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"Western Magick": A Rationale for Performing Ceremonial Magick
Old Yesterday, 11:33 PM   #1
Mmothra
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Default "Western Magick": A Rationale for Performing Ceremonial Magick

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Quote:
Western Magick
By Fr Ananaul Iaida (by kind permission of The Ecliptic and the Fool)
The main purpose for writing this article is to give the newcomer to Western Magick a brief and, hopefully, clear description of the rationale for performing Ceremonial Magick.

The explanation for performing this type of work can be found in the realm of esoteric psychology, and some similar glimmerings can be found in Jungian psychology. When it comes to the acceptance of the unconscious, or the components of man that we are not usually aware of, these two psychological are in complete accord.

The Mind of man can be divided roughly into two broad divisions. The greater part can be labelled the unconscious mind, and the lesser part (not in importance, but degree) is the conscious mind.

Magickians and Jungians both state that our personal power resides in the unconscious mind and that the method in which the unconscious conveys its needs and ideas to the conscious mind is through the language of symbols, via dreams, fantasy, trance, etc.

The student of magick may ask, "How are we to interpret the symbols that reach our conscious mind?"

A good reply would be that by teaching our unconscious minds a certain set of symbols with certain intelligible ideas attached to each symbol, over time, the unconscious mind is gradually taught to use a type of alphabet. The Alphabet that the
Western Magickian
should train his mind to use is, of course, the Qabalistic 'Tree of Life', and its many ordered correspondences.

Once the magicklan has made this symbolic Alphabet a part of his psychic makeup, he will find these symbols entering his dreams and meditation, giving a new found structure to what was, before, chaos.

The novice may now be asking, "What has all this got to do with Ceremonial Magick?"

Herein lies the answer. By using the symbols and correspondences of the Tree of Life in a well ordered ceremony, we may activate the creative potentials resident in the unconscious mind.

For example, if a student was continually frustrated by a total lack of personal drive and will-power, with no assertiveness and decisiveness, then he might want to construct a ritual that would stimulate and strengthen these qualities. The first step would be to identify which Sphere on the Tree of Life would best match this need.

For the above example, the student would find that the
SephirahGeburah
mirrored his needs exactly.

Now the student should endeavour to find all the correspondences that are related to the
SephirahGeburah
, and from these correspondences the ritual will be developed.

For example, Mars is the planetary influence that is assigned to Geburah. The characteristics of this planet are power and force. The colour red is another attribute, so is the number five. Therefore the student could surround the area of work with red banners on the wall, he would wear a red robe, place a red cloth on the altar, with a pentagram inscribed on it. He might place five red candles around the consecrated circle and his weapon would be an iron sword. The magicklan could also burn small amounts of tobacco or nettle around the scene of operation.

All these symbols and ceremomial apparati are designed to portray to the unconscious Inlind that the Geburic force is to be stimulated in the magickian`s psyche. An important part in any ritual is the Invocation.

The Invocation should be designed to awaken the various Geburic potencies in the several levels of the Qabalistic universe. This chain reaction is produced by various methods. One is by vibration of certain sacred names. Another is by visualising sigils or seals of the different hierarchies. Needless to say, these methods are usually combined in any well worked ritual.

Another powerful technique the magickian should become adept with is the Assumption of Godform.

For those of you who are not familiar with this technique, I will describe it in a little detail. The assumption of a god form is where the magickian uses his trained faculties of imagination and concentration to build up around his own body the astral form of a particular God which corresponds to the intention of the ritual.

The reason for assuming a god form is that the astral mould created by the imagination and win of the magickian acts as a receptacle or point of focus, so that the type of energy represented by the God has a vehicle into which it may incarnate and manifest its qualities and characteristics.

The Theurgists of the Western Magickal Tradition have found, through vast experience and experimentation, that the Egyptian pantheon is the most efficacious for us to use. But if, for sorric reason, the student has a dislike for the Egyptian gods, then let him discard them without superstition or fear, for another pantheon will produce similar results. The magickian should never forget that magick is first and foremost a science, and in science there is no room for blind superstition.

Another point to remember is that magick is also highly individual and it is important to feel comfortable with the energies being handled. The god form that would be used for the example in this essay would be either
Horus
or Nephthys.

I will now recapitulate some of the more important ideas in order to clarify.

The unconscious mind is the scat of all our personal power. We may speak to and stimulate our unconscious minds through the correct employment of symbols. All the various symbols, incenses, weapons, invocations, etc., in Ceremonial Magick are designed to convey and concentrate a certain idea or train of ideas to the unconscious mind.

The ideas that we want to penetrate the unconscious mind are ordered and classified on the glyph called the Tree of Life.

This, in a most simple format, is the rationale for performing Ceremonial Magick.
__________________
When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge. -Tuli Kupferberg

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