A ritual is a deliberate sequence of words, gestures and images, performed with full attention, in order to bring about a change. That is all it is, and it is a great deal. Human beings have always marked what matters with ceremony, because the deeper layers of the mind do not respond to argument. They respond to action, rhythm, symbol and repetition. Ritual is the art of addressing them.
In brief
- Ritual works by engaging body, speech and imagination together.
- Nearly every Western ceremony follows seven steps, from preparation to record.
- The place of working is laid out as a small model of the cosmos.
- A short rite done daily teaches more than a long one done once.
Why ritual works on the mind
Three things happen in a well made ritual. First, the ordinary stream of thought is interrupted. You stand in a prepared place, at a chosen time, and do things you do at no other time, and the mind takes notice. Second, attention is gathered. Movement, speech and visualization occupy the body, the voice and the imagination at once, so that there is nowhere for the mind to wander. Third, an intention is expressed in the language of symbol, which is the language in which the deeper mind thinks.
Whatever else may be true of ritual, these effects are real and can be observed by anyone who makes the experiment. The old texts say the same in their own terms: the ceremony is performed so that the operator may be changed into someone to whom the result can come.
The seven parts of a ritual
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One
Preparation
The purpose is settled and written down. The place is cleaned and set in order, and anything needed is laid ready. The operator washes, and may put on a garment kept for the work. These acts are already part of the ritual. They tell the mind that something is about to happen.
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Two
Opening
The space is marked off from the everyday world and cleared of distraction. This usually takes the form of a banishing: a short ceremony, performed while moving round the circle, that sets a boundary and establishes calm. A light is lit. A few minutes of stillness and regular breathing bring the operator fully into the place.
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Three
Invocation
The operator calls upon the highest they acknowledge, by whatever name, and then upon the particular power the work concerns. To invoke is to call a power in, so that one is filled with it and speaks from it. The classical form praises the power, recalls its attributes and asks its presence.
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Four
Statement of intent
The purpose of the ritual is spoken aloud, once, in a single clear sentence. A purpose that cannot be put in one sentence is not yet ready to be worked for.
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Five
The working
The central act, which varies with the purpose. It may be a meditation, the consecration of a talisman, a divination, a prayer or a silent contemplation of a symbol. Attention is raised to its height and given entirely to the one thing.
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Six
Closing
Thanks are given. Whatever was called is formally released, the old books say licensed to depart. The banishing is repeated, the light is put out, and the operator declares the ritual ended. A proper closing is not optional. It is what allows the mind to return cleanly to ordinary life.
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Seven
Grounding and record
The operator eats or drinks something, puts the room back in order and writes the diary entry at once. Then the matter is let go. Brooding over a working is the surest way to spoil it.
The place of working
The traditional place of working is called a temple, though it is usually a room or the corner of one. Its layout is a diagram of the cosmos, with the operator at the center.
- The circle
- A circle is traced on the floor, or simply imagined, around the working space. It marks the boundary between the prepared place and the world outside, and it stands for the operator's own sphere of attention. Nothing is done outside it and it is not left during the work.
- The four quarters
- The four directions are assigned to the four elements. In the most common modern arrangement air is in the east, fire in the south, water in the west and earth in the north. Standing in the middle, the operator is the fifth point, where the four are balanced.
- The altar
- A small table at the center or in the east, holding the things in use. It is the place where the work is focused. A stack of books on it defeats the purpose. Keep it nearly bare.
- The light
- A single lamp or candle, lit at the opening and put out at the close. It stands for the presence of mind that makes the work possible.
The tools
Ceremonial magic has a traditional set of four working tools, one for each element: the wand for fire and the will, the cup for water and the feelings, the dagger for air and the intellect, and the pentacle, a flat disk, for earth and the body. They are extensions of the operator's own faculties and are effective to the degree that those faculties are trained. Some schools exchange the attributions of wand and dagger.
None of them is needed to begin. The first tools are the body, the voice and the imagination, and a pointed finger traces a circle perfectly well. Tools are best acquired one at a time, made or chosen with care, as the corresponding work is taken up.
Invocation and evocation
Two words are often confused. To invoke is to call a power into oneself, as when the operator identifies with a divine quality and is raised by it. To evoke is to call a power forth, to appear outside the circle as something distinct from oneself. Invocation is the daily bread of the art and the main instrument of self transformation. Evocation is specialist work that belongs to the later stages of training, and it is not taught on this site.
A simple daily rite
The rite below is an original composition for the use of beginners. It contains every one of the seven parts in miniature and takes about ten minutes. Performed daily for a month, it will teach more about ritual than any amount of reading.
Practice
The rite of the center
- Prepare. Wash your hands and face. Stand in the middle of a clear space, facing east. Light a candle if you have one.
- Open. Breathe slowly four times. Turning to the right, trace a circle around yourself with your outstretched hand and return to face east. Say: This place is set apart.
- The quarters. Face east and say: In the east, air, and the power to know. Turn to the south: In the south, fire, and the power to will. Turn to the west: In the west, water, and the power to dare. Turn to the north: In the north, earth, and the power to keep silent. Return to the east.
- Invoke. Imagine a point of light far above your head and say: Above me, the source of all. Imagine it descending through you into the ground: Below me, the ground of all. Within me, the meeting of the two.
- Intend. State in one sentence the purpose of your day's work, or simply: I do this to know myself.
- Work. Stand or sit in silence for five minutes, attending to the sense of being at the center of the four and between the two.
- Close. Give thanks in your own words. Trace the circle once more, to the left this time, and say: The work is ended. I return. Put out the candle and write your record.
Common faults
Beginners tend to make the same few mistakes. They read from a page instead of learning the words, so that attention goes to the paper. They hurry. They change the ritual every few days and never let it sink in. They omit the closing because nothing seemed to happen. And they judge a rite by the feelings it produced, which is like judging a meal by its noise. Learn one short ritual by heart, do it slowly and unchanged for a month, close it properly every time, and write down what you observe.