Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram - invoking vs banishing
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This topic has come up to mind several times for me, and I have resolved to address it by trying various combinations and rituals and document the results. Liber O and other instructions are almost like 'toolkits' - they don't specify to what end or sequence (although some is implied in Liber O around BRH). The approach has been to construct ceremonies with various rituals 'plugged in'. Such as LBRP, BRH, Middle Pillar, assume Hoor-paar-kraat, GRP Invoking Earth, LBRP, BRH as an example sequence. Next time I may change the ordering for example. Recording the results and tuning ceremonies and rituals seems to work for me, as I have identified some that do nothing (i.e. am I pissing in the wind to invoke only to banish again, etc...but is not always the case, when meditating while the force is invoked, before final banishing), while other 'ritualettes' plugged in from Liber O at certain times are very powerful. Its alot of work to try all these combinations, but I think its worth it to find good ones.
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ok so if you do the invoking instead with the general earth pentagram, what do you visualize and what not invoking? b/c i know with the banishing you empower it and blow it up in flames. so would it be like seeing the energy flow into yourself? the area? kinda like the wiccan calling the quarters?
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@Alias55A said
"ok so if you do the invoking instead with the general earth pentagram, what do you visualize and what not invoking?"
There need be no visualizations different from the banishing (except that you're drawing the pentagrams differently).
One way of describing it: You're raising the overall spiritual tone of yourself and the place of working.
"b/c i know with the banishing you empower it and blow it up in flames."
I don't do that, nor teach that. The pentagrams themselves, by their existence, are perfectly capable of handling what's needed; and, by all means, you don't destroy the pentagrams themselves! Their presence is a significant part of their efficacy.
In both the (generic) banishing and invoking rituals, draw the pentagrams in blue-white flame. When you charge them there will tend to be a perceptible difference, but I leave this for you to discover.
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Ch. IV, Paragraph 3 of Liber O refers to a feeling of cleanliness associated with banishing, and one of holiness with invoking. That makes sense.
I asked a related question in another post about when to insert the visualisation of the destruction of those things that disturb the magician (see my other recent post.) Any comments on when to insert that?
What is interesting to me, is that everyone seems to say, "start with the LBRP," yet that is step IV. There are three other steps preceding that state "fair mastery" should be attained before entering these practices.
In any case, I still am not clear on what the consensus is regarding these questions:
(Note: all questions refer to the LRP as a practice by itself, not necessarily precedent to other rituals such as the MP or Hexagram Rituals etc.).
1.) When to use the Invoking (general) Pentagram.
2.) What to visualise when drawing the invoking Pentagram.
3.) When to use the general Pentagram vs. associating each Pentagram with the appropriate element.
4.) When to insert the Step 2. of the LBRP mentioned in Regardie's, "The Golden Dawn."Also, this topic reflects on a deeper issue, those of the Student non-grade of the A.'.A.'. I suspect in Crowley's day, one was a student for a very short time and basically jumped right in to the training. However, today, that period can last some months or even years. If you read books like Don Milo Duquette's, "The Magick of Aleister Crowley," you get all sorts of rituals that an aspirant can and should practice. Not all of them right off the bat perhaps, but the LBRP, Liber Resh at least. There is both a spiritual thirst and a spiritual and psychic need of protection among modern day Thelemites, a need for something that fills the gap between someone who has left the protection of their old religion and gods, and some one who has attained "fair mastery" in Asana, Pranayama, Dharana, commited to memory the tables of "777", mastery of Assumption of the God forms (pre-requisite to that in-depth study of the Egyptian Pantheon), Vibration of the Divine Names, and then finally Banishing and Invoking Rituals. As far as I can tell, there is a huge gap where the Student is left hanging in the wind. In my experience, the only thing that comes close to filling that gap is Wicca and Neo-Paganism, unless one sticks with a more conventional religion.
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@nderabloodredsky said
"1.) When to use the Invoking (general) Pentagram."
I don't think you can answer that in the abstract, i.e., outside of a lot more information about circumstance. But perhaps I can give some examples. (These are only examples.)
As a precedent to other work, after after banishing, one can use the Lesser Invoking Pentagram Ritual just to 'charge' yourself or the space, i.e., to sanctify for other work.
If a space is reserved only for magical work, or used primarily for that and not seriously disturbed in between, then (especially with a somewhat more advanced magician) it isn't necessary to banish each time - just to prepare the space once, and occasionally reinforce it, and thereafter only do the invoking to start a work session and the banishing to close it.
One particular example of this is the Vault of the Adepts. The Vault is of such high sanctity inherently that no banishing is ever performed in it. Only invocations are ever performed in the Vault. (Ever.) As a variation of that, during the season of my performance of the Abramelin working, I consecrated my temple by the ritual the consecrates the Vault, and thereafter did nothing but invocations in it until the day I took it down.
An expression I've often made of the comparative purposes of the so-called banishing and so-called invoking rituals may be helpful. It's partly literal, partly inferential. It is that the invoking moves one up the Tree (into more spiritual spaces), and the banishing moves one down the Tree (grounds one in Malkuth). Thus, the invoking would be used to begin spiritual work and the banishing to end it. (But this presumes a sufficiently "clean" psychic environment to begin with.) My first exposure to this was during a time that I was learning the rituals and followed a common recommendation of doing the invoking in the morning and the banishing at night. However, I'd do the invoking and then go hop on a city bus and be wide-open raw to psychic assault, as if every protection had been stripped away. Obviously, this wasn't entirely true, because the Pentagram Ritual is inherently protective; but it felt true. I eventually sorted out that it was openiong me wide-open to all impressions in a way that only had its place in a psychically purified space, such as a temple.
"2.) What to visualise when drawing the invoking Pentagram."
I've answered this, and you know most of it, so I might be missing the point here. One sees the pentagram being drawn in blue-white flame. (The color is extremely important - it's the color of the particular neutral astral light of the generic ritual.) One actually sees the pentagram form as one's finger or implement moves through the air tracing it.
Remember that you are drawing these at an infinite distance. They may appear a short distance in front of you, but they are being drawn at all distances between you and infinity. For this reason, the arm, wrist, and hand, need to be kept completely straight - not bent - from the shoulder to the very end. When one draws the pentagram (or other lineal figure) with a perfectly straight arm etc., the mathematics are such that the figure remains as well drawn to an infinite distance.
"3.) When to use the general Pentagram vs. associating each Pentagram with the appropriate element."
You use the pentagrams of a particular Element when you are working with that particular Element.
"If you read books like Don Milo Duquette's, "The Magick of Aleister Crowley," you get all sorts of rituals that an aspirant can and should practice. Not all of them right off the bat perhaps, but the LBRP, Liber Resh at least. There is both a spiritual thirst and a spiritual and psychic need of protection among modern day Thelemites, a need for something that fills the gap between someone who has left the protection of their old religion and gods, and some one who has attained "fair mastery" in Asana, Pranayama, Dharana, commited to memory the tables of "777", mastery of Assumption of the God forms (pre-requisite to that in-depth study of the Egyptian Pantheon), Vibration of the Divine Names, and then finally Banishing and Invoking Rituals. As far as I can tell, there is a huge gap where the Student is left hanging in the wind. In my experience, the only thing that comes close to filling that gap is Wicca and Neo-Paganism, unless one sticks with a more conventional religion."
Whoa, you're putting all sorts of things in the Student period that are not required of it - that, in fact, are a substantial part of the work of the Probationer. A Student isn't required to master all of that stuff!
I thought, though, that you were building to a question. (Perhaps I was mistaken.) I didn't see one at the end. Was there a question?
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Thank you for the explanation. That does help....
As far as the question regarding what to visualise during the invoking of the pentagram, I should have included the invocation of the Archangels. Do you visualise the Archangels differently, perhaps turning in or out, with regard to invocation vs. banishing?
As far as the last paragraph, I have your book on the A.'.A.'., so I understand that, that the work I listed is of higher grade than student, but that's my point: Every one seems to say start with the LBRP, but that is Ch. IV of Liber O, after mastery of all those other practices in the previous three chapters.
What I was leading up to is my opinion of the necessity of a Thelemic religion that fills the needs of non-magicians (or aspiring ones). Perhaps that is what the OTO or the Temple of Thelema is designed to provide, but those groups are not (very) active in my locale, in contrast to some Wicca/Neo-Pagan groups.
Also, if you feel like it, can you address my question #4?
Thank you.
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@nderabloodredsky said
"As far as the question regarding what to visualise during the invoking of the pentagram, I should have included the invocation of the Archangels. Do you visualise the Archangels differently, perhaps turning in or out, with regard to invocation vs. banishing?"
No. I don't visualize them until the moment I say their names. That's when they manifest. (They aren't there with the drawing of the pentagrams.) [Exception: Early visualization in some preliminary training exercises.]
"As far as the last paragraph, I have your book on the A.'.A.'., so I understand that, that the work I listed is of higher grade than student, but that's my point: Every one seems to say start with the LBRP, but that is Ch. IV of Liber O, after mastery of all those other practices in the previous three chapters."
Not everyone. (For example, I don't say that.)
"What I was leading up to is my opinion of the necessity of a Thelemic religion that fills the needs of non-magicians (or aspiring ones). Perhaps that is what the OTO or the Temple of Thelema is designed to provide, but those groups are not (very) active in my locale, in contrast to some Wicca/Neo-Pagan groups."
One can differentiate one's "simply practicing," or one's seeking / exploring from one's pursuing a specific intiatiatory path. You'd been talking about the latter, and I think you are unnecessarily merging them.
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@Jim Eshelman said
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@nderabloodredsky said
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"As far as the last paragraph, I have your book on the A.'.A.'., so I understand that, that the work I listed is of higher grade than student, but that's my point: Every one seems to say start with the LBRP, but that is Ch. IV of Liber O, after mastery of all those other practices in the previous three chapters."Not everyone. (For example, I don't say that.)"
"Are you saying you don't advise the LBRP for beginners? If so, what do you suggest?
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@nderabloodredsky said
"Are you saying you don't advise the LBRP for beginners? If so, what do you suggest?"
It depends on the individual and the path they are taking. - The answer I would give also would vary as to whether we were talking about (1) just somebody wanting to get into all this stuff vs. (2) a formal program for initiates.
(For example, Temple of Thelema follows the pattern the G.D. should have followed from their own design documents, of not introducing the Pentagram Ritual in the 0° but only after attunement to Malkuth.)
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@Jim Eshelman said
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@nderabloodredsky said
"Are you saying you don't advise the LBRP for beginners? If so, what do you suggest?"It depends on the individual and the path they are taking. - The answer I would give also would vary as to whether we were talking about (1) just somebody wanting to get into all this stuff vs. (2) a formal program for initiates.
(For example, Temple of Thelema follows the pattern the G.D. should have followed from their own design documents, of not introducing the Pentagram Ritual in the 0° but only after attunement to Malkuth.)"
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O.K. Interesting.... -
question, lets say i wanted to work with a particualr element, do the LBRP then LIRP lets say pentagram of fire, when im done working with it would i do the LBRP with the banishing pentagram with fire and thats it?
all same with GIRP, when im don do you repeat the proccess at each quater but with the banishing pentagram of spirit and fire? or can you just do the LBRP with the general earth pentagram to close all rituals? idkin wiccan circles the proccess goes first to last, then close it starting from last to first.
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@Alias55A said
"question, lets say i wanted to work with a particualr element, do the LBRP then LIRP lets say pentagram of fire, when im done working with it would i do the LBRP with the banishing pentagram with fire and thats it?"
Unless it is a very major operation, I'd recommend:
(1) LBR (generic)
(2) Lesser Invoking Pentagram Ritual of Fire
(3) The work planned
(4) Lesser Banishing Pentagram Ritual of Fire"all same with GIRP, when im don do you repeat the proccess at each quater but with the banishing pentagram of spirit and fire? or can you just do the LBRP with the general earth pentagram to close all rituals? idk"
The Greater usually isn't necessary but, yes, it does repeat at each quarter. If you haven't been ceremonially linked to the Spirit pentagrams, though, I doubt it will be of much effect. The Lesser Invoking Pentagram of an Element is much simpler: Identical to the generid LIRP except that the invoking Fire pentagram is used (in green on a red field).
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"Unless it is a very major operation, I'd recommend:
(1) LBR (generic)
(2) Lesser Invoking Pentagram Ritual of Fire
(3) The work planned
(4) Lesser Banishing Pentagram Ritual of Fire "great! i love simplicity in lamen terms
"The Greater usually isn't necessary but, yes, it does repeat at each quarter. If you haven't been ceremonially linked to the Spirit pentagrams, though, I doubt it will be of much effect. The Lesser Invoking Pentagram of an Element is much simpler: Identical to the generid LIRP except that the invoking Fire pentagram is used (in green on a red field)."
ceremonially linked to the spirit pentagrams? idk what that is about, but yesterday i did the LBRP, then the Greater Invoking of Air, and facing east visualizing the spirit pentagram opening up and flowing forth through me and the circle, it was pretty stron and almost put a knot in my stomach, especially when i was facing south, there was so much energy or "power" per se that the knot in my stomach made me feal a little sick(not physically, but just the feeling of little queezy with the excertion of heat from the body).
in green on a red field? explain?oh and i did visualize the active spirit pentagram as blue-white, with blue-white energy spewing forth
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@Alias55A said
"ceremonially linked to the spirit pentagrams? idk what that is about"
For example, having passed through the Portal Grade dedication or an equivalent.
"in green on a red field? explain?"
The Fire pentagrams are drawn in green light on a red field.
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@Alias55A said
"what type of red field? explain, like red crass on a hill or field, or just a fiery red background or plain red background."
A solid wall of pure red light. (I assume that "astral color" is your personal term for "optical complement"?)
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Jim, you said this earlier about the invoking ritual:
"I've answered this, and you know most of it, so I might be missing the point here. One sees the pentagram being drawn in blue-white flame. (The color is extremely important - it's the color of the particular neutral astral light of the generic ritual.)"
Does the pentagram being drawn in blue-white flame hold true for the LBRP as well?
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@Frater LR said
"Does the pentagram being drawn in blue-white flame hold true for the LBRP as well?"
Yes: The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram, both invoking and banishing forms.
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@Alrah said
"Jim - why white-blue instead of drawing down the gold from the crown?"
One could ask instead... why gold?
This is the oldest and most common instruction, and one that has served us well. This whitish blue is, in some circles, called "witch fire," and is a very common astral appearance of the substance at the particular level of Yetzirah that the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram is addressing.
Hexagrams, though, are drawn in gold.
"The intent in the outer orders is the attainment to Tiphareth (or the 'sudden enlightenment/highest dhyana/vision of the HGA/LVX', yes? (contrasted to the gradual enlightenment/ way or path of return once this is accomplished/Nox)."
But that's not the level at which the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram is working. It's more in the form of sweeping the lower astral elements that need equilibrating in advance.
"Do you change colours up the grades?"
Not with grades - as long as we're still talking about the Lesser. (Other forms of the Pentagram Ritual have other rules.) There are color changes for other purposes (such as particularization of the ritual to a specific Element).
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@Alrah said
"Gold. You can't go wrong with gold."
Quite the contrary! It's extremely ego-inflating when overly used, especially when pumped into a distinctly Yetziratic pool.
One difference I see here is that you're trying to force it to be a particular thing. Our goal is to observe what color the substance is (i.e., spontaneously appears to general psychic vision) and not force it to be any particular thing. That's a characteristic of the lesser ritual: It is undifferentiated as to one principle or another.
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@Jim Eshelman said
"Hexagrams, though, are drawn in gold."Ok - will you expound upon this point? Why the difference?"
The Pentagram Ritual is microcosmic, and especially addresses those things below Tiphereth. It is also intended as the "front end" ritual for new aspirants. The Hexagram Ritual is macrocosmic, and originally created to be especially employed by those who have attained to Tipphereth.
Additionally, the integrating principle of all points of the hexagram is the sun. The integrating principle of all points of the pentagram is spirit.