Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram
The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram (sometimes shortened to the "LBRP") is a fundamental ritual of ceremonial and Thelemic magick. It was originally taught by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn as a banishing ritual.
The ritual
From Liber O:
(i) Touching the forehead, say Ateh (Unto Thee).
(ii) Touching the breast, say Malkuth (The Kingdom).
(iii) Touching the right shoulder, say ve-Geburah (and the Power).
(iv) Touching the left shoulder, say ve-Gedulah (and the Glory).
(v) Clasping the hands upon the breast, say le-Olahm, Amen (To the Ages, Amen).
(vi) Turning to the East, make a pentagram (that of Earth)
with the proper weapon (usually the Wand). Say (i.e. vibrate) I H V H.
(vii) Turning to the South, the same, but say A D N I.
(viii) Turning to the West, the same, but say A H I H.
(ix) Turning to the North, the same, but say A G L A.
(Pronounce: Yeh-ho-vah, Ad-oh-nye, Eh-hee-eh, Ahg-lah).
(x) Extending the arms in the form of a Cross, say:
(xi) Before me Raphael;
(xii) Behind me Gabriel;
(xiii) On my right hand Michael.
(xiv) On my left hand Auriel;
(xv) For about me flames the Pentagram,
(xvi) And in the Column stands the six-rayed Star.
(xvii-xxi) Repeat (i) to (v), the "Qabalistic Cross."
In certain texts after the publication of Liber O, the word "Aiwass" and a touch to the breast or solar plexus is added to the Qabalistic Cross.
Explication
Crowley writes in his Notes on the Ritual of the Pentagram:
- Every man has a natural fortress within himself, the Soul impregnable. ...Besides this central citadel, man also has outerworks, the Aura. ...It is the duty of every person to see that his Aura is in good condition. There are two main methods for doing this. The first is by a performance two or three times daily of the Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. Its main point is to establish in the Astral four Pentagrams, one in each quarter, and two Hexagrams, one above, the other below, thus enclosing the Magician, as it were, in a consecrated box. It also places in his Aura the Divine Names invoked.
The ritual can be a banishing or an invocation of any of the 5 elements, depending on the type of pentagram drawn. See Magick, Book 4 for illustrations of the elemental pentagrams. In it's most basic form, the LRP creates a magical space within and around the practitioner, acknowledging the sacred and inviting angelic intervention. Although it's elemental, it's an invocation of the macrocosm (represented by the hexagram) to unite with the microcosm (represented by the pentagram).
Crowley considered the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram to be fundamental to the student of magick:
- Neglect not the Performance of the Ritual of the Pentagram and of the Assumption of the Form of Hoor-pa-Kraat. (Liber Aleph, De cultus)
- Those who regard this ritual as a mere device to invoke or banish spirits, are unworthy to possess it. Properly understood, it is the Medicine of Metals and the Stone of the Wise. (The Palace of the World)
See also
- Greater Ritual of the Pentagram
- Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram
- Greater Ritual of the Hexagram
- Rituals of Thelema
Links of interest
References
- Crowley, Aleister. (1997). Magick: Book 4. 2nd ed. "Liber O." York Beach, Me. : S. Weiser.
- ___. (1997). Magick: Book 4. 2nd ed. "Notes on the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram." York Beach, Me. : S. Weiser.
- ___. (1974). Collected Works of Aleister Crowley. "The Palace of the World." Chicago, IL : Yoga Publication Society.
- ___. (1991). Liber Aleph vel CXI : the Book of Wisdom or Folly. York Beach, Me. : S. Weiser.
- Frater Chanokh. The Stone of the Wise: A Study of the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram.
Document Source
- This page was originally sourced from Thelemapedia. Retrieved May 2009.
