Getting started with ceremonial magick

[Firice]

Hello all,

I'm learning hypnotism and mind-reading at the moment and following Franz Bardon's Hermetic route. I'm interested in Ceremonial magick in my journey to reach self-actualisation and to wipe off all the weaknesses of mine and reach a new stage in life as a human being, perhaps to become the proverbial untermenche. Is there a need to have a specific teacher or a course for this? We know that as occult guys we don't have an Occult university for theoretical knowledge. Looking forward to hearing from you and what benefits you've gotten from your practices that has helped you and also society. Thanks.

[Nahemah]

http://www.occultforum.org/forum/viewto ... 57&t=36162

I am not a Ceremonial magickian, though I have read and studied classic texts and the history of the Western Mystery Traditions. This thread has information and resources that may be useful to you,it has libraries of classic texts, information on Thelema and some Gnosticism and so on. It has some Chaos magick in it too, but it might still be useful, nonetheless.

We have members who will be able to help a lot more than me.

[Firice]

Hey thanks anyway.

[Desecrated]

wipe off all the weaknesses of mine

Stop viewing things as weaknesses and learn how to use them. Nothing ever goes away completely and everything can be used to push you forward.

Is there a need to have a specific teacher or a course for this?

No.
It depends on your personality, If you're the kind of person that needs a teacher, then get one.
If you're the kind of person that likes to stick to a certain course, then get one of the manuals, like Bardon, and stick to that.
Or if you're the kind of person that likes to mix and try as you go along, then do that.

We know that as occult guys we don't have an Occult university for theoretical knowledge. [/qoute]

The are a couple of places if you're interesting in that.

Looking forward to hearing from you and what benefits you've gotten from your practices that has helped you and also society. Thanks.

I do it mostly because it's fun. I just enjoy what I'm doing right now.

[RockDemon]

Franz Bardon has another book called Practice of Magickal Evocation. But he advises to not practice it until you get at least to step 8 in IIH.

[Desecrated]

Franz Bardon has another book called Practice of Magickal Evocation. But he advises to not practice it until you get at least to step 8 in IIH.

The 3 books builds on each other and can be used as a larger system.

1. Initiation Into Hermetics
2. The Practice of Magical Evocation
3. The Key to the True Kabbalah

[fraterai]

I do it mostly because it's fun. I just enjoy what I'm doing right now.

This is a very important thing to consider these days, given the fact that one can access/practice/make nearly any system a part of their lives. Thats not to say you shouldn't be challenged and that it'll be "easy", but it should be enjoyable and thus a part of you somehow (which Des also described in his answer to "teacher"). Good points made here.

"ceremonial magic" is a broad term that usually implies that you often make use of elaborate ritual. Be honest with yourself and make sure that you have the time to practice, the money or skills or time to make tools, the space to practice (this can be a bedroom, but the point is all of this stuff needs to live up to YOUR expectations). The complete course to ceremonial magic is in aleister crowley's Magic in Theory and Practice. You learn banishing, purifying and consecrating tools/place, evocation, invocation, oath, license to depart, basically you learn what every step of the symbolic ritual means and does. IIH doesn't really teach ceremonial magic, it really just teaches yoga.

"Most" ceremonial magicians these days learn LBRP, Middle Pillar, invoking the elements and planets with rituals similar to LBRP, circumambulating, invoking angels, making and ritually charging talismans, and finally "evoking to physical appearance". You can also use a ceremony to astral travel or rise on the planes, or scry with a mirror.

"Simpler" books than MTP are out there, some suggested on the forums, even Regardie's books are probably a more practical introduction to ceremonial than MTP, but a solid reader or as you get more advanced MTP will have most everything you would ever need, (besides maybe 777 tables, which are online).

The biggest pitfall with ceremonial magic is thinking that you don't need to still meditate and learn about your body, mind, and spirit, so that you can actually use these things in the rituals and not just do some fancy play. In short to me ceremonial magic or a magic ritual is just an "active" multi-step magical act where you can apply multiple areas of what you have learned through meditation, etc.