Gardnerian Snark Exposed

Snarky the Snark

Let me start by saying that I am a Witch initiated in the Alexandria tradition. I belong to a group of traditions that have received their foundational praxis from Old Gerry himself, whether through a direct lineage or one that is somewhat circuitous, but no less valid. There are a few fractious sectarians and traditionalists out in the public who think that their particular lineage is better than all of the rest, and sometimes the perpetrators of that conceit just happen to be Gardnerians. For some reason being a member of the BTW brings with it a certain amount of obnoxious conceit, and I have never liked nor agreed with that attitude.

Don’t get me wrong, most of the BTW Witches that I have met are neither conceited nor sectarian in their approach to other Witches or the public at large. Many of these Witches are Gardnerians, and I personally know quite a number of them. However, I have always felt that we are Witches first and foremost, and how we got there is not particularly important.

It’s for this reason that I wouldn’t turn my nose up at anyone who was self-initiated, solitary or completely outside of the BTW venue. There are many paths in the greater religious tradition of Witchcraft, and if adherents remain faithful to their own path over a number of years and seek to learn and experience everything within their power to learn and experience, then I have no problem with them calling themselves Witches. They are sisters and brothers to me because they have practiced Witchcraft long enough so that it isn’t just a superficial fad or a kick.

In my opinion, all followers of this path have to undergo a period of solid practical engagement in order to really consider themselves to be credibly and reliably a Witch. Still, everyone has to start somewhere, and even when there is a local coven of witches open to new members that you might be able to join there is no guarantee that such an affiliation will automatically make you a Witch. The only verifiable way to be a Witch is to practice that faith and craft for a number of years, especially outside of the covenstead if you happen to belong to one. It takes time and a lot of effort to become a Witch, but then so do a lot of other things in life.

What gets under my skin are those who think that their tradition is superior, and that other Witches from other paths and traditions are considered to be just second-class Witches or worse. That kind of “snark” deserves a good kick in the teeth from those who are faithfully practicing their craft whatever their tradition, experiential duration or the nature of their path. I have decided to particularly punt the choppers of one rather blatant and obnoxious writer of an article that recently appeared on the “Gardnerians” blog. You can find that article here. Make certain that you look over the comments as well.

The title of this article is “Belief Does Not Equal Initiation,” which I think is actually quite an accurate statement. However, an initiation is not necessarily one that is given to a member of a coven by the covenstead. There is such a thing as “transformative initiation” that I hold to be more authentic and powerful. So, as I stated previously, it takes time to learn to be a Witch, and in fact, if one takes the approach of learning everything (even if it is at first from books) and then experiencing everything possible, it is very likely that such an ardent student will experience a personal transformative initiation, whether that occurs through the endowment from authorized coven leaders or whether it happens as a part of one’s personal and individual path. What we can’t do is to judge others who are not part of our various traditions by the same measure that we would judge ourselves or our lineage members.

Self-initiation, if it is accompanied at some point by a transformative initiation, is more legitimate (in my opinion) than if someone receives an initiation that has no more dramatic effect than any other mundane social encounter. Believe me when I say that I have met a few individuals with impressive initiatory pedigrees who have had all of the spiritual depth, sensitivity and magical ability of a common potato. An impressive lineage does not equal a powerful and capable Witch, in fact it sometime almost seems to be the opposite. So, belief by itself may not make you a Witch, but then again neither does a supposed proper initiation performed by an experienced coven. It’s really up to the individual to make any kind of initiation a profound and permanent change.

My experience over the decades has shown me that the first initiation degree of my Witchcraft tradition is quite provisional, and that a number of first degree initiates decide at some point to quit their faith, some sooner and some, later. Those who have a real fire in their belly progress to the next degree and take upon themselves a true dedication for the Craft. However, I have known second and even third degree Witches who quit practicing or engaging in their faith after several years. Perhaps the real test is if someone is still practicing after 20 years or more from the time of their initiation. For some reason, individuals who are self-initiated or who are not part of the standard BTW three initiation type tradition seem to have more solidity and steadfastness, perhaps because nothing is given to them and everything they possess was achieved through consistent study and practice.

This brings me back to the snarky article in the Gardnerians blog. I don’t know who wrote this screed or how much experience or knowledge they have, but from the tone and informative content of the article I will have to say that the individual is not particularly knowledgeable about their subject, despite the fact that he or she is an initiate. One the earliest quotes from this article, which caused me to nearly spew my coffee on the video screen, was this particularly juicy statement.

“The sad thing is that these are usually the same people that don’t know that there is one Book of Shadows that is used in Wicca (in forms that vary slightly from coven to coven, dependent on whether you’re a Gardnerian or a Gardnerian-lite, aka Alexandrian, and where you are).”

The comment “one Book of Shadows” has the tone and meaning that it is a holy book where there can only be one, true and authorized version. We have to ask ourselves, is this somehow the “King James” version of the Book of Shadows? Oddly, I get the feeling that the Book of Shadows is being passed off as “sacred writ” when it is only a repository of rituals. Witches are not people of the book! We have no sacred written texts. The mysteries of life and death experienced through nature are our sacred works. The authentic Book of Shadows of the BTW tradition is a spell book that is quite brief, rudimentary, and it is missing quite a lot of information that one would ordinarily find in a book representing the whole praxis of a tradition. Also, it is a fact that the Book of Shadows varies considerably from tradition to tradition (or even from covenstead to convenstead) particularly since it often contains the crib notes, ritual variations and other ancillary rites that a long-practicing coven would need in order to function.

I also found the comment that the Alexandrian tradition of Witchcraft is “Gardnerian Lite” to be quite ridiculous. It’s an obvious sectarian insult that deserves to be called out as such by anyone who happens not to be a Gardnerian. Since many Gardnerians these days seem to be a lot less inclined to work hard-core forms of ritual magick (such as spirit evocations), I might be so bold as to call the Gardnerian tradition “Alexandrian-lite,” but to do so would be just as foolishly inaccurate. If someone is fully engaged with Witchcraft, whatever their tradition, they are not a lightweight compared to anyone else, even if they don't have a so-called prestigious lineage and pedigree.

So, I think that my readers will recognize the droll snarky snark for what it is, and be able to dismiss what this author has said as sectarian, inflammatory and also quite wrong. I have already made my point that being a Gardnerian, Alexandrian, or some other vaunted traditionalist doesn’t automatically confer on one any kind of authenticity.

At the end of this article, the author of this screed declares their final rant against the multitude of non-traditional, solitary and self-initiated (or unwashed non-Gardnerian) Witches, attempting to put them in their place, somewhere far below the august elite of properly prepared and solidly initiated BTW Witches. You can see the quote chosen here, including the all-capital letters that emphasize the shouted message to all who might deem to read it. Unfortunately, that shouted exclamation couldn’t be more wrong!

“Even though spellwork and magic are all about visualization and fiercely reinforcing your visualization with energy and intent [which, I might add, is very narrow definition of magic], THERE IS NO SPELL THAT MAGICALLY INITIATES YOU ALL BY YOURSELF IN YOUR HEAD OR YOUR MOM’S BASEMENT WHILE EVERYONE ELSE IS AT CHURCH. To be initiated, you must be put through the Wiccan initiation rite present in the Book of Shadows.” 

What constituted a Witch in antiquity was that she had in her possession a familiar spirit. The rule of thumb was that if a Witch didn’t have a familiar spirit then they probably weren’t much of a Witch. Books from antiquity (such as the PGM) abound with various rituals and techniques to acquire a familiar spirit, which would basically represent the fact that indeed Witches could be made by their own hand employing the art of magic. I believe that this is even more true in the post-modern era. A person, whether by accident or by deliberation, can trigger within themselves a transformative initiation, and that will make them an initiated Witch, if that is their spiritual and magical path. It also doesn’t matter where this event occurs, and yes, it could even occur in someone’s basement. 

To be an initiate doesn’t mean that you have to be initiated by a coven using the one and true Book of Shadows’ rite of initiation. So, the author of this article just “jumped the shark” to show us that he or she really doesn’t understand what the word “initiation” means or that the power of magic alone can confer an initiation on someone employing it. This is rather surprising to me because of the supposed face of Gardnerian legitimacy that the author presents to the public.

It is my hope that this Gardnerian author gets a good scourging and a passionate biting lecture by his or her elder. What we don’t need in our diverse community is someone representing a faction of Witchcraft and then spouting falsehoods and sanctimonious venom at the other traditions. It isn’t cute, comical nor even informed. It is just another form of bigotry, which is something that we should have a lot less of, particularly from our own co-religionists.

Frater Barrabbas

New Rule #2: If you are going to rant at the public about a particular issue then try to use proper spelling, punctuation, syntax and avoid using all-caps. It’s also a good idea to be certain that what you are ranting about is unequivocally true. Nothing says “stupid” so profoundly as saying something dumb or misspelled while writing it in all-caps.

Thelema, Magic, Witchcraft and Crowley

I decided to write this article up while I am recovering from contracting Lyme’s disease. Last month my lady got it, and late this month I have been the recipient. It’s been a summer of sickness interfering with nearly everything we wanted to do, but at least there are medical solutions and little possibility of permanent damage. Even so, exerting myself only marginally is quickly tiring, but I just wanted to post my opinions about the topics of Thelema, Magic, Witchcraft and Aleister Crowley. All of these topics fit together, particularly since they have been discussed on Face Book by various pundits and opinionators. Some of these opinions are quite off-base, so I felt I should publish some of my own perspectives responding to what I think are erroneous beliefs.

One of the first discussions that I wanted to tackle, and that has been promoted by various individuals, is that Aleister Crowley, far from being the be-all and end-all of the 20th century WMT (Wester Magical Tradition) was really a hack and not much of magician at all. It seems that it is now quite popular and fashionable to trash the founders of the various occult and magical traditions and thereby diminish their contributions to our present magical knowledge. If you want to get some attention from other internet occultists, just trash-talk one of their founders. It will get you lots of attention, oddly both supportive and also quite hostile. It also stirs up people’s emotions and sets up yet another controversy that is discussed endlessly to death - sometimes for months on end. When I see these kinds of inflammatory pronouncements, it leaves little doubt in my mind that some people have far too much time on their hands.

Dismissing occult and magical founders is a popular pastime, but it’s also where some folks get to rewrite history and enter into a world divorced from reality. Trash-talking founders is the equivalent of spreading misinformation about them, and for the authors of such obnoxious opinions a not-so obvious personal edification. The fact is that Crowley wrote quite a number of books in the first half of the twentieth century that are still being read, studied and used today. Many of these books are considered classics, even though they were written nearly 100 years ago.

Aleister Crowley was a controversial individual when he was alive, but to this day I feel that few biographers have ever really captured what the man was really like. Everyone who had known him (and either loved or hated him) “painted” a different picture of this man, and some of these descriptions were completely different or contradictory. He was a complex man who had many virtues and also many failings. Some have condemned him for his immorality, others have pointed to the fact that he died a drug addict. His followers have praised him as the prophet of the New Aeon and the greatest magician of all time. I am less sanguine about Crowley, but I do believe that he deserves a lot of credit for the current and on-going occult and magical revival.

It is my belief and opinion that Crowley is solely responsible for bringing the practice and study of magic from the 19th century into the 20th, which was no small feat. He also started a trend that led to the creation of the modern pagan religious revival. Those who would denounce his accomplishments should look to their own meager legacy and potential impotence. If I were able to at least produce a quarter of his literary output and have some impact on magicians in the next 100 years I think that I would consider myself quite accomplished. I will likely leave this world without achieving even that modest level of accomplishment.

Even though Crowley left behind a large and deep legacy of his occult and magical writings, his work stands as incomplete and lacking in certain areas. Of course, this is true of all founders, and it is up to those who follow afterwards to pick up this lore and expand it so that it becomes comprehensive and complete. The fact that this has not happened yet is only because it has taken many individuals decades to fully understand and master the legacy that he left behind. I suspect in time that many individuals will begin to write up the fruits of their years of study (if they haven’t already) and incrementally expand the knowledge and practice of Thelemic magic until it is a more thorough and complete system.

However, many of the Thelemites that I have personally met seem to have a grasp and practical knowledge of the entire spectrum of both thaumaturgy (low magic) and theurgy (high magic). Compared to many individuals that I have met or read about working other traditions, it would seem that Thelemites are more knowledgeable and capable regarding the arts of magic and the occult than anyone else. This is, of course, my opinion, but I think that Thelema and the OTO/AA have a better record of teaching individuals how to be real and functioning magicians than any other organization. Keep in mind that the teaching part is what naturally happens in an OTO lodge and is not a part of any official regimen. The AA, however, is a tradition that specifically trains individuals to be magicians. I have compared it to getting a PhD in practical and theoretic magic.

This brings me to the next controversy, and that is the criticism that Thelemites in general have to branch out and acquire other magical techniques from other sources (such as Hoodoo, the old grimoires and the PGM) in order to perform thaumaturgy or low magic. I think that I have touched on this topic in the previous paragraphs, but it still seems like an innocent observation that has some pretty damning ramifications. I guess the complaint is that Thelemic magic is somehow hollow, incomplete and missing the whole standard mechanisms for making magical changes in the material world and thus changing the outcome of one’s fortunes. I don’t know where this argument started, but it is specious and completely wrong.

I happen to know plenty of Thelemic magicians who can work magic on all levels, both thaumaturgy and theurgy without having to pillage from other sources. Crowley’s descriptions of Golden Dawn magic are probably the most cogent and practical explanations available, even in the present times. His writings on Enochian magic were less thorough, but in combination with them and the actual Dee diaries, a number of Thelemites have produced a comprehensive system of Enochian magic that is completely usable. Essentially, any magical system that has the mechanisms for Elemental, Planetary and Zodiacal magic should be able to perform operations that can impact the material plane.

If Thelemites have also been culling other forms of magic, such as the PGM, the old grimoires and other ethnic or cultural sources (Hoodoo, Voudoun, Palo, Tibetan, Hindu, Chinese-Taoist, etc.) it is because they are fascinated and engaged with all things magical. A truly gifted magician will leave no stones unturned in order to fully master the Art of Magic, and that is my interpretation of what they are doing. To promote an interpretation that discredits Thelemic magic because its members don’t remain within their own supposed traditional boundaries is patently ridiculous. All of the various systems of magic in use today have been borrowed, appropriated and modified from other systems of magic at some point in time. Some have kept the traditional exponents pure (as far as they know), some have invented wholly new ways and techniques, while others have pulled various rites and workings from various traditions together to build hybrid systems relevant to the individual, locale and the times. All of the these approaches are legitimate because they all work and achieve the desired results. So, I think that I have pretty much debunked that spurious opinion and showed that it is misinformed at best, and even malicious at its worst.

Now we come to the final point of this article and that is the relationship between Thelema and British Traditional Witchcraft. Some have persisted in declaring the urban myth that somehow Crowley wrote the Book of Shadows and was therefore, the author and godfather of Modern Witchcraft. This has been shown time and again to be completely false. While it is true that Gerald B. Gardner visited Crowley twice some months before his death, and he might have been given the rites and the permission to start up an OTO lodge, there wasn’t any further collaboration between them.

I also doubt that Crowley gave Gardner any rituals or an OTO charter, particularly since a few members of the OTO have shown that the charter owned and displayed by Gardner was likely a fake. Considering the terrible spelling and grammar errors in Gardner’s original work and those amplified in the Book of Shadows, I greatly doubt that Crowley had any hand in writing the rituals used by Gardnerian Witches. The two initiatory ordeals were obviously based loosely on the Masonic Entered Apprentice and Fellowcraft initiations. I know this to be true because I did an in-depth analysis comparing these initiatory rites. Gardner needed prototypes upon which to develop his own Witchcraft initiations, and these two rites were perfect. If Gardner would have had copies of the OTO initiations in his possession he would have likely used them as templates instead.

The Great Rite, however, was based on the Thelemic Gnostic Mass, and in fact, Gardner rather shamelessly plagiarized the section where the priest adores and kisses the priestess residing on the altar. Later renditions of Gardnerian rites in the Book of Shadows tended to remove the obvious references to Crowley’s lore, but some of the original lore was still kept around for the sake of posterity. We can look at this lore today and see where it originally came from.Gardner had access to some of Crowley's writings, and he likely had a copy of the Gnostic Mass in his collection of papers at some time.

So, while the writings and lore published by Aleister Crowley had a powerful impact on Gardner, and that he sought to appropriate some of it for his own rituals, doesn’t mean that he either had in his possession the initiatory lore of the OTO or that somehow Crowley wrote up the rituals used in the Book of Shadows. I believe that had Crowley wrote up the lore for Gardnerian Witchcraft it would have been far more elegant and lyrical than it is today. (Certainly the spelling, vocabulary and grammar would have been impeccable.) What lyricism can be found in some of the lore of Modern Witchcraft was added a bit later by Doreen Valiente. This is just another case of someone being strongly influenced by Crowley’s published writings and seeking to use them in emulating their own magical and pagan perspectives. I think that many of us have done this at some point in our magical and occult careers.

One other point to consider is that Witchcraft magic is incompatible with Thelemic or Golden Dawn magic, even though Gardner appropriated the GD Opening by Watchtower rite to fashion his own circle consecration rite. Because he mixed antique pagan ideas about sacred space with the concise mechanism for opening a GD temple for magic, he produced a hybrid system that has a completely different perspective. Some GD magicians have complained that the invoking pentagrams in the circle consecration rite are performed incorrectly at the watchtowers and that the whole thing should collapse and be rendered useless because of the flaws in its construction. Of course, as in many cases the intent of the magician can trump a poor design, so even the Wiccan circle consecration rite works quite well although it is not as elegantly constructed or written as the GD version.

The purpose and function of these two rites are different enough that the rules of one doesn’t apply to the other, which is something that confounds a lot of the dialog between magicians and witches about magic today. Needless to say, if Crowley had written this ritual it would have been a lot more like the GD version, and the purposes for its use would have been analogous to the rite practiced by them. They are quite different, and that makes Witchcraft ritual magic and GD/Thelemic ceremonial magic quite distinct, at least in my opinion.

Frater Barrabbas 


New Rules #1: If you are going to advertise that you can teach and initiate magicians so that they may be elevated to an Ipsissimus (the highest degree possible: 10 = 1) then learn how to spell that word before you post the advertisement. Not being able to spell this word certainly doesn’t give your potential students (or anyone else) the confidence that you know what you are talking about.

More Baloney from Bill Schnoebelen Rebutted

This is a response written by me to the blog article “Freemasonry: The Witchcraft Connection” pathetically penned by William J. Schnoebelen. You can find the article here.

I thought that I had already written the final chapter about my arch nemesis and former teacher, the ever self-propagandizing, ridiculous and all-around hypocrite, half-assed minister of With One Accord Ministry, Bill Schnoebelen. But alas, he continues to scribble his lies, half-truths and religious bigotry throughout the internet. The latest diatribe would be quite amusing if weren’t so profoundly stupid and annoying. So I am drawn back into a brief one sided skirmish with the ultra-conservative Christian Fundamentalist who was once a member of the Wicca and a Mason.

It’s really like doing battle with the torso of the Black Knight (as fondly remembered in Monty Python’s Holy Grail movie). He has teeth, but no arms or legs left to do battle, and can be easily defeated. I guess Bill makes a great straw man, since his positions are based on Christian myth and imagination rather than real facts. I apologize in advance to mainstream and esoteric Christians who must be quite embarrassed by this clown.  Anyway, let the battle begin!

“Rebellion is a sin of sorcery, presumption a crime of the teraphim.” - 1 Samuel 15:23 (The Jerusalem Bible)

Bill starts out his article with this quote, although he uses the terribly antiquated and much rightly criticized Kings James Version, where the word “sorcerery” is substituted by the word “witchcraft”, which changes the whole meaning, of course. That King James had an obsession with witches and witchcraft bordering on insanity is besides the point - it did, however, influence the translation of the bible into English.

This sentence is part of larger section of the chapter that contains the dire pronouncements by the prophet Samuel used to denounce King Saul. Samuel was apparently livid with Saul and his decision to disobey Yahweh, so instead of ensuring that the Amelikites were completely annihilated and all of their possessions destroyed, Saul allowed the Israelites to keep the prisoners as slaves and their belongings as booty. The word “teraphim” in the sentence refers to household idols, so it represents false gods and their worship.

The key point is that King Saul rebelled against the commandments of his god and presumed to make decisions for him. What this quotation has to do with modern witchcraft and Masonry seems pretty obscure to me. I think that Bill used it out of context because the KJV bible uses the word “witchcraft” instead of “sorcery”, even though the point is really disobedience and presumptuousness. The irony of Bill using this statement is pretty hysterically funny, since presumptuousness is very much his mode of doing business. So we start out with a sentence taken completely out of context from the Old Testament, and somehow this will make the rest of the article sensible and erudite? Right!

First of all, Masonry is not a religion. It is a fraternal organization with some biblical themes and obscure symbolism based on those themes. While one could make occult interpretations of the various Masonic rituals and lore, those same interpretations are not held by either the rank and file Mason, nor the esteemed members of their ruling bodies and their studied intellectuals. Masonry is not an occult organization nor would any of its members consider themselves to be occultists or members of some kind of alternative religion. So when Bill says the following in his article, we can easily refute him. The Lodge of Masonry is not a religion, nor is its underpinnings theological, occultic or rooted in ancient forms of paganism - those underpinnings are actually philosophical in nature. We can look at the foolishness of this claim, and I quote it in full, because it is the keystone to Bill’s entire argument.

“Thus, the Lodge is not just ‘another religion’ like the Muslims or the Buddhists—although that alone should be enough to keep Christians from involving themselves in it. The nature and character of the Lodge's deepest theological underpinnings are rooted in Witchcraft and Paganism.”

Of course, we are to presume that modern Witchcraft has an unbroken line going back to the paleolithic past, and that somehow Masonry borrowed heavily from those sources. However, both Ronald Hutton and Philip Heselton have proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that modern Witchcraft can’t be traced back further than the early 20th century. That would mean that modern Witchcraft is considerably younger than Masonry, which itself only dates back to the early 18th century. If modern Witchcraft shares many common features with Masonry, then one would have to conclude that the reason this does in fact occur is because Gerald B. Gardner (who was himself a Mason) put them there. While some witches may argue this amongst each other, scholars have shown that much of the lore of modern Gardnerian witchcraft was cobbled together from other sources. What this means is that there is no conspiracy and the linkages between one tradition of witchcraft and Masonry can be easily explained - it was a matter of creative plagiarism and not some kind of Satanic conspiracy, as Bill would have it.

The reason why this is so transparently obvious is the fact that only Gardnerian witchcraft (and it’s various offshoots) have these points in common with Masonry. Other non-Gardnerian traditions of witchcraft are quite different and have few if any points in common with Masonry. How does one explain that troubling little discrepancy to Bill’s over-arching theory? Why it’s elementary, my dear reader! Bill is making an argument that is quite fantasy based and profoundly dramatic - it is, in a word - a great lie! This is even more curious when one considers that some of the more traditional non-Gardnerian forms of witchcraft may actually represent older systems from the previous epoch, although the proof for that supposition has yet to be verified.

Cunning folk considered their magickal works to be their “craft,” just like anyone else who had a skill for hire. They made things for their paying clients (spells, talismans, amulets, herbal remedies, tonics, etc.), although none of them ever professed to be adherents of an alternative or “old” religion. Likewise, craftsmen were individuals who worked with their hands, used tools in a skillful manner and made things, unlike the ruling classes and the church. To call Masonry a craft is to hearken back to the days when Masons were builders and architects, or at least that is part of the theme of following the Masonic path. There is nothing sinister or esoteric about this phrase, just as one would assume - since we still use it today without any theological pretensions.

We will pass over Bill’s definitions, since we have shown that witchcraft is much too varied to apply one definition to the entire movement. Bill is using definitions that were put together in the late 19th century (about paganism in general), so they don’t reflect the modern perspectives of historians and archeologists. Bill has obviously not read anything about witchcraft since he left the craft in the early 1980's, and even then, he spouts the old arguments and lines that most folk, whether from within the movement or outside it, no longer hold as true. Suffice it so say that for every supposed fact that Bill states in his article, there are modern witchcraft and pagan groups who don’t adhere to it or where it isn’t even relevant.

A case in point is one of Bill’s arguments, which is flawed and really a terrible generalization.

“Essentially, a Pagan believes most everything the Witch believes, but is kind of a lay person, whereas a Witch is more of a Priestess or Shaman.”

I think that the above quote has more fallacies in it than anything that I ever seen written by anyone with any amount of knowledge. Modern witches and pagans represent very different traditions of belief and practice. Even within these generalized categories there is quite a bit of difference, based on the fact that every witch or pagan calls upon different traditions within that generalized group. While some could find some very broad points in common between them, they are quite distinct. Also, a member of a specific witchcraft tradition would not be an elite amongst a group of neopagans, since there isn’t any really defined hierarchy between all of these divergent traditions in the first place. Each group has its own leaders, and often there is a fair amount of squabbling about even that obvious point. You will also notice that Bill conflates a priest or priestess with a shaman, which is a completely different category altogether. It just seems that Bill doesn’t really know what he is talking about, so it would seem that his entire thesis is based on utter and complete nonsense.

Deeper into his article, Bill does concede that Wicca is modern, and that if there are resemblances between Masonry, then obviously one would have been the model for the other. Such an admission almost destroys his entire thesis, but then he saves it by proposing some more ancient (and sinister) source for both Wicca and Masonry. Although there isn’t any proof for this statement, it does represent the foundation of Bill’s thesis. I quote his damning admission, with the merest caveat that saves his thesis from nullifying itself.

“As it is currently constituted, Wicca is barely a century old. This is not to say that it doesn't draw on elements from the ancient mystery cults. To be certain, it does—to a high degree. However, it is a difficult task to ascertain whether contemporary Wicca so strongly resembles Freemasonry because two of its principle architects (Aleister Crowley and Gerald B. Gardner) were Masons; or whether that similarity is a derivation of more ancient practices.”

Historians have shown that the supposed ancient mystery cults passed away without leaving very much evidence behind. Christianity was quite thorough in its destruction of all of the pagan practices of antiquity. What we have today is a mere conjectural reconstruction, drawn from many different sources and completed with a lot of creative imagination. Masonry and witchcraft are modern creations, and they have very little in common with the older mystery cults, since that knowledge passed away long before either of these two organizations were invented. Masonry was a product of the Age of Enlightenment, and Wicca, a product of Victorian England. There is no unbroken lineage spanning the ages of antiquity to the present time.

Another point, Aleister Crowley didn’t have anything to do with writing the corpus of the Gardnerian Witchcraft Book of Shadows. This has been proven quite definitively, since Crowley and Gardner didn’t meet until the year of Crowley’s death, and then only a couple of visits occurred. It may be a difficult task to ascertain the resemblances between Gardnerian Wicca and Masonry if you are looking for some kind of satanic connection, but of course, the simpler explanation is just a form of plagiarism.

Then comes the really nail gripping and ghastly supposition, that (oh my!) Wicca somehow has engulfed the evil source of Masonry, making the rites more sanctified and less (still my beating heart!) blasphemous than their original form. What this amounts to is the belief that Masonry is evil and satanic, so if some group has modeled itself on those rituals and beliefs, then that group, too, is tainted and satanic. This belies the known fact that Masonic organizations spawned a plethora of analogous organizations and institutions, both in England, the European continent and the U.S. One could even go so far as saying that a number of democratic countries, such as our own, are powerfully influenced and saturated with Masonic beliefs, symbolism and philosophies. If you are a citizen of the U.S., Italy, France, England, and others too numerous to mention, you are an unwitting pawn influenced by the evils of Masonry. I guess the whole world should be so lucky!

Here’s Bill’s altar stone for his article -

“If Masonic rituals were engrafted into Witchcraft in the late 19th and early 20th century, and if that melding was so seamless and effortless—even to the point that in some cases, the Wiccan rites were less bizarre and blasphemous than there[sic] Masonic counterpart, then what message does that send about Masonry? As a preacher friend of mine, Jim Spencer, observed, ‘If the devil can preach my sermons without changing them much, what does that say about my sermons?’”

I suppose you could say that it really says nothing at all, since lots of organizations around the world have modeled themselves on Masonry. I would also say that the Devil has been preaching Mr. Spenser’s sermons, and Bill’s as well. Anyone who preaches bigotry, religious intolerance and advocates sectarian hate crimes against others is really doing the work of the Christian devil. How illuminating for Bill to show us who his mentor really is.

From this point on in Bill’s article, things get completely silly. The merest suppositions become embedded and obvious facts, and from them the world turns into a dark gothic negative image of itself, with ravens cawing in the background and bats flitting overhead, while the world is wrapped in a sinister stygian mist that hides the supposed real truth. Bill goes on and on with his arguments, building them up to a crescendo, like listening to Mussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain” or reading a story by H. P. Lovecraft. Even the list of satanic members of witchcraft and masonry is pretty astonishing. I am sure that Arthur Edward Waite would have been horrified to be considered a member of the witch cult, just like many of the other members of the infamous list. Only Gerald B. Gardner and Alex Sanders belong there, and the fact that at least one of them was also a Mason really proves nothing.

One of Bill’s final arguments is totally inane and even laughable, so I shall present it here for our amusement.

“The Masonic temple is a temple of Witchcraft! There can be little doubt about that. Veiled within its symbols are the deities and even the working tools of Witchcraft! As has been shown, the square and compasses are representations of the generative organs—the ‘sacred altar’ of Witchcraft! The blazing star at the center of the lodge is the Witch’s pentagram, symbol of the god of Satanism, Set! The Letter ‘G’ stands for generativity[sic], sexual potency.”

Anyone who has ever been a Mason (or has read Masonic material) will know what the mysterious “G” symbolizes. It represents the first letter of “God” and “Geometry,” both of which are quite prosaic and tame. Bill has outdone himself, becoming a laughing stock in the process. I am certain that his audience, the credulous and the ignorant, will find his article illuminating (no pun intended). They will undoubtedly lose sleep over it and have many nightmares about Masons and witches cavorting together in some satanic grove, dancing merrily and obliviously around the hooves of the big “D.” I do feel sorry for them and wonder at the foolishness of their critical thinking, but I have little further to say about Bill except to shake my head and wonder how he is able to make up all of this crap. He must be ingesting some potent hallucinogens in order to come up with these obvious fantasies.

Perhaps some day Bill will be rewarded for his virulent punditry. Maybe he can get a day job as the pastor exemplar for the Fox News Network. However, I doubt if other and wiser Christians will ever appreciate his work, since it is so far down in the gutter and living in the sewer of popular thought.

Frater Barrabbas

Golden Dawn and British Tradition Witchcraft Magic - Blending Into New Forms

As I have stated previously, the Golden Dawn system of magic has strongly influenced many other systems of magic in use today. I would like to focus on how the Golden Dawn influenced the method and techniques of working magic in the Gardnerian and Alexandrian traditions of Witchcraft, and also on how I was able to derive a completely new system of magic by blending them together.

Basically, the typical Wiccan Esbat as practiced in the Gardnerian and Alexandrian traditions of witchcraft has the following structure.

1. Circle Consecration
2. Raising the Cone of Power - first iteration
3. Imprinting the power and releasing Cone of Power
4. Godhead assumption - particularly the rite - Drawing Down the Moon
5. Blessing and communion
6. Circle banishment

This ritual working structure may seem unique, but it’s really a clever adaption of the Golden Dawn ritual working.

To recap, this is the typical ritual pattern for a Golden Dawn working. Notice the similarities.

1. Temple opening rites - banishing and purification - lesser banishing rituals of the pentagram and hexagram, and performing the rite of purification with water and consecration of fire - unwrap specific tool (element or specific invoking wand).

2. Qabbalistic cross, invocation of the Highest Divine Force

3. Core rite to invoke aspect of spiritual hierarchy - using the greater invoking ritual of the pentagram or the hexagram to each quarter beginning in the east and ending at the altar. Assume Egyptian godform, draw devices (invoking pentagram/hexagram with color and associated symbolic character), give secret name and grade signs. Trace appropriate sigils and Hebrew Godnames over altar, vibrating spirit names of the hierarchy in a descending order, and ending with the incantation of one of the Enochian calls.

4. Circumambulation of the circle specific number of times and perform the Rite of the Adoration of the Lord of the Universe. State magical intentions and then perform the middle pillar exercise. Skry into the corresponding plane of the spiritual hierarchy - one can also perform specific practical magical workings.

5. Rewrap tool(s) and any other charged devices. Reverse circumambulation of the circle the same number of times and then perform the godform divestment.

6. Perform Greater Banishing rite of the Pentagram or Hexagram. Perform lesser banishing rituals of the pentagram and hexagram. Declare temple to be closed.

Wiccan magic incorporates a magic circle in its rites, so the first ritual in a Wiccan working is called a circle consecration rite. However, if one were to pull together the rite of purification with water and consecration of fire, and follow it with the setting of the four cardinal directions with invoking pentagrams, then one would have a rite similar to the circle consecration rite. The cone of power would be understood to be a simpler version of the Golden Dawn ritual working used to invoke and project an Element. The Qabbalistic Cross and the godhead assumption have been incorporated into the rite Drawing Down the Moon.

Both magical systems begin with the creation of sacred space, build up an Element power using deosil circumambulations, and complete the working with a proper circle banishing rite. The consecration of the magic circle in the Wiccan rite uses a variation of the invoking pentagram drawn to each of the four cardinal directions, erecting four empowered wards. However, the circle in Wicca is used to gather the power together and focus it, establishing a boundary between the inner sacred domain and the outer profane worlds. A magic circle is not used in the Golden Dawn system of magic unless one is performing a goetic evocation, and then it functions as a protective barrier between the magician and the domain of the demon. So there are some differences and variations (as would be expected), but both systems seem very closely related.

Israel Regardie published his multi-volume book The Golden Dawn in the 1930's, so it is very likely that Gerald B. Gardner would have had access to it and could have built up his system of magic from it. He also had access to other materials written by Aleister Crowley and a copy of the Key of Solomon. So it shouldn’t be surprising that the methods of working basic magic in Wicca would have been remarkably similar to the Golden Dawn and also influenced by Crowley and the Key of Solomon. There are some differences, as I have already pointed out, but the similarities are quite striking. Since the source materials existed long before Gardner had built out his system of Wiccan magic, then it is not inconceivable that they influenced his writings (and not the other way around).

The Alexandrian tradition of Wicca, although a mirror image of the Gardnerian tradition, did have some additional lore, although it may be more specific to my initiatory line than to the tradition as a whole. The Rose Cross ritual was used to model a new ritual called the Rose Ankh. The ritual pattern was analogous to the Rose Cross, although I am not at liberty to discuss it in much detail. One could consider the Rose Ankh ritual to be a derivative rite of the Rose Cross ritual, and it generated a specific energy associated with the Goddess that was similar but different from the Rose Cross. There was also another version of the Analysis of the Key Word that was associated with the Rose Ankh rite, and used Goddess names and their associated aspects instead of the LVX God names associated with the Rose Cross version of that rite.

In summation, the above six step ritual working for Wicca was, I believe, derived from the Golden Dawn ritual working of the Greater Invoking Pentagram rite. Alexandrian tradition added a couple of additional rituals (as stated above), but beyond that, there was no additional lore developed. That represented the collective lore that I received years ago when I was initiated into the Alexandrian tradition of Witchcraft. The coven that I practiced with also used the Golden Dawn rituals, but there was little guidance as to how to formulate a complex working using the Greater Hexagram rite and other rituals, but the material was presented and explained in the classes that we held. So that was the source material that I had to build a new system of magic.


Extending Beyond the Two Traditions - My Work

Needless to say, I took these rituals and the class notes and began to experiment with them, particularly the Greater Pentagram rite. I also made it a point to study in great detail the Rose Cross ritual, since it seemed to me to have a quality that other rituals lacked. I felt that the Rose Cross ritual was very powerful and that if one could understand the structure of that ritual, one would discover a important key to working ritual magic. In fact, as time went on, I merged these two rituals together to produce a ritual that I later called the Pyramid of Power ritual, but what I was seeking was a method of making the Wiccan cone of power ritual more efficient and more powerful. I was also putting together a system of magic that would invoke powers and intelligences through a matrix.

It had always seemed to me that the cone of power ritual, when analyzed, had a masculine property. It was obviously phallic shaped, following a sun-wise circuit around the circle, and it modeled the masculine cycle of orgasm - building the energy up to a plateau, then imprinting it, and then pushing it to a final climax. I always saw the power projected out of a cone of power as being like a pulse of energy or a fire bolt or lightening bolt, and it was also like the ejaculation of semen.

However, if there was a masculine power in the cone of power rite, then there should be a feminine energy that would balance it. What would that rite look like, what would be its form and how would its energy work? It would, of course, be the opposite of a cone of power. Let’s contrast these two types of energy to each other - starting with the cone of power.

• Follows a deosil circuit
• Polarized along its periphery
• Spirals up to the center of the circle and beyond

So the opposite kind of magical power would have the following opposite qualities.

• Follows a widdershins circuit
• Polarized to the center of the circle
• Spirals down to the center of the circle and below the plane of the ground/floor

This feminine force is called a vortex and it is the opposite of a cone of power. The simplest way to create a vortex is to polarize the four points in the magic circle, join them together in the center of the circle (creating a cross roads), and then raising the energy by circumambulating widdershins along the periphery to the center of the circle and projecting it down to the lowest point (below the plane of the floor) called the nadir. Where a cone of power is imprinted with a charged desire and released at the ritual’s climax to perform a specific task or impact a specific target, the vortex acts like a container for magical powers, preserving them and focusing them to a greater intensity.

While a cone of power is built up and then released, a vortex perpetually contains the powers generated within it. When a vortex reaches a kind of critical mass, it releases waves of force that circle around the epicenter of the vortex, much like a pebble dropped into a pond creates circular waves around it. And these subtle and powerful waves influence and bend reality in a manner that is much more effective than a cone of power. The vortex has to have a certain level of power built up within it before that power can be released in a wave-like manner. Yet like a cone of power, a vortex releases its power through resonance. A vortex can’t be banished since it’s structure remains in place with a residual force even when the energy that it contained is released. A cone of power requires banishment after the rite is completed, but the vortex is just sealed in place until the next time that magic is performed. One would only need to unseal a vortex and it would be ready for use, containing the same level of intensity when it was previously sealed. For some unknown reason a vortex always seems to contain energy, acting like a bottomless well. Whatever energy is released is always renewed within it.

The technique of generating and working with a vortex was something that I had actually invented myself. Previous rites had only indirectly produced a vortex like energy field. I discovered this bit of magical lore when I examined how the Rose Cross and Rose Ankh rituals worked. I had also experimented with the Rose Ankh device, learning that it produced a kind of powerful magnetic magical energy when drawn. So I decided to use the Rose Ankh device, and I drew it in the four points of the magic circle, thus polarizing them to create the base of the magnetic energies of the vortex. I used a magic sword to draw the four points together in the center of the circle and perform a widdershins circuit, and the resultant ritual produced astonishing results. All of the qualities that I described above were realized through the use of this new ritual. With the Rose Ankh device and the ritual structure of the vortex, I had my first really potent hybrid ritual structure to build a new magical system.

While I was experimenting and formulating the vortex, I was working on other rituals, too. These were based on the Golden Dawn rites and what I had learned in Wiccan circles. I wanted to produce new forms of raising energy that were more powerful, structured and detailed than the cone of power. So I began to experiment and in the process discovered completely new ritual structures.

Perhaps one of the most interesting and startling discoveries that I made was the pylon. A pylon is nothing more than two devices placed one above the other with an invoking spiral drawn through them so that they are connected into a line of power or a pillar of light. I called this new structure a pylon because it was used to erect magical geometric structures, just like a pylon is used in modern architecture.

The pylon was not an entirely new ritual structure, since a form of it had been used in the Greater Pentagram ritual of the GD. In that ritual the invoking pentagram of the Element and the invoking pentagram of active or passive spirit are drawn to the same cardinal point, but the pentagram of spirit is drawn above the pentagram of the Element. There was also an implied line drawn between them, and they were both drawn together in a line drawn to the next cardinal point. However, I made this action into a deliberate ritual structure, and that was different than what was implicitly done in the Golden Dawn rite.

A pylon allows two different devices to be bound into a single line of force. Typically I use invoking pentagrams for a specific Element for the base of the pylon, and the qualifier is set with the invoking pentagram of spirit active or passive, depending on the quality of the base Element. A pylon consisting of invoking pentagram devices produces a great deal of magical energy, since they combine together and also polarize each other. This kind of pylon can be used in two different manners to produce two kinds of pyramid structures. The first is where a pylon is set to the center of the circle, and invoking pentagrams of the base Element are set to each of the four points in the magic circle. When the four points are drawn together, and then drawn to the apex of the central pylon, a pyramid of Element power is created. The second is where one sets four pylons to each of the four points and a pylon to the center of the circle, and then draws the four points together (in a square), followed by drawing the four points to the apex of the center pylon, then a greater pyramid of power is created.

Each of these two ritual structures produce a great deal of magical power, due to the polarities produced, the joining of forces and also because of the squaring of the circle. A deosil spiral from the periphery of the circle to the center is used to draw the power into a point, and a widdershins spiral that exits the center of the circle and disperses the energy out through the periphery of the circle are employed to resonate and exteriorize the magical power.

The pyramid of power is much more efficient and refined than the cone of power, since it can define a specific element power which can be imprinted with one of the attributes (Godnames) of the ten Sephiroth. I call this combination of Element and Sephirah one of the Qualified Powers, and they are analogous to the 40 cards of the Lesser Arcana of the Tarot. The Pyramid of Powers rite was also the first ritual to work through a matrix of spirits and powers.

Through creative experimentation I was thus able to derive a Pyramid of Powers ritual and a Rose Ankh Vortex rite. I began to use the Pyramid of Power rite within the core of an established vortex and discovered that I could layer and accumulate the power generated through several sessions of magical workings before they would be induced to a climax. The vortex could not be banished, it was instead sealed and unsealed as needed. I learned to use the devices of the sealing and unsealing spirals which I set to all of the circle nodes. The combination of these two rites allowed me to build up a magickal working over numerous sessions, so I didn’t have to complete a working in a single evening. I also noticed that my temple began to accumulate a great deal of power, since whatever was periodically discharged was readily replaced in the “well” of the vortex, and the accumulation of ritual workings naturally accumulated the power in the sealed vortex.

Another ritual structure that I discovered in my experimentation was the Western and Eastern gateway. I had deduced the great magical importance of Joseph Campbell’s Cycle of the Hero, particularly the remarkable fact that it had twenty-two stages and that these stages matched the twenty-two Trumps of the Major Arcana of the Tarot. However, I was also able to boil down the underworld descent and the re-ascent to three stages each, instead of the twenty-two stages that Campbell discussed. The three stages of descent or ascent are represented by the process of the dialectic method, which consists of thesis, antithesis and synthesis. The descent into the underworld is facilitated by the actions of the spirit helper or guide (thesis), the guardian of the threshold (antithesis) and the transformative ordeal itself (synthesis). The ascent out of the underworld is symbolized by the assistance from without (thesis), the guardian of the return threshold (antithesis), and the ordeal of re-translation (synthesis). These are the themes that are used to establish the full cycle of descent and ascent that represents transcendental transformation.

The gateway of transformation uses these thematic images of descent and ascent at each of the three points of the gate ritual structure, where they are superimposed to give them meaning. The gateway ritual structure is also erected within the magic circle, which is fitting for a Wiccan type magical working. The opening and closing portal gestures are a final dramatic flourish given to the two gateway rituals. They are done to mime the action of opening and closing the gateways.

The Underworld gateway is oriented to the West; the three points are the Northeast and Southeast angles, and the cardinal direction of the West. The Ascension into Light gateway is orientated to the East; the three points are the Northwest and Southwest angles, and the cardinal direction of the East. The three gate nodes are drawn together to form a triangle within the magic circle, and this becomes the gate ritual structure. The magician stands in the opposite point of the circle and faces the gate (West or East), sets invoking spirals to the three gate nodes, draws them together (into a triangle) and then proceeds to walk up to the gate threshold, performs the opening portal gesture, turns and proceeds to the center of the circle. Each of the three gate nodes can be qualified with a specific symbolic characteristic of the gateway ordeal. In addition to the three gate nodes discussed above, a fourth point can be used which is in the center of the circle at the zenith. The fourth point represents the resolution of the three gateway ordeal processes, which is implied when one proceeds to the center of the circle after opening the portal of the gate. Using a fourth point in the gate ritual patten produces the ritual structure of the tetrahedral gateway.

The use of the two gates, besides adding a powerful thematic element to a ritual, represents the passage of transformative powers into the deeper unconscious of the magician and out again, having been transformed and translated into a new perspective. The underworld gate is used to push down the energies of all prior workings and unite them into a single symbolic expression, where a new level of power and being is established. To fuse prior magical structures and workings together, a gateway is established. To gain a greater depth, the underworld gateway is used. To bring these forces and aspects of being into the greater light of consciousness (as revealed knowledge), an ascension gateway is used. Both of these gateway ritual structures are very important in the construction of complex workings and the performance of the mysteries.

The points of the magic circle, when limited to just the four cardinal points and the center of the circle, produces only a total of five. I had already worked out that pylons produced points above and below the standard five, so there were at least two points in the center of the circle. I had deduced that the center of the circle contained the zenith, which I called the ultra-point, and the nadir, which I called the infra-point. I found that it was very useful to have an eight point magic circle, and this ritual structure had been used in a simplistic fashion with the Alexandrian Rose Ankh ritual. There were the four cardinal points, which were called Watchtowers (for various reasons), and there were four additional points, called the four Angles, or cross-quarter points. So instead of just having four points in the magic circle, there were now eight, which contributed to a very important ritual structure, which is called the Octagon or double squared circle. If squaring the circle helped to generate a powerful magical charge, doubling that square should create even more magical energy, and indeed it does.

I also discovered that there was a point in the circle that represented the magician in the magic circle, and that point was in the center of the circle, at a point between the ultra-point and the infra-point, which I called the meso-point. It was imagined to be at the exact height in the circle as my heart, being therefore, the magician’s heart in the center of the circle - where all points converge in the power of spiritual love. So now I had the four Watchtowers, the four Angles, the Infra-point, the Ultra-point, and the Meso-point - a total of eleven points in the circle. From these eleven points I was able to build any complex ritual structure.

The ritual structure of the Octagon was very useful for generating a magical power called an Elemental. An Elemental is defined as a base Element qualified by another or the same Element. Therefore, Fire of Earth, Water of Air, and Fire of Fire are all Elementals. There are sixteen Elementals, and these beings of magical power correspond to the 16 court cards of the Tarot, and the sixteen Enochian calls in the Enochian system of magic. These 16 Elementals are also spiritual powers that are based on a matrix, so an octagon ritual structure is made to activate that specific matrix, since there are four Watchtower and four Angles used to differentiate the power.

A basic premise of the ritual of the octagon is that a base Element is set to the four Watchtowers, and a qualifying Element is set to the four Angles. This is done using the invoking pentagram of that Element. The four Watchtowers are drawn to each other (to form a square) and to the center of the circle in the infra-point. The four Angles are drawn to each other (to also form a square) and to the center of the circle in the ultra-point. The magician stands in the center of the circle with his staff and draws the powers fused in the infra-point through the staff to the ultra-point. The magician may at this point intone the specific Enochian call for the Elemental, and may also summon the Godname pair of the Elemental entity - drawing the power of Elemental from the staff into his body. An Octagon ritual pattern, as it turned out, became the building block of many new and additional magical workings, and the eight point magic circle was also very useful as well.

Another ritual structure that I discovered was the internal circle that enclosed a star talisman, like the septagram, drawn or painted on a rectangular piece of wood. This new structure assisted me to develop some very complex workings, namely forms of talismanic magic and magical evocation. The internal circle was drawn in the middle of the circle, typically in a deosil circuit, and the opening portal gesture was performed over it to show that a new and more intensely circumscribed concentric circle structure had been activated. Within that new smaller internal circle was placed a rectangular piece of wood upon which was painted a septagram, eneagram or an undecigram. This painted talisman functioned as a powerful focus where one could further perform the drawing of complex devices and the using of larger array structures than either the pentagram or the hexagram. I also found that the septagram was much more appealing to use as a device to invoke planetary intelligences. However, I also discovered how difficult it was to draw an invoking septagram on demand in a magic circle. Instead of drawing the invoking septagram to each of the four cardinal directions, I traced the invoking septagram just a single time on the septagramic talisman. Along with the incantation of the planetary hierarchy and a derived Enochian call of the planet, I was able to establish in the inner circle the full invocation of a planetary intelligence.

So, after several years of experimentation, I had developed a whole new set of ritual structures that I could use to develop my own personal system of magic. This system was based on the original Golden Dawn rituals, but had expanded far beyond them in regards to ritual structure, flexibility and usefulness. These ritual structures are geometric in their construction, but the original Golden Dawn rites were also geometric as well, but using a more limited and simplistic structure. What seemed like just some simple extensions to the basic ritual structures of the Golden Dawn lore actually opened up a whole new system of possible magical rites. Even to this day, some thirty-five years later, I have not even begun to exhaust the possibilities. The new techniques have given birth to hundreds of ritual workings, and helped me develop a whole new system of evocation and a new type magic called Archaeomancy, which are subjects for future articles. So, too, is a discussion of the use of sacred geometry in these ritual structures.

To recap: the following new techniques were derived by me from the original Golden Dawn rituals:

• Rose Ankh Vortex
• Pyramid of Power Ritual
• Greater Pyramid of Power Ritual
• Western and Eastern Gateways - tetrahedral gateway
• Octagon Elemental Vortex
• Eleven Point Circle
• Inner Circle Star (Septagram, Eneagram, Undecigram)

Frater Barrabbas Tiresius