[quote=“Frater Dark Matter, post:1, topic:5350”]I understand the reasons for doing LBRP and other types of things- i have done them, and really, they just do not help…Anyone got anything- or am I being an idiot?
Thankx[/quote]
Greetings ‘Frater Dark Matter’
I was asked a long time ago by an old magical friend of mine why the lesser banishing ritual of the pentagram is used? It got me thinking about this subject again when I came across your post here on my favourite forum. I will try and explain this the best I possibly can, although this is only my opinion but it’s based on years of experience with ritual magic. It may disagree with others and ‘quite rightly so’ as we are all differant and will therefore on many occasion see things in our own unique way, which is one of the reasons why I never judge, I simply accept others for who they are and let them get on with it.
First of all, I do agree with your feelings on the LBRP…personally, I have no value for it as my intuition tells me it’s just a silly superficial farce, which never seems to serve its purpose but the real reason why I have no care for this is simply because there are far better ways.
Within ritual, just like in life itself; To get the results we desire we must respect preparation for without this, we cannot truly get a good finish. You could ask any decorator, or skilled worker who applies any craft how he gets great results and they will say it’s all in the preparation, which usually accounts for two thirds of the job! All great fighters and entrepreneurs prepare immensely to be ready for the chance to act and finish the job whenever that window of opportunity opens.
It is therefore no different with ritual and the best form of preparation for this is the control of ‘Energy’. The energy I’m talking about here is of cause life force energy, which is all around us and runs through us. Infact, everything in our universe is made up of this cosmic energy so it stands to reason that the magician must honour this and learn to work with it. It is the control of energy that gives the magician a sense of power and confidence in his own abilities.
Once we realise that we can control energy then our belief in our magical abilities starts to shoot through the roof!! This is one of the reasons why I like EA’s ritual of omnipotence from evoking eternity (page 55) as it allows the magician to experience power by manipulating energy, which acts as a terrific proprietary exercise for ritual. If this exercise is done every day however, it will built up a great sense of belief in your abilities to perform as a magician, which will greatly enhance your ‘Godliness’, not to mention your self esteem and confidence.
The LBRP is designed to clear the space and therefore prepare the mind and implements for the main protocol to come. I myself start with the rite of omnipotence and once I’m charged up, I then go on to temple purification and the consecration of the tools before moving on to the main ritual proceedings. This prepares the mind and cleanses the area acting as a good foundation for the finish itself.
I have noticed over the years that fasting before a ritual is also beneficial because it allows the energy to flow better in and around the body. a 24 hour fast prepares the mind and body for not only serious energy raising…but allows a more powerful way of directing it towards a target. Once the ritual is finished and wound down, you can then eat and bring yourself back down to earth again my friend…It is done! So Mote it be!!