We have already covered the basic concepts associated with sacred geometry and its use in the more simple structures of ritual magick. Now we need to examine the actual geometric shapes and what they signify. Before we do that, I would like to introduce the additional devices and ritual patterns that are used in the rituals of the Order. Previously, we had covered the basic six devices, these included the star and the cross. Under those two categories, I would like to add the following additional devices.
Additional Star Form Devices
The following star forms are used in the more advanced systems of ritual magick. Since these star forms are very complicated, they are usually colorfully illustrated on a rectangular board, and then charged and consecrated. The resultant talismanic device is then placed in the center of the circle after an inner circle is drawn and opened. The inner circle causes the energies unleashed to be focused and compressed when the talisman is used.
Septagram - this star is used to invoke the seven planetary intelligences (instead of the unicursal hexagram). Because the septagram is difficult to draw from memory, I have opted to instead trace the angles on a large painted septagram talisman. If need be I can draw a septagram in the air with a pointer, but keeping the structure intact and visualizing the drawing of the lines of force is often a bit too complex to be reliable.
Enneagram - this star is used to invoke the ten Sephiroth of the Tree of Life. It can also be used to invoke the nine contemporary astrological planets.
Undecigram - this star is used for a number of different workings, including the 12 zodiacal signs, and various arrangements of the numbers seven and four.
An octagram has no use at present, but could be used to focus the invocation of one of the eight phases of the lunation cycle, or any other matrix system based on the number eight. This is also true of the decagon or the dodecagon, but either could be used to invoke the ten sephiroth or the twelve astrological signs, respectively.
We have already mentioned the lesser hexagram forms, where the triangles are not joined but exist in eccentric or overlapping relationship to each other. In the Golden Dawn tradition, the lesser hexagram is used in a kind of banishing and invoking rite, much like the lesser pentagram. Four forms of the hexagram structure are used, including the basic hexagram itself. Still, I have found little use for the lesser hexagram rituals, but I have discovered a use for three of the lesser hexagram structures (minus the one that looks like a hexagram). I needed a way to define the three basic astrological qualities of ascendent (cardinal), cadent (fixed) and succeedent (mutable), and these three structures seemed perfect for expressing these definitions. I have incorporated them as such in my rituals where they are used in combination with the device of an invoking pentagram of a specific element to perfectly express a zodiacal sign.
The following star forms are used in the more advanced systems of ritual magick. Since these star forms are very complicated, they are usually colorfully illustrated on a rectangular board, and then charged and consecrated. The resultant talismanic device is then placed in the center of the circle after an inner circle is drawn and opened. The inner circle causes the energies unleashed to be focused and compressed when the talisman is used.
Septagram - this star is used to invoke the seven planetary intelligences (instead of the unicursal hexagram). Because the septagram is difficult to draw from memory, I have opted to instead trace the angles on a large painted septagram talisman. If need be I can draw a septagram in the air with a pointer, but keeping the structure intact and visualizing the drawing of the lines of force is often a bit too complex to be reliable.
Enneagram - this star is used to invoke the ten Sephiroth of the Tree of Life. It can also be used to invoke the nine contemporary astrological planets.
Undecigram - this star is used for a number of different workings, including the 12 zodiacal signs, and various arrangements of the numbers seven and four.
An octagram has no use at present, but could be used to focus the invocation of one of the eight phases of the lunation cycle, or any other matrix system based on the number eight. This is also true of the decagon or the dodecagon, but either could be used to invoke the ten sephiroth or the twelve astrological signs, respectively.
We have already mentioned the lesser hexagram forms, where the triangles are not joined but exist in eccentric or overlapping relationship to each other. In the Golden Dawn tradition, the lesser hexagram is used in a kind of banishing and invoking rite, much like the lesser pentagram. Four forms of the hexagram structure are used, including the basic hexagram itself. Still, I have found little use for the lesser hexagram rituals, but I have discovered a use for three of the lesser hexagram structures (minus the one that looks like a hexagram). I needed a way to define the three basic astrological qualities of ascendent (cardinal), cadent (fixed) and succeedent (mutable), and these three structures seemed perfect for expressing these definitions. I have incorporated them as such in my rituals where they are used in combination with the device of an invoking pentagram of a specific element to perfectly express a zodiacal sign.
Additional Cross Form Devices
The bulk of the additional devices are variations on the cross device. These ancillary crosses are used in very specialized ritual structures, so they wouldn't be immediately useful to the average ritual magician. I will list them here along with a short paragraph to indicate their possible use.
Trapezoidal Cross - formed by a trapezoid and a diamond cross embedded within it. Sometimes I will place an invoking spiral in the center. The trapezoidal cross has the effect of causing temporal and inner dimensional distortions, based on the famous Law of the Trapezoid. I use it to erect a separate reality that is non-Euclidean and isometrical to our own, producing magickal extensions of reality. I have often thought that the trapezoidal cross would be the perfect device and tool of chaos magick, but that would assume that a chaos magician would prize any tool or device above any other. Often, I will use the trapezoidal cross as a device to qualify the ritual structure points of the trigon and tetrahedral gateway. I have found this use to be very efficacious.
Iron Cross - formed by an equal arm cross with the arms curving downward to touch the line of the base. The iron cross is a powerful device used to aggressively manifest and empower a ritual structure. It is exclusively used in the Iron Cross ritual, which is employed to exteriorize a spirit that has the magician's bonded purpose attached to it. Exteriorizing a spirit is the final step of a process that I refer to as evocation, or projecting a spirit into the mundane sphere.
Pentagramic Cross - formed by an obverse or inverted pentagram superimposed over a five part cross form (a cross with an extended base). The invoking pentagram is drawn to generate either the feminine or masculine spiritual quality. There are, then, four possibilities for this cross - masculine and feminine Spirit, and an obverse and inverted pentagram (ascension or emanation). The pentagrammic cross is used to express the concept of the human avatar, where the cross symbolizes the guiding grace of the godhead, and the pentagram is an emblem of the human trials of spiritual ascent. This is a complex construct that has many meanings, but I typically use it as a cross charged with the element of spirit. However, I often employ it to represent the qualities of the gnostic current of Thelema.
Hexagramic Cross - formed by a joined triangular hexagram with an equal arm cross superimposed over it and a roseate core (invoking spiral). The hexagramic cross symbolizes the gnostic current of Agape, representing the power of harmony, spiritual love, friendship and world peace. Since both the cross and the hexagram symbolize a form of spiritual union, merging them together emphasizes and elevates that quality.
Pshent Cross - looks like the zodiacal symbol for Pisces with a roseate core (invoking spiral). The pshent cross is used to characterize the qualities of death, transformation and the pure ascension of spirit and mind in eternal union - life transcending death. This cross is used to express the qualities of the gnostic current of Thanatos.
Inverted Ankh - an ankh drawn so that the base is above the loop. Another name for this cross is the regal orb, symbolizing the sacred reign or sanctum regnum. Thus, the inverted ankh represents the powerfully manifested grace of the godhead residing in a domain that is considered holy or sacred ground. The regal orb represents the domain of the sacred and magickal king, an aspect that is explored and mastered in the Order’s sixth degree. The saying “a man’s home is his castle” does approximate the effect that this device produces when it's used in a magick ritual.
Vesica Pisces - consists of two intersecting curves, drawn facing away from each. The Vesica Pisces symbolizes the womb container of the feminine archetype (goddess), so it is a device that represents the creative powers of regeneration. Often an equal arm cross is placed in the center of the device, symbolizing the manifestation of all potential.
Swastika - also known as the fly-foot cross. It is an equal arm cross with all four arms bent at 90 degree angles in the same direction (clockwise or counter clockwise). A swastika is a solar spiral or wheel, being the combination of a cross and a spiral. The direction of the arms indicates whether the sun wheel is positive (clockwise) or negative (counter clockwise). I typically superimpose either an invoking or banishing spiral in the center of the swastika, depending on the direction of the arms. Although the swastika has been made infamous by its use on flags and emblems associated with the German Nazi party, the swastika is still an important and positive sign, if one can get past the infamy. I have used this device to represent the pure expression of solar powers, whether positive (life giving, nurturing, illuminating) or negative (destroying, killing, obfuscation - also atonement, purification). The negative swastika is also called the Black Sun, and was the variation most often depicted by the Nazis on their flags - no surprise there.
Roseate Grail - looks like the more elaborate sign for the zodiacal symbol of Pluto with an invoking spiral in the lower cross structure. The grail device characterizes the Holy Grail in all of its various manifestations, representing the mechanism in which the material reality is powerfully imbued with the sacrament of Spirit.
Additional Circle Points
More advanced techniques in ritual magick can expand the number of the points used in the outer periphery of the magick circle. Four points can produce a square, and eight points, an octagon. However, if points are placed either side of the four Angles, then more structures can be erected. A total of sixteen points can be used if all of the Watchtowers, Angles and the in-between points are used. The sixteen point circle is a true compass round, representing the sixteen directions that the wind can blow - this would certainly be useful for weather magick and treasure locating magick, as well as the Goetia-Theurgia grimoire working.
If the Angles are omitted but not the in-between points, then twelve circle points can be employed, one for each of the twelve signs of the zodiac. A twelve pointed magick circle would be ideal for certain kinds of zodiacal magick.
Another set of points can be placed vertically at any of the points in the outer periphery of the magick circle, emulating the three points established in the center of the circle. Thus there is a possible infra, meso and ultra-point at each point on the magick circle. These additional points allow for the placement of a pylon in any of these locations. In most cases, the meso-point would be ignored, and the infra and ultra-points would be incorporated when a pylon is employed. We can easily see that having pylons along the periphery of a magick circle allows for a greater variety of possible structures in terms of the kinds of prismatic shapes that can be produced.
All of these extra-point magick circles have a very specific use, since employing them will add a level of complexity and density to a ritual that might otherwise prove unwieldy. It would be prudent if some kind of markers were placed at the points in between the four Angles, to clearly indicate them when used. This would help the magician to visualize them. (I already work with a system of magick that has the Watchtowers and the Angles marked by small altars and oil lamps.)
The twelve pointed magick circle can be used to establish an in-circle dodecagon, and the sixteen pointed magick circle could be used to establish an in-circle double octagon. To produce these structures, each of the points would have to be deliberately drawn together along the periphery of the magick circle. The only actual variances would be the vector used in joining the points together, whether clockwise or counter clockwise. In addition, whatever ritual structures were employed in the center of either a duodecagon or a double octagon would add to the over-all prismatic field, producing very elaborate structures.
A dodecagon with an internal combined structure of a pyramid, a tetrahedral gateway and a mid-point would produce a dodecahedron prismatic structure. That prismatic shape would emerge because the initial energy structure of a sphere would imprint and carry the design to both hemispheres of the magickal circle structure, even though, technically, only half of it would be visual. Such a prismatic energy shape, besides being one of the Platonic solids, would represent an elaborate and fully empowered mystikon or telesterion (chamber of the mysteries).
Correspondingly, a double octagon with an internal combined structure of a double tetrahedron gateway and a mid-point would produce an icosahedron. The prismatic shape of an icosahedron is also a Platonic solid, and when deployed, it would represent a trans-dimensional para-reality or meta-domain, such as one of the eighteen Qabbalistic Dimensions. (A Qabbalistic Dimension is defined as one of the eighteen triangular shapes produced by the lattice structure of the Tree of Life - sephiroth, pathways and vectors. Two of the shapes are actually trapezoids.)
In both cases of the dodecahedron and the icosahedron, the ritual structures that produce them do not produce all of the vertices associated with those polyhedron shapes. This is particularly true due to the fact that a ritual structure is erected in a hemisphere, where the full sphere is occluded by the floor of the temple. What is actually occurring is a kind of symbolic modeling, where the basic components are established, and through the artifice of magick, these components lend themselves to producing the actual polyhedron shape when all of the components are brought into symbolic union. The dodecahedron has twelve faces consisting of pentagons, which can be emulated by a dodecagon and a pyramid. Similarly, a icosahedron has twenty faces consisting of triangles, which can be emulated by a double octagon and a tetrahedron - the second tetrahedron supplies the triangular shapes.
Most of the advanced rituals of the Order use variations of the four and eight point outer circle structures, since these appear to provide for more than enough ritual structures. However, one variation that might prove useful would be a circle structure that would employ five points in the magick circle, such could be derived by using four Watchtowers and one Angle, or four Angles and one Watchtower. The five points of such a magickal circle structure would be joined to the ultra-point of a central pylon, producing a pentagonal prismatic shape, which I have jokingly referred to as the Eye of the Demon (although I am sure that the Chrysler corporation would not find it at all amusing).
Artful Declarative Statements
We have previously touched on declarative statements that can be used to further qualify the points in a ritual pattern. Magicians could conceivably write their own declarations, which would encapsulate certain occult ideals associated with the formula letter and the function of the ritual structure. The better that one writes these declarations, using brevity and succinctness as a guiding rule, then the more effective they will be in helping to give greater insight and definition to the ritual. I have warned the reader that declaration statements can easily make a ritual too dense or too loquacious, slowing down the timing or the flow of a ritual. The words should also be inspiring and even a bit profound, which would require a certain skill in word smithing. Using poor word selection or writing a statement that is hard to read or doesn’t flow can be a problem - it can literally make or break a ritual.
In this article on advanced ritual magick I will make the proposition that sometimes using actual quotations from famous poems, plays, songs, or the writings of famous authors or philosophers will produce far better effects. Since the ritual is usually not going to be published, extensive use doesn’t require the permission from an author. However, it is good form to always cite the author and the source where the quote came from, so others who might use the ritual will know.
Using actual literary sources for the declaration statements can help build rituals that are elegant and highly aesthetic. Not everyone is a great word smith, so quoting famous authors can make a dull or monotonous ritual into something very exciting and deeply meaningful. Using an author’s writings (and citing the source) can also act as a celebration of the greatness and majesty of that individual’s writings. For instance, one of my rituals uses quotations from T. S. Eliot’s great poem, “The Wasteland,” and it adds a dimension of verbal drama and power that the ritual wouldn’t have had otherwise.
However, the theme of the quotation should fit seamlessly in with the other attributes of that particular point in the ritual structure, where the device and the formula letter, as well as the overall theme of the ritual match what is being quoted from some author or poet. Sometimes a very simple statement is much more efficient and complete than some artful or flowery statement taken from some long dead author or poet. A simple test is to read over the declaration statements in the ritual while performing the actions in your head (or one can even practice the ritual without actually doing it). If you stumble over the words or if they are awkward and clumsy, or too verbose, then they will need to be edited and carefully crafted until they easily flow, adding a poignant and powerful meaning to the ritual.
Of course, declarative statements, even if they are deeply meaningful and dramatic, would seem kind of empty without some kind of musical accompaniment. For the sake of efficiency, I would recommend recorded music instead of a live band, and usually classical, new age or ambient music is better suited for ritual than something that would be distracting or even overpowering. A musical track carefully crafted along with some truly inspiring words would make a powerful impression, even if the only one attending the ritual working is the magician celebrant.
Advanced Ritual Structures
Now that we have discussed all of the additional devices and the additional points that can be used, we can turn to the actual ritual structures used in the advanced ritual workings of the Order of the Gnostic Star. We should keep in mind that these additional features allow for the ritual structures to assume a far greater array of possibilities than what we considered previously. It is very likely that some of these combinations have not yet even been deployed in the ritual lore of the Order, and await future use and experimentation.
We begin our examination of ritual structures at the point that we left off in the previous article. The last two structures examined were the pyramid and the tetrahedral gateway. We saw that these structures can be doubled, to produce a double pyramid or octahedron, and a double tetrahedron, which forms a kind of hexahedron. Let us now proceed with the rest of the known and possible structures, beginning with the cube.
Cube - A cube is produced with a foundation of a circle squared, using either the four Watchtowers or four Angles. Then four pylons are set to each of the points at the base of the square, and a pylon is erected in the center of the circle. As you can see, the very first prismatic shape in my list calls for the use of setting pylons to the periphery of the magick circle. The four outer pylons are then joined to the center pylon, where the ultra-points in the four outer points are joined to the ultra-point in the center of the circle, and the infra-points are correspondingly joined to the infra-point in the center. When the forces are drawn to union through the central meso-point, a great volume of power is released. The power charge for a cube is considerable because all of the energies are polarized into the central ultra-point and the infra-point before they are fused. The pylons erected in the periphery of the magick circle could be set with invoking pentagrams, thus generating four distinct Elementals, and then drawing them to the center of the circle, where they would be combined with either another Elemental energy, or an energy that is aligned to Spirit alone. This ritual structure is used to create the outer elemental envelope used to give substance and form to a spirit that is invoked. It is, therefore, part of the Quintedecim complex, although typically, the four other points in the circle are used for some specific qualification as well (i.e., the tetra-sacramentary).
Great Pyramid - This shape is similar to a cube, except that the ultra-point of the four pylons set to the outer points of the circle are joined to the ultra-point of the central pylon, omitting the joining of the four infra-points to the central infra-point. Instead of a cube, a great pyramid energy structure is formed. This slight variance produces a very different kind of power signature, where the energy is focused at the central ultra-point instead of at the meso-point. A great pyramid is used to project powers outwardly, and the cube is used to hold powers within the magick circle, focused at the mid-point.
Elemental Octagon - A double circle squared ritual structure is established, one square at a time (to establish the base element, then the qualifier), and then the four Watchtowers are joined to the infra-point, and the four Angles are joined to the ultra-point. The two middle points are then drawn into fusion in the meso-point. This ritual structure produces a prismatic energy field similar to a cube, except that it has the qualities of a vortex (one square is drawn clockwise, the other, widdershins). There can also be some variance in regards to the direction used to draw the Watchtowers and the Angles to their corresponding central points. The Elemental Octagon is used to generate Elementals. Still, another distinct ritual has to be used to project the Elemental into the fabric of the space-time continuum - thus, the elemental octagon only generates it.
Septagramic Vortex Gateway - This ritual structure is a pyramid with a tetrahedral gateway enclosed within it. The seven points consist of the four points of the square base and the three points of the gateway trigon. In most configurations, the ultra-point is occupied by both the apex of the pyramid and the tetrahedral gateway. If the pyramid is omitted, and there is just the circle squared with the tetrahedral gateway in the center along with a central pylon, then the resultant structure is called an etheric sword or dagger, due to the shape produced. In this manner, the infra-point would be the handle, the square would be quillon or cross-guard, and the tetrahedral gateway would be the blade.
Enneagramic Vortex Gateway - This ritual structure consists of three interlocking tetrahedral gateways. Two of the gateway trigons consist of the Western and Eastern gates, and the third gateway is produced with the addition of a Northern or Southern gate. The triple gateway is an emblem of the triple goddesses, although any three gods or goddesses would work (such as Brahman, Vishnu and Shiva). The triple gateway is a hallmark of the empowered manifested domain of the godhead, usually deployed with three charged and animated statues of the specific deities at their core (erected in a shrine).
Step Pyramid - This structure consists of four concentric pyramids, one set within the other, and all having the same structural points in common. The theme of each pyramid structure would resonate to one of the four attributes of the Divine Tetrad, so when they are joined together, they would form a gradation from the lowest attribute to the highest, generating a step pyramid prismatic structure, where the final apex would be analogous to the ultimate level of one’s spiritual expression. Whatever ritual structure is placed at the very apex of the highest pyramid would represent the core attribute of the ritual working. This ritual structure is used as the base for the revised and reworked Bornless One Invocation rite.
Quintedecim Complex - This structure consists of an outer cube (using cross angular attributes) combined with an inner circle set with a septagram talisman. On top of the inner circle is set a tetrahedral gateway. The septagram talisman is used to invoke all seven planetary intelligences, qualified by one of the twelve zodiacal aspects (element and triplicity), and these are fused into union through the tetrahedral gateway, joining the intelligences and the cubic elemental envelope to formulate and generate a spiritual intelligence. This structure is used to perform a full invocation of any kind of spirit. The septagramic vortex gateway (using pylons set at each point) can also be used to perform this task.
Double Star Pylon - Since some of the other ritual structures have been doubled, I finally discovered a use for a doubled pylon structure. A double pylon is where two pylons are crossed, forming an ‘X’ with their mid-points in union, and their twin ultra-points and infra-points drawn into union with an invoking spiral set to each. A double pylon is also a double conduit, allowing for a simultaneous two-way direction of energy and communication binding the domain of Spirit and the material world together. It also has the ability of doubling the number of points for each point of a magick circle, multiplying them from one point to two (single pylon), and from two to four (double pylon).
Crown Shield - A crown shield is a fancy title for a rather complex ritual pattern. It uses the double pylon ritual structure, which is deployed at either the four Watchtowers or Angles of a circle squared. There is also a double pylon in the center of the circle, but all of the double pylons in the periphery of the magick circle are joined at their mid-points to the mid-point of the central double pylon. Another variation of this ritual pattern is an octagon with each point set with a pylon, and all of the pylons are joined at the mid-point to a central pylon. The simplest version of this ritual pattern is a simple octagon where a Watchtower and Angle pair are joined together with a horizontal pylon, thus fusing the two points together. This is done so that all four Watchtowers and Angles are fused to their corresponding pair, causing the octagon to become a polarized square with a central pylon. The crown shield is a powerful protective magickal field used to ward all who are within it. It’s vastly more powerful than the Rose Cross ritual, which is also used for protection against negativity of any kind.
Double Vortex Grail Chalice - Another variation on the vortex is the double spiral magnetic vortex. This ritual pattern is formed with a base vortex (negative concentric spiral and a cross-roads), then an inner circle is drawn, and from that another vortex is established within it. The apex of both structures occupies the same space, but the cross-roads base is set within different but concentric magickal circles. The double vortex structure is then set with a grail cross device in the infra-point, imprinting it as a simulacrum of a Grail Chalice deployed as an energy field. This ritual pattern is used to emulate the power and mystery of the grail within a magick circle. It can be used for oracular workings or as the foundation for a deep invocation and assumption of the Goddess. If an inverted tetrahedral gateway is added to its center, then it becomes a channel for the Great Goddess of the Underworld, revealing all of her mysteries.
Grand Gateway - A grand gateway is a gateway structure where the third and fourth points of a tetrahedral gate are collapsed into a single point, forming a two dimensional equilateral triangle. The base points of the gateway always consist of two points in the magickal circle that are in opposition, such as the East and West. The apex of the gateway is set in the ultra-point, and the portal opening gesture is performed in the center of the circle towards the zenith. Additionally, a pylon can be erected in the center of the circle to emphasize the ascension qualities of this gateway. A grand gateway is a gateway of ascension, and is used to establish the maximum connection between a magician and his or her Godhead.
Dragon’s Eye - This ritual pattern uniquely uses a trapezoid base instead of a square. How this is done is that the structure employs three Watchtowers and one Angle, or three Angles and one Watchtower. In the center of the circle is set a pylon, and all of the four points of the trapezoid are joined to the ultra-point. The resultant prism of energy that is formed is like a trapezoidal lozenge, which resembles an eye. The trapezoidal prismatic energy field creates a powerful sensation of an alternative reality, or even a kind of causal collapse, with extreme time dilation and reality distortion. Because of its special powers and features, I have chosen to use this ritual pattern at the very summit of the step pyramid structure in the Bornless One Invocation rite.
Conclusion - Prismatic Energy Fields and Sacred Geometry
We have now covered all of the components and attributes used in the crafting of rituals, both rudimentary and complex, using the expanded energy theory of magick. What is left to discuss are the mythic qualities of the prismatic shapes that these ritual structures generate. We have covered and gone over quite a large number of different shapes, but let us enumerate them and examine them from the perspective of sacred geometry, at least in a succinct and simplistic manner.
Interesting enough, all of the basic shapes can be collapsed into ten basic configurations, perhaps one for each of the ten Sephiroth of the Tree of Life. Five of the shapes conform to what is famously known as the Platonic Solids, which would give them a specific Element attribute. Two of these shapes are emulated rather than actually erected, so there would be some speculation as to whether or not they are properly generated when fully deployed. (I will leave that to the experimentation of the student magician, since what I have experienced and encountered is already well established in this document.)
As I have said previously, the sphere is the simplest of all ritual structures, occurring naturally wherever a magick circle is erected on sacred space. The sphere is a magickal domain, a world within a world that is separated by the boundary of sacred space. The magickal domain of the magician’s circle can appear to function and act with it’s own laws and temporality, causing an experience of time dilation and temporal distortions. Inside a simple magickal domain, these occurrences are quite subtle, even imperceptible, but they quickly increase in intensity and frequency and become quite noticeable when other structures are erected within it.
Pylons and the various vortex Cones are related ritual structures, acting as conduits from the higher spiritual realms to the lower. A pylon, also seen as a pillar or column of light energy, is a classic transitional device that produces a two way transmission of energy and spirit between the macrocosmic world and the microcosmic world of the magickal domain. Cones, on the other hand, are weighted, having a base and an apex that causes a compression of force into a singularity. This feature makes the cone useful for setting and exteriorizing magickal power.
Spirals of various kinds represent the most essential kind of movement and convolution, from spinning galaxies and black holes to the twisting of strands of DNA. Spirals are the essential building blocks of all material and living things. When used in ritual structures, they become the very source of movement, which is the essence of all magickal power. Spirals are used to invoke, banish, seal and unseal, to generate positive and negative force fields, and to compress and exteriorize them. The spiral is integral to all magickal work, particularly through the artifice of ritual magick using the extended energy model.
We also need to consider the odd shapes of the Dragon’s Eye and the Demon’s Eye. These prismatic lozenge shapes would represent a special variation. They are defined completely by their distinct function and do not explicitly represent any category amongst the shapes considered in the formulations of sacred geometry. Perhaps because they are outliers, we can give them a special functional category to consider - and it would also keep the total number at ten.
Then we come to the five Platonic Solids, whose elegance and purity have been the subject of geometers for over two millennia. These shapes are convex polyhedrons that are regular and congruent, with the same number of faces meeting at each vertex - all of its edges, vertices and angles are congruent. Plato assigned Element qualities to these five shapes, as if to indicate that these elements are made up of particles or structures that have this form. We can look at this configuration in a more symbolic manner, realizing the true beauty and majesty of this system when applying these shapes to the magickal domain of sacred space. Let us briefly examine these shapes in the precise sequential order as determined by the number of faces that each one contains.
Tetrahedron has four faces and is assigned to the Element of Fire. A tetrahedron, as it is used in a magick circle, is a gateway between realities and levels. It also has the power of unifying all previous levels (of a multilevel spiral vortex) into a single and higher expression. What we have established here with this definition is something more like a symbolic quality, which is quite evolved. Such a definition is much more significant than what we might consider as represented by a simple definition of the Element of Fire. A tetrahedron, then, causes a synthesis to occur for all previous structures and energies - it is a divine unifier. A double tetrahedron produces a variation of a hexahedron, which is also a cube. A hexahedron in this configuration is a double gateway, where ascension into union occurs simultaneously with the process of emanation that ensouls the universe.
Cube, or hexahedron, has six faces and is assigned to the Element of Earth. A cube is used to polarize and highly empower a desire or act through the drawing of the forces from the zenith and nadir into the mid-point. A cube is generated through the artifice of a circle squared and the erection of five pylons - four to the square points and one in the middle. The ultra-points of all of the pylons are joined together, as are the infra-points. Where the forces converge is the meso-point, where stands the magician as supreme artificer, focusing the magick on herself. It would seem that the cube is much better defined as the mechanism of magickal creation than represented by the Element of Earth, but perhaps in a philosophical manner these concepts are congruent.
Octahedron has eight faces and is assigned to the Element of Air. An octahedron consists of two pyramids, one obverse, and the other, inverted, thus they are polarized along their common base - a circle squared. A pyramid is the perfect generator and transmitter of magickal power, and a correspondingly positive and a negative charged pyramid joined together generates the ultimate in the transmission of ideals and desires into reality. A pyramid transmits its generated force, unlike a cube, which focuses the energy to the mid-point. However, a polarized double pyramid, used as the structure of an octahedron, is as close to a perpetual generator of magickal power as one could possibility erect. An octahedron doesn’t need a compressing or exteriorizing spiral to perform its work - it just needs to be imprinted, and then it begins to transmit magickal energy in pulsing waves.
Dodecahedron has twelve faces and is assigned to the Element of Spirit. We have already discussed this magickal structure in some detail, but as a complex prismatic structure, it generates a magickal field that is analogous to an etheric eclesia - a powerful temple of the highest mysteries.
Icosahedron has twenty faces and is assigned to the Element of Water. This ritual structure was also covered previously. An icosahedron, like the dodecahedron, produces a magickal field that acts like a temple. Where the dodecahedron is a temple housing spiritual mysteries, the icosahedron produces a temple field that houses spiritual mysteries that underlie the sacramentation of the whole material world. Where the dodecahedron temple teaches the wisdom of spiritual ascension, the icosahedron temple teaches the wisdom of sacred manifestation, the art of the master as avatar, which is the very nature of sacred geometry itself.
Building an etheric temple or a prismatic eclesia is the highest form of accomplishment that one could achieve when working an advanced system of ritual magick. It is a demonstration of what can be attained when carefully building and establishing complex and beautiful prismatic energy fields. These fields can only be perceived when one has adopted the proper altered state of consciousness, but under these conditions, geometric structures appear to blaze with a subtle and majestic etheric fire. Still, even if these structures can only be vaguely sensed, their effect is both profound and amazing. I consider all of these advanced and complex structures to represent the highest expression of this art, taking a basic set of rules and bringing them to their fullest expression.
The energy theory or model of magick has some truly wonderful, subtle and incredible uses, causing the operant model of magick to become much more structured and rigorous with its expert use. Correspondingly, if one has developed complex tables and matrices of the various hierarchies of spirits and their qualities using the spirit theory of magick, as well as a highly evolved elaboration of the psychology model of magick, then the final product would a very powerful and mature system of ritual magick. It would represent a mastery of ritual magick that could be quite capable of guiding and assisting the magician to obtain complete and full illumination, mastery of all worlds and perfect at-one-ment with the Godhead. It is conceivable that the master ritual magician as an avatar would not only be able to commune directly with the Deity, but would be well placed to aid the Godhead in its ultimate divine plan for the planet, and even the universe at large.
The bulk of the additional devices are variations on the cross device. These ancillary crosses are used in very specialized ritual structures, so they wouldn't be immediately useful to the average ritual magician. I will list them here along with a short paragraph to indicate their possible use.
Trapezoidal Cross - formed by a trapezoid and a diamond cross embedded within it. Sometimes I will place an invoking spiral in the center. The trapezoidal cross has the effect of causing temporal and inner dimensional distortions, based on the famous Law of the Trapezoid. I use it to erect a separate reality that is non-Euclidean and isometrical to our own, producing magickal extensions of reality. I have often thought that the trapezoidal cross would be the perfect device and tool of chaos magick, but that would assume that a chaos magician would prize any tool or device above any other. Often, I will use the trapezoidal cross as a device to qualify the ritual structure points of the trigon and tetrahedral gateway. I have found this use to be very efficacious.
Iron Cross - formed by an equal arm cross with the arms curving downward to touch the line of the base. The iron cross is a powerful device used to aggressively manifest and empower a ritual structure. It is exclusively used in the Iron Cross ritual, which is employed to exteriorize a spirit that has the magician's bonded purpose attached to it. Exteriorizing a spirit is the final step of a process that I refer to as evocation, or projecting a spirit into the mundane sphere.
Pentagramic Cross - formed by an obverse or inverted pentagram superimposed over a five part cross form (a cross with an extended base). The invoking pentagram is drawn to generate either the feminine or masculine spiritual quality. There are, then, four possibilities for this cross - masculine and feminine Spirit, and an obverse and inverted pentagram (ascension or emanation). The pentagrammic cross is used to express the concept of the human avatar, where the cross symbolizes the guiding grace of the godhead, and the pentagram is an emblem of the human trials of spiritual ascent. This is a complex construct that has many meanings, but I typically use it as a cross charged with the element of spirit. However, I often employ it to represent the qualities of the gnostic current of Thelema.
Hexagramic Cross - formed by a joined triangular hexagram with an equal arm cross superimposed over it and a roseate core (invoking spiral). The hexagramic cross symbolizes the gnostic current of Agape, representing the power of harmony, spiritual love, friendship and world peace. Since both the cross and the hexagram symbolize a form of spiritual union, merging them together emphasizes and elevates that quality.
Pshent Cross - looks like the zodiacal symbol for Pisces with a roseate core (invoking spiral). The pshent cross is used to characterize the qualities of death, transformation and the pure ascension of spirit and mind in eternal union - life transcending death. This cross is used to express the qualities of the gnostic current of Thanatos.
Inverted Ankh - an ankh drawn so that the base is above the loop. Another name for this cross is the regal orb, symbolizing the sacred reign or sanctum regnum. Thus, the inverted ankh represents the powerfully manifested grace of the godhead residing in a domain that is considered holy or sacred ground. The regal orb represents the domain of the sacred and magickal king, an aspect that is explored and mastered in the Order’s sixth degree. The saying “a man’s home is his castle” does approximate the effect that this device produces when it's used in a magick ritual.
Vesica Pisces - consists of two intersecting curves, drawn facing away from each. The Vesica Pisces symbolizes the womb container of the feminine archetype (goddess), so it is a device that represents the creative powers of regeneration. Often an equal arm cross is placed in the center of the device, symbolizing the manifestation of all potential.
Swastika - also known as the fly-foot cross. It is an equal arm cross with all four arms bent at 90 degree angles in the same direction (clockwise or counter clockwise). A swastika is a solar spiral or wheel, being the combination of a cross and a spiral. The direction of the arms indicates whether the sun wheel is positive (clockwise) or negative (counter clockwise). I typically superimpose either an invoking or banishing spiral in the center of the swastika, depending on the direction of the arms. Although the swastika has been made infamous by its use on flags and emblems associated with the German Nazi party, the swastika is still an important and positive sign, if one can get past the infamy. I have used this device to represent the pure expression of solar powers, whether positive (life giving, nurturing, illuminating) or negative (destroying, killing, obfuscation - also atonement, purification). The negative swastika is also called the Black Sun, and was the variation most often depicted by the Nazis on their flags - no surprise there.
Roseate Grail - looks like the more elaborate sign for the zodiacal symbol of Pluto with an invoking spiral in the lower cross structure. The grail device characterizes the Holy Grail in all of its various manifestations, representing the mechanism in which the material reality is powerfully imbued with the sacrament of Spirit.
Additional Circle Points
More advanced techniques in ritual magick can expand the number of the points used in the outer periphery of the magick circle. Four points can produce a square, and eight points, an octagon. However, if points are placed either side of the four Angles, then more structures can be erected. A total of sixteen points can be used if all of the Watchtowers, Angles and the in-between points are used. The sixteen point circle is a true compass round, representing the sixteen directions that the wind can blow - this would certainly be useful for weather magick and treasure locating magick, as well as the Goetia-Theurgia grimoire working.
If the Angles are omitted but not the in-between points, then twelve circle points can be employed, one for each of the twelve signs of the zodiac. A twelve pointed magick circle would be ideal for certain kinds of zodiacal magick.
Another set of points can be placed vertically at any of the points in the outer periphery of the magick circle, emulating the three points established in the center of the circle. Thus there is a possible infra, meso and ultra-point at each point on the magick circle. These additional points allow for the placement of a pylon in any of these locations. In most cases, the meso-point would be ignored, and the infra and ultra-points would be incorporated when a pylon is employed. We can easily see that having pylons along the periphery of a magick circle allows for a greater variety of possible structures in terms of the kinds of prismatic shapes that can be produced.
All of these extra-point magick circles have a very specific use, since employing them will add a level of complexity and density to a ritual that might otherwise prove unwieldy. It would be prudent if some kind of markers were placed at the points in between the four Angles, to clearly indicate them when used. This would help the magician to visualize them. (I already work with a system of magick that has the Watchtowers and the Angles marked by small altars and oil lamps.)
The twelve pointed magick circle can be used to establish an in-circle dodecagon, and the sixteen pointed magick circle could be used to establish an in-circle double octagon. To produce these structures, each of the points would have to be deliberately drawn together along the periphery of the magick circle. The only actual variances would be the vector used in joining the points together, whether clockwise or counter clockwise. In addition, whatever ritual structures were employed in the center of either a duodecagon or a double octagon would add to the over-all prismatic field, producing very elaborate structures.
A dodecagon with an internal combined structure of a pyramid, a tetrahedral gateway and a mid-point would produce a dodecahedron prismatic structure. That prismatic shape would emerge because the initial energy structure of a sphere would imprint and carry the design to both hemispheres of the magickal circle structure, even though, technically, only half of it would be visual. Such a prismatic energy shape, besides being one of the Platonic solids, would represent an elaborate and fully empowered mystikon or telesterion (chamber of the mysteries).
Correspondingly, a double octagon with an internal combined structure of a double tetrahedron gateway and a mid-point would produce an icosahedron. The prismatic shape of an icosahedron is also a Platonic solid, and when deployed, it would represent a trans-dimensional para-reality or meta-domain, such as one of the eighteen Qabbalistic Dimensions. (A Qabbalistic Dimension is defined as one of the eighteen triangular shapes produced by the lattice structure of the Tree of Life - sephiroth, pathways and vectors. Two of the shapes are actually trapezoids.)
In both cases of the dodecahedron and the icosahedron, the ritual structures that produce them do not produce all of the vertices associated with those polyhedron shapes. This is particularly true due to the fact that a ritual structure is erected in a hemisphere, where the full sphere is occluded by the floor of the temple. What is actually occurring is a kind of symbolic modeling, where the basic components are established, and through the artifice of magick, these components lend themselves to producing the actual polyhedron shape when all of the components are brought into symbolic union. The dodecahedron has twelve faces consisting of pentagons, which can be emulated by a dodecagon and a pyramid. Similarly, a icosahedron has twenty faces consisting of triangles, which can be emulated by a double octagon and a tetrahedron - the second tetrahedron supplies the triangular shapes.
Most of the advanced rituals of the Order use variations of the four and eight point outer circle structures, since these appear to provide for more than enough ritual structures. However, one variation that might prove useful would be a circle structure that would employ five points in the magick circle, such could be derived by using four Watchtowers and one Angle, or four Angles and one Watchtower. The five points of such a magickal circle structure would be joined to the ultra-point of a central pylon, producing a pentagonal prismatic shape, which I have jokingly referred to as the Eye of the Demon (although I am sure that the Chrysler corporation would not find it at all amusing).
Artful Declarative Statements
We have previously touched on declarative statements that can be used to further qualify the points in a ritual pattern. Magicians could conceivably write their own declarations, which would encapsulate certain occult ideals associated with the formula letter and the function of the ritual structure. The better that one writes these declarations, using brevity and succinctness as a guiding rule, then the more effective they will be in helping to give greater insight and definition to the ritual. I have warned the reader that declaration statements can easily make a ritual too dense or too loquacious, slowing down the timing or the flow of a ritual. The words should also be inspiring and even a bit profound, which would require a certain skill in word smithing. Using poor word selection or writing a statement that is hard to read or doesn’t flow can be a problem - it can literally make or break a ritual.
In this article on advanced ritual magick I will make the proposition that sometimes using actual quotations from famous poems, plays, songs, or the writings of famous authors or philosophers will produce far better effects. Since the ritual is usually not going to be published, extensive use doesn’t require the permission from an author. However, it is good form to always cite the author and the source where the quote came from, so others who might use the ritual will know.
Using actual literary sources for the declaration statements can help build rituals that are elegant and highly aesthetic. Not everyone is a great word smith, so quoting famous authors can make a dull or monotonous ritual into something very exciting and deeply meaningful. Using an author’s writings (and citing the source) can also act as a celebration of the greatness and majesty of that individual’s writings. For instance, one of my rituals uses quotations from T. S. Eliot’s great poem, “The Wasteland,” and it adds a dimension of verbal drama and power that the ritual wouldn’t have had otherwise.
However, the theme of the quotation should fit seamlessly in with the other attributes of that particular point in the ritual structure, where the device and the formula letter, as well as the overall theme of the ritual match what is being quoted from some author or poet. Sometimes a very simple statement is much more efficient and complete than some artful or flowery statement taken from some long dead author or poet. A simple test is to read over the declaration statements in the ritual while performing the actions in your head (or one can even practice the ritual without actually doing it). If you stumble over the words or if they are awkward and clumsy, or too verbose, then they will need to be edited and carefully crafted until they easily flow, adding a poignant and powerful meaning to the ritual.
Of course, declarative statements, even if they are deeply meaningful and dramatic, would seem kind of empty without some kind of musical accompaniment. For the sake of efficiency, I would recommend recorded music instead of a live band, and usually classical, new age or ambient music is better suited for ritual than something that would be distracting or even overpowering. A musical track carefully crafted along with some truly inspiring words would make a powerful impression, even if the only one attending the ritual working is the magician celebrant.
Advanced Ritual Structures
Now that we have discussed all of the additional devices and the additional points that can be used, we can turn to the actual ritual structures used in the advanced ritual workings of the Order of the Gnostic Star. We should keep in mind that these additional features allow for the ritual structures to assume a far greater array of possibilities than what we considered previously. It is very likely that some of these combinations have not yet even been deployed in the ritual lore of the Order, and await future use and experimentation.
We begin our examination of ritual structures at the point that we left off in the previous article. The last two structures examined were the pyramid and the tetrahedral gateway. We saw that these structures can be doubled, to produce a double pyramid or octahedron, and a double tetrahedron, which forms a kind of hexahedron. Let us now proceed with the rest of the known and possible structures, beginning with the cube.
Cube - A cube is produced with a foundation of a circle squared, using either the four Watchtowers or four Angles. Then four pylons are set to each of the points at the base of the square, and a pylon is erected in the center of the circle. As you can see, the very first prismatic shape in my list calls for the use of setting pylons to the periphery of the magick circle. The four outer pylons are then joined to the center pylon, where the ultra-points in the four outer points are joined to the ultra-point in the center of the circle, and the infra-points are correspondingly joined to the infra-point in the center. When the forces are drawn to union through the central meso-point, a great volume of power is released. The power charge for a cube is considerable because all of the energies are polarized into the central ultra-point and the infra-point before they are fused. The pylons erected in the periphery of the magick circle could be set with invoking pentagrams, thus generating four distinct Elementals, and then drawing them to the center of the circle, where they would be combined with either another Elemental energy, or an energy that is aligned to Spirit alone. This ritual structure is used to create the outer elemental envelope used to give substance and form to a spirit that is invoked. It is, therefore, part of the Quintedecim complex, although typically, the four other points in the circle are used for some specific qualification as well (i.e., the tetra-sacramentary).
Great Pyramid - This shape is similar to a cube, except that the ultra-point of the four pylons set to the outer points of the circle are joined to the ultra-point of the central pylon, omitting the joining of the four infra-points to the central infra-point. Instead of a cube, a great pyramid energy structure is formed. This slight variance produces a very different kind of power signature, where the energy is focused at the central ultra-point instead of at the meso-point. A great pyramid is used to project powers outwardly, and the cube is used to hold powers within the magick circle, focused at the mid-point.
Elemental Octagon - A double circle squared ritual structure is established, one square at a time (to establish the base element, then the qualifier), and then the four Watchtowers are joined to the infra-point, and the four Angles are joined to the ultra-point. The two middle points are then drawn into fusion in the meso-point. This ritual structure produces a prismatic energy field similar to a cube, except that it has the qualities of a vortex (one square is drawn clockwise, the other, widdershins). There can also be some variance in regards to the direction used to draw the Watchtowers and the Angles to their corresponding central points. The Elemental Octagon is used to generate Elementals. Still, another distinct ritual has to be used to project the Elemental into the fabric of the space-time continuum - thus, the elemental octagon only generates it.
Septagramic Vortex Gateway - This ritual structure is a pyramid with a tetrahedral gateway enclosed within it. The seven points consist of the four points of the square base and the three points of the gateway trigon. In most configurations, the ultra-point is occupied by both the apex of the pyramid and the tetrahedral gateway. If the pyramid is omitted, and there is just the circle squared with the tetrahedral gateway in the center along with a central pylon, then the resultant structure is called an etheric sword or dagger, due to the shape produced. In this manner, the infra-point would be the handle, the square would be quillon or cross-guard, and the tetrahedral gateway would be the blade.
Enneagramic Vortex Gateway - This ritual structure consists of three interlocking tetrahedral gateways. Two of the gateway trigons consist of the Western and Eastern gates, and the third gateway is produced with the addition of a Northern or Southern gate. The triple gateway is an emblem of the triple goddesses, although any three gods or goddesses would work (such as Brahman, Vishnu and Shiva). The triple gateway is a hallmark of the empowered manifested domain of the godhead, usually deployed with three charged and animated statues of the specific deities at their core (erected in a shrine).
Step Pyramid - This structure consists of four concentric pyramids, one set within the other, and all having the same structural points in common. The theme of each pyramid structure would resonate to one of the four attributes of the Divine Tetrad, so when they are joined together, they would form a gradation from the lowest attribute to the highest, generating a step pyramid prismatic structure, where the final apex would be analogous to the ultimate level of one’s spiritual expression. Whatever ritual structure is placed at the very apex of the highest pyramid would represent the core attribute of the ritual working. This ritual structure is used as the base for the revised and reworked Bornless One Invocation rite.
Quintedecim Complex - This structure consists of an outer cube (using cross angular attributes) combined with an inner circle set with a septagram talisman. On top of the inner circle is set a tetrahedral gateway. The septagram talisman is used to invoke all seven planetary intelligences, qualified by one of the twelve zodiacal aspects (element and triplicity), and these are fused into union through the tetrahedral gateway, joining the intelligences and the cubic elemental envelope to formulate and generate a spiritual intelligence. This structure is used to perform a full invocation of any kind of spirit. The septagramic vortex gateway (using pylons set at each point) can also be used to perform this task.
Double Star Pylon - Since some of the other ritual structures have been doubled, I finally discovered a use for a doubled pylon structure. A double pylon is where two pylons are crossed, forming an ‘X’ with their mid-points in union, and their twin ultra-points and infra-points drawn into union with an invoking spiral set to each. A double pylon is also a double conduit, allowing for a simultaneous two-way direction of energy and communication binding the domain of Spirit and the material world together. It also has the ability of doubling the number of points for each point of a magick circle, multiplying them from one point to two (single pylon), and from two to four (double pylon).
Crown Shield - A crown shield is a fancy title for a rather complex ritual pattern. It uses the double pylon ritual structure, which is deployed at either the four Watchtowers or Angles of a circle squared. There is also a double pylon in the center of the circle, but all of the double pylons in the periphery of the magick circle are joined at their mid-points to the mid-point of the central double pylon. Another variation of this ritual pattern is an octagon with each point set with a pylon, and all of the pylons are joined at the mid-point to a central pylon. The simplest version of this ritual pattern is a simple octagon where a Watchtower and Angle pair are joined together with a horizontal pylon, thus fusing the two points together. This is done so that all four Watchtowers and Angles are fused to their corresponding pair, causing the octagon to become a polarized square with a central pylon. The crown shield is a powerful protective magickal field used to ward all who are within it. It’s vastly more powerful than the Rose Cross ritual, which is also used for protection against negativity of any kind.
Double Vortex Grail Chalice - Another variation on the vortex is the double spiral magnetic vortex. This ritual pattern is formed with a base vortex (negative concentric spiral and a cross-roads), then an inner circle is drawn, and from that another vortex is established within it. The apex of both structures occupies the same space, but the cross-roads base is set within different but concentric magickal circles. The double vortex structure is then set with a grail cross device in the infra-point, imprinting it as a simulacrum of a Grail Chalice deployed as an energy field. This ritual pattern is used to emulate the power and mystery of the grail within a magick circle. It can be used for oracular workings or as the foundation for a deep invocation and assumption of the Goddess. If an inverted tetrahedral gateway is added to its center, then it becomes a channel for the Great Goddess of the Underworld, revealing all of her mysteries.
Grand Gateway - A grand gateway is a gateway structure where the third and fourth points of a tetrahedral gate are collapsed into a single point, forming a two dimensional equilateral triangle. The base points of the gateway always consist of two points in the magickal circle that are in opposition, such as the East and West. The apex of the gateway is set in the ultra-point, and the portal opening gesture is performed in the center of the circle towards the zenith. Additionally, a pylon can be erected in the center of the circle to emphasize the ascension qualities of this gateway. A grand gateway is a gateway of ascension, and is used to establish the maximum connection between a magician and his or her Godhead.
Dragon’s Eye - This ritual pattern uniquely uses a trapezoid base instead of a square. How this is done is that the structure employs three Watchtowers and one Angle, or three Angles and one Watchtower. In the center of the circle is set a pylon, and all of the four points of the trapezoid are joined to the ultra-point. The resultant prism of energy that is formed is like a trapezoidal lozenge, which resembles an eye. The trapezoidal prismatic energy field creates a powerful sensation of an alternative reality, or even a kind of causal collapse, with extreme time dilation and reality distortion. Because of its special powers and features, I have chosen to use this ritual pattern at the very summit of the step pyramid structure in the Bornless One Invocation rite.
Conclusion - Prismatic Energy Fields and Sacred Geometry
We have now covered all of the components and attributes used in the crafting of rituals, both rudimentary and complex, using the expanded energy theory of magick. What is left to discuss are the mythic qualities of the prismatic shapes that these ritual structures generate. We have covered and gone over quite a large number of different shapes, but let us enumerate them and examine them from the perspective of sacred geometry, at least in a succinct and simplistic manner.
Interesting enough, all of the basic shapes can be collapsed into ten basic configurations, perhaps one for each of the ten Sephiroth of the Tree of Life. Five of the shapes conform to what is famously known as the Platonic Solids, which would give them a specific Element attribute. Two of these shapes are emulated rather than actually erected, so there would be some speculation as to whether or not they are properly generated when fully deployed. (I will leave that to the experimentation of the student magician, since what I have experienced and encountered is already well established in this document.)
As I have said previously, the sphere is the simplest of all ritual structures, occurring naturally wherever a magick circle is erected on sacred space. The sphere is a magickal domain, a world within a world that is separated by the boundary of sacred space. The magickal domain of the magician’s circle can appear to function and act with it’s own laws and temporality, causing an experience of time dilation and temporal distortions. Inside a simple magickal domain, these occurrences are quite subtle, even imperceptible, but they quickly increase in intensity and frequency and become quite noticeable when other structures are erected within it.
Pylons and the various vortex Cones are related ritual structures, acting as conduits from the higher spiritual realms to the lower. A pylon, also seen as a pillar or column of light energy, is a classic transitional device that produces a two way transmission of energy and spirit between the macrocosmic world and the microcosmic world of the magickal domain. Cones, on the other hand, are weighted, having a base and an apex that causes a compression of force into a singularity. This feature makes the cone useful for setting and exteriorizing magickal power.
Spirals of various kinds represent the most essential kind of movement and convolution, from spinning galaxies and black holes to the twisting of strands of DNA. Spirals are the essential building blocks of all material and living things. When used in ritual structures, they become the very source of movement, which is the essence of all magickal power. Spirals are used to invoke, banish, seal and unseal, to generate positive and negative force fields, and to compress and exteriorize them. The spiral is integral to all magickal work, particularly through the artifice of ritual magick using the extended energy model.
We also need to consider the odd shapes of the Dragon’s Eye and the Demon’s Eye. These prismatic lozenge shapes would represent a special variation. They are defined completely by their distinct function and do not explicitly represent any category amongst the shapes considered in the formulations of sacred geometry. Perhaps because they are outliers, we can give them a special functional category to consider - and it would also keep the total number at ten.
Then we come to the five Platonic Solids, whose elegance and purity have been the subject of geometers for over two millennia. These shapes are convex polyhedrons that are regular and congruent, with the same number of faces meeting at each vertex - all of its edges, vertices and angles are congruent. Plato assigned Element qualities to these five shapes, as if to indicate that these elements are made up of particles or structures that have this form. We can look at this configuration in a more symbolic manner, realizing the true beauty and majesty of this system when applying these shapes to the magickal domain of sacred space. Let us briefly examine these shapes in the precise sequential order as determined by the number of faces that each one contains.
Tetrahedron has four faces and is assigned to the Element of Fire. A tetrahedron, as it is used in a magick circle, is a gateway between realities and levels. It also has the power of unifying all previous levels (of a multilevel spiral vortex) into a single and higher expression. What we have established here with this definition is something more like a symbolic quality, which is quite evolved. Such a definition is much more significant than what we might consider as represented by a simple definition of the Element of Fire. A tetrahedron, then, causes a synthesis to occur for all previous structures and energies - it is a divine unifier. A double tetrahedron produces a variation of a hexahedron, which is also a cube. A hexahedron in this configuration is a double gateway, where ascension into union occurs simultaneously with the process of emanation that ensouls the universe.
Cube, or hexahedron, has six faces and is assigned to the Element of Earth. A cube is used to polarize and highly empower a desire or act through the drawing of the forces from the zenith and nadir into the mid-point. A cube is generated through the artifice of a circle squared and the erection of five pylons - four to the square points and one in the middle. The ultra-points of all of the pylons are joined together, as are the infra-points. Where the forces converge is the meso-point, where stands the magician as supreme artificer, focusing the magick on herself. It would seem that the cube is much better defined as the mechanism of magickal creation than represented by the Element of Earth, but perhaps in a philosophical manner these concepts are congruent.
Octahedron has eight faces and is assigned to the Element of Air. An octahedron consists of two pyramids, one obverse, and the other, inverted, thus they are polarized along their common base - a circle squared. A pyramid is the perfect generator and transmitter of magickal power, and a correspondingly positive and a negative charged pyramid joined together generates the ultimate in the transmission of ideals and desires into reality. A pyramid transmits its generated force, unlike a cube, which focuses the energy to the mid-point. However, a polarized double pyramid, used as the structure of an octahedron, is as close to a perpetual generator of magickal power as one could possibility erect. An octahedron doesn’t need a compressing or exteriorizing spiral to perform its work - it just needs to be imprinted, and then it begins to transmit magickal energy in pulsing waves.
Dodecahedron has twelve faces and is assigned to the Element of Spirit. We have already discussed this magickal structure in some detail, but as a complex prismatic structure, it generates a magickal field that is analogous to an etheric eclesia - a powerful temple of the highest mysteries.
Icosahedron has twenty faces and is assigned to the Element of Water. This ritual structure was also covered previously. An icosahedron, like the dodecahedron, produces a magickal field that acts like a temple. Where the dodecahedron is a temple housing spiritual mysteries, the icosahedron produces a temple field that houses spiritual mysteries that underlie the sacramentation of the whole material world. Where the dodecahedron temple teaches the wisdom of spiritual ascension, the icosahedron temple teaches the wisdom of sacred manifestation, the art of the master as avatar, which is the very nature of sacred geometry itself.
Building an etheric temple or a prismatic eclesia is the highest form of accomplishment that one could achieve when working an advanced system of ritual magick. It is a demonstration of what can be attained when carefully building and establishing complex and beautiful prismatic energy fields. These fields can only be perceived when one has adopted the proper altered state of consciousness, but under these conditions, geometric structures appear to blaze with a subtle and majestic etheric fire. Still, even if these structures can only be vaguely sensed, their effect is both profound and amazing. I consider all of these advanced and complex structures to represent the highest expression of this art, taking a basic set of rules and bringing them to their fullest expression.
The energy theory or model of magick has some truly wonderful, subtle and incredible uses, causing the operant model of magick to become much more structured and rigorous with its expert use. Correspondingly, if one has developed complex tables and matrices of the various hierarchies of spirits and their qualities using the spirit theory of magick, as well as a highly evolved elaboration of the psychology model of magick, then the final product would a very powerful and mature system of ritual magick. It would represent a mastery of ritual magick that could be quite capable of guiding and assisting the magician to obtain complete and full illumination, mastery of all worlds and perfect at-one-ment with the Godhead. It is conceivable that the master ritual magician as an avatar would not only be able to commune directly with the Deity, but would be well placed to aid the Godhead in its ultimate divine plan for the planet, and even the universe at large.
Frater Barrabas
Any chance of some illustrations at some point? This is very interesting work you're doing, but so graphically oriented it's a little difficult to follow without some examples.
ReplyDelete@Kira - at this time I don't have any diagrams or illustrations of the ritual patterns. That will have to wait for some ambitious artist to do. The best way to visualize these structures is to experiment with them.
ReplyDeleteWould you recommend a few book that would help on this subject, possible ones you used in the putting together this information by chance? Thank you
ReplyDelete