From tyagi@HouseofKaos.Abyss.com  Mon Dec  4 22:36:40 1995
Date: Mon, 4 Dec 1995 13:35:14 -0800
To: ceci@lysator.liu.se
Subject: astraltmp.txt
From: tyagi@HouseofKaos.Abyss.com (nagasiva)
Reply-To: tyagi@HouseofKaos.Abyss.com (nagasiva)


>Path: shell.portal.com!svc.portal.com!sdd.hp.com!usc!nic-nac.CSU.net!floyd!nermal!mjacobs
>From: mjacobs@nermal.santarosa.edu (Matthew Jacobs)
>Newsgroups: alt.magick,alt.magick.chaos
>Subject: The Universal Astral Temple Ritual:  ADVANCED MAGES ONLY!
>Date: 29 Nov 1995 18:41:58 GMT
>Organization: Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, CA
>Lines: 195
>Message-ID: <49i9hm$153@floyd.santarosa.edu>
>NNTP-Posting-Host: nermal.santarosa.edu
>X-ident: mjacobs@nermal
>Summary: an astral temple allowing magick to be done with no tools
>Keywords: ritual, astral, temple, ceremonial, spell, elemental
>Xref: shell.portal.com alt.magick:59797 alt.magick.chaos:6045


    -->-->-->   This post is long, so unless you are truly   <--<--<--
    -->-->--> interested in the subject matter, kill it now. <--<--<--

                    ----------------------------------
                    The Universal Astral Temple Ritual
                    ----------------------------------
                           by Matthew W. Jacobs
                      (mjacobs@nermal.santarosa.edu)


This post is intended for some of the more experienced mages out there.  I
know that all you newbies are going to read this anyway, but until you have
some major visualization skill, (though I admit you MIGHT have natural
talent) and the ability to hold those visualizations, this probably will not
be too useful.  So copy it, stuff it away, and dig it up in a year or three.
Enough disclaimer trash.  On with the show.

One of the problems I have encountered in the practice of magick is that
ceremonial or ritualistic aspects can sometimes be a burden.  You don't
always have the tools for a ritual.  You wouldn't exactly want to carry them
all around everywhere you go.  While this problem may be rectified by using
different magickal techniques such as force of will or various rituals that
would fall under chaos or wild magick, sometimes the ceremonial rituals are
the ones to which we become attached or feel are the most appropriate for an
occasion.  So instead of sacraficing those ceremonial spells, many advanced
lessons in magick teach "astral magick", where the temple, circle, tools,
etc. are created on an astral level and the ceremony performed in the mind.

My problem has been that most of the "astral rituals" I have come across
don't seem to work for me.  I just can't visualize an earthbound workspace
for astral magick.  So what I have here is an "astralized" astral temple.
It creates a temple that is, well...  It couldn't exist on earth, and it
lets you do a lot of stuff that could never be performed in a corporeal
temple.  Give it a shot and see how it goes.  One last thing:  the order I
use for quarters is Fire-Air-Water-Earth so that Rod and Cup (Fire and
Water) are opposite the circle, and so that Sword and Shield (Air and Earth)
are opposite.  I feel that this makes more sense than the traditional
Air-Fire-Water-Earth, but if you'd rather use that or even something else,
feel free to switch it around.


-------------------------
Opening the Astral Temple
-------------------------
Step I:  Close your eyes.  Attain a state of inner peace from which a ritual
may be performed.  Pranayama is suggested, and a comfortable chair helps,
but with time and a little practice the entire astral temple can be
conducted on a moment's notice while standing.

Step II:  Once centered, picture the empty void of outer space.  There is
gravity here, but you are standing on a glass floor you cannot see.  Stars
glow as pinpoints in the distance in all directions.

Step III:  Visualize a point of infinite brilliance above your head.  See
this light radiate a beam of light out to a point somewhere in front of you.
This will be the radius of your circle, so put some thought into the
distance.

Step IV:  The beam of light sweeps clockwise around the circle a number of
times that you choose, weaving and reinforcing a circle of flame.  Most
discordians I know use 23 times, Chaos Magicians use either a chaotic or
random number.  I use nine or choose something appropriate to the ritual I
will be conducting once the temple is open.  Make sure you remember the
number for later.

Step V:  From the light descends a beam of red light to the edge of the
circle before you.  This coalesces into an upright pentagram of flame.
Direct all of your will at this shape and energize the rod that appears
behind it.

Step VI:  Do the same for the other three quarters.  See a pentagram of
smoke with a sword behind it at your right, a pentagram of rippling water
with a cup behind it to your back, and a pentagram of stone with a shield
behind it at your left.  End by directing your attention once again to the
fire pentagram, completing the circle.

Step VII:  Direct your attention to the brilliant light above you.  Become a
channel for its brilliance streaming down through you, filling you with
light and casting out any unwated influences.  Do not hold this energy
within you, let it flow and cleanse, exiting your body downward and
returning to the universe.

Step VIII:  After the cleansing in Step VII, continue to let the light flow
through you, but after it travels from crown to toe, direct it out ninety
degrees so that it spills across the floor, forming a magickal shape of your
choice.  This could be a pentagram, a chaos star, maybe a sigil specifically
for the rituals to be conducted once the astral temple is open.  Be
creative, any symbol will work here.  All this symbol does is provide a
focus when you are working and help remind you where the floor is.


----------------------
Perform Your Ritual(s)
----------------------
At this point you should be standing in the vastness of space on a glass
floor containing a design of your choice inscribed in white light within a
circle of fire at your chosen distance.  There should be a point of bright
white above you (spirit) and four elemental pentagrams and their respective
tools at the four quarters.

Step IX:  You may conduct your ritual(s) now.  If you need an elemental
tool, simply call it from its quarter where you created it.  Remember that
you need not use substitutes for your real tools, but may instead call forth
the auric form of any tool you already possess.  If you need any other
items, create them astally and energize them with your will or with the
light from above, whichever works best for you.

I have found it possible to conduct many "normal" rituals here, but the real
fun is creating new spells, ceremonies, and rites that can only be conducted
on the astral level.  I have an astral LBRP that's literally out of this
world.  Experiment, please!  Have fun!  It's pretty hard to get hurt here if
you keep the white light above and the circle about you intact.  Oh, one
last thing:  I wouldn't recommend that any of you darker mages practice
goetia here.  This temple, while it exists, is connected directly with YOUR
ASTRAL FORM.  To invite a demon into this circle is to allow it access to
your body.  This is much different from a traditional goetiac evocation
where you have some physical distance and steady protection in a real,
corporeal room.  I disapprove of any goetia, astral or otherwise, but you
still possess free will I could not stop should you choose to practice this
dangerous art.

Once done, make sure to close this temple properly.  A friend of mine fell
asleep with this temple open once and experienced several unpleasant "little
nasties" that seem to be psychic flotsam one sensitizes to, making
banishings of minimal use.  While not truly harmful, they get to be very
annoying and may persist for weeks.  If sleep is an essential part of a
ritual you wish to conduct here, I reccomend that you set up some physical
circle as well.  When I've done this, some salt sprinkled around my bed was
all that was necessary.  But be prepared for "little nasties" when you do
this.  If anyone has any ideas or knowledge on how to avoid this side
effect, please correspond with me.


-------------------------
Closing the Astral Temple
-------------------------
Step X:  Return to the center of the circle where you created it.  Visualize
the white light beaming down again to the edge of the circle in front of
you.  This light sweeps back across its earlier path (this time
counterclockwise) the same number of times it swept clockwise.  As it spins
back, it draws up the flame surrounding the circle.  All of this energy is
condensed into one point within the light above.

Step XI:  Send the earth pentagram (on your left) and any tools associated
with it up into the light, which takes on a green hue from the element.
Repeat for water (behind you) which adds blue to the point of light above,
then air which adds yellow, and finally send up fire and its tools adding
red.

Step XII:  As you perform Step XII, feel all of the energy of this circle
and any rituals performed condense into this one point and mingle with
spirit, waiting almost explosively to be released to perform its work.
Then, when you can feel it condensed into singularity, let it explode.  In
this instant open your eyes, let your consciousness return to the real
world, and feel the energy radiating in whatever directions it needs to
travel to accomplish its work.  It is not uncommon to experience "pulsing"
at this point, e.g. tingles may flow all over your body from head to toe.

Step XIII:  I reccomend taking a few deep breaths and moving around a little
bit to clear the mind and return completely to the real world.  With
practice, you may find this unnecessary and will return fully conscious and
alert, revitalized.


------------------------
Well, that's it.  This isn't set in stone, and I encourage anyone who
performs this to tweak it to suit them.  Feel free to clip, cut, append, or
rewrite it to suit your needs.  Remember that anything can happen in here.
You can have things float around, you can invert yourself to the other side
of the glass floor, you can play connect-the-dots with the stars.
Experiment, please!  Have fun!

I welcome any questions, comments, and discussion, either public or private.
And if you accomplish something really out of this world, try and let me
know so that I can give it a shot and maybe repost this if the changes
warrant wide public exposure.


Special Thanks is due to everyone who helped me develop this:
   Cassandra, for the little nasties and lost nights of sleep
   Nancy, for being a teacher, as always
   John, for daring me to learn this Internet Beast
   and the ever-mysterious F.  You know who/what you are.

+----------+---------------------------------------------------+----------+
| 0 ---> 1 |     May the fire of a billion ascending souls     |          |
|          |       burn strong against the dark of night       | 8 ---> 9 |
+----------+------------------+--------------------------------+----------+
|    --Amor Vincit Omnia--    |    email: mjacobs@nermal.santarosa.edu    |
|    --=Matthew  Jacobs=--    |    http://www.santarosa.edu/~mjacobs/     |
+-----------------------------+-------------------------------------------+
(c) copyright 1995 Matthew W. Jacobs.  This may be copied and distributed
freely in an electronic format as long as it remains unaltered from its
original form and this copyright notice remains attached.