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To: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.magick,alt.pagan.magick,talk.religion.misc,talk.religion.newage,alt.thelema
From: tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com (nagasiva)
Subject: Various: Thelemic Rites
Date: 23 Dec 1997 22:28:17 -0800

valis@pacificnet.net [caution re citations]:

Arlie Stephens wrote:

>Robin writes:

>> Of course LBRP is LUX-O-Centric as is most of the Western Tradition.  We
>> are either trying our darndest to RISE to the Light, or bring the Light
>> down to us.  Banishing is inherantly a rearrangement of the energies of
>> our Selves/Circle in order to make it a more likely receptical for that
>> LUX.  Thats how I think of it anyway.

>Hmm. That's not my imagery at all. I do a couple of standard practices 
>(from habit) that are light-ish, notably my use of a Kether Lamp and the
>words I use while lighting it (one set of them, not my ordinary ones),
>but LBRP isn't a light-show. 

I don't know if it is white light-ish, but I use light a lamp prior to
ritual.  This symbolizes the Yechidah.  I don't see this tied to any moral
force or luxocentrism.  It's a sun, yes, LVX, but it's a star in a starry
NOX.  I don't see the whole dichotomy or the incompatability.

>My typical feelings, for comparison:

>LBRP with drawn pentagrams: Balance. A large open space. Clarity on what 
>	I want/will/choose. 

I get a large open space with some geometric figure surroundings.  clear,
mental clarity.  quiet.  boring at times, nice at times.

>LBRP with thrown pentagrams: Elation, excitement. Sometimes verging 
>	on giddiness. One memorable time my coworkers were uncertain 
>	whether I should be left alone afterwards. (I was acting drunk.)
>	Also, more sensation of moving power than either LBRP 1 *or* Star
>	Ruby. 

Well, stronger wards, a bit of energy raising, solid wall instead of
gemometrical grid.  Hexagram more like a painting.  beign, a little

>Star Ruby: Not much felt at the time, but regular practice leads to
>mania,
>	megalomania, unsubstantiated irrational beliefs about one's abilities. 
>	(Similar to the behaviour I've observed from people on cocaine,
>	or the narrator woman of the early part of Diary of a Drug Fiend.) 
>	It's a lovely high, but disconnects from mundane reality.

I get a lot of energy, and a more starry night-vibe.  Not necessarily
comfortable at all times, though useful at some times.  Also, sexy, mayeb,
sexually exaggerated, a bit inappropriate for some rituals such as, say, a
coldly intellectual mercury, or the more regal and political aspect of
jupiter.

Setting of the Wards (Greek)

misty wall fortified with bursts of energy, some flickering of stars, the
dark earth fecundated with the powers of heaven, then a bright sun
appearing above rather than rising over the ritual space.  more earthy. 
more "pagan."

Setting of the Wards of Admamant

Starry, clean, neoplatonist, hermetic.  misty wall, lapis lazuli,
sparkles, seven luminaries overhead.  A feeling of um bhaktish devotion to
the Sub Rosa Nigra pantheon.  lush but balanced. then briefly filling the
room with interior and exterior solar energy.  A sense of anticipation for
a ritual to come.  as a cup prepared for a wedding so to speak.  more
romantic as opposed to sexual like the star ruby.

all of these change with the elemental fortifications, as the spoken
invocations prepare for what is to come.  the tone can really change. 
things can be emphasized.

>And which one starts with "Apo Pantos Kakodaimonos"?  [Loosely: "Begone,
>all evil spirits!"]

Yepp.

>> what could be the explanation for an apparent infinite target distance
>> in the LBRP?  why not a scoping of a particular designated area such
>> as with the Wiccan Circle?  I'm curious how people see these rites
>> and what ideas you have about their structure/effects.  any response
>> will be welcome.  thanks.

>LBRP can be done with a fixed area. Or with an infinite ring. Or with  a
>cross/axis/3 dimensional cross that stretches to infinity but doesn't
>define space. I tend to use fixed area that is at the same time infinite;
> one of my (magical) coworkers does 3 dimensional cross. The feeling  is
>very different. 

I precede the gesture with the drawing of a circle, takes the "infinite
distance" question away (which is doubtless only seeming.)  I've never
used it in a space more than say 25 feet diameter.  Any bigger than this I
circumabulate to the edge of the circle and draw it.  The A.S. claims the
hurling is effective to a distance of 30 feet.  Well, I ain't that good.


>Date: Mon, 25 Aug 1997 16:52:11 -0700 (PDT)
>From: Arlie Stephens 
>Subject: Re: LBRP and Star Ruby (was Re: Scientific Illuminists vs.
>Believers)

>Nexist (DAR) wrote:
>> Arlie Stephens wrote:
>> > Nexist (DAR) wrote:


>> Thus I tend to experience results quicker if I first banish with the SR
>> rather than the LBRP.  Now I admit that part of this (or even all of it)
>> might be due to my antipathy for Xtianity, but you end up with a nice
>> cross of passive/active male/female energies (ie, the godforms) within
>> the circle.  This cross of energy marks the point or hadit, which is
>> you.  

>Very different from my experience, but I don't think in active/passive or
>(ICK) male/female energies.  I think the female == passive thing  may bug
>me at least as much as Christianity bugs you. 

I don't mind the passive or active.  I find them useful.  I don't let them
run my life though.  For me they are symbols and manifestations of the
Neshamah and the Chiah.

>Besides, if we're doing the male/female thing, I'm not *allowed* to be
>hadit ... I "lack the neccesary appendage", or whatever it was that
>Crowley  said about female Magi.  I'm supposed to be the bl**dy
>circumference; yuk. 

In the system I am involved in, the two crossing lines would be spirit and
matter, male and female, two people, etc.  all those dichotomies which
serve as useful tools.  the center of this point rather than being hadit
would be the child, the result of the conjunction of the lines, and by
extension the circumfrence of the circle which the lines are enclosed
within.  IE the "One and the All"

A simple way of levelling the spirit above matter problem if it is
distasteful to some is to set the cross in its side, forming an x in a
circle rather than a circled cross.

>I deal with this dichotomy by ruthlessly discarding *all* gender
>symbolism; small loss, since it never made sense to me. (Most "masculine"
>attributes apply to me better than the "feminine" ones, so it's
>prodigously silly  for me to project them onto some handy male image,
>instead of owning  them as "self". Nor do I want to just reverse the
>atrributions, since there are plenty of cases where "feminine" attributes
>apply better to me, or where neither seems particluarly more like me than
>the other.) 

>This leaves me with some problems dealing with Star Ruby of course ... Oh
> phalle ... indeed. And   Oh kteis  always struck me as even sillier. 

>Anyone got any alternatives that seem to them to carry the same effect? 

    Ei, He Basileia, Kai He Dunamis, Kai He Doxa, Eis Tous Aionas - greek
"kabbalistic cross" actually "calyx" from the A.S. rituals. different
gesture.

    Ei, stand straight, 
    he basileia, arms at sides as if raising something to a new level, 
    kai he dunamis, left hand to right shoulder,
    kai he doxa, right hand to left shoulder

(this forms the cross)

    eis tous bow the head, consider the intersection of the cross at the
heart - the one
    aionas, formulate the aura containing the cross which is thhe same as
the center - the all

(you end up in a position equivalent to Osiris Risen)

>The thought crosses my mind that it might be interesting to take the 
>idea of Star Ruby being the creation/realization of the point within  the
>centre, and run with it. That might be a way to synthesize the two ideas
>into an interesting whole. I'd like to lose both the gender  symbolism of
>Star Ruby and the hebrew god names of LBRP, and create  a ritual of the
>same type, but one that remains high magic in flavour,  rather than
>turning into yet-another-pseudo-wiccan-circle-casting. 

see the above on the circled cross...

Well the A.S. does it for me.  The god names are (spirit then element):

Air: Athanatos, Selae Genetes
Earth: Ischuros, Kyrios
Water: Ischuros, Pankrates
Fire: Athanatos, Theos

>I think I'll play with this and see whether I can pull something workable
> together. The exercise is sure to be useful, regardless of whether 
>there's a useful result.   

>> Here is the Nexist interpretation, with notes for alternatives (note
>> spelling may be defunct!) *'s denote the alternative's I use.

>Thanks. This kind of thing is really useful. Yes, I guess I'm a variant
>collector. 

hmm I've got some variants collected at
http://www.pacificnet.net/~valis/rituals.html

==================================================

valis@pacificnet.net:

In <199709142055.QAA14126@www.hollyfeld.org>, on 09/14/97 
   at 04:55 PM, (thelema93-l-digest) said:

>Date: Sun, 14 Sep 97 13:41:01 -0700
>From: Tim Maroney 
>Subject: Re: LBRP & Star Ruby & Others

Robin:
>>>>> what could be the explanation for an apparent infinite target distance
>>>>> in the LBRP?  why not a scoping of a particular designated area such
>>>>> as with the Wiccan Circle?  

Content:
>>Perhaps because ultimately what goes on in
>>a banishing is the alignment of the microcosm (the magician)
>>with the macrocosm (everything that is seemingly not the
>>magician; the universe). The efficacy of this ritual depends
>>on this alignment, which balances and heightens awareness.
>>The idea that a banishing clears a particular physical area
>>seems a bit baroque to me, although many individuals do view
>>it that way, and go on to perform/perceive 'effective' banishings.

>I'm with you on this. When I do any kind of quarter call the distance is 
>not infinite but very great, to the edge of the world. I am using the 
>Christian cosmology employed by Dee and Kelley in which the guardians 
>reside at the four watchtowers of the world, and so the ritual transforms
> the whole space of the terrestrial universe as well as my mundane 
>approach to geometry. Changing just the room at hand would seem rather 
>paltry and uninspired to me, but to each their own....

I think I approach my LBRP-analogous rites in the same way, alignment and
the merging of macrocosm and microcosm in the magician, but I also have a
big emphasis on *temenos*.  The banishing goes far beyond to the horizons,
as does the visualization of four archons, and I feel the same sense of
alignment as the LBRP - but there is a special emphasis on creating the
ambiance in the place of working as well as necessarily demarcating it.  I
don't consider this "paltry."  The Star Ruby uses a physical demarcation
as well.  

Say...  I am standing in a pile of rubble which must be built into a
dwelling for a guest.  Very pretty surroundings, but I do not notice them
because of my distracting place within them.  I take on the task and the
authority and empower myself, rightly - Calyx.  

I consider the immediate dimensions as I circumambulate.  

Then I banish - I take the stones and put them in place, I build a house
with four arches.  

Then as I look about the place, (in this part I visualize the four
archons, and the landscapes behind them) I suddenly perceive the beauty of
the natural surroundings through them.  The powers of the elements are
again pure, and gorgeous... and I am centered in the place with a renewal
of wonder and a sense of anticipation.  It is as if - I consider the
powers of the elements and my perception of them changes, like realizing
again the beauty of someone which has grown familiar enough to appear
mundane.  I can walk through the arches and explore them if I need to, and
I have established guards to keep unwanted influences out.  

Then the guest arrives, the sun appears overhead, and I perform a
gratulatory gesture in exultation. as the light of above illumines my work
and shines down through the hexagonal window at the top of my structure
and reaches the earth, and the higher regions are accessible.  And
everything is groovy, the stars are right etc.

This happens on my GOOD Setting of the Wards anyways.

BTW, Ei He Basileia etc is the standard "kingdom power glory" like atah
malkuth etc.  I have a suspicion it's close to the New Testament usage. 
In addition dunamis is the sphere of planetary mars and doxa is jupiter in
the AS planetary system, balancing the pillars is standard, and both of
these have some wider usage of course (dunamis being divine potency, doxa
being tied to ideas of structure / cosmology).

And on another note, anyone know where the Latin version of the LBRP in
Gerald del Campo's (I think thats how you spell it) book came from? -- 

=====================================================

Jeffrey Smith :

Introductory comment:  I use my own version of the LBRP, which is based 
on--and more or less enacts--Sefer Yetzirah 1:13--the pentragrams and 
angels are replaced by hexagrams and the permutationsof Yod Vav Heh.
The passage in SY essentially describes God establishing the Cosmos, and 
so in using the ritual, I am myself establishing the Cosmos in all six 
directions (Above, Below, East, West, South, North): I am recreating, not 
just the physical/psychical space about me, but all of the Universe.  
Reviewing the matter, it strikes me that even in the standart versions of 
this ritual--LBRP, Star Ruby, whatever--the magickian is doing exactly 
that--establishing the Cosmos, with hirself as the Deity.

===========================================

Jeffrey Smith :

Here is the Yetzirah based ritual.  Sorry, Noctifer, but it's quite 
thoroughly luxocentric :)

Enter the place of the ritual, and say--
With You is the Fountain of Life; in Your Light shall we see Light.
Continue Your Lovingkindness to them that know You, and Your
Rigtheousness to them that are upright in heart.
Go the center of the place of working and face east.
Begin sealing the area of working:  Recite Sefer Yetzirah 1:13, acting
it out as one does so, and visualizing the Letters in appropriate locations.
 He chose three letters from among the Elementals
 In the mystery of the three Mothers,  (visualize the Light above you)
 Alef  (draw the light at the level of the heart)
 Mem   (draw the light to the level of the genitals)
 Shin  (draw the light from the genitals up to the head)
He set them in His Great Name (visualize the light changing into 
 the Tetragrammaton)
and with them sealed the six extremities.
He sealed Above and faced upward and sealed it with YHV.
(Draw the light out along your arm,  and as you say the direction
with emphasis, draw a hexagram (Star of David or Unicursal are probably
best) above your head, then draw the Letters inside it,  Yod Heh Vav.)
He sealed Below and faced downward and sealed it with HYV.
 (do the same thing, but now below your feet, Heh Yod Vav)
He sealed East, and faced ahead, and sealed it with VYH
 (now directly in front of you, Vav Yod Heh)
He sealed West and faced behind, and sealed it with VHY.
 (now behind you, Vav Heh Yod)
He sealed South, and faced right, and sealed it with YVH.
 (now right, Yod Vav Heh)
He sealed North, and faced left, and sealed it with HVY.
 (now left, Heh Vov Yod)
Then say:
How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your tabernacles O Israel!
As for me, in the abundance of Your lovingkindness, I will worship
in Your Holy Temple in the awe of You.
God the Faithful King, El Melech Ne'eman, Amen!

Then, proceed to the Golden Dawn Middle Pillar Exercise, but
expanded to include all ten Sefirot.  
Preface it with the statement, slightly modified, from Tomer
Devorah--
"It is proper for me to emulate my Creator, for then I will
attain the secret of the Supernal Form, in both image and
likeness."

(The Divine Names to be used are
Keter--Ehyeh or Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh
Chokhmah--Yah
Binah--HaShem Elohim
Chesed--El
Gevurah--Elohim
Tiferet--HaShem Adonai or HaShem
Netzach--Adonai Tzevaot
Hod--Elohim Tzevaot
Yesod--Shaddai or El Chai
Malkhut--Adonai
 
HaShem is the modern equivalent of "Tetragrammaton", which may
be substituted for it, as well as YHVH or Yehovah, according
to one's general preference.  Where two alternates are used,
either is acceptable.  In the variation sometimes used, by which
the Tree of Life is built upwards as well as downwards, one can
be used in the downward movement, the other in the upward move
ment, again according to one's preference.)

Conclude with the formula of unification of the Name:
"For the sake of the unification of the Holy One, Blessed Be He,
 and His Presence,  in fear and love to unify the Name--yod heh
 with vav heh--in perfect unity in the name of all Israel."

=============================================

EOF
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