From: cranmer@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu
Newsgroups: alt.magick
Subject: Paul Clark's Intro Ritual Notes
Date: 7 Jan 93 10:55:38 EST
Organization: The Ohio State University, Department of Physics

Hello,

mike.mcaulay@spacebbs.com (Mike Mcaulay) writes...

> -> Hmmm, I didn't know that ritual construction and magical theory
> -> weren't "nuts-n-bolts" topics.   One of my favorite old posts was one
> -> by Paul Clark (are you still out there?) concerning introductory
> -> ritual technique. Very practical and useful, IMHO.
> 
> I would be very interested in reading that.  If anyone has it archived
> and is willing to to repost it or e-mail it I'd be grateful.

Here it is......  Lots of practicalities too....
{Notes in curly brackets are mine}
___________________________________________________________________________

Subject: Back to Basics
From: a-paulc@microsoft.com (Paul CLARK)
Date: 23 Mar 92 23:37:01 GMT

93 again! This is yet another bit that arose out of private e-mail.
We were discussing good sources for foundation education for the
magician. The following were my suggestions, along with a bit on learning
ritual:

> 2.) Any book or other recommendations for how to accomplish the basics you
>     mentioned (see below).  From the bit I know about magick, these basics
>     would be valuable for *any* type of magick practiced, and I hope to
>     learn them.

I agree, they are the foundation of most forms of Western magick. Here
are some sources which I've found helpful for the basics:

Qabalah: The best introductory work is Dion Fortune's 'Mystical Qabalah'. It
takes you from complete ignorance to a good understanding of the Sephiroth 
and how they are interrelated. This is Fortune's masterwork, based on her 
education as a Golden Dawn initiate.

Having learned the ten Sephiroth, the next step is the twenty-two
paths which connect them. I heartily recommend Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki's
'The Shining Paths'. This is a series of self-guided pathworkings for each
of the twenty-two paths, plus workings for the Sephiroth. This will also 
teach you the meanings of the twenty-two Tarot Trumps which are attributed
to the paths. 
{NOTE:  there are many different versions of which trumps go with which
        paths!  Do some checking around before settling on one.}
	
Ritual: I hate to say it, but it really comes down to learning from someone.
I mean this in a broad sense, though. For me the biggest help was just 
seeing someone else do it once or twice, then I went off and taught myself
out of books. Once you get the hang of it, it's great to see others do them
to get ideas and tips and see all the different ways you can do the same thing.
This is another great asset to group participation. Having someone experienced
to guide you at the beginning is invaluable if you're lucky enough, though!

The basic rituals that I think of are: Lesser Pentagram (also called
the LBR- everyone's first ritual :'), Lesser Hexagram, both of which are found
in Crowley's Liber O, (in 'Magick in Theory & Practice' and 'Gems') as well
as in the Golden Dawn material (Regardie's 'Complete' Golden Dawn in one of
its many editions), and in practically every beginning book on magical work.

If you are a Thelemite, or are interested in Thelemic magick, the next
logical step is from the LBR to the Star Ruby, which is Crowley's version of
the Pentagram in Greek, using Thelemic forms rather than traditional
archangels. Once you've mastered the LBR, doing the Star Ruby is like switching
to rocket fuel. 

From here there are many Thelemic rituals to learn- Liber Resh, which
is an adoration of the sun (or of the solar part of yourself, your HGA) to be
done at dawn, noon, sunset, and midnight. Even if you are working in a
completely different tradition, doing regular adorations of the sun is great!
Also- Liber Reguli, which contains a banishing along with an invocation of the
Thelemic current; and others- the primary ones are contained in 'Magick in
Theory & Practice'.

As far as learning rituals goes, the steps I think of are: first,
just walking through the ritual, script in hand, and getting through the
whole thing with any materials, setup, etc. called for. Don't imagine anything
wrong with not having it memorized at first.

Next, having the words, gestures, steps, etc. memorized, so you can
perform the whole thing without looking at the script.

Next, having the whole ritual under your belt, so you can do it 
on autopilot, without having to think about what to do next. At this point
it really gets interesting, because you can devote your attention to 
noticing what is going on, making connections with the symbols used, etc..

Next, learning to do the ritual in your head, with your eyes closed,
visualizing the place, gestures, words, etc. With concentration, this should
become nearly as intense as actually walking it out. This also really serves
to improve your technique when you do actually walk it out.

Next, doing the ritual with your eyes open, even while you're actually
doing something else. This 'being in two places at once' can be extremely
valuable, especially for banishings- doing a banishing in the elevator on
the way to an interview, for instance, or getting in a near-accident on the
highway and then banishing to cool your nerves and prevent it from happening
again. Be careful you know what you're doing before doing ritual while you
drive, though. If it distracts you at all, don't do it.

Beyond this- for me it's experimental. Ideas about doing ritual very
quickly, so you put a whole banishing in one gesture, etc- I've heard of
people who could do this.
{NOTE:  I hear that Regardie spend the last few decades of his life
        trying to 'compress' some of the G.D. rituals in this manner.
        Does anyone know of his results?}

These are just the various stages I go through when learning ritual.
Note that ritual does work even from the very first stage! And it's not 
neccesarily implied that you have to go through all those stages in order to
use the ritual, or at all. Some rituals you may not need to do more than read
the script, I suppose.

It's interesting to read Crowley's account of his trek across China.
because he was doing the Abramelin operation at the same time, composing
and performing Liber Samekh in his head. While he rode across the monotonous 
landscape on a donkey, in his mind (or 'astral form'?) he was in his temple
at home in Boleskine, doing invocations.

This also points out the value of setting up a temple for yourself. 
It may be that you will outgrow the need for it, but at first it is invaluable
to have a temple space which you routinely use. Quickly you get the hang
of which direction is which, (East is towards the window, North is by the 
stairs, etc.), and when you start learning to do the ritual in your head, that
makes it very easy to visualize the directions.  

Your own temple is very important, but it need not be difficult to
arrange. The main criterion is not size, shape, etc. etc., but whether 
you can effectively keep people out when you want. For many years I 
used my living room, and just locked the door, unhooked the phone, and 
moved a few chairs when I wanted to work. If you have housemates, however, 
this would be a bad idea (unless they are also magicians and completely 
sympathetic to the idea of being shut out sometimes). Better to use your
bedroom.

If you are a Thelemite, it's easy to make a temple- just putting a
stele of revealing in the Northeast corner works wonders. If you don't want
to paint your own, I suggest making a color xerox enlargement of the color
plate in the new edition of 'Equinox of the Gods'. The correct dimensions
are given in the appendix to 'Holy Books of Thelema' (Equinox III:9). From
there, the rest of your temple furnishings are up to your imagination and
inspiration- the fun begins!

       /\         
      /  \     
 \`-./    \,-'/
  \ /`.  ,'\ /         ---------------------------------------------
   X   ><   X           Paul Clark  a-paulc@microsoft.com  93 93/93            
  / \,'  `./ \         --------------------------------------------- 
 /,-'\    /`-.\  
      \  /          
       \/         

___________________________________________________________________________

Have fun!

Steve Cranmer
Newsgroups: alt.magick