MAGICK and QABALAH No. 1THE THELEMIC LESSER PENTAGRAM BANISHMENT ----- 1st Part: the Qabalistic Cross ----- 1. Stand Facing East, body straight, feet together and hands at sides. 2. Touch fore-head with right hand and say "Ateh." 3. Touch chest at the level of the heart and say "Aiwass" (personal variation: If you know it, say the name of your Angel.). 4. From the chest, move your right hand directly vertically downward as low as possible without bending the body, touch the base of the pelvic area and say "Malkut." 5. Touch left shoulder with right hand and say "Ve Gedulah." 6. Touch right shoulder with right hand and say "Ve Geburah" (frequent variation to #5 & 6: These two gestures and words are reversed). 7. Clasp hands flatly, palm to palm in front of the body at the level of the heart. Say "Le Olahm." 8. Pause, say "Amen" and bring hands back down to sides as in #1. SPIRIT ' / \ / \ AIR ---------------- WATER '/ . . \' / . " . \ EARTH / ' ' \ FIRE INVOKING BANISHING start* ' . ' / / \ / / \ / / \ / / \ ---------------- EARTH ---------------- / '/ . . \' / '/ . . \' . / . " . \ / / . " . \ / ' ' \ start* / ' ' \ -15- ---- 2nd Part: The Pentagrams and the Archangels ---- 9. Take three steps to the East. With the right hand trace the Earth Banishing Pentagram (see page 14). This may be done by; first, placing your right hand before your body on a level with your left hip; second, move right hand directly to a point above your head; third, move right hand directly to the level of right hip; fourth, move right hand to level of right shoulder; sixth, return hand directly to starting point before left hip. In doing this, maintain some simple gesture of the hand in a direction outward from the body. You may hold a knife, direct three fingers outward, make a fist with the thumb pointed outward between the two fingers nearest the thumb or you may make any similar gesture of direction of force away from your body. 10. Say "Jahovah." At the same time WILL that the God of the Israelites stand
before you and anything harmful from the East. Imagine the 11. Return to center. Turn to South. Take three Steps. Trace the same pentagram. Say "Adonai." WILL that the Lord of all that exists stand before you and ward off anything that is harmful from the South. The Pentagram glows. 12. Return to center. Turn to West. Take three steps. Trace the pentagram. Say "Eheieh." WILL that the God who Exists and who spoke to Moses from the burning bush stand before you and ward off anything that is harmful from the West. 13. Return to center. Turn to the North. Take three steps. Trace the pentagram. Say "Agla." WILL that the mighty and eternal God stand before you and anything harmful from the North. -16- 14. Return to Center. Face East. Spread your legs and hold your arms parallel to the ground so that your body assumes the shape of a pentagram. 15. Say "Before me Raphael." Imagine a vast column of yellow light. Imagine a cool and refreshing breeze coming from the East. 16. Say "Behind me Gabrael." Imagine a vast column of blue light. Imagine a rushing of waters in the West. An archangel stands behind you toWARD the West. 17. Say "On my right hand Michael." Imagine a vast column of red light. Imagine a great heat and a roaring of flames in the South. An Archangel stands to your right hand toward the South. 18. Say "On my left hand Urial." Imagine a vast column of mixed browns and greens. An Archangel stands at your left hand toward the North. 19. Still holding the form of the pentagram and facing East, say "For I am the flaming pentagram in the column of the six-rayed Star." On the words "flaming pentagram" visualize a band of white light connecting the previously traced pentagrams in a circle about you at the height of your heart. This is the magical circle. On the words "six-rayed Star" imagine the variously colored columns of the four archangelic powers bending together above you and below you. You are now surrounded by three mutually perpendicular circles which form a sphere of protecting force. There are alternatives to the words and visualizations of this instruction --- experiment for various effects. In some instances, it is best to allow an open space above and below to permit the descent and rise of power. The visualizations given here permit maximum protection, but do not greatly aid externally directed Magick. -17- ---- 3rd Part: the Qabalistic Cross ---- This is done in exactly the same manner as the first part of this ritual. -oOo- Postscript to the ritual This full ritual is easily changed and elaborated according to the whim of the
magician. The Hebrew portions should not be changed until the ritual is well learned
through practice. After this ritual is fully learned, divine and lesser names from other
pantheons (e.g. Greek, Egyptian, Roman, Celtic etc.0 can be substituted with interesting
effect. The way of tracing the pentagrams should not be changed until this first form is
well learned (minimum practice time before use of other pentagrams is 3 months of daily
use --- don't rush this). Later, other methods of tracing for invoking as well as
banishing and for the four elements and spirit can be used. The vertical and horizontal
motions in the first and last part should be retained. All else is subject to immediate
elaboration and eventual alteration. Almost every user has a special variation of the
statements and visualizations in In banishing it is not advisable to name a particular thing to be banished after forming the { -18- next page starts } pentagrams. Such a naming may be done before the pentagrams are traced. When time does not permit the use of the entire ritual, a thing to be banished is visualized or imagined to be some distance away and a pentagram is traced between yourself and the thing to be banished. This may be dome mentally instead of physically. In any event, WILL the dissolution of the thing to be banished and visualize it melting away behind the pentagram. Hebrew Words Used in the Lesser Pentagram Ritual: Ateh ---------------- HB:AThH --- Thine Aid in pronunciation of these words can be obtained from O.T.O. Newsletter #4. Members of O.T.O. may obtain tape cassette #M-6 for further instruction. {N.B. Tape M-6 is no longer available} The entire set of pentagrams and much additional matter on this ritual may be found in O.T.O. Newsletter #4 --- available from O.T.O. at the address shown on the cover page of this booklet. Cost is {$2.00}. -19- There are many other source for this ritual in the literature, Levi, Crowley, Regardie and Fortune have all written at length on the subject. Ophiel has also published on this subject, but with gross errors in Hebrew. The Pentagram ritual is capable of very great alterations and adaptations. This one ritual is the most instructive operational ritual other than initiation known to the Western tradition. It has served as a basis for many of Crowley's shorter rituals, including The Star Ruby, Liber Reguli and many others. In adapting the ritual to other uses, note that it is the pentagram traced in a particular manner that makes this a banishment. Other tracings of the pentagram produce distinctly different effects. These various effects cannot be expected until the first use of the earth banishment pentagram is firmly impressed on the unconscious associations of the magician --- thus the admonition to practice this first form at great length and with particular visualizations. After this imprinting of the habit of the magician has occurred, the later elaborations become very open to experiment. If this initial practice is not followed, it is possible that the associations to the pentagrams will never be attained on a sufficiently subtle level. When the time comes to elaborate or to transform this ritual to a Lunar or a Feminine current, the magician will find value in consulting the tables in Liber 777 . Other sources will be of help in obtaining new uses for the basis provided through a full learning of this primary ritual. Just as houses are built of common materials, so also are the greatest workings built up from rituals as fundamental as the Lesser Pentagram banishment. This ritual is used throughout the life of the Magician. |