Calling Down the Gods

For most Wizards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, we say that Ritual is like a decompression chamber. To function Magic really does not need it herself. Yet in our daily activities we attach so many burdens, worries, and anxieties to our own selves that we forget that we are not the worry, we only have a worry.

Dividing our attention is always rude in any relationship. I know that focusing on the person or people we are communicating with at a moment is difficult, to remember there is only us, only this. It is almost a proverb, the story of the lover who calls out the name of their true lust while in the embrace of another. Imagine the hurt the lover feels when he or she finds the mate isn’t even thinking of them, even after all the work done to bring the embrace to climax. As an animist I accept that Magic has feelings that can be hurt when, in the middle of a relationship, you are thinking about the louses who must go back to their spouses. So, a good portion of the ritual will be dedicated to relegating to the ordinary world our ordinary concerns. Then when we are in communion with Magic or some god or other daimon, our focus is dedicated to that relationship.

It is also a time to integrate our composite soul into a single entity. So often we think of ourselves as a collection of parts, and to a point, we are. When we are functioning properly, healthily, those components must function as if they were a unit. We often confuse who we are with what we have, and attach ourselves to fleeting things, feelings, and memories. None have ever discovered the true self. Yet the practice of divesting ourselves of our false selves is always a blessing, and the surest way of living as if there is a true self. A good part of any rite, even if it is a daily devotion, employs a divesting of some falseness, and a search for some truthness.

While we are divesting ourselves of the artificial (false face), we can be reintegrating our components into a functional whole. What good does it do to reject the components our mother has given us, or to accept only a rational ego. Yes, it is true that we are a collection of parts, some more dominant than others. None of the components are really any good without the others, or outside the context of the whole. Should we consider it rude to address others as parts, then presenting ourselves as parts is equally rude, or as only a single part. Accept that component that your mother contributed, or by the bully that beat you up on your way to school. If you don’t, you probably could not relegate them to their proper context, and mother will continue to nag, and the bullies continue to harass you, even when they are long dead. Even these are a part of you, and ought not be ignored lest they interfere with whatever you have planed.

The two features that help a rite be successful are focused discipline and desire. Talent could help, but without these other two, we will waste that talent. Others help, but if these are not in tune with the goal, the goal may be met by accident, and poorly done. The ingredients to be gathered for a ritual in any Culture of Faith are Desire, Timing, Imagination, Focus, and Balance.

Desire:

What do you really want to do? If this is a Daily Devotion, then recognizing the Eternal, a cleansing meditation, or thanking the household daimon is the desire and goal. These are usually simple rites, with a minimum of theater or dress-up. If it is a Rite of Passage, then the desire is to recognize an accomplishment, and grant the responsibilities and privileges that are due. Is this a Passion, Compassion, Destruction, or Divinatory Rite? Or is this a Holy Rite of communion with heroes mortal and divine? The goals or desires of a rite ought to be simple and few. The souls attending — even the less corporeal — will soon fall asleep and start drifting if the ceremonies are too lengthy.

Timing:

Timing and place are both valuable. First, thinking of our existence with a temporal metaphor is best, rather than a spacial one. That is, we live in a chain of moments, each significant and then gone. Next, each moment has its environment. Nature teaches us about tides from Sun and Moon; other life forms teach us about seasons, and that there is a time and place for everything. Even children will be quick to remind us that they are too young to know some things; some adults are too old to know other things. Technically there might be no particular reason to wait until Jupiter enters Aquarius or Gemini to seek an increase in knowledge. If waiting until the Moon is waning to rid oneself of an undesired chain of thinking will help with the imagery, sorcery, and autonomous psychological resistance, however, then the timing will be appropriate. We Sorcerers are practical sorts. We gain the best success when performing a rite at the time, and in the place that is most like the results you wish to achieve. Waiting for the right time or place, however, may result in someone’s death, when we need healing, or loss in war, when we require success. When possible, perform these rites when it is most comfortable, at the time that you feel best. Yet let nothing encourage apathy when compassion demands action.

Side Note:

Failure in a rite may be the result of forces we are unaware of at the time. Your desire to win the lottery, however much you will it, may be outweighed by the wish of 100’s of others who wish the same. Also, your desire to win the lottery may be thwarted if you buy the lottery ticket after the drawing. Your desire for sunshine for the parade may be overruled by the farmer’s need for rain. Finally, timing is rather important in other respects. It will do you no good to wish for a girl when your wife is in labor. Putting in your request would be better before you two have conceived the child in the womb.

Imagination:

We require Imagination to talk in the Daimonic Reality, or imprint anything onto the Otherworld. Imagery, powered by emotion, is a powerful force in magic. Whatever we can employ to enhance this power — music, pictures or statues, live bodies — can only help. We should take care, though, for the wrong Images can establish the wrong results. So the need for —

Focus:

Discipline is the ability to focus the mind. If you cannot stay on target, you may never hit it. Like any psychosonomic effort (effort made by body and mind) this requires practice dedicated to strengthening the faculties and refining these skills. This would include frequent exercises in the disciplines you wish to master. Music, dance, even the Martial Arts must be Mastered with small, frequent steps. If you are unwilling to do so, then what will you have when you need the discipline?

Balance:

This bears two avenues of response. On one hand, balance means the need to stay near the dynamic middle, so that the whole event does not get off kilter and fall apart. There are two ways of keeping balance. Either you can have all sides equal in weight, and have the fulcrum at the spacial center. The problem with this is that few things in nature are equal, and human — even Nature’s — creativity requires a dynamic interplay between Chaos and Status. So, we can employ another form of balance; find the center of gravity, or set things in motion. Throwing sticks work, not because every measure of its mass is equal, but because one part out weighs the other, turning it into a beautiful, deadly design.

On the other hand, this means knowing yourself before hand. Are your Egos —, Kundalini, Rational, and Daimonic — in focus? Do they function together, as relative observers, are they adaptive? Are they all that you identify as, forgetting that you are a lot more than your personality?

Finally; remember to laugh, not only at your mistakes, but for the sake of laughter. In fact, may I suggest that once a week or so, in the place of any solemn devotion you have a party. Loud, happy music that refuses to let you sit in the corner and sulk. Dance, enjoy, move those happy feet. Not only will that drive the evil spirits out of your house (I mean the evil spirits that are bad, of course) it will provide a mood altering activity that is better than alcohol, opiates, and most any drug.

Also, always appreciate having a relationship with your gods, daimons, and other intelligences. How would you feel if the only time you saw a friend or child was when they needed something from you? Then when you need something from them …. What, you think the gods have no feelings that could get hurt? Gratitude is more than saying “thank you.” It is returning the favor, even if it is only by asking them over for dinner.

©opyrights

Examples of Rituals, not to be copied, just learned from. These Ritual studies are useful for building your own. I retain the copyright to this specific work, to encourage you to build your own. Some of us are more creative than others, and some just need a hint. This is what I present to you. Steal my work, and I will infest your life with ten Uruk-hai and you will have to explain to your mummy where they came from.