Ceremonial magic
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Ceremonial magic is a broad term used to encompass a wide variety of long, elaborate, and complex rituals; it is named as such because the works included are characterized by ceremony and a myriad of necessary accessories to aid the practitioner. It can be seen as an extension of ritual magick, and in most cases synonymous with it. Popularized by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, it draws on such schools of occult thought as Kabbalah, Enochian magic, Thelema, and the magic of various grimoires.
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[edit] Traditional
Ceremonial magic is seen to be that of a traditional method or model of magic that is regimented and strictly organized, in so far as the tradition practiced. Those practicing ceremonial magic stick to the specifications as outlined in the grimoire from which the ritual is being performed, and is in contrast to Chaos magic.
[edit] Interpretations
There are a number of different interpretations of ceremonial magic by practitioners, as well as a number of grimoires, essays, texts or book on the subject.
[edit] Goetia
In defining ceremonial magic and its operations, Aleister Crowley writes:
- Magical phenomena, however, come under a special sub-class, since they are willed, and their cause is the series of "real" phenomena, called the operations of ceremonial Magic. (page 10: An initiated interpretation of ceremonial magic)
These consist of:
- Sight: The circle, square, triangle, vessels, lamps, robes, implements, etc.
- Sound: The Invocations.
- Smell: The perfumes.
- Taste: The Sacraments.
- Touch: As under (1).
- Mind: The combination of all these and reflection on their significance. (page 11)
[edit] The Book of Ceremonial Magic
In The Book of Ceremonial Magic, A. E. Waite begins his interpretaion thus:
- The main principles are summed in the conception of a number of assumed mysterious forces in the universe which could be put in operation by man, or at least followed in their secret processes. In the ultimate, however, they could all be rendered secondary, if not passive, to the will of man; for even in astrology, which was the discernment of forces regarded as peculiarly fatal, there was an art of ruling, and sapiens dominabitur astris became an axiom of the science. This conception culminated or centred in the doctrine of unseen, intelligent powers, with whom it was possible for prepared persons to communicate; the methods by which this communication was attempted are the most important processes of Magic, and the books which embody these methods, called Ceremonial Magic, are the most important part of the literature. (page 6: The Importance of Ceremonial Magic)
He then goes on:
- In a word, Ceremonial Magic reflects mainly the egregious ambitions and incorporates the mad processes of mediæval sorcery--of the Sabbath above all. The additional elements are debased applications of various Kabalistic methods, seering processes current among country people and fantastic attempts to reduce magical legends to a formal practice.
[edit] The Secret Teachings of All Ages
In the Secret Teachings of All Ages, Manly Palmer Hall lends his interpretation as follows:
- Ceremonial magic is the ancient art of invoking and controlling spirits by a scientific application of certain formulæ. A magician, enveloped in sanctified vestments and carrying a wand inscribed with hieroglyphic figures, could by the power vested in certain words and symbols control the invisible inhabitants of the elements and of the astral world. While the elaborate ceremonial magic of antiquity was not necessarily evil, there arose from its perversion several false schools of sorcery, or black magic. (page 101: Ceremonial magic and Sorcery)
[edit] Bygone Beliefs
In Bygone Beliefs, Herbert Stanley Redgrove states:
- What I regard as the two essentials of magical practices, namely, the use of symbols and the appeal to the supernatural realm, are most obvious in what is called "ceremonial magic". Mediaeval ceremonial magic was subdivided into three chief branches--White Magic, Black Magic, and Necromancy. (taken from chapter 7: Ceremonial Magic in Theory and Practice)
[edit] Organizations
Among the many organizations who practice forms of Ceremonial magic aside from the Golden Dawn are the A:.A:. (Argenteum Astrum), the O.T.O. (Ordo Templi Orientis), and the B.O.T.A. (Builders of the Adytum)
[edit] Influences
There are many people who have influenced ceremonial magic, most of which were associated with the Golden Dawn, or influenced the members of the Golden Dawn.
[edit] Francis Barrett
Among the various sources for ceremonial magic, Francis Barrett's The Magus embodies deep knowledge of alchemy, astrology, and the Kabbalah, and has been cited by the Golden Dawn, and is seen by some as a primary source. But according to Aleister Crowley, perhaps the most influential ceremonial magician of the Modern era, much of it was cribbed from Cornelius Agrippa's De occulta philosophia libri tres.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Barrett, Francis. The Magus
- Hall, Manly P. The Secret Teachings of All Ages
- Mathers, S.L. MacGregor and Aleister Crowley. The Lesser Key of Solomon
- Waite, A. E. The Book of Ceremonial Magic
