The Sigils of Thomas Pendragon

This is a heads up that my friend Tom has been working on channeling and transcribing a series of 84 sigils (28 sigils of the Ether, 28 of the Abyss, and 28 of Earth), these are not only beautiful, but full of symbolic meaning (some of it which is hidden and has never been published) and they’re all very powerful. Right now Tom is printing them for everyone to see and hopes to eventually publish them with some sort of scheme that will allow others to use and expand upon the work in their own publications. He’s also working on commentary for all the sigils which will incorporate his own work and experiences with them.

The binding sigil was one that really struck me because it contained a symbol which I routinely use as part of a binding spell (now that it is given away, I’ll be posting it shortly). I’ve never actually told anyone the methodology of the spell, especially Tom since I use it against him when he tries to get in magical shenanigans when I’m driving him places.

The Short History of the Sigils

Part One: Alagon.

Sometime before I met Tom, while he was living in Florida, he managed to open a lot of stuff up at once and happened upon an entity which called itself Alagon that took an interest in him. Tom began channeling the gospel of Alagon and distributing it to others. He managed to find several other people who knew of Alagon and his work. Alagon meanwhile was causing Tom headaches and some bleeding from his head. Others who worked with Alagon had the same problems, and some apparently died of aneurysm. At the time the true nature of Alagon wasn’t known. Tom was still in contact with Alagon when he moved to Las Vegas, and a local magician, Bon Necron, managed to break Alagon from Tom and partially bind him. Later Tom would give me some of Alagon’s gospel to look over, and reading it I did come into contact with Alagon and suffered a severe headache from it. The true nature of Alagon wouldn’t be known for some time.

Part Two: Adiemus

Adiemus was the magical name of a practitioner, who is sometimes also referred to as the Baron, who was active up until his death somewhere around 1920. He was a very powerful practitioner who had access to quite a bit of information and claims to have known and disliked Allister Crowley. Since his death he’s been in contact with prospective students, although his brutal and violent teaching methods typically lead his students to a gory death if they advance too far into his studies. Some of his knowledge and teachings are openly traded within some circles of the community, and stories of his unfortunate past students are out there. Adiemus had a very strong connection to Persephone and had dealt largely with interdimensional travel, astral projection, and dream walking. Tom had come across some pieces of information on Adiemus throughout his travels.

Tom eventually gave me the information he had concerning Adiemus as a curiosity to work with. I don’t intend to speak for Adiemus, and to be honest I think he might be a little off-put by me, but he has taken an interest of sorts in me. Like him a have a very strong connection to Persephone, so that may have something to do with it. Over the years I’ve gained information from Adiemus, and that is where I first learned of the gates and what Alagon, like Adiemus, truly was.

From Adiemus I learned that there were 28 gates of this world. The gates had long ago been sealed, and each gate belonged to some god. However it was an impossibility to close the gates since things must be allowed to pass through for the survivability of the world, and so unto each gate was given a guardian. This guardian, when they ascended into the gate, would gain all of the knowledge and power of the gate, and all those who had been a part of it before them. But this was only a temporary, and detestable, job. Each guardian had the power to seek out there successor, so they could move on, although in doing so they give up the knowledge and power of the gate.

In order to take a gate, a person needs to have a strong connection to the god to which the gate belongs. They also need to seek out the current guardian and undergo their trials and prove themselves worthy of the gate. Finally they need to be fully informed about what the gate is, what guardianship entails, and that it is a trap, and then still choose of their own will to take the gate.

Adiemus is the last person to take his gate, the gate of Persephone. Alagon is the name of the an older entity which guarded its gate, although it has now gone through seven or eight guardians since, but it regards itself as being all that has come before it.

Part III: Phillip

Several weeks ago after a failed magical experiment me and Tom were screwing around with automatic writing when Tom happened upon a magician known has Phillip who had some cool sigils. After talking to him for some time, Phillip claimed to know about several more sigils (the 28 sigils of the ether) and agreed to show them to Tom. Very quickly Tom managed to figure out how to retrieve the sigils without Phillip’s aid. He also happened upon knowledge of other sigils. First the 28 sigils of the Abyss. And then the 28 sigils of Earth, which he reckoned to be the gates that Adiemus and Alagon are connected into.

For a couple of weeks now Tom has been feverishly working on completing the ether sigils and his commentary on them. He then hopes to do the Abyss and Earth sigils.

Magick Au Natural (or Skyclad), A Primer

What is Skyclad Magick

Skyclad Magick is any working which is done nude (in other words clad only by the sky, although the term also encompasses indoor workings, which semantically should be called tracklightclad), whether these workings are done as a group or as solitary workings.

Skyclad also encompasses several different definitions. Some define Skyclad, most basically, as being without any kind of clothing. Others define it as also being without make-up, perfumes, deodorant, or shampoo. And others include those clothed in body paint as being skyclad.

The History of Skyclad

It’d be nice if there was a long and revered history of ritual nudity to point to in arguing for skyclad practices, but none really exists. Although we see nudity practiced in some obscure forms of Eastern religions, we don’t see it in any of the ones that have had a major influence on the west. In the western world we can suppose that there has, in the past, been ritual nudity. Humans were most likely practicing some sort of ritual prior to the invention of clothing. We do know some of the Greeks and Romans were rather decadent and liked there orgies, and that there were probably some spiritual undertones in some of there orgy havings. But whatever was done then is largely lost, and we don’t see any clear lineage from those earlier rituals (which were small and minority rituals) up to the modern day.

Until the middle of the 20th century, Western occultism was practiced clothed. There is no evidence that traditional witches ever practiced in the nude. Ceremonial magicians have always practiced clothed. Even Allister Crowley, known for combining his sexual wants with his ritual practices, never managed to get into nude rituals, more than likely because he was too busy trying to convince male friends to have anal intercourse with him for reasons that meant he was still entirely heterosexual. There are some spells in the old grimoires that were meant to make groups of women or groups of people dance around in the nude, but that was not a part of the ritual, but rather the end result of it, after which the practitioner could then watch them dancing in the nude.

Skyclad magick and ritual nudity was pretty much spearheaded by Gerald Gardener, the founder of Wicca. The theological basis for Gardener’s skyclad rituals were based in negative Christian folklore about witches which supposed them to do secret nude rituals, and also in a mistranslation of a line in the Arcadia of the Witches. It should be noted though that Gardener had a host of sexual fetishes, and that he used his spiritual position as a founder of a religion in order to recruit willing partners to participate in his fantasies which also included female domination and sado-machosism, and that he would grasp at spiritual straws to justify these acts.

After Gardener had come along, a lot of other folks started incorporating skyclad rituals into their own religions. Skyclad rituals meshed very well with the hippie movement that eventually invaded and took over most of the neopagan religions and also liked running around naked.

In recent years skyclad practices have largely fallen out of vogue. Even many Gardnerian Wiccans, who claim to practice the original form of Wicca created by Gardener, don’t practice skyclad, and they don’t follow a lot of Gardener’s more sexualized practices either. Most of the rituals that were originally meant to be done in the nude are now done clothed.

The Magick of Equality: Does Nudity Make Us Equals

A point generally brought up by pro-skyclad Wiccans is that nudity makes us equals. We no longer have the class system attached to us. We aren’t separated between those who can afford nice clothes and those who can’t. This lack of separation would also happen if we replaced naked with modest robes.

Unfortunately beyond flashy clothes, skyclad doesn’t do much to make us equals. Some people are still pretty, and some are fat, and no amount of clothing, or lack thereof, is going to help the situation. Some of us are going to be more powerful than others. The regular religious hierarchies that exist tend to exist while naked the same as when clothed.

Cloth & Color: A Minor Variable Sidestepped

It should be noted that the most magickal possessions most people possess (other than their bed), are their clothes. Experienced practitioners are more likely than most to have an object which puts their clothes to shame, but at the same time their clothes are going to be even more magickal than what is typical among non-practitioners. Our emotion and our energy, through out the day, taints our clothes. Washing our clothes helps, although it doesn’t nearly do enough insofar as cleansing them. The longer the clothes have been worn, the more powerful they may be. And our clothes, in turn, may taint or otherwise affect both ourselves or the ritual. When we enter a ritual clothed, we’re never entering a ritual clean. Many books recommend not only preritual baths and cleansings, but also special clean garments only adorned during ritual for this very reason.

Secondly, color is another variable. Some practitioners discard color altogether because it is not as strong a symbolism as some would like. Color does however have an, albeit minor, effect on magick workings. Some books and practitioners swear by being draped in the proper colors for the spell at hand.

However clothing and color are both minor variables in determining the success and power of ones magick. Neither is so great a factor that it can’t be overcome, or can only be over come with great effort. There are of course exceptions. Sometimes an article of clothing can become so energized that it will have a very serious effect on the ritual. However this problem can be solved simply by wearing something else.

Still, it should be noted that these things can affect ritual, and that by practicing skyclad these variables no longer need to be considered.

Simplicity, Primality, Transformation, and Butt-Nakedness

Nakedness is our most natural state of dress. It’s how we come into this world. It’s how we survived as a species prior to the advent of clothing. Our clothing ads another layer to ourselves, another level of complexity. Typically within magick and ritual one moves towards simplicity rather than complexity, one tries to remove as many layers from the problem as possible. Simplicity is seen as the better and more powerful state, the natural state of things within the universe, and it’s easiest to work ones will when that will is worked in the natural directions of the universe, not against it.

Naked, being both our natural state and primary state, allows us to become more primal in our being. For some being naked means tapping into a more primary, animalistic state. For others it is just being more free, less inhibited, and a closer approximation to their true self. In any case, in this state a practitioner’s energy is more raw, less encumbered and tainted, and the practitioner experiences a greater degree of focus and their will and desires are better focused, all of this making spellwork easier and more successful.

Finally some practitioners may use nudity as a trigger to transform them from one state to another. To move from their normal selves to their more magickal selves. To help them cast away, temporarily, their anchors and ties into the real and solid world and move into a less solid more magickal state where more things are possible. Conditioned properly, a practitioner can see a dramatic transformation between a clothed and naked state, and can amass this power with less work than what would typically be required. However one should be careful utilizing this method. There are definite drawbacks to not being able to tap most of your power unless you’re naked.

Intimacy, Nudity, and Bonding

Most people see nudity as an intimate act. For most of us, the first people of an opposite gender who saw us naked after puberty started was a person who we engaged in some intimate carnal act with. For most of us, most of the people of the opposite gender who see us naked are people we are intimately involved with. For a lot of people, nudity is directly tied to sex. For a lot of people, casual and non-utilitarian nudity is only something that occurs between two people who are sexually involved with each other.

The point being, for a large part nudity and intimacy are one in the same. Therefor when a ritual is performed skyclad there is an added degree of intimacy between the participants, even if they don’t know each other very well. With a regular group, this intimacy helps with group bonding. But even with strangers who will never meet again, nudity will help them connect together, become one, and work the ritual as a single whole rather than a group of individuals. The individual members will also find it easier to connect to one and another, and psychic links will more easily form between them, once again making it easier for the individuals to work as a group.

Symbolism of Nudity and Opening the 3rd Eye

When we’re naked, we’re exposed. We’ve completely opened ourselves up and exposed ourselves to everything in the nearby area. This is a literal truth on the physical level. But is also symbolic of opening ourselves up and exposing ourselves emotionally (thus intimacy, as explained above), and also opening ourselves up spiritually. Being naked is symbolic of letting down a shield, and both exposing ourselves and opening ourselves up to our surrounding environment. Especially when the symbolism of the event is acknowledged, this will make it easier for the practitioner to experience the metaphysical. For lack of a better way to describe it, it will make them more psychic and more empathic.

Sacred Nudity and Reverence

Most of us, when we present ourselves to a god, we want to present ourselves in an acceptable way. The situation may not always allow this. We might need to contact a deity right now, and we can’t wait to take a shower or dress ourselves properly. The gods understand this. But a lot for the time we do have time. And then there’s the question of how should we present ourselves. Likewise even when we don’t use a god, when we do magick most of us would like to present ourselves in a way that is becoming of the sacredness of the event.

If we have sacred clothes, like ceremonial robes, this might do. If not, we’d usually lean towards nice, clean clothes. What nice means though would be very subjective. Some might define that as expensive suits and dresses. Others as unfaded jeans and a favorite t-shirt. Some will argue that you should always address the gods in Renfair costumes, regardless of the fact that almost every god predates the renaissance style of dress, the style was only in vogue in certain regions of Western Europe and is thus regionally inappropriate for most gods, and that Renfair costumes typically lack accuracy.

Nudity is, however, always appropriate for presentation to a deity or a sacred event. Nudity is a sacred state of being. As already mentioned it’s how we come into this world. When we disrobe we’re also gracing those around us with the beauty of our physical form. We are making a sacrifice of our modesty so that others may take pleasure in our natural form. We are showing reverence to and making a gift to those around us, be they other humans, entities, or gods. When we are naked, we’re always in a sacred state. The sacredness of that state is only lost when we attempt to hide or cover ourselves, or when we try to stop or otherwise punish others for looking at us or particular body parts, staring at us, or having impure thoughts about us. When we disrobe and present ourselves as such it is a sacred gift given onto the recipient, to be used as they please and not to be taken back.

Nudity and Sexual Energy

Nudity can be utilized within ritual in order to raise sexual energy. When you get a bunch of people together, running around naked, they start getting horny, and before long you get a bunch of sexual energy that can be used and manipulated in the spellwork. For best results you want as many pretty people, both men and women, in the group as possible. Pretty people turn other people on. Ugly people may turn other people on, but not as much. Youth is also good, young people tend to have much stronger sex drives and more sexually repressed energy. You may also have much better results if participants agree to refrain from sexual acts or masturbation for a period preceding the ritual. Three days is a good amount of time. Likewise you’ll get better results if flirting and some petting is allowed during the time of the ritual, of course you don’t want anyone having orgasms during the ritual, since that would be counterproductive, you just want them getting about as close as you can get them.

In a setting like this, energy can easily be raised, even among those who are not very good at energy manipulation, by normally mundane acts like dancing around each other and various games and activities that involve touching and caressing each other.

Orgies

Generally, if you want to raise sexual energy, don’t have sex. There is a point within an orgasm when the energy will hit peak and will be at its strongest for the individual. This only lasts for a moment though, and grasping and manipulating this energy is a difficult feat. It can be done, but it is typically beyond the ability of most practitioners and beyond the scope of most rituals. But there are other things that can be done with ritual orgies, everything from connecting the group as one to amassing the energies to some ends to simply reveling in a state of primal and uncompromising sexual ecstasy and desire. I do think that this is, however, far to vast an area to go into detail in the scope of this essay.

Being Naked — Just Because

Of course there is something to be said for being naked just because. It is a sacred state of being, and so being naked is sacred. It can be its own ends, rather than a means to something else. It can be a spiritual experience in and of itself. Or possibly just something one enjoys doing. To be exposed, open, uninhibited, intimate, free, primal, and sacred all at once.

Freestyle Magick

A school of thought concerning magick has emerged which hopes to reform it into something akin to science. It’s proponents believe that magick has a very direct cause and effect relationship, and that the success of a given operation is dependent upon any number of variables being true, and that so long as all of these variables are true the operation will succeed every time. The science of magick is has reduced it to nothing more than reading and gathering (and possibly even obtaining through oral communication) all available information and then experimenting through trial and error while recording every conceivable variable and looking for those instances which result in success.

In reality though magick is more akin to art than science. There are rules and theories concerning art, none of which are absolute, and there are exercises and methods available to an artist which will increase their skill. But there’s also inspiration, and a mastery over emotion, and that thing that just clicks in an artist’s head at any given time. There is no formula which can guarantee a masterpiece. There isn’t even a formula that can guarantee anything more than a blank canvas. Art, like magick, is something that happens in the moment, and when successful is typically as much improvisation as premeditation.

Rituals are not meant to be rigid step by step guides to performing an operation which must be followed as if they were sourced from some mystical owner’s manual to the universe. A ritual is a method of performing a ritual that worked for a particular practitioner and are created as a how-to framework that other practitioners may take ideas from or build upon in order to perform the operation themselves. A ritual is never the only way to perform an operation, nor is it always going to be the best way to do it, and the methods employed by any practitioner will most likely carry some of their own personality and beliefs, and lean towards their own strengths.

The magickal dogma of today is nothing more than the thoughts and ideas of some past practitioner written down into words, and is no more or less valid than the thoughts and ideas of current practitioners. True magickal wisdom is not something can be read and memorized, or even something that develops from experience. True magickal wisdom involves creative thought processes, the ability to solve enigmas as they present themselves, the ability to create or find knowledge within yourself when it is needed, and a bit of inspiration.

Too many people see magick as classical music. If a certain skill level is achieved through practice and certain instructions are followed to the letter something truly beautiful and amazing will result. But magick is like jazz. If you don’t freestyle you aren’t doing it right and you don’t understand what it is.

Aresian Unbinding Spells

Listed below are two spells meant to aid the practitioner in releasing themselves from any outside interference which may be hindering their true path. In general terms a binding spell refers to a spell that seals away all or some of a practitioner’s powers, and an unbinding spell is one which undoes this. These spells are not specifically meant to deal with a binding, although they may be effective in that regard, instead they are meant to eliminate anything which may be hindering or otherwise holding back the practitioner from pursuing their passions.

These spells work through the power of the Greek god Ares, and it’s important to understand what Ares is in order to use them. Unfortunately Ares was badly slandered by Homer for a variety of reasons, and Homer’s popularity and influence among the Greeks resulted in Ares being badly slandered for ever after.

Ares is a god of the righteous in battle, of justice, of love, of vengeance, and yes there is some violence in him. It would be easiest to say that Ares’ true dominion is in being a slave to ones passions, but it would be profane to say that a god is a slave to their passions. Rather Ares has dominion over following ones passions without regard for the consequences. In that regard he is both a god of justice and vengeance, as when he murdered Halirrhotius, he is a god of passionate love, as when he pursued an affair with his brother’s wife Aphrodite, and he is a god of the warrior in battle.

Aresian Short Unbinding

The short unbinding is a simple spell meant to release the practitioner from any minor outside force which has taken to changing the true course of the practitioner and moving him away from his desires. The spell is meant to target those forces which are manipulating the practitioner against his will, albeit in minor ways, and as such is generally safe to perform whenever the practitioner believes he may have been bound to a path other than his own.

I. To begin with, construct an alter to Ares if one is not readily available.

II. Undertake all necessary preparations to spellwork and presenting yourself before a diety, including any ritualistic cleansing or bathing.

III. The ritual is best performed both alone and skyclad.

IV. If absolutely necessary, any of the first three steps may be omitted, with a mental alter to Ares being built instead of a physical one, if the situation is dire and the practitioner needs the spell cast immediately.

V. To begin, light a new candle on Ares’ alter as an offering to him.

VI. Initiate a communion with Ares. This can be done by sitting in a comfortable position, meditating, and then directing energy towards Ares’ alter while allowing energy to be directed back. Allow the energy of Ares to flow through yourself and ask permission for what is about to be performed.

VII. When ready, and while feeling the energy of Ares flowing through yourself, you may begin the actual spell work, which consists of two parts performed simultaneously, a visualization and an incantation.

VIII. Visualize your body covered in straps and chains, and the energy of Ares bursting forth from every bit of your body, breaking the chains and straps. To the best of your ability, direct the energy of Ares towards this visualization.

IX. While visualizing, recite from memory the following incantation:

Lord Ares
Lend your strength
Let each strap be unbroken
Each twine unwound
Let the true heart walk its path
Unswayed, unbound

X. Afterwards thank Ares for his aid. If possible, allow the candle to burn itself out. Otherwise it may be put out and saved for later, but the candle should only ever be burned as an offering to Ares. The alter should be left up for at least a day, if not longer, and when it is deconstructed proper care should be taken as the objects its made of are sacred to Ares.

Aresian Long Unbinding

The long unbinding is a much more drastic spell meant to release the practitioner from any force, internal or external, preventing them from following the true desire of their heart. This spell, being as it is, can have serious repercussions, and should only be used when absolutely necessary, and only after lesser methods have been tried and failed. As noted below, the fourth candle should be lit, if it is lit at all, with extreme caution. It should also be mentioned that fire exists without form, and as such is considered a link between the physical world and the spiritual or metaphysical world. The act of lighting a flame can be considered a connection between the physical and spiritual worlds.

I. Construct a proper alter to Ares if one is not readily available. Make sure that there is enough room for several candle holders.

II. Undertake all necessary preparations to spellwork and presenting yourself before a diety, including any ritualistic cleansing or bathing.

III. The ritual is to be performed skyclad and alone, or if not alone then with an object of one’s desire only and also skyclad.

IV. Initiate a communion with Ares and allow his energy to flow through you and ask for permission for what is about to be done. If with a partner, both should perform this communion. If needed, candles may be burnt in offering to Ares in order to aid in communion.

V. Place three or four candles on the alter as shown:

——-A———-A—
—–2—3—–3—–4
——-1———1–2–

(ed. note: I’m having trouble properly formatting this diagram. I’ll look into getting something better set up soon. If anyone needs this diagram to do the spell in the meantime, email me and I’ll try to help you figure it out.)
VI. When ready, and with the power of Ares flowing through you, recite the following incantation from memory (with two, both partners may recite the incantation, or one may do so as the ritual leader):

Lord Ares
Lend your strength
May all that confines the heart be destroyed

VII. It must be understood that the first candle is meant to release the practitioner from any internal restraints they may have placed on themselves which prevent them from realizing their passions fully. These restraints may have been enacted out of fear, modesty, etiquette, safety, or many other reasons. This candle is meant to make their passions swell within themselves and overcome all else.

VIII. As the first candle is lit, visualize your body being engulfed by a white flame of passion that grows from within you and overswells eventually consuming the all of your being. Recite the following incantation from memory (with two both should perform the visualization, and one or both may recite the incantation):

Let my passions be alight
A burning flame, pure and white,
And let my heart be aright

(Or for two):

Let our passions be alight,
A burning flame, pure and white,
And let our hearts be aright

IX. It must be understood that the second candle is meant to release the practitioner from any external factors that are preventing them from realizing their passions fully. These can be thought of as the forces of society. These are parts of the mundane world which are not just obstacles to achieving ones passions, but are actively working to push the practitioner away from their passions.

X. As the second candle is lit, visualize the flame that has engulfed your body bursting forth from you and consuming everything it comes in contact with. Recite the following incantation from memory (with two both should perform the visualization, and one or both may recite the incantation):

Let my body release its flame,
Let it burn through man’s domain,
And my passions, not man, shall reign

(Or for two):

Let our bodies release our flame,
Let it burn through man’s domain,
And our passions, not man, shall reign

XI. It must be understood that the third candle is meant to release the practitioner from any spiritual forces and bindings that may be preventing them from realizing their passions fully. This would include any spells, hexes, or curses cast, any magickal bindings, any spells which have effected the practitioner’s path and destiny, any pacts or deals made with any entities, and any debts owed so long as these things are contrary to or otherwise prevent the true will of the practitioner’s heart.

XII. As the third candle is lit, visualize yourself bound by ethereal straps (or hands or chains) and the energy flowing through you moving from your body into these straps and completely destroying them, leaving you naked and free of all bonds. Recite the following incantation from memory (with two both should perform the visualization, and one or both may recite the incantation):

Let all binds break
Remove all ties save fate
And return me to my natural state

(Or For Two):

Let all binds break
Remove all ties save fate
And return us to our natural state

XIII: The spell may be completed after lighting any of the four candles, and the fourth candle should be lit with extreme caution. It must be understood that the fourth candle is meant to release the practitioner from their destiny, for use in instances when the practitioner feels as if their destined path runs contrary to their desires. If this portion of the spell is successfully performed, at the point directly proceeding the spell the practitioner will no longer have a future or a destiny, only their desires, and their destiny will then be rewrit from that point. A practitioner will be unhinged from destiny for a moment prior to a new destiny being made for them. The repercussions of lighting the fourth candle are serious and most likely irreversible.

XIV: As the fourth candle is lit, visualize your body being thrown from its current place and put into a void, visualize the energy in you white and pulsing out, destroying any remaining ties you may have to anything, and destroying anything that comes near you. Recite the following incantation from memory (with two both should perform the visualization, and one or both may recite the incantation):

Remove myself from my destiny
Rewrite what is meant to be
And untie even fate from me

(Or For Two):

Remove us from our destiny
Rewrite what is meant to be
And untie even fate from we

XV: Presumably a fifth candle could be lit, supposing the proper visualization and incantations could be figured out, and this candle would allow the practitioner to transcend the laws of the universe if it were within the will of his heart, allowing for such impossibilities like immortality and gain without loss. Perhaps the past could also be rewritten via this candle, or perhaps that would require yet a sixth candle.

XVI: After the ritual the candles should be allowed to burn themselves out. If possible, the practitioner should stay and meditate until all the candles are burnt out. Alternatively the practitioner could sleep in front of the alter until all the candles are burnt out. If the ritual was performed with a partner, the two may have sex following the ritual if they both desire to, although the act would be sacred. After all is finished proper gratitude and respect should be given to Ares, and the alter should be left up for at least a day if not longer.

XVII: A final caution, make sure you know what it is you want before casting this spell.

How to Summon Baal, or Anything Else, Quick and Dirty Like.

I posted this on another forum to a fellow who was asking for a method to summon Baal. My reply isn’t specific to Baal and I thought this might be useful to some so I’m reposting it here.

1. Research what it is you want to summon. In the case of Baal, the name can refer to numerous things, including several deities, so you need to figure out exactly what Baal you want to summon, and then you need to get an idea of how Baal is seen, what people generally think about him, and what he’s probably like. So long as it’s something that is popular or common internet searches will probably turn up enough information for the summoning. Be sure to check out encyclopedia mythica and wikipedia, although not always accurate they can still have a lot of information to help you out.

2. Find a statue or image of what you want to summon, and if you can’t find that then try for a symbol associated with it. Spiritual depictions are usually better than artistic depictions, but in any case go with the depiction that you feel most closely resembles what you’re trying to summon. If you have no other alternative you can make your own depiction.

3. Remove any barriers, wards, ect. that you may have around the general area that you’ll be doing the summoning (most likely your home). This includes personal wards and barriers, ones that are anchored to objects (be aware of certain things that may be decoration but are used for protection because they may have become active and can effect the summoning. This includes gargoyle statues and depictions of pentagrams), and ones that may have been put up by others.

4. Take down your shields and natural defenses. Any type of defense can hinder the summoning.

5. Make sure you aren’t in any kind of circle. Make sure there are no seals or sigils in the area since these may have an unknown effect. Refrain from doing any pre-ritual type ritual including asking for protection from anything. We don’t want to be putting up new barriers.

6. Now take your depiction of what you want to summon (in this case Baal), and place it somewhere (such as on a table or a night stand). You can just leave a picture on your computer screen if you want, that works too. Or you can print out a picture and put it in a frame and then place it on a table (the later method will generally bring better results). Now you need to activate this as an alter, in this case to Baal. Unless you want to develop a very strong relationship with Baal, this will probably just be a makeshift alter that we will take down after the summoning.

7. Now that the alter is ready non-aggressively direct energy towards the depiction of Baal with the intent that this energy is to be received directly by Baal. Make sure your defenses and your shields are down and, if he chooses to, Baal will also be able to direct his energy towards you. With a little practice you should be able to figure out how to bury thoughts into the energy in order to communicate, and you’ll be able to receive thoughts in the same manner.

8. Whether or not Baal responds you should also make it clear that he has an invitation to appear in your house and that you wish for him to come.

9. Have fun with your summoning adventures.

Of Groups and Rituals

Most people start magick groups as a means to gain instant authority within a segment of the community without having to earn this through acts and accomplishments. That isn’t everyone though. Some start groups because they feel they are bringing something that is either needed or will be appreciate into the community. Some are just lonely and want friends. And some are morally bankrupt and have questionable ulterior motives. Regardless of the motivation for group creation, that isn’t what this article deals with.

Most of the time these groups are at least partially created for some selfish motive, and even when they aren’t the group leaders rarely try to offer what their members want.

Most people don’t want social gatherings and meet-ups that go nowhere. They already have outlets for friends and loved ones to come into their lives. Groups that offer nothing but meet-ups tend to fall apart quickly, or they develop into a small but dedicated group of friends. Initially these meet-ups were meant as a means to get to know potential members before allowing them to be initiated, and to get to know outer circle members before allowing them into inner circle activities.

Although a lot of people may show some interest in classes, in practice this doesn’t usually work out too well. To begin with, most groups don’t have teachers qualified in the subject matter, and without qualified teachers classes won’t work. Even if a group does have good teachers, most of the students probably won’t be compatible with the teacher. And most students won’t have the dedication to attend classes even under the best circumstances.

Talking to various people at these groups it’s clear that what most people want are rituals. When a new member enters a group one of their first questions is usually if the group offers rituals. When new groups form the first members usually want to know if the group leader plans on having group rituals.

A ritual is something that everyone can benefit from if it’s done correctly. Generally unless a group has strict and discriminating entrance requirements, at least 90% of its membership is going to be unable to achieve results through magick on their own. It’s important to members of this segment of the group to find an outlet for rituals so that they can fully experience their spirituality. Some neophytes may be able to achieve results on their own, but they’re also interested in exploring their spirituality and group work can be a unique experience. Initiates meanwhile can learn from rituals while at the same time having access to more power than is normally available. Even adepts, who should be well versed and able to produce results through solitary work, come out ahead getting an entire group at their disposal to utilize.

But many groups do offer rituals, and usually this isn’t enough to make the group attractive to new members. This is because most groups don’t do rituals correctly, and if a ritual isn’t being performed correctly than it has little value to most people. What follows are guidelines to performing a working group ritual. Sadly most of these should be common sense to an experienced practitioner, yet most groups will not employ these methods.

1. A ritual needs purpose – This should be a cardinal rule of any ritual, ever. A ritual is an extension of spellwork, and like spellwork it should have a purpose and work towards some end result. Most of the rituals being done by various groups have no actual purpose. Observance of a holy day is not justification for a ritual, although it would be justification for a party. Looking back at pre-Christian religions, rituals performed on holy days did have a purpose, usually something tied to that day. Likewise raising energy is not a good justification for a ritual. In a good ritual raising energy is a means to achieving some greater end, not the end itself.

With spellwork, which is typically done in solitary practice or with, at most, a handful of close practitioners, the ends are usually targeted towards the individual. With ritual work however the ends, with some few exceptions, need to benefit the entire group. When determining what purpose a ritual should work towards think about things that would generally be considered positive to most people. Examples include prosperity, good luck, fertility, and group glamors to make all members more attractive. Another good example of a ritual is to try to bring specific members or the entire group into another state of consciousness. This can mean trying to contact a divine being, channeling, mediumship, or astral projecting. There are also initiation type rituals which are meant to bring members of the group closer together through ritual, but these should be reserved for member only rituals within closed groups.

Do stay away from grandiose world accomplishments. Even a ritual composed of several hundred members isn’t going to be enough to end world hunger or war.

2. Find a private place – Rituals need to be held in private. Participants need to feel that they are safe and that they can be open with what they do. If a person feels nervous or worse humiliated it will be reflected in the results of the ritual. Meanwhile certain ritual practices, like performing skyclad and drug use (even alcohol) are forbidden in many places. Indoor rituals should be held in someone’s home, in a temple, in a private area of a magick store (ideally after closing), or in a rented space. Outdoor rituals should be held in a private backyard, secluded private property, or if on a campground far away from other campers. Public places really aren’t appropriate for holding rituals.

3. Pay attention to the day and time – Certain days hold more power to do certain things, and sometimes rituals are written to take advantage of these days. Unfortunately these days are specific and related to certain astrological phenomena, and in order to utilize them correctly the ritual needs to be performed on that day. You can’t move it to next Saturday because more people will show that day.

If your ritual begins by praising Luna or the moon, you shouldn’t be performing that ritual prior to sunset.

Planetary days and hours meanwhile are a bit iffy. It’s not a necessity that they be followed, but it helps, and not following them can result in a major hindrance. Planetary days and hours are however a whole subject unto themselves and something that needs to be looked at more in depth in a later post.

4. Know your ritual – As a ritual leader you should both know and understand the ritual completely before attempting to do it. All of your principle participants should know the ritual completely. All participants should at least know their part and what is expected of them long before performing the ritual. Everyone needs to know what they’re doing and what their intent is, and everyone needs to be on the same page. No one should be reading lines or following directions during the actual ritual.

5. Know your players and utilize them accordingly – You need to know who will be attending your ritual and what they’re capable of. The majority of the group will be their mainly to raise energy. A good ritual may be able to manipulate the energy raised or direct it to some degree. For most this is all they will be able to do, and they shouldn’t be given any greater task.

It’s the role of the stronger members to manipulate the energy, direct it, and utilize it towards the end goals of the group. They will also be responsible for evocations, protections, channeling, using themselves as conduits, and whatever other greater magical needs are necessary.

To this end you need to know what everyone is capable of. Ideally the ritual should be designed to fit the members you have and their individual strengths. You don’t want to give someone a task that they can’t possibly fulfill. If the ritual is to work with an ill-placed member then one of the other members of the ritual will have to perform that job along with their own, which will split their resources and, depending on the strength of that practitioner, may lessen the impact of the spell.

6. Keep it short - Every effort should be made to keep the actual ritual (not the prep time) as short as possible. Fifteen minutes or less is always best, although with certain types of rituals this isn’t always possible. Longer rituals tend to result in participants becoming bored and losing focus, lessening the over all impact of the ritual. At the same time raising energy and manipulating it (in other words performing magick) can be exhausting and may be difficult to sustain for extended periods of time. The ritual should seek to reach its objective as quickly as possible while all participants are still in their prime.

7. The event can be longer however – Just because the ritual is short doesn’t mean everyone has to go home right after. In fact this is probably a bad idea. People will most likely be charged and in somewhat altered states after a ritual. They should be allowed some time to cool down and also allowed access to other participants who can understand how they feel. Plan time for a general meetup post-ritual, or even a party with food and drinks.

8. Make the ritual available ahead of time – This goes along with number four. Your participants need to know the ritual and what is expected of them before hand, and they should be given all the prep time they need to get ready, which means giving them a copy of the ritual and an explanation of what’s intended to happen well in advance. At the same time participants are lending their energy and ability to the ritual, and they need to be sure that the ritual is ethically sound according to their moral and spiritual beliefs and that their deities or entities they work with aren’t being profaned by the ritual itself.

9. Disclose any objectionable material – If the ritual involves nudity, sexual contact, blood magick, drug use, evocation of deities, evocation of other entities, or anything else that may be considered objectionable or is illegal this needs to be disclosed to those planning on attending prior to arriving at the ritual.

10. Speak normally – Words have a lot of power to direct intent. However it’s the intent that matters, not what’s actually said. It doesn’t matter if you speak in old English, Latin, Egyptian, or Hebrew. And even if it did hold power, most pagans can’t speak old English or middle English anyways. They sound like a cross between Yoda and a renfair knight, and it hurts my literary senses to see the language mangled so. It is important that you know what you’re saying in ritual, and that the words flow naturally from you. You don’t want to be reading script of memorized words, you want the ideas to naturally flow from your mind into the symbolism of language as you understand it. You should feel the idea behind the words flow through you, and hopefully the other participants should understand and feel the idea too. The best way to do this is to speak in your normal dialect.

11. Don’t just say it, do it – When you say, for instance, that you want to bring forth the element of air in a ritual, it isn’t enough to just say you want to do this. You have to actually pull that element through you, and then direct it towards something. Some things can be done symbolically, but a lot of stuff you have to have some psionic ability in order to do it. Some ritual leaders don’t seem to understand this.

12. No one should break ritual – To attend the ritual is to agree to perform the ritual as it should be performed. Some minor improvisations may occur, such as a person adlibbing certain lines while keeping with the meaning and intent of the original lines, or one member covering for another member who for whatever reason, in the midst of the ritual, could not complete their given task. But for the most part the ritual should not be altered by any participant in any major way (including changing the deities or entities utilized). The offending member is attacking all participants and attempting to manipulate them beyond their will. If any major alteration occurs during the ritual the ritual should be ended as soon as possible (with all proper respects given to anything summoned forth and all raised energy properly dealt with) and the offending member should be dealt with accordingly. A ritual should never be allowed to continue after it has been altered.

13. Observers are a nuisance – This is kind of a touchy subject. For many responsible practitioners, they’d like to see a ritual performed by a group before they participate themselves. But at the same time, you don’t want people who are just watching and not participating. They add nothing, and they tend to distract participants from the ritual itself. By giving out detailed information about the ritual to all participants beforehand there is less of a need for a potential participant to watch a ritual first. If you still have some who are adamant about first observing a ritual you should plan easier specifically designed rituals for observance.

14. Protect your group – Rituals are easy prey for a lot of nasty things. People show up to rituals with the intention of vampirically draining participants, stealing the energy raised by the group, and silently manipulating the ritual to their own ends. These people need to be immediately identified, dealt with, and removed from the current ritual and banned from all future functions. This job falls mainly on the ritual leader, but stronger participants should also do their best to identify and remove these people, and the ritual leader should encourage members to report whatever they have been able to identify. This is essential to both effectively performing rituals and to protecting your participants.