Greater Ritual of the Hexagram-Liber O
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@AEternitas1 said
"In Crowley's Liber O, in the section on the GRH, it says "In all cases first use a conjuration with ARARITA, and next with the name of the God corresponding to the planet or sign you are deal with." What exactly does this allude too?"
It means that when you draw the invoking or banishing hexagram of a specific planet, you vibrate A.R.A.R.I.T.A. as usual, but also employ the Divine Name of the planet etc., and such other part of the hierarchy as you deem necessary for the particular working. - There is some latitude here, since it's a formula more than a specific ritual; my own routine use is Divine Name, Archangel Name, then A.R.A.R.I.T.A., unless the particular ritual warrants drawing the currents down to denser worlds.
"Does mean to perform a Lesser Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram of the particular planet or sign first as alluded to in the Golden Dawn paper? Or does it mean you would trace the Hexagram vibrating Ararita, and then trace the symbol of the planet vibrating the proper divine name? The instruction isn't very clear."
One reason it isn't entirely clear is that it's a formula, not a specific ritual. It doesn't even have to be part of a "hexagram ritual" as such - there are instances where, circumstances already being rightly prepared, one only uses the hexagram and its visualizations, Names, etc. as a kiknd of stand-alone.
Despite the wording above, I would always end with A.R.A.R.I.T.A. It's like punctuation, and very powerful.
Notice, by the way, that he alludes to a "conjuration." This might be as similar as vibrating the Names. But it also allows the composition of one or several paragraphs of a full-blown conjuration.
Do you have 776 1/2? I go over this in more detail starting on p. 183.
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I guess I'll have to go ahead and get 776 1/2!!!!
And thank you Jim.
In Roger WIlliamson's writings, he performs it by vibrating the Divine Name while tracing the Hexagram, then Ararita while tracing the planetary symbol, followed by tracing the letter of Ararita corresponding while vibrating that letter.
I just found it odd that Crowley says first with Ararita, then the particular Divine Name.Crowley's instructions for the Lesser Hexagram Ritual don't even bring tracting the particular forms of the lesser Hexagrams to any specific planet, he only gives the method of tracing the Saturn form! He must not have found that particluar method entirely useful.
The idea of expanding the ritual into a larger ceremony by involving verse and conjuration is interesting.
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@AEternitas1 said
"In Roger WIlliamson's writings, he performs it by vibrating the Divine Name while tracing the Hexagram, then Ararita while tracing the planetary symbol, followed by tracing the letter of Ararita corresponding while vibrating that letter."
I've seen that variation, and it never made any sense to me. For one, it's a serious interruption of concentration for me. Draw the hexagram or pentagram (or other lineal figure): just worry about what you're seeing, the energy flowing into its formation. Then bring the instrument to the center and vibrate the appropriate name, formula, or whatever (for the ritual in question).
If "chant while draw" works for you, fine. But be sure that you are as geometrically rigorous as possible with the actual drawing.
"Crowley's instructions for the Lesser Hexagram Ritual don't even bring tracting the particular forms of the lesser Hexagrams to any specific planet, he only gives the method of tracing the Saturn form! He must not have found that particluar method entirely useful."
By definition, the Lesser ritual is not differentiated by planet. The whole distinction of the Greater ritual is that it is particularized to a specific force, rather than generalized LVX. (Don't think of that as the Saturn form. Think of it as the generic form - unless you are using Saturn colors, Saturn names, and Saturn intention.)
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In the original Golden Dawn paper on the Hexagram rituals, they do in fact differentiate the Hexagrams by planet, it is simply the Saturn form that is used in general banishings and invocations, much like the LBRP ses the Earth Pentagram. FOr a specific working, the Hexagrams can be traced to invoke a particular planetary force, though the same concept is never really employed in the LRP which may suggest that it would be just as spurious to employ it in the LRH. For the time being I'm going to leave that form oof the ritual well enough alone, as it seems highly impractical.
It sometimes seems that when the GD put all these things together, it was done in a somewhat half hazzard manner, and it has taken some experience over the last century to fine tune some aspects of these ritual formulas.From experience, I do tend to agree, tracing a lineal figure while visualizing it and vibrating the Divine Name at the same time is a messy affair. Perhaps that is why I have always felt the LRH to be so awkward.
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@AEternitas1 said
"In the original Golden Dawn paper on the Hexagram rituals, they do in fact differentiate the Hexagrams by planet"
You can do that for specialized purposes. For example, you can do a Netzach ritual (as distinct from a Daleth ritual) by blending the ideas of Fire and Venus. (I only take an obvious one.)
My point was that this is no longer the Lesser Ritual. It's the Greater Ritual, because it is differentiating or particularizing the force. (In the final analysis, that's only a naming convention, of course.)
"From experience, I do tend to agree, tracing a lineal figure while visualizing it and vibrating the Divine Name at the same time is a messy affair. Perhaps that is why I have always felt the LRH to be so awkward."
There are also a couple of major blinds. These are descrambled in the 776 1/2 treatment.
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So, should I hold my breath for the paper back or just spring for the expensive hard cover?
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@AEternitas1 said
"So, should I hold my breath for the paper back or just spring for the expensive hard cover?"
No paperback anticipated. (The book needs superior binding so that it can lay flat for use, and hold up for a long time.)
Of course, you could also spring for the leather bound limited deluxe edition
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I also scanned, relatively quickly, Donald Kraig's instructions for performing the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram...interesting method, if not kind of a confused mishmash of formulas and techniques.
But it did raise the question of which colors to trace the Hexagrams in. He suggested gold, which makes sense in the sense that a Hexagram can be seen to be essentially Solar, but I find that dissatisfying. Up until now I have been tracing them in a deep indigo, because of the association with Saturn, but I have been considering to instead trace them in their elemental colors of Red, Green, Yellow and Blue.
I have also always seemed to find the attribution of "pale blue" for the Lesser Pentagram Ritual to make little sense, and instead trace them in red or simly "flame." But I suppose if I followed that logic into the LRH, I would trace them in gold....Well, Jim, I hope your book clarifies some of these points!
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@AEternitas1 said
"But it did raise the question of which colors to trace the Hexagrams in. He suggested gold, which makes sense in the sense that a Hexagram can be seen to be essentially Solar, but I find that dissatisfying."
Yes, for the generic I would advise gold (and that is the tradition from the Golden Dawn teachings as well).
"Up until now I have been tracing them in a deep indigo, because of the association with Saturn, but I have been considering to instead trace them in their elemental colors of Red, Green, Yellow and Blue."
I think both of those are errors - for similar but different reasons.
The first error is thinking of these hexagrams as Saturn hexagrams. As mentioned in my earlier post, they are not Saturn hexagrams. Instead, they are generic hexagrams, that just happen to be traced in the same fashion as the Saturn hexagrams. (Similarly, in the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram, you are not tracking Earth pentagrams - you are tracing generic pentagrams that are drawn the same as Earth pentagrams.)
To make them into Saturn hexagrams, you would need to combine other elements to reinforce or "tip" this, such as color (which you have used), Saturn divine names, intention, etc.
But that's not the intention of the ritual. The intention is to work with pure solar LVX.
With regtard to the elemental colors, you are again trying to differentiate and particularize the energy, rather than let it be simple, pure solar hexagram consciousness.
"I have also always seemed to find the attribution of "pale blue" for the Lesser Pentagram Ritual to make little sense, and instead trace them in red or simly "flame.""
I use flame, too, but the flame is pale blue
The reason for that recommendation is that the pentagram is molding a stratum of the astral light that commonly appears pale blue to clairvoyance. -
ALright, thanks again Jim, I'll change things up a little. I can see the point made about the gold color of the Hexagrams, but I can't find this instruction in any of the GD papers!
My considerations of the color of the Pentagram are based upon the probationers robe(I think) which is I believe based upon the prayer at the at the end of the pentagram rite, with the blue and red Hexagram in the back i believe, nad the red Pentagram in the front.
For some reason unknown to me, I found this red Pentagram considerably easier to visualize than its pale blue counterpart.
In all honesty though I suppose I've never seen a truly red flame. -
@AEternitas1 said
"ALright, thanks again Jim, I'll change things up a little. I can see the point made about the gold color of the Hexagrams, but I can't find this instruction in any of the GD papers! "
After I clicked Submit, I wondered if I should clarify that. It's not in any of the papers. By "that is the tradition from the Golden Dawn teachings," I meant the oral tradition that has been preserved and handed down five generations.