One commonality between varieties of ceremonial magic is some kind of invocation of the powers of the Four Elements or Directions, and the consecration of these directions - the circle casting that begins a ritual. This is often accompanied by methods of raising power which put the magician in contact with his/her genius or HGA.

One of these types of preliminary ritual is the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, or LBRP, which in Thelema was replaced by the Star Ruby.

As most workings begin with these banishings and energy raising events, they are called elementary rituals. And as such, the elementary rituals and their performance set the tone or flavour in which the rest of the working or action is performed.

It is a common mistake with some to perform these rituals extremely fast, or without due consideration and thought. Yet especially when the ritual calls for more than one person being within the circle, there must be some level of theatrical performance or seriousness in the circle casting, so that those supplying power are more easily able to contribute their minds to the activity.

In order to reach this level of power there must be an element of presence to the Self, the same power which bursts forth from within during passion and Lust (especially in the sense meant by Crowley in the Atet initially named Strength). This power comes from a dark center usually not reached "in the center of the earth". This power which rises up from the depths, properly tempered by the tongue or the Will, is what gives the sense of presence to the magician.

This power will be discussed in my upcoming essay "Mars and the Moon: A Triple Mystery". For the moment it will suffice to note the great use of "shaktis", women who acted as the Muse to their lover, in particular in Crowley, Spare, Salvador Dali, and others; and also the intensity which writings receive under influence of deep emotion, or subjects that move the unconscious. This is an aspect of the formula Q=PK noted in Liber C, a secret meaning of the phrase that "Man is peace and Woman power". We could note that Qoph is used in Kabbalism as a character to represent the Macroprospus, the Divine Head, the seat of the Imagination...

The elemental directions represent not only the compass points which demarcate the circle within which the attention stays, but also the elemental forces in all their aspects - including within the magician. Similarly, the aspects of the Qabalistic cross have both an inner and an outer component.

Lets take a look at the ritual part by part, and give an analysis.

There are three points on the vertical axis of the cross. Each of these points can be said to relate to one character of the Trinity.

The first is the Father. This represents Force, or more correctly the still center from which the force comes. So we are talking of consciousness itself, without any sense of purpose. This is the Atman, the link to the infinite, whatever you want to call it.

The second is the Son, or in the magickal parlance the Holy Guardian Angel. It is suggested to the magician by many sources that they substitute the name of their own HGA for Aiwass as soon as they receive it. If Father is Force, Son is the Form which the force is transmitted, and its vehicle. Whereas the Father was in Kether, the Son is assigned to Tiphareth. This can be considered the spirit or the soul, and what the magician aspires to place himself in contact with.

The third is, as the translation suggests, the kingdom or creation itself, the thing that receives the Form of the Son. However, the O.T.O. study guides say to touch the genitals. Malkuth itself is only in this position when the magician is sitting. On a standing human being, Malkuth is usually represented at the knees, or even at the feet. The genitals are in fact the domain of Yesod, despite their association with the creation of form.

The association of Yesod with the genitals can be underlined if we recognise the discoveries of Freud and Reich that the repression of sex force is associated with the repression of the contents of the unconscious. There is also the generative aspect of the genitals, which in the past was associated with a Moon God, such as the god Sin in the Sumerian pantheon. The concept we are working with when we say Malkuth, on the other hand, is not connected to fertility at all. It is the outer elemental form, which is why the four elements are measured in relationship to the Earth.

The magician desires to cause his actions in the sphere of Malkuth to correspond with the Will of his HGA in Tiphareth. When performing the actions given above, the magician should be concentrating on that gradual embodiment of the HGA. Thus when the word Aiwass is spoken, the magician should concentrate on all the qualities and the general flavour that word implies. Similarly for ones own HGA. It is also safe to use ones magickal name, as its gematria generally implies the form of the HGA.

The sequence is: Ateh (head), HGA (heart), Malkuth (below). When I say Ateh, I think of the dimensionless point at the center. When it is visualised however, it is not in the head itself. The reason for this is that the head is often associated with "rational" thought of the type associated with mundane thinking. Although Descartes was known to utter Cogito ergo sum, the seat of thought is decidedly not the center of the head, or the brain. Although thought acts through the brain, if you want to pinpoint the consciousness itself, you will not find it inside the brain.

To see the forehead, you must look upwards. The feeling when the eyes or attention turn in an upward direction is qualitatively different to the feeling when the eyes are looking straight ahead. There is a sense of focussing the light of this Kether between the eyes, and thus the touching of the forehead.

The focussing of energy is easiest between the eyes, due to the intimate linkage of the visual process during waking life to the sense of locating the presence of awareness. Thus a great intensity can be built up there. The quality of energy observed is different in an upward direction to that observed in a downward direction.

I will not discuss the reasons for this qualitative difference due to language considerations preventing me from giving a full exegesis. However if you you turn your head and eyes upward -- heavenward, as it were -- your focus of attention is in the third eye area, and in the jade pillow, the location where the "head system" joins with the rest of the body. From this focus, the energy then expands outward. It is this radiative quality that is associated with Tiphareth as the sun, because the quality which is radiated outward is the True Name of the magician, or the HGA.

So as Ateh and then the HGA is vibrated, the essence is extracted from the depths of the Self. The intensity of light from Kether reflected upon the surface of Yesod should reveal the form of the True Self hidden deep within the depths.

Finally, this intent radiated from Tiphareth is reflected in the magician's body language: the stare, the movements of the hands and the entire being. This is the joining of Tiphareth to Malkuth.

With this the vertical axis of the cross is complete. The ritual continues:

ve-Geburah and ve-Gedulah represent the two outer pillars of the Tree. I see them as the active, Willing, daring force and the receptive, listening and psychic force. It is important to feel these qualities upon saying each word. Therefore, it may help for example to utilise a few modifications to this formula to help bring the point home.

In my own personal invocations I press the palm of my hand into the handle of the dagger (which being in the shape of a dragon, is not smooth) which produces a mild sensation of pain. The words ve-Geburah are then pronounced in the voice of one who would conquer -- with some degree of violence.

On the other hand, ve-Gedulah is done in a softer, more persuasive and gentle voice. The grip on the dagger is loosened. Rather than touch each shoulder I use the arm of each side to point. ve-Geburah may be performed as though holding up an arm in victory, for example, while ve-Gedulah may extend a hand in friendship.

le-Olahm, Amen ends the Qabalistic cross section of the ritual. When I say le-Olahm, I visualise the eternity of Nuit, or the outward expansion of the universe. Then this outer world, the macrocosm which we have demonstrated, is drawn within to show that macrocosm and microcosm are in harmony. The Amen being the word spoken in secret, and thus the hidden God, the juxtaposition of the two images unites the outer and inner into one. Thus I modify the ritual to spread the hands out to indicate the expanse of Nuit before drawing them inward into the prayer position for the Amen.

To someone unfamiliar with the doctrine of correspondences, this might seem to be overanalysis. However, if we are to attain maximum power in the performance of our elementary ritual, we must be able to intuitively grasp the symbolism inherent in the actions as they are being performed. For it is not the making of the sign of the cross, or the repeating of Hebrew words that creates the effect we are seeking, but the intent in itself. Admittedly there is a level to which magical chains have their efficacy when an initiate in an Order performs a ritual they do not consciously understand. But this is dependent upon the magician being a member of a lodge, coven or other organisation, and not a solitary practitioner. We must ask ourselves: what is it we wish to acheive by performing ritual X? In the case of the Qabalistic cross, it is apparent from the symbolism discussed that it is a balancing of the parts of the Self, and a union of the HGA or True Self with the "lower".

The next part of the ritual involves the drawing and projection of four pentagrams to the compass points. There are words vibrated at each compass point. These are:

Explanation of the significance of the words is not possible in the context of the ritual by mere rationalisation of their meanings. The meanings in Hebrew have been discussed elsewhere by others. The student would do well however to note the quality of the sound each word makes. YHWH in the pronounciation suggested by Leonora Leet for example (Eeeeyaahooowaah, each letter is a Hebrew vowel sound) is entirely composed of breath (vowel sounds). AGLA is short, and the G makes a cutting sound on the palette. It is the opposite of the delta in Adonai. Note how the G is at the back of the palette while the D is at the front. Both YHWH and Ehieh on the other hand, are composed of two Heh's linked to different vowels, such that the Eh (Aleph Heh) at the start of Ehieh is similar to the uh sound at the end of YHWH. It is worth noting also that in classical Hermetic thought, these two pairs of elements, Fire-Earth and Water-Air, are linked. The air holds within it evaporated water, while Fire is said to be contained within the Earth (strike a flint if you dispute that one). These relationships are mirrored in the sounds of the words, the opposite pairs being alternately hard and soft in sound.

As to the practical part of drawing and flinging the pentagrams, the power must be willed out through the dagger or the pointing index finger which draws the pentagram. This can be improved by utilising the chi coiling techniques of Tai Chi Chuan, combined with strong visualisation. The visual projection of the imagined pentagrams is the most important part.

If the ritual is being performed inside a room of some description the pentagrams will usually be flung to the corners which face to the compass points. Outside, a circle is often demarcated, or at least imagined, and it is within this circle that the ritual takes place. Esoterically, the circle is the magician's microcosm and sphere of influence. It represents the area in which the magus can work their Will. Changes in the outside world are caused by the origination of charges arising within this circle.

Aside: The circle is a fascinating device. It creates a division between the world "out there" and the world of the ritual. We create our own "magic circles" in everyday life as well, choosing selectively the influences we allow to hold sway over us. A very profound topic for meditation is the relationship Das Andere (the other) has to Gimel, the High Priestess. If we follow the modern progression where Beth in its context of "house" denotes that which encloses (and thus the magic circle), how does this then progress to Gimel and then Daleth?

The pentagrams are then flung to the four points of the compass. The pentagram, as opposed to the hexagram and square, is, like the triangle, its own unity. Its number of sides - 5 - is prime. The soul was often depicted in ancient times in the praying gesture, or orans, "with arms wide open" as one song puts it. In this position, the limbs and head form a pentagram. The most obvious explanation of the choice of the pentagram is the 4 elements bound by the Quintessence (often called a fifth element). This overlooks the fact however that the quintessence is not technically another elemental form of its own, despite Plato's classical five geometric forms which he assigns to the elements, but a theme which runs through all of the elements.

The mystery behind the choice of the pentagram is somewhat baffling unless we accept the trivial explanation of the importance of the Pentagram as a magickal symbol throughout the Ages. Perhaps the fascination that such a figure creates by linking lines which are unending, the interest that its recursion generates, and the golden ratio contained within it, are reason enough. There may be a deeper explanation of the reason the pentagram was used to represent the soul, but this will have to wait for a later date. The intrinsic unity in the figure is enough for now.

The magician then invokes the archangels:

The angels are associated with the elements:

I have seen a system which reverses Uriel and Raphael (Raphael being Earth and Uriel Air), but Uriel as Earth seems the most commonly used. The Christian mythology behind these figures is voluminous and the explanation of the association of each with its element has been given by others before. It is in part based on the apocryphal Book of Enoch, and in part on the modifications introduced in the Christian era.

There is only one point that needs to be indicated here, outside the need to visualise the angels as if they were really there. This point is regarding the six rayed star. There is a threefold orientation within the human body. Gravity pulls us toward the center of the earth, creating an up-down orientation. Our limbs and dual sensory systems divide the world into left and right. And our motion usually carries us from back to forward. This trinity of dualities has a center as well, making 7 directions. However the seventh is implied, and represents unity. The other six directions radiate outward from us in six directions.

Again, "about me flame... and within me shines...". The magus states what is outside and what is inside. The relationship between what he has built outside and his inner state expresses the completion of the ritual.

The Qabalistic cross is then repeated to end the elementary ritual. This reinforces the connection to the Self which may have been lessened in the strong visualisation and utterances creating the sacred space.

This then completes the analysis of one form of banishing ritual. Where is the banishing inherent in it? In this case it is in the invoking of the archangels and the flinging of the pentagrams. It is assumed that no negative influence can withstand the presence of these angelic spirits. Exactly why and how such spirits would participate in the magickal rituals of a billion and one magicians is never discussed however, and it is taken to be a matter of faith that there will be enough resonance between the magician and these energies to produce an effect. While this might have been true for medieval man, who had a much greater understanding of the doctrine on these beings than for example, a Thelemite today might have, it is decidedly not the case for all of us. This is the reason for the proliferation of new types of elementary ritual, such as the Thelemic Star Ruby and Star Sapphire to replace the LBRP and GBRH. It is important in choosing an elementary ritual to choose one that the celebrant knows and understands well, and which produces the atmosphere desired in the subsequent magical performance. A Star Ruby will create a different atmosphere to one in which the archangels are invoked, for example.

The reason it is often called a banishing ritual is obvious: the returning of the magician to a place of power creates an atmosphere from which minor negativities will flee or become irrelevant. The ritual must be done with the correct intent however, otherwise it will be inefficient. The truth in the statement that this ritual is useful in banishing can be verified in practice, by noting the difference in atmosphere before and after the performance, and then noting it outside the magical circle.

And of course, practice makes perfect. The relationships described herein can only be fully lived when the ritual is performed a number of times, in complete mindfulness, so that the actions become second nature almost. But they must never be performed without intent, or they will become useless.

Fr. PA-HA-NA (.'.138), Nov 17 885 Anno Ordanis (99 A.N.).