Magick

The Magickal Record

"In this book it is spoken of the Sephiroth and the Pats of Spirits and Conjurations; of Gods, Spheres, Planes, and many other things which may of may not exist.
"It is immaterial whether these exist or not. By doing certain things certain results will follow; students are most earnestly warned against attributing objective reality or philosophic validity to any of them.
"The advantages to be gained from them are chiefly these:
a. A widening of the horizon of the mind.
b. An improvement of the control of the mind.
"The student, if he attains any success in the following practices, will find himself confronted by things (ideas of beings) too glorious of too dreadful to be described. It is essential that he remain the master of all that he beholds, hears or conceives,otherwise he will e the slave of illusion.
"These is little danger that any student, however idle or stupid, will fail to get some result; but there is great danger that he ill e led astray, possessed and overwhelmed by his results, even though it be y those which it is necessary that he should attain. Too often, moreover, he mistaketh the rirst resting-place for the goal, and taketh off his armor as if he were a victor ere the fight is well begun.
"It is desirable that the student should never attach to any result the importance which it at first seems to possess." Alester Crowley

Your Dreams:
Every morning when you wake up you should record your dreams in a dream journal.

Record your magickal experiments:
Every time you formally meditate or preform a ritual, you should record in detail the following:

Date:
Time:
Location:
Weather Conditions:
Lunar Phase:
Astrological Signs: Sun: Moon: Ascendant:
Physical Condition:
Emotions and Mindset:
Name of Rituals Preformed:
Performance:
Results:

Know Thyself:

Write down your goals.

How do you want your life to change as the result of practising magick?
What are your greatest strengths?
What are your greatest weaknesses?

Mantras:

Om Namah Shivaya. (Adoration to Shiva, a Hindu name for God.)
Om mani Padme Hum. (A buddhist mantra meaning "Hail to the jewel in the lotus," the enlightened consciousness in all beings.
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu. (Another Hindu manta, meaning "May all beings in all worlds be happy and free.")

Ritual Magick: (Physical Meditation)

Banishing Rituals:

Laughter.
The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram.
The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram from Liber O, a publication of the occult order A.'.A.'.

Touching the forehead, say "Ateh (Unto Thee)."
Touching the breast, say Malkuth (The Kingdom)."
Touching the right shoulder, say "ve-Geburah (and the Power)."
Touching the left shoulder, say "ve-Gedulah (and the Glory),
Clasping the hands upon the breast, say "le-Olahm, Amen (To the Ages, Amen)."
Turning to the East, make a pentagram (that of Earth) with the proper weapon (usually the Wand). Say (i.e. vibrate) "IHVH" (Ye-ho-wau*).
Turning to the South, the same, but say "ADNI" (Adonai).
Turning to the West, the same, but say "AHIH" (Eheieh).
Turning to the North, the same, but say "AGLA" (Agla).
Extending the arms in the form of a cross say:
"Before me Raphael;
Behind me Gabriel;
On my right hand Michael;
On my left hand Auriel;
For about me flames the Pentagram,
And in the Column stands the six-rayed Star."
until xxi. Repeat steps (i) to (v), the "Qabalistic Cross.

Vibration phase i -- The Sign of the Enterer (1-4)

Stand upright. Blow all the air out of your lungs. Hold your arms straight out at your sides.
2a. Close your eyes and inhale nasally, imagining that the breath is the name. The exact nature of this imagination differs from person to person. Thus, you imagine yourself inhaling the name into your lungs.
2b. As you inhale, sweep your forearms smoothly and deliberately up so that your fists rest on your temples.
Imagine the breath moving down through your torso slowly, and through your pelvis, your legs, and finally to the soles of your feet. (Don't do this so slowly that you are hurting for air when the name reaches your feet!)
4a. The instant the inhaled vibrational name hits the soles of your feet, imagine it rushing back up and out.
4b. Simultaneously, throw yourself forward, thrusting your left foot forward about twelve inches (or thirty centimeters) and catching yourself on it. Your hands shoot forward, together, like a diver. You bend forward at the waist so that your torso winds up parallel to the floor.
4c. The air in your lungs should be blown out through your nose at the same time, but imagine the name shooting out straight ahead.
Steps 3-4 are known as the Sign of the Enterer, or of Horus. This symbolizes powerful active energy. The Enterer should be something of a "rush". The vibrational name is projected outwards into more tangible manifestation -- in this case, in the pentagrams of the LBR, which are charged by the force of the projected god-names.
It is highly inadvisable to omit the portion of step(4b) which reads "catching yourself on it." But again, I have no desire to infringe on your freedom of choice.
Vibration phase ii -- The Sign of Silence (5)
Finally, withdraw into a standing position, left arm hanging at your side, right forefinger on lips, left foot pointing ninety degrees out from the body.
Step 5 is called the Sign of Silence, or of Harpocrates. This Egyptian god was mistakenly believed (at the turn of the century) to pertain to silence, because his finger or thumb was touching his lips. This gesture is now believed to be a symbol of childhood; this correction appears in the World card of Crowley's "Book of Thoth" Tarot deck. Harpocrates was the god of the Sun at dawn, and so symbolizes wonder, beauty, potential, growth. So, step 5 may be done in this academically corrected light instead.
However, the "hush" gesture of the Golden Dawn Sign of Silence is adequate for the modern occultist, even if deprived of A Divine Identification. It is a common gesture, at least in the European culture, meaning silence. Silence perhaps balances the ultra-active Sign of the Enterer better than does the more scholarly positive/active "Sign of Harpocrates the Rising Sun", and silence is surely no alien concept to mystics.
The Invocation
The pentagrams are given form by the drawing, life by the vibration, identity by the four-part prayer of steps (x) to (xiv). Some people do very elaborate visualizations of angelic guardians on each of (xi) to (xiv). Because of my tragic personal deficiencies, I am content with strong feelings of presence, identity, and divinity in each of the four directions.
A horizontal cross is built up step by step as you say, "Before me Raphael", etc, with you at the center; and the position of your arms forms a vertical cross, a renewal of the Qabalistic Cross from the start of the ritual. You may feel a quite peculiar rising and expansion when both of these crosses are formulated. One has become the center of the geometry of the space, and it is like a little world in itself, cut adrift from the mundane currents of everyday experience.
Steps (xv) and (xvi) are when the real banishing takes place, during "For about me flames the pentagram, and in the column stands the six-rayed star." A great pulse of force is emitted during these steps, imposing the personal will on the space and clearing it of all hostile influences.
After this is done, the invoked "archangels" maintain the banishing effect, guarding in all four directions. Of course this talk of angels is all bullshit -- the importance lies in the psychological effect. Whether there "really is" an archangel standing there keeping out inimical spirits is not important. The "feeling of cleanliness" is what matters.
Concluding Cross
The final Qabalistic Cross is an affirmation of the completeness and symmetry of the ritual, and also a new self-consecration. This is more efficacious than the previous Cross because it is done in a banished environment.
One is now ready to do a formal invocation, an evocation, a meditation, or whatever the overall purpose may be. The LBR is a preliminary ceremony, although it has a beneficial effect in itself. It can profitably be done as a stand-alone ritual, but you should move on. The LBR should keep away the horrible ickies that turn so many novices away from Magick. Its mastery is a first step to adeptship.