TheNewBanishingRitualofthePentagram

byMichaelOsirisSnuffin(2002)
"Thosewhoregardthisritualasameredevicetoinvokeorbanishspirits
areunworthytopossessit.Properlyunderstood,itistheMedicineofmetals
andtheStoneoftheWise."1
AleisterCrowley
TheLesserBanishingRitualofthePentagramisthefoundationoftheGoldenDawnmagical
systemand20thcenturyceremonialmagick.Yetcriticalanalysisofthisritualshowsthis
foundationtobeflawed.ElementsoftheLBRPareinconsistentwiththepatternand
structureofGoldenDawnritualaswellasmodernmagicaltheory.Manymagicianshave
triedtorationalizetheseinconsistencies,butnonehavedaredtosignificantlychangethe
ritualitselfuntilnow.
InthisessayIwillidentifytheseinconsistenciesorblindsandcorrectthemtoformulatea
logical,perfectedversionoftheLBRP.Asthebasisformyanalysis,hereistheLBRPas
presentedintheFirstKnowledgeLectureoftheGoldenDawn2,brokendownintofour
sectionsforthepurposeofdiscussion:
TheQabalisticCross
Takeasteeldaggerorknifeintherighthand.FaceEast.
TouchthyforeheadandsayAteh(Thouart).
TouchthybreastandsayMalkuth(theKingdom).
TouchthyrightshoulderandsayveGeburah(andthePower).
TouchthyleftshoulderandsayveGedulah(andtheGlory).
ClaspthyhandsbeforetheeandsayleOlam(forever).
Daggerbetweenfingers,pointupandsayAmen.
TheConstructionoftheCircle
MakeintheAirtowardtheEastthebanishingPentagramofAirand,bringingthepoint
tothecenterofthePentagram,vibratetheDeityNameYodHeVauHe,imagining
thatyourvoicecarriesforthtotheEastoftheUniverse.
Holdingthedaggeroutbeforeyou,gototheSouth,makethePentagramandvibrate
similarlythedeitynameAdonai.
GototheWest,makethePentagramandvibrateEheieh.
GototheNorth,makethePentagramandvibrateAgla.
ReturntotheEastandcompleteyourcirclebybringingthedaggerpointtothecenter
ofthefirstPentagram.
TheInvocationoftheArchangels
Standwitharmsoutstretchedintheformofacrossandsay:
BeforemeRaphael.
BehindmeGabriel.
AtmyrighthandMichael.
AtmylefthandAuriel.

TheAffirmationoftheCircle
BeforemeflamesthePentagram,andbehindmeshinesthesixrayedStar.
MaketheQabalisticCrossasdirectedabove.

1.TheQabalisticCross
ThepurposeoftheQabalisticCrossistoestablishthemagicianasthecenteroftheUniverse.
ItusestheconceptofAdamKadmontoidentifytheMicrocosm(themagician)withthe
Macrocosm(theTreeofLifeasarepresentationoftheUniverse.)Consideralsothatinorder
toconstructacircleyoumustfirstestablishthecenterpoint.
ThemagicianisinstructedtodrawacrossoflightuponhisbodywiththeorationAteh
MalkuthveGeburahveGedulahleOlamAmen,translatedinEnglishasThouartthe
Kingdom,andthePower,andtheGloryforever,Amen.Theorationistakenfromthelast
lineoftheLordsPrayer,spokeninHebrewtoemphasizeitscorrespondencewiththeTreeof
Life.
Thefirstblind3appearsinthewordingoftheoration.TheuseofAteh,thouartidentifies
thelightwithaexternalpower,namely,OurFather.Thesameideaisexpressedattheend
oftheorationwithAmen,whichisnotariqonforAdonaiMelekhNaamonmeaningLord,
faithfulKing.Itwouldmakemuchmoresense(especiallyinlightoftheNewAeon)forthe
magiciantoidentifyhimselfwiththatlightconsideringthatheisestablishinghimself(not
God)asthecenteroftheUniverseinthisritual.
BecausetheritualusestheconceptofAdamKadmonindrawingthecrossoflight,threeof
thefivewordsthatmakeuptheorationarenamesofSephirawhichcorrespondtothe
appropriatelocationonthebody:Malkuth,GeburahandGedulah.Itwouldthusmakesense
toexchangeAtehthouartwiththegodnameofKether,Eheieh,whichmeansIam.This
identifiesthemagicianwiththelightandprovidesaQabalisticlinkwiththeappropriate
sephirawhentouchingtheforehead.
AmenisexchangedforIAO,asolarformulaofresurrectionassociatedwithTiphareth,which
isvibratedovertheplexusinCrowleysThelemicadaptationoftheQabalisticCrossinthe
StarRuby4.Thischangelinksallfivephrasesoftheorationwiththecorrespondingsephiroth
ofAdamKadmon.TherevisedorationnowreadsIamtheKingdomandthePowerandthe
GloryforeverIAO.
WhenperformingthisversionoftheQabalisticCross,themagiciannotonlyidentifies
himselfasthecenteroftheuniversebutalsoformsacrossoftheElementswithinhisaura.
EheiehisassociatedwithAir,MalkuthwithEarth,GeburahwithFire,andGedulahwith
Water.IAOrepresentsSpiritatthecenteroftheElementalCross.
OnefurthernoteontheQabalisticCross.Whiletheoriginalversioninstructsthemagicianto
touchthebreastwhensayingMalkuth,modernmagiciansoftentouchthegroinatthispoint
intheritual.Thelattermethodmakesmoresense,asitfullyextendsthecrossoflightover
thewholebody.Also,whilethegroinisgiventothesephiraYesod,itismuchclosertothe
feetwhereMalkuthresides.Thecrossbarsofthecrossoflightarevisualizedasextending
intoinfinity
2.TheConstructionoftheCircle

TheCircledefinestheareatobecontrolledbythemagicianandprotectsthatareafrom
unwantedinfluences.Thespaceinsidethecircle,onceproperlybanishedthroughtheuseof
pentagramsandgodnames,isconsideredtobesacredspacewithinwhichthemagicianmay
communicatewithandmanipulatetheenergiesoftheUniverse.
Asageneralruleofthumb,themagicianmovesclockwisetoinvokeandcounterclockwiseto
banish.Yetinthisbanishingritualweareinstructedtodrawourcircleclockwise.Thisisthe
secondblind.Thecorrectionissimplytodrawthecirclecounterclockwise,movingfromEast
totheNorth,West,andSouth.
ThecircleiswardedineachElementalquarterbyabanishingEarthpentagram.Thisbias
againsttheelementofEarthisthethirdblind,basedonthemisconceptionthatthematerial
worldisevilandinferiortothehigher,morespiritualrealms.TheLBRPonlyworkswithone
ElementwhenfourElementsareclearlydefined.
Thesolutionistobanisheachelementinitsappropriatequarter.Whenusingfourbanishing
pentagrams,eachisvisualizedinthecolorappropriatetotheelement:yellowforAir,green
forEarth,blueforWaterandredforFire.Thecirclethatunitesthepentagramsisdrawnin
whitetorepresentSpirit,theElementthatbindsandseparatestheotherfourElements.
WiththefourElementsbanishedonlytheElementofSpiritremains,itselfconterminous
withthemagicianandthecenterofthecircle5.SpiritistheElementthatbothbindsand
separatestheotherfourElementsandmustbepresenttoformulateandbalancethe
ElementalcircleoftheElementalquarters.
FourfourletterHebrewgodnamesareusedaswordsofpowertochargethepentagrams:
YHVHintheEast,ADNIintheSouth,AHIHintheWest,andAGLAintheNorth.Yetthree
ofthefourgodnamesareclearlyassociatedwiththeelementintheoppositequarterin
whichtheyisvibrated.ThisconfusionofthegodnamesisthefourthblindoftheLBRP.
AdonaiisassociatedwithEarththroughthegodnameAdonaihaAretz(LordofEarth)in
Malkuth.EheiehisassociatedwithbreathandthereforeAir.AGLAisnotariqonforAteh
GiborleOlamAdonai(ThouartmightyforevermyLord),Giborbeingofthesamerootof
thefierysephiraGeburah.
ThegodnameYHVHisaspecialcase.ThisgodnamecontainsallfourElementswithinitself
andcouldbeplacedinanyquarter,muchlikethegodnameARARITAintheLesser
BanishingRitualoftheHexagram.WhileitisafourletterHebrewgodname,YHVHdoes
nothaveanyspecificaffinitytotheElementofWater,nordoesitbeginwithalephlikethe
otherthreenames.
Onamoresubjectivelevel,myexperimentswiththeLBRPshowedthatYHVHdoesnot
resonateaswellastheotherthreegodnameswhenusedintheirproperquarters.Theenergy
wasdifferent,asifIhadtriedtofitaroundpegintoasquarehole.
AshortbutintensiveinvestigationrevealedanappropriategodnametouseforWater:
ALVH,Eloah,God.ItsrootisAL,thegodnameassociatedwithChesedandWater.The
lasttwolettersareVH,thelasttwolettersoftheTetragrammaton.Eloahwasthepassword
ofthePracticusGradeoftheGoldenDawn,inwhichthepowersofWaterareinvokedinto
theauraoftheCandidate.
Furthermore,AL=31,akeyoftheBookoftheLaw,andVH=11,thenumberofMagick.42
(ALVH)=21(AHIH)X2.EloahisareflectionofEheieh,andreflectionisaprimary

characteristicofElementalWater.
Therevisedattributionofthegodnamestotheelementalquartersisasfollows:AHIHfor
AirintheEast,ADNIforEarthintheNorth,ALVHforWaterintheWest,andAGLAforFire
intheSouth.VibratethegodnameswhilegivingtheSignoftheEnterer,andfollowwiththe
SignofSilence.Thefirstgestureprojectsabeamofenergyintothepentagram,whilethe
secondgesturestopstheflowofenergybyseveringtheconnectionbetweenthemagicianand
thepentagram.
3.TheInvocationoftheArchangels
Afterthecircleisconstructed,themagicianextendshisarmsintheformofataucrossand
invokestheArchangelsoftheElementsinthefourdirections.Thetaucrossisasymbolof
thefourElementsbondedandseparatedbySpirit.Itisalsoareaffirmationoftheelementof
SpiritthatisinvokedthroughtheQabalisticCross.ItiswiththeauthorityofSpiritthatthe
magicianinvokestheArchangels.
WhatisthepurposeofinvokingtheArchangels?Somebelievethattheyaretheguardiansof
thecircle,evokedoutsidetoprotectit.Yetthecircleisalreadywellprotectedatthispointin
theritualwithbanishingpentagramsandvibratedgodnames.Therealpurposeofthe
invocationistofilltheElementalvoidthathasbeencreatedinsidethecircleafterbanishing
thefourElementsintheConstructionoftheCircle.
TheElementalArchangelsrepresentthehighest,mostspiritualizedqualitiesoftheElements.
WhentheArchangelsareinvokedintothecircle,theElementalvoidisfilledwith
spiritualizedElementalenergythatservestopurify,balance,andenergizethemagician.As
heinvokeseachArchangelicenergythemagicianshouldbeabletofeelitmanifestinthe
appropriatequarter.ThisideaisvividlyexpressedbyIsraelRegardieinTheMiddlePillar:
Thetechnique...istoimaginethattheemanationfromthearchangelpenetrates
andcleansesthepersonality.Thatistosay,intheeastfrombehindthearchangel
Raphaelshouldbefeltagentlewindorbreeze,which,permeatingtheentire
body,blowsfromiteverytraceofimpurity.FromMichaelinthesouth,warmthat
firstofgentledegreeshouldbefelt,increasinginintensitytoapowerfulheatthat
burnsandutterlyconsumeseveryblemishwhichtroubledthepersonality.This
purgingshouldbefeltasconsecratingonetotheserviceofthehigherself.The
sametechniqueshouldbeappliedtoGabrielinthewest,exceptthatoneis
purifiedwithwater,whileinthenorthoneisinvestedwiththestabilityand
fertilityofAuriel,archangeloftheearth.6
Rememberthatthemagician,whoisstandingintheformofataucross,representsSpirit,
thefifthElementwhichbalancesandbindstheotherfour.
4.TheAffirmationoftheCircle
Theritualendswiththefollowingoration:Beforemeflamesthepentagram,andbehindme
shinesthesixrayedstar.ThisplacesthemagicianbetweenthesymbolsoftheMicrocosm
(pentagram)andMacrocosm(hexagram).Theintentistosymbolizetheunificationofthe
MicrocosmwiththeMacrocosm,whichinturnisasymbolfortheGreatWork,thegoalofall
magick.
AleisterCrowleymodifiedthisorationtoreadForaboutmeflamesthePentagram,andin

theColumnstandstheSixrayedStar.7Crowleyvisualizedtwohexagrams,oneabovehim
andonebelowhim.Itflamesbothaboveandbeneaththemagus,whoisthusinacubeof4
pentagramsandtwohexagrams,32pointsinall.8Theargumentforthisarrangementis
that32isthenumberofpathsontheTreeofLifeandtheenumerationofAHIHVH,agod
nameformedbycombiningAHIHandYHVHthatsymbolizestheunificationofthe
MacrocosmandtheMicrocosm.
ThecolumnistheshapeofthespacethatiscreatedintheLBRP.Thecircleactuallydefinesa
columnthatextendsverticallyaboveandbelowthemagician.Itdoesnotmanifestasacube
orsphere,duetothepassiveconstructionofthehexagram.Thehexagramissimply
visualizedandnotdrawnorchargedwithgodnamesliketheotherelementsofthecircle,
andthereforedoesnotcarrythesamewardingpowerasthepentagramsintheritual.
Furthermore,thereisnoneedtowardtheareaaboveandbelowthecircle.Theconstruction
ofthecirclebanishesthefourElementsthusthecolumniscomprisedoftheElementof
Spirit.ThiscolumnofSpiritextendsintotheinfiniteaboveandtheinfinitebelow,makingit
unnecessarytowardtheverticaldirections.
WhatissignificantaboutCrowleysinterpretationishisidentificationofthePentagramin
theAffirmationwiththeElementalpentagramsestablishedinthequarters.This
identificationservestoaffirmtheringofpentagramsthathavebeenformulatedtoprotect
anddefinethecircle.Ineffect,itidentifiesthecircleastheMicrocosmofthemagician.In
turn,visualizingthehexagramattheTipharethcenterestablishestheMacrocosmwithinthe
Microcosmiccircle.Asbefore,thisunificationisasymboloftheGreatWork,yetthis
interpretationismorecompleteinthatitincludesbothelementsoftheritual,thecircleand
thecenter.
Toreflecttheseconcepts,theAffirmationoftheCirclehasbeenrevisedtoreadAboutme
flamesthepentagrams,andwithinmeshinesthesixrayedstar.Withtheutteranceoffirst
phrase,themagicianfocusesontheringofpentagramsthatsurroundshimandwiththelast
phrasethemagicianvisualizesaunicursalhexagramcenteredonhisplexus.
Asafinalnote,Iprefertouseaunicursalhexagraminsteadofatraditionalhexagram
becausethelinesoftheformerfigurecrosstheTipharethcenterofthehexagram,whilethe
latterfiguredoesnotconnectwithTipharethatall.
WhenalloftheflawsoftheLBRParecorrectedandtheelementsoftheritualareproperly
balanced,aNewBanishingRitualofthePentagramemerges:
1.Facingeast,touchtheforeheadandsayEheieh(Iam).
2.TouchthegroinandsayMalkuth(theKingdom).
3.TouchtherightshoulderandsayveGeburah(andthePower).
4.TouchtheleftshoulderandsayveGedulah(andtheGlory).
5.ClaspthehandsuponthebreastandsayleOlahmIAO(Forever,IAO).
6.IntheEast,tracethebanishingpentagramofAir.VibrateEheieh.
7.TurntotheNorthandtracethebanishingpentagramofEarth.VibrateAdonai.

8.TurntotheWestandtracethebanishingpentagramofWater.VibrateEloah.
9.TurntotheSouthandtracethebanishingpentagramofFire.VibrateAGLA.
10.TurntotheEasttocompletethecircle.Extendthearmsintheformofacross
andsay:
11.BeforemeRaphael.
12.BehindmeGabriel.
13.OnmyrighthandMichael.
14.AndonmylefthandAuriel.
15.Foraboutmeflamesthepentagrams.
16.Andwithinmeshinesthesixrayedstar.
17.RepeattheQabalisticCross(parts15).

FinalNotes
IhavebeenperformingtheNBRPdailyformanymonthsandfoundittobeverypotentand
effective,moresothantheoriginalLBRP.TheNBRPnotonlycreatesafoundationfor
magicalwork,butalsobalancestheElementswithintheauraofthemagician.(Interestingly
enough,thisisalsothepurposeoftheOuterOrderinitiationsoftheGoldenDawn.)Ihave
alsousedthisritualtopreparemytempleforevocationwithgreatsuccess.Iwelcomeand
encourageanyfeedbackorcriticismontheNBRPpleasecontactmethroughthiswebsite.
Footnotes:
1Crowley,Aleister"ThePalaceoftheWorld."QuotetakenfromLiberABA,page745,

footnote507.
2TheGoldenDawn,page53.TheLBRPoriginatedwiththeGoldenDawnandthusthe

Order'sversionshallbeusedhere.
3Asanoun,"blind"meansnotonly"somethingputforwardforthepurposeofmisleading"

butalso"somethingtohindersightandkeepoutoflight."
4Liber25:TheStarRuby
5ThisconceptisclearlydemonstratedintheOpeningbyWatchtowerritual.
6Ibid,page62.
7LiberO.
8Crowley,Aleister"ThePalaceoftheWorld."QuotetakenfromLiberABA,page746,

footnote522.

Copyright(c)2010MichaelOsirisSnuffin

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