How to Summon Santa Claus

Fellow Magi,

Tonight, December 24^th, two days after the death and resurrection of the sun its self, an ancient and powerful ritual of global proportions will be performed, with the sole purpose of summoning a spirit into existence many centuries old. A spirit universally recognized, who transcends language, culture, geography, and faith. This spectre of good will, whose face is known to all, will be conjured in the largest ritual known to man.

The grimoire holding his conjuration is preserved in many parts across the globe. It is composed of sacred songs, rhythmic chants, whispered secrets, and painted instructions. It is hidden in ritual plays, disguised as popular music, shrouded in children's picture books, and passed down from father to son, mother to daughter, grandparent to grandchild, and magician to apprentice.

The ancient evocation of this grand spirit can be traced through history, and has performed every winter for centuries. From the Nordic Vikings, to the Byzantine Greeks, among the Dutch, the Danes, the Brits, and the peoples of all nations. This great compiled ceremony requires weeks to prepare and is anticipated all year long.

The rite it's self is simple, but powerful, and requires extraordinary preparation. For weeks in advance, men, women, and children the world over prepare the ritual space and create the proper atmosphere to allow the spirit to materialize on this plane.

They sacrifice evergreens and decorate them in effigy of the passing season, dressing them with astrological representations of mythological events, precious materials like those of grimoiric talismans, and historical representations of the conjurer's lives. They adorn the outer temple with colored lights to change the spiritual presence of the working space, erect statuary of the spirit and his traveling companions in honor of his summoning, hang protective herbs on the temple archways, and position lighted pentagrams pointed to the skies. They sing songs in his praise along with other musical invocations of seasonal tales, dress in ritual garb honoring his colors and mimicking his vestments, and perform ritual plays depicting his presence.

Many invoke adepts him into themselves, donning ceremonial masks depicting his image and acting on his behalf, as many more whisper secrets into the ears of his aspecting shamans hoping that he will hear them through those possessed and dedicated priests. And everywhere people of all classes and creeds prepare for the coming of this godlike being, speaking invocations to each other in passing and acquiring material sacrifices in his name. As they approach the hour of this magical rite all are filled with a hush of anticipation as the electricity of building ethereal potential heralds his appearance.

In silence his ritualists light candles and drink libations before setting an altar in reverence. His altar is adorned with offerings of pastries and milk and vegetables for his companions. Then the magic circle is left clear of prying eyes as the ritual gathers its strength and the archon is imbued with life.

The final evocation is performed by more than two billion children separated by seven continents, staggered in forty timezones, begin their evocation chant. With their eyes closed, and pouring their youthful will into the rite, a vast ocean of children chant an invocation in his name, each to their own language, chanting his many names, whispering invocations to the stars quietly in the dark until they drift into trances with images of his presence dancing through their astral dreams. On this night billions of adept mages join in the larges ritual circle possible, to chant and invoke this shared eidolon with more power than any other spirit has been afforded in any other rite throughout history or prehistory.

Tonight, the grimoire is opened, the temple is set, the spell is cast, and spirit will be summoned. The result of this massive invocation? What does this colossal red demon bring his summoners in the dead of night?

Peace on earth, and goodwill toward man.

For this one mystical night all weapons are laid to the side, all quarrels are forgiven, all wars are stayed, and all men and women look at each other as brothers and sisters sharing in this rite. The gift this great father of the season brings his supplicants is no less than the stillness of spirit that has eluded politicians, religious figures, or magicians. He brings us the joy of peace, the spirit of love, and the bonds of brotherhood, we long for.

And we thank this great being, summoned through our sweat, tears, laughter, and sacrifice, for his service to mankind.

Join this seasonal ritual, and tonight, expect your temple to be filled with the spirit we have prepared for. And on the morrow you will see the result of his invocation and share in his joy.

Happy Holy Days, fellow Occultists.

And goodnight.

Occult Wisdom or Modern Science: You decide.

I was talking to a friend recently about places where advanced science and occult concepts overlap. Why do occultists still look at outdated modes of thought and "magical thinking" when modern science has obviously "proven them wrong?"

The answer is that modern science has not discounted magical or occultic thinking, it only cautions that testable methods needs to be used in order to confirm theories. And while some sections of science use the occult's un-testable assertions to discredit it, there are other scientific bodies and people still looking seriously at occult and magical concepts.

I just found this video that has a lecture by Michael Persinger, a doctor and neuroscientist at Laurentian University, that covers sort of what we're talking about. Here he discusses an occult concept called the "collective unconscious" or "akashic records," ancient ideas that basically said that all of man was connected and that we could access the memories and knowledge of every other human being past and present by learning how to tap that connection. Here is this neuroscience doctor discussing the science behind that concept. He looks at magnetic influences on the brain during remote viewing, as well as shared memories and thoughts.

Dr. Persinger even shows results from studies where students were subjected to the electrical impulses experienced by a remote viewer and those students gained rough abilities to use remote viewing in testable conditions.

The video is long an academic, but stay for the ride, because from an occult point of view it is absolutely fascinating.

(video originally found on http://livinginwhitelight.blogspot.com/2011/05/no-more-secrets.html)

Magical Methodology: Letter of the Craft, or Spirit of the Art?

I have, of late, been working very closely with the Olympic Spirits of the Arbatel and the Planetary Spirits of the Heptameron (as reproduced in the Veritable Key of Solomon, a fantastic book, pick yourself a copy if you get a chance), and this has gotten me thinking (out of both necessity of the operations and academic interest).

I have, until recently, accepted that there seemed very much to be two schools of thought when it comes to ritual magic. The first includes proponents of what I will call "Letter of the Craft" magicians who follow a very rigid interpretation of ancient Grimoires, expecting the practitioner to follow instructions (however convoluted or complex they may be) to their very letter and insist upon that method as the only honest way to perform operations. The second is the "Spirit of the Art" camp who feel that the important part is the will of the magician and all other instructions (however dire and insistent they might be) clutter the magician.

But it has occurred to me that there is a third group which seems to take the worst parts from both (or possibly the best parts, depending on how biased I might be). This group seems to have decided that ancient grimoires include instructions which are unnecessary, however they insist that the magical methods of tradition or of particular orders are absolutely required for every operation, regardless of whether or not they conflict with the instructions of the original source material.

So who's right? That's the question I find myself dealing with. I am unhappy with the rigid structure of many magical systems, but cannot accept the loose philosophy of tossing out unliked instructions, nor can I accept the very strict and often incomplete instructions of some of the source materials. Much of these questions, I suppose, will be solved by experiment and reason.

I just felt the necessity to muse on these for a moment.

Musings from the Olympian Spirits

Having just finished a seven day operation designed to petition each of the Olympian Spirits (or Olympick spirits according to the Arbatel), with another seven day follow up component ahead of me, I have a few observations about the Olympian Spirits themselves and about the Operation and its effects.

Firstly, medieval Grimoires seem to have one thing in common: inaccuracy. The repeated copying is probably to be blamed, but I have observed that the copying of sigils, pentacles, and even names seem to have been so sloppy or haphazard so that different copies have images and names that are almost nowhere near related to each other. Lets look at an example, related yet not exactly what I was dealing with:

This is the sigil for the Archangel Samael, found in the Heptameron:

Likewise, in another folio of the exact same book this is his sigil:

Notice some big differences?

Unfortunately it doesn't stop there. Names of spirits are so misspelled so as to make them unrecognizable, one particular section of the planetary spirit conjurations found in the Keys of Rabbi Solomon includes in a list of spirits which has a funny sounding little spirit named "Saday." Skinner and Ranike, in their Veritable Key of Solomon (seriously, pick this book up, you will not regret it) inform us that this is a poor translation of "Shaddai," as in El Shaddai, one of the holy name of the Hebrew God. That little translation issue would seem to turn the mighty El Shaddai to the funny little Saday.

But these kinds of translation and transliteration issues are common in the occult, and most occultists and magi are used to them. The key here is comparison, and being diligent about looking at multiple folios and even multiple grimoires.

But enough complaining, lets talk about the operation its-self.

I have taken a new approach to operations designed for specific purposes rather than for knowledge alone. It has seemed to me that my operations have lacked strength, and after much consideration i decided that they were short on focus and lacked the "all of myself" aspect that makes magick really kick.

My solution?

Working on the principle that anything I desire strong enough to summon forth masters of planetary bodies in order to make it happen aught to be needed on more levels tan just one. My desire needs to be a desire, a need, so deep that it echoes into every fiber of my consciousness and ripples into every realm around me.

So, how do you obtain a need through summoning Olympic spirits? Summon all the spirits and entreat them each for an aspect of your need that relates to their realm.

I'll give a full report of this operation at a future date, but the basics is that I performed an operation during the hour and day of each of the spirits over their seven days of rotation.

And already I have seen reflections of the final result begin to creep up during the week, and I expect the full culmination to happen after my follow up during this week.

The result?

Well firstly I am tired as hell. Hahaha.

Secondly, I am apparently now so well versed in Paleo-Hebrew script that I can spot mistakes in my pentacles before I finalize them and without any text near my to reference (PS: Always check your pre-planning BEFORE you enter your temple!).

Thirdly, I have noticed physical effects in my world. As an example. I woke up early to perform today's operation, grabbed my tools and went into my ritual room. When I returned after some heavy invocation (or evocation depending on your definition), I found that my computer was turned on entirely without my input (mine being the only one available as there is no one else here). Apparently I very much am required to post this before I will be allowed to nap after my operation. I get the hint spirits.

More later, but I'm happy to say that I am seeing indications of the operation working and I have found what I hope is the key to future operations.

Magic on the Small Scale

I've been thinking a lot about occult practice in regards to personal transitions. What happens when an occultist has to pickup shop? Close his books, roll up his tapestries, zip his robes into suit bags, wrap up his quarter tablets, and say good by to his permanent outer temple. What then?

When the vicissitudes of life necessitate a certain flexibility of personal property, how does the practitioner of a religious art which basically necessitates the building of holy ground and the equivalent of a church in one's own home cope with the loss of the space and tools necessary to properly perform his art?

This question is probably one that every Magus has faced at one point or another in his existence. We are just as prone to economic, social, and personal distress as practitioners of any other faith or practice.

Understand that I am in no way discounting the Inner Temple, mental practice, “it's all in your head, you just have no idea how big your head is” (thanks Lon) philosophy of magic. However, when a practitioner become accustomed to a certain level of theatricality and high ritual, how is the Magus affected by having to 'settle' for a purely mental or less than ideal magical environment.

As an illustration: While meal supplements can nourish our bodies and be nutritiously valuable, when we are used to meat and potatoes downgrading to liquid protean has to cause some amount of withdrawal and cravings.

So how does a practitioner who has downgraded his Outer Temple cope with the cravings for the grand Temple he was used to? How does he replace the accoutrements of his trade with simple, portable, and affordable substitutions?

I don't quite have an answer yet, but I am considering a few options. The first is parchment. Lots and lots of parchment. Parchment is portable, and can be pinned to walls easily. Does it replace nicely carved quarter tablets, or framed paintings. Maybe not. But it is easily replaceable, and with enough time and investment a Magus can make even parchment tools into personal extensions of his will.

Any other suggestions? Replacements for robes? Temporary tools? Simpler rituals?

Looking for input here :)

I love Grimoiric magic circles and old style High Magic. I think the modern occult has lost something by stripping magic of its basic elements. The magic circle used to always be drawn physically before a ritual (see The Lesser Key of Solomon or Aggrippa's Fourth Book for examples). Now its all "imagined." After thinking about it for a long time I've decided to update (or possibly reconstruct) some common ritual elements of modern Ceremonial magic. I'm starting with the commonly used Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram.

What follows is the physical drawing for the LRP, draw on the floor in chalk around the magus. Within the circle are the basic instructions for performing the ritual. By working his way clockwise and from the center outwards the magus will find the words used in this ritual in their Hebrew forms (both in Hebrew alphabet and in English alphabet) and in their transliterated forms. I have also updated the correspondences to match the original Pythagorian model (and the model I beleive was originally implied in the LRP before it 'evolved' to the modern day). Also, instead of using the Banishing Earth Pentagrams for each corner I have replaced them with the appropriate quarter elemental Pentagrams. Anyone who notes my switching of Air and Earth is encouraged to look at the original and understand that the admonition to begin with Earth in the east implied that association (not that Earth was to be banished in all quarters).

If you do not like it, the don't use it, I have very little issue with criticism or with people disagreeing with my methods.

For those who are unfamiliar with the ritual, here it is (with my associations):

Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram:
Take a steel dagger in the right hand.
Face EAST.

Touch the forehead and vibrate "ATEH" (thou art)
Touch the middle of the solar plexus and vibrate "MALKUTH" (Kingdom)
Touch the right shoulder and vibrate "VE-GEVURAH" (and Power)
Touch the left shoulder and vibrate "VE-GEDULAH" (and Glory)
Clasp the hands before you and vibrate "LE-OLAHM" (for ever)
"AMEN"

Draw, in the air facing EAST, a banishing Earth Pentagram
Vibrate the Name "YHVH" (pronounced Ya-ho-wau or Yahweh)

Trace the circle's border and draw, in the air facing SOUTH, a banishing Fire Pentagram
Vibrate the Name "ADNI" (pronounced Ah-doh-naye or Adonai)

Trace the circle's border and draw, in the air facing WEST, a banishing Water Pentagram
Vibrate the Name "AHIH" (pronounced Ah-yeh or Ehyeh)

Trace the circle's border and draw, in the air facing NORTH, a banishing Air Pentagram
Vibrate the Name "AGLA" (pronounced either Ah-hag-la or Agla)

Return to the EAST, completing tracing the circle.

Extend the arms in the form of a cross, say: "BEFORE ME..." (then vibrate) "RPAL" (pronounced Rah-pheye-el or Raphiel)
Then, say: "Behind me..." (then vibrate) "GBRYAL" (pronounced Gah-bree-el or Gabriel)
Then, say: "At my right hand..." (then vibrate) "MYKAL" (pronounced Mee-kay-el of Michael)
Then, say: "At my left hand..." (then vibrate) "AWRYAL" (pronounced Aw-ree-el or Auriel)
"About me flames the pentagram, and in the column shines the six rayed star."