The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram

The Following Information was taken from Neural Alchemy and all credit is given to Victor Cypert and not to myself. As is emphasized in the following paragraph, magick is extremely subjective & thus any insight I offer is minimal and only reflects what I have learned and beyond basic elementary objective information will be entirely irrelevant & useless to you. Note: if the above logic was somewhat confusing I suggest you pick up a copy of Magick In Theory & Practice by Aleister Crowley.

In the October 2000 e.v. issue of the on-line TOOL news letter (please see the site at http://www.toolband.com/news/letter/nl10_00.html) a reference was made to " The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram.

Many people without formal training in the practices of Ceremonial Magick may yet wonder what this ritual is, what it achieves, and how it is practiced. Being something of an old-hand at practicing this ritual (I was once involved with a heremtic Order which emphasized the practiced of Western Tantra or sex magick and the duping of gullible rubes out of hundreds of dollars of their hard earned money) I feel that I might be able to give the reader some insight into this practice and its uses. I do not, however, make any claims as to the effectiveness of the ritual. Magick is an extremely subjective practice and is not open to objective discussion, declaration, or debate. In short, what you get from any religious or psychological ritual is what you get. Period.

Being thus warned and enticed, feel free to proceed with the essay or to run screaming off into the darkness of night.


The Ritual Proper


In a room void of mundane trappings, secured from the influences and disturbances of the outer world, lit by candle light or by oil lamps, or by electric light of low frequency (red light) and low power (50 watt or lower bulb), face the East.

Breathe in through the nose for a count of four, filling the lungs fully. Hold the breath in the lungs for a count of four. Release the breath through the nose for a count of four, exhaling completely so that the lungs are empty. Hold the breath out, so that there is no breath in the lungs, for a count of four.

Repeat the above cycle for a minute or two or until you begin to feel slightly dizzy or light-headed. This breathing exercise should result in a slightly altered state of consciousness which is essential to the correct performance of the ritual.

Breathing deeply and regularly through the nose, with the eyes closed, visualize above you a brilliant white sphere of light. Know this light to be the primal energy, the Ain Soph Aur of the Qabbalists, from whence all was created. It is infinite potential and infinite energy, incapable of being exhausted.

Extend the index finger of the right hand up above the head so as to touch the sphere. As you touch the sphere, breathe in deeply and feel a portion of the light entering your hand, empowering that part of your body for the rest of the ritual which is to come.

Bring the right hand down, index finger still extended, to touch the center of your forehead (ajna chakra or third eye) and vibrate (chant / intone) the Hebrew word 'ATOH' which means 'Unto Thee.'

With the intonation of the word, see a portion of the Light in your hand move into this part of your body, forming a small, bright, white sphere. Move the hand down the center of your body and touch your breast. Here intone the word 'MALKUTH' which is Hebrew for 'The Kingdom.' Again, a portion of the Light leaves your hand and forms a small white sphere of light in your chest as you say the word.

Moving the hand to your right shoulder, repeat the necessary visualization as you intone the word 'V-GEH-BU-RAH' which means in Hebrew, 'Power.'

Moving the hand across your body to your left shoulder, repeat the visualized creation of a sphere of white light as you intone the word 'V-GEH-DU-LAH' which means 'Glory.'

Clasping both hands over your heart as if you were praying, intone the words 'LEH-OH-LAM, AMEN' (meaning, 'Throughout the Ages, Amen') as you mentally play 'connect-the-dots' with the spheres of light you have created in your body. Connect the vertical spheres first, forming a pillar running from the sphere above you through your third eye to your heart and allow the beam to continue until it reaches your feet.

Now, beginning with the sphere at the right shoulder, connect the spheres along the horizontal plane.

The whole thing should resemble a giant, glowing, white cross superimposed on your body.


Thus filled with the light, you are prepared to complete the remaining portion of the ritual.

Advance to the East and extend your right index finger. With it, trace the banishing pentagram of elemental earth before you. See the pentagram as being an electric blue color, like the flame of a gas stove.


Now, with the right index finger extended into the center of the pentagram, take a deep breath in and intone the name 'YUD-HEY-VAU-HEY' which is the Hebrew name of God commonly mispronounced 'Jehovah.'

With the finger extended, move to your right until you come to the South. Again, trace an electric blue banishing earth pentagram in this quarter. Once you have completed this, point at the center and breathing deeply, intone the Hebrew name of God 'AH-DOH-NIE' which means 'The Lord.'

Keeping your finger extended, move to your right until you are in the West. Again, trace the banishing earth pentagram in an electric blue color. Intone the Hebrew name of God 'EH-HI-YEH' which means 'I AM.'

Keeping the finger extended, move to the right until you are in the North. Trace the same blue pentagram here, pointing at its center when completed and intoning the Hebrew name of God 'AH-GLAH' which is an abreviation for the prayer 'Atoh G-Bor Leholahm Adonai' meaning 'Thou Art Mighty Throughout the Ages Oh Lord.'

Move with the finger extended until you return to the East, pointing again at the center of the first pentagram you created, thus completing a circle about the point from whence the ritual began.


Return to the center of your circle and face the East. Stretch both of your arms out to form the image of a cross.

Visualize before you an Angel clad in Yellow Robes with purple trim holding a Caduceus Wand. Intone the following, 'Before me RA-PHI-EL.'

Visualize behind you an Angel clad in Blue Robes with orange trim holding a Chalice. Intone, 'Behind me GAH-BREE-EL.'

Visualize to your right an Angel clad in Red Robes with green trim holding a Sword. Intone, 'To my right hand ME-CHI-EL.'

Visualize to your left and Angel clad in Black Robes with brown, olive, and burnt ochre trim holding three shafts of wheat or the fasces of Rome. Intone, 'To my left hand AU-REE-EL.'

Breathing in deeply, know that these Arch-Angels have dominion over the four elements. See the Pentagrams behind the Angels. Know that the Angels are present to grant you dominion over the elements and that the Pentagrams, sealed with the Mighty Names of God, will act as a barrier against any outer influence. Behind you and befor the Angel Gabriel a six-pointed star now forms, its meaning is too deep to discuss here. Intone, 'For about me flame the pentagrams and behind me shines the six-rayed star.'


Repeat the first portion of the ritual by creating the sphere of light above your body and bringing the same into your body with the proper visualizations and intonations, concluding with the formulation of the Cross of Light in the words 'LEH-OH-LAM, AMEN.'


Nice. So what?


The elements of this ritual have their origin in the works of Agrippa, Levi, and Barrett. It was developed into its current form by the Adepts of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. It is an elemental banishment whose Qabbalistic analysis will follow shortly.

The ritual is the stock method of preparing for more advanced work by most Hermetic groups and lodges. Objectively (if I can dare use that word here and without appearing like the king of the flakes) the ritual stimulates the faculties of visualization and imagination which are needed in all magical rituals. The vibration or intonation of the various names of God, Hebrew Spells, and Names of the Archangels serve to awaken those parts of the mind which cause 'religious' or 'mystical' experience. I refer the reader to the writings of C. G. Jung in general and, lest anyone feel that this ritual is overtly Jewish or Christian, the masterful essay The Initiated Interpretation of Ceremonial Magick by Frater Perdurabo (aka Aleister Crowley) found in the Mather's translation of The Goetia.