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Today's Magick Monday post is a full script for the Aquarius Elixir Rite that we will be performing tomorrow, Tuesday February 13th, at Leaping Laughter Oasis, our local Twin Cities body of Ordo Templi Orientis. Going forward, we will be performing one of these per month, once for each of the twelve signs, in a ritual series called Via Solis (the way or path of the Sun). I will be posting the full scripts here on the preceding Mondays so people can take a look at them if they want to attend. Also, if you are in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota) and would like to attend, let me or someone at the lodge know. This is a public ritual and all are welcome.
0. The Temple
The ritual space is set up with an altar table in the center. The bell chime, banishing dagger, and invoking wand are placed on the altar. In the center of the altar is placed a cup of wine for creating the elixir, within the Table of Art corresponding to Aquarius.
The sign Aquarius is attributed to the power of "Astrology." Since astrological divination is a fairly mechanical process, it seems to me that in addition to being the proper spirit to call on in order to learn astrology or understand it better, the angel of Aquarius should also have a more active aspect. So what I am going to experiment with when we perform this ritual is to see if Aquarius has some degree of influence over astrological forces in general. That would have practically unlimited applications - if it works.
As just one example, there has been a lot of discussion back and forth here about magical strategies to neutralize and/or mediate negative aspects and debilities in natal charts, and I'm going to see if I can just use the power of Aquarius to accomplish something along those lines. It would be very convenient if, say, you could just call up Aquarius and say "neutralize/mediate XYZ in my natal chart" instead of working out a remedy involving a particular planet or element. Of course, I don't know how well this will work, but that's the whole point of experimentation.
This ritual may be performed with one, two, or three officers, who may alternate taking the Officiant role and divide up the reading from Liber 963. The Via Solis Elixir Rites were written by Michele Montserrat in 2010 for the Comselh Ananael magical working group.
I. Opening
All stand surrounding the altar. Officiant inhales fully, placing the banishing dagger at his or her lips. The air is then expelled as the dagger is swept backwards.
Officiant: Bahlasti! Ompehda!
Officiant then performs the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. All rotate accordingly.
Officiant: 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: MAKAShANaH
Officiant: 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: ABRAHADABRA
Officiant: We take refuge in Heru-Ra-Ha, who wields the wand of double power, the wand of the force of Coph Nia, but 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
Officiant: For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is 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 done; but there is that which remains. To this realization we commit ourselves – pure and total presence. So mote it be.
Bell chime.
II. The Magical Field
Officiant performs the Lesser Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram (Comselh Ananael or standard version). All rotate accordingly.
All: Now I begin to pray, thou child,
Holy thy name and undefiled.
Thy reign is come, thy will is done,
Here is the bread, here is the blood,
Bring me through midnight to the Sun.
Save me from evil and from good
That thy one crown of all the ten
Even now and here be mine.
AMEN.
Officiant: In my breast I carry the mark of the Living God.
All: I adore thee, thou light of the world. I adore thee thou Light of the Grail. I ask nothing from thee for I am become thee. I and thee are one in the perfection of the Mystery of Life.
Bell chime.
III. The Preliminary Invocation
Officiant: And before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal, and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. Without stopping day or night they were saying…
All: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, who is, and who is coming – IAO
All make the Sign of Apophis and Typhon.
Officiant: 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.
All: Lord all mighty and all powerful, hear our Prayers
Command thy holy Angels above the fixed stars
To be Assisting and Aiding of thy people
That we may command all spirits
Of the air, fire, water, earth, heaven and hell
So that they may tend to the glory of God and Man
Bell chime.
IV. Tuning the Space
Officiant performs the Greater Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram for Aquarius (Hexagram of Saturn in violet with ARARITA, symbol of Aquarius in slightly greenish yellow with HVYH). All rotate accordingly. Officiant(s) then read the unification statement from Liber 963, alternating the first twelve lines between them and reading the thirteenth together in unison.
V. The Conjuration
Officiant: Oh Glorious and Mighty CAMBRIEL, You who command and rule over the spirits of DELI, Behold me, and in the name of the same your God, the stabilizing and aerial HVYH, Attend and Appear before us in this circle of art! Full powers and wonders of the Sign of Aquarius do we rightly desire! Enlighten our understanding, encourage our hearts, and manifest unto us now as we partake of your spiritual realm.
All: So mote it be.
All vibrate the name CAMBRIEL repeatedly until the presence of the angel is perceived by Officiant. Officiant rings Bell Chime to stop the chant. The following section then alternates between OFFICIANT(S) and ALL.
Officiant: Gloria Patri et Matri et Filius et Filia et spiritui sancto interno et spiritui sancto externo ut erat est erit in saeculo saeculorum sex in uno per nomen septem in uno…
All: ARARITA
VI. Charging Elixir
Officiant: O stabilizing and aerial HVYH. To thee we present this talisman of our magickal will! We ask thee, Oh Exalted One, to receive this body of our rite into the light of thy presence. As we proceed in making this Elixir of Aquarius, charging it with the creative energies of DELI, we shall achieve a true alchemical ferment, mighty in Yetzirah and vitalized by thy blessing. In partaking of this Mystery, let there be unto us vitality of soul, increase of sight, true gnosis, and complete manifestation of the wonders of thy Sphere!
All make one clockwise circumambulation, visualizing a wall of violet light whirling rapidly in the same direction about the circle. When finished, the wall of light is allowed to fade. Beginning with Officiant and proceeding clockwise, the cup is passed to each participant. Each holds cup at heart level and says:
Each participant then breathes into the wine and passes cup clockwise. When finished, the cup is replaced and all circumambulate the altar 3 times. Officiant then raises power, visualizing a continuous spiral of violet light ascending from the ground at feet, whirling clockwise around body and ascending until it disappears above head. Officiant holds this visualization, and then vibrates the permutation of the divine name once: HVYH
Each participant in turn, clockwise around circle, does the same as above. Note that this is power raised WITHIN YOURSELF. The power raised is NOT being projected into the elixir cup at this point. When finished, all join hands and vibrate once more: HVYH
All now extend hands toward elixir cup. THIS is where the power is projected into the elixir cup. Visualize beams of violet light emanating from both hands and entering into the cup. When the cup feels “full,” Officiant ends visualization, folding hands on breast left over right. All do likewise. Finally, Officiant traces the symbol of Aquarius in a horizontal plane while vibrating once more: HVYH
All make one complete circumambulation of the circle. Battery: 1. Officiant raises cup.
Officiant: Behold the Elixir of Aquarius! For all and for each it is prepared! Let each and all receive its magick virtue!
Officiant(s) drink first, followed by all participants. Each person takes a drink and visualizes or speaks their intent, either to themselves or out loud. The cup should not be entirely drained. When all are finished, Battery: 1.
Officiant: (indicating the cup, which should still contain some of the elixir) Glorious and Mighty CAMBRIEL, we make this offering unto you, that it may nourish and fortify you as you attend to your appointed tasks. Be the ferment of our spiritual alchemy mighty in the crucible of our souls!
All: So mote it be!
VII. Closing
Officiant: O thou CAMBRIEL, Praise and honor be unto thee for the Splendor of thine office and the majesty of thy being. And the blessing of thy God and Mine, the stabilizing and aerial HVYH. 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 that the peace of the Almighty, Eternal, True, and Living God be ever continued between us. AMEN.
All: So mote it be!
Officiant: May Life, Light, Love, and Liberty be extended universally to all under the regency of the one law of Thelema. May all attain the Stone of the Wise, the Summum Bonum, True Wisdom and Perfect Happiness.
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!
Officiant(s) perform the Qabalistic Cross.
Officiant: I now declare this temple duly closed.
Bell Chime. The rite is at an end.
0. The Temple
The ritual space is set up with an altar table in the center. The bell chime, banishing dagger, and invoking wand are placed on the altar. In the center of the altar is placed a cup of wine for creating the elixir, within the Table of Art corresponding to Aquarius.
The sign Aquarius is attributed to the power of "Astrology." Since astrological divination is a fairly mechanical process, it seems to me that in addition to being the proper spirit to call on in order to learn astrology or understand it better, the angel of Aquarius should also have a more active aspect. So what I am going to experiment with when we perform this ritual is to see if Aquarius has some degree of influence over astrological forces in general. That would have practically unlimited applications - if it works.
As just one example, there has been a lot of discussion back and forth here about magical strategies to neutralize and/or mediate negative aspects and debilities in natal charts, and I'm going to see if I can just use the power of Aquarius to accomplish something along those lines. It would be very convenient if, say, you could just call up Aquarius and say "neutralize/mediate XYZ in my natal chart" instead of working out a remedy involving a particular planet or element. Of course, I don't know how well this will work, but that's the whole point of experimentation.
This ritual may be performed with one, two, or three officers, who may alternate taking the Officiant role and divide up the reading from Liber 963. The Via Solis Elixir Rites were written by Michele Montserrat in 2010 for the Comselh Ananael magical working group.
I. Opening
All stand surrounding the altar. Officiant inhales fully, placing the banishing dagger at his or her lips. The air is then expelled as the dagger is swept backwards.
Officiant: Bahlasti! Ompehda!
Officiant then performs the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. All rotate accordingly.
Officiant: 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: MAKAShANaH
Officiant: 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: ABRAHADABRA
Officiant: We take refuge in Heru-Ra-Ha, who wields the wand of double power, the wand of the force of Coph Nia, but 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
Officiant: For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is 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 done; but there is that which remains. To this realization we commit ourselves – pure and total presence. So mote it be.
Bell chime.
II. The Magical Field
Officiant performs the Lesser Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram (Comselh Ananael or standard version). All rotate accordingly.
All: Now I begin to pray, thou child,
Holy thy name and undefiled.
Thy reign is come, thy will is done,
Here is the bread, here is the blood,
Bring me through midnight to the Sun.
Save me from evil and from good
That thy one crown of all the ten
Even now and here be mine.
AMEN.
Officiant: In my breast I carry the mark of the Living God.
All: I adore thee, thou light of the world. I adore thee thou Light of the Grail. I ask nothing from thee for I am become thee. I and thee are one in the perfection of the Mystery of Life.
Bell chime.
III. The Preliminary Invocation
Officiant: And before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal, and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. Without stopping day or night they were saying…
All: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, who is, and who is coming – IAO
All make the Sign of Apophis and Typhon.
Officiant: 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.
All: Lord all mighty and all powerful, hear our Prayers
Command thy holy Angels above the fixed stars
To be Assisting and Aiding of thy people
That we may command all spirits
Of the air, fire, water, earth, heaven and hell
So that they may tend to the glory of God and Man
Bell chime.
IV. Tuning the Space
Officiant performs the Greater Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram for Aquarius (Hexagram of Saturn in violet with ARARITA, symbol of Aquarius in slightly greenish yellow with HVYH). All rotate accordingly. Officiant(s) then read the unification statement from Liber 963, alternating the first twelve lines between them and reading the thirteenth together in unison.
1. O Thou Empress of Light and of Darkness, Thou pourer-forth of the stars of night! Yea, as I gaze upon Thy Countenance, mine eyes are as the eyes of a blind man smitten by a torch of burning fire.
2. O my God, Thou Mighty One, Thou Creator of all things, I renounce unto Thee the wine-cups of merriment, and the eyes of the wanton bearers, and all the lure of their soft limbs; so that I may be made drunk on the vine of Thy splendour, and be consumed in the unutterable joy of Thine everlasting rapture.
3. O Thou Eternal river of chaotic law, in whose depths lie locked the secrets of Creation; I swear to Thee by the primal waters of the Deep, to suck up the Firmament of Thy Chaos, and as a volcano to belch forth a Cosmos of coruscating suns.
4. O Thou Sovran Surging of wild felicity, whose love is as the overflowing of the seas, and who makest our bodies to laugh with beauty. I know Thee! O Thou outstrider of the sunset, who deckest the snow-capped mountains with red roses, and strewest white violets on the curling waves.
5. O Glory be to Thee, O God my God; for I behold Thee in the sparkling dew of the wild glades: Thou hast decked them out as for a great feast of rejoicing, so that they may gleam forth the Glory of Thy Name.
6. O Thou mighty God, make me as the sapphirine waves that cling to the shimmering limbs of the green rocks; I beseech Thee, O Thou great God! That I may chant in foaming music Thy Glory, and roll forth the eternal rapture of Thy Name: O Thou God, my God!
7. O Thou wanton cup-bearer of madness, whose mouth is as the joy of a thousand thousand masterful kisses; intoxicate me on Thy loveliness, so that the silver of Thy merriment may revel as a moon-white pearl upon my tongue.
8. O Thou God of the Nothingness of All Things! Thou who art neither the Crown of the flaming storm; nor the opalescence of the Abyss: O Thou who art not a nymph in the foam of the sea; nor a whirling devil in the sand of the desert! I deny Thee by the powers of mine understanding; Bear me in the unity of Thy might, and pour me forth from out the cup of Thine all-pervading Nothingness; for Thou art all and none of these in the fullness of Thy Not-Being.
9. Ah! but I rejoice in Thee, O Thou my God; Thou silken web of emerald bewitchment; Thou berylline mist of marshy meers; Thou flame-spangled fleece of seething gold: Yea, I rejoice in Thee, Thou pearly dew of the setting moon; O Thou dark purple storm-cloud of contending kisses! I rejoice, yea, I shout with gladness! till all my laughter, like enchaunted waters, is blown as an iris-web of bubbles from the lips of the deep, in the Glory and Splendour of Thy Name.
10. O my God, order me justly and be merciful unto me, as I humble myself before Thee; for all my thoughts are as a dust-clad serpent wind at noon that danceth through the ashen grass of law.
11. O woe unto me, my God, woe unto me; for all my song is as the dirge of the sea that moans about a corpse, lapping most mournfully against the dead shore in the darkness. Yet in the sob of the wind do I hear Thy name, that quickeneth the cold lips of death to life.
12. O what art Thou, O God my God, Thou teeming desert of the abundance of night? O Thou river of unquench'd thirst! Thou tongueless one who lickest up the dust of death and casteth it forth as the rolling ocean of life! O how can I possess the still depths of Thy darkness, and yet in Thine embrace fall asleep as a child in a bower of lilies?
13. O Thou Unity of all things: as the sun that rolleth through the twelve mansions of the skies, so art Thou, O God my God. I cannot slay Thee, for Thou art everywhere; lo! though I lick up the Boundless Light, the Boundless, and the Not, there still shall I find Thee, Thou Unity of Unities, Thou Oneness, O Thou perfect Nothingness of Bliss!
V. The Conjuration
Officiant: Oh Glorious and Mighty CAMBRIEL, You who command and rule over the spirits of DELI, Behold me, and in the name of the same your God, the stabilizing and aerial HVYH, Attend and Appear before us in this circle of art! Full powers and wonders of the Sign of Aquarius do we rightly desire! Enlighten our understanding, encourage our hearts, and manifest unto us now as we partake of your spiritual realm.
All: So mote it be.
All vibrate the name CAMBRIEL repeatedly until the presence of the angel is perceived by Officiant. Officiant rings Bell Chime to stop the chant. The following section then alternates between OFFICIANT(S) and ALL.
You are holy and your name is holy. You are exalted and your name is exalted. You are mighty and your name is mighty. You are strong and your name is strong. You are honored and your name is honored. You are true and your name is true. You are ancient and your name is ancient. You are blessed and your name is blessed. You are chosen and your name is chosen. You are great and your name is great. You are praised and your name is praised. You are power and your name is power.
Officiant: Gloria Patri et Matri et Filius et Filia et spiritui sancto interno et spiritui sancto externo ut erat est erit in saeculo saeculorum sex in uno per nomen septem in uno…
All: ARARITA
VI. Charging Elixir
Officiant: O stabilizing and aerial HVYH. To thee we present this talisman of our magickal will! We ask thee, Oh Exalted One, to receive this body of our rite into the light of thy presence. As we proceed in making this Elixir of Aquarius, charging it with the creative energies of DELI, we shall achieve a true alchemical ferment, mighty in Yetzirah and vitalized by thy blessing. In partaking of this Mystery, let there be unto us vitality of soul, increase of sight, true gnosis, and complete manifestation of the wonders of thy Sphere!
All make one clockwise circumambulation, visualizing a wall of violet light whirling rapidly in the same direction about the circle. When finished, the wall of light is allowed to fade. Beginning with Officiant and proceeding clockwise, the cup is passed to each participant. Each holds cup at heart level and says:
Creature of Wine who art established in the Sphere of Aquarius: by the vital force of my breath I enliven thee to perfect this work of Holy Magick in the realm of DELI.
Each participant then breathes into the wine and passes cup clockwise. When finished, the cup is replaced and all circumambulate the altar 3 times. Officiant then raises power, visualizing a continuous spiral of violet light ascending from the ground at feet, whirling clockwise around body and ascending until it disappears above head. Officiant holds this visualization, and then vibrates the permutation of the divine name once: HVYH
Each participant in turn, clockwise around circle, does the same as above. Note that this is power raised WITHIN YOURSELF. The power raised is NOT being projected into the elixir cup at this point. When finished, all join hands and vibrate once more: HVYH
All now extend hands toward elixir cup. THIS is where the power is projected into the elixir cup. Visualize beams of violet light emanating from both hands and entering into the cup. When the cup feels “full,” Officiant ends visualization, folding hands on breast left over right. All do likewise. Finally, Officiant traces the symbol of Aquarius in a horizontal plane while vibrating once more: HVYH
All make one complete circumambulation of the circle. Battery: 1. Officiant raises cup.
Officiant: Behold the Elixir of Aquarius! For all and for each it is prepared! Let each and all receive its magick virtue!
Officiant(s) drink first, followed by all participants. Each person takes a drink and visualizes or speaks their intent, either to themselves or out loud. The cup should not be entirely drained. When all are finished, Battery: 1.
Officiant: (indicating the cup, which should still contain some of the elixir) Glorious and Mighty CAMBRIEL, we make this offering unto you, that it may nourish and fortify you as you attend to your appointed tasks. Be the ferment of our spiritual alchemy mighty in the crucible of our souls!
All: So mote it be!
VII. Closing
Officiant: O thou CAMBRIEL, Praise and honor be unto thee for the Splendor of thine office and the majesty of thy being. And the blessing of thy God and Mine, the stabilizing and aerial HVYH. 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 that the peace of the Almighty, Eternal, True, and Living God be ever continued between us. AMEN.
All: So mote it be!
Officiant: May Life, Light, Love, and Liberty be extended universally to all under the regency of the one law of Thelema. May all attain the Stone of the Wise, the Summum Bonum, True Wisdom and Perfect Happiness.
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!
Officiant(s) perform the Qabalistic Cross.
Officiant: I now declare this temple duly closed.
Bell Chime. The rite is at an end.
13 comments:
OMG!!!!!! This would be SOOOO AWESOME if it works!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE SHARE THE RESULTS!!! :D
I will be sure to do that, though my guess is it will take a while to manifest like a lot of the zodiacal stuff does. It would be awfully convenient to have one spirit for working with every astrological aspect.
I know, right? This would solve the problems risen from working with asteroids, and even points and outer planets.
I forgot to say this. I don't think it's a good idea to ask the spirit to completely neutralize an aspect, no matter how hard that aspect is. This is because all aspects have both "good" and "bad" sides to them, no matter if the aspects themselves are "good" or "bad". So neutralizing an aspect completely will deprive you of its "good" sides as well.
Remember when we talked about Mercury in Gemini as a possible cause for respiratory issues? The way I see it is that Mercury is in good dignity in Gemini, so its powers are strong. But this means that both its "good" and "bad" powers are strong. Being in Gemini, it also manifests the energies of the sign, which in turn are both "good" and "bad", and it does so by its stronger powers. So if a person with Mercury in Gemini can be really clever, they can also be predisposed to the "bad" side of this placement even more. In conclusion, I think you should probably add a limitation to the charge.
I also forgot to ask you if you created any Earth elixirs, and if so, does it show any results?
Do you mean neutralizing a planet? That is not something I would ever do. I am thinking more like debilities and negative aspects, like squares and oppositions. Not the planet itself. You are right that doing so would be problematic at best.
A good dignity means more than the planet being "strong." It has particular characteristics, as do debilities:
Rulership = Competence.
Detriment = Incompetence.
Exaltation = Attracts Attention.
Fall = Gets No Attention.
So let's say I have a planet in detriment. I am thinking "neutralize" as in "neutralize the condition of detriment on planet xxx." I don't see how that could deprive me of any aspect of the planet. It just would (in theory) make the planet competent where it is, even if the placement would otherwise be bad. Kind of like how mutual reception can neutralize debilities.
I've had no time for any more personal elixir work lately. I've just been too busy. At the moment I'm trying to get some of my writing projects off my plate so that I can work on other things.
Let's see, how should I put it into words so it will come out right? :) I previously mentioned I have Moon-Pluto opposition in my chart. Besides the obsession and many other deep and powerful but hard traits this aspect gives to me, it has its good sides as well. I can dig deep into the emotions of others if I want to, and I can exploit them as I will :) So if I were to neutralize all the effects of this aspect, I would lose some of those skills.
And I'm not referring to neutralizing a planet, but only the bad sides of its placement. I understand what you're saying when explaining dignity, but think of it this way. You say Rulership=competence and I agree, but that competence also extends to the negative traits of the planet, which become more competent when manifesting. Current Saturn in Capricorn for instance can also shake foundations hard, both literally and metaphorically, not just reinforce them.
I can see your logic there, but as far as I know that is not really how it works. Competence is competence - that is, it works "better" in general. That means more positive effects and fewer negative effects. It works "well," in terms of manifesting your will more perfectly and completely.
I see what you mean, but I tend to disagree to some degree. A native Leo can be overly arrogant and self centered. A person with a natal Moon in Cancer can be extremely moody, and overly emotional. These traits can serve them to their detriment.
I think that we are talking past each other a bit here. Also, I am approaching this from a Renaissance astrology perspective, which is different from the modern perspective that is more like psychology than it is like a representation of the astrological forces acting on a person.
I would argue that a person who is overly arrogant with Sun in Leo should have some negative aspect applying to the Sun. Rulership by itself shouldn't do that, because it should mean that the Sun is happy and competent in its domicile. Same with Moon in Cancer. At least, that's what the system predicts.
Obviously, though, it's not deterministic. These are influences. They don't mean that conditioning and life experience don't have an effect. Going back to the arrogant Sun in Leo person - if the Sun is the only competent planet in the chart, what could really be going on is that the Sun is taking on all sorts of things that it maybe shouldn't. The remedy would not be to work with the Sun there, but rather the planet whose slack the Sun is taking up. Same with your Moon in Cancer example.
From my own chart, I have a single planet in rulership - Mercury. Otherwise I have a couple of detriments and a couple of neutrals. So what do I do? I solve just about every problem I encounter using my intellect and my skill as a magician. It's not always the best way to go, I'm sure - people often find me overly intellectual and analytical. Still, it is only a "detriment" in the sense of how other people react to it. My Mercury is awesome, actually - I have a great career as an IT developer, I write books, I'm pretty good at casting spells, and so forth.
The health example - Mercury in Gemini is not related to asthma. A planet in its rulership isn't going to cause a disease. However, I have Mars opposing Mercury in Sagittarius. That opposition is probably the culprit. To apply what I'm talking about here, I would call on the angel of Aquarius to mediate or neutralize the opposition itself, not neutralize Mars - which as you point out, would deprive me of the positive aspects of Mars in Sagittarius. It's the relationship I would be working with, not the planet or the sign.
I also added a little clarification up there in the article that I am talking about mediating, not just neutralizing, and that I am referring to both debilities and aspects.
And, of course, I've never tried this, so I have no idea if it will work. Maybe all this discussion is moot if this is not a viable method in the first place. But I figure there's only one way to find out, right?
I don't think we are talking past each other at all :) On the contrary. I know you're talking from a Renaissance perspective and that's why I don't disagree with you. I'm just trying to broaden the perspective, because it seems to me as if this older perspective on things is starting to become less helpful when dealing with issues of our current times. I'm not saying in any way that Renaissance astrology is obsolete. It is the basis for modern astrology, just as Windows 95 (or 3.11) is the basis for the newest Windows out there - I have Linux so I don't know what's the newest Windows out there :) The way I see it, astrology is evolving as well, just as magick is. So that's why I wouldn never disregard old grimoires.
I'm sure your Mercury is awesome, because I have the same placement, only it's opposite Uranus, which is most likely causing me to constantly be hit by all sorts of wild ideas. Rolling this forward, I have Mars in Capricorn, involved in a sextile with both my Ascendant and my Jupiter, and opposed my Venus, which is the only hard aspect my Mars is involved in. Nevertheless, my skin gets easily irritated, and my teeth were constantly subjected to infections.
I don't think your idea behind this ritual will turn out to be a dud. That's why I'm anxiously awaiting for your results!!! :D
My main quibble with modern astrology is this - it has shifted the focus from macrocosm (natural forces acting upon a person) to microcosm (individual psychology). It is not clear to me that this is a progressive improvement. Rather, it is a fundamental difference in perspective. So as I see it, treating one as a "primitive" version of the other is just not correct. They don't even address the same things.
As per my system of magick, both are useful on their own terms - but I think that in terms of doing practical magical operations, the Renaissance perspective is more useful. There are so many ways already to affect psychology with magick, and working with psychology is relatively easy when compared to altering physical probabilities. On the other hand, the psychological perspective is probably more useful in the context of mysticism and consciousness expansion.
I have the same issue with modern astrology as well, but I blend their perspective with that of classic astrology. That is, when I notice a hard transit to one of my planets, I guard against any potential bad inner state, as well as against any possible bad thing that could come from the outside world. I'm in no way considering Renaissance astrology as being primitive, but as a solid foundation for later perspectives. I think I've deviated this discussion well off topic, so I guess it would be time to end it here, in order not to drive it even more off course, and possibly wasting your time. I'm looking forward to your results, as the applications for this idea are so many :D
Okay. I will be sure to let you know how it goes.
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