Most lodges/groups and individuals who conduct rituals often do so without much thought as to what is actually happening; what is it they are really doing? We perform actions without thinking about such things, concentrating more on the success of the endeavour and the amount of energy it will take.
But when you are working from scratch, designing a whole magical system, there needs to be a clear understanding of what is happening during a magical working; what is going on behind the scenes? Where do the inner contacts come from in ritual? Where does the power come from? How does a magical action cause something to happen?
We are raised in a culture of experts who all know better and would prefer that we leave the important questions and difficult jobs to them. That attitude has also become pervasive in magic with so many people quite happy to bumble along doing rituals for this or that without actually thinking if it will work and, if it does, how?
Add to this the egocentricity that became a major factor of magic from 1888 upwards — lots of ‘know better’ Masons who were the direct result of the age of enlightenment generations before, deferring to a greater ‘secret’ master/s. The next generation included the spice of psychology, with the ‘it’s all a part of our mind’ philosophy. Decade after decade we have all taken the secrets of the previous generations, done the rituals, done the work and made the same mistakes. This is what happens when an old system is inherited: we gain old attitudes.
In the last few decades we have been encouraged more and more to think for ourselves, to not take old systems without much thought but to be able to choose whether new or old is the best for the job at hand. This has produced some wondrous and disastrous results, which at least shows that people are doing for themselves!
This is very important when building a new magical lodge from scratch — everything must be rebuilt from the ground up including the ritual system, patterning, and magical methods. The reason for this is not about being new for the sake of it, but that you need to know exactly all the components that are going into it. It is also important that a new lodge is fresh and uncontaminated — old patterns carry old baggage and old parasitical behaviour.
To clarify better when I talk about ritual patterns, I do not mean the written or spoken word which is often created specially for an event, I refer to the underlying pattern that is used, a pattern which is often passed from one generation to another.
WHAT IS A RITUAL?
A ritual takes power from the inner worlds, puts it into a shape, and uses it for a purpose. When you are disciplined and trained/experienced in magic and inner work, your actions take on a different level of power to someone who is not involved in the inner worlds very much. The deeper the inner work, the more power comes through the externalised actions. There is a very curious dynamic about magic that to affect the outer, it needs a passive inner flexibility within the practitioner, and by passive, I mean really passive. The less inner focus that is put on an externalised action the more powerful it becomes.
This dynamic only works with a magician who has long-term experience of working in the inner worlds at different levels and in different realms. My theory is, when you work for a long time in the inner worlds with contacts, the dynamic of ‘doing easy’ between outer person and inner contact kicks in to being. This means that the human does what is easy for them, but near impossible for an inner contact and vice versa. It is not difficult for a human to move a cup, walk from A to B, light a flame or use a voice. Likewise, the inner contact can easily open an inner gate, send power to X or trap a being. The inner contacts are good at moving energy around, opening/closing inner access points and bringing in/sending away inner beings etc.
So, when both sides of the fence are up to speed, some pretty cool work can be done. But that does not explain the dynamic of ritual actions, just which unseen partners are sometimes working with us.
RITUAL ACTION AND INTENT
When a person performs a ritual of any type, the ritual affects and interacts with everything around it (hence take out the cat before doing an exorcism). Certain ritual actions gather in energy by attracting power to the pattern, other rituals call in beings. Some rituals make it impossible for beings to stay in the space, whilst others affect the life pattern of the person they are focused on — the list is as complex and intriguing as human nature itself.
Intent is a major part of ritual, so if you think of something, the power gathers behind that thought. If you hold a thought with focussed outer intent, a great deal of power becomes backed up behind the intent, ready to be used. The use of the mind is like an inner muscle and if it is worked regularly in the correct way, it becomes very strong, flexible, and able to do heavy things. Magic deals with the part of our world that is not solid, but it is a part of the world that drives the solid. The mind does the same thing; the mind drives our bodies, but it can also drive everything else around us.
The fascinating thing is that our minds can affect things that are not connected to us physically and it is one of the lost treasures in our modern psychologised world. A trained thought pattern can affect things separated from the body or immediate surroundings of the thinker.
This is one of the great mysteries that psychology has destroyed, as it taught us that our thoughts affect only ourselves and beings that talk to us are really just a deeper part of ourselves. That is not a whole truth — yes the deeper parts of ourselves talk to us, but then so do beings outside us, totally unrelated to us; they can affect, communicate, and interact with us through our minds. Mainstream psychology told us that such a concept is not true, so we stopped believing and, as a result, magic slid further away from our reach.
When I was growing up, I saw people think at other people and make them very sick, I saw people chant other people to death, sing them out of their homes and marriages. I never bought into the psychology thing because I knew from being a brat that it wasn’t true. That freedom enabled me to grow in magic and also taught me to respect such a dangerous skill.
On a happier and more practical side, the other thing that happens during ritual patterning is that some of the inner contacts that you regularly work with come along for the ride. When they see your focussed intent, they realise what it is you are trying to achieve and join in to help, using their skills in the inner worlds as you use your skills in the outer world.
When someone who has not worked much or at all in the inner worlds does an outer ritual, there are one of two things that can happen. It either works in a sort of haphazard fashion or it doesn’t work at all. If someone has a bright energy, that energy will attract faeries, parasites, and elemental beings that are in the area and they will wonder what the hell he is doing. If they have a sense of humour, are bored, or realise they can get a meal out of it, they will join in the ritual, do the inner part and off it goes.
This haphazard use of inner contact is particularly dangerous, as it leaves the person doing the ritual wide open to anything that comes along. When you engage in a ritual you open to the inner realms and ask them to do something. You have no idea what type of being you are inviting into your energy field and basic 101 book protections will not stop a hungry parasite if he sees a hot steaming dinner. People honestly think the ritual happens with no payoff and that thanking the universe will suffice — wrong…..
This is one of the points of importance for the Hierophant when she is designing the training system for initiates: they need to know the inner and outer dynamics of ritual from day one so that they fully understand the implications of their thought patterns and their ritual actions.
EXTERNALISED POWER AND ACTION
Some outer ritual actions draw inner world energies into an image or object so that even though they have no physical substance, the contact can be interacted with through a physical object. This is something that has been in magical technique, be it formalised magic or Shamanic/tribal magic, for millennia. It is probably one of the very oldest forms of high magic that can have a powerful impact upon an individual, a community or a landscape.
A good working example of this is sand paintings, the use of which can still be found in the Navajo Hogan and the Tibetan sand Mandalas. The ritualist slowly creates a pattern, which often includes images of spirit beings, demons or holy people. The work is done with ritual intent, sometimes with the use of chant, storytelling or ritual poetry and, as the ritualist works, the inner beings are drawn to the work by the sounds and the energy. The intent will particularly draw in beings that are causing a particular problem like sickness, mental illness, bad luck or curses. As the beings get closer, the picture intrigues them and impels them to go into it, where they become trapped in the images and patterns. Once they are fully trapped within the pattern and the pattern is finished, the painting is destroyed and the sand thrown to the wind or into a river thus breaking up the hold of the being on the physical world and casting it to the elements, back to where it belongs.
The secret of the ritual action is covered in mystique and people are told that the picture is destroyed because nothing is permanent. The being is taken from where it has been causing problems and compassionately put back into the world of its own element.
Sometimes ritual paintings or images are used in more or less the same way. They are painted in such a way as to attract a being which is then absorbed into the painting. The image is then pinned to trap in the demon or spirit and the image is burned — the being is cast into the element of fire, away from where it was causing problems.
Another example of outer ritual action with inner results is the construction of a sacred image of a deity or spirit and the use of song, speech and intent to draw a being into the image. That image is then worked with magically as a window to that being. It can also be used to trap a being in and keep it there — this is how some demon traps work.
All of these actions are outer physical actions using mental intent and no intentional inner work, therefore action done by a person with the right skills and intent is enough for it to work. The dynamics of this work can be very useful in the building and maintenance of a lodge, but the skills can be put to terrible misuse and the Hierophant needs to take care to supervise any adept working in this field within the lodge to ensure that the adept works with compassion and respect for all beings.
It will be necessary to teach these dynamics and skills to initiates training in the skills of healing and exorcism, which is where these externalised actions usually come into play.
INNER CONTACTS IN RITUAL
When the Hierophant is training initiates in ritual, they will learn how to work with inner contacts through ritual, as opposed to in vision. When you meet an inner contact through vision, you have either gone into their realm, or met them in a half way place in the inner worlds. When you work with an inner contact in ritual, you call them to you, working with them in a combination of outer action, intent and passive inner vision (using inner vision in your own realm).
There are a variety of inner contacts that work this way, usually former human adepts, or human adepts alive in their own time/place. If the pattern has been set down correctly, each working direction will have been anchored into a line of consciousness so that when the initiate works in ritual in that direction, an adept from that line working in the inner worlds will join the initiate in the work and assist. If the lodge line is anchored in a specific priesthood line, then usually the contacts from that line will engage in the work of the lodge. If not, the work can potentially draw/call upon any human adept who can pick up the signal; usually one who is working in a similar stream will come through as an inner contact to assist.
It is also an important part of the initiates training to learn how to be an inner contact while still living. A Hierophant or one of the adepts would set up a vision whereby the initiates would go through the inner temple to answer an inner call from a group in the same magical line, past, present or future, and step into their outer lodge to work as inner contacts in the ritual. These inner contacts can be a valuable resource for the Hierophant when building and strengthening a lodge: many hands make eco-friendly light work….
So it is important to understand the inner dynamics of these inner contacts when building the ritual pattern foundation in the lodge. It needs to be done in such a way that the gates are accessible to living adepts in their own time, regardless of when that is, so that the work can be woven across time. This is very important when the lodge is undertaking long term projects that have a deep magical impact upon the land.
CREATING A RITUAL PATTERN FOR THE LODGE
When the lodge is first being put together, the Hierophant will have decided upon a ritual patterning for the inner and outer temple that will be used in all ritual work. As I discussed earlier, it can be a single central altar pattern or 2, 3, 4, or 5 directions — it all depends on the type of work the lodge will undertake and what beings are to be worked with.
There are a few different ways the ritual pattern can be anchored and we looked at one way while building the inner temple. The following is a straight forward method which anchors the ritual pattern in the temple and leaves it ticking in the background, ready for use at ritual time.
The first thing that needs attending to in a building project is the decision of which pattern to use. Really, simple is more powerful. While a complex 6 pointed star can be very impressive, when laid out in a temple and used in rituals, it can end up limiting the work to what is connected with that symbol and nothing more. It is often best to choose the pattern based on the natural powers around the temple and what elements are used the most by the lodge. If you stick to basic natural flows, you don’t back yourself into a ritual corner as far as developing the work goes; a bit of foresight can go a long way.
So for example, if the Hierophant wants to work with a polarity of positive/negative, male/female, a north south pattern would suffice and other things can be built on to that. The temple would be set up with an altar in the north and one in the south. It can be enhanced by one in the centre, or it could be used in the form of a triangle with the 3 altars creating the pattern. A four directional layout is also a popular pattern with an altar in each direction. Sometimes one in the middle for the void works well, or just a simple single altar in the centre, which is usually the most powerful as everything and anything can be pulled through it.
With the pattern settled, basic altars need to be placed in each direction with the access element upon them and nothing else. The group begin by sitting in a circle with the altars in the directions (and no one sitting in front of an altar) and they go into the void in vision, going in as deep as they can.
While deep in vision, the first adept gets up and goes to the first altar whilst maintaining the inner vision of the void with their eyes open. The choice of which altar to work with first will depend upon the directional patterning that is being used in the magic itself.
At the altar, the adept reaches in vision through the void to the directional power that the altar is representing. Once they have connected with that power, they then reach a little further for an inner contact, particularly one connected to the line in the temple, and brings the contact through the void to the other side of the altar so that the altar becomes the threshold of those two worlds.
The inner contact and the outer adept both place their hands upon the altar and draw in the power of that direction. They let it flow through them into the altar where the two streams of power from the inner and outer adepts entwine.
The adept now thanks the inner adept, steps away from the altar and moves on to the next one. As soon as the first altar is clear, the next adept goes up to it and repeats the same process. It builds through the unique mediation of each adept so that the directional lines weave through each person, creating a pattern of power that imprints itself upon the altars and the fabric of the building.
At that point, the group needs to solidify the pattern in the room. This is done by firstly sitting in silence in meditation, seeing the pattern in the room and seeing the power flow out of the first direction, followed by taking up the flow of the ritual patterning as it goes around the room and back out through the first altar again.
These flow patterns can be worked with in a variety of ways to bring different powers into the temple to be then used for a working. If the group is sending power out into the world to do something, it would not return to the first altar but would be directed from the last altar out into the world.
The pattern must be established in the room so that it can be used in ritual regularly so that the minute anyone goes up to an altar to work, the power and contact will switch on almost immediately. The more it is used, the stronger it gets and over generations a massive amount of power can build with it.
If ritual implements are used, and once they are consecrated, they will live on the altar upon which they were consecrated and where their power is most relevant. It would be wise however for the Hierophant to think very carefully about the distribution of power tools around the directions — the powers that flow through certain directions are very specific in some ways. So for example: a consecrated sword placed in the north is going to be tuned to death and destruction; not a cool idea. And if any young would-be magicians read this and think it’s a cool idea, I would say go ahead and see what happens. Just don’t make any long term plans as power flows through you first.
PUTTING A RITUAL TOGETHER
So as the pattern is established in the temple it will dictate to a certain extent how rituals are designed and executed. They would have to be in harmony with the pattern and the powers. A two or three directional pattern which is based upon polarity and yet is used in ritual with just one power quickly becomes imbalanced. If a group were to weave male and female polarity into a room where only solar male deity work is done is just begging for a fight.
The ritual needs to reflect or at least acknowledge the powers in the room but it doesn’t mean you are tied to a single pattern — the pattern must flow in harmony with what is there. It can be a very good exercise in planning for initiates to write a simple ritual which works within the patterning of the temple, using the powers, inner contacts and directions. This makes one think carefully about how powers interact and how simplicity can be used effectively to bring through large amounts of power.
The one pitfall that a Hierophant will have to watch out for when training initiates in ritual work is to ensure that it is not all drama but is simple, to the point, and completely relevant. It must be linking in with the inner contacts and powers to achieve something; otherwise it just becomes a piece of elaborate theatre which doesn’t actually do anything. The default dynamic is usually the more powerful and connected the ritual is, the simpler it becomes.
If a ritual is over-wordy, the focus is pulled to the words and detracts from the power which can end up confusing the inner contact. If there is no movement in the ritual, i.e. it is all conducted from one point (like a sand painting), then the words become more important, as they join with the action.
If there is movement, such as walking from one altar to another, the patterns made by the act of walking become a major part of the ritual and the words take on a lesser role. If the ritual has movement from altar to altar and then ritual action at the altar, maybe with ritual implements, then that focuses most of the power and the words are simply used at each threshold to call in the contact. Sometimes there is no voice at all and the whole ritual is conducted in silence so that any communion is done through inner vision while walking and handling the implements. That is a form of ritual that bridges the inner and outer and it was one of my favourite methods of working.
When using speech, don’t have the initiates sit down to do a bit of creative writing, otherwise the focus is on the speech and the initiate will be more bothered about their performance and what people think of the ritual than with getting on with the job. It also takes power away from the work if the ritual is rambling. It must be written from within the context of the job. If it is a focussed patterning with movement and implements, the verbal should be short and to the point. If it is ritualised drama, then the speech is far more important.
The Hierophant’s job in the midst of all this is to ensure that the power pattern in the room is upheld, that the bridges are working, the inner contacts are there, and the access routes are properly filtered.
This is the other point to remember when designing a ritual pattern for a temple — make sure the directions worked in are compatible with the guardians of the magical line which runs through the lodge. They need to be able to do their job of guarding anyone who works in the temple, and to do that they need a bridge into the temple; therefore each ritual should have a starting element that connects with the guardians and the inner contacts. Eventually a ritualised action will develop which does that job but it will need to develop slowly through the use of intent, call, and action.
INNER RITUAL
The other form of ritual that the Hierophant will need to establish in the lodge is inner ritual; that is to say, ritual that is undertaken completely in vision in the inner temple. The inner ritual is built up and conducted purely in the minds of the workers along with inner contacts and nothing is done in the outer temple. That can be expanded usually by repeating the ritual a second time in vision in the outer temple; and then finally the physical ritual is done in the outer temple while conducting the visionary ritual in the inner temple, so the two are brought together and worked at the same time.
This requires a great deal of concentration and is probably best left to the adepts, as the power strain can get to be a little too much for initiates. Stretching in two places at once while weaving power takes a lot of inner flexibility and to expect someone to do that sort of work after a small amount of training is to put them in danger of outer injury. To attempt a bridging of power in that way needs inner flexibility, focus, inner strength, grounding and the ability to ‘spread out’ the soul without weakening oneself.
When a ritual is conducted on the inner, it takes far more physical energy than if the power was dispersed through the muscles by movement. The Hierophant needs to take into account the physical affects of ritual when working with groups in the lodge, and to keep an eye on the health of the workers, to ensure that no one is over-stretching themselves.
Moving inner power with the mind can take an enormous amount of physical strength, particularly if the work is deep; hence the esoteric monks who used to have to do physical work and physical training first before they were allowed to do deep visionary meditations. The body must be prepared for physical impact and the best preparation for that is to ensure that the outer body reflects the same condition as the inner — the outer body should be flexible, strong and healthy. I’m sure that anyone who is reading this who has spent time working in-depth with me over a couple of days can remember what their body felt like the day after the work was finished…. I know I can!
The physical impact of ritual can be profound if the body is not properly attended to and if the work is ongoing over a period of time, it is the responsibility of the Hierophant to ensure that any workers involved in the work are aware of the physical impact as well as ways to minimise the damage. The more of an inner focus there is in the ritual, the deeper the power, hence the harder the impact on the body.
One way for a Hierophant to help minimise the impact on the workers is for the lodge to provide or be involved in a physical discipline like martial arts, yoga, tai chi etc. It helps if everyone does a similar discipline so that everyone’s bodies are on the same frequency.
PHYSICAL CONNECTION
This is a dynamic that the Hierophant should discuss with the working group before it undertakes any major work program/responsibility: when a group work together, their bodies begin to synchronise.
When a group of humans work magically in inner work over a period of time together, their bodies begin to tune in to each other. This can manifest in a variety of ways, from women timing their bleeding together to people sharing symptoms and beginning to connect deeply with each other.
This can end up being a problem if some of the members are particularly sensitive — they can end up taking on the physical strain of others, i.e. load sharing. This can be a major problem in a lodge if a worker load shares a lot; they will end up taking the strain of the whole ritual upon themselves without realising they have done so. This needs to be watched for very closely with a working group.
The other problem that can crop up in this situation is where a person takes on the symptoms and emotions of another worker. This happens when a person is not really capable of holding the work, their burdens will spill out and the nearest sensitive person will get the strain. This is why it is vitally important that any group working on a major powerful path of work are healthy and well balanced. Any sickness, disability or emotional problems can potentially be poured out to the working group to carry and that is not acceptable. The strain of the work is enough without having to carry your neighbour too!
If someone is sick, they should not be allowed to work. If someone is going through a major emotional crisis, they should not be doing the heavy work. Some inner work however is very good for emotional strain and it is best to allocate them to help in some training work for the initiates. The Hierophant needs to be watchful of her workers and trainees and quietly keep stock of everyone’s well-being. In a way, playing the role of the Hierophant is like being a parent to a large family, so you become the centre of responsibility for learning, well-being and nourishment.
In the end, ritual action, be it physical or visionary, is the movement of universal life force from A to B to achieve something. This basic dynamic is something that must be kept in mind at all times to ensure that it works; that the person/people conducting the work have sufficient life force to do the work and that their life force recovers properly after the work.
It is also important when moving life force via ritual that your intent is clear and to the point as you are playing with the power of the universe, so you need to be aware of what you are doing with it!