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