The Romance of Magick (Not to Be Confused with Prestidigitation)
Call me obsessive-compulsive or a hopeless romantic, but ceremonial magick is appealing to me in a way that other forms of "human potential" development and meditation are not.
There is something appealing about bringing it all together and getting it right.
Of course, there is also all that mystery and "bad boy" reputation associated with ceremonial magick. Anything that causes the religious right to perspire nervously can't all that bad. (Remember, we are talking about western ceremonial magick, which was highly influenced by the ceremonies and spiritual mythologies of the Catholic church and by Masonic ritual, and not "black magic" or devil worship.)
So, how did I get started? With the usual trepidation and misgivings that come from a conservative religious upbringing. Basically, my 13 year old younger brother showed up with Francis Barrett's "The Mage," the "Greater Key of Solomon," and some old hardbound Ophiel books - I believe "The Art and Practice of Astral Projection." I was 17 at the time and was convinced that he was drifting towards a dark and gloomy path. It didn't help that he had painted the walls of his bedroom with scenes from the Lord of the Rings. And this was back in the '60's. Boy was he way ahead of his time.
Years later, with nothing better to do in college, I began reading Ophiel's book, figuring I'd at least give astral projection at try, though my wiser friends warned me that if the "silver thread linking you back to your body" got cut, I'd be a goner. In an insane asylum for sure.
Ophiel had a very "hard luck" voice, he ranted in his book a lot, and he used strange abbreviations (like "tho" for "though"). All this rubbed me the wrong way, but I persisted and over the long years have come to appreciate the many, many useful tips and techniques that Ophiel published. It's important to remember that at the time Ophiel published, there were virtually no do it yourself books out there, nothing to compare with the Idiot's Guides and Dummies books of today. The Art and Practice of Astral Projection also included a simple ritual, which got me started, known as the "Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram" which I will outline in my next posting.
There is something appealing about bringing it all together and getting it right.
Of course, there is also all that mystery and "bad boy" reputation associated with ceremonial magick. Anything that causes the religious right to perspire nervously can't all that bad. (Remember, we are talking about western ceremonial magick, which was highly influenced by the ceremonies and spiritual mythologies of the Catholic church and by Masonic ritual, and not "black magic" or devil worship.)
So, how did I get started? With the usual trepidation and misgivings that come from a conservative religious upbringing. Basically, my 13 year old younger brother showed up with Francis Barrett's "The Mage," the "Greater Key of Solomon," and some old hardbound Ophiel books - I believe "The Art and Practice of Astral Projection." I was 17 at the time and was convinced that he was drifting towards a dark and gloomy path. It didn't help that he had painted the walls of his bedroom with scenes from the Lord of the Rings. And this was back in the '60's. Boy was he way ahead of his time.
Years later, with nothing better to do in college, I began reading Ophiel's book, figuring I'd at least give astral projection at try, though my wiser friends warned me that if the "silver thread linking you back to your body" got cut, I'd be a goner. In an insane asylum for sure.
Ophiel had a very "hard luck" voice, he ranted in his book a lot, and he used strange abbreviations (like "tho" for "though"). All this rubbed me the wrong way, but I persisted and over the long years have come to appreciate the many, many useful tips and techniques that Ophiel published. It's important to remember that at the time Ophiel published, there were virtually no do it yourself books out there, nothing to compare with the Idiot's Guides and Dummies books of today. The Art and Practice of Astral Projection also included a simple ritual, which got me started, known as the "Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram" which I will outline in my next posting.
posted by Wm Blaker, printer at 11:18 AM
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