On the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram
by Tim Maroney 
 
(excerpted from the New Age Mailing List #1, Fri Dec 21, 1984, the first 
national computer network run by a pagan or occultist, for pagans and
occultists; newly edited 1 June 1990) 
 
The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram is one of the chief rituals of
Western Magick.  It has been with us at least since the Golden Dawn of the
nineteenth century, and it has penetrated into all the many Golden Dawn
spinoffs, including Neo-Paganism.  Yet there is still no widely available,
clear instruction.  The directions of the magical orders are mere mnemonics
for those who are assumed to have personal instructors.  To formulate my
personal approach to the ritual, to aid any others who may be considering
practicing the LBR, and to satisfy the idle curiosity of any gawking
onlookers, I have put together this short discussion of the ritual and its
symbolism and performance. 
 
A.  Intent of the Ritual 
 
The real action of a magick ritual takes place in the mind.  Ritual is a form
of moving meditation.  The effect is also primarily psychological.*  The LBR
is a tool to facilitiate meditation. 
 
[*Not all players would agree with this statement.  Many would say that the 
effect of the LBR is a fortified and cleansed area on the astral plane, which
they think is as real as Hoboken, if not more so.  It doesn't really matter in
practice.] 
 
The experience of a proper LBR is pleasurable and soothing, yet energizing and
empowering.  One is made at home in the mystical realm, protected from lurkers
and phantasms by strongly imagined wards.  This solace from mundane experience
is a precondition for more serious works of meditation or ritual, but it can
also form a healthy part of the life of the mind by itself. 
 
B. The Ritual 
 
I'll just reprint the description of the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the
Pentagram from Liber O, a publication of the occult order A.'. A.'. 
 
 i.    Touching the forehead say Ateh (Unto Thee), 
 ii.   Touching the breast say Malkuth (The Kingdom), 
 iii.  Touching the right shoulder, say ve-Geburah (and the Power), 
 iv.   Touching the left shoulder, say ve-Gedulah (and the Glory), 
 v.    Clasping the hands upon the breast, say le-Olahm, Amen (To the 
       Ages, Amen). 
  
 vi.   Turning to the East, make a pentagram (that of Earth) with the 
       proper weapon (usually the Wand).  Say (i.e. vibrate) IHVH. 
 vii.  Turning to the South, the same, but say ADNI. 
 viii. Turning to the West, the same, but say AHIH. 
 ix.   Turning to the North, the same, but say AGLA. 
       [Pronounce: Ye-ho-wau*, Adonai, Eheieh, Agla.] 
  
 x.    Extending the arms in the form of a cross say, 
 xi.   Before me Raphael; 
 xii.  Behind me Gabriel; 
 xiii. On my right hand Michael; 
 xiv.  On my left hand Auriel; 
 xv.   For about me flames the Pentagram, 
 xvi.  And in the Column stands the six-rayed Star. 
  
 xvii-xxi. Repeat (i) to (v), the "Qabalistic Cross." 
 
[* Modern scholarship has a different take on the pronunciation of the Big 
Guy's name.  I use "Yahweh" rather than the "Ye-ho-wau" of Liber O because
that's what the Catholic priests of my youth taught me to say, and I've never
been able to shake it off.  Use whatever pronunciation you prefer, or a
different name altogether.] 
 
C. Politics of the Ritual 
 
With practice, you will no doubt come up with your own style of performance,
and your own different symbolism for ritual acts.  Different people do rituals
as differently as actors play parts, even though the lines and motions may be
fundamentally the same.  (The alternative is an authoritarian, dogmatic horror
which is alien to the deep occult understanding of religion, but is still
common in magical groups.)  Slavish imitation will get you nowhere in Magick 
-- except, perhaps, to some high spiritual degree! 
 
The Christianity -- or at least angelic monotheism -- of the ritual symbolism
may give a start to some.  Many of us involved in occultism have strongly
negative feelings about Christianity.  These are perhaps justified, but there
are a few saving graces here. 
 
First, as with any ritual, you should feel free to make it yours, to mess
around with it.  If you don't start to at least play with the styles of a
ritual after a while, you are probably not doing it very well.  It is
perfectly legitimate to substitute cognate symbols at any time.  However, the
saying in the martial arts is that one first learns another's style, and after
mastering it, moves on to create one's own.  For a beginner, it will be
easiest simply to use an existing ritual form in order to explore the meaning
of a banishing ritual. 
 
Given that experience, which transcends any mere set of symbols, one may
devise a form more in keeping with the emergence of one's personal style. For
instance, Neo-Pagans use a highly reified form of the same basic ritual in
many of their traditions, but with non-Christian deities, spirits, and heros
at the quarters.  Aleister Crowley wrote a new version which made the
performance more dancelike, and used the names of Thelemic deities and
officers rather than monotheist gods and angels.  My private version, called 
"Opening the Threshold", is entirely atheistic and philosophical. 
 
In any case, of those people who so abhor Christianity, how many have looked
at some of the practices of historical pagans in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the
Americas?  No religion should ever be "accepted" by an occultist. When using
any religion's symbolism, the adept should cut to its sacred poetical core,
and discard the political dross.  By this standard, Christianity looks about
as good as any other religion.  Without this standard, and by factoring in
historical excesses and power plays, almost all known religions look just
about as bad as Christianity. 
 
In other words, someone who will happily use Norse gods, Arthurian heroes,
Taoist immortals, Voudoun loas, or what have you in rituals, but will never
touch a Christian angel, is guilty of the same narrowness he or she probably
imparts to the Christians. 
 
D. Preliminary Acts 
 
These political considerations aside, there are a number of necessary
preconditions in any cleansing ritual.  Not the least important are the
physical conditions. 
 
It's not a good idea to just launch into this thing from a standing start. You
should start by evacuating any bodily wastes.  Heavy food in the digestive
tract is bound to interfere, so don't pig out right before practice.  If your
nose is clogged, clear it.  (There are some really gross yogic techniques for
doing this if necessary.)  Remove any serious muscle tensions; I do this in
two ways, by informal stretching exercises and by sitting quietly for a few
minutes. 
 
It is best to bathe or shower first, and put on special clothes worn only
during ritual, but those are optional considerations.   
 
It is very useful to have a room in your home that is either set aside for
ritual, or can be transformed into a suitable room readily.  I share my ritual
room with my lover, who uses it for typing.  This is a fortunate arrangement,
since we both want the room to be simple, uncluttered, and non-distracting,
and all I have to do is hide the typewriter and throw a cloth over the desk. 
If you can't arrange something like that, make sure you at least have enough
free floor space in the center of the room for freedom of movement. 
 
E. Ritual Gestures 
 
You should refer to the ritual above while reading this section. 
 
        The "Qabalistic Cross" 
        ---------------------- 
 
The "Qabalistic Cross" (steps i-v) is a self-consecration.  The magician 
(what an icky word -- I feel like I ought to have a few pigeons hidden in my 
pockets...) becomes a sanctified instrument for the execution of the rest of
the ritual.  This can't be an empty exercise; linger on each phrase for as
long as it takes to form some strong, brief concentration on the meaning. 
 
Think of the short prayer of the Qabalistic Cross as a baptism, using light
rather than water.  Imagine that your body has "centers" which you are
bringing to life by anointing them with your hand.  There are five such 
"centers".  At the end of the Cross, remain for a moment in that posture, 
upright, hands clasped, feeling the Cross within yourself, yourself as the
Cross.  This should cause a sort of purified perception of the body. 
 
The Cross addresses a second person, a "thee".  Who is this mysterious person?

"Thee" is your own "higher self", if you're a humanist.  If you prefer 
monotheistic symbolism, read "God[dess]" for "thee".  Even for monotheists,
the consecration is of yourself, although "by the power of God".  The two
symbolisms can be turned into each other with less effort than a topologist
requires to invert a torus, so it doesn't really matter. 
 
The "vanilla" version of the Cross is not what most Thelemites use.  Instead,
go "Atoh" (touch brow), "Aiwass" (touch breast), "Malkuth" (touch genitals),
and then the arms as normal.  "Aiwass who?"  That's a name Crowley's H.G.A. or
"external manifestation of the higher self" called itself by.  If you attain
to the Knowledge and Conversation of your Holy Guardian Angel (as it is so
quaintly called), use its name instead of Aiwass.  Don't expect this
attainment to happen tomorrow or next week.  But then, you're the only real
judge of that. 
 
        The Banishing Pentagram of Earth 
        -------------------------------- 
 
It is a five pointed star, point up.  To draw it, start from the lower
left-hand corner (your left), go up to the top point, and continue from there.
The index finger is a common tool for drawing the stars; it's a very natural
way of writing symbols in the air.  A good wand can be hard to find. 
 
Note that you do not draw the stars at the end of your finger, but project
them outwards as if your finger was a laser, with the stars being drawn by the
beam onto an outlying vertical plane -- perhaps a few inches short of the
wall, or on the wall, or just in a convenient expanse of air. 
 
Drawing the pentagram will be easy or hard for you, depending on whether you
are good at visualization.  I'm not, so it's hard.  (I am getting better with
practice.)  Ideally, the stars should be of flame, drawn in the air, but early
on a faint outline is no cause to complain.  Do not use drugs to increase your
visualization abilities on a routine basis.  If you are experienced with
drugs, it may be useful to get stoned for an LBR every once in a while just to
show you what it could be like. 
 
The pentagram can be a potent symbol.  Recall Leonardo's image of the
microcosm, e.g., the individual human.  The central pentagon represents the
torso, the top point the head, the other four points the limbs. 
 
For a religious humanist, the individually named pentagrams are essentially
aspects of the higher self (in contrast to the whole higher self of "thee" in
the cross), given life/breath by the vibrations of the god-names.  For a
theist, the pents are anthropomorphic manifestations of deity, summoned by the
vibration of god-names.  It makes little difference in practice. 
 
        The Vibration of God-Names 
        -------------------------- 
 
In the LBR, the vibration of the god-names "charges" or "enlivens" the
pentagrams in the air.  This is difficult to describe, but easy to recognize.
There is a feeling of presence in one of these charged warding images --
though not necessarily a feeling of true externality or separate intelligence.

 
We are told to "vibrate" the names.  The description and illustration of the 
"vibration" given in Liber O have been known to mislead people into hilarious 
postures.  What the picture most resembles is the skulking monster from the
movie The Mummy.  To the modern eye, it is remarkable how truly unclear a
photograph can be. 
 
I didn't learn how to vibrate a god-name until I signed up with yet another
occult order and was taught it in person.  I wouldn't wish the ensuing
experience on anyone, so here is a description which I hope will be adequate
in print. 
 
        Vibration phase i -- The Sign of the Enterer (1-4) 
        -------------------------------------------------- 
 
1. Stand upright.  Blow all the air out of your lungs.  Hold your arms
straight out at your sides. 
 
2a. Close your eyes and inhale nasally, imagining that the breath is the name.
The exact nature of this imagination differs from person to person.  Thus, you
imagine yourself inhaling the name into your lungs. 
 
2b. As you inhale, sweep your forearms smoothly and deliberately up so that
your fists rest on your temples. 
 
3. Imagine the breath moving down through your torso slowly, and through your
pelvis, your legs, and finally to the soles of your feet.  (Don't do this so
slowly that you are hurting for air when the name reaches your feet!) 
 
4a. The instant the inhaled vibrational name hits the soles of your feet,
imagine it rushing back up and out. 
 
4b. Simultaneously, throw yourself forward, thrusting your left foot forward
about twelve inches (or thirty centimeters) and catching yourself on it.  Your
hands shoot forward, together, like a diver.  You bend forward at the waist so
that your torso winds up parallel to the floor. 
 
4c. The air in your lungs should be blown out through your nose at the same
time, but imagine the name shooting out straight ahead. 
 
Steps 3-4 are known as the Sign of the Enterer, or of Horus.  This symbolizes
powerful active energy.  The Enterer should be something of a "rush".  The
vibrational name is projected outwards into more tangible manifestation -- in
this case, in the pentagrams of the LBR, which are charged by the force of the
projected god-names. 
 
It is highly inadvisable to omit the portion of step (4b) which reads
"catching yourself on it."  But again, I have no desire to infringe on your
freedom of choice. 
 
        Vibration phase ii -- The Sign of Silence (5) 
        --------------------------------------------- 
 
5. Finally, withdraw into a standing position, left arm hanging at your side,
right forefinger on lips, left foot pointing ninety degrees out from the body.

 
Step 5 is called the Sign of Silence, or of Harpocrates.  This Egyptian god
was mistakenly believed (at the turn of the century) to pertain to silence,
because his finger or thumb was touching his lips.  This gesture is now
believed to be a symbol of childhood; this correction appears in the World
card of Crowley's "Book of Thoth" Tarot deck.  Harpocrates was the god of the
Sun at dawn, and so symbolizes wonder, beauty, potential, growth. So, step 5
may be done in this academically corrected light instead. 
 
However, the "hush" gesture of the Golden Dawn Sign of Silence is adequate for
the modern occultist, even if deprived of A Divine Identification.  It is a
common gesture, at least in the European culture, meaning silence. Silence
perhaps balances the ultra-active Sign of the Enterer better than does the
more scholarly positive/active "Sign of Harpocrates the Rising Sun", and
silence is surely no alien concept to mystics. 
 
        The Invocation 
        -------------- 
 
The pentagrams are given form by the drawing, life by the vibration, identity
by the four-part prayer of steps (x) to (xiv).  Some people do very elaborate
visualizations of angelic guardians on each of (xi) to (xiv).  Because of my
tragic personal deficiencies, I am content with strong feelings of presence,
identity, and divinity in each of the four directions. 
 
A horizontal cross is built up step by step as you say, "Before me Raphael",
etc, with you at the center; and the position of your arms forms a vertical
cross, a renewal of the Qabalistic Cross from the start of the ritual. You may
feel a quite peculiar rising and expansion when both of these crosses are
formulated.  One has become the center of the geometry of the space, and it is
like a little world in itself, cut adrift from the mundane currents of
everyday experience. 
 
Steps (xv) and (xvi) are when the real banishing takes place, during "For
about me flames the pentagram, and in the column stands the six-rayed star." A
great pulse of force is emitted during these steps, imposing the personal will
on the space and clearing it of all hostile influences. 
 
After this is done, the invoked "archangels" maintain the banishing effect,
guarding in all four directions.  Of course this talk of angels is all
bullshit -- the importance lies in the psychological effect.  Whether there 
"really is" an archangel standing there keeping out inimical spirits is not 
important.  The "feeling of cleanliness" is what matters. 
 
        Concluding Cross 
        ---------------- 
 
The final Qabalistic Cross is an affirmation of the completeness and symmetry
of the ritual, and also a new self-consecration.  This is more efficacious
than the previous Cross because it is done in a banished environment. 
 
One is now ready to do a formal invocation, an evocation, a meditation, or
whatever the overall purpose may be.  The LBR is a preliminary ceremony,
although it has a beneficial effect in itself.  It can profitably be done as a
stand-alone ritual, but you should move on.  The LBR should keep away the
horrible ickies that turn so many novices away from Magick.  Its mastery is a
first step to adeptship.