Contruction of a Personal Temple in Limited Space
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Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
I have been performing daily banishings and what not for about a year now. All have been done without any temple of any sort, and I think it is time that I take it a step further.
I am currently residing in a Brooklyn apartment, which doesn't give me a lot of space to work with. In fact, I have a clear space of 5'x5'. I have plans to go elsewhere, but they are medium-term and I don't think that my current conditions should stop me from moving forward.
I figure that there must be several of you in a similar situation, and I am curious as to how you go about erecting a temple for your day-to-day work? I am most interested in hearing about Altars and the Circle in such conditions.
5'x5' does not give me a lot of room, but at least it is something. Any input?
Thanks to all.
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Pictures in medieval and renaissance grimoires often showed magicians performing in very small spaces, and in those days magic was a game for the wealthy. That encourages me to think that a large temple is a luxury, not a necessity. (But maybe it just means the illustrator had to draw the picture in a small space!)
I have a small room I call my Athenaeum because it houses several bookshelves and most of my books. There's not much space to move around, but I set up a small table to be an "altar", and that's where I work. This isn't ideal, as my makeshift temple is also my library, so there's a missing element of purity, but it's what I have.
I don't do elaborate rituals -- mostly a banishing before reciting an invocation. Where I'm supposed to advance to a quadrant of the "circle", or dance around it, I just stand in the middle because I can't really move around much. This also is not ideal, because I lose much of the physical engagement that brings power to a ritual. But it's what I have.
If you are doing theurgy (i.e., magic aimed at spiritualizing the magician and eventually invoking the HGA), then you have to have faith that the gods have given you what you need. Make do with your 5 x 5 space, and when the time comes that you really need a larger one, the appropriate miracle will come ("with miracle's nonchalance," as Annie Dillard says).
Sorry for the long reply, but it's a good question and I hope others will share their experiences.
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@gmugmble said
"Pictures in medieval and renaissance grimoires often showed magicians performing in very small spaces"
...if I'm not mistaken, Crowley, at one point, merely used 2 closets - one for 'white' operations & one for 'black'.
616
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I think you're on the right track. The banishings will clense the space, and you know, that's not such a bad space if you think about it in terms of the Sphere of Sensation.
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Thank you all for your thoughts on this topic. Since I am primarily concerned with Theurgy at this point in my practice, I am going to consider the construction of a circle on a 5'x5' piece of canvas. I think I can probably unroll it on the floor when I do my daily work.
Intuitively, that seems to be the more important item to have over an altar, as it truly represents my working space and its holiness.
Does anyone have any thoughts on that decision? Can someone offer a reason as to why the altar should take precedence?
Thanks as always.
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^ That's a pretty good idea.
I ahve a similar problem in that i currently have my only space for rituals in the room with books, a computer (not ideal) and a small reptile who is constantly disturbed by my magickings. The space really does make a difference in the psychological effect and the actual results I think--having worked in a much better space previously I can see the difference. I have been thinking about trying some things outdoors--in the mountains, in a nearby park where I'm not likely to be disturbed. Maybe you could find an outdoor area. To me it might be just a touch better than mucking about in a cluttered space.