Suggestions on Warding and Shielding?

[Crows&Ravens]

So I haven't really kept my spiritual hygiene in check which worries me a little so I'm starting to begin doing those things as of now. Especially setting up boundaries by adding layers of protection. And I wanted to know if this was enough.

1. Kabbalistic Cross.
2. Lesser Banishing of The Pentagram.
3. Middle Pillar.
Repeat the LBRP and finish with the Kabbalistic Cross. Finish that off with reading Psalms that offer protection (Psalm 140 & Psalm 9), and Psalms to thank God and the Angels. There's quite a lot of Psalms that can be said to thank God, I guess I would have to pick one that sounds like it has already been done. Kind of like magick itself when you have to feel and know that your spell has been successful already. Instead of having doubts which degrees the chance of it actually happening.

For an example:
Psalm 7:17 I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.

It doesn't sounds like it has the right energy while the Psalm below does.

VS

Daniel 2:23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king.

I might be overthinking again but its my wizard mindset, nevertheless I guess Psalms has Magick within their each of their words anyway, since I am calling on a divine being. For whatever reasons my voice should be heard.

Wards and Shields:

To add wards and shields, I am going to start using a book that I got a couple of years ago, Angelic Protection Magick. It's very simplistic, seems like the main focus is The Circle Banishing, The Body of Protection and then the Illumination before doing any of the rituals. It has warding sigil here which is used for Protecting one's home. The most annoying thing is that I may have to draw the sigils that I will be using but hopefully my printer's scanner will save my lazy ass on that. I have a few stones which can be used for warding, Flint stones which is brown, blackish and white. All those colour's have protective energies. And they still need to be cleansed, charged with intent. They will be added with the Sigil in Angelic Protection Magick.

I heard of another way of setting up wards with Psalms by writing them down in crosses or mazes, in forms of pentagrams for protecting a home or a person. I'm pretty sure its hoodoo where I'm getting from. Sorry if I'm causing some confusion this man might be able to shed some light on what I'm on about.

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I would like to hear other suggestions. Thank you very much!

 

[Xenophon]

Not necessarily obsessed with protection magic, everything in that list above I said I was gonna do.. I ended not doing.

I also don't wake up every morning thinking that I am under magical attack, I start my day with LBRP (Sometimes) unlike today I decided to start off with meditation. Also negative energies sometimes give you a hint that you are in fact under attack, you can just feel it. Spirits can be tricky ones however you may hear knocks.

But everyone feels that I should be doing the master protection ritual then that's what I will do, however I will do other rituals and spells.

"Everyone"? How about you?

Me, I never heard of the "Genius Spirits." I am told they are "neither angles not demons." Which sounds like sticky bait for the chronically indecisive. I operate in a tradition. It has its roster and starting lineup. They seem capable. Why do I need to shop around? The late Chogyam Trungpa spoke of "spiritual materialism." These "genius spirits" sound like something a marketing meeting cooked up. "Really, J.W.! We can sell to the New Agers, the Satanists, and every wackoid wiccan in-between!"

 

[Diluculo_DelFuego]

I would also agree that psalms are terrific for dealing with does or low vibration energies.
Psalms 3 in the morning, psalms 4 in the evening. General purpose protection psalms 51 or 53, in dire cases psalms 23 and psalms 91.
To curse, psalms 38 and or 109.
To draw divine favor psalms 148 to 150.
Psalms 149 to bind kings and nobles.

 

[pixel_fortune]

I don't think anyone mentioned genius spirits? (At least not according to ctrl+f, my personal genius spirit)

 

[Vandheer]

I don't think anyone mentioned genius spirits? (At least not according to ctrl+f, my personal genius spirit)

Its in the Magickal Defense. Damon Brand uses these geniuses in the MPR. I have heard of planetary intelligences but never heard of geniuses until GOM, myself.

 

[pixel_fortune]

Ah gotcha. That's an old term (eg genius locii, "spirit of place") - it's not something GoM came up with, though I spose it's an affectation to use the Latin

 

[Xenophon]

I don't think anyone mentioned genius spirits? (At least not according to ctrl+f, my personal genius spirit)

I looked up the name of the rite reccomended. I got an article about that. Could be I got onto a false spoor.

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free associates when doing searches. My apologies if I got wires tangled.

 

[Roma]

For what little it may be worth here is the etymology of genius

late Middle English: from Latin, ‘attendant spirit present from one's birth, innate ability or inclination’, from the root of gignere ‘beget’. The original sense ‘spirit attendant on a person’ gave rise to a sense ‘a person's characteristic disposition’ (late 16th century), which led to a sense ‘a person's natural ability’, and finally ‘exceptional natural ability’ (mid 17th century).

In this context "attendant spirit" seems relevant

I note that Mozart was writing complex music by age 5. I dare say his genius was lending a hand

 

[Crows&Ravens]

"Everyone"? How about you?

Me, I never heard of the "Genius Spirits." I am told they are "neither angles not demons." Which sounds like sticky bait for the chronically indecisive. I operate in a tradition. It has its roster and starting lineup. They seem capable. Why do I need to shop around? The late Chogyam Trungpa spoke of "spiritual materialism." These "genius spirits" sound like something a marketing meeting cooked up. "Really, J.W.! We can sell to the New Agers, the Satanists, and every wackoid wiccan in-between!"

I feel perfectly fine with doing the master protection ritual. It seems that's a well liked ritual as far as I've read from other practitioner's so that kind of eases my doubts in the magician's instructions and of its design, whether these practitioner's or people in need of help were successful, I am unsure. And for those reasons I would probably focus on other tasks just incase.

 

[Diluculo_DelFuego]

Hang pentacles from the Key of Solomon.

 

[Xenophon]

Hang pentacles from the Key of Solomon.

Gee, that sounds almost like an insult. "Awwww, yer can go hang pentacles from the Key of Solomon, yer can!" "Cor! Yer ol' dad wears yer muddah's pink pantacles!"

 

[Crows&Ravens]

Gee, that sounds almost like an insult. "Awwww, yer can go hang pentacles from the Key of Solomon, yer can!" "Cor! Yer ol' dad wears yer muddah's pink pantacles!"

I mean its not a bad idea, there is an occult author which I can't recall the name of, buried pentacles in each corner of his home premises. It was probably the Saturn pentacles as Saturn's elements is Earth and Water, Jupiter's element is Air and Fire which I think can be used for protection which I had no clue about. So hanging Jupiter pentacles would be fine. The sun pentacles you would always want the sun/light to shine upon.

But obviously you want to read Psalms 8, 18, 26, 21, 31, 50, 28, 71, 53 and 133. And then recite The Oration.

I've talked with Diluculo about king solomon pentacles before so he knows that I know how to activate them. Not sure if that was the reason for how you responded. Writing the Hebrew words is the difficult part for me lol - I don't like the idea of printing them out as it feels that it takes away the magick away from constructing them.

 

[pixel_fortune]

m p sure Xenophon was literally just saying that the phrase "you can hang pentacles" has the same structure as some classic insults* and it's funny to imagine someone saying it that way, I don't think he meant anything about you, or thought anyone was insulting anyone else, he just thought it was a funny thing to imagine

(I'm ND, I have 100% done the "give an extremely thorough explanation in response to someone's casual joke comment", like... many times, hence my ability to recognise it)

* I can't actually think of any that would show it clearly! But it's a real thing. Being in instruction/command form is typical for insults, like the not very creative "you can go f yourself" or "get in the bin" "go teach your mother to suck eggs" or whatever

 

[Diluculo_DelFuego]

The thing about the LKoS pentacles are that when drawn with full feeling and intent, you are imbuing it with your energy and will.
Hanging a copy of one is as effective as hanging a horseshoe.
However, drawing or painting old dutch hex symbols like you see on Pennsylvania barns are probably likewise Imbued with will, intent, and energy.

 

[Crows&Ravens]

m p sure Xenophon was literally just saying that the phrase "you can hang pentacles" has the same structure as some classic insults* and it's funny to imagine someone saying it that way, I don't think he meant anything about you, or thought anyone was insulting anyone else, he just thought it was a funny thing to imagine

(I'm ND, I have 100% done the "give an extremely thorough explanation in response to someone's casual joke comment", like... many times, hence my ability to recognise it)

* I can't actually think of any that would show it clearly! But it's a real thing. Being in instruction/command form is typical for insults, like the not very creative "you can go f yourself" or "get in the bin" "go teach your mother to suck eggs" or whatever

Ohh my bad, I'm glad you can tell because I couldn't that's why I replied to Xenophon cautiously.

 

[Caliban]

Because I have not yet on these forums but it is a point I feel strongly about, I want to address the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram particularly.

First off, notice how I refer to it. In its original context and intent, the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram is not a banishing. Yes, I know that today it is most widely disseminated as one. But that is a secondary use, dependent for its effectiveness on its regular correct usage, as described in the Neophyte curriculum of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, for which MacGregor Mathers created it.

The very particular and specific aim of the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram is as an invocation intended to prepare the Neophyte to receive the grade initiation of Zelator 1○=10□ in that order. It is prescribed as a twice-daily practice, upon rising and before retiring to bed. It is intended to cultivate a balanced receptivity to the powers presiding in the Zelator rite, and to align the Neophyte with the egregore of the lodge and the order.

Having accomplished this through habitual practice, it also becomes possible for the admitted Neophyte or Zelator to connect with the energies and authority of the order to quell or banish forces that are distracting, intrusive or troublesome, by asserting the established priority of the positive, balanced energies routinely invoked. This is a secondary use, mentioned in the Neophyte papers as a demonstration of one possible, personal application of magical ritual for practical use.

Because the Golden Dawn would go on to become very important to later occult orders in England and the English-speaking world, and because its rituals were published, and because the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram is literally the first magical ceremony its students were taught, it became known out of all proportion to its role, and often without its larger context of regular lodge work. People pick it up and employ it and pass it around without any deep understanding of it at all.

I have not yet been able to determine this with certainty, but what seems to me to have happened is that some bootstrap Praemonstrator, setting up to teach magic, determined that it was dangerous to begin with invocation, decided banishing was safer, and promoted the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram as a harmless exercise to start from. It has been circulated in this mistaken manner, since, working to the extent that it does not by strength of established links to higher forces and the initiatory authority of the order and lodge established through routine invocation as part of a formal curriculum, but purely on a basis that it's so widely used and repeated.

You are better off by far connecting with positive forces through rituals you create for yourself, building on the principles outlined in sources like Cornelius Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy to improve your spiritual hygiene than relying on the Victorian formalisms of a fractured and troubled magical order of yesteryear.

 

[pixel_fortune]

You're talking about how the LRP is used within the Golden Dawn, and if a person is wanting to follow that tradition and prepare for later GD grades and so on, then you're completely correct

However, just like the Qabala is used in ways that early Jewish mystics never intended it to be, with changes they would find completely inappropriate, the Pentagram Ritual is now used by many many people outside of the Golden Dawn, in ways the GD never intended it to be used, with changes the GD finds completely inappropriate

And that's okay.

It's incredibly widespread with alternative versions made by many well respected magicians, for whom it seems to be working - it's just very much gone beyond GD now, and they can't say these newer adaptations are wrong they can only say they're not GD

(I do think it should return to being called the LRP not the LBRP, but that's because LBRP is a confusing and unhelpful name. I still use it in forums though, because it's the phrase people search for, and I personally prefer the invoking version myself)

For eg "the operant field" method (combining the LBRP with the LIRH as a working space) is very well attested and used by highly regarded magicians. I actually posted a list to Reddit of links to significantly changed versions of the LBRP, eg John Michael Greer, which I can repost here if anyone wants it

Some people actually think it's better to do any LRP except the traditional GD version, because their egregore is pretty unhinged these days (I don't know if that's true, it's just a reason people give)

So yeah, the contemporary forms of the LBRP that you see are not Golden Dawn, so ofc Golden Dawn doesn't like them, but Golden Dawn isn't the boss of the LBRP and hasn't been for like 30+ years.

 

[Caliban]

I am talking about the ubiquity of the Lesser "Banishing" Ritual of the Pentagram widely, mistakenly prevalent in occult teaching and practice, today, in ignorance of its authorship, origins or purpose. I see it in books alleging to teach Wicca. I see it in books claiming to promote Chaos Magic. It's everywhere, and I am a grumpy old man who is tired of it.

I stand by my post.

Elsewhere, someone recently has questioned the role of placebo effect in magical success. Barring actual initiation into a system of magic drawing on the traditions of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (which, in light of the bitter acrimony in which said order was dissolved and the violation of oaths of secrecy that attended the unsanctioned publication of its rituals, I by no means recommend) that is precisely the manner in which the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram is widely employed, and the only reason it is any use at all.

 

[Diluculo_DelFuego]

Invoke often, not only by the LRP in it's initial format, but also by prayers or conjuration prayers like from Solomonic or Ceremonial evocation texts.

Here is one such site of ancient prayers, will add more as I copy and paste replies.

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These ought to get you started. And me as well.

 

[Crows&Ravens]

Invoke often, not only by the LRP in it's initial format, but also by prayers or conjuration prayers like from Solomonic or Ceremonial evocation texts.

Here is one such site of ancient prayers, will add more as I copy and paste replies.

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These ought to get you started. And me as well.

Thank you Diluculo, I've already started reading them out loud.

 

[Caliban]

If you are practicing within an established group or school, it is useful to learn and employ the shared ceremonial, as well as to analyze, study and question your instructors about it. To develop a practice of magic, understanding why these forms specifically are established, and the purpose for which they were chosen, is extremely helpful in formulating one's own work within that group or school and beyond.

I was personally instructed to employ the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram as my initial assignment from my first teacher when I first undertook the study and practice of magic, forty years ago. That apprenticeship would evanesce into irrelevancy, save for the introduction it would provide me to occult literature, and to a fellow practitioner who would a couple years later introduce me to the eclectic, Wiccan coven that would teach me, initiate me, and elevate me through the degrees to found a study group and coven of my own.

I made use of my understanding of the Golden Dawn system of magic and Hermetic Qabala in that study and teaching, but was careful not to conflate them even if they are more closely related than appears on the surface (Gardner's three grades or degrees, particularly the first, are essentially Masonic, as was the SRIA precursor of the Golden Dawn, and the GD's one truly revolutionary contribution - the initiation of women on an equal footing with men - is essential to the Wiccan system as well).

Working alone, from texts or websites, it is even more critical to appraise sources and their credibility. These forums can be a part of that process. But essential to that is to comprehend what the author is trying to communicate, the assumptions they bring to the subject, and the extent to which their experience, environment and beliefs reflect one's own. Don't do Abramelin's retreat because it is what Abramelin records, and because Crowley did or tried to. Do it because it's methodology is practical, suitable to your means, and feels like something in you responds to.

(I had great success with a course in many regards similar to Abramelin's, without setting out to imitate him, simply because the circumstances I was in happened to be very much like those he prescribes.)

YES, one can analyze, interpret and adapt the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram to personal use, and make something of one's own. Ideally with an eye not just to aesthetic differences, but to it's creator's shortcomings, and considering similar rituals from the A.'.A.'. libri of renegade Golden Dawn defector Aleister Crowley, or the Hellenistic rites of the OSV provided, with sanction, by Denning and Phillips. And then by digging deeper into the works that inspired them, and consulting your own genius, muse and conscience.

But "because everyone else does" is a bad way to go about it.

Why banishing, per se, strikes me as the wrong foot to start off with is its own discussion, and will need to wait for another occasion.