Thanks much, Jim. Your suggestion to get the answers from the angels themselves is probably the best bet.

@Jim Eshelman said

"
@Al-Shariyf said
"When tracing the hexagrams in the Quarters while performing the GIHR of Mercury, are these the correct names we vibrate?

Elohim Tzabaoth for the God name, Mikael for the Archangel?"

Correct. (And, of course, A.R.A.R.I.Th.A.)"

Thanks Jim!

"And when facing Mercury itself the following:
Elohim Tzabaoth, Mikael, Beni Elohim for the Angels and Kokab for the spirit?"

@Jim Eshelman said

"Yes, except Kokab is not the name of the Spirit, but the name of Mercury itself in Assiah. I would generally leave it off because you are only pulling the invocation to the level of Yetzirah (invoking Thoth to a psychological level: No actual feathers are expected to appear in the room 😄 ), though it's worth experimenting with both ways."

Haha thanks. I was wondering if I was supposed to pull the energy down to Yetzirah or Assiah. I tried the ritual last night using the Chokmah Hexgrams and invoking all the way down to Assiah. The entire feel of the ritual felt inaccurate. I will do it again today making the adjustments above.

@Ankh said

"
"Quote JAE: Kether wasn't in mind when it was written. The intention was to place the three above the four - specifically, a Briatic triad about a Yetziratic tetrad."

Thank you for the reply Jim, it a beautiful ritual by the way. 😀

Interesting, I was under the impression after reading chapter 16 in 776 ½ (Ritual Construction). That the order should be Atziluth, B’riah, then Yetzirah, did I miss something? Or is that a rule with exception?"

Well, there obviously is an inherent Atziluthic presence in these gods, no doubt about it. And the Yetziratic tetrad ("the gods of men," i.e., gods with clear images and of the nature of pantheons usually called mythologies) are generally Yetziratic. On the other hand, the Kerubs are unquestionably Yetziratic, so you could also scale it as Atziluth-Briah-Yetzirah.

@Thelemic oz said

"just got my copy yesterday, LOVE IT!!!! (as well as the V and V)"

Cool 😀 (Thanks! Enjoy.)

@Selene said

"Is there anything you can say, or point us to what to read about visualizing better that is available to the public?"

Wow, you're making me think back three years and try to figure out what in the world I had in mind at the time 😀

On brief reflection, the following comes to mind: There are various books on visualization techniques in the usual New Age section (and some things scattered through the Business section, but harder to find). I don't have a recommendation on one of these over another - they all cover some basics.

Another thing that fortifies it enormously is stuff basic to meditation: Physical relaxation, using breath to level out the mind and general energies, and focused attention. Practicing these basic drills (as taught in numerous places) helps significantly.

A third thing (and this might touch on the stuff I was thinking about) is to find some way to energize it - to bring psychological, emotional (while still) energy into the visualizations. I'm not at liberty to mention certain specific things (Artisans and Adorers of T.'.O.'.T.'. will know the training I'm talking about, probably), but you can find your own way to let all of your psychological force, plus an openness to force flowing in from outside of you, flow into the images.

Does that help?

In case the Y'sod-Mars point wasn't clear: Y'sod (YSVD) enumerates to 80. This links it very solidly with Peh (80), which leads to several very clear relationships being witnessed between Y'sod and what is commonly called "the Mars force" (most commonly, but not exclusively, expressed through organs of sexual reproduction).

The difference between the path which a planet is assigned to and the sphere which the same planet is assigned to is interesting. I was quite confused by this at first (when it comes to the question of if one wishes to invoke a planetary force using the Greater Hexagram ritual, do I invoke the path or the sepher), but my experience - and I think some of Jim's comments on here (though please correct me if I am mistaken) - indicates that the path is the particular energy itself, while the correspondent sepher is the field on which that energy acts. The difference between the two can be subtle but significant (similarly the king scale colour of the path is in some cases subtly but significantly different from that of the queen scale of the sphere). With this in mind, a look at the tree can be newly illuminating, e.g. the energy assigned to Mercury is the path which links Kether and Binah, yet the sphere on which it acts is that of Hod.

I've seen it, it's a viable alternative - and a clever interpretation of mounting the mirror as a triangle upright instead of tracing it on the floor.

Personally, the other approach works way better for me (but, then, I've never had a knack for skrying in crystal balls - can do better without them). Also, the smoke etc. technique actually allows for the bringing of a low-frequency Yetziratic being into physical form, whereas the mirror primarily allows a mental connection off of an image and your own psychological projections. For communication, they're potentially about the same value - butg for full training in magick, experience in materialization (drawing non-material beings into a temporary physical form) is a valuable skill (since you learn so much else from it).

In A.'.A.'., work in evocation begins as early as 1=10, but testing in it doesn't occur until 4=7 (as part of the Path of A'ayin for moving on toward Tiphereth). I've always felt that, in that particular context, the process of materialization was a significant part of what was being learned.

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,

I just realized that it is only the case on the Tree of Life with Coptic Attributions and Magical Formulae in the back of the copy of Liber ABA ('94 Weiser, Editor's Notes, Figure 43) that I have where Ararita not attributed to Netzach but to Chesed.

Its my own mistake, and I have been foolish enough to take Liber Ararita as a Chesed text while continuing to revisit the aforementioned diagram without consulting 777 along side it.

My apologies for posting this here without first doing more thorough research. Still, if you know anything about this particular topic (assuming there's much of a topic to be had), I'm all ears...

Love is the law, love under will.

@bdc said

"potentially hazardous at all? you have mentioned before that invoking spirit passive in isolation is dangerous"

The potential "hazards" are primarily based on the fact that you are leaving yourself wide open to whatever comes in. If you've elevated yourself in advance to the right level, then that isn't a problem usually.

The secondary problems are all of the issues addressed in the first two sections of Liber O - mis-evaluating the experience, etc.

We are honored.

@bdc said

"in this thread - viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7980 - you say "A good rule of thumb is to use what you see on the Tree of Life - Queen Scale for sephiroth, King Scale for paths - and only vary from that when you have a specific reason."

i know you are talking about alter cloths in that case, but does it also apply for the drawing of hexagrams in the GRH?"

Yes. (With the complementation principle you cite below.)

"i'm clear on the paths, as you say in 776 1/2, "when invoking a specific principle, we recommend drawing against a background of the color of the principle, and tracing the hexagram in the complementary color. For example, Mercury (as Beth) is yellow in the King Scale. Therefore, hexagrams intended to invoke or banish Mercury would be drawn on a yellow background in violet light."
but for the sephiroth, would one instead use the queen scale colour, in the case of invoking hod, drawing in blue on an orange (queen scale of hod) background?"

Yes.

"JAE wrote: It's mostly a curio. Some useful stuff. Maybe buy it for your overflowing wizardry library when you reach 6=5 "
You made me laugh… All the 5’s scare me Jim, I am not that tough. Thanks again for the delightful response and of course the teasing.

93,

"Why is Shekinah attributed to Geburah?

5-lettered name (and essentially fiery in nature - an expression of the Babalon idea to which Geburah opens). ShKYNH and ALHIM were the 'original' (OK, earlier!) pentagrammatons, almost interchangeable female deific ideas before the Christian dispensation."

Really interesting - it opens up some explanation on why, when there is a sense of Presence in a ritual, there is the feeling or atmosphere of Power.

93 93/93
Edward

@Meletiros said

"Is it inappropriate to add a planetary /hierarchical invocation to Jupiter?
But if one is not invoking named spirits or forces to assist in the endeavor, to whom (specifically) is one making the appeal for help?"

The instruction is based on the theory of the ritual, which was to be a classic candle magick spell. (This was chosen as part of trying to show a variety of styles through the set of rituals.) This variety of magick would not generally have the sort of elements you suggest.

You are, of course, welcome to invent a new ritual - the purpose of the examples is to teach that process. It would not, however, be this ritual and would need its own distinctive theory.

If you read the ritual carefully, you'll see that there is no one to whom one is necessarily making any appeal for help. One is simply applying certain natural laws. There is no more "appeal to someone" than there is an invocation of gravity when pushing a car off a cliff.

Yes. Although, in that cSe, one is a Briatic being and the other Yerziraric.

Thank you for your generous answers and time Jim. It’s appreciated. 😀

@MMe said

"The The 7 Prismatic Colors (violet being outside):
Are Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue and Violet? "

Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet

"How should I visualize? Rayed or circular?"

It doesn't matter much... but concentric circles or a rainbow work great.

"Citrine, olive, russet and black and Citrine, olive,russet and black, flecked with gold are to visualize as quarter?"

Commmonly but not invariably.

Oh, I see - that's not just in that table, but in every table of the book.

Row 3 is the Sephirah Binah, which corresponds to Saturn. Row 32 is the letter Tav, which also corresponds to Saturn.

Similarly, Jupiter corresponds to both Chesed and Kaph; Mars to both Geburah and Peh; etc.

You can see these basic attributions in the basic definitions in Chapter 1, e.g., in column 105.

I was originally taught to do the more elaborate process at each pentagram, so I was skeptical about the simpler version.

However in practice I've found it at least as powerful to simply touch the center of the pentagram and pronounce (in a 'vibrating/chanting' tone) the divine name.

The other thing I picked up on this forum, that I found quite effective, was the pattern of breathing when tracing the pentagram. Inhale when drawing upstrokes, exhale on down strokes, and hold your breath for the level line of the pentagram.

The single sign of silence at the very end is really powerful, I find.