The Quantum Cross is so called for it is an invocation of the fundamental forces and structures used by magickers. The law is that principle stated at the opening of the Golden Dawn Hall of the Neophytes: “For by names and images are all powers awakened and reawakened.” It is a conjuration for it calls with the power of Law, ‘con’ = ‘with’, ‘jure’ = law. ‘Grand’ refers to its summing up all of the forces previously called upon. Lastly, to refer to the final invocation before the concluding Qabalistic Cross, we will call it the Grand Conjuration. Next the Archangels are conjured in their stations at the Quarters, here referred to in the Greek mode as archons, thus the Conjuration of the Archæ (using the Greek plural). This is referred to here as Calling the Quarters. The LRP next proceeds to the charging of pentagrams with words of power in each of the four cardinal directions. We will go into the meaning of this shortly. Assuming your familiarity with the LRP, you will recall that it opens with the Qabalistic Cross, the replacement for this gesture is the Quantum Cross presented above. To begin, let us take a moment to clarify our notation. How then to create a ritual that incorporates the desired formulae, eliminates undesired symbolism, and does so in a manner supportive of sovereignty? Can we also make this rite modifiable to the Will of the individual user, i.e. Yet I find the difference between the LRP (especially the banishing mode) and the Star Ruby to be as profound as the difference between a conventional chemical explosion and nuclear blast. Also it maintains the supplicatory attitude of the LRP. (With the addition of the One that is the column within which the Star shines we have 11-magick.) Further, Crowley chose a gender-biased cross to formulate at the opening and closing of the Star Ruby which makes it less than wholly desirable for women. These are four-lettered words charging four things, providing a four-fold balance to the six-rayed star that is formulated in the Grand Conjuration.

Part of the power, as I see it, in the LRP is that each of the words it uses to charge the Pentagrams are tetragramatons: YHVH, ADNI, AHYH and AGLA. Crowley uses Therion, Nuit, Babalon and Hadit. This is the use of tetragramatons when charging the pentagrams. However, there is a fundamental elegance in the LRP that the Star Ruby does not include. Can this be done without calling upon Jehovah? Yes.īefore we can enter into how this is done in the above presented ritual, I wish to examine Crowley’s effort in creating this type of ritual and discuss why it did not serve my purposes here.įirst off, I like the Star Ruby and often use it. In most magickal systems from the Aboriginal Shamanic to the Urban Scholar-Magi, it is by invoking and recapitulating the Act of Creation that the practitioners identify themselves with the divine and do their magick. This is particularly important as by this means is Creation recapitulated. This pattern occurs several times throughout the ritual reinforcing this connection with the heights and the depths, the extremes of existence. Thus the LRP covers and is essence invokes the whole Tree, the whole of manifest existence. This is extended through a fourfold manner, the directions and the elements, as well as in the preliminary invocation, into the number 10. What I mean by this “elegance” is that in the LRP there is a regular progression through the numerical cycle down the Tree of Life from #1 to #6, from Kether to Tiphereth. Then the challenge becomes one of creating a ritual with a similar degree of elegance. Nevertheless it calls upon Jehovah and does so in a supplicating and self abnegating manner, indeed “For Thine is the Kingdom.” This is intolerable for this self-sovereign mage and a Thelemic pagan such as myself. It is the first ritual learned by most magi and so it has a very special place in their hearts. The harmonies between its symbols and its effects run very deep and thus it has been of great use to magi for over one hundred years. However, the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram (LRP) is one of the most elegant rites in the repertoire of the Ceremonial Mage.

To this day I am not yet convinced that Jehovah is not an evil God. This worship I can no longer justify in light of the wars among His followers and equally for their intolerance for those not of their communion. This ritual emerged out of a profound need on my part to no longer worship Jehovah. “the rituals shall be half known and half concealed…” Yea, the milk of the stars from her paps.ĬHAOS – COSMOS – EROS – NUOS – SYNCRONOS – ALlAGE And the Lord Adonai is about it on all sides

A rite from the stars