Augoeides

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Heptarchial Ritual Template

I have been very busy lately cleaning up parts of Operant Magick and working on finishing up Arcana, which is my first fictional novel. I plan on sending it off to literary agents soon to see if there is any interest in a fictional story that includes authentic magical techniques. Unfortunately, that also means that I have not had much time to post stories here since Convergence.

As I think I mentioned when I posted the COMSELH AOIVEAE and COMSELH MADRIAX, my ritual group Comselh Ananael is working on a series of Enochian evocations of the planetary Kings from John Dee's Heptarchia Mystica. This is the ritual template that we are using for this series of rituals based on Dee's prayers and conjurations.

0. The Temple

The ritual space is set up with the Holy Table, Sigillum Dei Aemeth, and Ensigns of Creation in the center. If available, the full Enochian Temple Setup should be used, with the twelve banners lining the circle and a red/green double-weave altar cloth placed over the table. A scrying stone or mirror is placed on the altar cloth above the center of the Sigillum. Also, four smaller Sigillums may be placed under each of the altar table's four legs. The working hypothesis here is that the closer the Temple can be to the Enochian ideal, the better the system will work. While some Enochian ritualists such as Benjamin Rowe have written that the temple furniture described in Dee's Five Books of Mystery are only needed for Heptarchial work, I disagree and have found that having the Holy Table, Sigillum Dei Aemeth, PELE ring, and other implements improves all Enochian operations.

There are two officers in this ritual, the Magus and the Scryer. Magus acts as the Officiant and should wear the Enochian ring and lamen. The officers and all others present should wear white robes. The Scryer attempts to contact the conjured spirit or spirits using the mirror or crystal. This is how Dee and Kelly worked when they received the original Enochian material. The bell chime is placed on western edge of the Table. This should be a chime that can be rung easily with one hand, not the bell and dorje. The Scryer will be ringing it when the Angel or Angels appear, so it must not require a shift of attention to operate. Because of this, its exact position should be left to the Scryer's discretion. A low stool for the Scryer is placed to the west of the altar. It should be of such a height that the stone or mirror is at the Scryer's eye level.

I. Opening

All form a circle around the altar and within the banners. Magus initially stands directly west of the altar and Scryer stands directly east. Magus inhales fully, placing the banishing dagger at his or her lips. The air is then expelled as the dagger is swept backwards.

Magus: Bahlasti! Ompehda!

Magus then performs the COMSELH AOIVEAE, moving around the Table and casting in the direction of Scryer who concentrates on receiving the evoked energies. To do this, Scryer stands on the opposite side of the altar from Magus facing him or her as the opening rituals are performed. The idea here is to conjure a line of force that originates with the Magus, passes over or through the stone or mirror, and is received by the Scryer. In addition, all others present rotate appropriately.

II. Taking Refuge

Taking Refuge is part of the Comselh Ananael Ritual Template.

Magus: We take refuge in Nuit, the blue-lidded daughter of sunset, the naked brilliance of the voluptuous night sky, as we issue the call to the awakened nature of all beings, for every man and every woman is a star.

All: AUMGN.

Magus: We take refuge in Hadit, the secret flame that burns in every heart of man and in the core of every star, as we issue the call to our own awakened natures, arousing the coiled serpent about to spring.

All: AUMGN.

Magus: We take refuge in Heru-Ra-Ha, who wields the wand of double power, the wand of the force of Coph Nia, and whose left hand is empty for he has crushed an universe and naught remains, as we unite our awakened natures with those of all beings everywhere and everywhen, dissolving all obstacles and healing all suffering.

All: AUMGN.

IV. Generating Bodhichitta

Like Taking Refuge, Generating Bodhichitta is part of the Comselh Ananael Ritual Template.

Magus: For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is in every way perfect.

All: All is pure and present are and has always been so, for existence is pure joy; all the sorrows are but as shadows; they pass and are done; but there is that which remains. To this realization we commit ourselves - pure and total presence. So mote it be.

V. The Magical Field

Magus performs the COMSELH MADRIAX up to the closing. All present rotate appropriately.

Magus: MADRIAX CARMARA, YOLCAM LONSHI!

Magus makes the Sign of Rending the Veil.

VI. The Preliminary Invocation
All make and hold the Sign of Apophis and Typhon. Magus recites the preliminary invocation.

Holy art Thou, who art Universe,
Holy art Thou, who art in Nature formed,
Holy art Thou, the Vast and the Mighty,
Source of Darkness, Source of Light.

All make the Sign of Silence, then clasp hands over hearts and recite the Oration to God.

O Almighty, Eternal, True and Living God: O King of Glory: O Lord of Hosts: O Thou, who art Heaven and Earth and all things visible and invisible: we beseech Thee in this our present petition to have mercy and compassion upon us, who, faithfully and sincerely of long time have made suit unto Thy Divine Majesty, that we may obtain true Gnosis and full understanding of Thy Divine Wisdom, Power and Goodness. And whereas it has pleased Thee of Thy infinite Goodness, by Thy faithful and holy Spiritual Messengers, to deliver unto us long since an orderly form and manner of Exercise Angelic: how, to Thy Honor and Glory, and the comfort of our own souls and of others Thy faithful servants, we may at all times use very many of Thy Holy Angels, their counsels and helps: according to the properties of such their functions and offices, as to them, by Thy Divine Power, Wisdom and Goodness is assigned and limited. Therefore, we heartily and faithfully beseech Thy Divine Majesty to further this our present industry and endeavor to Exercise ourselves, according to the aforesaid orderly form and manner. Grant also unto us this blessing and portion of Thy Heavenly Graces: that thou wilt forthwith enable us, make us apt, and acceptable in body, Soul, and Spirit to enjoy always the Holy and friendly conversation, with the sensible, plain, full and perfect help in word and deed of Thy Mighty, Wise and Good Spiritual Messengers and Ministers generally: and namely of Blessed Michael, Blessed Gabriel, Blessed Raphael and Blessed Uriel: and also, especially of all those which do appertain unto the Heptarchical Mystery and the Mystery of the Great Table. Reveal unto us Thy Majestical Glory, now and forever, through Thy Ministers, the true and faithful Angels of Light.

AMEN. AMEN. AMEN.

Magus rings bell chime.

VII. The Conjuration

Scryer moves to the west of the altar and is seated at the Holy Table, gazing into the stone or mirror. Magus stands behind Scryer and all other participants remain in a circle around the Table.

Magus recites the Fundamental Obeisance:

O YHVH TzABAOTh, we invoke and implore most earnestly your Divine Power, Wisdom and Goodness, and most humbly and faithfully ask you to favor and assist us in all our works, words and cogitations, concerning, promoting orprocuring yourpraise, honor and Glory. And by these your twelve mystical names. ORO, IBAH, AOZPI, MOR, DIAL, HCTGA, OIP, TEAA, PDOCE, MPH, ARSL, GAIOL, most ardently do we entreat and implore your Divine and Omnipotent Majesty: that all your faithful Angelic Spirits whose mystical names are expressed in this book and whose offices are briefly noted, in whatever part of the world they be and, in whatever time of our lives they are summoned by us by means of their peculiar powers or authority of your Holy Names (likewise contained in this book), that most swiftly they come to us visible, affable, and appear to us peacefully and remain with us visibly according to our wishes, and that they disappear at our request from us and from our sight. And through you and that reverence and obedience which they owe you in those twelve mystical names above mentioned, that they give satisfaction amicably to us also, at each and every moment in our lives, and in each and every deed or request to all, some or one of them, and to do this quickly, well, completely and perfectly to discharge, perfect and complete all this according to their virtues and power both general and individual and through the injunctions given them by you (O God) and their charged offices and ministry. AMEN.

All (Excluding Scryer): Through you, YHShVH, AMEN.

Magus then recites the First Call, followed by Scryer reciting the Second Call. There has been a great deal of speculation about the use of the first two Calls, but I have not seen the obvious idea that the Magus recites one and the Scryer recites the other anywhere. The text of the First Call begins with "I reign over you..." and proceeds in the classical European ceremonial manner establishing authority over the spirits through the power of God. The Second Call ends with "and make me a strong Seething, for I am of him that liveth forever." Seething may mean "seer of things" or it may be referring to the Anglo-Saxon "seething" tradition that emphasized trance work and the alteration of consciousness. Either of these interpretations is very appropriate for scrying.

Magus then recites any additional calls associated with the Angels being summoned, moving around the circle if necessary. If this is required, all present rotate appropriately.

Magus recites the appropriate Angelic Invocation, moving around the circle. All rotate appropriately.

All begin to chant the Angelic Names being summoned and visualize the divine light descending into the stone or mirror. When Scryer sees a vision, he or she rings the bell chime and the chant then ends at the conclusion of the current set of vibrations.

VIII. Charge/Communication

The contents of this section depend on the nature of the ritual. Either questions should be asked of the Angels summoned through the Scryer, as Dee and Kelly did when they received the original system, or the Angels should be charged with a task. When this is complete, the Angels are given the license to depart.

IX. The License to Depart

Magus gives the license to depart.

O thou [Insert names of Angels called], because thou hast-diligently answered unto our demands, and hast been very ready and willing to come at our call, we do here license thee to depart unto thy proper place; without causing harm or danger unto man or beast. Depart, then, I say, and be thou very ready to come at our call, being duly exorcised and conjured by these sacred rites of magick. We charge thee to withdraw peaceably and quietly, and the peace of the Almighty, Eternal, True, and Living God be ever continued between us. AMEN.

All: So mote it be!

Magus then concludes the COMSELH MADRIAX.

Magus: MADRIAX CARMARA, ADRPAN LONSHI!

Magus makes the Sign of Closing the Veil. Scryer then rises and joins the circle, standing opposite Magus. All present make either one or two counterclockwise circumambulations to counterbalance those made during the conjurations.

X. Dedicating the Merit

Dedicating the Merit is part of the Comselh Ananael Ritual Template.

All: May the benefit of this act and all acts be dedicated unto the complete liberation and supreme enlightenment of all beings everywhere, pervading space and time. So mote it be. May the benefits of practice, ours and others', come to fruition ultimately and immediately and we remain in a state of presence. AH!

XI. Closing

Magus concludes the COMSELH AOIVEAE.

Magus: I now declare this temple duly closed.

Bell Chime. The rite is at an end.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Convergence No Longer Imminent

This last weekend was Convergence, Minnesota's largest science fiction and fantasy convention. As usual, it was a lot of fun to spend the weekend hanging out in a hotel with lots of geeky folks and cool room parties, but of course I've only just gotten back to writing for the site. Expect a new article or two shortly.

Since there's some overlap between the sf/fantasy crowd and the magical community, I put together some bookmarks promoting Augoeides and handed them out to everyone I met. The bookmark is essentially the logo across the top of the page along with the web address printed in grayscale on red cardstock. The image didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped but I still printed 200 of them and maybe gave out half of them. Hopefully that means a few more folks will find their way here and feel like contributing.

The convention was great as usual, and I'm looking forward to next year.

Review: The Key to Solomon's Key by Lon Milo Duquette

Freemasonry is probably the oldest fraternal organization in the Western world and certainly the oldest of any significant size. At the end of the Nineteenth Century the Masonic fraternity brought together the founders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, who assembled what I believe to be the most impressive Hermetic magical system of its day. In movies and media, Masonry has been long associated with occultism and esotericism, and one might reasonably conclude from those accounts that Masons do indeed practice something like the system of magick published by Israel Regardie in his account of the rituals of the Golden Dawn. That assumption would be profoundly erroneous.

I am a Mason myself, a Past Master of Braden Lodge #168 in Saint Paul, and currently serve as Chaplain. I happen to be lucky in that my lodge has a number of members who share my interest in esoteric practices, but for the most part Masonry is about fraternity. The initiation rituals are beautiful (especially the Master Mason degree) but at the institutional level modern Masonry has nothing to do with magick or occultism. There are no secret Masonic rituals aside from the degrees themselves, secret blasphemous practices, or even coordinated conspiracies. Hollywood producers would find regular Masonic meetings hopelessly dull, with motions to pay bills and accept minutes of the previous meeting.

Lon Milo DuQuette is one of my favorite writers on the Western magical tradition. His work is practical and his writing style is funny and engaging. Interesting, he is also a Mason and like me serves as Chaplain of his lodge. The Key to Solomon's Key connects the story of the building of Solomon's Temple as it is told in the Masonic degrees with the European tradition of Solomonic magick as recorded in the Goetia or Lesser Key of Solomon, one of the most popular of the European grimoires. A friend of mine commented that there "wasn't a whole lot" to this book, which worried me a bit. Could Lon have actually written a bad book? I've read most of his work and enjoyed it all. The answer, of course, is that the book is excellent, but it is not primarily intended for experienced ritual magicians.

Reading through the book I can see why my friend didn't find it very useful - the first half of the book talks briefly about the history of the Knights Templar, the rise of the Masonic fraternity, and the basic narrative of the Masonic degrees. The second half is an introductory overview of Goetic magick targeted for the novice who knows little of the system. Between these sections, Lon discusses the basic principles of ritual magick, again targeted for beginners. For a serious ritual magician who has been practicing for a long time, the book is more like a "Magick for Dummies" than an arcane volume filled with the ancient magical lore of the largest esoteric fraternity in the world, and anyone coming to the book with the latter expectation will probably be disappointed.This is not a book that is intended to push the discipline of magick forward in terms of metaphysics or techniques.

Lon does put forth the intriguing theory that the Knights Templar were able to become so powerful so quickly in Europe because they found documents in the ruins of the Temple at Jerusalem that demonstrated the Bible was not historically accurate or at least disputed, which is an idea that I had not previously encountered. The idea makes sense given the political position of the Church during the Medieval period, and such discoveries were made elsewhere during this century - namely the Nag Hammadi Library and the Dead Sea Scrolls. He also postulates that this led the Knights Templar to encode some of this information in the Masonic degrees and lectures.

The book does overstate the absence of historical evidence related to David and Solomon, in that it states that there are no inscriptions or archaeological records documenting that they even existed. In fact, there are a handful of inscriptions naming David. Less evidence for the existence of Solomon has been found so far, but archaeological investigations continue. I personally think that David and Solomon likely existed, but that the vast majority of stories about them were embelished and that the lives of the real people on which they were based probably had little in common with the biblical narrative. Much material that appears in the Torah was only written down during the second temple period following the Babylonian Captivity, and it is interesting to note that the story in Exodus has more in common with the escape from Babylon than it does any documented events in Egyptian history. Similarly, the stories of the early kings of Israel could have been exaggerated to enhance the apparent greatness of the Israelites' ancestors and justify their claim to most of Palestine. In fact, Palestine was mostly a collection of city-states during the period in which David and Solomon were supposed to have reigned, and their actual "empire" may not have extended much further than Jerusalem and the immediate surrounding area. If the Templars indeed found documentation proving the relative insignificance of Israel, the Church would indeed have been very interested in silencing them to prevent anyone from questioning the biblical story.

According to this hypothesis, the greatest Masonic secrets of all are essentially critical thinking and freedom from dogmatic literalism regarding the Bible and other spiritual texts. When the Masonic fraternity was founded there was no public schooling and much of the information in the lectures would have been new to the aspiring Mason, whereas a modern person finds much of it familiar. Moving beyond literalism points in the direction of the universality of religion, which is one of the Ancient Landmarks of the Craft. The main argument against Masonry put forth by conservative Christians is that Masons pray together to open and close meetings even though they may be of different faiths, and anyone in the lodge who is not an evangelical Christian is worshipping a demon or the Devil himself. Incoherently, these are the same people who advocate prayer in public schools - you would think that praying at a public school function would be subject to the same criticism.

Lon's overview of the basic principles of magick should not be new to an experienced practitioner, but it is explained in clear language that does not require a technical magical background or esoteric vocabulary. This is one of Lon's biggest strengths as a writer (besides humor, of course) - explaining complex ideas in simple, practical terms. There has been a lot of pompous metaphysical speculation put forth over the last hundred and fifty years or so as "things you need to know before you try any real magick" and this section of the book really cuts through the nonsense. I think I may have a couple of small technical quibbles (so small and technical, in fact, that I can't be sure they're quibbles until I talk to him) with Lon's explanations, but they will give any beginning magician a really good start.

The overview of Solomonic magick will allow a would-be magician to get started right away without buying any other books, which is nice. It is again introductory, though, and has little new material for magicians like my friend who are long-time practitioners of Goetia and know the system well. It makes for an excellent handbook, though, and even though I am not that familiar with Goetia I could pick it up and do an evocation using only the material presented within. If I ever get really serious about working with the Goetic system I will need more, of course, but it makes for a good start.

The brilliance of this book is that its target audience seems to be Masons with some interest in magick but no real practical experience. Most Masons are open-minded about spirituality and have at least been acquainted with the power of ritual in their initiations, so it seems reasonable to think that many of them might be interested in a book like this. It starts off with the history of the Knights Templar that is familiar to most Masons and then slowly moves into the territory of ritual magick, which few Masons practice, and finally into a practical exposition of the Goetia. In addition, I have encountered one or two ritual magicians who are more interested in Masonry after reading it, which may be a secondary audience.

The bottom line: for a beginning magician, especially one who is already a Mason, it is excellent. It is, however, an introductory book and experienced magicians should expect to find a lot of things in it that they already know.

Want to buy your own copy of The Key to Solomon's Key by Lon Milo DuQuette? Order from my Books and Media page and you can help support Augoeides.

Friday, July 7, 2006

The Rite of the Time Cube

The following is an invocation of Nature's Simultaneous 4-Day Time Cube. What? You've never heard of Time Cube? Let me enlighten you.

Hey stupid - are you too dumb to know there are 4 different simultaneous 24 hour days within a single rotation of Earth? Greenwich 1 day is a lie. 4 quadrants = 4 corners, and 4 different directions. Each Earth corner rotates own separate 24 hour day. Infinite days is stupidity. Most math is erroneous. You are educated stupid.

So begins the (very long) text of the Time Cube Website dedicated to the revolutionary thinking of Nobel Prize Winner and "Doctor of Cubicism" Gene Ray, the "wisest human" who has discovered the principles of "Nature's Simultaneous 4-Day Time Cube." You never know, it might be true, and after all, "if you do not seek Time Cube you are not worthy of life on Earth." Don't say I didn't warn you.

By invoking all four stations of the sun by the appropriate "holy names" given by "Dr." Ray, this ritual invokes the ethereal wisdom of Time Cube, giving the magician the power to solve the problems of nuclear waste and defeat the evil academic minions of the false word fish god. As for those who might argue that it is unnatural for me to meddle in such things, what do they expect? Time Cube proves me stupid and evil.

My apologies in advance to Aleister Crowley, on whose Liber Resh vel Helios some of the ritual text below is based.

I. Preparation

This ritual may be performed at any time because the Greenwich myth is a lie. The temple should be devoid of all furniture to emphasize its cubicness, and the ideal temple is a perfect eight to twelve-foot cube, the outer dimensions of the room being determined by the height of the ceiling. No other special clothing or implements are required. Otherwise, the magician may be armed as he sees fit. If incense is burned upon the censor, it should be assofoetida or some other incense attributed to Saturn. If candles are used, there should be three of them and they should be black.

The magician should draw the following diagram onto a fresh piece of paper.
  1. Start by drawing a diamond in the center of the sheet.
  2. Draw a circle within the diamond, and write "Earth" in its center.
  3. At the top point of the diamond, write "Mid Day" and the corresponding name of power given by Gene Ray, SOCRATES.
  4. At the right point, write "Sun Down" and the corresponding name of power, CLINTON.
  5. At the bottom point, write "Mid Night" and the corresponding name of power, EINSTEIN.
  6. At the left point, write "Sun Up" and the corresponding name of power, JESUS.
  7. Then draw a cross connecting the points of the diamond and arrows at each arm pointing clockwise to the next point implying rotation.
This diagram should be held by the magician, in case he or she should need to pronounce the curse.

II. Opening

The temple is opened with the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, followed by the Lesser Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram.

The Magician then faces the east, kneels, and reads the confession.

Oh Time Cube, you who are above God, I come before you to confess my evil and my stupidity. I have been a slave to the Greenwich myth. I have word-murdered my children. I have complied with cubeless evil academics, and I have not demanded the right to debate your mysteries. I am unworthy of life on earth, and have been enslaved by the false word God and his erroneous mathematics. I have ignored my obligation to humanity and deserve to be spit upon publicly. I have been too damn evil to accept you. I am the lowest form. I can't procreate alone. I have destroyed the village. I have destroyed the family. I have destroyed childhood. I have destroyed naturalism. I don't know the Truth - I am educated stupid. I have worshipped cubeless word. I am my own poison. I have created my own hell. I must seek Time Cube.

But all is not lost! I stand before you now, asking humbly to partake of your mysteries. Show me the truth! Deliver me from my dumbassness and academic brainwashing! Banish my cubelessness and deliver me from the false word god! I will seek you, I will exalt you, I will demand right to debate time cube and force evil educators to eat dung! Come forth, oh greatest discovery of all, and illuminate me with your magnificence!

The Magician then rises and performs the Greater Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram for Saturn, calling upon the godname of KRONOS, the Lord of Time.

III. The Invocation

Still facing the east, the Magician gives the Sign of Air and says the following, vibrating names as appropriate:

Hail unto thee who art Jesus in thy rising, even unto thee who art Jesus in thy strength, who traveleth over the heavens in thy bark, the boat of millions of years, at the uprising of the Sun. Hail unto thee from the abobes of night!

The Magician turns to the south, gives the Sign of Fire, and says the following, vibrating names as appropriate:

Hail unto thee who art Socrates in thy triumphing, even unto thee who art Socrates in thy beauty, who traveleth over the heavens in thy bark, the boat of millions of years, at the mid-course of the Sun. Hail unto thee from the abodes of morning!

The Magician turns to the west, gives the Sign of Water, and says the following, vibrating names as appropriate:

Hail unto thee who art Clinton in thy setting, even unto thee who art Clinton in thy joy, who traveleth over the heavens in thy bark, the boat of millions of years, at the going-down of the Sun. Hail unto thee from the abobes of day!

The Magician turns to the north, gives the Sign of Earth, and says the following, vibrating names as appropriate:

Hail unto thee who art Einstein in thy hiding, even unto thee who art Einstein in thy silence, who traveleth over the heavens in thy bark, the boat of millions of years, at the midnight hour of the Sun. Hail unto thee from the abobes of evening!

The Magician returns to the east and gives the Sign of Silence, and then says:

The light is mine, its rays consume me,
I have made a secret door
Into the house of Jesus and Clinton,
Of Einstein and of Socrates!
I am thy Cubic, through and through,
The Prophet of the Great Time Cube!

The magician then sits in the center of the temple in meditation, waiting for Time Cube to bestow its wisdom. This wisdom is profound and will allow the magician to solve the problems of war, nuclear waste, evil in the world, and stupidity.

However, should the magician prove to be too damn evil to accept the wisdom of Time Cube (that is, nothing happens), he or she should rise and pronounce the curse after a suitable interval of meditation. Also, should the wisdom received fail to enable the magician to resolve the world's problems, the rite has failed and the curse must be pronounced.

Time Cube, you who are the delusion of a madman! I have called upon you. I have sought you. I have opened myself to your wisdom. And yet, you fail to acknowledge me. You fail to enlighten me. You fail to banish my cubelessness and lift the stupidity of my education.

You are a lie, Time Cube! A cube has more than four sides! There is nothing special that makes each station of the sun a "day"! It is you who are evil, you who are stupid, you who are the mindless ramblings of a wannabe false word fish god!

I now destroy your sigil, Time Cube. I banish you from my universe. I commit you to the formless abyss of Choronzon from which all logical fallacies and confusions emerge. Begone!

The magician then destroys the printed diagram, either by ripping it to shreds and casting it aside, or burning it in the flame of a candle or upon the censor, if either is present.

IV. Closing

The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram is performed. The rite is at an end.

Thursday, July 6, 2006

COMSELH MADRIAX ("Circle of the Heavens"): An Enochian Macrocosmic Ritual

This ritual is the macrocosmic complement to the COMSELH AOIVEAE, and was developed along with that ritual for our magical working group, Comselh Ananael. It is based on an earlier ritual of mine called the MADRIAX which used the symbol of the heptagram in accordance with its basic symbolism drawn from John Dee's Heptarchia Mystica. The angels of the Heptarchia do not appear on the Great Table and are explicitly planetary and attributed to the days of the week. Each day has a King and Prince who have specific offices and behave somewhat like a planetary intelligence and spirit, though the distinction is not nearly as clear-cut as it is with Agrippa's planetary hierarchy. In general, the Kings are associated with knowledge and learning and the Princes with mundane actions. The ruling angels of the system are CARMARA and HAGONEL, who do not seem to be bound to any particular day, though in the Heptarchia their conjurations appear along with those for the King and Prince related to Monday.

The COMSELH MADRIAX does not use the figure of the heptagram at the various directional points but that of the Unicursal Hexagram. The same figure is used in the microcosmic COMSELH AOIVEAE and this is a break from the Golden Dawn tradition. The Golden Dawn used the pentagram to symbolize the microcosm and the standard bicursal hexagram to symbolize the macrocosm, which they related to the formula of the Adept or 5=6. The Unicursal Hexagram is a hybrid symbol - it can represent the elements (as shown in Aleister Crowley's Book of Thoth or in an earlier knowledge lectures of the Golden Dawn) or it can represent the planets, as it is sometimes used by modern magicians. Israel Regardie was one of the first advocates of this latter usage, especially because it allowed a Hexagram of the Sun to be drawn from the central point. However, even when used in a planetary context the figure retains its elemental symbolism and is less suitable than the standard hexagram for pure planetary operations. To draw a standard Golden Dawn Hexagram of the Sun it is necessary to trace all six planetary hexagrams, which as Michael Sandborn comments in The Unicursal Hexagram as Hyperbola is a "wonderful isometric exercise."

The departure from the Golden Dawn pentagram/hexagram symbolism is grounded in the essential concepts of operant magick. The Operant Field Model proposes that the mind of the magician corresponds to a field effect that is experienced as consciousness. This is termed the Personal Field. Fields are also created by individual objects, and these fields unite into larger fields when those objects interact. These are called Transpersonal Fields. The magician is able to influence objects because he or she has trained the personal field to synchronize with a transpersonal field that contains those objects and then is able to use concentrated thought to affect them. Essentially, magick is possible when the Personal Field and a Transpersonal Field are conjoined. Bringing the macrocosmic and microcosmic realms into alignment in this manner is the basic goal of the opening rituals, such as those of the pentagram and hexagram.

The Unicursal Hexagram is an ideal glyph to accomplish this, especially if it is considered as a representation of a hyperbola. Michael Sandborn's The Unicursal Hexagram as Hyperbola was very influential in the design of this ritual and its counterpart, even moreso than it was in the development of our alternative Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram. The interesting thing about the hyperbola is that from a mathematical standpoint there are not two curves, but one, even though the figure is drawn as two arcs facing in opposite directions that do not appear to touch. If the upper curve is envisioned as the Transpersonal realm and the lower curve is envisioned as the Personal Field, then this figure is indeed ideally suited for use in complementary rituals intended to accomplish the union of the two realms, uniting that which at first appears to be separate.

The points of the Unicursal Hexagram may be attributed to the planets, though as Sanborn mentions in his article it is not clear that a solar form can actually be drawn from the center point. The planetary form retains its elemental characteristics which harmonize nicely with the usage of the figure in the COMSELH AOIVEAE. The standard planetary arrangement used for both forms of the hexagram is based on the Tree of Life, specifically the placement of spheres 3-9. The elemental attributions can be found in the commentary on the COMSELH AOIVEAE. Combining the planetary and elemental attributions yields the following:
  • Top Point: Saturn = Active Spirit
  • Upper Right: Jupiter = Water
  • Upper Left: Mars = Fire
  • Lower Right: Venus = Earth
  • Lower Left: Mercury = Air
  • Bottom Point: Moon = Passive Spirit
Attributing Active Spirit to Saturn may seem odd since Saturn is usually seen in astrology as representing limitation and structure, but Saturn also is the Lord of Initiation and stands in for all three supernal spheres. In this arrangement it signifies the actions of the Heavens, just as the Moon signifies the actions of the Earth. The top and bottom points are larger than the side points because they represent the active and passive polarities that give rise to the other four elements. The standard hexagram is a more "pure" planetary symbol since it reflects a completely balanced arrangement of the planets by virtue of having six identical points.

Banishing and invoking planets using the Unicursal Hexagram works slightly differently than banishing and invoking elements. With elements, the figure is traced toward the point attributed to the element to invoke and away from the point attributed to the element to banish. With planets, the figure is traced starting at the point attributed to the planet moving clockwise to invoke and counter-clockwise to banish. As noted in Sanborn's essay, this presents a problem because there is no way to draw a fully clockwise or counter-clockwise Unicursal Hexagram - the "twist" in the middle of the figure means that the tracing will always switch directions in the course of completing the shape. How this is resolved is to move clockwise or counter-clockwise from the perspective of the point from which the figure is being traced.

In the COMSELH AOIVEAE, the Unicursal Hexagrams are traced to the four directions in such a way that the temple is envisioned as a two-dimensional space. The dimension of spirit - that is, the path followed by the Lightning Flash and Serpent of Wisdom - is represented by the third dimension of the space, the vertical axis. In the COMSELH MADRIAX, the Unicursal Hexagrams are traced in a three-dimensional configuration to form a sphere with the representation of the Sun at its center. The spiritual dimension can no longer be modeled as the vertical axis and is then represented as turning inward and outward rather than upward and downward. This reflects the true macrocosmic shape of the fields involved - for the Personal Field to align a Transpersonal Field, the field that is experienced as consciousness must expand outward to encompass more of the universe than just the individual self. This is why mysticism is an important part of any magical practice - it teaches the expansion of the self beyond the artificial boundaries imposed by personal perceptions.

The second section of the ritual calls upon the Governors, twelve Angels that rule over the various parts of the earth and are related to the signs of the Zodiac. Like the Angels of the Heptarchia, these Governors do not appear on the Tablet of the Watchtowers and represent the pure force of the signs of the Zodiac. As an aside, note that these twelve Governors are not the same as the Angelic names of the ninety-one Parts of the Earth, which do appear on the Tablet, despite the fact that the Golden Dawn Enochian system refers to the Parts of the Earth as "the Governors." It is clear from the original passage in Dee's diaries that when the Angels make reference to the Governors, they mean these twelve Zodiacal Governors and not the Parts of the Earth.

Benjamin Rowe makes the following comments in The 91 Parts of the Earth: Introduction:

It should be emphasized that these Parts are not "governors of the Aethyrs", as has been mistakenly said by some writers. The name of the Part does not invoke a specific being, but only a certain locale of the Enochian universe, with its particular qualities. Nor does the Part in any way "rule" the Aethyr of which it is a portion. One might view the relationship between Parts and Aethyrs as being similar to the relationship between the decanates of the zodiac and the signs of which they are a section. The Voice of the Part is not the Part itself, but one of the unnamed ministers who dwells therein.

Every part is governed by one of twelve "Zodiacal Kings", who is associated with one of the Tribes of Israel. The angels did not give Dee an explicit listing of their zodiacal attributes; he was told to derive it from the related tribe. Apparently he never did so. In these visions, the following system of attributes was used, which differs from both Agrippa system with which Dee was familiar, and the G.D. system.
  • Aries = Alpudus = Isacarah
  • Taurus = Hononol = Iehudah
  • Gemini = Zarzilg = Nephthalim
  • Cancer = Gebabal = Asseir
  • Leo = Olpaged = Dan
  • Virgo = Cadaamp = Benjamin
  • Libra = Zarnaah = Manasse
  • Scorpio = Arfaolg = Ephraim
  • Sagittarius = Lavavot = Gad
  • Capricorn = Zurchol = Simeon
  • Aquarius = Ziracah = Ruben
  • Pisces = Zinggen = Zabulon
The logic of this system is based on the disposition of the Tribes depicted in Numbers 2, combined with Dee's diagram of that disposition. There are several possible systems that could be derived from these sources; the one actually used was chosen by divination after the major possibilities were assessed.

Rowe's attributions of the Governors to the signs are used in the second section of this ritual.

Part I: The Planets

There is no specific opening step in this ritual that is comparable to sections I and IV of the pentagram ritual, since it is assumed that this ritual is encapsulated by the COMSELH AOIVEAE. By this I mean that you perform the COMSELH AOIVEAE up through "Behold, the circle of stars, and I the all-powerful in the midst," perform this ritual, perform additional ritual work as you will, and close with section IV of the COMSELH AOIVEAE. As such, the opening has already been done and the closing will be performed following the conclusion of whatever additional ritual work is being done.
  1. Face the east. If the Holy Table is present, stand to the west of it. In all cases, you will be casting across the Holy Table to the opposite side of the Temple, so "turn to the south" means to move to the north of the Table facing south. In the east, trace the Unicursal Hexagram of Mars in red and vibrate BABALEL (BAH-bah-lel).
  2. Turn to the south. In the south, trace the Unicursal Hexagram of Mercury in white and vibrate BNASPOL (BNAS-pohl).
  3. Turn to the west. In the west, trace the Unicursal Hexagram of Jupiter in green and vibrate BYNEPOR (BY-neh-pohr).
  4. Turn to the north. In the north, trace the Unicursal Hexagram of Venus in black and vibrate BALIGON (BAH-lee-gohn). These first four planets are attributed according to the density of the associated element on the Unicursal Hexagram.
  5. Return to the east, completing the circle. Above you or above the Holy Table in front of you, trace the Unicursal Hexagram of Saturn in bright violet and vibrate BNAPSEN (BNAP-sen).
  6. Below you or below the Holy Table in front of you trace the Unicursal Hexagram of the Moon in deep purple and vibrate BLUMAZA (blu-MAH-zah).
  7. Trace a heptagram (or heptangle) surrounding your heart, starting at the solar point and moving clockwise, in bright yellow-gold. Then clasp your hands over your heart and vibrate BOBOGEL (BOH-boh-ghel).
Part II: The Governors

The twelve zodiacal Governors are now called upon in a widdershins circle that counterbalances the deosil circle of hexagrams. Starting with Aries in the east, the magician traces the sign attributed to the Governor while vibrating the name. He or she then moves 30 degrees widdershins and does the same for the next Governor in the series (Taurus in this case). If the banners are present lining the circle they may be decorated with the appropriate sign and Governor name in addition to the Name of God, which will aid memorization. This action is repeated until the magician has made a full widdershins circumambulation of the Temple and is again facing east.

  1. In the east, trace the sigil of Aries in red and vibrate ALPUDUS (AL-puh-dus).
  2. Turn 30 degrees counter-clockwise. To the east-northeast trace the sigil of Taurus in red and vibrate HONONOL (HOH-noh-nol).
  3. Turn 30 degrees counter-clockwise. To the north-northeast trace the sigil of Gemini in black and vibrate ZARZILG (ZAR-zeelg).
  4. Turn 30 degrees counter-clockwise. To the north trace the sigil of Cancer in black and vibrate GEBABAL (GEH-bah-bahl).
  5. Turn 30 degrees counter-clockwise. To the north-northwest trace the sigil of Leo in black and vibrate OLPAGED (OHL-pah-ged).
  6. Turn 30 degrees counter-clockwise. To the west-northwest trace the sigil of Virgo in green and vibrate CADAAMP (KAH-dah-ahmp).
  7. Turn 30 degrees counter-clockwise. To the west trace the sigil of Libra in green and vibrate ZARNAAH (ZAR-nah-ah).
  8. Turn 30 degrees counter-clockwise. To the west-southwest trace the sigil of Scorpio in green and vibrate ARFAOLG (AR-fah-olg).
  9. Turn 30 degrees counter-clockwise. To the south-southwest trace the sigil of Sagittarius in white and vibrate LAVAVOT (LAH-vah-voht).
  10. Turn 30 degrees counter-clockwise. To the south trace the sigil of Capricorn in white and vibrate ZURCHOL (ZUR-khol).
  11. Turn 30 degrees counter-clockwise. To the south-southeast trace the sigil of Aquarius and vibrate ZIRACAH (ZEER-ah-kah).
  12. Turn 30 degrees counter-clockwise. To the east-southeast trace the sigil of Pisces in red and vibrate ZINGGEN (ZEENG-gehn).
  13. Turn 30 degrees counter-clockwise, completing the circle and returning to face the east. Make the Sign of Apophis and Typhon and vibrate TA CALZ I OROCHA (TAH KAHL-zod EE or-OH-cha - "As above the firmament so beneath").
  14. Pause for a moment and visualize the energies of the planets and Zodiac coming into being, uniting the microcosmic and macrocosmic universes. The full visualization for this ritual consists of:

    • The full COMSELH AOIVEAE visualization.
    • Planetary Unicursal Hexagrams to the four quarters in the four directional colors, merging with the directional hexagrams of the COMSELH AOIVEAE.
    • The Unicursal Hexagram of Saturn above in bright violet and that of the Moon below in deep purple
    • The Solar Heptagram in bright gold surrounding your heart. It is within the pentagram you traced over yourself in the opening of the COMSELH AOIVEAE.
    • The full circle of the Zodiac, drawn beyond the hexagrams so that it seems to extend to the edges of the cosmos.
    • All of these elements merged together into a single coherent whole, which is the magical field.
Part III: Completion

This step varies depending on whether you are using this ritual as a banishing or as an invocation, and whether or not it is being used with other ritual work. If the ritual is being used in conjunction with any other ritual work perform this entire part as written. If it is being performed as a banishing to clear a space or neutralize magical influences, skip to step 3. If it is being performed as an invocation to provide a general flow of energy to ongoing magical effects or as a daily practice, stop at step 1. CARMARA is the name of the King who rules over the entire Heptarchy of Angels.
  1. If you are performing additional ritual work, make the Sign of Rending the Veil, as though parting a heavy curtain in front of you with both hands, and intone MADRIAX CARMARA YOLCAM LONSHI (MAH-dree-ahx kar-MAH-rah YOHL-kahm LOHN-shee - "O ye heavens of CARMARA, bring forth power").
  2. Perform any additional ritual work here, to its conclusion.
  3. Make the Sign of Closing the Veil, as though closing a heavy curtain in front of you with both hands, and intone: MADRIAX CARMARA ADRPAN LONSHI (MAH-dree-ahx kar-MAH-rah, AHD-rpahn LOHN-shee - "O ye heavens of CARMARA, cast down power").

At this point, the conclusion to the AOIVEAE is performed, and the ritual is complete.

Wednesday, July 5, 2006

COMSELH AOIVEAE ("Circle of Stars"): An Enochian Microcosmic Ritual

This ritual grew out of a desire to begin a series of Enochian rites with our magical working group, Comselh Ananael. I had a pentagram ritual called the AOIVEAE based on the Golden Dawn Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram and Aleister Crowley's Star Ruby, but as we discussed various ideas related to an Enochian pentagram ritual it became clear that a better ritual might be constructed by moving away from the pentagram as a universal symbol of microcosmic magick. Particularly, the same article that influenced the design of our revised Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram, Michael Sandborn's The Unicursal Hexagram as Hyperbola, suggested the use of the Unicursal Hexagram as the ideal glyph for working with the Operant Field Model. The ritual evolved from there, as a Unicursal Hexagram ritual rather than a pentagram ritual. However, it essentially performs a similar function to the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram - aligning and increasing the coherence of the magician's interior world.

In The Book of Thoth Crowley relates the Unicursal Hexagram to the elements rather than to the planets. This is also how the figure is shown in the Golden Dawn essay on lineal figures that is included in Regardie's The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic. When dealing with elemental pentagrams it is not the case in the Golden Dawn system that deosil invokes and widdershins banishes - tracing deosil invokes Fire and Water and tracing widdershins invokes Earth and Air - but the rule always holds with planetary hexagrams. This supports the notion that the Unicursal Hexagram is more elemental than planetary.

The bottom point of the Unicursal Hexagram represents Passive Spirit, while the top point represents Active Spirit. The four side points then represent the classical elements. As Sandborn comments, the rose at the center represents the point of balance and in reference to the 0=2 formula the dynamic ground from which creation emerges. The figure thus may be visualized as a three-dimensional form with the center receding from the viewer. The 0=2 formula describes how the universe comes into existence, from the unity of pure nothingness (potential) to the separate polarities of substance (actual).

The Enochian System of Magick was explored by John Dee and Edward Kelley in hopes of discovering the building blocks of the universe. The Angels they contacted responded by giving them instructions for the building of a "Great Table" - a fourfold table of letters that supposedly represents the spiritual "wire frame" upon which the structure of the universe is created. This table consists of four square quadrants, and a "black cross" representing unity that binds the four parts of the table together. If the Unicursal Hexgram is mapped onto Dee and Kelly's Great Table, The side points of the hexagram represent the four quadrants and the rose, top, and bottom points represent the black cross, also called the Tablet of Union.

This is not to imply that the quadrants of the Great Table necessarily correspond to the elements. Elemental spirits are represented on the Table, but the Golden Dawn practice of assigning elements to the four quadrants does not correspond to what Dee and Kelley were told, even if it seems on the surface to be a logical assumption. The Kings who rule over each quadrant are attributed not the elements but to the four directions, meaning that they correspond to spatial orientation rather than states of matter.

Incidentally, this has been one of my major contentions with the Golden Dawn system of Enochian magick. Attributing the elements to the four directions is not necessarily unreasonable, but working as though the elemental rather than the directional attribution is primary flies in the face of the original material. The Golden Dawn system uses two elemental arrangements, the "winds" model for microcosmic work (Air = East, Fire = South, Water = West, and Earth = North) and the Zodiacal model for macrocosmic work (Fire = Aries = East, Earth = Capricorn = South, Air = Libra = West, and Water = Cancer = North). This schema works well for practical magick and is for the most part sound. The quality of the winds is based upon earthly phenomena, and the Zodiacal model is based on the arrangement of the heavens.

The problem is that the founders of the Golden Dawn assigned the elements to the Enochian tablets based on the directions from the "winds" model. BATAIVAH, for example, is the King of the East in the original material, so he therefore became the King of Air. This is fine so far - for microcosmic work. In macrocosmic operations, however, BATAIVAH's tablet is moved to the west because he is the King of Air and Air goes in the west according to the Zodiac arrangement. For the Golden Dawn directional arrangements to harmonize with the original material, the elemental attribution should change because the direction should be primary. Therefore, for macrocosmic operations, BATAIVAH should become the King of Fire and his tablet should remain in the east.

In order to keep the symbolism of spatial orientation distinct from that of the elements, the Unicursal Hexagram is traced toward the center point to banish and away from the center point to invoke the quadrant that corresponds to a direction in this microcosmic ritual. In the corresponding macrocosmic ritual, COMSELH MADRIAX, the same figure is used but is traced between the elemental points and the top and bottom. Resonance is vital to working operant magick because the microcosmic and macrocosmic rituals must harmonize so that a magical field will open. In the case of the COMSELH AOIVEAE and COMSELH MADRIAX rituals this resonance is accomplished by using the same lineal figure for both rites, unlike in the Golden Dawn system where the microcosmic ritual (Lesser Pentagram) uses the pentagram of Earth (as an amalgam of all four elements) and the microcosmic ritual (Lesser Hexagram) uses the hexagrams of the elements which resonate on a symbolic rather than a geometric level.

Part I: The Tablet of Union

This version of the ritual is still based on the original AOIVEAE and borrows some key sections from that rite. In particular, the pentagram still makes an appearance in the opening and concluding sections. This is done to energize the body of the magician with the energies of the Black Cross or Tablet of Union. The ritual begins with the tracing of the Pentagram of Active Spirit over the body of the magician as the Angelic names of the five elements are intoned. On the Tablet of the Watchtowers, the element names form the central cross, which is called the Tablet of Union. The Tablet of Union can also be drawn as a grid of letters, like so:

E X A R P
H C O M A
N A N T A
B I T O M

In the Angelic language, EXARP (EX-arp) is the name for elemental air, HCOMA (HCO-mah) is the name for elemental water, NANTA (NAHN-tah) is the name for elemental earth, and BITOM (BEE-tohm) is the name for elemental fire. EHNB (EH-nub), the word formed by taking the first letter of each of the other four elements, is the name for Spirit, the fifth element that binds the other four together.

  1. Face the east. If you are working in an Enochian temple with the Holy Table in the center, stand to the west of the Table so that you are looking across it to the east, since you always face the Table when it is present in the temple. Trace from your left hip to your right shoulder, visualizing a green line connecting those two points. Intone NANTA (Earth).
  2. Trace from your right shoulder to your left shoulder, visualizing a blue line connecting those two points. Intone HCOMA (Water).
  3. Trace from your left shoulder to your right hip, visualizing a yellow line connecting those two points. Intone EXARP (Air).
  4. Trace from your right hip to the center of your forehead, visualizing a red line connecting those two points. Intone BITOM (Fire).
  5. Trace from the center of your forehead to your left hip, visualizing a shimmering bright electric violet light connecting those two points and completing the pentagram. Intone EHNB (Spirit).
  6. Clasp your hands over your heart and intone either IAD (ee-AHD - God) or the name of your Holy Guardian Angel if it is known to you. Regardless, you will want to use IAD in any public ritual so that you will not reveal the name of your Holy Guardian Angel to onlookers.
This charges the body of the magician with the active magical energy of the five elements.

Part II. The Unicursal Hexagrams

At this point the structure of the ritual diverges from the original AOIVEAE. In the original ritual, pentagrams corresponding to the four elements were traced to the four directions as the name of the corresponding King was vibrated. Most Enochian pentagram rituals involve vibrating the names of the Kings to the four directions. Gerald Schueler published a pentagram ritual of this sort which may have been the first publication of the form. However, in comparing the Kings to the godnames used in the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram it is apparent that the Kings are more personified and specific, whereas the godnames from the LRP represent more general principles.

The new version of the ritual takes a hint from Dee's conjurations. These conjurations summon angels from all four directions beginning in the east. This full circle represents a complete creation, and is necessary in order to produce effects. Therefore, the four words of power corresponding to the directions should represent the process of creation itself. Furthermore, since the Angelic language is spoken of in the original material as the language of creation, every word of the language is effectively a word of power that reflects the essence of its definition. The words used reflect the descent of the lightning flash along the middle pillar of the Tree of Life, beginning in the east and ending in the north. They are as follows:
  • East: MADRIAX - The Heavens. This represents the three supernal spheres.
  • South: ROR - The Sun. This represents Tiphareth.
  • West: GRAA - The Moon. This represents Yesod.
  • North: CAOSGO - The Earth. This represents Malkuth.
The Unicursal Hexagrams that are used correspond to the directions represented by the subquadrants of the Great Table according to the associations found in Dee's conjurations. They are traced toward the central point to banish and toward the point related to the direction to invoke. The directions are attributed here along the same lines as the quadrants of the Great Table.
  • Upper Left: East
  • Upper Right: South
  • Lower Right: West
  • Lower Left: North
The colors are those given for the "cloths" seen by Kelly in his initial vision of the Enochian universe. Kelly had a second vision, the "round house" vision, in which the colors are slightly different but in one of our magical operations we were told that the first vision was the most accurate as far as the colors of the directions are concerned.
  1. In the east, trace the Unicursal Hexagram of the East in red and vibrate MADRIAX (MAH-dree-ahx).
  2. Turn to the south. In the south, trace the Unicursal Hexagram of the South in white and vibrate ROR (ROHR).
  3. Turn to the west. In the west, trace the Unicursal Hexagram of the West in green and vibrate GRAA (GRAH-ah).
  4. Turn to the north. In the north, trace the Unicursal Hexagram of the North in black and vibrate CAOSGO (kah-OHS-goh).
  5. Turn back to the east, completing the circle. Pause for a moment and hold the visualization of all four hexagrams surrounding the temple.
Part III: The Names of God

The next portion of the ritual aligns the magician with the twelve Names of God. There are three names for each of the four quadrants, and they are taken from the horizontal line that divides each quadrant in half. These Names of God are attributed to the twelve signs of the Zodiac. The magician first places each group of names in the appropriate direction by intoning several short phrases in the Angelic language. This alludes to the arrangement of an Enochian temple according to the Dee material. Each of the twelve names was to be written on a banner, and these banners were to be placed along the edges of the magical circle. The directions used here are taken from the 1587 reformed version of the Great Table.
  1. Extend your arms in the form of a cross and intone the following:

    RAAS I ORO IBAH AOZPI (RA-as I O-ro i-BAH a-o-ZOD-pi - "In the east is ORO IBAH AOZPI"),
    SOBOLN I OIP TEAA PDOCE (SO-boln I o-IP te-a-A pdo-KE - "in the west is OIP TEAA PDOCE"),
    BABAGE I MPH ARSL GAIOL (ba-ba-GE I MEH-peh ar-SAL ga-i-OL - "in the south is MPH ARSL GAIOL"),
    LUCAL I MOR DIAL HCTGA (LU-kal I MOR di-AL hek-TGA - "in the north is MOR DIAL HCTGA").

  2. You then make a widdershins rotation to balance the initial deosil rotation of tracing the hexagrams. The first circle may be thought of as representing the Lightning Flash, while this final section may be though of as representing the Serpent of Wisdom and concludes with you arising as "the all-powerful" who has unified the energies of Heaven and Earth. Arms still outstretched, make one widdershins rotation while intoning:

    MICMA AO COMSELH AOIVEAE (MEEK-mah AH-oh KOHM-seh-lah ah-oh-ee-VEH-ah-eh - "Behold, the circle of stars")

  3. Once the rotation is complete and you are facing east again, clasp your hands over your heart and intone:

    OD OL IAIDON NOTHOA (OHD OHL ee-AH-ee-dohn NOT-ho-ah - "And I, the all-powerful, in the midst").
IV. Conclusion

If this ritual is being performed in conjunction with any other magical working, this step is deferred until the conclusion of that rite. That is, unlike the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram this ritual is not repeated at the end of the working that it opens. Instead, sections I-III are followed by whatever additional ritual work is being performed. Once the additional work is concluded, the temple is closed with the following section. Unlike the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram, the ritual is not repeated at the end of the operation, but simply closed.

The conclusion is complementary to the first section - rather than the Pentagram Active Spirit, the magician traces the Pentagram of Passive Spirit and the final line is visualized in deep purple rather than bright violet. Otherwise the intonations and visualizations are the same.
  1. Trace from your right hip to your left shoulder, visualizing a green line connecting those two points. Intone NANTA.
  2. Trace from your left shoulder to your right shoulder, visualizing a blue line connecting those two points. Intone HCOMA.
  3. Trace from your right shoulder to your left hip, visualizing a yellow line connecting those two points. Intone EXARP.
  4. Trace from your left hip to the center of your forehead, visualizing a red line connecting those two points. Intone BITOM.
  5. Trace from the center of your forehead to your right hip, visualizing a deep purple light connecting those two points and completing the pentagram. Intone EHNB.
  6. Clasp your hands over your heart and intone either IAD or the name of your Holy Guardian Angel if it is known to you. As in the opening, you will want to use IAD in any public ritual so that you will not reveal the name of your Holy Guardian Angel to onlookers.
At this point the magician formally declares the temple closed if this ritual was used to encapsulate a larger working. Otherwise, the rite is at an end.