The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram: A 21st Century Grimoire

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Puella or girl is made by the magician " standing with feet together, head bowed, his left hand shielding his phallus, and his right hand shielding his breast (attitude of the Venus de Medici)." Begin the Ritual and go round the room mentally vibrating the words and trying to feel them as coming from the form.

Certain words are said when making the Kabbalistic Cross. The phrase is, " Atah Malkuth, ve Geburah, ve Gedulah, le ohlahm Amen." This means, " Unto thee is the kingdom, the power and the glory unto the ages Amen." This is the final line of the Lord's Prayer as given in the King James Bible, translated into Hebrew to emphasize the Kabbalistic manner with which the passage is interpreted in the Golden Dawn rituals. The manner of this interpretation is partially defined by the portions of the body touched while saying the phrase. Atah (unto thee) is spoken while touching the forehead to represent Kether. The 'thee' therefore refers to the highest spiritual being. Malkuth (kingdom) is said while indicating the lower portion of the body assigned to the Sephirah of the same name, which represents material reality. Therefore reality is the kingdom of the highest spiritual being. The horizontal crossbar is drawn while reciting ve geburah, ve gedulah (the power and the glory), indicating that the two Pillars of Severity and Mercy are referred to. The hands are then held over the heart while saying le ohlahm Amen (unto the ages, Amen). One way of understanding this whole movement is to see it as saying that reality and its apparent dualities, polarities and contradictions are eternally ruled by and reconciled in the highest Spirit as designated by the verticality of the cross and by the heart, in which the initial verticality comes to rest in union with the horizontal. At which point one reaches to the star Sirius (or a preferred star), and draws the light from the star into the crown of ones head when saying 'Ateh'. STEP EIGHT. Now visualize the brilliant white circle expanding up and down to form a sphere above, below and all around you. What you have done is create a sphere in brilliant white all around you with electric blue pentagrams at the quarters which have been charged and sealed with names of God...

It could be felt that the Arch-Angels bring into your astral body the astral versions of your own personal magical weapons. So that they may be at your disposal on the astral. And are otherwise in the care and protection of the Arch-Angels whom you have also called into your astral body to guard each quarter.

The QBL orients you to the elements within the body. And since the Pentagram Ritual is traced with the Right hand, it tells you that you are working on and with the Astral (Fire).These signs are Western mudras. They are gestures and movements intended to signify and symbolize some aspect of spiritual truth. Their performance should be approached with both intention and attention. There is some variation in the oral tradition as to the precise formulation of these signs. The following are my own interpretations. There is an oral tradition amongst Thelemites that upon achieving knowledge of the name of one's own Holy Guardian Angel, that one should substitute this name for that of Aiwass when making the Kabbalistic Cross. If one's relationship to one's angel makes this appropriate, then this can certainly be a meaningful addition to the ritual, as well as a way of personalizing the performance to one's own initiatory current. STEP SEVEN. Visualize a golden hexagram...within you, right where your heart is. Say, ...And within me shines the six-rayed star. The sign for Water is that of the grade of Practicus and is made by raising the hands to form a downward pointing triangle at the heart by joining the tips of the thumbs and forefingers. Just as the upward pointing triangle is the alchemical glyph for Fire, the downward pointing triangle signifies Water. Here the symbolism is that of the descent of the divine spirit of the Angel into the soul, centered at the heart, made receptive to its infuence. The sign is also made over the heart to show that this divine receptivity is accomplished through love. This is said to be the sign of Auramoth, or Mut, the consort of Amoun at Thebes. This is the Egyptian God-form assumed by the Stolistes in the G.D. ceremonies to purify the temple and the initiates with water. As a protection against impure magnetism, the Banishing Ritual can be used to get rid of obsessing or disturbing thoughts. Give a mental image to your obsession and imagine it formulated before you. Project it out of your aura with the Saluting Sign of a Neophyte, and when it is about three feet away, prevent its return with the Sign of Silence.

Completing the circle widdershins, retire to the center and raise thy voice in the Paian, with these words ΙΩΠΑΝ, with the signs of N.O.X.When the particular Thelemic deities are given elemental attributions it produces some interesting meanings. Being deities, and therefore Briatic archetypes, these four characters can have multiple possible correspondences depending on the ritual context. By associating them to a particular element and direction it is possible to throw into relief important features of the god-forms. The following reflections use the Terrestrial correspondences: The Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram invokes or banishes all seven classical planets in one fell swoop.