:
The Fire image is definitely masculine and relates to the Horned God:
Cernunnos, Lucifer, call Him what you will. He stands in the hot
light of the noonday sun, radiating fiery energy. He would bear an
Athame or sword, which is the weapon of Fire in "most" Wiccan styles.
WATER-WEST:
The Water image is the Maiden, the mistress of the Moon and the
Tides: Aradia, Artemis, Venus rising from the waves. Her image is
lit by the silver light of the moon, upon a tranquil reach of water
or the foaming sea. She might hold the chalice, symbol of water
(alternatively, the cauldron might be envisioned).
EARTH-NORTH:
The Goddess in Her aspect as Earth Mother is here: Hertha, Habondia,
Demeter. She stands beneath the golden, life-giving sun surrounded
by the fruits of the Earth. Before her, a platter flows with good
things of the Earth, for the disk/shield/platter is the pentacle,
magick instrument of Earth. These are only bare sketches of the
magickal images that a witch might use to replace the Qabalistic
images of the traditional pentagram ritual. I offer them for what
they are worth and can be adapted as this whole ritual was adapted
anyway.
A few points to note:
The phases of the sun used in the Archangelic images (East:Dawn;
South:Noon; West:Sunset; North:Midnight) are not the same, nor are
they as important to Wicca. Instead, the poles of day and night are
established: Night for the East-West axis and Day for the North-
South axis.
The male-female poles are established with the masculine images
(Herne and Cernunnos) attributed to the active Elements (Air and
Fire) and the feminine images (Aradia and Habondia) to the passive
Elements (Water and Earth).
Note that one figure of each gender stands in light, and one in
darkness. This male-female/positive-negative/active-passive polarity
is central to virtually all systems of magick, eg. the yin/yang
symbol in oriental systems.
I may be betraying solar-phallic tendencies by these assignments, and
you may want to use different attributions: The Maiden can be Air and
the Mother switch to Water, with the Hunter moving into Earth, for
example. Heck, the dual God Forms should perhaps be invoked in each
quarter. eg. Venus/Adonis imagery in East or South, Hertha/Herne in
West, etc.
Anyway, I hope that is enough information for everyone who might be
interested.
B*B
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