Invoking One of the 49 Bonarum Part 2

I have decided to post another of my past magickal experiences as written up in my electronic journal. From time to time, I will edit and post still more of these journal entries to share with my readers. Hopefully, these experiences will demonstrate what a real magickal working is like from the standpoint of the magician.

Back in the autumn of 1991, while I was living in Tallahassee, Florida, I performed a series of workings that invoked seven of the 49 Enochian Spirits called the Bonarum. I have classified these spirits as binary-planetary intelligences because they consist of two planetary intelligences fused together into a bypolar unified conscious entity. A binary planetary intelligence is extremely useful for any kind of magick ordeal since it has the ability to powerfully resonate with the psyche of the practitioner, causing him or her to experience a powerful cathartic clarification. These spirits also make very potent talismanic generators, so they can be used in that manner as well.

This working was part of an eight part working that invoked seven of these spirits and Camara during an intensive eight week period. I invoked one of these spirits during the weekend for nearly a two month period. Needless to say, the results were spectacular and through them I gained a lot of additional previously unknown Enochian magickal material. The full set of journal entries and other lore will encompass the second volume of the Book of the Nephilim.

Keep in mind that I am still editing and refining these journal entries, so what I am posting here is something of a rough draft. I am doing this so you can get a very good idea about the actual raw experience, unadulterated by later edits and verbal refinements.

Here are the notes from the seventh invocation in that series.

Notes from the Invocation of Beta-Aminodea

The invocation of Aminodea was the seventh and final in the series of the Binary Planetary Invocations. This working was probably the most intense and unusual of all of the workings. At the start of this working, I felt a strong sense of foreboding which was rather odd. The atmosphere associated with this evening was haunted and almost eerie. Because of my gothic sensibilities, I found these strange sensations to be rather pleasant and thrilling. They seemed to indicate a brooding type of force that always presages a major magickal experience. The combination of planets used in this working certainly assisted the dark nature of the energies that I experienced. The base planet was the Moon, and Saturn qualified it amidst the background zodiacal sign of Cancer, thus reinforcing the Lunar attributes of this working. However, the planet Saturn, acting through the influence of the sign of Cancer, caused a potent occlusion of emotional factors which led to a kind of emotional hypersensitivity. This combination of planetary qualities caused me to witness a very deep and dark manifestation of unconscious elements. It also brought to the surface of my awareness an archetypal entity that managed to reveal itself to me, but it was reticent to communicate with me until the invocation process was completed.

This entity appeared in the form of a slender and sensuous young woman with bright red hair, pale facial features and beautiful green eyes. She appeared at intervals during the rite, and first appeared while I was in my bath meditating. In fact, the whole impact of the working was revealed while I was taking my magickal bath, and appeared as a powerfully distracting premonition. I knew at that moment that the image of the young woman was Lilith, and that she represented a particular facet of my current relationships with women, colored as they were by my involvement in ceremonial magick. Yet this feminine presence was very sensuous and quite erotic, and she seemed to be friendly with me. I was able to sense that she favorably acknowledged me, and bestowed upon me her apparent good-will.

The primary issue associated with this working seemed to revolve around my seemingly foolish attraction and pursuit of so-called fallen women. However, what was revealed to me seemed to  indicate that such an attraction could be considered normal when one also understood that these fallen women were in actuality the unredeemed daughters of Lilith. They had merely lost the ability to understand their role and the importance of their powers. Therefore, society had degraded these women, but underneath they were truly women of great magickal power.

I suppose that a useful analogy would be to compare how society would evaluate me without the cover of my outward normalcy and my middle class profession. I assume that I would be consigned to the spiritual ghetto if it were not for my own personal power and sense of personal value. These qualities allowed me to pursue the education and gain the experience necessary to establish myself in my current station of life.  Yet I can barely imagine what it must be like being a woman born in the lower classes who would most certainly be incapable of taking advantage of her virtues, while the degradation of life around her would reinforce all of her negative issues. So a woman born with great occult powers in such a situation would probably be easily led by unscrupulous individuals and used in a degraded fashion. There would likely be no guide or teacher to instruct her about the magickal abilities and singular virtues that she possessed. This is the nature of the fallen women who Lilith represents as her daughters.

The spirit of Aminodea appeared, then, as the Goddess Lilith in all her strange, beautiful and troubling glory. She was dressed in a semi-transparent white robe that revealed all her feminine charms in a defused but obvious manner. Her red hair was long and lustrous, and upon her forehead was a ruby diadem. Her eyes were a lovely shade of jade green and her skin was pale white. Her lips were full and generous and painted a passionate red. She spoke to me in a quiet and calm voice, and I wrote down all that she said in my journal. Her voice was very sensual and the energy that emanated from her presence was splendidly erotic. I had to focus carefully on what she said or I would have become distracted by her presence. Yet I persevered and wrote down her words, and this is what she said.

The Testament of Lilith

I reveal unto you, the secret of the Daughters of Lilith, those little goddesses who are my heart and soul, they are my beloved ones. For these women are the Daughters of Great Magick, and they rightfully oppose the Daughters of Eve, who are the staunch supporters of the status-quo. They are also the keepers of the Great Lie, which states that women are spiritually weaker than men. So to keep themselves in power, the Daughters of Eve shall insert their hypocritical definitions of women and morality into the legal and moral structures of society for the rest of us, and they will be venerated as if they were an absolute truth.

So my daughters are devalued and degraded; because they are willful and motivated by potent passions and desires. Thus the men who rule this world both fear and covet them. In the prior age, these women would have been burned as witches, but in this age, they are prostitutes, erotic dancers, pornographic actresses, the host of the used and abused, and even impoverished single mothers. They are the castaways of society; and this great injustice occurs because they contain a great need for self-empowerment and the desire for personal freedom. For these women find no comfort in being the chattel of men. Some of these women, although very few, become great artists, celebrated authors, actresses or professional dancers; but most of the Daughters of Lilith remain poor and undiscovered.

So I direct you, a sorcerer of the old line and an occult teacher, to seek the Daughters of Lilith in their fallen state, and as the gnostic Helena of Troy was saved from a Syrian Brothel by Simon Magus, you must redeem her so that she becomes like the Sophia Prunikos. The alternative for them is darkness and despair, which is their collective fate. They are lowly and cast down, but they aspire and are held apart. They are lonely and the essence of their power is to be found in the captive lusts of their lowly men. Their unions are often unfruitful, but they release an ecstatic power. This why you are attracted to these fallen women (as are all men of this world), because they are the Daughters of Lilith. So unbeknownst to them, they are calling and summoning you to aid them in their plight, to give them the tools of high self-esteem and self-empowerment. When this evolution shall come to pass, then shall I rejoice in their redemption; and correspondingly, the great age of magick shall be reborn. Because these down-trodden women are the true-born priestesses of the magickal arts, and without them, such an age of magick cannot be realized.

O Red-headed Daughter of the Night, a street walker, degraded and debased, and also unloved. Help her to redeem herself and teach her the arts of magick that she has forgotten. Yet the way is very hard and the trials shall separate the worthy from the unworthy. Some may be too broken, or too far gone and despairing, to be redeemed. Others may be unable to reawaken their magickal heritage, or they might just succumb to fear or to the lies of the Daughters of Eve. Yet those who shall achieve their redemption will gather together and summon the power to glory in the image of me, the Goddess Lilith. In my name and power, all the men and women who revel in my service shall quickly grow and spiritually evolve, and bring forth a New Age of Magick.

I shall now reveal to you my secret nature so that you may understand and thereby invoke my spirit into manifestation; and this summoning will presage the beginning of the New Age of Magick. Thus are the Feminine Mysteries of the Cult of the Nephilim revealed through the potent manifestation of my spirit, and herein, I reveal myself to you.

Sun in Scorpio: I am emotionally intense, a power of spiritual regeneration for good or evil. I seek to fulfill my desires, yet I am subtle, calculating and secretive. Thus I am also possessive, jealous and even vengeful.

Moon in Leo: I am dramatic and emotionally demonstrative. I need to be desired and appreciated. I also need to be the center of attention, but I am generous and loving in return.

Mercury in Libra: I am concerned with the interrelationships between people, and I am very curious about the inner thoughts and feelings of lovers. I am honest and frank in my conversations, to the point of being blunt, yet I seek always to be equitable and just in my social interactions.

Venus in Scorpio: I am very sexual and passionate; sometimes I am overly preoccupied with sex and experiencing ecstasy (which is my drug of choice). My wants and needs are very selfish and often override the needs of others, and I am often far too self-indulgent.

Mars in Aries: I am highly active and highly energized. I have great leadership skills, but I can also be stubborn and fiercely independent. I believe strongly in fighting for my beliefs, and relying upon my own strengths, will-power, and courage.

Jupiter in Taurus: I have an excellent sense for the proper use of resources on all levels. Thus, my nature attracts wealth. I love good food and drink, beautiful cloths, costly jewelry and sumptuous surroundings. However, I do have a problem with material excess, and I can readily experience dissipation through too much self-indulgence.

Saturn in Pisces: I understand humility and I am compassionate of those who are less fortunate than I. At times, I brood on past errors and transgressions, but I am aware of my humble beginnings, so I never have any illusions about who I really am.

Thus I am, in form and spirit, to be invoked and known by you. You will summon the power of the Black Aphrodite and therein shall you find redemption and emancipation at her hands. She will teach you the mysteries, and these will be the tools through which you shall transform her daughters. You shall find them in the lowly places of society, lost and forgotten, like jewels in the gutters. I say to you that the power of the age of Lilith is near, her time is coming and so is her fate of retribution. She was fallen yet she has arisen to become the redeemed Goddess of the Feminine Spirit. She is to women as the Christ was once to men.

Because you are an aspirant of the dark wisdom and are aligned to the Dark Lord Set, therefore, I would choose you to be one of my many prophets, as I would any man who follows your path. So too, one could see in Set, God of the Egyptians, the personage of Seth, the ancestor of Enoch and the patron of the Gnostic Philosophies. The darkness represents the obscure nature of this knowledge, and the sense of the forbidden is cast aside by the light of realization. Yet all men who walk the dark paths represent my preferred mates, for I am mistress of all sorcerers and the guide of its darkest mysteries.

I reveal to you that Seth is the seventh and final master of the Enochian System of Magick. So you must assume his godhead within the Bornless Invocation Rite, and then call forth the luminous image of myself, the scarlet haired Goddess (who shall act like a bitch in heat), and we shall consummate our union. This is because pure lust, directed from the Body to the Spirit, leads to ecstasy, which is the union of Deity and Humanity, This is the state of ultimate perfection and the domain of the incarnated and empowered spirit. From this union will arise your own priestess and lover. You will redeem her as the incarnation of Lilith, most beloved and respected. Therein, she shall teach you of the ways that represent the wisdom of my mysteries made manifest, and you shall also find many of my spiritually red-headed daughters. You will raise them up, but only those who are worthy, and they shall shine like jewels in the blackened night sky. They will become known in the world of men for their true value and be venerated and deeply appreciated. You will only be their master of the moment; since you must be stern and unwavering in the application of their ordeals. Yet that ordeal will redeem and cause them to arise to their true station. Thus, they shall be saved from themselves and from a corrupted and evil society.

Know you that the daughters of Lilith are analogous to the sacred scarlet women. The archetype of the Holy Courtesan is thus restored, and it becomes the Qadishtu, which is the holy erotic mediator of the Divine Feminine. Since to become one with the God is to become one with the representative of the Deity upon the Earth. Therefore, I have revealed to you the lost avocation of the sacred temple prostitute. In the cult of the Nephilim, the Priestess becomes the Lilith of Power, offering to all her chalice of ecstasy. She has become the embodiment of the Grail, but she has received powerful initiations and magick runs in her blood (sangreal), so she can transmute her being of Flesh and Blood into a perfect sacrament. She must be taught, led bound and blindfolded through her ordeals, tempered and made strong; then she can lead the faithful after becoming like true alchemical gold.

The manifestation of Lilith through the spirit of Aminodea is at an end, having revealed the mysteries of the magickal power of women.

The Structure of Inner Plane Workings

The following represents the pattern which is to be used when working with the Inner Plane domains of the Qabbalah of the 40 Worlds.

1.  The Qabbalistic Pyramid of Power

This ritual, which has already been written and is part of the Order's arsenal of rituals, establishes the Qabbalistic World as a pyramidal pylon ritual structure.

2.   The Ritual of the Eneagram

This ritual establishes the Qabbalistic focus on a specific Sephirah, with an invoking vortex set in the angles, and tracing the appropriate Eneagrammic angle, the appropriate correspondences are invoked. This ritual should be updated to include the Enochian names for the Godhead, Sephirah, and Archangel. The eneagrammic structures are unified with a hexagrammic device set in the ultra-point.

3.   The Septagrammic Gate Vortex

This ritual is over-laid upon the prior two structures, thus causing the Qabbalistic World to be fused with the pylon- invoking structure of Camara, the guide of the Inner Planes. Then the Grand Threshold is established, the Celebrant passes into the world of the Inner Planes. After this is accomplished, then one may either skry or astral project at this point, a guided meditation may also assist to set the structure of the symbolic correspondences of that revealed Qabbalistic World.

The above information was delivered along with the ritual structure of the Septagrammic Gate Vortex. That ritual was written into a finished format in preparation for use in the next working, scheduled for the Full Moon of the next month.

Ritual Comments

The working began at 9:15 PM EST when the consecration of the circle was completed, which locked the planetary hour of Luna for the 14th Day of December, 1991. The Moon was in the sign of Aries, and it had moved into that sign during the first hour of sunrise (the first planetary hour of Saturn). There were no significant astrological aspects for the duration of this working. The Moon had already entered the First Quarter at 4:32 AM that morning. The working ended at 12:09 AM the next morning.

Frater Barrabbas

Pagan Grimoire of Ritual Magick

We have covered quite a bit of territory in this blog so far, and now I want to show how everything that I have written in the past can be assembled together to form a unique grimoire of ritual magick for the intermediate or advanced pagan or witch. We should keep in mind that when I define ritual magick, I am, of course, speaking about the magickal rites blended seamlessly into the liturgical rites. As far as I am concerned, they are one and the same, which is what makes modern witchcraft and paganism so unique. Unlike the past, particularly during the period of pagan antiquity in Europe and the Middle East, in the present time there are no prohibitions in the Western world for practicing magick along with religious rites. There are some important reasons for combining these two practices into a common spiritual and magickal discipline, and while we have covered that in past articles, we should touch on it again as we list the rites and practices of the pagan ritual magician.

We can divide this pagan grimoire into four categories, where each category has its battery of rituals and practices. These four categories are: core rites, key practices, magickal workings, and religious and mystical exercises. Of these four categories, magickal workings contains just the basic system of materializing magick. The other three categories are mostly comprehensive and therefore, would require very little additional lore. However, let us examine each of these categories and see what they contain. We will find that the elements of each category contains rites and practices already thoroughly covered. The task that the erstwhile pagan magician must perform is to write up and assemble these rituals into a single body of lore, which is spiritually consistent throughout.

Core rites: The most essential workings are the mystery rites of the Moon, Sun and the Self (Initiation). The phases of the moon and the seasons of the sun determine the overall cycle of workings and the performance of rites. The solar cycle is used for connecting to the earth and its overall process, and the lunar cycle is used for performing materialized magickal workings within the internal psychic mysteries of all living things.

These mysteries are both magickal and liturgical, but represent the continual periodicity of the magickal calendar. Throughout these various lunar phases and solar milestones are the actual points of spiritual transformation for the individual practitioner, who through the constant practice of ordeals and ceremonies, will also grow and evolve. Rituals structures used in the core rites are the spiral vortex, double gateway, cross-roads and the inner circle. There are also specific themes for the lunation types and phases, the seasonal full moons, as well as the calendric wheel of the year associated with the solar seasons, and the greatest mystery of them all, which is the twenty-two stages of the cycle of initiation.

Key practices: These are the practices that establish and maintain a proper spiritual alignment, as well as performing basic preparations and the essential capability for mind-control. We have already defined the practices of alignment as devotion, invocation, godhead assumption, communion and spiritual service. Perhaps the most important of these rites and practices is godhead assumption, since everything else is pivotal to this rite. Preparatory rites and practices would include daily meditation and contemplation sessions, periodic divination and self reflection, study and using the power of allegory. Also included would be ablutions (bathing), prayers, preparatory meditation, and circle/grove consecration (making sacred space). All of these rites and practices are thoroughly memorized and practiced on a regular basis.

Religious and mystical exercises: These are the pagan or wiccan liturgical practices that are not covered in the previous two categories (core rites and key practices). Such practices would be based on the operator’s base religious affiliation, and would represent his or her presence in the community. Adapting the lunar and solar calendars to one’s basic pagan spiritual practices and their associated spiritual pantheon is a very important task, since it adds continuity to the practice of magick and liturgical ceremonies. As an example, the traditional rites and ceremonies associated with the eight Sabbats and the thirteen Esbats, and thereby integrating them into a solitary magickal practice would represent one of the objectives of this category. Another area is the development of the magician’s personal religious cult, where his or her focused Deity becomes a representation of the magician’s higher self. Practices that are performed around the shrine, with its statues, symbols, fetishes and offerings, and the various associated devotional activities would be a prime example of this category. So would any form of godhead mediation performed for the benefit of the members of one’s pagan lineage, or even sympathetic outsiders.

Magickal workings: These rites are associated with any material based objective that the magician might seek to realize. The pyramid of power rite, which can generate any of the forty Qualified Powers, is the first level of magickal workings that the magician can easily employ. The lunar mystery is the core practice where the pyramid of power rite can be deployed through a variation on the mystery pattern. The methodology for performing the pyramid of power within the lunar mystery working has already been covered. However, the structure of the lunar mystery rite is such that other and more advanced workings could be worked within the same overall structure. This would allow for the employment of an elemental octagon, for instance, or even for talismanic working.

Perhaps the most important feature of this kind of ritual system is that it has the qualities of being performed within a modular structure. What that means is that a single ritual can be used to produce a number of different energy structures. Although there are forty unique Qualified Powers associated with the matrix of ten godhead attributes and the four elements, there is only one ritual which is used to generate that force. All the operator has to do is to change the attribute symbology and the invoking pentagrams, and then the generated power structure is different. Typically, when I write such modular rituals, I leave blanks for the key symbols and their associated ritual devices. I also produce a table and place it in the ritual appendix so that I might use those specific symbols and qualities in an actual ritual. A modular ritual is easy to use and easy to follow when performing a working, since I don’t bother to fill in the blanks with every possible variation. I would recommend this approach to my readers when they go about writing their own rituals.

One other mechanism that is used in this simple system of pagan ritual magick is the ubiquitous sigil. Since I use the sigil as an operant link for the generation of the Qualified Power, it performs two duties for one specific working. It can stand by itself and act as a magically qualified tool (once it is consecrated and charged), and it also functions as a link for the spell. The sigil is a symbolized construction representing a specific desire, and as such, it is inherently magickal even without performing the pyramid of power working. Associating the sigil with the Qualified Power causes it to be imprinted, and exteriorizing it will ensure that the desire is projected into the material world. Once used, the sigil can be destroyed, or can be kept and reused to intensify the specific objective with further workings. If a sigil has a generic desire that could be used to satisfy a number of different scenarios, then it becomes something akin to what Spare referred to as his alphabet of desire.

Examples of all of these rituals and practices associated with the four categories of a functioning pagan grimoire can be found in my published book, “Mastering the Art of Ritual Magick: Grimoire.” I would recommend that if you are serious about assembling the rituals for your own personalized system of magick, then acquiring this book will greatly help you to accomplish your desire to possess and actively use your own grimoire of rites and practices.

Frater Barrabbas

Key to Transformative Initiation

One of life’s greatest lessons is that nothing stays the same. Everything changes due to deliberate plans (one would hope), accidents or the fortunes of fate (whether good, bad or indifferent). Attempting to stand still and maintain one’s world is the surest way to get overtaken and completely run over by changing fortunes. The world doesn’t wait, and it would appear that it doesn’t sleep, either. We indulge in hubris and stasis at our own future peril!

So, if you are engaged with a progressive system of magick or esotericism, you are expected to at least attempt to incorporate the power of change as a means of evolving, growing and ultimately, achieving self-mastery. This is the only thing that can coerce an impending transformation to be progressive instead of regressive. Let me explain what I am talking about here, because I believe that it’s one of the more important topics in which any occultist can engage. It is the literal expression of “To be, or not to be.” To ascend, or to descend! And this pivots naturally on our choices, whether explicit or implicit.

Change is guaranteed to happen, it is therefore, imminent, and our life is buffeted by these changes. Human beings are self-conscious about their lives, and so we experience the calamities of good and bad fortune with the overarching need to find reasons and explanations for it all. Often, such explanations are nothing more than ad hoc explanations, and at times, even these tailored rationales seem weak and artificial, leaving us to ponder and wonder (and never satisfactorily answer) why things happened the way they did.

Still, those of us who are attempting to engineer a more empowered and self-determined future can be assured that even the attempt to do so is met with at least some positive outcome. This is because we have in our hands the tools of our very apotheosis, if we can but learn to recognize and use them. We are not chaff being blown every which way by the wind, and over time, a deeply contemplative existence will reveal to the spiritual seeker patterns and archetypes that parade through the inner mental lives of all humanity, often unknowingly and invisibly. These archetypes are symbolic portends, showing that deep inner processes are constantly at work, even when we are asleep. Harnessing these powerful symbols is the whole key to learning to control and master the processes of inner and outer change, which progressively empower and spiritual evolve the one who has learned to activate them. Even catastrophe, short of death and destruction, cannot turn back or defeat someone who is armed with this knowledge.

What are these mysterious symbols and archetypes that are active in the deeper psyche of humanity, and how can they be directed? These symbolic structures that mysteriously guide and fortify the self are the archetypes of the cycle of transformative initiation, also known as the Hero’s or Heroine’s Journey, since these cycles have a certain gender orientation. We have already covered the Hero’s Journey, and how the twenty-two stages match up with the twenty-two Tarot trumps of the Major Arcana. Seventeen of these stages represent the actual process of the inward and outward psychic journey of transformative initiation, and the other five represent the greater Cosmogonic cycle, which represents the whole cyclic history of the world and the universe (divided into five ages or aeons). You can find a synopsis of that comparative cycle here. Yet this cycle is the most essential cycle of human existence, characterized by the diurnal cycle of life on our planet - the constant round of light and darkness, life and death, wakefulness and sleep. Within the various stages of sleep are found dreams, and within the psychic tumult of existence are found flashes of inspiration, insights, visions and answers to life’s most perplexing questions. It would seem that life and its fortunes does indeed have meaning and significance, but it’s up to us to ultimately determine the nature of that meaning.  

Since we have in our possession the all important Tarot deck with the twenty-two Trumps of the Major Arcana, we have both the tools and the mechanism of not only understanding our own process, but also controlling and directing it as we see fit. Armed with the Devil’s Picture Book, and knowing the secret of the cycle of transformative initiation, we are able to understand, know and direct ourselves towards the most inspirational and profound level of being possible to us. All we need to do is to apply this archetypal cycle to our own process, through divination and through applied theurgy, and the very process of spiritual ascension becomes our immediate and most valuable possession. Of course, building up these tools and deliberately using them to foster transformational initiation is not an easy task, and it is one that few either know or fully comprehend. In some ways, it is a very simple matter to develop a system of magick that causes progressive transformation, yet it is a practice that requires time, patience, deep inner insights, dogged persistence, and something more important than anything else, a rapport with one’s higher self.

Transformative initiation is nothing more or less than the activation and periodic use of the temple of the mysteries, and in this special case, the Mystery of the Self. There are the mysteries of the moon and the sun, and there is also the mystery of the self. The archetypal cycle of light and darkness is also found deep within the psyche, and it is the key to progressive transformation. However, there are other components to this kind of working, and these are the typical ritual structures associated with the mystery rite. As in the mystery temple of the moon and the sun, the mystery temple of the self is performed within the sacred space of a consecrated circle, and activated through the ritual power structures of the spiral vortex, double gateway, cross-roads and the inner circle. Yet within that inner circle are imprinted the twenty-two stages of the transformative initiation, arrayed in the sequence in which they are to be experienced. There are certain signs, portends and preparations that must be noted before the mystikon of the self is erected, but once engaged, the process must be fully experienced, from beginning to end, without interruption. The alignment of the Deity is an important aspect to this process, but then so is the pattern itself, starting with the underworld gateway, and ending with the gateway of ascension. The combination of these two attributes, the activated Godhead, and the pattern which leads to ascension, ensures that the transformative process, however difficult, will be progressive and foster spiritual evolution.

One other important factor is the attitude of the seeker, since sentiments can skew the process in one direction or another. Thus it is important for the seeker to be positive, to act as an unmitigated optimist buoyed by a belief (even if it is ridiculously false) that everything that happens is meant to happen as fate, and that one’s ultimate objective in life will be achieved, as if aided by all of the powers of the universe. This ambitious and powerfully inspired way of living life is encouraged by a constant activity of self improvement, education, meeting and exceeding expectations, seeking challenges, and forever striving for excellence. One of the ways that the seeker can achieve this buoyant state of mind is to periodically commune with his or her chosen Godhead. In that communion, the seeker obtains secret knowledge, self affirmation and empowerment. To live in the aura of the Godhead is to know the power and majesty of living a charmed life. Another name for it is “serendipity.” If and when the seeker is able to obtain this empowered sentiment, and maintain it no matter what happens, then he or she will ultimately realize perfect union and the exalted apotheosis of the grace and favor of the Godhead. It is the Godhead that lies at the center of the mystery of the self, reflecting as if through a mirror darkly, the visage of the individual mortal human being.

The core of the mystery of the self is one’s relationship with the sponsor Deity, that aspect of the Godhead that most closely represents the magician’s higher self. That relationship begins with a certain attraction and fascination to a specific cultural pantheon, and over time it starts to focus on one specific Deity within that pantheon. The magician begins to personalize the Deity, and establishes a devotional relationship with it. If the Deity reflects an idealized polarized mate, then there is also an element of love and desire blended into the devotion. Otherwise, the Deity can assume a Godhead reflection of the magician, becoming, over time, the perfect representative of the magician’s higher self. We have already covered in extensive detail the nature of the magician’s personal Cult of the Deity, where he or she is the priest, spiritual mediator and the congregation, all as one. As this relationship becomes ever more important, the image and character of the Deity begins to be assimilated by the magician.

Therefore, the core of the mystery of the self are the various operations and rites that establish an alignment with a specific Deity, and develop it within the mind and soul of the magician until it becomes coexistent with the Higher Self. The rites and techniques of building and maintaining a potent relationship with one’s sponsor Deity have already been discussed, but that list is simplistic and quite obvious. Alignment with a Godhead is established through the artifice of the following practices.

• Devotions and various cultic practices (meditative contemplation upon the beloved Deity),
• Oblations, offerings and sacrifices,
• Invocations, orisons and paeans,
• Communion (sacred food and drink - sacramentation),
• Godhead assumption (can include sacred sexuality).

Spiritual service should also be included in this list, since the personal cult of the Godhead maintained by the magician also requires him or her to be an active spiritual force in the community at large. To function as a priest/ess requires the ability and periodic necessity of mediating and channeling the Deity for the benefit of others.

Of all of these practices, the rite of Godhead Assumption is the most important, since it forges a potent, intimate and direct relationship between the magician and the target Deity. Over time this practice will cause a blending of the Deity with the personality, mind and soul of the magician, until the distance between them becomes ever more diminished. The reason that this rite is so important is that it reveals the Godhead as an image of the macrocosmic self, the self as godhead. Godhead assumption assists the magician to realizing his or her inner deity, which is the key to awakening and becoming conscious of one’s higher self. Later on, this simplified rite assumes a more complex configuration, as found in the rites of the Bornless One invocation, the Lunar Abramelin ordeal, and the Talismanic Portae Lucis working.

Ritual magick, by definition, specifies that the magician performs magickal rites while under the assumption of the Godhead, and this done even in the most simplistic and earth-based magickal workings. Not only does this kind of innate assumption exercise protect the magician from any adverse impact, psychic attack or hostile aggression from some spirit, but it also empowers and instructs the magician each time he or she performs an assumption. Thus, in this manner, all magick becomes a form of theurgy, since every magickal operation is done through the assumption of the Godhead. It is this constant immersion within the aegis of the Deity that the magician also achieves strategic and progressive triggers for transformative initiations. Also, by performing ritual magickal ordeals, the magician undergoes certain incremental challenges and is forced to evolve, grow and to learn about the techniques of magick; but also the very process itself reveals many inner psychic structures as well. The overall effect of this kind of theurgic ordeal based magick is to consistently and potently pull the triggers of one’s own inner process of spiritual evolution.

Magickal ordeals also cause one to experience the domain of magick and all of its spiritual entities, Godhead attributes, powers, and the associated visions, insights and profound phenomenal apparitions. The magician is powerfully influenced on all levels of his or her being through the theurgic ordeals that the magician is performing. These visions, insights and apparitions are written down in the magician’s journal, and then they become the intense subject of meditation, contemplation, research and mystical speculation. Through a combination of known spiritual and mystical lore, as determined by study and research, aiding one to examine and make sense out of various magickal experiences, the magician will learn new things about his or her deeper self as well as develop new magickal lore. One important tool that is used in this process of examination and analysis is the Power of Allegory, where certain motifs or symbolic constructs experienced in a magickal working are used in a contemplation session. It is through contemplation where symbols and constructs are given free reign in regards to cognitive associations and even projected fantasy.

All of these elements are a crucial part of the practice of the ritual magician, but one element is of even more critical importance, and that is establishing a spiritual discipline. A spiritual discipline consists of the iterative and periodic practices, where all of the above rites and forms are performed in daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal variations. These various practices must be performed on a regular basis so that they become embodied in the mind and soul of the magician. In time, a spiritual discipline becomes the very foundation of life itself for the magician, and there is a blending of the mundane aspects of life along with the spiritual, until eventually, they become one and the same. 

We have covered the elements of a magickal and spiritual discipline, and you can find that article here. However, while all of the above rituals are important, practicing them in an iterative and cyclic manner, diligently and consistently without fail, is the true key to acquiring the ability to control and direct transformative initiation. By assiduously adhering to a magickal discipline, a magician is all but guaranteed to experience a series of profoundly meaningful, significant and progressive transformative changes. Through the power of the spiritual discipline, all things become possible for the magician to contemplate and achieve.  

Frater Barrabbas

Sex Magick Made Simple

One of the most abused and controversial topics in the area of ritual and ceremonial magick is the art of sex magick. It would seem that anything having to do with sex is somehow a hot topic, and if you mix it up with magick and the occult, then it will automatically produce a heady brew. Right? Well, maybe not so much.

What I found over the years is that some individuals who talk a lot about sex magick and pose as sex magicians are fairly incompetent at both. In my perspective, if a magician is competent as a magician and also happens to be a competent lover, then he or she might consider joining the two practices. Of course, unless the objective is to perform what is known as the “rites of solitude” ( a form of magickal masturbation), then the target partner in this work must also be magically and sexually competent.

So it really takes two magically and sexually competent individuals, who also happen to have a strong relationship bond, to produce a good, solid, sexual magickal working. Anything below this standard is either just gratuitous sexual occultism or likely to go very much awry if consistently practiced. If you want to experience the worst that this combination has to offer, all you need to do is to be severely lacking of any of these requirements. There’s a reason why the Great Rite has often produced something more akin to the Great Wrong - I leave the rest to your imagination.

In a nutshell, the fundamental requirements for sex magick are:

• Magickal competence,
• Sexual competence,
• A good solid relationship.

I know that Crowley boasted that he could work effective sex magick with any two-bit hooker he happened to meet. Yet I believe that having a good partner is an important key to truly experiencing a long lasting, profound, deeply meaningful and satisfactory sexual magickal practice,. You might disagree with me, and you are free to experiment however you choose. My own personal experience is that it is better to engage in such activities with someone to whom you have a strong relationship, rather than engaging with an appealing stranger who might know very little about either magick or even sex. To assume that everyone knows how to adequately perform sex and be a good lover is highly naive, to say the least. It’s almost as naive as to assume that everyone knows how to work magick.

Another important factor in the art of sex magick is to discover the great lover within oneself. This is a difficult concept to relate, but we all have within us an aspect or attribute of our own potential desires and sexual aspirations. There’s an old saying that if you can’t find something within yourself, then you aren’t likely to find it outside of yourself either. This is particularly true about finding and engaging in any kind of spiritually qualified love. It is a state that is found within the deepest recesses of your being, and it is the essential “you” as the ultimate lover. That lover within is a lover first and foremost of one’s self, then other people and ultimately, of life itself. It is the trigger of personal ecstasy, and in order for it to be discovered, you have to come to grips with your own self. In other words, you must love yourself fully and completely before you are able to really love anyone else. What this means is that in order to be an effective lover, you must be whole and also an autonomous individual. Loving for the sake of filling a void within yourself is one of the weakest reasons for loving someone. Obviously, self loathing and feelings of being unloved or being unlovable are extremely counter productive to discovering the lover within.

I am also not talking about any kind of obsessive self-love, or as it is called, narcissism. What I am talking about is freely loving who you are and what you are without rejecting anyone or anything else from that equation. Discovering the lover within is to learn that life’s decisions about love should never be discriminating, exclusive, rejecting or having to choose one person or path over another. It’s about the concept of inclusion and not exclusivity. Although that kind of openness is quite difficult to realize in life, you should always understand that who you are, what you are, and who you are with are all products of your choices, whether deliberately made or even coerced by necessity.

Narcissism is excluding everyone from the possibility of affection except yourself, usually because of some innate fear of rejection or even paradoxically, low self esteem. This contrasts with self-love, which is the state of being wholly and completely inclusive of everyone and everything. Self-love, or the lover within, is the core root of the powerful love instinct brought to its highest level of spiritual embodiment. Of course, the lover within is also an attribute of the resident (and often slumbering) higher self, and it represents the ray of love that permeates all things; from the Godhead down to the smallest aspect of beingness. Love holds everything together in a synergistic embrace, and it is the essential quality that should be emulated when one seeks to engage in sacral sexuality.

This brings us to the next important consideration in regards to sex magick, and that is the difference between sacred and profane sexuality. Sex magick must, by definition, be that kind of union that occurs within sacred sexuality. I believe this, even though much of what passes for sex magick would be considered profane sexuality. In my opinion, there is a difference between sexually manipulating and using someone (even willingly) to produce a specific material end through the use of magick than the joining of two individuals from the level of spirit down to their very bodies. If perfect union emulates the One, then sexually using someone is just the opposite. Sexual coercion within a magickal context is something that I consider to be quite negative, perhaps even vile, and it could even be labeled as a form of psychic vampirism.

Sacred sexuality is where the sex act is ritually performed in sacred space between two freely loving and whole individuals who have brought out their inner lovers and seek to bond at the highest level possible. Thus, they have activated their inner deities, and it is through them that they will perfectly and ecstatically join together in emulation of the One. During this profound and powerful union, the operators may engage in projecting mutual desires into the world of forms, and thus, through the power of ecstasy, potently impact them.

For a very simple and uncomplicated approach to sex magick, devoid of all of the eastern and western esoteric methodologies and intricately detailed mechanisms, there are nine basic elements involved in a practice of sex magick. Like any other methodology, once the basics are mastered, then the practice may evolve, incorporating other techniques, systems and methodologies as needed. Yet for the aspiring Pagan or Wiccan sex magician, I will focus on just the most basic elements involving these techniques.

Sacred Space - This can be a specific room where the operation is to be performed. It should be private, clean, uncluttered and be able to accommodate sexual activity, so having some kind of floor padding (a bed, couch or futon) would be appropriate. Also, building a simple shrine to the specific godhead of each participant, as well as equipping it with flowers, incense, soft lighting, music, beautiful pictures, and whatever else is needed.

Sacral Nudity - The mind-set that is recommended for this activity is to perceive the act of disrobing and being nude together as something akin to revealing the body (and the deeper self) without any obstacles, conditions or impediments to being fully accessible to one another. It is a state of mutual vulnerability. Decorating the body (body painting), sensual bathing, massage, anointing with oils and balms are all important preparatory rites for sex magick. The idea behind this state is that there should be no barriers between oneself, the Gods and one’s partner. This state should be comfortable, and also even a bit awe inspiring by itself.

Spiritual Devotion (surrender) - Another preparation for sex magic is to become aligned with not only your personal aspect of the godhead, but also with your partner’s godhead. You should learn to see your partner as the deity that they aspire to be, thus aiding them in realizing this ambition. Days should be spent giving devotion to each of these two elected deities with periodic offerings, invocations, paeans, hymns, love poetry and even spiritual service in the community. Not only should you try to realize your own personal godhead, but you should also realize the godhead of your partner. In this manner, over time, you will experience a profound sacralization of your love for yourself and your partner. In your eyes, your partner should begin to assume an idealized form, as if they have been physically transformed. While you are doing these things to your partner, your partner is also doing the same to you.

Mutual Godhead Assumption - The goal of this practice is to realize through godhead assumption your own materialization of the deity, as well as that of your partner. In order to accomplish this task, you will have to undertake a regular period of meditation, breath-control, mantra intoning, and staring fixedly at some object or image. This meditation session is performed with your partner, and the object of your fixed gaze should be him or her. Also, focusing on specific points on your body while performing a mantra intonation, you should be able to activate that point, and then link it with the same point on your partner’s body. Thus, erogenous zones are powerfully stimulated and awakened. Polarization is also an important factor, regardless of whether the couple performing the work is straight or gay. One of the couple will assume the more passive and receiving role, and the other, the more aggressive and sending role. The ultimate practice should be performing the drawing down rite on your partner, and then having him or her do the same for you. Basking in this aura of mutual godhead assumption will establish the threshold state needed to engage in sacral sexuality.

Sacramentation - The key to this concept is that everything which is blessed and associated with the Gods is a sacrament. Once within the state of godhead assumption, then blowing one’s breath, making signs before it, and touching it with the hands will bestow on that thing the essence of the Deity. In this manner, all substances, such as food, drink, perfumed oils and balms, lotions, elixirs and even drugs, once blessed and imbued with Spirit, become literally, sacred substances. Once blessed and transformed, these substances are used or consumed by the participants, which in this case is the couple performing the work.

Sacred Sexuality - These are the ritualized stages and phases of sexual and coital union between the properly prepared partners. While it isn’t necessary to learn all of the variations of love making, postures and techniques, it is important to approach this act with the highest degree of reverence possible. Every touch, every step of seduction, and every act of love and devotion to one’s partner is a highly charged ritualized act. It should be approached outwardly in a relaxed and even languorous manner in the beginning, so that every sense is super stimulated, and that the lovers experience everything to the fullest measure possible. Basic postures should vary, of course, based on what one is capable of doing without injury or excessive physical strain. Once physical union is established, then the triggers of excitement, rapture and finally, ecstasy, can be released and fully engaged. But the whole point of this work is to control the body and mind, and allow this process to gradually achieve its end while fully engaging all of the senses as well as the mind and the emotions. The goal is to accomplish a kind of mutual orgasm.

Mutual Intent - The whole purpose and intent of this work are the mutual objectives that the couple are seeking to realize in the material plane. It is projected from the state of mutual orgasm, which can give it a greater possibility for manifestation than through any other kind of magick. The desires that make up this mutual intent must be as heartfelt and energized for each of the participants. The mutual intent should be something that the couple focuses on as they undergo this whole process of sex magick. As an added boost, the mutual intent can be conceptualized as a sigil, drawn or painted on parchment or some other appropriate medium, and then charged and blessed as a sacrament. The sigil can be stared at by both participants as they achieve orgasm, projecting a powerful vector of force through the sigil into the material world.

Mutual Orgasm - The ultimate object for sex magick is for the participating couple to experience some kind of mutual orgasm. For this reason, the masculine impulse for quick ejaculation is tempered so that it may occur when the feminine orgasm occurs. Of course, if the sex magick is performed between same sex couples, then the equation for mutual orgasm becomes more easily realized. Orgasm represents the release of energies, the occurrence of ecstasy, and the ensuing visionary languor that follows. It is at that moment of mutual orgasm that the couple project their desires as the mutual intent into the material world through the waves of ecstasy.

Spiral Vortex and Cone of Power - In previous writings I have compared the male sexual orgasmic cycle to the energy structure known as the Cone of Power. I have also compared the feminine sexual orgasmic cycle to the energy structure of the Spiral Vortex. In sex magick, both of these energy structures are superimposed and fused into a single expression, which is the double cone of power. Where the spiral vortex is magnetic, the cone of power is electric. I would also assume that the mental state of the participants would also produce a different polarized kind of energy field, where the passive receiving role would assume a magnetic spiral vortex, and the active sending role would assume an electric cone of power. Therefore, these combined energy structures would approximate the roles of those engaging in sex magick, regardless of their actual gender.  

These nine topics represent a simple and direct way for a couple to engage in sex magick. Yet in looking over these nine sections, you can see that my approach uses a combination of pagan religious devotion along with simple techniques of ritualized sexuality and a developed mutual intention. It is the sacralization of sexuality along with the binding of mutual intentions (accompanied by mutual orgasm) that characterizes this approach to sex magick. I found that using what I had already learned and mastered as a pagan and a witch was the simplest and most efficient way of performing sex magick. There are many ways to solve any given human puzzle, and my methods are just one of many to developing a simple methodology for working sex magick.

Frater Barrabbas

Lunar Mystery Ritual Working

Since all of the elements that are required to build up a lunar mystery ritual working have already been covered in detail (in this blog), we can now show how they can be assembled to produce a ritual magickal system that can utilize the power and mystery of the moon to produce qualified changes in the magician’s material world. After all, this is one of the purposes of learning and mastering all of these elements - to become proficient in changing the material world through magick. As I have stated previously, the moon and its cycle is the key to making effective magickal changes in the material world. Certainly, you can work magick and ignore the moon altogether, since nothing should interfere with the ability to work magick whenever it’s needed. However, what I have found out over the many years of practicing magick is that focusing on the moon will insure that magickally established changes will be more profound and lasting when the phases of the moon are incorporated.

So, what are the elements that are needed to build a lunar mystery ritual working? I have said that we have already covered them in previous articles, but perhaps a review is in order so you can refresh your mind about what I have already covered. If we list the elements, it will become patently clear what those items are, and I can reference the appropriate links so you may revisit them if required. Coincidently, there are seven topical elements that are required to build a lunar mystery ritual working. These elements are:

• Sacred Space and Circle Consecration,
• Spiral Vortex - Power Base for the Lunar Mystery rite,
• Double Gateway (Western - Underworld Gate, and Eastern - Ascension Gate),
• Pyramid of Power - Power Base for Spell Casting via Sigil Magick,
• Forty Qualified Powers - Energy Signature selections for the Pyramid of Power,
• Sigil Magick is the method for deploying the Operant Link,
• Lunation Cycle and the Phases of the Moon.

These seven elements represent the essential components of the magick of the lunar mystery, although the real trick is to be able to weave them together into an elegant and concise ritual working. That, of course, is the subject of this article. Essentially, there are two aspects to this kind of working, that of the lunar mystery working, and that of a specific working to effect a change in the material world. These two workings are merged together to formulate a series of three ritual workings, to be performed between the advent of the New Moon and occurrence of the Full Moon. You could perceive these three workings as representing three different phases of a larger overall working consisting of 1.) setting the foundation, 2.) projecting the desire, and 3.) celebrating its climactic release. The three phases characterize the methodology of this kind of magickal working, and it is based on a more simpler pattern incorporated in some witchcraft traditions.

This kind of ritual working series would be impossible to perform without the innate qualities and capabilities of the spiral vortex. Unlike a simple working incorporating a cone of power, the vortex allows for the seamless re-entering of a magickal power structure so as to increase and amplify its influence. This kind of activity is incapable of being done except through the artifice of the spiral vortex, which allows for the sealing and unsealing of power structures, and to avoid the necessity of performing banishing rites and building up the magick from scratch. Instead, there is a certain continuity to the overall working, even though it is split into three separate working sessions. These separate working sessions incorporate the of Law of Three, which is the initial establishment of the power structure, the full empowerment and the final exteriorization. A full working of this type also incorporates the capabilities of sigil magick, where that sigil becomes the operant link for the overall working.

The environment for this overall working is the lunar mystery cycle, which has already been discussed. This environment is established by rituals that would normally be used to penetrate the lunar mystery, which is that constant monthly variable of light and darkness, and its association with all living things. To recap that ritual pattern, let me list the steps that would be used in performing a lunar mystery working.

1. Establishing Sacred Space.

2. Erecting a spiral vortex - the energy field that most “resembles” the sealed container of a telesterion is a vortex. The vortex has the properties of amplifying and isolated all energies and actions performed within it. This makes the perfect foundation for performing a mystery.

3. Underworld Gateway - a western aligned gateway establishes the internal transition of the isolated chamber of the mysteries, and draws it deeper into the spectral unconscious domain of the underworld.

4. Erect the cross-roads - a four or eight node cross-roads establish a powerful nexus point where all forces and aspects of Spirit may descend or ascend. The four or eight nodes can be qualified to represent the specific nature of the mystery, whether Lunar, Solar or Self.

5. Establish an inner circle - overlaying the cross-roads is an inner circle, representing the place of the interstice where Spirit resides and where one may actively engage with it. The inner circle is drawn and then opened like a gateway portal.

6. Introit of the Mystery - the preliminary rites that are performed just prior to the activation of the mystery rite are as follows:

Erection and veneration of the World Pole (Stang): The celebrant places a special sacral staff or Stang in the center of the circle, acting as a conduit between all worlds. The staff or Stang may be set up to stand by itself, or it may be held by the celebrant or an accomplice.

Godhead invocation, assumption and sacral consecration: This is where the celebrant summons the specific godhead associated with the mystery, then performs an assumption rite so the spirit of the godhead and the celebrant are merged. Yet the celebrant is still conscious and able to function (at least at this point in the working). Sacraments associated with the mystery are blessed and charged by the celebrant. (A more serious offering can be vowed at this point, with an initial partial payment showing that one’s intention is good.)

7. Mythic Theme - the mythic theme is presented as a narration, with symbols and fetishes used to emphasize the theme of the mystery. Once the theme has been fully presented and completely experienced, then the special sacramental food and drink are shared (this is the last thing that is done). Of course, in the case of a lunar mystery rite, the mythic theme would revolve around the eight point lunation cycle and the four lunar phases. Each of these points and phases would have a specific spiritual and magickal significance.

8.  Inner circle is closed, sealed, then the four or eight nodes of the crossroads are sealed with sealing spirals. Then an eastern gateway is opened and the Celebrant, along with accomplices, ascend out of the chamber of the mysteries and into a new dawn of rebirth and restoration, passing the eastern gateway much like the rising of the sun. (The western gateway points are sealed just before the eastern gateway is established.)- This is, of course, the double gateway representing the full cycle of descent and ascent.

9. An outer feast is assembled, where food and drink are blessed and shared. A portion of this feast is given as an offering to the godhead associated with the mystery. The rite is concluded.

***

Considering that this lunar mystery rite is rather long, and focused exclusively on the lunar mystery itself, variations on this pattern would have to be developed to incorporate a specific working to project a wave of change into the material world. That pattern would incorporate the pyramid of power rite, using one of the forty qualified powers and a sigilized link, and it would look like the following ritual structure. The only qualification that this ritual would have is that it would be performed within sacred space (i.e., a consecrated circle).

Ritual Pattern: (Consists of establishing the power base, summoning the qualified power, and releasing the qualified power.)   

Establishing the Power Base:

1. Statement of Purpose                                                    

2. Setting the Five points of the magick circle, in a deosil progression (Angles and Ultra-point) with the base element to the four Angles and Spirit Masculine to the Ultrapoint, using the invoking Pentagram device.

3. Drawing together the lines of force of the five points, using the sword to create the geometric pattern of the Pyramid.

Summoning the Qualified Power:

1. Circumambulation spiral deosil to the center of the magick circle, with three revolutions (walking the spiral), and resonance of the charged field.

2. Centering power through the Self (Mesopoint) with the power chant.

3. Charging the Magickal Link. Summoning the Qualified Power (qualifying the base energy).

Releasing the Qualified Power:

1. Exteriorization – circumambulate spiral three times widdershins, starting in the center and proceeding to the outer periphery of the circle, using extreme resonance with a releasing power chant.

***

These two patterns, the lunary mystery and the pyramid of power, can be used together to formulate the lunar mystery working in three parts. What this means is that the first and last part of the working will focus on the lunar mystery rite and the lunation types of the moon of the first crescent and the full, while the middle rite (occurring as the moon is waxing gibbous) would be focused on generating and projecting the energy of the spell. Positioning these three workings in this manner creates a kind of wrapper for the overall working, and ensures that the power of the moon is the foundation for the projected spell.

This second or middle working, then, would have a slightly different ritual pattern than the lunar mystery rite proper, incorporating in its core the pyramid of power ritual. How this is accomplished is to remove the typical focus of the ritual and replace it with the pyramid of power working. I would imagine this working to be succinctly shown in the following list of steps.

1. Perform the mystery working, from step 1 to step 5, where the inner circle is established within the cross-roads.

2. Declare the intention and unveil the sigil - then perform an intense focused meditation on the sigil. (The sigil is then charged with the operator’s breath, incense and making appropriate signs over it.)

3. Perform a brief (and shallow) godhead assumption. (All workings within ritual magick engage one’s personal deity, and through it, to perform the magickal operation.)

4. Perform the Pyramid of Power working within the gateway, cross-roads and inner circle ritual structure. (This includes all of the steps associated with establishing the power base, summoning the Qualified Power, and then, releasing it through a process of exteriorization.

5. Close inner circle and Western gateway with sealing spirals.

6. Erect, open and enter the Eastern gateway (ascension) to fully realize the specific working.

So that is the ritual pattern for the middle working, where the actual empowered spell is released into the material world. However, that act of releasing is done as the moon is powerfully waxing, and when the full moon occurs, the empowered spell is fully realized, imprinted as it is with the temporal footprint of the lunar cycle and the season of the sun. These three rites focus and raise the inherent transformative powers of the moon, intertwining them with the empowered spell, and ensuring that what has been intended becomes imprinted into the material reality of the operator. 

In my opinion, there is no more potent combination of magickal workings than an empowered spell integrated into a focused realization of the waxing cycle of the moon. A magician could generate a talisman or even evoke a goetic demon, but that would be far more elaborate and involved than this simple methodology. It is made more complex by the fact that the lunar cycle is integrated into it, but that only assists it in becoming a manifested quality associated with the magician’s temporal domain.

As I have said previously, you don’t have to integrate your working with the lunar cycle, but doing so will produce a much more profound and long term effect.

Examples of these specific rituals can be found in either of my two books, “Disciple’s Guide to Ritual Magick,” or “Mastering the Art of Ritual Magick - Grimoire.” I not only discuss the mechanisms of these rituals, but give a very pertinent example of how they might look. In the “Mastering the Art of Ritual Magick” series, I present rituals that require customization, allowing the magician to formulate a body of rituals that represent his or her own personal system of ritual magick.

Frater Barrabbas

Portae Lucis Report and Other Matters

It’s been over a week since I last posted an article to this blog, and I must say that I have been very busy with my job, not to mention completing the final revisions for my book and doing many other things that seem to fill my day to overflowing. Luckily, things are starting to wind down somewhat, and I can start catching up with my articles. I have quite a few planned for the next month or so, but I just haven’t had any time to write them up. So it will take a few days before I can get some of these new articles completed.

As for the revisions to my manuscript and forth-coming Llewellyn book “Magical Qabalah for Beginners,” I just completed the last changes and considerations for the revision task. The manuscript will be soon transmitted to the production team and begin to be formatted and laid out for printing. There’s nothing for me to do at the moment, which is a relief, since the revision process took me a lot longer than I thought it would. What I need to do now is to find other authors who would like to examine the manuscript and write up a recommendation for it. I have some ideas, but if any of my readers are published authors and would like to spend some time going over the manuscript, just send me a private email. The publishing date is still scheduled for March 2013.

The Talismanic Portae Lucis working is now at the point where I have generated the three four-fold elemental talismans of Saturn, the Sun and the Moon. (I am enclosing a picture of what they look like, just so you know that I am not promoting a fiction.) Producing these three talismans has been an arduous process, to say the least. Now that the temperatures are warming up and the days are getting longer, I am feeling a certain amount of anticipation, as the date of the final working is approaching. On the last day of May, I will generate the talisman that is representative of myself and my magick, and that will be a four-fold elemental talisman of Mercury. I will also seek to perform a full invocation of the Demigod, Hermes Thoth, who I have chosen to act as my sponsor for this working. Dates for the final Portae Lucis are presently scheduled to occur between June 17th and the 19th. Some of the work will be done in my outdoor grove, and some of it will be performed within my temple. Having the flexibility to be able to work both indoors and outdoors is one of the benefits of having a house in the country. I will need to prepare the grove, since I haven’t had any time to do this task. It has also been raining nearly every other day, so the weather hasn’t been cooperating either.

Anyway, I am on target and within my appointed schedule to bring this working to a final and powerful climax. So I am eagerly looking forward to seeing the final elements of this working completed and the vista of a straight path from Yesod to Binah open up and reveal itself to me. I will produce edited versions of my journal entries for all of these workings, so that I might share with you mostly everything that happens, and verify that a talismanic version of this working is both valid and capable of producing the desired effects.

Frater Barrabbas

Third Talismanic Working for the Portae Lucis

On Monday evening I performed the third talismanic working for the Talismanic Portae Lucis Ordeal. Once again, I was put through some pretty difficult trials, and this time I recognized those issues as being negative attributes of Saturn. After realizing this fact, I was able to find a similar series of negative attributes that I have had to experience for each one of the four-fold planetary talismans. This might be considered very subjective or even something of a stretch, but for each of the four-fold talismans of the Sun, Moon and Saturn, I have experienced the negative qualities of those three planets. Allow me to explain what I mean by making this claim.

Just prior to working the first talismanic rite for the four-fold elemental talisman of the Sun, I came down with a really serious stomach flu virus. I was very ill for 48 hours, and barely recovered when I had to perform the rite at the last possible date to incorporate the lunar mansion during the waxing moon. I would equate the stomach flu to a solar type influence, due to the fact that the point in my body that was most afflicted was the solar plexus. I even pulled a muscle in my side and I had to individually treat it so that I would be able to perform the ritual working.

Then, as I was preparing to do the second talismanic rite for the four-fold elemental talisman of the Moon, I found myself in the situation of great difficulty in regards to acquiring the silver disk and preparing it for the work. The disk finally arrived with less than two days before I needed it, and my attempts to fabricate a disk met with failure, not to mention a bloody cut to my hand. Issues of trust, communication, fear of failure and self-wounding characterized this working. I would place this list of difficulties as negative attributes of the moon.

Finally, exactly a week before I was to do the third talismanic rite for the four-fold elemental talisman of Saturn, I experienced the tragic death of one of our beloved cats. I got to taste the full range of negative attributes of Saturn with the dramatic passing of Stars, and that was death, loss, grief, sorrow and melancholia. It almost seems like I had to undergo this terrible minor tragedy as part of the Talismanic Portae Lucis Ordeal. I hope that this will be an end of the tests and obstacles at least between now and when I actually perform the final rites for this ordeal. It would seem that I have had to pay a price to successfully complete this working, and such a price leaves me wondering what might have happened if I hadn’t decided on taking on this ordeal. That’s pure speculation, of course; but because I am engaged with this working, then what happens prior and during the individual workings becomes significant and meaningful to me.

Not to be outdone for the occurrence of Saturn, I will have to direct a lot of my efforts this week in doing some extensive trimming on my submitted revised manuscript for Llewellyn (Magical Qabalah for Beginners). It would seem that the extensive revision work that I did has ballooned the size the manuscript, and now I will need to scale it back in order to get it in scope for what is, essentially, a beginner’s book. I know that I am not a gifted writer, and that I tend to overwrite and over develop a theme when I am composing. I just can't say anything in twenty words or less, and I supposed that I will need to take this to heart in order to complete the next phase of revisions. All of this weighed heavily on my soul as I prepared to perform the working on Monday evening.

All of the preparations, which included the creation of the five sigils, the etching of the lead talisman with the sigil of the angelic ruler of the lunar mansion, and the various other preparations were all done during the lunar mansion of Al Sarfah. I had postponed doing any of this work until the very day of the working because I wanted everything to be achieved during the period of that lunar mansion. I felt that it would make the working even more imbued with all of the qualities of that mansion. The pall of Saturn was on my spirit, though, and I felt the overwhelming aspects of my job, magickal commitments and literary commitments weigh me down. If I let my emotions get the better of me, I would feel as though I were being crushed by everything that needed to be done. I felt that I needed to start making lists and doggedly going through them. Making a list allows you to prioritize and engage with the things that need to be done first, and eventually, everything on the list gets done. Of course, it’s a good idea to cut back on making more commitments so the list remains manageable. While meditating, I received some insights on how I could put together a small workshop to be presented at one or two of the local occult book stores. I want to focus on the ritual structures of the vortex and the double gateway, and present them with the concept of building up a mystikon. I will think more about this in the future, since I have more than enough to do now.

The working was started right around 9:02 pm as the planetary hour of Saturn clicked into place, and I completed the circle consecration and the Mass in good time. I felt invigorated and impelled to complete what had been started. So I focused on the work and managed to perform all of the rituals without any significant misstep or issue. As I performed these rites, I felt that I was generating a very heavy, potent and highly charged energy - it seemed to match the qualities that I would have expected for Saturn. At the end of the ritual, I felt buoyed and elated, which helped me to overcome my feelings of being overwhelmed by everything that I had to do. I sensed that it was more important to be busy than not, and that the large amount of work would assist me in getting through these difficult times. I completed the working around 10:15 pm, and left the talisman covered by a cloth to begin the incubation period of three days. I had luckily found a vial of Dragon’s Blood oil and used that to anoint the back of the talisman. So the stacked sigils, the velvet carrying pouch, the anointed talisman and a covering cloth all sat in the center of the septagram trigon on the central altar, lit by a vigil candle. I will retrieve the talisman and burn the sigils on Saturday morning, when I will then have the three required talismans to perform the Portae Lucis ordeal in June.

My next planned working in this ordeal is to generate a Mercury talisman on May 31. Then, I will prepare myself for the Talismanic Portae Lucis ordeal, which will begin on June 17. We are getting closer to the launch date, and so far, this ordeal has been quite difficult to accomplish. It seems like there is always something happening that could (if I allowed it) thwart or deflect my attempt to complete this ordeal. I am hoping that things will get easier once I get closer to the final target date, but I seriously doubt it. It’s more likely that there will be more challenges and issues to deal with as the final date gets closer.

Frater Barrabbas