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Last week I was corresponding with a reader who was trying to work out how to do the Greater Ritual of the Pentagram from online sources. Apparently, these are a lot more confusing than they need to be, so I figured that for today's magick post I would put up my own explanation of the ritual so that I can point people here and not expect that they can just work it out from other stuff on the Internet that I have no control over. I'll be adding this to my list of ritual instructions as well.
The first and most important thing that you need to understand about the Greater Ritual of the Pentagram is that, as I've written here in a number of places, "Greater" does not mean "awesome" and "Lesser" does not mean "lame." There's a lot of information online from people who treat the Greater Ritual of the Pentagram as a "better" Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram - and that is entirely wrong. The two rituals do two completely different things that should not be conflated.
The Lesser rituals are general or foundational. They are used to set up the base "field" in which you work magick, even when you are working from more traditional methods than my operant field technique. The Greater Ritual of the Pentagram, like the Greater Ritual of the Hexagram, is used to tune that magical space to a particular force or quality. The Greater Ritual of the Pentagram has five traditional forms, four of which correspond to the paths of the four elements and one which corresponds to the sephira of all four elements, Malkuth. Like the planets, the elements can be attributed both sephirothically and by path, but unlike the planets all four elements correspond to the tenth sephira.
This is especially important when you realize that some people use the version of the Greater Ritual of the Pentagram for Malkuth (that is, with all four elemental pentagrams traced to their corresponding directions according to the winds model) as an "upgrade" to the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram. But this is not the case. The magical power associated with Malkuth is "The Vision of the Holy Guardian Angel, or of Adonai." The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram is general and foundational, and therefore it is not attributed to a traditional power or vision.
This is not to suggest that the Greater Ritual of the Pentagram for Malkuth is a bad idea for daily practice. Aleister Crowley's Liber Reguli is basically a souped-up Greater Ritual of the Pentagram, and Crowley did teach that beginning students should focus on HGA work. This is very likely the intent of Reguli - to cultivate the vision of the HGA as a preliminary for doing the full HGA invocation found in Liber Samekh. The Greater Ritual of the Pentagram for Malkuth can be used in this way as well, but not as a replacement for the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram.
The way I teach magick, you would use the following daily practice sequence to obtain the Vision of the Holy Guardian Angel or of Adondai:
1. Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram or Star Ruby
2. Lesser Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram or Star Sapphire
3. Middle Pillar or Elevenfold Seal
4. Greater Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram for Malkuth
5. Meditation.
6. Qabalistic Cross.
Note that whether you use the Thelemic forms or not, the Greater Ritual of the Pentagram is always done the same way. It should also be pointed out that one of the benefits of practicing the Malkuth version is that it teaches you all four of the elemental pentagrams. The other four forms of the ritual are for use with each of the four classical elements. To tune your space to an element, you trace the corresponding elemental pentagrams to all four quarters, starting in the east and moving clockwise.
The Malkuth version of the ritual is performed as follows in the invoking form. All illustrations are from Aleister Crowley's Liber O vel Manus et Sagittae, which is also where you can find this straightforward version of the ritual, and the pentagrams were colorized by me using my mad Microsoft Paint skills.
1. OPENING: If you are performing this ritual as part of sequence that includes the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram, you do not need to open with the Qabalistic Cross and you can jump right to Step 2. This is much like how you do not need to open the Greater Ritual of the Hexagram with the Keyword Analysis if it follows the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram. If you are performing this ritual on its own (which you will rarely do), open with the Qabalistic Cross.
2. AIR ELEMENT: In the east, trace the Invoking Pentagram of Active Spirit in bright (electric) purple and vibrate AHIH (Eheieh).
Make the Sign of Rending the Veil by extending your hands in front of you and moving them apart as if opening a heavy curtain.
Then trace the Invoking Pentagram of Air in yellow and vibrate YHVH (Yahweh or Yeh-ho-wau).
Make the Sign of Air by holding your arms up and out, elbows bent at right angles, and wrists bent as if holding up the sky. The corresponding godform is Shu.
3. FIRE ELEMENT: Turn to the south. Trace the Invoking Pentagram of Active Spirit in bright (electric) purple and vibrate AHIH (Eheieh).
Make the Sign of Rending the Veil by extending your hands in front of you and moving them apart as if opening a heavy curtain.
Then trace the Invoking Pentagram of Fire in red and vibrate ALHIM (Elohim).
Make the Sign of Fire by forming an upright triangle with both hands and holding this triangle to your forehead. The corresponding godform is Thoum-aesh-neith.
4. WATER ELEMENT: Turn to the west. Trace the Invoking Pentagram of Passive Spirit in dark (deep) purple and vibrate AGLA (Agla, just like it looks).
Make the Sign of Rending the Veil by extending your hands in front of you and moving them apart as if opening a heavy curtain.
Note that some sources will tell you to make the Sign of Closing the Veil here for Passive Spirit, but this is incorrect. Rending the Veil is for invoking and Closing the Veil is for banishing.
Trace the Invoking Pentagram of Water in blue and vibrate AL (El).
Make the Sign of Water by forming an downward triangle with both hands and holding this triangle to your navel. The corresponding godform is Auramoth.
5. EARTH ELEMENT: Turn to the north. Trace the Invoking Pentagram of Passive Spirit in dark (deep) purple and vibrate AGLA (Agla, just like it looks).
Make the Sign of Rending the Veil by extending your hands in front of you and moving them apart as if opening a heavy curtain.
Trace the Invoking Pentagram of Earth in black or green and vibrate ADNI (Adonai).
Make the Sign of Earth by taking a step forward while you hold your right arm out and up and your left arm back and down. The corresponding godform is Set.
6. CLOSING: Return to face the east, completing the circle. If you opened with the Qabalistic Cross repeat it, but otherwise you're done.
The banishing form uses all banishing pentagrams in the same order, and the Sign of Closing the Veil which is performed by holding your arms out and forward and then bringing your hands together as if closing a heavy curtain. Otherwise it is identical. With the way I teach magick, you won't be using the banishing form very often. If you are conjuring a spirit you want the invoking form, and it is far more effective to work with protective spirits than it is to banish specific energies. Since the elemental spirits rule their respective energies, they have the power to both increase and decrease the effects of those energies.
Much of the difficulty working out how to do this essentially simple ritual is that over the years people have come up with more and more elaborate versions of it, adding elements like Enochian godnames and various additional figures, such as in what is now called the "Supreme Pentagram" - a version that is basically a more-souped-up GRP that as far as I can tell you don't actually need to get good magical results. Before you start working on any of the enhanced version, make sure you know the simple one above. Then you can experiment for yourself and see if those enhancements make much difference in terms of real results.
UPDATE: After discussion on the Ceremonial Magick School group this week and a good conversation at last Tuesday's ritual workshop, there are a couple of other points I can make with respect to the "Supreme Ritual of the Pentagram." Liber Samkeh includes a couple of the elements that are also found in the Stella Matutina SRP. One is the replacement of Rending and Closing the Veil with the LVX signs for the spirit pentagrams. This makes sense in the context of Samekh, as the invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel is closely related to the state of consciousness associated with Tiphareth (to which the LVX signs allude). It seems to me this is less appropriate for a pentagram ritual that is designed to call on specific elements. The moon (Yesod) rules the elemental realm, not the sun (Tiphareth).
In the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram, the LVX signs are used because the sun rules the macrocosm, whereas the moon rules the microcosm. Ideally you want to be "stepping into" Tiphareth when you do the Lesser Hexagram so that the magical operation you are undertaking aligns with the macrocosm, and in the case of daily practice, so that your ongoing magical work can move beyond the level of simply working with your own mind and subtle body. But again, this does not make it very clear why you would want to be stepping into Tiphareth with the spirit pentagrams when what you are trying to do is work with the elements.
The other point I noticed is that one of the differences between how I teach magick and how most of the Golden Dawn orders teach is that I use hexagram rituals for the signs of the zodiac, as outlined in Crowley's Liber O. The most common GD teaching is to use pentagram rituals for zodiac signs. I can say from personal experience that using the Greater Ritual of the Hexagram for the signs of the zodiac works very well. But perhaps you see things in the SRP like the tracing of the kerub images (which allude to the fixed signs of th zodiac) precisely because in the GD (or more properly, Stella Matutina) system the pentagram ritual, not the hexagram ritual, is expected to do double duty - for both elements and signs.
That might be why this astrological element was added to the ritual, if the original GRP found in Liber O proved less effective for zodiac signs. Personally I wonder if it might not make the most sense to use pentagram rituals for the microcosmic aspects of zodiac signs, like the specific personality traits emphasized in modern astrology, and use the hexagram rituals for the macrocosmic aspects of those same signs, such as the astrological forces emphasized in Renaissance astrology. Conjuring astrological spirits would fall under the latter, and that's most of the zodiacal magick that I do. After all, the macrocosm contains the microcosm, and most of what I do is practical magick.
The first and most important thing that you need to understand about the Greater Ritual of the Pentagram is that, as I've written here in a number of places, "Greater" does not mean "awesome" and "Lesser" does not mean "lame." There's a lot of information online from people who treat the Greater Ritual of the Pentagram as a "better" Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram - and that is entirely wrong. The two rituals do two completely different things that should not be conflated.
The Lesser rituals are general or foundational. They are used to set up the base "field" in which you work magick, even when you are working from more traditional methods than my operant field technique. The Greater Ritual of the Pentagram, like the Greater Ritual of the Hexagram, is used to tune that magical space to a particular force or quality. The Greater Ritual of the Pentagram has five traditional forms, four of which correspond to the paths of the four elements and one which corresponds to the sephira of all four elements, Malkuth. Like the planets, the elements can be attributed both sephirothically and by path, but unlike the planets all four elements correspond to the tenth sephira.
This is especially important when you realize that some people use the version of the Greater Ritual of the Pentagram for Malkuth (that is, with all four elemental pentagrams traced to their corresponding directions according to the winds model) as an "upgrade" to the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram. But this is not the case. The magical power associated with Malkuth is "The Vision of the Holy Guardian Angel, or of Adonai." The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram is general and foundational, and therefore it is not attributed to a traditional power or vision.
This is not to suggest that the Greater Ritual of the Pentagram for Malkuth is a bad idea for daily practice. Aleister Crowley's Liber Reguli is basically a souped-up Greater Ritual of the Pentagram, and Crowley did teach that beginning students should focus on HGA work. This is very likely the intent of Reguli - to cultivate the vision of the HGA as a preliminary for doing the full HGA invocation found in Liber Samekh. The Greater Ritual of the Pentagram for Malkuth can be used in this way as well, but not as a replacement for the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram.
The way I teach magick, you would use the following daily practice sequence to obtain the Vision of the Holy Guardian Angel or of Adondai:
1. Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram or Star Ruby
2. Lesser Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram or Star Sapphire
3. Middle Pillar or Elevenfold Seal
4. Greater Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram for Malkuth
5. Meditation.
6. Qabalistic Cross.
Note that whether you use the Thelemic forms or not, the Greater Ritual of the Pentagram is always done the same way. It should also be pointed out that one of the benefits of practicing the Malkuth version is that it teaches you all four of the elemental pentagrams. The other four forms of the ritual are for use with each of the four classical elements. To tune your space to an element, you trace the corresponding elemental pentagrams to all four quarters, starting in the east and moving clockwise.
The Malkuth version of the ritual is performed as follows in the invoking form. All illustrations are from Aleister Crowley's Liber O vel Manus et Sagittae, which is also where you can find this straightforward version of the ritual, and the pentagrams were colorized by me using my mad Microsoft Paint skills.
1. OPENING: If you are performing this ritual as part of sequence that includes the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram, you do not need to open with the Qabalistic Cross and you can jump right to Step 2. This is much like how you do not need to open the Greater Ritual of the Hexagram with the Keyword Analysis if it follows the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram. If you are performing this ritual on its own (which you will rarely do), open with the Qabalistic Cross.
2. AIR ELEMENT: In the east, trace the Invoking Pentagram of Active Spirit in bright (electric) purple and vibrate AHIH (Eheieh).
Make the Sign of Rending the Veil by extending your hands in front of you and moving them apart as if opening a heavy curtain.
Then trace the Invoking Pentagram of Air in yellow and vibrate YHVH (Yahweh or Yeh-ho-wau).
Make the Sign of Air by holding your arms up and out, elbows bent at right angles, and wrists bent as if holding up the sky. The corresponding godform is Shu.
3. FIRE ELEMENT: Turn to the south. Trace the Invoking Pentagram of Active Spirit in bright (electric) purple and vibrate AHIH (Eheieh).
Make the Sign of Rending the Veil by extending your hands in front of you and moving them apart as if opening a heavy curtain.
Then trace the Invoking Pentagram of Fire in red and vibrate ALHIM (Elohim).
Make the Sign of Fire by forming an upright triangle with both hands and holding this triangle to your forehead. The corresponding godform is Thoum-aesh-neith.
4. WATER ELEMENT: Turn to the west. Trace the Invoking Pentagram of Passive Spirit in dark (deep) purple and vibrate AGLA (Agla, just like it looks).
Make the Sign of Rending the Veil by extending your hands in front of you and moving them apart as if opening a heavy curtain.
Note that some sources will tell you to make the Sign of Closing the Veil here for Passive Spirit, but this is incorrect. Rending the Veil is for invoking and Closing the Veil is for banishing.
Trace the Invoking Pentagram of Water in blue and vibrate AL (El).
Make the Sign of Water by forming an downward triangle with both hands and holding this triangle to your navel. The corresponding godform is Auramoth.
5. EARTH ELEMENT: Turn to the north. Trace the Invoking Pentagram of Passive Spirit in dark (deep) purple and vibrate AGLA (Agla, just like it looks).
Make the Sign of Rending the Veil by extending your hands in front of you and moving them apart as if opening a heavy curtain.
Trace the Invoking Pentagram of Earth in black or green and vibrate ADNI (Adonai).
Make the Sign of Earth by taking a step forward while you hold your right arm out and up and your left arm back and down. The corresponding godform is Set.
6. CLOSING: Return to face the east, completing the circle. If you opened with the Qabalistic Cross repeat it, but otherwise you're done.
The banishing form uses all banishing pentagrams in the same order, and the Sign of Closing the Veil which is performed by holding your arms out and forward and then bringing your hands together as if closing a heavy curtain. Otherwise it is identical. With the way I teach magick, you won't be using the banishing form very often. If you are conjuring a spirit you want the invoking form, and it is far more effective to work with protective spirits than it is to banish specific energies. Since the elemental spirits rule their respective energies, they have the power to both increase and decrease the effects of those energies.
Much of the difficulty working out how to do this essentially simple ritual is that over the years people have come up with more and more elaborate versions of it, adding elements like Enochian godnames and various additional figures, such as in what is now called the "Supreme Pentagram" - a version that is basically a more-souped-up GRP that as far as I can tell you don't actually need to get good magical results. Before you start working on any of the enhanced version, make sure you know the simple one above. Then you can experiment for yourself and see if those enhancements make much difference in terms of real results.
UPDATE: After discussion on the Ceremonial Magick School group this week and a good conversation at last Tuesday's ritual workshop, there are a couple of other points I can make with respect to the "Supreme Ritual of the Pentagram." Liber Samkeh includes a couple of the elements that are also found in the Stella Matutina SRP. One is the replacement of Rending and Closing the Veil with the LVX signs for the spirit pentagrams. This makes sense in the context of Samekh, as the invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel is closely related to the state of consciousness associated with Tiphareth (to which the LVX signs allude). It seems to me this is less appropriate for a pentagram ritual that is designed to call on specific elements. The moon (Yesod) rules the elemental realm, not the sun (Tiphareth).
In the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram, the LVX signs are used because the sun rules the macrocosm, whereas the moon rules the microcosm. Ideally you want to be "stepping into" Tiphareth when you do the Lesser Hexagram so that the magical operation you are undertaking aligns with the macrocosm, and in the case of daily practice, so that your ongoing magical work can move beyond the level of simply working with your own mind and subtle body. But again, this does not make it very clear why you would want to be stepping into Tiphareth with the spirit pentagrams when what you are trying to do is work with the elements.
The other point I noticed is that one of the differences between how I teach magick and how most of the Golden Dawn orders teach is that I use hexagram rituals for the signs of the zodiac, as outlined in Crowley's Liber O. The most common GD teaching is to use pentagram rituals for zodiac signs. I can say from personal experience that using the Greater Ritual of the Hexagram for the signs of the zodiac works very well. But perhaps you see things in the SRP like the tracing of the kerub images (which allude to the fixed signs of th zodiac) precisely because in the GD (or more properly, Stella Matutina) system the pentagram ritual, not the hexagram ritual, is expected to do double duty - for both elements and signs.
That might be why this astrological element was added to the ritual, if the original GRP found in Liber O proved less effective for zodiac signs. Personally I wonder if it might not make the most sense to use pentagram rituals for the microcosmic aspects of zodiac signs, like the specific personality traits emphasized in modern astrology, and use the hexagram rituals for the macrocosmic aspects of those same signs, such as the astrological forces emphasized in Renaissance astrology. Conjuring astrological spirits would fall under the latter, and that's most of the zodiacal magick that I do. After all, the macrocosm contains the microcosm, and most of what I do is practical magick.
101 comments:
Hi Scott
I know that you do not mix the Enochian names with the pentagrams, but the thing is that it works very well, the question Scott is the following one imagines that you do the RSIP with Enochian and Kabbalistic names, once you have projected your Will to the Angels, you would do as in the operational field? that is to say only the cabalistic cross without carrying out other exiles like the superior ritual of banishing of spirit and of the element,I mean the Enochian angels or cabalistic angels are not hostile and we could do as in the operational field,what do you think Scott?
One of the main reasons that I do not mix those is that my Enochian system is based on the Dee attributions, not the GD ones. My elemental attributions for the Kings, therefore, don't match, and that makes it difficult to use with my system. If you do in fact do GD Enochian, I can see where it could be effective. I just don't want to learn two different systems for doing the same thing.
I would use the SIRP just like I use the GIRP. I think it's kind of telling that there's a document out there that (I think) is from the Stella Matutina. It's just called "The Ritual of the Pentagram" and the only version it discusses is the SRP. So I think it's reasonable to suggest that the Stella Matutina might have replaced the GIRP with the SIRP, which implies that they do the same thing.
And yes, I would end a ritual employing the SIRP exactly the same. I would dismiss the spirits with the license to depart, and then close with either another LBRP (if I want to bind the effect into a talisman or send it out into the world to accomplish something) or just another Qabalistic Cross if I want some of the effect to be anchored to my sphere of consciousness.
Hello Scott,
Just wanted to say that I've gotten so much practical information and clarification from your writings, especially on the planetary workings. Thank you for providing such detailed explanations!
One question - Shouldn't the last two passive pentagrams of spirit be followed by the closing of the veil, rather than the opening of the veil as in the first two active pentagrams?
From Liber O: "Extend the hands in front of you, palms outwards, separate them as if in the act of rending asunder a veil or curtain (actives), and then bring them together as if closing it up again and let them fall to the side (passives)."
I haven't yet attempted this one so would appreciate knowing the distinction.
Having experimented with both versions, I found that it makes more sense to rend the veil for invocations and close the veil for banishings, regardless of active versus passive. Feel free to try both versions and see what works best for you, though. What I publish here is what I have found works the best for me, but I don't have anywhere near a large enough sample size to say whether it works that way for everyone.
After obtaining my experimental results, I rationalized it thus - how does it make sense to close the veil when you are invoking an element? It seems a lot more logical to me that when you are invoking energies of whatever sort you want the channel of manifestation, the flow of mezla, or however you want to think about it to be open rather than closed. I'm not sure how teachers who do it the other way explain why they do it that way.
@scott,I was wondering whether this GIRP could be used to further tune the field in the planetary and zodiacal invocations. For example, when invoking mars or Aries,then between the operant field and the GIRH of mars, perhaps it would increase the effectiveness of the ritual, to do a GIRP of the element of fire?
It does not quite work like that, but you can combine them as long as you are not trying to call in two forces at the same level - two elements, two planets, two signs, etc. What you can do, though, is something along the lines of GRH - Aries followed by GRH - Mars to tune the space to Mars in Aries. I've been looking into this recently as it seems relevant to how the Lemegeton demons are classified in Liber 777 with both a zodiacal key scale and a planetary attribution.
Likewise, if you wanted the fiery part of Mars, you could go with GIRH - Mars followed by GIRP - Fire. And, all the way down the line, if you wanted the fiery part of Mars in Aries you could use GIRH - Aries, GIRH - Mars, and GIRP Fire. Remember, though, that you always start at the top and work down. And if you are working with the spirits of Mars, not the spirits of Fire, tuning the space to Fire after Mars isn't going to help your ritual. If anything, it's going to limit it because even though the fiery part of Mars is the strongest you still are limiting it to fire-part-only because of the additional (and in my opinion unnecessary) tuning.
@Scott - Thanks for this post. Just curious, but would you ever use the GRP to invoke a particular element as opposed to all of them?
That is most of what you use it for, in fact. You do your opening and preliminary invocation, and then use the GRP or GRH to tune your space to the force you are working with. The version with all four elements is for Malkuth, and while it's useful as a daily practice (in part because it teaches you all four elemental pentagrams) you wouldn't use it for anything practical beside HGA work (Malkuth is "The Vision of the Holy Guardian Angel or of Adonai"). For any of the practical elemental powers, you just use the pentagram for the element that you are working with.
@Thanks, Scott!
@scott, assuming that I used this daily praxis and achieved the goal of the vision of the HGA,I take it that the next step toward full k&c of the HGA would be to work up the ladder to yesod and achieve the spiritual experience and similarly through hod and netzach until Tiphareth. If that's the case would this same template be used, but employing the appropriate planetary GIRH instead of the GIRP?
The sort answer there is yes. For a longer answer, check out my Path of Initiation articles. Since it's blogger it displays them in reverse order, but everything is laid out in those posts including the pentagram and hexagram rituals according to how I understand them to work all the way up the Tree.
https://ananael.blogspot.com/search/label/path%20of%20initiation
@scott, is there any particular reason that the Archangels are not invoked in this version of the GIRP, or is it simply to avoid repetition after performing the LBRP?
You would not want to call them all if you are working with a single element. You tune with the GRP for a single-element operation, and then call the corresponding archangel when you do the conjuration. Raphael for Air, Michael for Fire, Gabriel for Water, Auriel for Earth.
I suppose if you wanted to add the archangels section from LRP to the Malkuth version, which calls on all four elements, you could probably do that without messing anything up. But otherwise you don't want all four.
Hello Scott! thanks for the post! concerning your daily routine for beginner that you recomend: is there no need to do a banishing ritual for each of the invoking pentagram and hexagram rituals? greetings, chris
No, there is not, at least the way I do it. Some teachers will tell you otherwise.
Even though I use GD-style rituals extensively, the overall template is more like what you will find in chaos magick rather than the traditional GD sequence. What I do is invoke everything I'm going to invoke, and then either (A) close with just a general pentagram banishing (like LBRP or Star Ruby) to separate the form I've just created from my aura/sphere of sensation (akin to chaos magicians "banishing by laughter") or (B) close with just a Qabalistic Cross (either version) to "consume" the form by sealing it into my sphere of sensation.
When using the Malkuth form of the GRP (all four elements) as part of daily practice I want the energy to stay with me so I close with Qabalistic Cross only.
The traditional GD method is to work "up" by invoking everything and then work back "down" by banishing everything you invoked. It's unwieldy, and according to the experimental data I've compiled over the years it also is less effective in straight probability terms.
Hi Scott
Thank you for wealth of infos.
In my case i do this sequences daily:
In the morning I start with:
QC
LIRP
LIRH
GRI 0r SRIP
Middle Pillar
In the evening:
LBRP
LBRH
And sometimes I add an invoking of: SIRP ( depending on the situation faced with)
My questions are:
Do I have to say: license to depart after the SIRP?
How to tell that the spirits are present? Cause I don’t feel anything or see anything in my room.
Can the SIRP can be used for financial troubles ( I mean to bring in financial stability?)
I have been doing GD magic for almost 2 years now so far my life is coming together
Is it possible to summon the Undine at physical appearance using the SIRP with Water pentagrams only?
I treat the GRP and SRP as pretty much the same ritual in terms of how they work. Some people claim that the SRP is more powerful with the additional godnames and so forth, but I never have noticed much of a difference myself. I eventually went a different direction with the Enochian system than what the GD did, so I dropped the SRP entirely from my own practice.
The sequence I use is different than yours in other ways too. I realize you're not necessarily asking for a critique, but for context:
LBRP of Star Ruby
LIRH or Star Sapphire
MP or Elevenfold Seal (from Liber Reguli)
That's basis of what I do. The GIRP/SIRP or GIRH comes after the Middle Pillar. Greater/Supreme rituals are related to specific forces/aspects, and I do all of my specific work following the general opening.
Even the GRIP/SIRP with all four elements has a specific attribution - it is related to Malkuth and the Vision of the Holy Guardian Angel according to Liber 777. Since HGA work is fine as part of your daily practice, you can use it without any issues but to me it makes sense for it to follow all of the general work.
If I'm using a Greater ritual following the MP, I then close with a final Qabalistic Cross.
As to your questions: No, you don't need a license to depart when using any of these rituals. You only need a license to depart if you are conjuring a specific spirit to obtain information or perform a task.
You can use various means to tell whether spirits are present. But with the basic rituals, it generally comes down to a feeling of purity or cleanliness for banishing and a feeling of "holiness" for invoking. There is unfortunately no certain objective test.
When conjuring individual spirits you have some recourse to techniques like scrying or travel in the spirit vision, and in that context you can test whether a vision is objective in some sense by asking for things like numbers and words of power, and then checking their gematria to see if they are in harmony with the advice given or the nature of the spirit or task.
GIRP/SIRP-Earth can be used as part of a ritual to conjure a spirit like Ghob, Elemental King of Earth, whose sphere of influence includes financial matters.
I would say that if your life is coming together, that's evidence that the spirits are present and the rituals are doing their job.
GIRP/SIRP-Water is what you would use to conjure a spirit like an undine. You certainly should be able to see them via scrying or spirit vision, though I'm not sure that you can get them to the sort of visible appearance that would be detectable by a camera. I think if that were easy to do videos of it would be all over the internet. I have seen some photographed examples of shapes forming out of incense smoke that suggests the shape of a spirit, but that's the closest anybody seems to have gotten. Fortunately, it is not necessary to physically see the spirit in order to deliver a charge and get results.
Hi Scott
Thank you so much for the prompt reply, and im definetky coming back for for more questions and criticism.
but how do you find my schedule of work as follow:
in the morning:
LIRP
LIRH,
GRIP or SIRP or SIRH ( depending on the issues faced with)
MP
in the evening
LBRP
LIRH
GIRP
MD and somtimes or twice a week i do the RC= Rose Cross
Im open to criticism please go ahead.
Personally, I teach that you can dispense with the morning invocation/evening banishing cycle once you move beyond the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram. With the LRP it's important to do both banishing and invoking, because all you really do with banishing alone is to purify and calm your body of light over and over again. It's helpful if you're stressed and can relax you, but otherwise it isn't going to do much as far as energizing your aura or elevating your consciousness.
So for all my practice session, morning or evening, I open with LBRP/LIRH (which I call the operant field). You're clearing your microcosmic sphere of sensation, and then invoking the macrocosmic forces of nature into the same space. Most people who try it find that it improves all magical operations.
The Middle Pillar is still a general operation and I would place it ahead of the GIRP/SIRP and GRIH/SRIH. The Greaters and the Supremes are specific rituals used to tune your practice or operation to a particular aspect, whereas the Regardie MP is general - it activates all the energetic points on the middle pillar of the tree with the godname appropriate to it.
Apparently Regardie based his version on a Felkin ritual that involved bringing a single godname appropriate to your operation down the points of the middle pillar. So for a Tiphareth operation, for example, you would vibrate YHVH Eloah ve-Daath six times for all of the points. That version would be specific, and would follow the GRIP/SRIP and/or GIRH/SIRH.
I don't really use the Rose Cross ritual in my practice, but I don't see anything wrong with it if it works for you. Again, though, it's a general ritual and should probably follow the LIRH. I would put it ahead of the Middle Pillar.
Finally, since you're tuning your space to a specific energy with the Greater/Supreme rituals I would close with a final Qabalistic Cross to center and re-ground the energies. You may be doing this as part of your Greater/Supreme rituals already, because I know those are taught like that sometimes.
I teach that you don't need the Keyword Analysis with the GRH/SRH if it is preceded by the LRH, and that you don't need the Qabalistic Cross with the GRP/SRP if it is preceded by the LRP. You do, however, want a closing Qabalistic Cross after everything to seal the practice.
So here's how I would do it if you want to keep to the same general idea:
Morning
LBRP
LIRH
MP
[GIRP/SIRP] - Optional.
[GIRH/SIRH] - Optional. If you do both, pentagram should precede hexagram.
QC
Evening
LBRP
LIRH
[Rose Cross] - Optional.
MP
GIRP
QC
As with everything, if it works it works. Feel free to experiment and if my suggestions don't work as well as what you're doing now keep going the way you're going.
Thank you
I will do your style for 30days days and night and i will come back with feed back
@Scott. So what is the difference between the SIRP & the GIRP which you have here?
The Supreme Ritual of the Pentagram (SIRP) is basically a Greater Ritual of the Pentagram that has been expanded by adding zodiacal symbols and the names of the Enochian kings according to the Golden Dawn element attributions.
https://www.scribd.com/document/3665692/Golden-Dawn-The-Supreme-Banishing-Ritual-of-the-Pentagram
I don't work with personally because my Enochian attributions are different for the Kings, but as far as I can tell it works the same way that the GRP does.
How long does it take to manifest The Vision of the Holy Guardian Angel?
If you have been working magic/ Golden Dawn system of magic... LRP+ LRH+ MP+ SIRP GRP etc.. and even the SRH.
How long will it take to have a communication with your holly Guardian?
That question is hard to answer for any particular individual because it can vary a lot.
Some background: There are two versions of the Abramelin working, which was the inspiration for modern methods like Aleister Crowley's Liber Samekh. One version of the text states that you can establish the knowledge and conversation of the HGA in six months, and the other version says that it takes eighteen.
Liber Samekh is set up to run on the six month timeframe, since that was the manuscript Crowley used as a reference. When I did the HGA working it took me about six months of daily work, but I had been doing daily practices for many years at that point.
The other factor is that if you're talking about the vision of the HGA rather than full knowledge and conversation - the magical power attributed to Malkuth - my guess is that it should take less than the six months because it is more of a preliminary contact that shouldn't take as long.
The complication with respect to my personal practice is that I never took up the "supreme" rituals as part of my practice. I don't know if those might speed anything up for you. I doubt they would for me because I don't use the GD Enochian system attributions at all, and in fact having to switch systems like that probably would slow my progress down.
So there are a lot of factors. I think I can say less than six months with some degree of confidence based on the Abramelin and Samekh timelines along with my own personal experience. But how much less is harder for me to say.
@Rama Sai I recommend you add some kind of prayer and invocation to the angel after doing the SIRP, and asking it to appear to you in a way favourable to you - astral vision, dreams, scrying device etc. I think it should make the process quicker.
Thank you for your response i will add the7 conjuration of the archangels and daily invocation see how it goes.
I second the suggestion from Dacia regarding a specific invocation of the HGA as part of your daily practices. I did K&C years ago and I still do a brief HGA invocation myself as part of my ceremonial practices to this day.
Hi Scott Stenwick
Could you please tell me more about the SIRP? its said that it is The SIRP is used to charge up your body, mind, and spirit with a high-concentration of the energy of the elements.
I have been doing for almost 8 months but not daily i do it some times 3xtimes a week and i do the SIRH or GIRP.
Still i dont feel the energy? How come?
so the purpose is just to fill your body with energy thats all? how can it help me to harness and accumulate magical power?
The SIRP is basically a GIRP with the Golden Dawn Enochian names added. It's especially appropriate for working with the elements if you are doing Golden Dawn Enochian, which I don't personally use. That's the main reason I work with the GRP. Aside from the Enochian, the two rituals should work the same.
"The SIRP is used to charge up your body, mind, and spirit with a high-concentration of the energy of the elements."
I don't know that this is a correct interpretation of what the ritual does. The GRP with all four elements tunes the magical field you are working with to Malkuth, which is suitable for HGA work. It's calling the elements together in a balanced configuration, which doesn't necessarily charge you with energy on its own.
What's your full ritual sequence? LBRP/LIRP/MP/SIRP/QC is what I would recommend if you're using this ritual daily. Also - you might need to do it daily for a couple of weeks to "get into the groove" of it, so to speak. I find that 3x a week seems to be sufficient, but about the minimum, to maintain results with the daily work, but that could be once you get going on a solid schedule. I tend to be real diligent when starting a practice and then taper off a bit, so I may not have noticed you need to do it more often when starting out or something like that.
Hi Scott
there is the technique of opening a sigil, simply the picture of the sigil for the spirit, a candle and an incense perhaps as an offering, here there is no RSIP is a very direct method, and extremely powerful. Why is this?
the circle around the sigil seems to create a border between the Magician and the spirit,I saw this technique through ea koetting, but I see that it is really similar to what we do only that it is very direct - I do not think it is an evocation - I have realized that this can be done with the 72 angels of the schemphaforash and really with any spirit.
Why is Scott so simple, from the theoretical point of view of Magic?
First off, you would not use the GIRP or SIRP unless you are working specifically with Malkuth (all four elements) or one of the classical elements.
Second, I have been convinced for a long time that the reason the traditional grimoire movement happened at all - where you just use sigils, prayers, and offerings - was because the Golden Dawn method as taught basically kneecaps your spirit with the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Hexagram when you close your circle. That means you can drop that series of forms and see better results.
I my Enochian books, the ritual template I use can include the ceremonial forms (pentagram, hexagram, etc.) But they don't have to. You can do a simpler method with just the Enochian equipment, prayers, and the spirit's talisman. Dee doesn't mention offerings but you can do those too and they help.
That being said, I do think that at least with my methods the forms improve results, and I have tested both versions and compared them. The operant field is not a boundary so much as it is a space within which the microcosm and macrocosm merge together and therefore where magical operations will work more efficiently. It actually is the Table of Art that "contains" the spirit, at least how I do it.
Possibly a field set up by LBRP/LBRH (banish-banish) acts like a boundary, which could be one more reason why the full Golden Dawn sequence is less effective. I'm not sure about that, though - I don't use it for practical operations, I use the operant field because it produces better results.
Also - you can call the spirit into yourself rather than into a containment structure. That's what modern magicians mean when we talk about "invocation" and "evocation" even though the grimoire folks don't like the terminology because it's Golden Dawn. Personally, though, I find evocation is cleaner - the manifestation of the force happens in an external space. Especially if you're casting something negative, it makes it easier to work without "getting any on you" so to speak. Also, even with positive magick, that "slippage" will reduce the amount of magical force reaching your target.
Here's an experiment to try. Do one of these simple operations by itself and record the result. Then do the same ritual, but open with the operant field (LBRP/LIRH) and close with the Qabalistic Cross - no other ceremonial forms, just those to "bookend" your operation. If the latter doesn't make it more effective because of the field I'll be surprised. I've had a number of folks who usually do simple stuff try that experiment and most see a definite improvement.
Hi Scott
the experiment with a spirit of goetia Bune, has been very intense only sigil, candle and incense, simply in my case the kabalistic cross, there has been no banishing, operant fields, I perform a meditation before starting and then I only focus on objective I put the excitement of having achieved that desire and called Bune for example then could use symbolic elements to push that desire to the material plane
At first I was skeptical, but I recognize that it is very powerful, from my point of view it is a door to the realm of the spirit, in the astral plane, maybe this technique is useful to use when you do not have so much time,
Definitely so. You certainly can use simpler procedures to get the attention of spirits and send them out to do stuff, especially if you are making offerings.
The fields and so forth are more to attune your personal spiritual power to that of the spirit. The most powerful operations happen when your energy and that of the spirit combine. So you can send a spirit to do something as per this simple grimoire-style procedure, use nothing more than your own power when casting something like a chaos magick sigil, or use something like my procedure to get the combined effect of your own power and that of the spirit.
But when you don't have a lot of time, both the simple grimoire procedure and the chaos magick sigil procedure are faster. So that can be a factor in which method you use.
Hi Scott.
I have to say, this blog is amazing; learned a lot from it already.
Anyway, so I started HGA work doing LBRP, LIRH, MP, GIRP, QC and a few interesting things came through including what I presumed to be a spirit/angel. I tested the spirit as you suggested by vibrating Eheieh (The vision got stronger) and asking for a number. The number 47 came through 2 or 3 times during the meditation. I also noticed 12:47 on my phone clock sometime after the ritual.
Do you have any insights on this number (I also saw another commenter mention 47 while scrolling through another page here) or any suggestions for online sources where I can research this number?
Thank you
The standard sources I use for looking up numbers for gematria are Sepher Sephiroth (include in the Weiser edition of 777) and Godwin's Cabalistic Encyclopedia. 47 is prime, so we don't need to worry about factoring it.
Summing the digits using Nine Chambers method yields 74 --> 11 --> 2. 11 is the number of magick, 2 is Chockmah. Good so far, but a lot of numbers sum to that.
Sepher Sephiroth has:
AVYL - foolish, silly.
BKYYH - a weeping.
BMH - cloud, high place, waves, fortress.
YVAL - angel ruling virgo.
HLT - to clutch, hold.
Godwin's has:
atomic number of silver.
AYM - 30th name of shem-ha-mephorash.
KY TVB - that it was good.
MBH - 14th and 55th names of the shem-ha-mephorash.
VYAL - angel ruling 6th house.
YVAL - joel (biblical name).
The trick with this is to identify something relevant that is unlikely to have come from your own imagination. For example, is Virgo and/or the 6th house prominent in your astrological chart? That might one way to get started with this set of associations.
@Ajairyuu in case Scott hasn't answered yet - Sepher Sephiroth: scroll way down to where the Scale numbers are. See if anything relating to #47 rings a bell
https://hermetic.com/crowley/libers/lib500
@Scott about this: some time ago I saw one of Birch's live videos. He looked at his phone at one time saying his battery is at 93% and he said "that's Thelemic". Ever since then I've been seeing my battery being at 93% very often, as well as seeing 93 in some other places. I know about 93 in Thelema and what it means. I've also looked up Sepher Sephiroth and I got a few hints from what's there.
This is not exactly a question, but I wonder if something or someone is pointing me towards becoming a Thelemite :) To be honest I find its doctrine very similar to my own, and even though I personally don't care about Crowley as a person, what he did, what is said he might have done etc, I really feel a strong connection to him. I don't want to go into speulculation as to why that might be thought, but I have a few suspicions.
Thanks very much, Scott.
That's really interesting and helpful.
Before I started this formula (I was learning Operant Field previously), I did hear 'Chockmah' but disregarded it as imagination/ego; perhaps it was more relevant than I first thought.
I am also happen to be a Virgo rising so that could also be a factor.
I'll definitely take note of anymore messages that come through and do more research.
Thanks for your help
@Akairyuu I hope Scott won't mind me intervening :)
Chockmah is zodiac and you got a message pointing to your rising sign, possibly. You could check out the second part of Ars Paulina and find the angel of the degree of your Ascendant - he's one of your guardian angels. You'll find the instructions for contacting the angel in there.
http://www.esotericarchives.com/solomon/paulina.htm
Thanks a lot, starting to make sense :)
I also got an instruction today in my meditation to look up 9 when I was testing spirit, checked my 9th House and there's my sun so it seems I was pointed towards a second guardian angel.
At least now I have a better idea of what direction I should be going in and how to work with the info.
Thanks again Scott & Dacia :)!
@Scott, I was completely flummoxed when reading the version of the GIRP which is presented in Mastering the Great Table. For some reason the element fire is in the east, water south,air west and earth north. Well i presume this is what's meant. Could you explain the reasoning behind this arrangement? Thanks
As explained in the text, it is based on my interpretation of the elemental directions from two sources in the Dee Diaries - the "Round House" vision and the "Golden Talisman" vision - superimposed on the Tabula Recensa arrangement of the Great Table.
Remember that the Kings and twelve names of God are NOT directly associated with elements. Those associations were added by the Golden Dawn, (sort of) based on the directions from the original version of the Great Table. In the diaries, only the directions are primary. No King is mentioned as being associated with a specific element.
But also keep in mind that the methods in MTGT are based on conjuring the various entities in groups, so you conjure all the Kings together, all the Seniors together, and so forth. You can still conjure them up that way using the regular LRP/LRH operant field, so in practice the element-to-direction mapping doesn't appear to be super-important.
Now, anticipating your question - if they are not super important, why include them?
There are two reasons. First, I wanted to point out that in fact those elemental attributions for the Kings and Names of God are not set in stone. Currently you open something like the Aurum Solis Enochian system in Mysteria Magica, which is supposed to be a completely different system than the Golden Dawn, and you still find the exact same synthetic direction attributions. The elemental attributions are far too removed from the text to have been arrived at independently. And that's not the only example.
Second, when I put together those explicitly Enochian forms, I wanted to make a good-faith effort to get as close as I could to what is actually in the diaries, and as far as I can tell it has a direction orientation that does not match either the Winds or Zodiac model, but rather is more like something in between.
As with anything - if it doesn't work for you it doesn't work, and you don't have to use it to get good results. You can use the more traditional versions and they do still work.
@Scott, yes I understand most of what you are saying. However, I'm wondering why you choose to use the alchemical model of elemental densities, rather than the obvious enochian elemental one of EHNB ie; air,water,earth and fire, or the order resulting from placing the pentagram on the Great Table ie; air,water,fire and earth?
Because the EHNB model as applied there is substantially less obvious in my opinion. That is the elemental order given for the angels below the "calvary cross" and cacodemons, according to the placing of the four horizontal lines. That's it. Those lines are present in all four quadrants, regardless of direction. Also, nothing in the diaries suggests anything about a pentagram. Plenty of sigils are drawn on the Great Table, just not that one.
In the Round House vision, there is a door to each direction and a representation of each element behind it - in density order, clockwise from east. As I see it, that's about as obvious as it gets.
But feel free to experiment with other arrangements and see which one works best for you. That's what I did.
Hi Scott,
I found this post very helpful in my learning of this ritual. Thank you for sharing.
I am a little confused about one or two things - you say that the passive water and earth quarters balance out the active air and fire. My question is, what other combinations of active or passive elements can be used, and why? How are the active/passive elements utilised in various ritual aims?
Do we have to be mindful of not using particular combinations?
If you could give me some examples, I would be very grateful. Trying to wrap my head around this.
Mostly you do not combine elements. You either do this ritual for a single element, for a power related to one of the elemental paths, or all four, for Malkuth and the vision of the Holy Guardian Angel or of Adonai. Technically, for the Malkuth version, all four elements balance each other out to create a stable elemental field.
If you want to dig into the elements and how they can be combined in an alchemical sense, you can dig into this:
https://ananael.blogspot.com/2011/09/four-classical-powers.html
Also check out the link to the Ancient Greek Doctrine of the Elements in that article, which goes into great detail.
The classical elements are derived from the classical powers. Fire is Warm and Dry, Air is Warm and Moist, Water is Cool and Moist, and Earth is Cool and Dry. "Active" and "Passive" map to the Warm and Cool powers.
"Aristotle explained several ways in which one element could be transformed into another. Elements that share a common property can be reversibly transformed into each other depending upon the quantities involved. For example, since Water and Air share the Moist property, Water can be transformed into Air by exposing it to a greater quantity of Air, but if the amount of Water is increased so that the quantity of Water becomes greater, the transformation can be reversed and the Air will be converted back into Water. Also, a mixture of opposed elements can be irreversibly transformed by exposure to a third element. For example, if a mixture of Fire and Water is exposed to Air, the result is that the Fire and Water will be transformed into Air, taking the Warm power from Fire and the Moist power from Water. Opposed elements cannot be directly transformed into each other, but must instead go through the intermediate stage of transformation into and adjacent element."
So the various combinations of elements basically resolve, either neutralizing complementary forces in the case of opposing elements (Fire - Water, Air - Earth) or transforming into a different element in some cases. Whatever the case, you wouldn't do anything like that with this ritual. For this ritual, you are working either with one element or the balanced arrangement of all four.
That is very helpful! I read the article, and it has given me more to consider and think about. I will also read the other questions and comments.
You say that the ritual can be used when working with one element - how do we do this? Is it a case of invoking one active element, and invoking the other three as passive? (Thus achieving a concentration of that one desired element for a specific working?)
I just want to make sure that I've got the right understanding of this.
I will be sure to continue reading as much as I can about this. Thanks again.
You work with one element by working with one element.
For Fire, use the Fire pentagram at all four quarters.
For Water, use the Water pentagram at all four quarters.
For Air, use the Air pentagram at all four quarters.
For Earth, use the Earth pentagram at all four quarters.
That's it. There's no need to make it any more complex. The only time you do anything with multiple elements is the Malkuth version where you use all four.
Thank you, once again. It did occur to me that this was probably the case.
I will enjoy reading the rest of your blog.
What i see here is GRIP where you trace all 4 pentagram of all 4 elements?Is this GRIP for Malkhut or is it general.
Could i do this before Liber Samekh and in evening banishing form?It confuses me because i tought for Malkhut is just Earth.
So i use rendering the veil for invoking for all 4 pentagram and closing for banishing after tracing Purple pentagrams.
Also do when making sing od Earth do i hold right hand up with palm upward and left hand down palm outward or back.
When i finish the Earth and get back to East do i say"Flames od pentagram and six-rayed star above me"like in LBRP.
Using the pentagrams for all four elements is specific to Malkuth. No Greater ritual is general - that's kind of the point.
I wouldn't recommend doing this for Samekh because you already are supposed to do the pentagrams and signs with each quarter within Samekh itself. Doing it beforehand wouldn't hurt anything necessarily, but it's redundant.
Yes, rending the veil for invoking spirit (both active and passive), closing of the veil for banishing spirit (both active and passive).
Yes, the Sign of Earth is right hand up, left hand down and back.
No, you don't say anything before or after tracing the pentagrams to the four directions and completing the circle. Again, I don't know if it would hurt anything, but it's redundant.
Wonderful as always, thank you.
When doing the daily LBRP>LIRH>GIRP to attain The Vision of the HGA, should be state our intent with "Fill me with the Divine Light, set my True Will in motion, and bring me to the accomplishment of the Great Work, the Summum Bonum, True Wisdom and Perfect Happiness AMEN" or something else?
I would say that you might want to compose your own that specifically sets the intent to obtain the vision of the HGA. The one that I use was composed years after I did the HGA work, so I am not sure how well it works in that specific context. Usually in magick it helps to be more direct with your daily statement of intent when you are working towards a specific goal.
I for one used that exact statement during my daily practice for some time and unknowingly to me at the time, it served as a build-up towards meeting my HGA :) Yet I wasn't specifically aiming for that, I was merely following my intuition not knowing where I would end up though :)) So I agree with Scott that if you're specifically working towards that you should construct your own statement.
Hi Scott:
As per your formula doing this HGA we start: LBRP+ LIRH+ MP then we finish with GIRP.
why can't i do the MP at the end? also how does it take for my HGA to reveal himself to me?
Do i do the same rituals in the morning and evening? cause i have been only doing this in the evening in the morning i do LIRP+ LIRH + GIRP sometimes i do SIRP instead of GIRP.
what are your thoughts?
There is no reason not to do the MP at the end if you want, I just personally don't do it that way because it seems unnecessary to me. I close with the Qabalistic Cross for operations like this, but since you can use the Elevenfold Seal like an MP and it also opens and closes Liber Reguli (Crowley's revised GRP-Malkuth ritual) I expect that doing the MP at the end won't hurt anything. So do it if you want, I just don't see the need for it.
According to Liber Samekh, the process takes about six months. When I learned the method of using the Tarot to obtain the angel's name ahead of time, I was thinking I had a shortcut that would save me time - but no such luck. I might have gotten the contact a little earlier but it took the full six months of daily work for it to really stabilize. So take from that what you will.
For most of my magical career I have stuck with one practice session per day, usually in the evening, once I worked out the operant field formula. But there's a lot of flexibility, and I would say to go with what you're comfortable with. As far as the SRP, we don't use that in the Thelemic system so you might want to ask somebody with a Golden Dawn background what the advantages of that are. The only advantage I know of is that it dovetails well with Golden Dawn Enochian - which I also don't personally practice.
I assume we don't need to visualize the archangels again since we did it in the LRP a few minutes prior?
Sorry, forgot this question earlier, we don't visualize the hexagrams above and below in the column like in the Lesser Pentagram for the Greater Pentagram and Lesser Hexagram rituals right?
Yes. The way I do it, you only do those visualizations for the LRP.
I’ve started performing the GIRP for Malkuth today as part of my daily rituals. Should I state my intent out loud regarding my will to attain K&C ?
If that is your current intent, I would say yes.
I like to always include a statement of intent with my daily practice and I say that intent out loud, just like I would give a charge to a spirit during an evocation.
Thank you for the most informative web site I have found. If this has been covered elsewhere please forgive me. I have been doing LBRP-LIRH-MP and learning The Star Ruby -Star Sapphire. I am curious about the use of a Magick Circle (i.e. physically marked on the floor). Reason I ask is that I'd like to perform outdoors in a wilderness experience which appeals to me. I can find very little specific info on it in relation to GIRP/GIRH or for that matter LIRH- in relation to when the circle should be used. I obviously would not be surrounded by the sanctuary of my home environment 'in nature' and was wondering about the safety aspect. Can I practice without a circle or maybe a naturally constructed one?
Yes, you can practice without a physical circle if you are using the pentagram and hexagram rituals. One of their functions is essentially to create an "imaginary circle" that can take the place of drawing one out. This is also not as modern a technique as you might think - Jake Stratton-Kent notes in GeoSophia that imaginary circles have been used all the way back to antiquity.
@scott,recently I was reading a version of the GIRP, whereby the author started in the South, proceeded to the West,then to the East and finally ended in the North. I was initially confused until I realised he was following the GD elemental descent. Have you considered following this elemental pattern, but using the elemental density model,when performing this GIRP?
I have not tried that, but there is no technical reason why it shouldn't work. With the GRP you are creating a field with the elements to their appropriate (microcosmic or macrocosmic) directions. The field should be complete once all four are present, regardless of the order that you draw each elemental pentagram to its respective direction.
Hmm. Very good contribution. As for the signs of the LVX. What I have come to feel is as if you shine a light to see if it really is who the entity claims to be. A plus of protection, be it malkuth or any sephiroth.
My ritual template includes the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram for all practical operations, so I give the Signs of LVX as part of that ritual. The GRP only comes into play once those initial working conditions are set. But yes, they definitely can have a protective effect.
Hi Scott. In this ritual could it be ordered according to density?
East: Fire Elohim
South: Air YHVH
West: EL Water
North: Earth. Adonai.
And finally do the middle pillar ritual to integrate these forces.
Thank you.
You could certainly experiment with that. I have not tried that exact sequence, but I could see it working. Feel free to let me know how it goes, and what differences you find.
Hi Scott, from your book about pentagram Enochian ritual, it says: "Also, the final spin should be counter-clockwise to align with your initial clockwise rotation."
Now, isn't final spin should be in clockwise direction for LIRP? Please, can you explain?
In the banishing AOEVEAE, you trace the banishing pentagrams and names counter-clockwise (East -> North -> West -> South -> Back to East). Then you do the final spin clockwise to balance the initial counter-clockwise rotation.
In the invoking AOEVEAE, you trace the invoking pentagrams and names clockwise (East -> South -> West -> North -> Back to East). Then you do the final spin counter-clockwise to balance out the initial clockwise rotation.
I experimented with the other version, where you do the final spin in the same direction as the tracings. But this version seemed to work the best, and that's why it made it into the book. Of course, feel free to experiment with the other version if you like.
Hi Scott, thank you very much!!! Then on page 69, Step 7 maybe should be written: "Make one full spin clockwise while vibrating" instead "Make one full spin counter-clockwise while vibrating", am I right in this?
Also, I've changed the sequence in your NAZ OLPIRT ritual, in order that Fire is before Air (BITOM before EXARP) to reflect natural directions in a circle (Fire, Air, Water, Earth), now, is it okay to do it in that way?
Lastly, about charging the spirit. What do you think when the spirit is doing his work actually during the ritual, for ex. Making "visions" of fulfilling desires or goals, according to intentions. Not going to do work after licence to depart, but doing it at that moment, as a kind of charging! In some old books it is written that spirit is fulfilling a goal in that moment. Then goes away with license to depart. Please, your opinion?
My books are put out through my publisher, and I do not have a way to submit edits or updates. But yes, that language would probably be clearer.
I haven't tried it that way, but feel free to experiment. Let me know how it goes.
As far as when the spirit does the work - that totally depends on what you are doing. If you are charging the spirit to consecrate a talisman, it does it in that moment. But if you are charging the spirit to go forth and accomplish some task over a period of, say, a month, it departs from your circle with the license and then works the whole month.
Many sincere thanks for help!!!
@scott. I was reading your ritual template watchtower invocation, published some time ago. It struck me as a more advanced version of the GIRP, with the spirit pentagrams and enochian words. One noteworthy change you made was to use the zodiacal directions which fitted in very neatly with the YHVH order of elemental invocations, although being performed in a widdershins direction. Also you noted that this had a beneficial effect on the ritual. I am wondering what your current views of this ritual is now, after all this time and development of the operant field? Would you say it still has validity?
There are some people out there who swear by the Opening by Watchtower and claim to get good results, but I haven't used it myself for many years. I found that even with the various tweaks, it doesn't add anything to the regular operant field (LBRP/LIRH).
The way Regardie wrote it is to follow LBRP/LBRH, and I haven't done that since I figured out the operant field, and maybe it works in that context. But LBRP/LIRH works fine and is way shorter to do than LBRP/LBRH/Watchtower.
@Scott, if the Malkuth version of the GIRP is a form of initiation for Malkuth, with its Vision of the HGA, then which ritual template would be used for initiation into Yesod? Would that include a GIRH for the Moon? Many thanks.
For initiation into Malkuth you use the GIRP - Malkuth to tune the space for your operation, but it does not constitute an initiation in and of itself. That's an important point to keep in mind.
But otherwise, yes, to tune your space for initiation into Yesod you would use the sephirothic form of the GIRH for the Moon. That would be the invoking hexagram of the Moon in purple with the godname Shaddai El Chai.
Thank you for this fantastic post and all the information you've been putting out there. Your blog is hands down my favorite place on the internet for practical wisdom. Most importantly, thanks for opening me to the Fields of Operation — one of the things that made such an enormous difference in my practice.
I wanted to ask you about your opinion on grouping the elements based on their mutual qualities (Fire in the East, Air in the South, Water in the West, and Earth in the North). More and more people are utilizing and writing about that model, regarding it as superior to the more traditional 'winds' model. Do you think it can find applications in rites like SIRP or OBW?
Also, what do you think about using the pentagram directions for hexagram rituals, as recommended by James A. Eshelman and David Shoemaker?
I'd be really happy if you answer those questions.
Thanks!
POTB
There are two traditional models for the directions, the winds model and the zodiac model. The winds model is microcosmic and the zodiac model is macrocosmic. They are different, but also complementary. Neither is superior - both have their specific attributions.
As far as the mutual quality / density order model you are talking about, you will find that I go with a version of that model in my Enochian work but generally do not use it elsewhere. I use it in the Enochian system because it seems to be the best model for the quadrants of the Watchtowers based on my research in the Dee diaries. Outside the Enochian system, though, I use combinations of the winds and zodiac models. They have a long history of use in the tradition.
I messed around with an Enochian version of the Opening by Watchtower that was somewhat similar to what you are talking about here. It's published in my books, but subsequent research seemed to show that it wasn't very effective and I no longer use it in my personal work. It's a very elaborate structure that seems to have little effect on the probability shift produced by rituals that use the operant field. As far as the SRP goes, you probably could hack something like that together. However, the SRP isn't used in the Thelemic tradition so I haven't done anything with it in decades. Doing that would also involve working with the Golden Dawn Enochian attributions, which I personally don't use.
Eshelman and Shoemaker's idea that you should line up the directions in the LRP and LRH is as far as I can tell completely misguided, or at the very least doesn't work well with the operant field. One of the functions of the operant field is to more effectively merge the microcosm and macrocosm by banishing the former and invoking the latter. For banishing the microcosm, you should use the microcosmic (winds) arrangement. For invoking the macrocosm, you should use the macrocosmic (zodiac) arrangement. Switching either to the other directional system in effect weakens the entire field.
It's possible that it might work well with something more like the traditional GD system, such as if you are opening with LBRP/LBRH and then going to the Opening by Watchtower followed by the GRP or GRH. That method as far as I can tell is overall less effective than the operant field, though, despite its greater complexity. So less "bang for buck," so to speak.
It also is extremely dismaying to me that Eshelman teaches you should vibrate YHVH as "Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh" rather than "Ye-ho-wah" or "Yah-weh," just like they how they teach it in the Cicero Golden Dawn. Practical experimental work by myself and several other practitioners I know seems to show that this one of the best ways you can weaken your LRP and render it less effective. The LRP is based on fourfold symmetry between the quarters, and therefore the divine names should follow that pattern. If you spell one name and then vibrate the other three as words, that symmetry in the ritual fundamentally breaks from the outset.
Hey, thank you so much for this thorough answer! Your blog is a really remarkable encyclopedia for practical occultism. If one wants to learn, they don't really need books. They'll be fine just by reading your blog!
I'll definitely consider what you say. Nonetheless, I wouldn't say I'm not getting results by using the density model. In fact, I actually started getting results when I stopped doing the traditional GD LBRP LBRH sequence and adopted the techniques of Invoking and Operant Fields I learned from you, but with a 'density' model. Doing that, I get my best results using the invoking field.
Deep within me, I always felt I shouldn't have elements clashing in the circle. I also feel that aligns better with the mystical tablet of union, liber resh, the actual elemental attributions within the GD pentagram, and the prayer 'on dry land, and in the water, of whirling air and of rushing fire.' Speaking of that, is doing OBW or SIRP with the tablets only possible and thus effective if you use the GD directions of the watchtowers?
On the other hand, using the most extended history makes more sense, as you are tapping into the egregor of all the people who use the technique.
Lastly, can one use the density for pentagrams, i.e., (LRP, SRP/GRP, OBW) and zodiacal for hexagrams (LRH, GRH, etc.)? I'd be happy to know what you think of that too.
Regards!
POTB
Almost everybody gets a big improvement from LBRP/LBRH when they go with the operant field, whether they use density order for the elements or not. Did you try it the way I do it before switching to the density model? If not, you might want to try both versions and compare.
But by all means, my first rule is that if it works it works. There's nothing inherently wrong with using a density-based elemental order.
I can't really speak to that feeling. I get best results using winds for in my LRP and zodiac for my LRH, as I explain above. I wouldn't say that putting together versions of the OBW and SRP is impossible without using Golden Dawn directions and so forth, but if you don't do them that way they do require some modification. I found that my Enochian OBW wasn't bad in any way, but it also wasn't very effective - which is why I abandoned it years ago. I haven't worked with the SRP at all, so I can't give you any practical insight on that one.
I'm not convinced that the "egregore effect" is very significant, and if it isn't, extended history might not be very relevant. Some Golden Dawn folks years ago were claiming that you had to be a GD initiate for rituals like the LRP to work properly because when you're an initiate you are connected to the GD egregore. So I did a survey - I asked if anybody who read this blog, anyone at all, had the experience of (1) doing LRP, LRH, etc. as a solitary practitioner, (2) were initiated into a Golden Dawn group, and then (3) found that their LRP, LRH, etc. suddenly became more powerful and effective. If there really is a powerful "egregore effect," that should be what people experience.
But not one person did. Several people claimed that they were initiated into a GD group and their rituals became LESS effective. That's probably spurious - I really don't see how being initiated into a tradition would detract from the effectiveness of your rituals, but it was clear that it didn't add anything for folks who read the post. So I have no experimental evidence that the "egregore effect" even exists.
So if you wanted to use density with the LRP, all that would entail is switching the order of the archangels. The godnames used with the lesser pentagrams are not elemental, so they would stay the same. The LRH already used the zodiac order as written, so no problem there.
For the Malkuth version of the GRP (the version with all four elements) I don't see why it would be a problem to change the directions. For the single-element version of the GRP, you trace the pentagram of that element to all four directions so there would be no change there. Likewise, with the GRH, you are tracing the hexagram of the single planet or sign to all four directions, so again, there would be no changes.
All that being said, that's how you would do it - but I also haven't experimented myself with making those changes to the pentagram rituals. So while I can explain what you would do, I don't have any experimental data on how effective it will be.
Hey, I hope all is well!
Thank you for this thorough answer! I really appreciate your wisdom and time!
Orders/Models
Yes, I am getting pretty good results using the density order. Indeed, I get the most barely noticeable probability shift when using LBRP + LBRH, so I never mess with it. I tried the operant and invoking fields before switching to the 'density' order but used it sparingly. So I can't speak about that. I'll probably experiment with it in the future and let you know. As far as SIRP, that's precisely how I started practicing.
SIRP
Some sources insist on calling on the Archangels again as you do SIRP. This, however, doesn't make much sense to me as you already called on them with LIRP when setting the field. So I wondered if I could do something similar with the Seniors instead if I have the tablets with SIRP? There's a modified OBW on the internet that does something similar using the Sigil of Truth instead of the elemental weapons.
Egregors
What you say about egregors makes solid sense. And I wonder how those folks' magick became less effective after they got initiated into the system they already practiced.
Once more, thank you so much!
I look forward to reading more of your content.
Kind Regards!
POTB
What you are asking about here with the SRP is whether I would recommend making a specific modification to a ritual that I do not practice, using attributions from the Golden Dawn Enochian system, which I also do not practice. Given that, the bottom line is that I really have no idea how well what you are proposing would work. You probably just have to try it and see.
As far as the "less effective" bit goes, I have a theory, but I haven't checked with anyone to confirm. Several of the Golden Dawn orders are "spellers." That is, they vibrate YHVH as "YOD-HEH-VAV-HEH" instead of YAHWEH or YEHOWA or any other single-word pronunciation. Going from pronouncing as a word to spelling is one of the easiest ways to make your LRP work poorly, and I have no idea why they teach it that way when it's really not that hard to verify by checking probability shifts. So if somebody got a "correction" that got them spelling, their LRP would likely have indeed not worked as well as before they started doing it that way.
Hey! Once more, thank you so much for the valuable information!
Yes, that makes a lot of sense. Now, as I became mindful of it, I found spelling YHVH makes the rites noticeably "less potent." I also recalled Regardie vibrating Jehova on all those old GD tapes. Plus, when you actually do the vibration of the whole word in each quadrangle everything feels smooth; a smooth transitioning from one three-syllable word to another three-syllable etc. Despite whether you'll start with ADNI or YHVH, etc.
Either way actually spelling "YUD HEY VAV HEY" feels as if the whole chain is broken, as if the flow has been altered, no matter where you vibrate it. Now, I recognize YHVH as also better matching with EXARP from the Tablet of Union, as some people recommend reading it "EXARPEY" (or something) which is also three-syllable word.
I understand what you mean about SIRP and GD Enochian, so thanks again and sorry to bother you with that stuff.
Thanks!
POTB
You are welcome. Just as a point, I have to moderate comments on here so you do not need to post multiple copies of the same comment when it doesn't show up immediately. Sometimes I don't get around to moderating for a few days if I have other stuff going on.
The weird thing is that later in life, Regardie went along with the Ciceros and started spelling it. I don't understand how he didn't notice that it was less effective.
The number of syllables in the words, especially between the Hebrew and Enochian, is coincidental. You can pronounce YHVH as Ye-ho-wah or as Yah-weh without affecting the ritual much - it just has to be pronounced as a word. You see the big drop in effectiveness when you switch to spelling.
I pronounce all the Tablet of Union names as two-syllable words:
EX-ARP
HCO-MAH
BEE-TOM
NAN-TAH
The Golden Dawn system inserts extra syllables that are not necessary.
Hey Scott,
Recently, I noticed some sources include the 'sign of the enterer' before rending the veil and/or the LVX for the spirit pentagrams signs, such as before assuming the god forms for the elemental ones in SIRP/GIRP. I know your post doesn't include that, but I decided to ask whether you think that's necessary. I'll be happy if you answer.
Kind Regards!
POTB
There are two ways to do the pentagrams. My method, which I write about here, is to vibrate the godname at the same time as I trace and visualize the pentagram. Then, in the case of the Greater Pentagram, I give the elemental sign.
The other way to do it is what you are talking about here. With that method, you do the pentagrams like this:
1. Trace the pentagram in front of you.
2. Vibrate godname and step forward with the Sign of the Enterer.
3. Step back and give the Sign of Silence.
4. (Greater Pentagram only) Give the sign of the element.
Both of these methods are viable and work fine. As far as I can tell, it's more a matter of which one you prefer and which one seems to work best for you.
Thanks, Scott,
I'll likely stick to your method, which gives me far better results.
Regards!
POTB
I see the daily HGA ritual here and also the path of initiation article from 2017. Does this daily one lead to the other one, or are they two options?
Is this daily ritual supposed to be done in conjunction with the path of initiation (2017 article) or as an alternative?
The Greater Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram for Malkuth (the version with all four elements) can be done as a daily practice in preparation for the full HGA invocation of Liber Samekh, which is what my Path of Initiation article is based on.
The magical power associated Malkuth is "The vision of the Holy Guardian Angel or of Adonai." Cultivating this vision will help when you start doing the full HGA invocation for Knowledge and Conversation, which is not the same thing as the vision cultivated with this version of the GRP.
So this version of the GRP is a preparation for the HGA invocation, not a replacement for it.
Hi Scott, how are you?
1.Lon Milo Duquette said that he vibrated words through "nostrils" following Crowleys description how to vibrate words from Liber O. But they both don't mention if they actually make the sound of the word with their mouths, only they expel word with out breath through nostrils. What is your opinion about that, do they make actual sound vibration, and how do you do it?
2. Does vibration must be expelled through nostrils as Crowley said?
3. Can Crowleys Elevenfold seal can be used separately kinda as Middle Pillar exercise?
4. Is it possible that complete Liber V Reguli can be used as Greater Ritual of Pentagram, with same function?
5. After spirits are sent to do their work, is it okay that one actually feels their magical action in ones life, spontaneous visualization or manifestation of goal, etc.?
Regards
1-2. Keep in mind that I base the energy work I do on Qigong rather than the Indian yogic system that Crowley worked with. Because of that, Lon probably does vibration and the like a little different than I do because he works with the same system that Crowley did. My guess is that the emphasis on nostrils comes from the ida-pingala idea of nostril breathing that isn't used in Qigong but is very important in the yogic system.
I do it like this. First, I touch my tongue to the roof of my mouth and breathe in through my nostrils. As I do this, I visualize the name filling up my energetic body as my lungs fill with air. Then, I vibrate the name through my mouth. In Qigong, the idea is that the tongue touched to the roof of the mouth forms a "circuit" that contains energy and when that circuit is broken the energy escapes - or in this case is shaped by the tongue into the name along with the energetic component of "pushing" the name outward.
Probably my vibrations and Lon's don't sound the same. I will tell you that what I do works well even though it comes from a different energy work tradition.
3. Yes. I do this as part of my daily practice.
4. Yes, although the Greater Ritual of the Pentagram is simpler. You would modify Reguli the same way - for specific elements, do the pentagram, sign, and name corresponding that one element to all four quarters. The version with all four elements is attributed to Malkuth, just like with the GRP.
5. How do you mean "okay?" If you mean that after an operation you notice things happening in line with your charge, that should be expected. That's what you charged the spirit to do, after all. If nothing was going to happen, there wouldn't be much point in doing magick. Likewise, odd synchronicities that you experience after an operation are often good signs that it is working even if they don't necessarily relate directly to your charge. So I think that means it's "okay," if I'm understanding your question.
Thank you so much!!!
About "okay",
I was having in mind this: is it okay that in order to increase probability shift about which you write in your books, that "spirits can use magicians (for ex.) visualization", and magician in return can "visualize those particualr spirits ", and all that is after ritual? I hope it is clearer. Regards.
I would not expect this sort of visualization to be a problem or issue in terms of probability shift. In fact, usually having an ongoing connection and relationship with a spirit like this will increase the effectiveness of working with that particular spirit.
Thanks!!!
Hi Scott,
I know you've repeatedly mentioned that you aren't an initiate of the Golden Dawn, but I think you have such good general knowledge of magic that I hope you could clarify something. It's regarding the sign of the Zelator and the "Sign of the earth" (Set) as given in the GIRP in Malkuth. Are they the same? I've only seen the Zelator sign described in writing once, and it seems rather different from the earth sign. And seeing that the other signs in GIRP Malkuth correspond to different grade signs... well it made me wonder.
Thank you kindly Scott.
I do not necessarily know how the sign is done in the Golden Dawn. But according to Crowley's Liber O, they are the same sign in the A.'.A.'. system. The A.'.A.'. system maps elements onto the sephiroth from Netzach through Malkuth and use the grade signs for those sephiroth as the signs for both elements and grades. I was under the impression that the Golden Dawn did something similar, but as I'm not an initiate I'm not sure.
OTO has different grade signs and only uses the A.'.A.'. grade signs for the elements as shown here. Also, my understanding is that there are some minor differences between these signs as given in Liber O (which is what I use) versus the ones found in Regardie's Golden Dawn material. That could account for why the descriptions don't match.
Also - in the GRP the signs simply correspond to the elements, not the sephiroth matching the grades. The way I map it out the elements are in Malkuth, then Moon in Yesod, Mercury in Hod, and Venus in Netzach. To me that makes a lot more sense, given that the elements map to qualities of the physical world.
Thank you for that explanation Scott!
/Frei
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