Ritual Night Talk for April 29th

Here is the video of the latest Ritual Night Talk, on planetary magick. The planetary work link is here, the Greater Ritual of the Hexagram link is here, the Chart Victor link is here, the Simple Electional Timing link is , and the donation link is here.

The basic symbol sets of Western magick are three - the elements, planets, and signs of the zodiac. Each of these sets represents a complete system in and of itself. Planetary magick is a common schema found in various historical grimoires, and the powers of the planets include most of the sorts of powers people are looking for when doing practical operations - prosperity, love, success, revenge, and so forth. Planetary spirits generally work more slowly than elemental spirits, but they tend to be more powerful overall.

Enjoy!

Ritual Night Talk for April 23rd

Here is the video of the latest Ritual Night Talk, on elemental magick. The Greek Esoteric Doctrine of the Elements link is here, the Greater Ritual of the Pentagram link is here, and the donation link is here.

The basic symbol sets of Western magick are three - the elements, planets, and signs of the zodiac. Each of these sets represents a complete system in and of itself. Elemental magick is sometimes considered "beginner" magick, in that it is the first symbol set magicians generally work with when following the teachings of magical orders. But elemental magick is also powerful in its own right, and should not be overlooked or dismissed. Since it is a complete system, you can do anything with the elements that you could do with a planet or a sign.

Enjoy!

Ritual Night Talk for March 8th

Here is the video of Tuesday's Ritual Night Talk, on psychic senses. The donation link is here.

A large amount of online discussion and debate surrounds the question of how best to perceive and interact with spirits. Spirits communicate by psychic means, but the psychic senses that accomplish this are usually internally "mapped" onto various combinations of physical senses. This mapping is highly individual, meaning that some people might perceive a spirit visually, others auditorily, and still others by kinesthetic means. The key to effective spirit perception is to understand how your personal psychic senses work, and from there develop techniques that fit your own combination of senses.

Enjoy!

Ritual Night Talk for March 1st

Here is the video of Tuesday's Ritual Night Talk, on the Star Sapphire. The Star Sapphire article link is here and the donation link is here.

The Star Sapphire is Aleister Crowley's "improved ritual of the hexagram." It works roughly the same way as the Lesser Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram with a couple of additional steps. Like the LRH, it is a general macrocosmic ritual and as such works well for daily practice in conjunction with the Star Ruby. It also can include a eucharistic component suitable for daily practice if a material basis for the sacrament is employed.

Enjoy!

Ritual Night Talk for February 23rd

Here is the video of the latest Ritual Night Talk, on the Star Ruby. The Star Ruby article link is here and the donation link is here.

The Star Ruby is Aleister Crowley's "improved ritual of the pentagram." It works in roughly the same way as the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, but with Thelemic godnames and a couple of additional steps. Like the LRP it is a general microcosmic ritual and as such works well for daily practice in conjunction with the Star Sapphire, Crowley's corresponding general hexagram ritual. As the Star Ruby is a banishing ritual and the Star Sapphire is an invoking ritual, the combination of the two represents prior usage of a structure matching that of the operant field that I write about here on Augoeides.

Enjoy!

Ritual Night Talk for February 8th

Here is the video of Tuesday's Ritual Night Talk, on the Elevenfold Seal. The donation link is here.

The Elevenfold Seal is a ritual that is part of another ritual - it serves as the opening and closing for Liber V vel Reguli, the most elaborate of Aleister Crowley's pentagram rituals. Over the years I have adapted the Elevenfold Seal into my daily magical practice and use it kind of like a lot of magicians use the Middle Pillar Ritual. It can serve the same function, calling the energies and qualities of the divine into your body of light and facilitating identification with the divine.

Enjoy!

Ritual Night Talk for February 1st

Here is the video of Tuesday's Ritual Night Talk, with more on Thelemic Ritual Structure. The latest ritual template article is here, the Planetary Work - Jupiter article is here, and the donation link is here.

This video continues the discussion from last week of how to assemble the various ritual forms into larger operations. It includes working through an example, a planetary ritual for Jupiter similar to the one from the article linked above. I also talk a bit about formulating intents and the sorts of magical goals we should be aspiring towards.

Enjoy!

Ritual Night Talk for January 25th

Here is the video of Tuesday's Ritual Night Talk, on Thelemic Ritual Structure. The latest ritual template article is here, the template works for everything article is here, and the donation link is here.

So much of magick has been published these days that there are few real "magical secrets" left. One area that is rarely discussed, though, is how to assemble the basic forms like pentagram rituals, hexagram rituals, and so forth into larger operations for specific intents. This video begins the discussion of how I teach these ritual structures to my students, in an effort to make this information more widely available.

Enjoy!

Ritual Night Talk for January 18th

Here is the video of Tuesday's Ritual Night Talk, on the Greater Ritual of the Hexagram. The Greater Ritual of the Hexagram link is here and the donation link is here.

In this video I discuss the Greater Ritual of the Hexagram. Lesser rituals are foundational and are used to set up your magical working space. Greater rituals are used to tune your magical working space to a particular energy or quality. In the Thelemic system, the Greater Ritual of the Hexagram is used for invoking and banishing planets and signs of the zodiac.

Enjoy!

Ritual Night Talk for January 4th

Here is the video of Tuesday's Ritual Night Talk, on the Greater Ritual of the Pentagram. The Greater Ritual of the Pentagram link is here and the donation link is here.

In this video I discuss the Greater Ritual of the Pentagram. Lesser rituals are foundational and are used to set up your magical working space. Greater rituals, on the other hand, are used to tune your magical working space to a particular energy or quality for specific operations. In the Thelemic system the Greater Ritual of the Pentagram is used for invoking and banishing elements, and to induce the vision of the Holy Guardian Angel.

Enjoy!

Ritual Night Talk for December 28th

Here is the video of Tuesday's Ritual Night Talk, on the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram. The Thoughts on the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram link is here, the link to Goetic Circles and Operant Fields is here, and the donation link is here.

In this video I discuss another basic ceremonial ritual, the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram. It is the macrosomic ritual corresponding to the microcosmic Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram, and is used both as a daily ritual practice and as a preliminary to practical operations. I also talk a bit about the "operant field," a method for using these two rituals that I have found to be highly effective for practical work.

Enjoy!

Ritual Night Talk for December 21st

Here is the video of Tuesday's Ritual Night Talk, on the Middle Pillar Ritual. The Hacking the Middle Pillar link is here and the donation link is here.

In this video I discuss another basic ceremonial ritual, Israel Regardie's Middle Pillar. I explain how to do this foundational energy work exercise, both as part of daily ritual practice and as a preliminary to practical operations. I also discuss a version of the Middle Pillar using a specific godname in order to invoke a particular energy or quality, and some minor modifications to the ritual that I have found effective in my own personal work.

Enjoy!

Ritual Night Talk for December 14th

Here is the video of Tuesday's Ritual Night Talk, on the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram. The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram link is here, the Lesser Versus Greater Pentagrams link is here, and the donation link is here.

In this video I discuss one of the most basic ceremonial rituals out there that tends to be the first thing taught to beginners in the both the Thelemic and Golden Dawn magical systems. I still get questions about it on a pretty regular basis, and there are some finer points to it that are hard to get from reading about it online or in books.

Enjoy!

Ritual Night Talk for December 7th

Here is the video of Tuesday's Ritual Night Talk, on daily magical practice. The Learning Daily Practices link is here and the donation link is here.

In this video I discuss the basics of daily magical practice, especially what to do when you are just starting out and want to get going on ritual work. Over time I have found the various recommendations presented here to work for many students, and if you pick them you will be well on your way to progressing as an effective magician.

Enjoy!

Ritual Night Talk for November 9th

Here is the video of Tuesday's Ritual Night Talk, on magick and skepticism. The donation link is here.

It's important to be skeptical when you are learning magick. But you also should not fall into the trap of becoming closed-minded like what I was seeing from the "Skeptic movement" in the 1990's. You need to test what you are taught to see if it works, and not just assume something is automatically the right way to do things because that's what you read in a book or saw online. The key is to be skeptical the way physical scientists are skeptical - being willing to experiment and follow the data where it leads.

Enjoy!

Ritual Night Talk for November 2nd

Here is the video of Tuesday's Ritual Night Talk, on Scientific Illuminism. The donation link is here. Sorry about the delay getting this posted - with everything I have going on, it took almost a week despite the date stamp.

When Thelemites talk about "The Method of Science, the Aim of Religion" what does that mean? In this talk I discuss my take on that particular maxim, which was proposed by Aleister Crowley as the motto of the A.'.A.'., the Thelemic magical order that he founded after the reception of The Book of the Law. Bridging the gap between science and religion is a particular interest of mine, and one which I think may not prove as difficult as it seems at first glance.

Enjoy!

Ritual Night Talk for October 26th

Here is the video of Tuesday's Ritual Night Talk, on offerings. The donation link is here.

Offerings are a good technique to employ when working with spirits, and can improve your magical results substantially. In this talk I go over the basics of working with offerings, how to use them in your rituals, and some of the misconceptions about them that I have come across.

Enjoy!

Ritual Night Talk for October 12th

Here is the video of Tuesday's Ritual Night Talk, on intuitive magick. The donation link is here.

I use the term intuitive magick to refer to magick that is done without formal ceremony and for the most part without tools and implements. While from a probability shift standpoint this sort of magick is usually not as effective as a full ceremonial operation, it is very flexible and can be used as you go about your day. "Psychic powers" as generally understood in popular culture fall into this category, since magick is simply a more disciplined and efficient way of working with those abilities.

Enjoy!

Ritual Night Talk for October 5th

Here is the video of Tuesday's Ritual Night Talk, on mythic magick. The operant equation link is here, the parting the Red Sea article is here, and the donation link is here.

Mythic magick is the kind of magick you hear about in mythology and religious stories from long ago. Usually those stories are exaggerated, but sometimes they are inspired by historical events. In this talk I discuss some of these stories and attempt to put them in proper context. I also discuss some ideas for increasing the probability shifts produced by your operations that might move results in at least the direction of mythic-level results.

Enjoy!

Ritual Night Talk for September 28th

Here is the video of Tuesday's Ritual Night Talk, on astrological magick. The chart victor calculation link is here, the simple electional timing link is here, and the donation link is here.

Historically the Western magical tradition has consisted of ritual magick, alchemy, and astrology. Astrological considerations are important in any sort of magical work, and help to optimize your results. Chart victors and electional timing are two key concepts to integrate into your operations. It's not that you can't cast a successful spell without paying attention to the astrology, but rather that if the "astrological weather" is going your way, your spells will be that much more effective.

Enjoy!