Rituals/Temple Opening Ritual
A Five + Six Consecration
by Sr. Viktoria (B.K. Henderson-Winnie)
Performed at Portland Thelemic Community Center (now Sekhet-Maat Lodge):
(September 8, 2000 ev)
First published in Lion & Serpent 5, no. 4.
Temple Setting
East - Full super-altar, all (22) candles lit. One yellow candle (unlit) and incense/censer on eastern altar as well.
South - red candle, seeds and wand
West - blue candle, cup of water and small dish of salt
North - green candle, small pot (with soil)
Lighters/matches on all quarter altars. S, W, and N altars also have two plain white candles (lit) flanking the (unlit) elemental candles for illumination.
Officers dressed in plain black robes, wearing daggers and elemental sashes. East officer also carries Liber AL vel Legis.
Ritual
Opening / Purification
Flute and soft drum for entering/opening the temple.
All enter temple, no lights save the full altar and illumination candles on elemental altars.
Operators enter next and go to 4 quarter altars.
--GONG x 1--
East officer enters with Liber AL vel Legis, places it on the eastern altar and turns to declare:
- Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law!
ALL:
- Love is the law love under will.
(all action here simultaneous)
West takes cup of salt-water, lustrates widdershins, returns to place
East takes censer, censes widdershins, returns to place
North and South chant anthem:
- Thou who art I, beyond all I am,
Who has no nature and no name,
Who art, when all but thou are gone
Thou, center and secret of the Sun,
Thou, hidden spring of all things known
And unknown, thou aloof, alone
Thou the true fire within the reed
Brooding and breeding, source and seed
Of life, love, liberty and light,
Thou beyond speech and beyond sight,
Thee I invoke, my faint fresh fire!
Kindling as my intents aspire.
Thee I invoke!, abiding one!
Thee, center and secret of the Sun,
And that most holy Mystery
Of which the vehicle am I.
Appear most awful and most mild
As it is lawful, in thy child!
--GONG x 3-5-3--
Consecration (Star Ruby x4, Star Sapphire x2)
N, E, S, W walk to center altar, touch hands and turn outwards (facing all 4 directions).
N, E, S, W together (with appropriate gestures):
- APO PANTOS KAKODAIMONOS!
SOI
O PHALLE
ISCHUROS
EUCHARISTOS
ALL PRESENT:
- IAO
N,S,E,W walk to their respective elemental altars, draw daggers, cross hands over chest. They all face outwards.
E forms invoking pentagram of Earth and roars
- THERION
N forms invoking pentagram of Earth and says
- NUIT
W forms invoking pentagram of Earth and whispers
- BABALON
S forms invoking pentagram of Earth and bellows
- HADIT
When all officers are facing inwards, they then simultaneously make a rapid circuit of the temple widdershins, spiralling inwards and ending facing outwards towards their quarter (all four end up standing back to back at the center of the room). Once there they raise the paian IO PAN in this manner:
N in the sign PUELLA:
- IO PAN! IO PAN! IO PAN PAN PAN!
Then S in the sign PUER:
- IO PAN! IO PAN! IO PAN PAN PAN!
Then E in the sign VIR:
- IO PAN! IO PAN! IO PAN PAN PAN!
Then W in the sign MULIER:
- IO PAN! IO PAN! IO PAN PAN PAN!
Officers begin circling and dancing clockwise, continuing to chant IO PAN, pulling ALL PRESENT into the dance. A chain is formed and ALL wind their way, snakelike, through the entire building, chanting and singing as the circumstance inspires.
ALL return to the temple room and continue dancing in a circle.
(STAR SAPPHIRE x2)
Note: this section should be done by two experienced magicians at a brisk pace, while the energy is high.
N and S separate themselves out of the dancing circle and go to center, N with pot of soil from N altar and S with wand and seeds from S altar. E and W encourage participants to continue circling and dancing, chanting, singing. N and S place implements on the floor in the center of the circle and facing one another do the LVX signs.
S goes to the immediate east and forming the invoking hexagram of earth says:
- PATER ET MATER UNUS DEUS ARARITA
N goes to the immediate south and forming the invoking hexagram of earth says:
- MATER ET FILIUS UNUS DEUS ARARITA
S goes to the immediate west and forming the invoking hexagram of earth says:
- FILIUS ET FILIA UNUS DEUS ARARITA
N goes to the immediate north and forming the invoking hexagram of earth says:
- FILIA ET PATER UNUS DEUS ARARITA
Both N and S return to face one another across the center N kneels on left knee and raises the pot of soil with both hands S takes wand and holds it vertically above the pot with both hands (seeds in right hand as well) When the dancing and chanting has reached its height, N and S togethercry ARARITA! ARARITA! ARARITA! As S thrusts the wand into the soil with each declaration of ARARITA and releases seeds. This is the cue for ALL who are circling and dancing and chanting to spin and fall to the ground, releasing their energy into the temple and center space. (E and W will want to watch carefully, and to shout the ARARITAs to help everyone dancing to hear when the cue words are given). When a sufficient amount of time has passed, a bell is rung and N and S rise to face one another across the center (where the planted seed is), saying:
- OMNIA IN DUOS: DUO IN UNUM: UNUS IN NIHIL:
HAEC NEC QUATUOR NEC OMNIA NEC DUO NEC UNUS NEC NIHIL SUNT
GLORIA PATRI ET MATRI
ET FILIUS ET FILIA
ET SPIRITUI SANCTO INTERNO
ET SPIRITUI SANCTO EXTERNO
UT ERAT EST ERIT
IN SAECULA SAECULORUM
SEX IN UNO PER NOMEN SEPTEM IN UNO
ARARITA
N & S give signs of LVX
E & W rise and face one another across the center (joining N &S)
Four officers, facing inwards make the sign of MATER TRIUMPHANS. They then turn outwards and quietly, but joyously, declare:
- IO PAN IO PAN IO PAN PAN PAN
N, E, S, W turn to face East, extending the arms in the form of a Tau.
E:
- PRO MOU IUNGGES
W:
- OPPISO MOU TELETARCHAI
S:
- EPI DEXIA SUNOCHES
N:
- EPARISTERA DAIMONES
E,W,S, and N:
- PHEG EI GAR PERI MOU O ASTER TON PENTE
KAI EN TE STELE O ASTER TON HEX
ESTEKEI!
(with gestures)
- SOI
O PHALLE
ISCHUROS
EUCHARISTOS
ALL PRESENT:
- I - A - O !
--GONG x 1--
Notes
Ritual is essentially a five (the Star Ruby) with a six in the midst (the Star Sapphire). The Star Ruby is simultaneously a banishing and invoking ritual. The invocation of PAN (and the four Thelemic deities) in the signs of NOX serves to make plain the symbolic course of maturing life/energy. It builds in power through the tension between the polarities. PAN, the All is invoked in the dance and chanting of all participants.
At the peak of this tension of attraction and ecstatic motion, the Star Sapphire is performed. The opposites draw closer to one another with increased effort and tension, the centrifugal force of the whirling circle of celebrants pulling on the N and S operators maintaining their separation. As the circle finally collapses in on itself, they unite, producing the 'third thing'.
Soon after this point (after the final signs of LVX of the SS) we see the successful appearance of the "Child" as the ritual shifts back into the SR, where the four operators declare the final paian of IO PAN in the sign of MT, presenting the symbolic product of their success to the four directions. Thence follows a reiteration of the established state of the universe and the magicians' position therein (PRO MOU IUNGGES, etc.).
This is also a statement of balance, the six in the midst of the five, the male/active in the midst of the female/passive, a microcosmic reflection of the structure of the entire ritual. Also, the main invocation of the "five", the SR, part of the ritual is IO PAN - a call to the ALL, whereas the formula of invocation of the "six", the SS, is ARARITA, a declaration of the Unity of the All, which is then stated to be NONE ("HAEC NEC QUATUOR NEC OMNIA NEC DUO NEC UNUS NEC NIHIL SUNT"). From there comes again the ALL (IO PAN…), an oscillation between all-one-none.
All pentagrams and hexagrams are invoking Earth to establish the PTCC materially in the most stable and solid way possible. To bring all those needed "earthy" things, like money and follow-through on promised support action...
Though the elemental positions usually make a shift to their Astrological correspondences in the Star Sapphire, we will continue to use the 'pentagram' attributions of N-earth, E-air, S-fire, and W-water. This makes the officers uniting in the Star Sapphire section Earth and Fire, or, Earth and Primal Heaven, matter and energy.
The release of energy should be freely released to be absorbed by the Center space itself. The N and S officers (only) plant and charge the seed. The planted seed will then live & grow at the Center.
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