Lesser Banishing

Continuing our discussion on magical regimes I will turn to a set of core practices that I would suggest aspirants take up. That is, banishing and in our case specifically the Lesser Banishing Rituals of the Pentagram and Hexagram. Both of these practices are described in detail in Liber O. If you are not familiar with the hexagram and pentagram rituals, I suggest you read Liber O first, as it will provide an outline of the practices as described by Crowley and discused here. (Download our copy of Liber O here!) I will not be going over the practice itself. Instead, I will be illuminating the rituals in an effort to deepen our understanding of the practices and their symbolism. Like the middle pillar, these practices were taught by the Golden Dawn and are outlined in an early form in Ragrdie’s book on the Golden Dawn. Also like the middle pillar, the practices are distinctly kabbalistic, utilizing god and archangel names in Hebrew to empower the practitioner with the aspects of nature represented by them through the system of sympathies we discussed previously. (See the article on the middle pillar.) The practices also use distinct symbols and associated visualizations that accompany them. 

The purpose of banishing is to clear the astral space for the practitioner. It is typically utilized before any magical working and is an advisable spiritual hygiene practice to maintain one’s own psycho-spiritual well-being, especially when plumbing the realms of the unknown. It is worth noting that there are many forms of banishing ranging from simple sage-burning rituals to what some might call, banishing by fiat, or by the authority of the magician. One very simple form of this is to hold the finger raised to the lower lip and with a swiping motion swing the arm back and point to the ground behind you declaring “Apo Pantos Kakodaimonos!” as if saying as our lord did, “Get thee behind me Satan.” for even he did not revile the spirits. This motion is described in the opening of the Star Ruby, a distinctly Thelemic banishing ritual meant to parallel the pentagram in the new Aon. (Book of Lies Chapter 25.) Of note is that the Star Ruby and Star Sapphire rituals were considered the new aeonic equivalents of the Hexagram and Pentagram rituals.

These two rituals are sibling practices. They reside within the same magical universe and are built on similar fundamental cosmological worldviews. The core difference is that the distinction between the hexagram and pentagram is the two symbols at their center. The pentagram is a five-pointed star, while the hexagram is a six-pointed star. These two symbols are both part of the deeper occult truth of the macrocosm within the microcosm. Which in itself is a permutation of the line found in The Emerald Tablet (A core text of Hermeticism ) “As above, so below”. The idea is that the universe is a kind of inverted dimension folded onto itself within us all. The pentagram’s five points are the four elements and spirit, and the hexagram’s six points are the six traditional celestial planets with the sun at the center and the earth outside the system. This focus on terrestrial vs celestial symbols is echoed throughout both practices.

The Pentagram

As often the first practice of what we might call Western ritual magic taken up by the aspirant, the Pentagram ritual is said to teach the practitioner a vast number of truths in its practice. Studying the deep symbolism within the ritual and actually putting it into practice both yield profound results. It teaches the mysteries of Adam Kadman, macrocosm within the microcosm. It has been additionally observed that it teaches basic ritual structure i.e., initial proceedings, general invocation, and core invocation followed by closing proceedings. This structure is echoed throughout most ritual practices found in the Western esoteric tradition, including the Hexagram ritual. 

The pentagram ritual is broken into three stages, the first and final kabbalistic crosses, which are identical, and the central drawing of the pentagrams. In the kabbalistic cross, the practitioner is performing a modified version of the middle pillar. Calling on the tree of life laid over their body. This is why we stand hand outstretched and then gesture the head at the point of Kether. Then we draw the connection to Malkuth which is the base of the tree at our feet where we complete the connection. “Geborah” intoned at the right shoulder is plain enough as the fifth sephiroth but what is less clear is the meaning of the intonation “Gedula” as we gesture the left shoulder. This, as might be inferred, is another name for the sphere of Chesed, the fourth sephiroth. These gestures and intonations also teach the practitioner the orientation of the tree as appropriately laid over the body. That is Geborah in the right shoulder and Chesed in the left.

At its core the Pentagram ritual is elemental focused and the terrestrial nature of the ritual is reinforced by the use of the four cardinal directions along with the archangels and associated elements. The implication is that the four elements are found within the microcosmic domain, which makes sense if we think of our own bodies as consisting of these four subtle elements. 

For the main action of the practice, we trace out and visualize a banishing hexagon in blue flame while intoning the associated god name for each quarter. It is worth noting here that the ritual has an invoking form in which we merely reverse the direction of the pentagram as we draw it. I would also like to point out the use of AGLAH in the North. This is a contraction of Atah Gebor Leolam, Adoni. (Unto strength forever, my Lord) an appropriate ward for the final quarter given the pentagram’s connection to the fifth Sephiroth. 

The pinnacle of the ritual is the declaration “for about me flames the pentagram and in the column shines the six-rayed star…” and is a reference to the macrocosm, the hexagram, within the microcosm of the practitioner, the pillar at the center of the ritual. As you visualize yourself with the hexagram radiating from you, see the four pentagrams as you’ve drawn them at the four quarters. Above and below you, forming a protective box, visualize two more hexagrams emanating from your core. Around you stand the four archangels, surrounded by their respective elements, weapons in hand facing outward in a protective stance. When you are invoking, these archangels face inward, hearkening the call of the magician. Finally, you wrap up with a final kabbalistic cross, thus sealing the ritual and aligning the body to the universe.

The Hexagram

The meaning of the hexagram goes much deeper than the celestial implications of the attributions of the classical planets when we consider its placement on the tree of life as the symbol of the sixth Sephiroth. Tiphareth is the sphere of Christ’s consciousness and that of our Holy Guardian Angel. It is a symbol of every dead and resurrected god that has been and will be. As such it is distinctly solar as the sun which dies and rises again each night or solar year, depending on the tradition. In the new aeon, Crowley asserted that the focus within the formula of Tiphareth shifted away from the dead and resurrected aspect of the Christ mystery as the sacrifice, to the born and living aspect as the Christ child within us all. Additionally, this being, or state of consciousness is the same being that is invoked in the bornless ritual, which can be found in the opening of the Goetia and which is affirmed in the final line when the bornless one themselves declares, “I am the heart girt with the serpent.” This is the very same serpent of the Orphic Egg, the Ouroboros devouring its own tail, and the Uraeus that adorned the crowns of the ancient Pharaohs. The very same brazen serpent raised by Moses in the wilderness before the congregation of Israel, the first foreshadowing of Christ in the Old Testament.

The hexagram ritual like that of the pentagram is broken into three distinct segments. The first and last are identical and are called the analysis of the keywords. They are a recitation of the three principal ideas of the Osirus myth cycle, that is the three gods and their roles. Osiris as the savior who dies and rises again, bringing the gift of eternal life to all. Isis as his sister, mourner, and lover, she is the one who awakens his dead form and quickens him to love new life and conception. Apophis or Typhon, are both forms of Set who slew the god Osiris. (A new aeonic conceptualization of this formula could consider replacing Typhon with Horis, supplanting the death aspect of the myth cycle with the life aspect. It is interesting to note that within the Thelemic Trinity Ra-Hoor-Khuit, the child god who is the result of the union of Nuit and Hadit is a form of Horus, the child god born to Isis.)

The meaning of the Osiris legend as referenced in the hexagram ritual becomes clearer if we know a little bit about the core of the Osirius mythos. In the legends Osiris’ brother Set, the god of the wilderness and one of the many precursors to Saten, Slays his brother Osirus, sending him into the underworld and scattering his body parts across the land of Egypt. His two sisters Isis and Nephthis, traveled the land searching for the parts of his body to reassemble the god. Wherever they went temples and shrines would be set up if they found a part of his body. Finally after a period of searching they had assembled all but the last part of the god. His phallus which Isis crafted for him out of gold and by which she bore the dead god a son, Horus. By the power of Isis, Nephthys, and Horus Osirus is risen from the dead and rains in the sky as Ra in the day and as Osiris in the night. When the sun sets he acts as a guide and guardian to the souls of the dead as they pass through the Duat or night lands. Many of these souls may choose to stay in the Duat but some may choose to continue the journey and enter into the sunrise to return to the land of day.

This cycle is referenced in the analysis of the keywords and the signs and postures assumed by the practitioner. The only sign that might not be immediately clear is that of Apophis and Typhon. Apophis was the great snake that dwelt in the Nile and which, according to the myth, engaged in battle with Osirus as he traveled the Nile on the night bark. The other gods all aided the god in his efforts and were frequently called on in the Book of the Coming Forth by Day to aid the god and the souls of the dead. Typhon was a Greek god-beast of chaos and both of these beings were associated with Set, the slayer of Osiris.

Finally, a word on ARARITA. This is a Notariqon of the Hebrew phrase “Achad Rosh, Achdotho Rosh, Ichudo Temurato Achad” meaning “One is Thy Beginning; One is Thy Individuality; Thy Permutation is One.” To learn more about this magical formula an examination of Liber ARARITA (available for download from our library.) Overall, the formula of the hexagram is that of the death of the old self and the rebirth of the new self. It is the hero arch found in the Christ and Osiris mythos. The old aeonic form emphasized the death aspect while the new aeonic form emphasizes the life and birth aspect of the Christ consciousness.

Even in their lesser forms, the material for analysis and discussion found within these two rituals is nearly endless and this discussion has hardly scratched the surface. Further study of the kabbalah, the four cardinal directions, their archangels, and their elements would serve the student well. I would also suggest an examination of the Book of the Coming Forth by Day and the Osirian myth cycles.

Thank you to all who read my work. I hope that it can help guide a few who are seeking a path to the mysteries.

In your service,

Frater Hiliel

In light of the holidays, “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 KJV

Bellow are some resources I put together that might be helpful for the practitioner.