Mastering the Art of Ritual Magick: Book II: Grimoire Frater Barrahbas Megalithica Books Stafford, England Table ol Contents Introduction to the Second Book 9 1. Ritual Index 12 2 The Grimoire as a Magickal Discipline 24 3 Learning This Magickal System 28 4 Nine Rituals of the Grimoire 32 5 Consecration of the Magick Temple 34 6 Consecration of the Magick Grove 44 7 Pyramid of Power Ritual 55 8 Concourse of Forces 67 9 Rose Ankh Vortex Ritual 83 10. Gate of Transformation 90 11 Assumption of the Grail Spirit 95 12. Considerations on Channeling Godhead 104 13 Ritual of the Lunar Mysteries 114 14 Ritual of the Solar Mysteries 121 15. Prefect Initiation Ritual 135 16 Initiation and the Magickal Discipline 156 17. Consecration of the Hallows 167 18 Divination Vortex Ritual 174 19. Mystery Rite of the Higher Self 180 20. Elemental Invocation Working 186 21. Epilogue to the Grimoire 191 Bibliography 194 Introduction to the Second Book This is the second volume in the Mastering the Art of Ritual Magick series. Where the first volume, Mastering the Art of Ritual Magick: Foundation, provides the base upon which this system is built, this book presents the actual rituals that you will use to forge your own personal magickal system. Few books contain rituals to customize and re-write, show how to group rituals together to form workings, or even build up a complete discipline of practical ritual magick. This book used in combination with the first, does that and much more. Certainly, you can spend many years gradually building up a system from trial and error, following clues and testing ideas. Or, you could play it safe and maintain what you have, never venturing into unknown territory, using rituals and spells taken from books in a rudimentary fashion. But you may find either of those choices unsatisfactory and quite frustrating. Saving you time and encouraging experimentation within certain parameters, this book contains a new set of rituals to start you off with a magickal system that has been tried and proven to work. All it requires is for you to use diligence and consistency in the efforts to rework and master this art. Magicians learn best by experimentation and innovation; there's no substitute for actual experience. Nothing's more tedious than listening to the chatter of an arm-chair magician or dealing with self proclaimed experts who are full of egotistical ambitions yet so lacking in initiative. So with that in mind, realize that in order to prove the assumptions introduced to you in MARM: Foundation, you must actually perform the rituals contained in this book in a structured and disciplined manner. Masll'rillg Ilw i\rlllilmlial Magick The benefits of using this precise set of rites are that you will have a colll'ction of rituals that are personalized and thoroughly understood. You can customize them to fit your tastes and interests as a magician and an occultist. You can also perform any number of powerful workings using just this finite set of rituals. This volume contains nine rituals essential to creating a personal magickal system: Temple and magick circle consecration rite -the first ritual that always begins a magickal working. Grove consecration rite -used for outdoor magickal workings. Rose Ankh Vortex rite -establishes a vortex energy pattern and acts as a container for a magickal working. Pyramid of Powers rite -establishes a pyramidal energy pattern and acts as the mechanism for affecting the material world, through the use of the 40 qualified powers (Element + Godhead Attribute). Gate rite or Underworld Gateway -used to join other rituals together, or to make a passage from one level of a working to another within a vortex energy structure. Assumption of the Grail Spirit -used to assume a specific Godhead - part of the spiritual discipline of the practicing magician. Lunar Mystery Rite -used to invoke the powers of the Lunar cycle into one's personal magickal workings. The Lunar cycle is most auspicious when used to make changes in the magician's material world Solar Mystery Rite -used to invoke the powers of the Solar cycle into one's spiritual discipline. The solar cycle is used to acknowledge 10 Introduction the changing of the seasons, and to celebrate them in a deeply spiritual and magickal manner. Prefect Initiation Rite -used to perform a quasi self-initiation, and can be set to a specific elemental quality to assist the magician as initiate to undergo transformative ordeals of the Four Elements. In addition to the nine rites, this volume also contains: a listing and analysis of the 40 qualified powers, to assist you in performing the Pyramid of Powers rite. ritual to consecrate the four magickal tools ritual to perform a divination vortex, mystery rite of the higher self, ritual to invoke one of the sixteen Elementals, an article discussing the issues around the assumption of the Godhead, its powers, virtues and inherent follies. All of the above magickal lore is unique to this system of magick. These rituals are derived from corresponding rituals used in the Order of the E.s.s.G., and could be considered a training device for gaining the expertise to use these more advanced rituals. Of course, it stands to reason that there is another more complex and deeper ritual lore beyond the one presented here. Since experience is the best teacher, you are urged to perform and work magic on a regular and frequent basis. This will prepare you for the truly advanced work of performing magickaI evocation, traveling the inner planes, communicating with various spirits and discovering the true nature of the hidden god that lives within you. These rituals set the stage for those greater challenges that lie just around the corner. A thorough mastery of the aforementioned rituals will greatly assist you in being able to handle that deeper lore, since it is considered the prerogative of the adept magician and member of the Order. The method for re-writing them and building a magickal system will be left to future books. Let us begin. Your future is waiting. 11 Chapter 1: Ritual Index 1.1 Purpose of These Rituals This Grimoire contains nine primary rituals and three ancillary rituals that are used to build a complete system of magick. It is focused on just two areas, performing rituals to assist you in being successful in the material plane and further developing various magickal mysteries. You may consider learning to successfully acquire material objectives through ritual magick to be overly simplistic; but as far as magickal competency is concerned, successfully working this kind of magick is far more difficult than you might realize. I am not talking about the kind of hit or miss magickal workings that most beginners usually engage in, since an inconsistent approach to ritual magick will only produce inconsistent results. I am also not talking about using ritual magick as a crutch for a lifestyle plagued by inertia and lethargy. Serious ritual magick is always supported by a great deal of activity in the mundane sphere, and starts with the formulation of a plan. Being proficient as a ritual magician requires having a magickal and spiritual discipline, and be well practiced and informed. This system of magick is presented to take you to the next level of your magickal study and accomplishment. The rewards materially and spiritually will come from proficiency in dealing with the world from both a practical and a highly intuitive standpoint. A magician must have a material base of operations, and therefore, he or she must satisfy basic needs before considering more lofty or exalted pursuits. However, a successful material life is not the end goal of this system of ritual magick. It is the beginning. Ritual Index I believe working ritual magick to gain an edge in the material world is always the place where a magickal discipline has its base. Even an experienced magician will from time to time have to work magick to assist in mundane activities such as career changes, acquiring needed monetary funds, seeking better relationships, physical healing, psychological healing - the list is endless. Ritual magick certainly can assist the magician in achieving all of these objectives and much more. Yet a ritual magician must also always engage the material world to gain achievements with hard work, initiative and creativity. Magick helps to grease the wheel of fortune, assists one in determining and ferreting out obscure or hidden opportunities or just changing one~ luck to take advantage of potential windfalls. A failed life will not promote a successful magickal career, since they both must go hand in hand. Once achieving a certain degree of success and comfort, magicians will naturally turn to the pursuit of wisdom, gnosis and deeper spiritual insights, which only a more advanced system of ritual magick would be able to satisfy. It is important to know when enough is enough with regards to the material plane. Certainly, a single minded preoccupation with material concerns will greatly stunt growth. This is the risk of what I call D>piritual materialismc; a potent barrier that must be broken if would-be magicians are going to evolve and spiritually grow. The ultimate purpose of ritual magick is to become one with the Deity, in whatever form that Deity is perceived or understood. All other objectives must be considered as either aiding in this process or distracting from it. This shared, I believe the most important ritual in the grimoire is not the ritual of the Pyramid of Power, which assists with the acquisition of material objectives. The most important ritual is the Grail Assumption rite, used for godhead assumption, spiritual alignment and liturgical communion. If the basic discipline as proposed in this grimoire is faithfully followed, the core of it will be the assumption of the godhead. The magickal action, periodically repeated, will ensure that the intense spiritual alignment necessary for a true evolution will be established so that one does not succumb to spiritual materialism. Instead, you will, over time, become a spiritual seeker of wisdom and a Celebrant of the mysteries; a true master of both the mundane sphere and the World of the Spirit. Requirements for Practicing Ritual Magick 13