Magical philosophy says that the two most important powers in the human psyche are will and imagination, both properly tempered by the greatest cosmic force, love. Imagination is what we use to create the world in which we live, and will is the force by which we create it. In bringing these two forces together, magic can be defined as making something intentional happen. The key to success is using your intention aligned with your true will or innermost sense of purpose. Putting this viewpoint in a nutshell, the Hermetic philosopher Goethe said: “Reality is that which is effective.” All methods for transforming oneself and the world, whether considered spiritual, mystical or mundane, that change your inner reality and outer behaviour, are considered valid approaches to self-realization.

A medieval treatise called ‘The Magic of Abra Melin the Mage’ is based around the notion that to have ‘knowledge and conversation of your guardian angel’ (which will be discussed further in Chapter 4), the equivalent to ‘illumination’, it is essential to first go into your depths, to face ‘the demons of darkness’, and bring them under your control. From a magical perspective, we can come to understand and experience that the light of the Self can be found shining in the darkest places and, when found, its light, brighter for being experienced in the darkness, may illuminate us.

In the Oxford English Dictionary, magic is defined as ‘the pretended art of influencing the course of events, and of producing marvellous physical phenomena, by processes supposed to owe their efficacy to their power of compelling the intervention of spiritual beings, or of bringing into operation some occult controlling principle of nature.’ If you remove the qualifying words ‘pretended’ and ‘ supposed’ from this definition you are left with:

The art of influencing the course of events, and of producing marvellous physical phenomena, by processes that owe their efficacy to their power of compelling the intervention of spiritual beings, or of bringing into operation the occult controlling principle of nature.’

In other words, Magic is a way of making happen what you want to happen, using imagination (the intervention of spiritual beings) and will (the occult controlling principle.) As mentioned above, magicians believe that imagination and will are the two most powerful human faculties. Israel Regardie says that through imagination ‘we are capable of being united to the gods, of transcending the mundane order, and of participating in eternal life. Through this principle, therefore, we are able to liberate ourselves from fate.’ Regardie goes on to reflect that ‘it is a great mistake to consider imagination to be the same as fantasy and daydreaming. Imagination is the image-making faculty, an image creating power which when developed may prove of the utmost importance as assisting the soul in its forward journey.’

What distinguishes magical imagination from daydreaming is that the imagination is being directed by the will. When in The Secret Doctrine, Helena Blavatsky writes of imagination that it is ‘the mysterious power of thought which enables it to produce external, perceptible, phenomenal results by its own inherent energy,’ this energy is the will in action. In Chapter 5 we will explore how the act of will is a natural process, the very spark of life itself, and how every choice or decision you make is an act of will.

The definition of Magic most widely used in esoteric books is from Aleister Crowley who defines it as ‘the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with your will’, which is another way of saying making happen what you want to happen. Of course to make magic work can be a complex task. To make happen what you want to happen, many different circumstances and conditions need to be taken into account. If what you want is, for instance, a bar of chocolate, you have to decide on the degree and kind of force to use; the shop is only a short distance away so you may decide upon walking as the kind of force, forward at approximately four miles per hour as the degree. You have to exert this force in the correct manner and through the correct medium – it would be no use walking in the wrong direction and up the garden path. This decided upon, you only have to apply your force to the correct spirit – the shopkeeper – using a magical link, in this case money, and you have succeeded in your magic as you now have a chocolate bar to eat.

In this example, the spirit you have involved in your magic is a shopkeeper, the best kind of ‘spirit’ to invoke when you want to purchase something. You might not know exactly what they are or why they exist at all, but you can experience the presence of ‘spirits.’ Despite there being many different ideas and opinions about what the spirit world is, or whether it even really exists or not, the shared experience of magicians and shamans of all persuasions is that alongside our everyday reality there is a realm (or realms) of spirits populated by innumerable different types of entities. These range from the powerful to the weak, from the bright to the dim-witted, from benevolent through cheeky to downright malicious.

A magician’s power to communicate with a spirit, in either their world or ours, depends upon knowing the names, strengths, weaknesses, and correspondences to the spirit in question. This knowledge enables you to call or dismiss spirits, and compel them to perform tasks for you. Thus in the example of summoning up a shopkeeper to acquire a bar of chocolate, your knowledge that a shopkeeper spirit will exchange a bar of chocolate for money enables you to communicate with the spirit and make your Magic work. Learning the most appropriate means to communicate with a spirit is equally valid on the spirit plane as in our mundane realm, perhaps more so.

Magic is generally more oriented towards using the will rather than not and thus concentrates on developing our ability to choose. Some Eastern approaches to self-realisation suggest that it is better to simply accept things as they are and surrender to the unfolding nature of life. A good magician will certainly choose to do just that at times, to let things be, wait and see what unfolds. The point is, however, that the magician has a choice in the matter, whether to act or not, and that is what defines Magic as the ability to choose. The nineteenth century magician Eliphas Levi, defining magic as ‘the traditional science concerning the secrets of nature transmitted to us from the magicians of the past’ is affirming that Magic is a tradition, a science, natural and transmittable. Indeed, there is nothing unnatural about magic, as making happen what you want to happen is a basic human desire.

Magic is about moving to the place beyond your everyday and ego-led limitations, to discover ways to make the right things happen for you, then to put this into practice. Your birth, early development, family upbringing and education affect your abilities as a magician but you can effectively clear these blocks from the past. Some occultists complain that this work is too psychological in nature, but it is truly the ground stone of Magic. Indeed, in Kabbalistic Magic, to work through the sphere of the past (Yesod) is the only way to truly become oneself, both in a spiritual and a material sense. To that aim, it is vital to explore your journey from the past, and consider ways to release energies for your magical development. Then the realm of potential – all the potential of who you are and what you may be – is opened and, as a magician, you can step confidently into each present moment, knowing your future is assured.

The letters INRI come from the initials of the phrase inscribed on the cross of Jesus at his crucifixion. It stands for “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudeorum” (“Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews).” In Magick and Alchemical symbolism this keyword, INRI, stands for “Igne Natura Renovatur Integra“, that is “The whole of Nature is renewed by Fire“. This is a fundamental principle of Spiritual Alchemy that the removal of the superfluous by Elemental Fire does not destroy, but rather renews. Fire is a purifying force, by which nature is renewed. A perfect symbol for this is the Phoenix.

The letters INRI also represent the Hebrew words for the elements. I for Yam = Water, N for Nour = Fire, R for Ruach = Air, and I for Yebeshas = Earth.

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn converted these letters into their Hebrew equivalents and gave them the attributions of I = Yod = Virgo, N = Nun = Scorpio, R = Resh = Sun, I = Yod = Virgo. This final Yod/Virgo is dropped as it is repetitious. Note that this also creates a full circle, which is contained ing the symbol of the Ouroboros, self devouring serpent. The Ouroboros represents the transformation of each of the elements into each other, and from the Prima Material (spiritual) to the Physical (Magickal Elements) and on to the Divine Quintessence (Spiritual, Renewed).

Following on, these attributions are transformed into the corresponding Egyptian deities: Virgo = Isis, Scorpio = Apophis/Set, and Sol = Osiris. This again symbolizes the cyclic process of creation (Isis, mother of all things), the destruction (Apophis slays Osiris), and renewal (Osiris risen). This is seen in the seasons, The Sun (Osiris) dies every Winter and is reborn every Spring.

Using the initials of these Eyptian gods we get IAO which forms the name of the Gnostics Supreme God. Following the Egyptian mythology, we find the ritual LVX signs. The L sign representing Isis in mourning, V the sign of Apophis and Typhon, and X the sign of Osiris risen. These signs, when taken as Roman letters form the word Lux, Light.

Via this complex magickal process the magickal elements of INRI are transmuted into LVX, light. If we treat LVX as Roman numerals we get the number 65 which has the same numeric value as the Hebrew word Adonai (ADNY). Adonai means “My Lord,” which symbolizes an Adept’s task of uniting himself with her Higher Self.

The pentagram is one symbol heavily associated with magick and wicca. It is a very ancient symbol with the first known drawings of a pentagram dating from 3500BC at Ur in Ancient Mesopotamia. The Hebrew people considered it to be a symbol for the truth and representative of the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Old Testament). The Ancient Greeks, such as the Pythagoreans called the symbol the Pentalpha, as it can also be composed of 5 A’s (or Alpha’s). The pentagram is a symbol of the microcosm (man) as opposed to the macrocosm (the universe/God), which is symbolised by the hexagram.

The pentagram is the simplest of all geometric stars. It is generally formed by marking 5 equal points on a circle and drawing connecting the diagonally opposite points. When contained within a circle is is called a circumscribed pentagram or a pentacle.

Alternative ways of constructly a pentagram are by extending lines out from the sides of a pentagon out until the these lines meet at a point or by creating lines between the diagonally opposite corner points within a pentagon.

The elements are represented on the pentagram with Quintessence (Spirit) at the top, the highest point, symbolically representing perfection and attainment, as this Fifth Element only comes into existence when the four primary elements (Earth, Air, Fire and Water) are in harmony. Moving clockwise around the points of the pentagram the elemental correspondences are Water, Fire, Earth and Air.

The placing of the magickal or alchemical elements on a pentagram is similar to the four elemental squares of John Dee’s ‘Great Tablet of the Watchtowers’. The pentagram has the elements in the same places as the corresponding squares, with the top point, Quintessence, corresponding to the ‘Tablet of Union’. The two top squares of the ‘Tablet of the Watch Tower’ are Air and Water, which correspond to the middle two points of the pentagram, while the lower two squares, Earth and Fire, correspond to the lower two points of the pentagram respectively.

The Inverse Pentagram

It is only in modern times that the Inverse or Inverted Pentagram (two points at the top, one point at the bottom) has become associated with black magick and Satanism. In the ancient world there was no distinction relating to the orientation of the points.

With regards to the Magickal Elementals, an inverse pentagram would have the Quintessence, Spirit, at the lowest position, with the physical lower elements above it. This is certainly symbolic of the Left Hand Path concept of a physical path, over a spiritual path.

In magickal ritual an elemental pentagram is traced in the air either with the index finger or a magickal working tool. A pentagram is always invoked starting at the elemental point. If a banishing pentragram is required it is formed moving away from the elemental point. The elements are represented on the pentagram with Spirit at the top, and moving clockwise around the points the elemental correspondences are Water, Fire, Earth and Air.

This practice is analogous to what is desired within the ritual, either invoking forces (drawing them in) or banishing them (sending them away).

The nature of the elements is that they are not fixed, and under constant transmutation. Thus there attributions at the cardinal points vary from ritual to ritual, and concept to concept. The elements attributed to the cardinal points of the magick circle are based on the nature of the winds. The Easterly wind is attributed to Air, the Southerly wind is attributed to Fire, the Westerly wind is attributed to Water, and the Northerly wind is attributed to Earth. The center of the circle is Spirit.

The magick circle can be seen to be a complex symbol in itself, the practitioner within the centre taking on the role of the Quintessence (Spirit) as he is creating and giving life to circle.

The Archangels invoked at each cardinal point are derived from the first chapter of Ezekiel: “1:10 Regarding the form of their faces, each had the face of a man, with the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left and the face of an eagle.” This symbolism can be seen in the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram.

To the East (Air) is Raphael (Healing of God) who is represented by Man, symbolizing the mental properties. To the South (Fire) is Michael (Like God) who is represented by the Lion symbolizing Will. To the West (Water) is Gabriel (Mighty One of God) represented by the Eagle. To the North (Earth) is Uriel (The Light of God) represented by the Bull.

This first matter has been described in various ways. It has been described as water, but not in the sense of the water we drink but instead it is a smoke or humid vapour, thick and dark.

The famous alchemical write Antoine-Joseph Pernety wrote: “Thales, Heraclitus, Hesiod, have regarded water as the First Matter of things. Moses appears, (Genesis, Chap. 1), to favor this idea by giving the names Abyss and Water to this First Matter; not that he understood water as the element which we drink, but as a kind of smoke, a humid vapor, thick and dark, which is condensed, more or less, according to the greater or less density of the things which has pleased the Creator to form from it. This mist, this immense vapor, was condensed or rarefied into a universal chaotic Water, which thus became the principle of all for the present and for the future.”

The four alchemical elements are conditions in which a substance is found. This is comparable to the modern conditions of solid, liquid, gas and radiation. Fire has the properties of heat and dryness (expansion), Water the properties of coldness and wetness (contraction), Air the properties of heat and wetness (expansion), and Earth the properties of dryness and coldness (contraction).

In Nature and the Physical World, the alchemical elements are always found mixed in varying quantities. They are never found by themselves. The alchemical elements undergo constant transmutation in a life, death, and rebirth cycle as part of the substance which they form. An example of this process is a tree. While it is living it can be said to be ruled by Water (contraction and dampness). When the tree dies the wood is transmuted into a dry hard substance, and is said to be ruled by Earth (contraction and dryness).

There is a fifth element in Alchemy known as Quintessence, or Spirit. The Quintessence is the fifth essential property, the spirit or life-force of an object or thing. The Quintessence (fifth element) only comes in to existence when the four prime alchemical elements are brought together into a state of equilibrium or harmony. This is essentially what the process of alchemy is about.

The Book of Genesis reveals the formation of the World from the Prima Materia (Prime Matter) as an alchemical process that begins with the First Light (Fire). This Fire was congealed into Water, then separated by Air. The lower Waters congealed into Earth. The Prima Materia is separated into base matter, purified and brought into equilibrium to create divine matter.

As the nature of magick is about using natural powers, symbols, and tools it is very important to understand the elements which are the basis for the magickal world. The magical elements can be viewed as forces or qualities of energy within the astral world that form building blocks for all that exists including the physical world. It is through the interaction with the elemental forces and energies that magick affects change in the physical.

Symbols for the Elements

In magick each element has a symbol and color associated with it. The common symbols are all based on an equilateral triangle. Air is a triangle pointing upwards and with a horizontal line through the middle of it. Earth is a triangle pointing downwards and with a horizontal line through the middle of it. Fire is a triangle pointing up. Water is a triangle pointing down.

Elemental Symbols

Element	Symbol
Air
Earth
Fire
Water

Colors of the Elements

Colors for the elements are typically yellow for air, brown and/or green for earth, red for fire, and blue for water.

Elemental Colors

Properties of the Elements

The four elements are not viewed in purely physical terms. The properties of the magickal elements involve two basic interactions of expansion and contraction. The principle conditions of these properties are wet, dry, hot and cold. Air is wet and hot. Earth is dry and cold. Fire is hot and dry. Water is cold and wet.

Elemental Correspondences

In magick there is a relationships between all things. Such a relationships is called a correspondence. There are many correspondences for each of the elements. These are useful when constructing rituals, during magickal practices, choosing herbs for potions or incense, and for decorating a magickal temple.

Using various symbols that correspond is important in magick. One symbol will relate or be interconnected in meaning with another symbol. This aids the magickian in surrounding herself with many different correspondences appropriate to the desired working or ambience which assist in vividly affecting the senses. This is done to strengthen her magickal connection with the astral world (or inner planes).

Zodiac Signs & Elements

The signs of the zodiac (astrological signs) also have corresponding elements. Air is ruled by Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius. Earth is ruled by Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. Fire is ruled by Aries, Leo and Sagittarius. Water is ruled by Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces.

Further Reading

• Air, Earth, Fire & Water in Magick Wiki
• Working With The Elements by Anja Heij
• Elemental Associations by Michael Lewis

It is certainly true that the concept of the Will is central to many teachings and schools within the Western Magical Tradition. As far back as the 15^th Century, Paracelsus (a notable physician, alchemist, and astrologer) wrote: “determined will is the beginning of all magical operations. It is because men do not perfectly imagine and believe the result, that the (occult) arts are so uncertain, while they might be perfectly certain.”

It is these words of Paracelsus that give a few more clues, written of in more detail by later occult authors, as to some of the important secrets of magical training and initiation. As well as the Will, imagination and beliefs are central to the developing the ability to perform magic. Simply desiring or wishing that magic is real is different than cultivating a belief in the reality of magic, as is developing a belief and understanding of the importance of imagination, and realising that this is a powerful psychic faculty, that when combined with the Will brings about transformation.

Imagination is utilised in various ways, including creative visualisation. Even if a physical ritual is being performed, it is via the imagination that the magical energies are stimulated and directed. Imagination isn’t simply daydreaming or fantasy. In magical work, what is imagined has a type of reality, and when combined with the will that reality will interact with the physical realm to bring about transformation.

The Will is a psychic faculty that is commonly misunderstood, often being simply associated with willpower. From a magical perspective, the Will is the faculty that transforms thought or desire into action. When the Will is combined with imagination, and the proper beliefs and understandings are present, amazing changes can be manifested in the physical world.

It is possible to learn these skills to foster positive beliefs in magic, and to develop the skills necessary to work with the imagination and Will. These concepts can be explored without the need for a complex system of cultural or historic symbolism. It is through experience and understanding the simple basic concepts that learning and magical development will take place. It is not necessary to become enslaved by external, physical props and symbolism – these things only set the scene, and are not inherently magical in and of themselves.

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The Magical Path website has various articles on occult and magical topics. Many of these articles reveal simple truths that are obscured in many modern magical books, where the focus is on external factors and hidden beneath layers of cultural or historical baggage. Magical Path offers a free series of magic lessons.

The Enochian Keys are comprised of 48 verses, called Claves Angelicae (Angelic Keys) by John Dee. The Enochian Keys correspond to various functions within the Enochian Magic system, and are generally used for invocation of spirits. Dee explained that that the keys are intended to open only 48 of the “Gates of Understanding”, claiming that the remaining (49th) gate was not to be opened:

“I am therefore to instruct and inform you, according to your Doctrine delivered, which is contained in 49 Tables. In 49 voices, or callings: which are the Natural Keys to open those, not 49 but 48 (for one is not to be opened) Gates of Understanding, whereby you shall have knowledge to move every Gate…”

The Enochian Keys consist of 19 verses. The first 18 verses vary in their content, with the 19th Key being known as The Call or Key of the Thirty Aethyrs. This verse has 30 variations, for the thiry names of the Aethyrs. The text is essentially the same, with only the only change being the name of the Aethyr being called. Dr. Dee wrote that:

“But you shall understand that these 19 Calls are the Calls, or entrances into the knowledge of the mystical Tables. Every Table containing one whole leaf, whereunto you need no other circumstances.”

It is not clear from the writings of John Dee which Enochian Key is associated with which particular Elemental Tablet. However, it is clear that the The Call or Key of the Thirty Aethyrs is strongly associated with the 30 Aethyrs given is Dee’s Liber Scientiae. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn associated the Enochian Keys with the Tablets and Lesser Angles.

Some Enochian magicians suggest that the First and Second Enochian Keys define scope, or context, for the remaining calls. For example, the First Enochian Key appears to be related to the manifestation of Spirit, while the Second Enochian Key appears to outline a framework by which the powers of the Enochian system can be described and contained. Additionally, it appears that the verses of the Enochian Keys tell a creation story. The First Key begins with God, while the Eighteenth Key details the establishment of God’s power within “the center of the Earth.”

There is no doubt that the Enochian Keys and Enochian magic have been influential on the Western Magical Tradition. Popularised by the Golden Dawn and Aleister Crowley, the Enochian system of magic has continued to develop. There are now two published Enochian Dictionaries, numerous books on Enochian magic (representing various schools of thought with regards to implementing the Enochian system), and an Enochian chess set and several books detailing the usage of this useful magical tool.

You can discover more about the Enochian Keys and Enochian Magic at Enochian.info.

Some critics of Chaos Magick –as well as some chaotes themselves –regard the phrase as an anarchist war cry. However, from what I can gather from reading Sherwin, Carroll, Hine, Fries, Frater UD, and less celebrated commentators—and in my own view—the motto Nothing is true; everything is permitted, is simply an affirmation that all belief is provisional, not absolute. Belief shapes perception, which modifies circumstance. Thus, perhaps circumstance can be volitionally modified if belief that modifies perception is deliberately fabricated rather than imposed as unquestioned convention

This is magical Will, it is the mechanism of magick, and the gist of Chaos Magick. Chaos Magick delves into sleight of mind, dispensing with the spiritualism and woo-woo of other systems, but it nevertheless avails itself of those templates as tools for adventures in magick. As Carroll said, “Belief is a tool.”

In this regard, I find parallels between Chaos Magick Theory and Eastern mysticism. Chaoism ala 1980-something, if not Chaos Magick 2009—with its dispersions into everything from quantum theory to cyber technology to magickal terrorism to Luciferianism—seems to draw a little something from eastern Tantric yoga and Dzogchen. (See the widely Web-circulated essay by Mark Defrates [aka Marik from ZCluster] Sigils, Servitors, and God-forms Part I [Google it], which was written back in the 1980s. The essay also will give you insight about how Chaos Magick is different from other forms of magick.) Indeed, exercises about breaking down habits, conditioning, and paradigms—at least as outlined in Liber Null—are straight out of popular yoga manuals and seem to me (at least) nearly plagerized from them.

What you learn when practicing esoteric Tantric disciplines—if your teacher is kind and grounded enough to tell you—is that one of the reasons why a person does so is to ease the burden of content of the “subconscious mind.” The subconscious is now defined by other nomenclature in medical science but nevertheless, it defines the place where habits and conditioning live. This is why “positive thinking,” visualization, and all that nice fluffy, happy-pill stuff ultimately does not work for very many people. It is because a person is a program (programmed by circumstance and experience/nature and nurture). Some folks have a great, self-affirmative, light and lively program going on; most do not, and they struggle.

Thus, the responsibility of magickal and spiritual aspirants alike is to deconstruct the arbitrary character that they were haplessly made to be. Shamanic/Tantric and initiatory techniques are used to bypass the conscious mind and impress the subconscious so that a change in perception leading to a change in consensus reality can take effect. Liberation is the goal. For some (such as, say, adherents of various Eastern spiritual disciplines and Thelemites) this means becoming who/what they really are. For others (ie, adherents of Chaos Magick Theory), this means becoming who they really choose to be at any given moment for any given purpose because, after all, nothing is true; everything is permitted.

What’s the draw of an ideology or practice for which, ostensibly speaking, “nothing is true; everything is permitted”? I’m guessing that Chaotes are mostly in it for sheer experimentation and pure experience. They define themselves as Psychonauts, after all.

In explaining the whys and wherefores, I’d like to quote something expressed by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page in a clip of an interview that appears in the video The Song Remains the Same. When Plant and Page were asked what their message was and why they were doing the Led-Zeppelin thing, Plant robustly and Page demurely both made a slight scoffing sound before uttering in unison, “For fun!”

In the idea of the elemental north is the seed of becoming where the realm of archetype and pure idea intersect with the physical world. This idea is an ancient one known to the pre-Socratic philosophers of the 6^th century BCE, the Hermeticists and Neoplatonists of the ancient world (circa 1^st century BCE to 3^rd century CE), the Hermetic mystics and magicians of the medieval era, and the mystics of the East. It is this: that the physical world is the manifestation of an ideal spiritual world. Therefore, the theme and mystery of the elemental North can be summarized in the Hermetic adage “As above, so below.”

The Emerald Tablet

This is True and certain without doubt.
What is above is from what is below and what is below is from what is above,

From this work comes the miracle of the One from which all things come.
Its father is the Sun, and its mother is the Moon.
It is carried in the belly of Earth and nourished by Wind, becoming Fire.
Therefore, feed the Earth with what is subtle, the greatest power.
It will ascend from the earth to the heavens and become ruler over what is above and below.

Thus says Hermes Trismegistus.

A number of symbolic ritual objects are used to represent Elemental North. They include: The Pentacle or Pentagram, Paten or ritual offering plate, Mirror, and Stone or Crystal. The ritual Shield, Breastplate, or Lamen perhaps can be added to this list. With the exception of the pentagram, these items are reflective objects. What they symbolically reflect is the Higher sphere of Reality: the Macrocosm reflected in the Microcosm.

The Paten used in Wicca and Ceremonial Magick generally is a pentacle—a pentagram in a circle, or in this case, a disc on which a pentagram in engraved. It is related to the paten used in Christian worship: a platter that represents the resting place –that is the womb and tomb—and the body of the Christian dying and resurrecting god. Even Aleister Crowley (1875-1947), in Liber ABA, Book IV, acknowledged this connection, saying about the pentacle: “that which is merely a piece of common bread shall be the body of God.”

Some antique patens are—as the name implies—large platters or bowls, and in fact are related to the grail. In Christian lore, the grail is described as vessel sometimes associated with the chalice used at the Last Supper and sometimes with the platter on which the Pascal lamb was served. The word grail and words like it originally meant something like big bowl or serving dish.  So both the chalice and paten are variations of the Grail that quickly evolved in Christian lore to respectively represent the blood and body of Christ.

In the late 19^th century, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn decided that the cup would represent the water element and the west (which was the convention within Freemasonry) and the pentacle paten would represent the element of earth and the north (Freemasons did not address the northern quarter, believing it to be a place of darkness). If we want to trace the chalice and paten to pagan origins, we can look to pagan Celtic grail legend and cauldron mysticism.

The paten in the form of a pentacle or pantacle, as Crowley liked to call it, also has the properties of a coat of arms and has been associated with the breastplate or lamen, although Crowley says that this in error. A lamen among ceremonial magicians is somewhat obsolete now but once referred to a specially engraved metal disc worn over the heart to protect its wearer or else activate a magickal charm that usually had to do with bullying otherworldly entities.  We will see as we go on in this article that the pentacle was used in medieval times as a talisman to ward away supernatural evil, so the relationship between the pentacle and lamen may not be distant.

The mirror also is an appropriate symbol of the elemental North because, as mentioned, the microcosm is a mirror reflection of the macrocosm. Likewise, the stone or crystal symbolizes the Philosopher’s Stone, which is the transformed self that holds and reflects the divine light.

The Pentagram and the Pythagoreans

Although the pentagram/pentacle symbol dates back to at least the ancient Babylonians, its importance in Western occultism probably rests most with the Pythagoreans. It is equated with the Golden Mean, which is the formula of the structure of man and life on earth. It also was a symbol of health and Cosmic wholeness to the Pythagorean mystics who associated the pentagram with the goddess of health and well-being Hygieia—from whom we get the word Hygiene. Indeed, amulets have been found in which the letters υ-γ-ε-ι-α (UGEIA) or SALVS (the Roman equivalent) are inscribed around a pentacle.

Popular Pagan commentators have reported that the Pythagoreans used the pentagram to commemorate Kore, the Maiden form of the Cosmic cycle. They also point out that the word core, which entered the English language in the 14th century to mean the pith of fruit, and Kore, the Greek word for maiden or female child, are the same. I could not find hard evidence to support either claim but did find allusions to the similarities between Orphic and Pythagorean mysticism and about the doctrine of the Pentemychos, a philosophy told as creation mythology and attributed to a 6^th century pre-Socratic philosopher named Pherecydes of Syros.  In the Pentemychos, the interplay between pre-cosmic Time (Chronos), Being (Zas), and “What Lies beneath the Earth” (Chthonie) results in the creation of the Cosmos. In brief, a structure made of five recesses (a pente-mychos) is inseminated, giving rise to the “offspring of the gods.” This event, however, occurs in the midst of an archetypal drama that pits light and dark and order and chaos against each other. Some commentators speculate the Chthonie is the pentemychos and is the prototype of the goddesses Persephone (i.e., Kore) and Hecate.

In addition to sacred geometry, the Pythagorean philosophers wrote a great deal about the role of the elements in the creation and structure of the world. Their ideas strongly influenced medieval esotericists who turned the name Hygieia into a mnemonic for the 5 elements: hudor (water), gaia (earth), heile, (heat/fire), Hieron (idea “a divine thing”) and aer (air). Pentagram-engraved talisman on which the mnemonic was inscribed were worn to ward away evil, including evil thought to originate with witches and demons. This practice was said to be common among the general Christian public, who also associated the symbol with the wounds of Christ and the Christmas star.

The Pentacle as the World

The pentagram is an ancient archetypal geometric form. It is a contemplative image that contains insight about the nature of Self and Reality.

In Crowley’s view, related in Liber ABA (Book IV), the pentacle represented the mages self and universe. The item had to be designed with utmost care and after much contemplation since it represented the values and vision of the mage. The practice of contemplatively and ceremoniously designing one’s own pentagram or paten—as well as one’s other ritual tools—is a primary part of course work for initiates in modern Hermetic forms of ceremonial magick.

In Transcendental Magic, Eliphas Levi (Alphonse Louis Constant, 1810-1875) likens the pentagram to the morning star. It is the self as deity displaced from the heavens. It also represents the human soul harnessing and deconstructing the elemental sphere such that it realizes its True Nature in deity—a concept that is patently both Hermetic/ Gnostic and Eastern. He writes:

The pentagram is the figure of the microcosm—the magical formula of man. It is the one rising out of the four—the human soul rising from the bondage of animal nature. It is the true light—the “Star of the morning.” It marks the location of the five mysterious centers of force, the awakening of which is the supreme secret of white magic.

It can be said to be the extension of the mystical dimensionless point into the four cardinal directions of space. In this sense, the pentagram symbolizes the one becoming the many through the process of “emanation” in which God doesn’t create the world but becomes the world through a step-wise evolutionary process. The idea of emanation is a principle doctrine in early Greek philosophy, Kabala, ancient and medieval Hermeticism and Gnosticism, and Eastern mysticism.

The pentagram, as a symbol of elemental earth, represents the final step and the totality of creation. Just as all elements are contained in Elemental Earth, all elements and basic directions are contained in the mandala of the pentagram.

The founders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn developed a schema that more or less continues to be the template for modern ceremonial magicians and Wiccans/Post-modern Pagans. Some common correspondences, drawn from the Golden Dawn and other sources that are now associated with the vertices of the pentagram and their corresponding directions of space are as follows:

Lower left hand corner of the pentagram represents the northern quarter and its correspondences. In relation to time, these correspondences include winter, night, the new moon, death and germination. Its element is earth, associated with being cold and dry in quality, and representing form, stability, will, as well as scent and the sense of smell. Its representative color is black or green. Its associated ritual tool is the paten, pentacle, or crystal. Its Hebrew double-letter is פ (pe), which hieroglyphically represents a mouth and implies creative expression. Its angelic guardian is Uriel (“God’s light”), and its fairy elemental is the gnome.

Upper left hand corner represents the eastern cardinal point and its correspondences. In relation to time, these correspondences include spring, sunrise, the waxing moon, youth. Its element is air, associated with being hot and moist in quality, and representing knowledge, expression, communication, healing, and the sense of touch. Its representative color is yellow. Its associated ritual tool is the dagger. Its Hebrew double-letter is ד (dalet), which hieroglyphically represents a door and implies a portal to pass through. Its angelic guardian is Raphael (“God heals”), and its fairy elemental is the sylph.

Lower right hand corner represents the southern quarter and its correspondences. In relation to time, these correspondences include summer, midday, the full moon, the prime of life. Its element is fire, associated with being hot and dry in quality, and representing energy, action, courage, self-assertion as well as consumption and combustion, light, and the sense of sight. Its representative color is red. Its associated ritual tool is the wand or staff. Its Hebrew double-letter is ר (resh), which hieroglyphically represents a head and implies the highpoint of the sun’s passage through space. Its angelic guardian is Michael (“Like God”), and its fairy elemental is the salamander.

Upper right hand corner represents the western cardinal point and its correspondences. In relation to time, these correspondences include autumn, sunset, the waning moon, old age. Its element is water, associated with being cold and fluid in quality, and representing intuition, the unconscious, dream states, feeling, and sensation, as well as the sense of taste. Its representative color is blue. Its associated ritual tool is the cup. Its Hebrew double-letter is כ (kaf), which hieroglyphically represents a cupped hand and implies a vessel. Its angelic guardian is Gabriel (“God’s strength”), and its fairy elemental is the undine (mermaid).

The apex represents the Quintessence: That which transcends and is the source of the elements. It is the sacred center and the Void, the dimensionless point that is nowhere and everywhere. Its representative color is white or gold. Its Hebrew double letter is ת (tau), which hieroglyphically represents a mark or seal of ownership and implies the sacred center and identity with deity.

Among numerous other cultures, the pentagram is also important in Tantric Hindu sorcery and mysticism. It is associated with the deity Shiva and is the central geometric shape in an important meditational and talismanic image called the Sri Mrityunjaya Yantra. Mrityunjaya means He Who is Victorious Over Death. The yantra is meant to provide well-being, protection, and redemption from death. It is interesting that in the mantra that goes with this yantra, Shiva is revered as having excellent fragrance, associating Shiva with the Earth element.

Triyambakam Yajamahe                     Oh Three-eyed Lord, we adore you.

Sugandhim Pushti Vardanam             Of excellent fragrance, you nourish all life.

Uruvarukamivabandhanan                 As the cucumber is freed from the stem,

Mrityor Muksheeyamamritat             Liberate us from death and grant the nectar  of Immortality.

In this system, the pentagram represents the five senses, and—the same as in the West—the “tattvas” or elements: Space/hearing, Air/touch, Fire/sight, Water/taste, Earth/smell.  Name and form—that is, material existence—are said to arise out of these elements and sense perceptions.

The Inverted Pentagram

The pentagram of the Pythagoreans may have been inverted and appears this way in ancient seals and also in a comment on the Pythagorean pentagram in the work of the medieval occultist Cornelius Agrippa.

Ironically, the pentagram, and especially the inverted pentagram has taken on sinister meaning in modern times. For this, we can thank 19^th century occultist Eliphas Levi—or at least the interpreters of his work. He associated the inverted pentagram with an esoteric deity called Baphomet—an entity of Levi’s invention, constructed from several sources and firmly based in pseudo-history. The image was meant to be a mandala associated with profound gnosis. He writes:

The goat on the frontispiece carries the sign of the pentagram on the forehead, with one point at the top, a symbol of light, his two hands forming the sign of hermetism, the one pointing up to the white moon of Chesed, the other pointing down to the black one of Geburah. This sign expresses the perfect harmony of mercy with justice. His one arm is female, the other male like the ones of the androgyn of Khunrath, the attributes of which we had to unite with those of our goat because he is one and the same symbol. The flame of intelligence shining between his horns is the magic light of the universal balance, the image of the soul elevated above matter, as the flame, whilst being tied to matter, shines above it. The beast’s head expresses the horror of the sinner, whose materially acting, solely responsible part has to bear the punishment exclusively; because the soul is insensitive according to its nature and can only suffer when it materializes. The rod standing instead of genitals symbolizes eternal life, the body covered with scales the water, the semi-circle above it the atmosphere, the feathers following above the volatile. Humanity is represented by the two breasts and the androgyn arms of this sphinx of the occult sciences.

Levi also associated Baphomet with the god Pan and his cultural counterparts (e.g., Cernnunos), who 19^th century Romanticists convinced everyone were the principle deities of pagan pre-Christian cultures—an idea that contemporary historians of witchcraft and paganism have disproved. In addition, Levi also demonized Baphomet by associating it with the Lord of Darkness of both Christian and various non-Christian religions and with the supposed diabolical object of worship of medieval heretics (i.e., alchemists and the Knights of Templar) and accused and mythical witches. He writes in a tract about the 15^th card of the Tarot:

We recur once more to that terrible number fifteen, symbolized in the Tarot by a monster throned upon an altar, mitered and horned, having a woman’s breasts and the generative organs of a man—at chimera, a malformed sphinx, a synthesis of deformities. Below this figure we read a frank and simple inscription—the Devil. Yes, we confront here that phantom of all terrors, the dragon of all theogonies, the Ahriman of the Persians, the Typhon of the Egyptians, the Python of the Greeks, the old serpent of the Hebrews, the fantastic monster, the nightmare, the Croquemitaine, the gargoyle, the great beast of the Middle Ages, and—worse than all of these—the Baphomet of the Templars, the bearded idol of the alchemist, the obscene deity of Mendes, the goat of the Sabbath.

Crowley and later occultists such as some adherents of a form of post-modern sorcery called Chaos Magick (primarily derived from Discordianism, Thelema, and Zos Kia Cultus) adopted Levi’s stance that the Baphomet image represented a Gnostic deity related to man’s connection with earth, primal nature, integration. Crowley and others, such as Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, also adopted it to attest to their disgust with and defiance of Christian-based society.

Ultimately (in the 1960s with the birth of the Church of Satan), Baphomet and the inverted pentagram became the mascot and logo of a new occultist front: Satanists. Although Satanists/Setians, like modern-day witches/Pagans, are actually far removed in philosophy and practice from what was ascribed to them in paranoid medieval lore, the stigma remains and strongly affects how the pentacle—inverted or not—is viewed by society-at-large. Indeed, the use of the inverted pentagram in Wicca is increasingly being discontinued because of its co-opting by Satanists.

The inverted Pentagram otherwise is said to represent the Horned God or the Spirit descending into or hidden in matter. Some oft-quoted Pagan literature says that the Horned God’s was named Pentamorph—or “He of Five Shapes,” (human, bull, ram, goat, and stag), by Neoplatonic philosophers—an idea that I could not find evidence for.  This is not surprising since the idea of a supreme masculine God as a horned nature deity is more of a convention now among Pagans than it probably ever was before. As mentioned, the concept was developed by Romanticist poets of the 19^th century who had a fascination with the Greek deity Pan and disenchantment with the Industrial Revolution. It resulted in the creation of a pseudo-history about nature-based spirituality. This coupled with speculative ethnography and the revival of Western Occultism redefined through such channels as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and Thelema, ultimately resulted in Gardnerian Wicca and its offshoots, including the still evolving phenomenon of post-modern Paganism.

The Pentacle as Mandala and Ritual Space

In ritual, we enter into a dimension of consciousness in which we communicate through symbols. This is true of both conventional religion and esoteric and occult spirituality. Symbolic language, gestures, and use of forms, images, and tools are the “language” used to communicate while in another dimension of human reality; the spiritual dimension.  The space within which ritual is conducted is a mandala—a specially constructed spiritual space where the mundane world is eclipsed by a numinous one.

Creating ritual space and also addressing the quarters of space has an ancient and history. For one, it is seen in sacred geometry the world-over, which, in part, is related to ancient astronomy. Consider the ancient Persians who, millennia ago (5000 years), associated the quarters of space with the seasons and regarded giant stars and constellations as the guardians of those quarters and seasons. For them (who, please note, associated the Northern quarter with summer and the Southern quarter with winter) the guardians of the quarters were:

• Fomalhaut, in the mouth of the Southern Fish beneath Aquarius, heralded the winter solstice. (Due to precession, the star’s appearance is now moving toward the spring.)
• Aldebran, in the right eye of Taurus, heralded the spring equinox. (Its appearance is now moving toward summer.)
• Regulus, in the heart of Leo, heralded the summer solstice. (Its appearance is now moving toward the autumn.)
• Antares, in the heart of Scorpio, heralded the autumn equinox. (Its appearance is now moving toward the winter.)

Medieval esotericists, drawing on what they understood about the Pythagorean, Hermetic, and Kabbalistic ideas from ages past, also had lore and about the quarters, sacred space, and the role of the elements in the design of the Cosmos. Much medieval magick had to do with addressing energies related to the quarters, the planets, and angelic realms that governed time and space.

In one of many diagrams developed by the 16^th century mystic and physician, Robert Fludd (1574-1637), illness is attributed to demonic influences that are countered by angelic forces that guard the directions of space.  In the image, the archangels stand in watchtowers and repel fallen angels and archdemons:

• Michael is depicted repelling the fallen angel Samael and the archdemon Oriens in the East, which was associated with elemental fire.
• Uriel is depicted repelling the fallen angel Azazel and the archdemon Amaymon in the South, which was associated with elemental air.
• Raphael is depicted repelling the fallen angel Azael and the archdemon Paymon in the West, which was associated with elemental water.
• Gabriel is depicted repelling the fallen angel Mahazael and the archdemon Egyn in the North, which was associated with elemental earth.

Fludd’s vision was inspired by Jewish mysticism about the Merkabah—the divine vision of Ezekial (Ezekial 1-28) in which the prophet describes a mystical mandala.  He sees four “holy creatures” that each have four heads (man, lion, bull, and eagle). They face the quarters of space, support the throne of God, and are likened to a chariot and the firmament of Cosmos.

With the occult revival in the 19^th century and the establishment of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, whose founders were Freemasons, the medieval scheme about the directions of space and correspondences was reinterpreted and elaborated on such that elements, god-names, symbolic Hebrew letters, colors, archangels, ritual tools, meditations on cyclic time, etc. were assigned to each quarter, as summarized earlier in this article.

In ritual, the apex of the pentagram is the center, or oneself. Besides correspondences mentioned earlier, incense is often the offering associated with the East or air element, candlelight with the south or fire element, water with the west or water element, and a flower or fruit, or (in Wicca) salt with the North or earth element.

Although creating ritual space and circle casting was a part of many ancient religions and remains central to Eastern and native religions and ceremonial magick, it probably was not part of crypto-pagan folk culture or so-called witchcraft traditions until the witchcraft revival and development of Wicca in the early to mid 20^th century. This emerging fact does not invalidate the practice. Circle casting founded around the mysteries of the pentagram and its glorification of earth-based spirituality has become a mainstay of post-modern Pagans who are increasingly owning” their spirituality as a vibrant and evolving contemporary movement distinct from die-hard legends—both good and bad—about their tradition.

Because “tradition” in contemporary Paganism is often based on mere decades-old convention, reinvention and reinterpretation of folkways, and pseudohistory, improvisation and individualization should be and is becoming increasingly acceptable in creating personal or group ritual space. General templates for creating ritual space—whether in the context of ceremonial magick, contemporary Paganism, or Eastern spirituality—include many of the following features:

-Self purification: This may take for form of a ritual bath, engaging in meditations meant to modify and protect one’s energy field (such as the Kabbalist Cross and similar exercises), anointing, or nyasa (consecrating parts of the body by intentionally touching them and uttering an appropriate mantra).

• Atonement: Acknowledging one’s imperfections and being in a state of repentance and forgiveness. In Gardnerian initiatic rites, this takes the form of scourging.
• Banishing/Purification of Space: Gestures and statements, including the ringing of bells or other noise makers or else smudging or asperging,  meant to disperse obstructive influences from the ceremonial space.
• Purification/Consecration of the Elements/Tools/Ritual Offerings: Gestures and statements meant to sanctify the objects and offerings that will be used during the ceremony.
• Addressing the quarters: This may be done to banish or neutralize obstructive energies or to invite energies or entities to the ceremony either as participants or protectors. Correspondences associated with the quarters may be contemplated at this time and/or signs and gestures may be performed to give further shape to the ceremonial space.
• Transubstantiation: Identification with the deity, theme, or aim of the ceremony—or the witnessing of and interaction with transubstantiation. At the least, some sort of commemoration may occur.
• Ritual offering or communion: Various items, including food may be offered to the object of the ceremony and then shared among participants.
• Deconstruction of the ceremonial space: Final salutations or dismissal of evoked energies or else a de-barring of banished energies.
• Grounding: An agreement that the ceremony has ended and that all participants have returned to ordinary time/space and function.

Selected References

• Bengt Ankarloo, Stuart Clark, eds.  Witchcraft and Magic in Europe. The Twentieth Century. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1999.
• Comrade August, Tani Jantsang. The Pythagorean Pentacle – it is Two Points Up.
• Guardians of Darkness. http://www.geocities.com/go_darkness/god-pythagorean-pentacle.html
• Michael D. Bailey. Magic and Superstition in Europe A Concise History from Antiquity to the Present. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007.
• The Complete Pythagoras. http://www.completepythagoras.net/mainframeset.html
• Aleister Crowley, Mary Destland, and Leila Waddell. Liber IV, Part II, Magick (Elementary Theory).  http://www.sacred-texts.com/oto/lib4.htm.
• Julie Gillentine. Persia’s Royal Stars. Atlantis Rising.2001;27.
  http://www.queenofcups.com/AR27article.htm.
• Jenny Gibbons. Recent Developments in the Study of the Great European Witch Hunt.
  http://www.tangledmoon.org/witchhunt.htm.
• Tau Allen Greenfield. The Secret History of Modern Witchcraft in: Richard Metzger ed. Book of Lies The Disinformation Guide to Magick and the Occult. St. Paul: The Disinformation Company. 2003.
• John Michael Greer. The New Encyclopedia of the Occult. St Paul: Llewellyn Publications. 2005
• The Holy Grail. New Advent. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06719a.htm.
• Tani Jantsang. Symbols of Satan? -Baphomet –Four Articles. http://www.geocities.com/satanicreds/baph.html
• Peter Kingsley. Ancient Philosophy, Mystery, and Magic: Empedocles and Pythagorean Tradition. Oxford: Clarendon Press.  1995
• GS Kirk, JE Raven, M Schofield. The Presocratic Philosophers: A Critical History (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1983.
• Eliphas Levi (AE Waite, trans) Transcendental Magic. York Beach, MN Weiser Books 1968
• Linda Malcor. What is a Grail? http://www.chronique.com/Library/Knights/Grail.htm.
• Míchealín Ní Dhochartaigh. The Pentagram. http://irelandsown.net/penta2.html.
• Catherine Noble Beyer. The Burning Times or the More Persecuted than Thou Syndrome. http://wicca.timerift.net/burning.shtml.
• John Opsopaus A Summary of Pythagorean Theology Part II: Goddesses. http://www.cs.utk.edu/~Mclennan/BA/ETP/II.html
• Alexander Roob. Alchemy and Mysticism. Koln: Taschen. 2006.
• The Sanctuary of a Coptic Orthodox Church http://www.coptichymns.net/module-library-viewpub-tid-1-pid-565.html.
• Archbishop Seraphim (Sviazhscky) The Symbolic Meaning of the Liturgy http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/temple.htm.
• Apollonios Sophistes (alias John Opsopaus).  The Pythagorean Pentacle http://www.cs.utk.edu/~mclennan/BA/PP.html.
• Frater UD. High Magic. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications. 2007.
• Barbara G. Walker. The Woman’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1983.