Ceremonial Magick

[pianoperformer]

Hi,

I've been interested in ceremonial / high magick off and on for quite a while. Unfortunately I always find that I'm not able to go very far in it, just mostly because I don't know where to start or what to do. I am having the same problem right now. I do the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (LBRP), which I'm trying to do every day, and I find that that is very helpful, but I want to go further than that.

I don't know if anyone here practices it or has practiced it, but I have a few questions:

1. What tools do I need most, and where can I get them / how can I go about getting them?
2. I know with most tools, they have to be consecrated before use in magickal rituals. How do you do this?
3. I'm trying to get to know people who do practice it, just so I'm not completely alone on this journey. If you do, I'd really appreciate if you would either PM me or IM me so we can talk.

I'm especially interested in Thelema. I've been interested in Aleister Crowley's writings for a long time now, and have his Thoth Tarot deck.

I found that there are 42 bodies of the O.T.O. (Ordo Templi Orientis) within the US. I wonder if it would be beneficial to look into that?

Anyway, I've not seen too many people discuss this around here, but maybe there are a few. I'd appreciate any advice you might have with this.

[Merrick1]

Originally Posted by pianoperformer

[list=1]I'm especially interested in Thelema. I've been interested in Aleister Crowley's writings for a long time now, and have his Thoth Tarot deck.

The highest magic is Love.

Whenever we sidetrack from the Law of Love, we are bound to get another lesson. I am not sure whether Aleister Crowley acknowledged this, from what I have read by him I would say he did not.

Merrick

[elucidate]

I personally think that Crowley liked to use fear as a way of gaining false power and control, and notoreity wherever he went, so I'd agree with you merrick1 in that he did not tread on the side of Love at all, though he claimed to have no fear of anything.

He was all about self-indulgence and shock-value, and rebelling against the strict Plymouth Brethren upbringing he had. So many people gave him so much credit, but all I've ever thought was that he was an egocentric wanker who liked to scare people! Maybe that's a projection or I misunderstood where he was coming from, but somehow I don't think so!

I also have the card deck, which I found at a clothes pile party It didn't come with the book though, unfortunately.

[Merrick1]

Thanks elucidate,

I share this feeling about him with you.

Merrick

[Richful]

He certainly was a character. The man walked his talk though. He LIVED Magick, every day. He shook the tree of the Magick traditions and forged his own path. He did some messed up things too. The majority of his ideas were misunderstood by anyone outside of magical circles. And he left a wake of chaos and destruction in his path.


He believed he was a god too... Not THE God, a god. The Beast was a particular god, not Satan. And the whole "Do what thou wilt is the whole of the law" business. It doesn't mean do anything you want. It means find your True Will, the secret will in the hearts of everyone and follow it.

His ideas are definitely not for everyone. His system is renowned anyway. Some folks swear by it. *shrugs* each to their own.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by pianoperformer

Hi,

I've been interested in ceremonial / high magick off and on for quite a while. Unfortunately I always find that I'm not able to go very far in it, just mostly because I don't know where to start or what to do. I am having the same problem right now. I do the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (LBRP), which I'm trying to do every day, and I find that that is very helpful, but I want to go further than that.

I don't know if anyone here practices it or has practiced it, but I have a few questions:

1. What tools do I need most, and where can I get them / how can I go about getting them?
2. I know with most tools, they have to be consecrated before use in magickal rituals. How do you do this?
3. I'm trying to get to know people who do practice it, just so I'm not completely alone on this journey. If you do, I'd really appreciate if you would either PM me or IM me so we can talk.

I'm especially interested in Thelema. I've been interested in Aleister Crowley's writings for a long time now, and have his Thoth Tarot deck.

I found that there are 42 bodies of the O.T.O. (Ordo Templi Orientis) within the US. I wonder if it would be beneficial to look into that?

Anyway, I've not seen too many people discuss this around here, but maybe there are a few. I'd appreciate any advice you might have with this.

Wow, you have certainly changed ..... a lot .... since your "I want to attend a Christian seminary" days.

[pianoperformer]

I know he did some weird things. In part he seemed a bit like me in that he explored a lot of different traditions, and in the end drew from all of them. I think it is unfair to say that he did not live or teach love, though. The central tenant of Thelema is love.

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

Wow, you have certainly changed ..... a lot .... since your "I want to attend a Christian seminary" days.

I know.

Well, kind of. I was interested in the same thing when I was younger. But like I've said elsewhere on these forums, I tried the Catholic perspective, and the entire last four or five months has been about realizing that it does not work for me, admitting that even though it was very painful, and accepting it myself. I'm still in that process, but as you can see, it is almost complete. It's been a challenge, but I think it's been a necessary one.

But ALG, I've seen reference to magick from you, also. What type do you / have you practiced?

Thanks for those who have messaged me. I'm still looking for advice and anyone else who is on a similar path.

[pianoperformer]

Originally Posted by elucidate

I also have the card deck, which I found at a clothes pile party It didn't come with the book though, unfortunately.

You don't need it. The Book of Thoth, which describes the deck and each individual card along with the meaning of its symbolism, is here: The Book of THOTH - The complete guide to the Tarot, Magick and the Occult

There's also a PDF out there somewhere, but I can't find it right now.

It's a bit of a long read, but definitely suggested to understand the cards better.

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by pianoperformer

You don't need it. The Book of Thoth, which describes the deck and each individual card along with the meaning of its symbolism, is here: The Book of THOTH - The complete guide to the Tarot, Magick and the Occult

There's also a PDF out there somewhere, but I can't find it right now.

It's a bit of a long read, but definitely suggested to understand the cards better.

NICE! Thankyou so much. I've had those cards for about 9 years now I can finally use them

[pianoperformer]

Originally Posted by elucidate

NICE! Thankyou so much. I've had those cards for about 9 years now I can finally use them

Wow.

They are very deep cards, with a lot of symbolism. Let me know if you ever want a practice reading to see how they are. I'm trying to get my confidence back up with using Tarot. Once you get beyond the basic spreads, you can really go deep with things like card-counting and elemental dignities. See this site for more information: Tarot meanings, tarot lessons, tarot spreads, timing and predicting

There's a pretty complicated spread that was prevalent in the Golden Dawn, but it's very much worth exploring, IMO.

[elucidate]

Well thankyou. I'll keep that in mind.

I saw them wrapped in the material I put them in under my bed just two days ago. I'd forgotten about them, so this thread is fairly synchronistic for me right now.

I like the idea of spending time with each card before reading the book, just to soak up the impressions and what my intuition tells me about them. I have the day off work today so maybe that is a productive way to spend it

I've always wanted to design my own cards as well. I sort of lost touch with Tarot actually...life stuff took over and I've been in this survival mode for a few years now and let a lot of my 'studies' slide, which is something I would like to re-ignite again.

Thoth cards certainly are very visually appealing to me, and created with much thought, I believe by Crowleys "Scarlett Woman" (one of them anyway)

Originally Posted by pianoperformer

Wow.

They are very deep cards, with a lot of symbolism. Let me know if you ever want a practice reading to see how they are. I'm trying to get my confidence back up with using Tarot. Once you get beyond the basic spreads, you can really go deep with things like card-counting and elemental dignities. See this site for more information: Tarot meanings, tarot lessons, tarot spreads, timing and predicting

There's a pretty complicated spread that was prevalent in the Golden Dawn, but it's very much worth exploring, IMO.

[pianoperformer]

Originally Posted by elucidate

I saw them wrapped in the material I put them in under my bed just two days ago. I'd forgotten about them, so this thread is fairly synchronistic for me right now.

Can I ask what sort of material you use to wrap them? Right now I just have mine in a small plastic bag, but that is unappealing to me.

Originally Posted by elucidate

I like the idea of spending time with each card before reading the book, just to soak up the impressions and what my intuition tells me about them. I have the day off work today so maybe that is a productive way to spend it

I agree with doing this. If I weren't blind, I'd do the same thing.

Originally Posted by elucidate

I've always wanted to design my own cards as well. I sort of lost touch with Tarot actually...life stuff took over and I've been in this survival mode for a few years now and let a lot of my 'studies' slide, which is something I would like to re-ignite again.

I've heard of people designing their own decks. There are some people who do this over at Aeclectic Tarot Forum.

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by pianoperformer

Can I ask what sort of material you use to wrap them? Right now I just have mine in a small plastic bag, but that is unappealing to me.

I keep them wrapped in mauve silky material, though it's pretty haggard I have to say. I've been meaning to get some nicer material for them for a while now...it'll happen

Plastic? Blech...anything but plastic!

I agree with doing this. If I weren't blind, I'd do the same thing.

I didn't realize you were blind. How do you read the cards then? Are there brail tarot?

I've heard of people designing their own decks. There are some people who do this over at Aeclectic Tarot Forum.

Thanks

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by pianoperformer

You don't need it. The Book of Thoth, which describes the deck and each individual card along with the meaning of its symbolism, is here.

My avatar (see left) is a Tarot card. Just not from one of the traditional sets.

It corresponds with the Magus / Magician.

[pianoperformer]

Originally Posted by elucidate

I keep them wrapped in mauve silky material, though it's pretty haggard I have to say. I've been meaning to get some nicer material for them for a while now...it'll happen

Plastic? Blech...anything but plastic!

I know. I brailled the cards though, and now they are so large that they won't fit in the original box. Being at college, my resources are a bit limited at the moment. I'll have to try to find some better material.

Originally Posted by elucidate

I didn't realize you were blind. How do you read the cards then? Are there brail tarot?

Not that I know of. I brailled them myself, with some sighted assistance of course.

[desertrat]

You might want to check out the golden dawn . Golden Dawn Research Center - Home Guardians of the True Golden Dawn Tradition The Golden Dawn Library Project The GOLDEN DAWN BLOG and this guy Llewellyn Worldwide - Author: Donald Michael Kraig Donald Michael Kraig - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Modern Magick Eleven Lessons in the 2ND Edition by Donald Kraig - Powell's Books desert rat

[pianoperformer]

Originally Posted by desertrat

You might want to check out the golden dawn . Golden Dawn Research Center - Home Guardians of the True Golden Dawn Tradition The Golden Dawn Library Project The GOLDEN DAWN BLOG and this guy Llewellyn Worldwide - Author: Donald Michael Kraig Donald Michael Kraig - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Modern Magick Eleven Lessons in the 2ND Edition by Donald Kraig - Powell's Books desert rat

Thanks. Are you sure that Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn is legitimate? It just doesn't feel like it. The real Golden Dawn broke apart in the early 1900s I think, but several organizations still claim to have their teachings. This one just feels weird because most of its lessons are conducted online. The O.T.O. seems a lot more legitimate, IMO.

That blog is interesting though. Thanks for all of the links.

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by pianoperformer

Not that I know of. I brailled them myself, with some sighted assistance of course.

Now THAT's pretty cool

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by pianoperformer

But ALG, I've seen reference to magick from you, also. What type do you / have you practiced?

I do Chapter 4 from this book:

Modern Magick Eleven Lessons in the 2ND Edition by Donald Kraig - Powell's Books

And lots of things from this book:



And I take many ideas from this one, and adapt them for my own use: