LBRP part 2
Did you know that the trigrams of the I Ching can be oriented around a circle? That the trigrams at the cardinal points (NEWS - North, East, West, South) have a particular meaning?
That the four Western elements (fire, air, water, earth) correspond to the four cardinal points of the compass? That "elemental" theories are widespread in both the East and the West (they use five elements, we use four - but we have a "secret" fifth element, spirit)?
I was surprised to learn that philosophic elements also play an important role in Dzog Chen, the highest meditation teaching in the original Bon religion of Tibet and also in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, two traditions that are richly endowed and active, unlike the Western occult movement which was pretty much driven underground by the emergence and domination of Christianity. These traditional elements are also known as the "elements of the wise" or "philosophic elements" to distinguish them from chemical elements (the periodic table elements we learned in high school) popularized by science. The difference between studying the chemical elements and studying the philosophic elements is the clever youngster can figure out how to make stinky compounds and rudimentary gunpowder with chemistry, while the clever adult can learn how to increase the supply of vitality (prana, chi) and mental well-being through the philosophic elements.
An easy way to begin actual "elemental" work (other than just meditating on the qualities of each elements or working with Tattva symbols) is the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, since it involves visualizing a circle with Archangels, representing the four elements, at the cardinal points of the compass. The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram equilibrates the four elements at the periphery of the circle with spirit represented by the practitioner at the center of the circle. As part of this simple (to perform) ritual, light is drawn down into the microsmic practitioner from the macrocosmic Source-of-All-Things, then the elements are invoked at the periphery, and center and periphery play off and enhance each other
The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, or LBRP, is ordinarily a 3 minute or so ritual used to cleanse a working space of unwanted, or negative, influences before beginning an actual ceremony such as the invocation of an Archangel or Enochian entity or evocation of spirit. As such it is often taken for granted, but if properly used is a real god-send.
The LBRP is broken down, in the published Golden Dawn materials, into the Qabalistic Cross (given this name to distinguish it from "crossing oneself" in the Roman Catholicism) and the actual Banishing. There is also a Golden Dawn practice known as the Middle Pillar which can be incorporated to great advantage into the LBRP at the end of the ritual.
There are no "best places" or "best times" to perform the LBRP, although a clean, uncluttered room helps, and upon waking and at bedtime seem like natural times to perform it. It should go without saying that privacy helps.
You may benefit from washing up a bit, use your own judgment, it's more a matter of how you feel about yourself than how the spirit world might feel about you. Same discretion applies to your clothing; you need to feel comfortable, focused, and clean.
Prior to the actual LBRP, you need to compose yourself, which you can do in any number of ways. Coming off a moderate exercise or stretching routine, after a relaxing walk, are each good alternatives to jumping straight from television or intense music. Even a few deep breaths and a couple of moments of interior quiet can go a long way. Personally, I have found a "calm down" induced by hatha yoga, tai chi, chi gung and similar exercises which have a physical-prana-meditative blend to be the very preparation, to put me in the right frame of mind and lead to really astounding interior states of peace, power, and clarity from the actual LBRP. However, keep in mind you probably have limited time, and the main focus must be on the LBRP itself and not the prelminary preparation.
Moderate lighting, or even a dark room, make it easier to focus on the visualized portions of the LBRP.
1. Face West, towards the dawn, draw deep deep deep a breath and intone "Ateh" as you touch the space above your head and imagine a ball of white light above your head.
2. Bring your hand down to point at your feet, and as your hand comes down imagine pure white light, soothing and at the same time powerful, coursing down through your body to your feet. When it reaches the feet intone "Malkuth" and imagine a ball of white light under your feet.
3. Touch your right shoulder with your left hand, and as you do so, imagine a shaft of white light from the vertical column expanding to your right shoulder and forming a white ball of light there. Intone "Ve Geburah" and feel the psychic vibration of the words in the ball of white light at your right shoulder. Keep your left hand at your shoulder.
4. Touch your left shoulder with your right hand, similar visualization of light to the shoulder, ball of light, intone "Ve Gedulah." Keep your right hand at the left shoulder.
5. Open your arms wide so that they are perpendicular to your body (form a cross) and imagine the shaft of white light extending out each side to the palms of your hands; imagine a white glow on each hand.
6. Bring your hands to your solar plexus, imagining you are bringing the light/energy from each hand to your solar plexus/heart region. Intone "Le Olahm, Amen" and as you do imagine a ball of white light forming at the solar plexus region inside your body along the column of white light you formed at the beginning of this Qabalistic Cross. As noted in the first LBRP posting, "Amen" can be prounounced "aumgn" which is like "om" but with a nasal expiration at the end.
7. This concludes the Qabalistic Cross or QC which is at the start of the LBRP.
In the next post, Part 3, I will discuss the banishings at each quarter, the LBRP itself. I will probably break up the LBRP into the banishings, then the Archangelic invocations. Time permitting I will then discuss the Middle Pillar.
Please note that in the Qabalistic Cross, you should have a sense of drawing down light from the highest source you can imagine, into the first ball of light above your head. I will attempt to discuss this more later.
That the four Western elements (fire, air, water, earth) correspond to the four cardinal points of the compass? That "elemental" theories are widespread in both the East and the West (they use five elements, we use four - but we have a "secret" fifth element, spirit)?
I was surprised to learn that philosophic elements also play an important role in Dzog Chen, the highest meditation teaching in the original Bon religion of Tibet and also in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, two traditions that are richly endowed and active, unlike the Western occult movement which was pretty much driven underground by the emergence and domination of Christianity. These traditional elements are also known as the "elements of the wise" or "philosophic elements" to distinguish them from chemical elements (the periodic table elements we learned in high school) popularized by science. The difference between studying the chemical elements and studying the philosophic elements is the clever youngster can figure out how to make stinky compounds and rudimentary gunpowder with chemistry, while the clever adult can learn how to increase the supply of vitality (prana, chi) and mental well-being through the philosophic elements.
An easy way to begin actual "elemental" work (other than just meditating on the qualities of each elements or working with Tattva symbols) is the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, since it involves visualizing a circle with Archangels, representing the four elements, at the cardinal points of the compass. The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram equilibrates the four elements at the periphery of the circle with spirit represented by the practitioner at the center of the circle. As part of this simple (to perform) ritual, light is drawn down into the microsmic practitioner from the macrocosmic Source-of-All-Things, then the elements are invoked at the periphery, and center and periphery play off and enhance each other
The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, or LBRP, is ordinarily a 3 minute or so ritual used to cleanse a working space of unwanted, or negative, influences before beginning an actual ceremony such as the invocation of an Archangel or Enochian entity or evocation of spirit. As such it is often taken for granted, but if properly used is a real god-send.
The LBRP is broken down, in the published Golden Dawn materials, into the Qabalistic Cross (given this name to distinguish it from "crossing oneself" in the Roman Catholicism) and the actual Banishing. There is also a Golden Dawn practice known as the Middle Pillar which can be incorporated to great advantage into the LBRP at the end of the ritual.
There are no "best places" or "best times" to perform the LBRP, although a clean, uncluttered room helps, and upon waking and at bedtime seem like natural times to perform it. It should go without saying that privacy helps.
You may benefit from washing up a bit, use your own judgment, it's more a matter of how you feel about yourself than how the spirit world might feel about you. Same discretion applies to your clothing; you need to feel comfortable, focused, and clean.
Prior to the actual LBRP, you need to compose yourself, which you can do in any number of ways. Coming off a moderate exercise or stretching routine, after a relaxing walk, are each good alternatives to jumping straight from television or intense music. Even a few deep breaths and a couple of moments of interior quiet can go a long way. Personally, I have found a "calm down" induced by hatha yoga, tai chi, chi gung and similar exercises which have a physical-prana-meditative blend to be the very preparation, to put me in the right frame of mind and lead to really astounding interior states of peace, power, and clarity from the actual LBRP. However, keep in mind you probably have limited time, and the main focus must be on the LBRP itself and not the prelminary preparation.
Moderate lighting, or even a dark room, make it easier to focus on the visualized portions of the LBRP.
1. Face West, towards the dawn, draw deep deep deep a breath and intone "Ateh" as you touch the space above your head and imagine a ball of white light above your head.
2. Bring your hand down to point at your feet, and as your hand comes down imagine pure white light, soothing and at the same time powerful, coursing down through your body to your feet. When it reaches the feet intone "Malkuth" and imagine a ball of white light under your feet.
3. Touch your right shoulder with your left hand, and as you do so, imagine a shaft of white light from the vertical column expanding to your right shoulder and forming a white ball of light there. Intone "Ve Geburah" and feel the psychic vibration of the words in the ball of white light at your right shoulder. Keep your left hand at your shoulder.
4. Touch your left shoulder with your right hand, similar visualization of light to the shoulder, ball of light, intone "Ve Gedulah." Keep your right hand at the left shoulder.
5. Open your arms wide so that they are perpendicular to your body (form a cross) and imagine the shaft of white light extending out each side to the palms of your hands; imagine a white glow on each hand.
6. Bring your hands to your solar plexus, imagining you are bringing the light/energy from each hand to your solar plexus/heart region. Intone "Le Olahm, Amen" and as you do imagine a ball of white light forming at the solar plexus region inside your body along the column of white light you formed at the beginning of this Qabalistic Cross. As noted in the first LBRP posting, "Amen" can be prounounced "aumgn" which is like "om" but with a nasal expiration at the end.
7. This concludes the Qabalistic Cross or QC which is at the start of the LBRP.
In the next post, Part 3, I will discuss the banishings at each quarter, the LBRP itself. I will probably break up the LBRP into the banishings, then the Archangelic invocations. Time permitting I will then discuss the Middle Pillar.
Please note that in the Qabalistic Cross, you should have a sense of drawing down light from the highest source you can imagine, into the first ball of light above your head. I will attempt to discuss this more later.
posted by Wm Blaker, printer at 9:21 AM
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