The basic banishing ritual that you will learn is designed with this in mind; it “banishes” the multiple confluences of magical energy that can be found in most places, creating a neutral space. The most common form of this ritual is the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, a ritual originally developed by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (and then nicked by just about everyone else, usually with citation). The LBRP, as it is often called, uses a pentagram that is traced in the air in a specific manner and “charged” through the intonation or “vibration” of specific Hebrew Divine Names. For the time being the most important part of this ritual is the pentagram itself and the way that it is traced.
The Golden Dawn teaches that the pentagram is a symbol of the microcosm or humanity in the image of the divine, and has reflected within it the five Greek elements of Earth, Air, Water, Fire and Spirit. Each of these elements is attributed to one of the points of the pentagram, based on a formula derived from an “esoteric” spelling of the name of Christ. The image below shows the element-to-point attributions.
The energy of any element can be invoked or banished through properly tracing the pentagram and intoning the divine names. This is a little bit of an abbreviation of the actual theory behind the practice, but not only will it suffice for now it is actually more than what a Neophyte is taught when they are fist given the LBRP! Back in the days of the original Golden Dawn the Neophyte was given nothing but the ritual and was expected to figure out what it did on their own!
In the LBRP only one type of pentagram is used, the banishing earth pentagram. The idea is not that we are banishing the element of earth but that we are using the element of earth to ground, and thus remove, the excess and chaotic energy found in a particular place. From this neutral ground we can then do just about anything we want, from create even more neutral space by employing a rite used to banish planetary energy to evoke demons or invoke the higher self.
Aleister Crowley’s Argentum Astrum (A.’.A.’.), and the Aurums Solis (A.S.) both employ similar rituals for similar ends. However there are some variations between all three of these. For instance where the LBRP has the magician trace a pentagram in the air both the A.’.A.’.’s “Star Ruby” and the A.S.’s “Setting of the Wards of Power” have the magician visualize a pentagram upon their brow and then fling it into space while intoning or “vibrating” the appropriate Name of power, which are either from the Thelemic pantheon or in Greek, respectively.
However the similarities between these three rituals are greater than their differences. For instance all require the pentagram be placed in all four quarters of the magical working place (a.k.a. “the circle”). All also begin with and end with a smaller rite that is designed to both open up the magician’s magical perceptions and help center them mentally and physically. This rite is generally known as the “Qabalistic Cross” in both G.D. and A.’.A.’. tradition and the “Calyx” in the A.S.. Also, all three call for the invocation or evocation of spiritual guardians beyond the Divine Names that are called upon. Many of the visualizations involved are also quite similar.
As an alternative, for those of you who are interested in a more Kabbalistic than Qabalistic praxis, a ritual called the Rite of Sealing is available to you. This rite is based on a pre-Kabbalistic text called the Sefer Yetzirah, the Book of Formation and comes from the Order with which I am involved. This rite has no pentagram at all and instead employs several permutations of the first three letters of the “Tetragrammaton” or Four-Lettered Name Yod Heh Vav Heh as “seals” in a manner alluded to in the text itself. Unlike the previous rituals, the Sealing Rite focuses upon the six directions of space and not just the four quarters, thus Above and Below are added to East, South, West and North. While there are still similarities between this and the above rites, such as an opening and closing centering rite and the invocation of angelic guardians, the major difference is in intent. Where the other rites create sacred or magical space by removing the “profane” (meaning that which has not been consecrated, or more simply the “every day and common”), thus creating the “sacred” (meaning that which has been consecrated but more simply that which is extraordinary and not common or every day) the Sealing Rite creates sacred space by replicating the process of creation itself, thus it does not remove the profane to create the sacred, it simply creates the sacred and seals it away from the profane. Also note that this ritual is not an “elemental” (though neither, really, is the LBRP) banishing ritual, or really a banishing ritual at all, instead it is a ritual of creation.
The new initiate into a magical order will be told that they should perform at least one banishing every day, and thus I tell you the same thing; for at least a year, or at least through the course of this class, you should banish every day. The benefits of banishing are manifold; it helps seal leaks in the aura (this is far more common than most people realize), it also helps strengthen the aura and helps keep out unwanted astral and etheric influences. The Qabalistic Cross or Calyx also, over time, will help balance the energy centers within the body, all of which will lead towards a better balanced life. Finally the basic banishing rituals utilize the same formula as the more advanced banishing (and invoking) rituals, thus as you learn one you become, even if you are unaware of it, familiar with the others. Banishing daily will also improve your magical perception, often increasing one’s ability to perceive on the astral and/or etheric levels of reality.
Below are links to the four different banishing rituals discussed above. All of these rituals require the magician to “vibrate” the divine and angelic or spirit names. Briefly, this entails a part-singing, part humming of the names in question, with the entire name being extended for the whole of a breath. Thus the Name Elohim, which means God or gods, which is usually pronounced “EL-oh-heem” would be vibrated as “eeeelllllllllloooooooohhhhhhheeeeeeeemmmmmmmm”. Unfortunately this is very difficult to describe in words. For those of you who are interested in the “vibratory formula” I recommend Samuel Scarborough’s excellent article in the Journal of the Western Mystery Tradition, The Vibratory Forumula and its Use in Daily Ritual Work.
The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram – The Basic GD ritual with some explanation. Click on the highlighted words for sound files. (Note: I don’t generally recommend this site for anything related to the GD, but their presentations of some of the rituals are pretty good, caveat emptor!.)
The Ruby Star – with notes by Sabazius.
The Setting of the Wards of Power – with some explanation and pronunciations.
