From: dhardin@bbn.com (Dawn Hardin)
Newsgroups: alt.magick
Subject: Re: ShadowClasping Ritual from the Orgone Committee
Date: 29 Dec 1992 19:19:20 GMT
NNTP-Posting-Host: bbn.com

In article <1992Dec26.075205.5894@u.washington.edu>, mimir@hardy.u.washington.edu (Al Billings) writes:
> 
>  This working is an invocation of the shadow side of each of the
> four elements. For earth fears of being buried alive, for water
> drowning, for fire being burned alive, for air falling. These are
> obvious examples. Your own tortuously twisted psyche can certainly
> provide a cornucopia of infinitely more personal/fetishistic fears
> for your own enjoyment and elucidation than I could. In each case
> the fear is categorized under one of the four elements. Wether it
> is best to concentrate on a single fear for each element, or even
> to only invoke and integrate one particular fear during the course
> of a ritual, is best decided by each practitioner on a case by case
> basis. This working can be performed by one or many.

[stuff deleted to shorten]

>  The formula for the overall construction of the ritual is
> banish-invoke-banish. Of course the incontrovertible necessity of
> performing opening and closing banishing in a working in which
> literally unknown numbers of demons are being stirred up in order
> to examine and integrate them is too obvious to comment on here. 
> As is the sub-moronically simple precaution of repeating any part
> of the working that is not performed exactly to the predetermined
> formula for the working. Mistakes are costly when dealing with our
> fears. Obsession is a natural state for fear when excited, and
> usually the Will of the practitioner is better served by
> integration. Immediate entering of the working in your magickal
> diary is of incalculable value but you know that or you don't.  Joy
> be to you in the attainment of your Will.

[more stuff deleted for space]

>  The banishing hexagrams are simply traced in each quarter in
> opposite sequence with the invoking hexagrams ie: first the
> elemental sigil, then the hexagram. If all four hexagrams are being
> traced at once at the end of the invocations, do so counter-cloc-
> kwise. Vibrate each word of power in the same way as you did for
> the invoking hexagrams. Picture the shadows leaving as they came,
> through each hexagram.
> 
>  Perform the banishing circles as described in the beginning, being
> even more careful, if possible, than with the opening banishing to
> insure smooth as possible integration.  

I know that the poster didn't write these rituals, and he may not want
to comment on them, but I wanted to ask some questions that I had in
case someone would like to talk about them a bit. 

Maybe I'm mis-reading this, or maybe my reading reflects a weakness in
the way I would do a ritual like this, but it seems to me that your
invocations are much stronger than your banishings.  It almost seems
to me that one would be stuck sitting in the middle of a circle with
visions of primal terrors on all sides, and finish up by saying "thanks
for coming, let me get your coat."

Are you saying that after calling up these images of four fears, one should
look each of them in the face and then close the circle?  Like, the idea
is just to look at each of them and face them, and then close off the ritual?
I guess I could see something like that being useful, but it seems like
something is missing.  I guess what bothers me is that all you mention
for the second banishing is tracing hexagrams, and I would want some sort
of mental image to go along with it.  What is the main idea of a ritual
like this?  Just acknowledging your fears, or banishing them?  Or using
them?  If acknowledging, then what kind of banishing image would you want
to use to just say 'I know you're their and you're not going to bother
me now'?  Is it a good idea to try to overcome these fears -- say, you
invoke a fear of falling in the east and then when you're closing off 
the east you envision something like being able to fly or landing on
something soft to bring yourself down to safety again?  Or do you think
that would kill energy, or maybe leave a false sense of confidence?

Grr, I'm getting frustrated with myself, I'm not sure I'm communicating
what I want to say here.  There's a lot in the post that bugged
me, but it was certainly thought provoking.  Thanks for posting it.

Dawn

Joseph Campbell gave me hope and now I have been saved.
"Folk Song" by Bongwater