Magic in Ritual
Searles

Sun Aug  8 12:25:16 1999
Here's an interesting essay about Magic in Ritual that may serve as food for though in our discussion and understanding of ritual and its purposes:*p**br*Copyright (c) 1988 by Phil Hansford. This article is is licenced*br*for free non-commercial distribution only.*br*----------------------------------------------------------*p*** MAGICK 7 -- BASIC RITUAL ***p**br*    'The first part of every ceremony is the banishing; the second*br*    the invoking.'  (--Crowley, Magick, p. 104)*p*  It may be said that ritual is the very heart of magick.  For it*br*is through ritual that we achieve our magical results. Ritual is a*br*magical procedure or ceremony we perform in order to change the*br*environment. Usually we think of ritual as bearing on active*br*magick, although certainly, it can also affect passive magick.*br*Most often the change achieved is subjective (it may be subtle)*br*and in the physical world. Outsiders may put them down to*br*coincidence, but the effects are very real. Magical goals for a*br*ritual should not be taken lightly.*p*  The successful practice of magick depends upon strong belief.*br*The simplest ritual of them all must be belief itself. If you can*br*believe in your desired results strongly enough, that act is a*br*magical ritual which will achieve your results. Even a very*br*complex ritual is no more effective than strong belief. There are*br*aids to concentration which may help. Thus in *creative*br*visualization*, imagination and controlled breathing are brought*br*into play.*p**br*CREATIVE VISUALIZATION*br*  When you want to magically achieve something, first picture it*br*clearly in your mind. The more deffinite and specific your idea of*br*what it is the better. Picture yourself having it or doing it.*br*Visualize it as vividly and as intensely as you can and hold it in*br*your thoughts for a few moments. Concentrate on it intensely (it*br*may help to hold your breath). Feel the energy of desire welling*br*up inside you. Then suddenly feel the image or desire released*br*from your mind. Feel the energy filtering through the image and*br*intensifying it, as if the image is a 'stencil'. Imagine the*br*energy exploding out from you into the macrocosm in all directions*br*at once, and feel the universe 'tilt' as it reacts to the force.*br*(At the same time it may help to release your breath suddenly).*br*Feel the energy draining from you. Finally, *believe* that your*br*purpose *has* been accomplished; that it HAS HAPPENED, perhaps*br*saying something such as "so mote it be", or "it is done".*p**br*THE BASIC PARTS OF A RITUAL*br*  Often rituals are more formal than the above, but any full*br*magick ritual must always reduce to these stages -- 1) imaging; 2)*br*building; 3) firing.  Sometimes a ritual must be repeated every*br*day for a while to achieve difficult results or to overcome weak*br*belief.*p**br*THE MAGICK CIRCLE*br*  Often an important part of formal ritual is the magick circle.*br*Medieval magicians considered the circle essential, and placed*br*great emphasis upon its exactness.  Elaborate designs were*br*invented with many layers of complex symbols and words. It was*br*very important that the circle be completely intact with no breaks*br*in it. The magician and any other participants stand in the circle*br*during ritual.  The ritual began with a banishing of evil forces*br*(using the lesser ritual of the pentagram for example) to keep*br*them outside the circle. Today, circles are made on the floor with*br*chalk or paint, rock salt, or a rope. Whatever its form, the*br*circle is still an important part of magical protection for the*br*magician. This is especially important for aversive entities and*br*purposes. The circle also helps in focusing the energy of the*br*ritual toward its purpose, that is, it keeps it contained until*br*the magician is ready to release it. Of course, the magick circle*br*is basicly only a symbol, but it may eventually be possible to*br*supplement the circle with electronic equipment for a similar*br*purpose. We are researching the practicality of electrostaticly*br*charged Faraday shields.*p**br*ARTIFICIAL ELEMENTALS*br*  An artificial elemental is useful for certain tasks: 1)*br*invisible watcher and observer, telling you what it sees; 2)*br*psychic guard; 3) it can be used in healing; 4) it is helpful in*br*other ways.  Ophiel calls the artificial elemental a 'familiar'.*br*Producing your own artificial elemental is fairly easy.  YOU MUST*br*ASSUME THAT THE ACT HAS PRODUCED RESULTS, EVEN IF YOU DO NOT*br*IMMEDIATELY OBSERVE THEM. It is entirely possible to produce one*br*of these little beasties and not know it (not being clairvoyant*br*enough to observe it directly). Therefore, and this is a general*br*principle of any magick, never ignore forces you have set into*br*motion. Even thugh you may not see the elemental, you may*br*nevertheless 'feel' it.*p*  WARNING -- Do not use artificial elementals for any kind of*br*aversive magick at this point; they can be nasty little critters*br*to get rid of. Should you have to eliminate one of them which you*br*created in error, you must re-absorb it back into yourself through*br*your will; or in some cases you can 'exorcise' it.*p**br*HOW TO CREATE AN ARTIFICIAL ELEMENTAL*br*  You can create your own artificial elemental for various*br*purposes. An artificial elemental is basically a thoughtform which*br*has been strengthened with emotion. Refer to the aura color chart*br*in the previous lesson and decide what color to make the*br*elemental, based upon your intended purpose. Apple green is a good*br*choice for general purposes.  Then decide on a shape or outline.*br*Do you want your elemental to resemble some sort of animal? A*br*simple circle or cloud is a good place to start. With this in mind*br*you can use ritual to create your elemental. Creative*br*visualization is good for this. Visualize it glowing before you. A*br*darkened room is helpful for this.*p*  Communicate with your elemental with telepathy, by talking to*br*it, or with creative visualization. Your artificial elemental is*br*closely linked to you and your subconscious attitudes.  It will*br*generally not do things you think it cannot do. As in any magick,*br*results relate to effort and belief. Another way of looking at an*br*artificial elemental is as an aspect of your personality (sub*br*personality) which has been detached from you.*p**br*INVOCATION*br*  Formal ritual usually involves the invocation (ritually calling*br*up) of a god or goddess, spirit, or other entity. In this sense,*br*magick is somewhat similar to pagan religion and witchcraft.*br*However, we consider magick ritual a technique, not a religion.*br*Worship need not be involved.  Sometimes the invocation of an*br*entity creates an artificial elemental.  Crowley says there are*br*three different kinds of invocation --*p* 1) Devotion to the entity (as in the Bhakti yoga of the Hare*br*    Krishna sect; the Faustian devil pact).*br* 2) Ceremonial invocation -- usual method of the middle ages.*br* 3) Drama -- usually needs more than one person (as ina mass).*p*  Because of the microcosm-macrocosm identity, when you invoke the*br*gods, you are invoking aspects of yourself.  Jung has referred to*br*the gods as primitive archetypes.  This makes it sound like*br*spiritual entities are illusions.  But in fact the microcosm and*br*macrocosm identity does not discredit the gods and goddesses. It*br*instead helps to illustrate our relationship to the cosmos.*p*>>CAUTIONS<<*p*1.  Balance is important in magick. Vary the entities invoked in*br*    order to keep your personality in balance.*br*2.  Often as not a ritual may produce side-effects, usually*br*    something similar to, though not exactly the desired goal. If*br*    the true goal is delayed (as sometimes happens) we may see the*br*    side effects first. And if for some reason the goal is not*br*    achieved at all ('missing the target') the side effects may be*br*    pronounced.*br*    Examples:*br*      1) You use magick ritual to hurry shipment of an anticipated*br*         package in the mail. Side effect -- the next day an*br*         unexpected package (the wrong one) arrives instead.*br*      2) You use magick ritual to cause a certain person to phone*br*         you. Side effect -- for several days all sorts of people*br*         phone you...The sides effects will not affect you (or*br*         anyone else) adversely unless that is what you inwardly*br*         want.*br*3.  We may say with certainty that "something always happens" when*br*    we perform a magick ritual. But like everything else, magick*br*    follows the 'law of results'. This means that results require*br*    effort of some kind. And if you don't work hard enough at it*br*    you don't get results. Difficult goals have greater resistance*br*    (magical inertia) to overcome. If the ritual doesn't produce*br*    the desired results there is a good chance that the reason for*br*    the failure is within oursleves. Be certain there is no*br*    contradiction between your model and your magical goals.*br*    Sometimes self doubt and mental contradictions (wanting and*br*    not wanting at the same time) may interfere. The first step in*br*    magick is to re-program your model. And, of course you can*br*    help your magical results by working on the physical level*br*    toward your goals. Don't expect them to fall into your lap by*br*    themselves.*br*4.  A peculiar quality of magick is time displacement.  Results of*br*    a ritual are not usually instantaneous. There is often a delay*br*    of 12 hours or more. Difficult tasks or weakly performed*br*    ritual are more likely to be delayed. In most cases a slight*br*    delay is alright, and it gives us time to get used to the*br*    comming changes. And sometimes the effects of a ritual appear*br*    to extend to before the ritual was performed!*br*5.  Because of the way magick works, a ritual may create an*br*    emphasis in what is sought, and a de-emphasis in everything*br*    else. Balance is therefore important here. Once the magical*br*    result is achieved it may be 'bound' to you and difficult to*br*    get rid of should you later decide to do so.*p*    Example:*br*      You use a magick ritual to help you find and buy a new*br*      house. Years later when you decide to sell it, you are*br*      unable to do so. Consider your magical goals wisely so you*br*      dont get stuck with something you don't really want. Note*br*      that theory says you can always unbind through ritual what*br*      was bound to you...theory says.*br*6.  Sometimes the environment appears to react against the magick*br*    after the results are achieved. This is particularly*br*    noticeable in using magick to affect the weather (and the main*br*    reason why you should NOT use magick to affect the weather).*br*    For example...Your performance of a ritual to produce a sunny*br*    day produces a sunny day. The next day is sunny, alright, but*br*    the rest of the month is cold and overcast. Here the weather*br*    seems to react to the magick in the opposite way to*br*    re-establish its natural balance. It is something like pushing*br*    a pendulum to one side and releasing it -- the pendulum swings*br*    to the other side. To quote Emmerson -- "For everything you*br*    gain you lose something...".  I don't know that this is always*br*    true in magick, but it does illustrate the point. And another*br*    reason not to use magick to affect the weather is that it*br*    might foul it up in other parts of the country (world??).*br*7.  Finally, magick ritual (or any magick or occultism) is very*br*    dangerous for the mentally unstable. If you should somehow*br*    'get out too far', eat 'heavy foods' as previously discussed*br*    (lesson on chakras) and use your religious background or old*br*    belief system for support. But remember too, that wierd*br*    experiences are not necessarily bad experiences.*p**br*REVIEW QUESTIONS*br*1) What is creative visualization?*br*2) List the basic parts of a ritual.*br*3) What is invocation?*p**br*RESEARCH TOPICS (for independent study)*br*1) Examine the differences between western magick and oriental*br*   magick.*br*2) How do medieval grimoirs follow the basic ritual pattern?*br*3) Research and design your own formal ritual.*p**br*BOOK LIST*br*P.E.I. Bonewitz, Real Magic.*br*David Conway, Magic: an Occult Primer (or Ritual Magic).*br*Aleister Crowley, Magick in Theory and Practice.*br*Denning and Phillips, Creative Visualization.*br*Ophiel, Creative Visualization.*br*A.E. Powell, The Astral Body.*br*________, The Mental Body.*br*Joseph Weed, Wisdom of the Ancient Masters.*br*Julian Wilde, Grimoire of Chaos Magick.*p*========*br*Phil Hansford, 4/88 Mysteria (818) 353-8891 (modem)*br*P.O. Box 83 Tujunga, CA 91042*p**br*