Meeting the Devil and Ordeal XV

 

This is part 3 of a three part article that is the introduction to Magical Shadow Work and Ordeal XV. I will be writing a book about this ordeal in the future. Here is the basic understanding to this masterful challenge that all adepts must face in their magical and spiritual career. 

I have proposed that the Devil is the master behind the process of transformative initiation, representing the role of the Dark Father to whom the initiate must find resolution in order for the initiation process to be completed. The Devil is also likely to be found as a sentinel at the cross-roads gateway into the underworld and also the gate-keeper for the return threshold. This should not be surprising to any traditionally initiated Witch, who engages with the Horned God and his agent, the Man in Black, during the dark rites of the underworld initiation. Therefore, in order for ritual magicians to achieve a greater transformative experience, they must ultimately open the gateway at their own cross-roads moment and face their own Devil as both the archetypal nemesis and their own personal shadow. Without achieving the transformation and individuation associated with this greater ordeal, a ritual magician cannot claim to have achieved self-mastery, which is the precursor for gaining a more permanent state of enlightenment. 

Therefore, I have developed an ordeal to achieve and master this encounter with the Devil, and I have called it Ordeal XV. My use of the Roman numerals XV is to connect this ordeal with the Tarot trump card the Devil XV. What is depicted in that card is very much what I believe is a necessary part of the initiate adept’s pathway. It is similar, in a lesser fashion, to crossing the Greater Abyss, and it is very much required before the magician would seek that greater transition from initiate adept to master adept, and the revelation of the first rung of the supernal triad of the Tree of Life. So, after all the lesser ordeals have been mastered and the initiate adept has gained total confidence in all things magical, they must then evoke the Devil himself, and gain self-mastery and through it achieve individuation.

I am proposing this ordeal not because I believe that it is important, which it is, but because I myself have walked this path and intimately know its importance first hand. I have summoned versions of these devils and I have endured this kind of ordeal many years ago. When I performed it, it was not a complete and structured ritual process. It was multiple workings performed at different times, evoking multiple devils, and I performed them in segments all during the early to middle 1980's when I was in a kind of emotional and spiritual turmoil. What I am proposing now is the completed formulation of this ordeal, which is something that I did not possess all those years ago. 

I believe that even the purest white-light magician must at some point deal with their darker attributes before they can gain a mastery of magic and self-mastery. It takes a lot of fortitude and courage to perform these evocations, particularly if one is too biased and aligned to the light. Yet for those who periodically dip their wings into the shadows, such as myself, it becomes an obvious stage in the road to enlightenment and illumination. Yet there is a reason for evoking the Devil, and in fact, the Ordeal calls for evoking no less than four of them.

Some writers have proposed in their books on Shadow Work that the shadow has two parts, one constructive and the other malignant. I would like to think of the shadow as being a single entity. Yet because even people with their outer persona and internal ego represent an illusory concept of unity, it could be said that the shadow is a loosely unified body that consists of many parts and faces, similar to our own unconscious psyche. When examining the beingness of the Devil we discover that this entity actually consists of many parts or fragments, and they are the reason for the concept of the legions of demons. There are many orders or denominations of demons, and their number is practically infinite, similar to the number of orders and members of angels. Thus, when encountering a devil or a demon it is important to get its name and association, which is actually appropriate when dealing with any kind of spirits.

Since there are many ways to organize or group demons or to select individuals to function as some kind of group or hierarchical structure, I have decided to use the classical methodology of the four elements. Thus, to select four devils or arch-demons in a group and present them in a specific magical ordeal as four preeminent challenges for adepts to meet and through them, achieve a greater personal resolution. 

My choice of four arch-demons has a precedence in the archaic grouping of demons as being ruled by four demon kings; but other hierarchies of three or seven are more common. I have also departed from the traditional orientation and naming of my elected demons for these four elements. This is because I believe the most important grouping of four attributes are the four Gnostic Churches of the Tetrasacramentary. Since these four Gnostic churches represent the foundation for all my liturgical and magical workings starting at the point of adepthood (5th degree), then the four demon princes that I would choose to evoke in succession would be grouped according to these four churches.

I would group these four arch-demons within my four Gnostic churches in the following manner, using both ancient demon names and even one very modern one. I refer to these four arch-demons as the Involution Avatars, since the role that they play is to impact the initiate with the inverted gnostic attributes of the church or ecclesia with which they are associated, and this negative power and vision would trigger their shadow in a very profound manner. I would propose that the initiate perform the evocations of these four Involution Avatars every dark or new moon for four consecutive months, beginning in the month of October, and on the fifth month, they would bring them together and fuse their spiritual intelligences into a unified being. By doing that they would receive full psychic and spiritual restitution for all of the ills, pain, hardship and life’s ordeals that they have experienced, and elevate their shadow so that it becomes like a shining guide, or the Atman or Bornless One. These evocations rites, when performed successfully five months in a row without any lapse will ultimately heal the duality of an individual’s persona and the shadow so that they will be one; but the ordeal itself would be excruciatingly difficult.

Here are how I would characterize these four Involution Avatars who stand in the underworld for each of the four Gnostic Ecclesia of Thelema, Thanatos, Agape, and Eros. And these powerful arch-demons are the masters of the underworld initiation associated with each church. Where I have placed more than one selection, the initiate adept can choose one whom they wish to evoke in their ordeal, or they can choose more than one. I would recommend a thorough and deep research on each chosen demon before beginning this work.

Thelema - Element of Air - Involution Avatar Aiwas/Aiwaz and also Ashtoreth. Aiwas is the reputed the author of Liber Vel Legis or the Thelemic “Book of the Law,” the sacred scriptures of Crowley’s version of Thelema. He was also the voice of the Eighth Aethyr in the Vision and the Voice. While some have said that Aiwas was Crowley’s Holy Guardian Angel, I believe that he truly functions as the demi-god of the OTO and is the spiritual intelligence behind the modern creed of Thelema. Ashtoreth is a demon Grand Duke who was originally the Goddess Astarte, but was demonized in the Jewish religious tradition. He is depicted as a black faced and heavily bearded man riding a black dragon brandishing a large venomous snake in his left hand. He is attributed to the Qliphoth of Jupiter (Fortune Reversed by Rebellion) and is the prince of accusers and prosecutors. Both Aiwas and Ashtoreth seem to fit the arbiters of rebellion and the overturning of the old order. Since Thelema is associated with the Will, it would seem that the its shadow image would be chaos instead of order, and the fomenting of an internalized insurrection, which is like a person engaged in fighting against themself.

Entering into the underworld of the Gnostic current of Thelema would be to experience the complete shattering of the self and the relentless interrogation of one’s purpose or “will” in life. Since we all have weak moments where our ambitions are either thwarted or momentarily lost in the struggle of life, these lapses are amplified and used to question and persecute us as to whether we have any direction or basic meaning to our lives whatsoever. When anyone is measured and judged by the laws and powers of Thelema in its negative and dark attribution, we are always found weak, purposeless, and without direction. It becomes a great challenge to overcome this persecution and to persevere through adversity. That we take our idealized ambition and directive and defend it against all rational logic and the limitations, obstructions and the inherent self-sabotage that are powerfully arrayed against us. To persevere against all odds, and to continue to steadfastly move forward while enduring misfortune, limitations, persecution, and social denigration, will resolve itself into a peaceful coexistence with the chaotic changes of life. It is where the Sword of the Will has been tested and found true.

Thanatos - Element of Water- Involution Avatar Azrael, Samael, and Satan. Azrael is the definitive Angel of Death, who rides a pale white horse and is readily depicted in the Tarot trump Death XIII. Samael is the poison or venom of God (El), and Satan is the rebellious angel who leads the angelic revolt, and who is characterized as the singular depiction of the Christian Devil. These various entities represent the inverse or underworld of the Gnostic current of Thanatos, who transform death into a fearful and malevolent being who mercilessly takes life by guile or by violent force. There is no peace associated with this transition, and there is no mitigation or forgiveness. There is only regret, unforgiven malefactions great and small, guilt and despair. This is wholly contrary to the ideals of Thanatos which seeks to prepare us for death while still alive, thereby giving us solace and hope. 

What the initiate adept must do is confront their own mortality with the idea that there are no second chances, forgiveness, or peace without facing and resolving the impermanence of all living things, and in fact, all material things. These arch-demons can be resolved into allies if the initiate adept can break their ties to ambition, desire and privilege, to be truly free from the unwarranted ties that bind us. Of the four chosen Involution Avatars, the one representing Thanatos challenges us at the very root of our existence and our purpose in life, and therefore, is the most severe and difficult to resolve.

The underworld of the Gnostic current of Thanatos is the unremitting grief, loss and oblivion of an untimely death. It is the hell of guilt, remorse, self-inflicted torments and endless pain, all dutifully unleashed upon one’s own being. Dante’s lurid depictions of the underworld describing his literary descent into Hell is the archetype of the dark underworld of Thanatos. There is no hope for forgiveness, salvation, justice, restitution, nor redemption from even the most minor wrongs committed; but only the utter and total stygian darkness of complete soul-less obliteration. Yet in this dark opressive world, the initiate adept must find a way to light a small candle of hope, which is that our own inner divinity, the God/dess Within, our Atman or Holy Guardian Angel will find a way to rekindle the light of life, even when the soul is oppressed with its ultimate termination. The ego and persona must die, but there is more to an individual human being than just their insular beingness and their narrow ego-tunnel. Through the power of surrender, of letting go, and embracing the light of the One, which is the non-dual source of all consciousness, the initiate adept can find their way through death to an awakening beyond light and life. To successfully overcome this challenge while still alive, through the relentless ordeal of the demon of death, the initiate adept learns to treasure life but to be always aware of the powers of darkness and death. It is a very sobering equilibrium.

Agape - Element of Fire - Involution Avatar Lucifer, Asmodeus or Prometheus. These entities are all associated with fire, so they are appropriate selections for the Involution Avatar of Agape, which is associated with the element of Fire. While the Gnostic current of Agape represents human sodality, the foundation of human culture, and the consent of the unified purpose of human life (the overall social contract), the underworld vision of Agape focuses on individual ambition and the unlawful exercise of selfish and ego-based activities. While these activities are performed by individuals who act against the status-quo, their unwitting gifts to humanity are both a boon and a curse. Lucifer, as the light bearer, falls from grace when he seeks to rebel against the tyranny of God, setting in motion the later human practice of defying the Gods, and also defying human convention and the basic expectations of a peaceful life. 

Social revolution often runs counter to the good of humanity in the short run, and it is typically resisted by those in authority. Asmodeus is the fire demon representing the desire to break conventions, seek retribution and vengeance or to engage in liaisons that are unlawful and unwanted. He is depicted as a physically beautiful man who uses guile and charisma to seduce men and women into actions that are against their basic interests. Leaders who act contrary to the social benefit of everyone can cause upheavals, destruction, social enmity and civil war. Vigilantes seek social justice, but they are just unwitting pawns of unsanctioned vengeance, yet they are lionized in stories, media, and myths as heroes. These kinds of social revolutions might be important, but they have a staggering cost. 

Likewise, Prometheus gave humanity the gift of fire and paid a steep price for that action, which went against the will of the Gods. However, while the gift may have promoted constructive uses of fire, but it also unleashed the negative uses of fire to harm others, whether by accident or by design. This event ultimately led to triggering the dark side of civilization, which is state sponsored warfare, the persecution of minorities, ethnic cleansing, and the unprovoked conquest of other peoples. These evils are still afflicting the postmodern world, but they could be identified as the backlash to the discovery of fire.

The underworld of Agape is the temptation of individuals to act against the will and the needs of the many for their own personal ambition. They are attacking the social contract that binds humanity together. This is somewhat like an Ayn Rand fictional plot, where the rugged and gifted individual disastrously rebels against the collective social status-quo and the prevailing sentiment of moral relativism and self-sacrifice. While the heroes of this theme are fighting for freedom and rational self-interest, they also cause destruction, injuries and fatalities, and social chaos. When individuals employ their will to overthrow the society in which they reside, then their actions must be accountable and measured against the common good. While Ayn Rand identified such individuals as revolutionary heroes, our complex society sees them rightfully as terrorists.

In this underworld scenario the initiate adept is tested to determine if their personal will and directive helps and promotes the social good in the short and long term, or whether their selfish interests will lead to harming others with no actual gain or social progression. This, then, is the nature of the test of individual human ambition, and anyone who seeks to make any changes to the world in which they live should be given this test in its most severe form, ensuring that they realize the cost of their actions and are made consciously accountable. Achieving clarity, selflessness, and affirmation about one’s personal directives and ambitions represents the process of passing through this important test.

Eros - Element of Earth - Involution Avatar Beelzebub, Belphegor or Pan Priapus. The Gnostic current of Eros is the ideal of Epithumia, the thirst for life, and the joyful realization of desire. While this current has a very progressive, constructive, and delightful representation of life’s essential experiences of procreation, birth, growth, and the blissful happiness and rejoicing of ecstatic release, it’s opposite is the perversion of desire, dissolution and extreme excess. It is debauchery without purpose, unbridled drunkenness, addled additions, and excesses towards the destruction and denial of life. It is the dark attribute of selfish desire and the cruel denial of consensuality, where power over others and their victimization is the principal ideation. 

The demons Beelzebub and Belphegor exemplify the qualities of gluttony, envy, and slothfulness, intemperance and orgiastic excess. Without a guiding principle of balance, simplicity and ethical engagement, Epithumia becomes the road to dissolution and death. For those who love life and engage in the pure expression of love, the pleasurable banquet of exquisite food, drink and exotic drugs enjoyed in the company of dear friends and lovers amid the esthetic panoply of nature, they must possess self-discipline and a strong sense of ethical behavior.  Sybarites of all persuasions must be self-disciplined and ethical otherwise they will fall into the cruel clutches of profligacy that will cause their ultimate death and leave the scarred victims of their perverse practices forever psychically damaged. Pan Priapus, as the personification of the mindless erect phallus is the god that exemplifies the complete lack of discipline and ethics that must be the regimen and rules of the true sybarite. 

Entering into the underworld of Eros is to enter a chaotic world of drunkenness and delirium that challenges anyone who would dare follow the path of life and its pleasures. Only the complete ascetic is immune, and few if any of us would meet that requirement. The initiate adept is fully assaulted with the darkest expression and definitions of their periods of vulnerability, when they succumbed to drink, drugs, or nonconsensual sexual aggression, or were sexually dominated themselves by another. These fearful memories are given a powerful life as the initiate adept must deal with their own guilty conscience in personal acts that were dissolute and dishonorable. Here everyone is a victim, and everyone is condemned to the darkness of the unredeemed human animal. Even so, there is always a spark of light and life that is good, and only through empowering life and affirming its goodness even through darkness and adversity is the way found to overcome the fear and alluring seduction of the dark gnosis of Eros. Of all of the underworld gnostic currents, Eros is the most challenging to overcome and resolve because we all love life and its pleasures.

Resolution as the Marriage of the Shadow and Persona

Having passed through all four of these underworld depictions of Hell, and having resolved their imposing challenges, the initiate adept is then free to face them together as one since overall challenge. This is because they have become truly purged of the darkness and are fully clear and knowing of themselves through the contrast of light and darkness, life and death. The ultimate task for the initiate adept is to not only resolve these trials in a single cycle of four consecutive dark new moon nights, but to keep them alive within them as a means to measure and realize the truth about themselves. When the fifth new moon occurs in the sequence of months, then the final act in the Ordeal is consummated. 
 

In that moment, the final and fifth stage, the initiate adept fuses all four arch-demons into a single being of darkness and light, the true nameless Godhead of Ordeals. It is also where the wedding ceremony or the union between the individual shadow and the persona is enacted, and the greater gateway of Light and Darkness, Shadow and Persona, might be established. It is an event where the doorway of the soul is always left open so that there might be a cyclic communion between light and dark. 

 

This wedding ceremony is the Hieros Gamos of the shadow and the ego-based persona, made possible through the intervention of the magician’s God/dess Within, their Atman or individual godhead. This is because the ultimate resolution of the trump card The Devil XV is resolved through the trump card The Lovers VI. A magical jeweled ring, which is used to symbolize their union, is consecrated, charged, given and received (worn by the initiate adept), and a special underworld gateway rite is periodically performed as part of the magician’s magical discipline every new moon. It opens one up to the place where the shadow and persona go to merge and become one. This is an ongoing and never-ending process, since the internal psychic unity tied to the godhead is something that must be periodically consummated. It becomes part of the magician’s regular liturgical practice, unfailingly performed until that day when they emerge on the other side of the Greater Abyss, as a being that is whole, enlightened, illuminated and conscious of their singular godhead.  

Whatever other ordeal that I might seek to promote to my readers, this is the one that must be undertaken at some point by anyone who would gain the final stages of non-dual consciousness in their lifetime as practicing magicians. Yet it is the Devil, in his various forms, who is the archetypal Shadow of all beings, that is arbiter of this ordeal, and it is through him that the master adept might gain their full mastery of the powers of light and darkness, and their mastery of life in all its vicissitudes. 

Frater Barrabbas

Phase One of Final Abramelin Lunar Ordeal Working

Not everything turns out as you would like it to, but most often, it turns out as it needs to be. This is certainly true about the first phase of the two phase final part to the Abramelin Lunar Ordeal. As you may remember, I had scheduled to work magick for the weekend of April 16 and 17 during the full moon. I was going to re-establish contact with the previous structures of the Ordeal, which would include the Ogdoadic Godhead Vortex ritual, the Triple Tetrahedral Gate ritual, to be followed the next day with the Bornless One invocation (Stellar Gnosis version). Typically, if I schedule myself to work magick on a particular day, I will move heaven and earth to make certain that it gets done on that date. This is part of my magickal and spiritual discipline, and I am proud to say that most of the time, I adhere to this rule without prevarication. However, I found myself unprepared mentally and physically to do these rites for the scheduled weekend. Something seemed wrong about doing it then, and I also felt very much compelled to spend the time instead with my girlfriend, since she was leaving for nine days in the middle of the coming week. So I decided to perform the two day working on the following weekend, since I would be alone and able to better focus on my intention to do the work. It was also quite interesting that my plans intersected with the Christian observance of Easter and the Jewish observance of Passover.

Changing the date to the following weekend (April 22 & 23) seemed like a good idea to me. But then I started to think about what I was going to do and the sequence how I was going to do it. I had planned on doing the Alchemical Hierogamy Rite of Union during the next month as part of the second phase, but for some reason I felt driven to add it to the Friday working, so its effect would be in place before I performed the Bornless One invocation the next day. I could make this change because I had previously performed these rites back in December of 2009. I wanted to experience the joining of the Element Godhead with the HGA before I re-performed the Bornless One invocation. I felt obligated to do this, and so I listened to my intuition and decided to act on it. I am very glad that I listened, since the end results were quite splendid.

I now realize how important that ritual was, and how fortunate that I was able to figure it out and write it up. Had I managed to develop this ritual back in the autumn of 2009, I believe that the period of the overall ordeal would have been significantly shortened. At any rate, often the pioneer and trail blazer has to do things the hard way and experience the creative process of developing an ordeal with all of the half hazard, chaotic and serendipitous occurrences that happen along the way. Had I not delayed the working, then I might have done it the way that I originally planned. By letting the date slip a weekend, I came up with a different, and I think, better plan. We shall see over time how it works out, but so far I am very pleased with the results.

Additionally, I also decided to dispense with using the planetary hours for the two workings. Since most of the rites have been performed before as part of the original ordeal, I felt that it wasn’t necessary to enclose the working with planetary hours. I will, however, use planetary hours for the last working in May, because it has not yet been attempted. I also felt that the Benediction rite was unnecessary, since the temple was quite properly aligned and fully charged. Since I completed the first part of the ordeal back in December 2009, the sigils and other regalia for this working has been kept in the exact place where I left them. The forces and intelligences that were contacted back then are still quite active. I also felt that the auspiciousness of the dates precluded the need to somehow make the whole operation more sanctified and spiritually blessed than what it already was.  The important part of this working was to perform the Rite of Union, and to do it before the Bornless One invocation.

Needless to say, those (in the Order) who choose to undergo this ordeal as it has been established will perform it with the Rite of Union being done after the Bornless One invocation. I also will recommend that it be executed very quickly afterwards, perhaps the next day after the invocation. It was important for me to perform the Ogdoadic Godhead Vortex ritual and the Triple Tetrahedral Gate ritual in order to re-awaken and re-connect with the ordeal where I left it. Since the Rite of Union was supposed to be worked while the HGA and the Element Godhead were active, I felt that I needed to re-immerse myself in this work. So I assumed that the second time through these rituals wouldn’t really been very illuminating. The key, of course, was with the Rite of Union and the effect that it would have on the overall working. I was looking forward to that event with a great deal of anticipation.

Astrological considerations for the dates April 22 and April 23 were not particularly auspicious. The moon was in the sign Capricorn and it was five days from the full moon, or two days before the last quarter. Moon in Capricorn is not an emotionally effusive aspect - it is, in fact, cold and inhibited. However, the lunation cycle for the moon was at type 6, which was the disseminating type, useful for communication and guidance. I could expect a stable and placid, if not subdued, lunar impact, particularly with the sun recently entered into Taurus. Still, this was the date for Good Friday and Earth Day, with next day of Saturday (Holy Saturday) representing the transition from death to rebirth, at least in Christian practice.

In the tradition of the Roman Catholics, the church altar was stripped on Holy Thursday after the mass rite, and no mass was actually said after that event until Easter Sunday. Good Friday was a time of prayer, adoration of the cross, a procession of the Holy Eucharist and a mass of the pre-sanctified, using sacraments produced on Thursday. Holy Saturday continued the abstinence of saying mass, but consisted of the blessing of the fire, reading of the prophecies, blessing of the baptismal font (in preparation for a special baptism in the old rite), and at vespers, the first celebration of Christ’s resurrection. All of these rites commemorated the execution, death and rebirth of the founder and savior, Jesus Christ. So I was undergoing my personal rites of the Abramelin Lunar Ordeal when the rest of the Christian world, orthodox as well as the other denominations, was celebrating their holiest weekend of the year, next to Christmas. Therefore, the timing was particularly auspicious, if one considers the impact of performing personal magick during a religious holiday.

On Friday and Saturday (starting during the evening on Friday) the Passover Shabbat is celebrated, representing the most auspicious moment in the eight day celebration after the two Seder meals and before its final end, which is Tuesday. These are the fourth and fifth days of Passover, known as the Choi Hamoed, or intermediate days. The intermediate days represent the Hebrew’s deliverance from bondage in Egypt and their travels to the Red Sea. They are still in danger of being captured or killed by pharaoh’s soldiers, and it is the seventh day when the miracle of the Red Sea splitting is performed by Yahweh, allowing the Hebrews to cross over and safely begin their sojourn to the promised land.

Let me now relate what happened to me during these two events, since we have established the reasons and the context for their operation. I will write up edited notations from my journal, excluding only those entries that I consider too personal to relate here.

Friday, April 22: Began the working at approximately 8:30 pm. I completed setting the magick circle just after the clock signaled the half hour, so I was able to determine the start time. I performed the Mass of the Goddess to charge the temple, and the rite proceeded without any incident. I felt in high spirits for this work, and body was without fatigue or any pain - not at all like the last time I did this working. I performed the Ogdoadic Godhead Vortex ritual and found that the individual Seraphim and Cherubim had become completely fused into union. I received no sense of any individual messages or insights, instead they manifested as a powerful combination of force and intelligence, which was quite remarkable! I was nearly taken aback by the powers and the sense of the coalesced entities that I had awakened.

Once I had completed the invocation of the Element Godhead of Water, I did reconnect and re-encounter the Goddess aspect that I had encountered nearly sixteen months ago. I found myself returned to the peaceful misty beach, where I had met a youthful barefoot woman with a white lace shift, tanned body and face, blond hair in french braids, green eyes and a friendly smile. I could once again smell the sea salt and hear the gentle sound of the waves lapping against the shore. I also heard sea gulls in the background, but noticed that the sun was completely occluded by the enveloping mist. I communed with her a little while, and felt comforted and refreshed by her presence. I had a strong sense of well being and happiness, as if anticipating a time of joy. I now wonder if the Goddess was anticipating her wedding to the HGA, feeling the joy that one would expect to feel for such a glorious union.

The next ritual in the series for that evening was the Triple Tetrahedral Gate ritual. I found this rite to be easy to perform and did so without incident. There were no striking visitations or other magickal phenomena. I could feel the power of the ritual reach a kind of crescendo with the opening of the Great Gate, and I also sensed or even saw the Goddess and the HGA meeting each other on either side of the gateway. This rite set the stage for the next and final rite, having awakened and pulled together all of the elements from the last working. I was ready to proceed to the next level of the working.

Performing the rite of the Alchemical Hierogamy Rite of Union was effortless, flowing and nearly flawless. I marveled at how well the ritual worked, even though this was the first time that I had performed it. The first stage of the rite held an element of sadness, since that is where the young King and Queen are executed and drained of blood, preparing them for the alchemical resurrection. However, instead of sensing the Goddess and the HGA going through this process, I felt myself going through it instead. I could visualize myself progressing through the three steps of alchemical dissolution, where my sense of ego based selfhood was completely destroyed and made ready for distillation and regeneration. However, when I got to the central part of the rite, and began to perform the rites of Conjuction, where the Goddess and HGA were to be wed, I found that they had returned to my vision’s sight, and I drew them together through the wedding rite.

I then envisioned a scene right out of the Lovers Card in the Tarot, with me acting as the prelate who officially joins the two young lovers together. Once this act had reached it climax, I felt my heart filled with an indescribable joy and a blissful happiness. It was a powerful sense of ecstatic union, and I even saw in my mind’s eye where the two youthful lovers embraced and became as one great being of light and love. I had to stop the working at this point for a while as I fully processed these new sensations. I fully sensed and felt the mysterious “Lover Within” as I had never sensed it before.

The rest of ritual proceeded without any further interruption, but as in the first part, I saw myself being reconstructed and made alchemically whole, fulfilled, regenerated and renewed. The end of the rite had me feeling as if I were reborn and made completely new.

Once the final rite was finished, I had to sit and meditate for awhile. I felt that the Rite of Union was very likely the most magnificent ritual that I have ever experienced. I was so powerfully affected that I couldn’t go to asleep right way. The rite had been completed at around 11:30 pm, which was a three hour period of intense ritualizing, but I was not at all tired. Later that evening, my dreams were very vivid and active, and I felt a blissful kind of joy and happiness that I haven’t felt in some time, as if the weight of all my cares and troubles had been completely removed from my shoulders.

Saturday, April 23: This time there was a bit of a delay before I was able to begin the working. I had some tasks to complete for the day, and then afterwards, I wanted to take short nap to catch up on my sleep. Unfortunately, I slept for around two hours, which meant that the time at my waking was around 7 pm. It was still light out (because of daylight savings time and because the days get so much longer in Minnesota the closer one is to the solstice), so I was at first confused by the time. I hadn’t done the preparations for the Bornless One rite, so I had to focus on getting them completed before starting the work. I decided not to perform the Mass of the Goddess for this evening’s work, and instead, I would focus on just doing the Bornless One rite. I finally got everything ready, took a shower and properly anointed myself. The magick circle was fully erected at around 10:00 pm.

I then went through the five stages of the Bornless One invocation rite, where I set up the four Qabbalistic Worlds as the platform steps to a raised energy temple, with the fifth stage functioning as a trapezoidal prismatic temple at the very top. I was able to pace myself and make it through these five arduous stages without difficulty or fatigue slowing me down. I felt ebullient, inspired and fully empowered, so I managed to work through all of the operations until I got to the Bornless One invocation. I then went through this invocation and the final experience was far more powerful and remarkable than I have ever experienced it before. The ecstatic feeling from the previous evening was greatly amplified, and by the time I had completed the invocation, I felt a truly great joy and happiness overpower all of my senses. I felt that the HGA and it’s apparent manifestation was supremely energized by the Rite of Union of the previous evening. It was so apparent to my senses that I felt as if I were two individuals and not one. I could sense its thoughts and feelings as if they were my own. The union between us was neither complete or perfect, but it gave me a strange kind of doppelganger effect, where I moved and sensed myself in space and time in two places at once, even though both bodies were very close. It’s the oddest sensation that I have ever experienced, but it does represent to me that I am getting very close to my objective of being fully unified with the Higher Self.

Once the rite had achieved it’s climax, I found myself blissfully enclosed in a state that was absolutely wonderful. I saw the world through the HGA’s thoughts, and could even engage in an internal dialogue with my higher self, even anticipating the answers! I wanted to know my destiny, at least for the rest of my life, and I saw that there was still so much more to experience and learn, even though I have lived more than half of life so far. Could that mean that I have a long life ahead of me? I could interpret it that way, or it could just mean that my last days will be very busy, allowing me to complete my travels and studies in good order. I now realize that I have built a good solid foundation, and the HGA showed me this, and so much more.

After I sat in meditation for a while, the superimposition of the HGA and myself merged until I felt it in my body, or perhaps I was in its body - I couldn’t tell. He was talking to me inside my head as if it were just another facet of myself (or like to friends in a casual conversation), and I felt just blissful, whole and completely happy. Then when there was nothing more to say, we both became quiet but fully aware of and delighting in our merged beings. This state of mind continued as I completed the ritual and finally retired for bed. I felt like I was a container for this being, sharing the space of my thoughts, feelings and sensations with it. The whole thing was indescribable - and it is still very much active, even now, many hours after it was completed.

One thing that I did ask my HGA was to help me to determine a theme for the Theurgia-Goetia spirits. Looking at this problem through the eyes of my Higher Self, I found it to be all quite simple. The spirits of the Theurgia-Goetia are based on the sixteen directions of the winds, since they are winged air spirits who fly. Half of them are good, and the other half are demonic, so they would represent the spirits that ward the gateway of the Abyss - half of them are on this side, and the other half are in the night side of the abyss. They form a circle whose center is the abysmal gateway. I am sure that this will help me develop a magickal system to invoke and evoke those spirits, and I believe that more information will be forthcoming, but it was fascinating to ask this question and have it so easily answered.

The working was completed at around 1:15 am Sunday morning, and after shutting everything down, I tried to sleep. I have to admit that it was difficult to sleep, even though I was tired, because another part of me (the HGA?) was still awake and processing everything at light speed. I even had the odd thought of: “so this is what its like being in a body and seeking the succor of sleep - how interesting!”

On Sunday, which was Easter, I decided to rest somewhat, but I did feel moved to perform a Thanksgiving mass, which I did after completing my journal entries. I had woken late in the morning and still felt tired. I also felt like something was still moving around inside my head, inspiring me with all sorts of visions and insights. I said the Mass of the Goddess with all of the solemness and joy of the moment, but I also was very tired. I cooked for myself a wonderful feast and thoroughly enjoyed eating it, since my senses had been so much enhanced from my experience. I felt that I had successfully completed the first phase, and felt a great deal of wonder and amazement at the magickal process that produces these experiences. There was much to grateful about, and felt gratitude at the deepest levels.

I am looking forward to the next and final phase of this ordeal, which (unless something peculiar happens) will be Saturday, May 14. At that time, I will attempt to perform the Bornless One Envisioning rite. I will produced an edited version of my experience and also probably put together an epilogue for the whole ordeal. Stay tuned, because it only gets more interesting!

Frater Barrabbas

Abramelin Lunar Ordeal - Final Ritual Completed

As I may have stated previously, I have completed the final ritual in the suite of rituals used to perform the Abramelin Lunar Ordeal. This rite was the one that has eluded me for some time, and only by receiving hints from the spirits themselves have I been able to figure out how to write this ritual. Now what remains to be done is to determine how to pick up the thread from last winter and move forward with it. I may need to re-perform a few of the rituals, and most definitely, performing the Bornless One invocation rite will be a necessary component as well. To give you an idea of how this new ritual works and its overall purpose, I decided to include the introduction to this ritual, which is called the Alchemical Hierogamy Rite of Union.

The Alchemical Hierogamy Rite of Union is the culmination of the series of rituals that make up the Abramelin Lunar Ordeal, representing the point in that ordeal where all of the elements of this working are brought into perfect and harmonious completion. The mythic theme and structure for this ritual is based upon the critical Rosicrucian document, the Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkruetz. Many have puzzled over this simple seven part allegory, and its simplicity belies a deep and powerful mystery that is still relevant today, even though it was first written supposedly in 1604 C.E. Still, I was fortunate in having in my library a copy of the book with a new translation by Joscelyn Godwin and a powerful commentary written by Adam McLean. It is due to Mr. McLean’s brilliant commentary that the allegory was reducible to a format that allowed it to be incorporated into this ritual. The sevenfold pattern of the allegory is analogous to the sevenfold stages of the alchemical Magnum Opus, which it was meant to illuminate as well as obfuscate.

As an historical note to this entire ordeal and its presentation, this last ritual entirely eluded me when I assembled the rituals for the Abramelin Lunar Ordeal together back in 2009. I knew that some kind of ritual marriage or union was required, but exactly how to do this was completely opaque to me. Even so, I took what rituals I had and went ahead and performed them, with the exception of the Bornless Envisioning Rite and the Assumption of Great Powers. By undergoing that ordeal in the late autumn and early winter of 2009, I was able to put into motion a process of spiritual ascension that has produced many amazing things. Still, I was not able to conclude the ordeal because I was missing the last and essential ritual. A goddess (Godhead of Water) was revealed to me in that working, as well as an image of myself as a young ageless youth (my bornless or higher self), but what I required was a method to join them together into a synthesis where they could be reborn as a singular unified expression living as my innate conscious being. Many months passed, and only a year later from the time that I began the ordeal, did the meaning and purpose of the final rite become revealed. It came in fragments, and then in whole pieces as I carefully read, studied and meditated on the translation and the commentary on the Chemical Wedding, which had been the very first clue.

The key to this mystery is that the Chemical Wedding is not really a wedding as we would understand it. It is more like an allegory of death (a voluntary execution) and an alchemical rebirth of a young King and Queen. In the process, their substances are fully commingled and jointly undergo the redemptive and creative process of complete alchemical rebirth, where their new forms are of the highest and purest nature - or Spirit residing/incarnating in nature. A traditional wedding is wholly absent from this allegory, and so is any kind of Christian symbology or allegorical tropes. The story is one that is completely alchemical and philosophical, but it hides a powerful mystery that is timeless and critical to understanding the higher processes of spiritual union.

Therefore, with this final ritual functioning as the most important keystone, I will be able to complete this ordeal and proceed from that point forward, having acquired the powerful forces freed and unleashed for all time within my spirit and being. I look forward to writing the accounts of this final working in my journal and noting the final combination of operations, which will include the Bornless Envisioning rite and the Assumption of Great Powers.

This ritual working consists of a four part layer of ritual structures that represent the Magick Castle of Mysteries, the Descending Tetrahedral Gateway or Underworld Tower of Transformation, the Inner Domain of the Crossroads and inner circle, which denotes where the core of the mystery is revealed, and then finally, the Ascending Tetrahedral Gateway or Tower of Resurrection. The central or core mystery is a simple three-way handfasting between the three elements revealed in the Abramelin Ordeal - the archetypal feminine, the archetypical masculine, and the magician, locked together in space and time. The elements of the ring, magick mirror, and the vestments of glory are blessed, empowered and sacralized so that they may be used by the high adept to represent the union of Spirit, Mind and Body - the Thricefold Initiation.
                                       
The rite is begun with a powerful introit, where the celebrant contemplates the invitation to the Alchemical Wedding of the Deity and Higher Self, these are depicted as representing polarities, the Divine King and Queen. After a suitable period of meditation, the celebrant indicates that he truly wills himself to proceed with the mystery, knowing that to do so is to incur a transformation that cannot be reversed or taken for granted.

The Magick Castle of the Mysteries is a ritual structure that consists of the four watchtowers being set with proper formulas and the device of the Rose Cross. The center of the circle is set with an inverted Rose Ankh, representing the Orb of Dominion, and with the four Rose Crosses, this construct represents the seat of the divine royalty, or Sangreal. These five structures form the outer castle structure where the outer mysteries are revealed.

There are a number of correspondences that can be used at these five points, most notable are the five classical stages in Alchemy (which predated the seven used in this rite). However, the theme of this outer vehicle is encapsulated in the formula that is used to spell the word CRUOR, which means “blood” in Latin. The castle of the mysteries is the divine Regnum, which exists everywhere but cannot be perceived except by the wise and the elect. The five-fold castle structure, which is determined by the operation of squaring the circle, represents the five qualities of the Castle depicted in the Chemical Wedding. It consists of the outer gates and antechamber, the dining hall, the garden, library (room of the great globe), and the hall of the wedding. Omitted is the hall of the Sun (where the play within a play is enacted), and the secret treasury, where the tomb of the sleeping Venus lies. This last item is alluded to in the outer rite. The magick castle could easily be seen as an analogue for the mythic Grail Castle.
     
The Descending Tetrahedral Gateway, or Tower of Trasformation, is the first of the Tetrahedral gateway structures that leads the celebrant into the underworld core of the mysteries. The descent represents the first three steps of the alchemical process - calcination, dissolution and separation. All three of these steps represent the reducing of the prima materia into its more elementary forms - symbolizing the death and reduction of the young King and Queen in the chemical wedding. The three formula letters/Tarot Cards are the Hermit (Atu IX - Yod), the Hanged Man (Atu XII - Mim) and Death (Atu XIII - Nun).

The central mystery chamber, which is the third structure, is derived from the combination of the erection of the four cross roads with a central inner circle. The theme of the mystery chamber is found in the Tarot card the Lovers (Atu VI - Zain). This is where the chemical wedding, or joining of the physical substances of the sacrificed King and Queen are combined together to form the synthesis of the material out of which they shall be reborn and resurrected. The inner mystery is also a simple wedding ceremony or “handfasting” between the Godhead aspect, the representative of one’s Higher Self, and the celebrant. It would be assumed that this mystery would be slightly different for each individual, and may involve a God aspect, instead of Goddess (as I have personally experienced it). The alchemical stage of conjunction is depicted at this point of the rite.

The fourth ritual structure is the Ascending Tetrahedral Gateway, or Tower of Resurrection. It is the second and final tetrahedral structure that leads the celebrant out of the mystery chamber and into the light of the day. This is the evolutionary arc and uses the final three stages of alchemy, which is fermentation, distillation and coagulation. All three of these steps represent the regeneration and reconstitution of the prima materia into its final formulation, the Great Work of the Philosopher’s Stone and the Universal Medicine. The formula letters/Tarot cards are Aion - Last Judgement (Atu XX - Shin), Art (Atu XIV - Samek) and the Star/Fisher King (Atu IV - Tzadi).

The circuit of seven alchemical steps represents the completion of the Great Work and the fusion of the three elements of the self into a three-fold initiatory mastery of one’s self and Spirit. Once this operation is complete and stabilized over a period of one lunar cycle, then the final rite, known as the Envisioning, can be done to completion.

The barbarous words of evocation used in the Castle of the Mysteries ritual structure are taken from the Greek Magical Papyri in Translation, section PGM-V, 1 - 53, which is the spell for the Oracle of Serapis.

Frater Barrabbas