Class IV: Ceremonial Magick (White)
Orders and Lodges such as the Freemasons and the
Rosicrucians. The teachings are based upon the
Qabalah and the Hermetica, along with Neo-Platonism,
Gnosticism and Oriental doctrines. In its ultimate sense,
Ceremonial Magick is a transcendental experience that
awakens the magician to his inner Divinity, taking him
into mystical realms and into communication with the
Higher Self. The ultimate objective of these practices
is to attain union with the Divine Universal Conscious-
ness, or God.
The greatest and most influential system of Cer-
emonial Magick was developed by the Hermetic Or-
der of the Golden Dawn (O:.G:.D:.), founded by three
Rosicrucians in 1888. It was said to be the outermost
Order of the Great White Brotherhood of mystics.Lesson 2. The Qabalah
The Qabalah (also spelled Cabala or Kabbalah) was
originally a collection of ancient Jewish magickal lore
said to contain the keys to interpreting the mystical
symbolism of the Torah (the first five books of the
Bible). The word Qabalah is based on the Hebrew
gibbel (“to receive”), and refers to received (or revealed)
wisdom. Regarded as the foundational system of all
magick, the Qabalah is a set of beliefs and practices
(some of which differ from one group of Qabalists to
another) with many books explaining them. It has been
studied by scholarly Jews throughout the ages, and has
been adopted by magicians of all races and nations.
The Qabalah explains how the world came into
existence as a series of emanations from the Divine
Will. According to its tenets, all races and religions are
descended from one original Source. The legendary
chain of transmission goes like this: God taught the
Qabalah to the Angels, who passed it on to Adam, the
first man. From Adam through Noah, the secrets
reached Abraham, who revealed them to the Egyp-
tians. Moses learned the hidden wisdom in Egypt,
and included it in the first four books of the Torah.
Eventually the Qabalah reached King Solomon, who
became the greatest Wizard in Jewish history. Solomon
was said to have mastered the mysteries of the
Qabalah, and to have written The Key of Solomon,
The Lesser Key of Solomon, and other magical texts.
The Qabalah teaches that Divinity is both imma-
nent (within) and transcendant (without). God is all
things, both good and evil. The worlds came into be-
ing not by being “created” or made, but as “emana-
tions” flowing out from the Infinite Prime Source of
Divine Universal Consciousness. All things make up
the whole of an organized universe, and letters and
numbers are the keys to unlockings its mysteries. The
cosmos is divided into four Worlds: Atziluth, the di-- Introduction: Magicians
INCE MAGICK IS THE ART OF USING
your Will to change things, Cer-
emonial Magick is the art of
working with ceremonies to make
the changes—magick—you want
to occur. Ceremonial Magicians
frequently wear robes and use a
wide battery of tools to both con-
trol and direct magickal energy. Sometimes amazingly
elaborate, such tools can also act as symbolic spurs
to the imagination. Ceremonial Magicians may often
use magickal recitations as part of their ceremonies to
achieve their goals.
Many Ceremonial Magicians work with their in-
ner energy combined with the spiritual energy of Gods,
Archangels, Angels, and other spirits to achieve their
magick. Sometimes it is attuning with or simply asking
an Angel for help. Other times a more general spiritual
energy might be used to create artificial “Elementals,”
make talismans and amulets, invoke and evoke vari-
ous spirits, etc.High and Low Magick
Many Ceremonial Magicians make a distinction
between “High” and “Low” magick. Different Magi-
cians give different meanings for the terms. For some,
High Magick specifically refers to rituals in which an
Entity, or Spirit Being, is conjured into visible appear-
ance. This Entity is then directed to perform some
task, or asked for assistance, information, divination,
etc. The Magician commands the Entity, and remains
in charge of the ritual throughout.
Low Magick, in contrast, does not require the
conjuration of any specific Entities, and even if they
are called upon, such Entities are not expected to ac-
tually appear in a visible form. This is by far the most
common form of magick practiced, and includes Sym-
pathetic and Imitative magick as well as religious ser-
vices of all kinds. “Low Magick” does not mean nega-
tive or “black magick.” Whether a ritual is done for
positive or negative purposes depends on the inten-
tion of the practitioner; the magick itself, like electric-
ity, is morally neutral.
Many of the preparations for High Magick involve
mini-rituals of various sorts which are actually Low
Magick. A well-rounded magician does both High and
Low Magick with equal facility, as the situation requires.Orders and Lodges
Ceremonial Magick was developed into its present
form in the 17th and 18th centuries within secret magickalCorrected pages 3rd printing.2.p65 43 6/10/2004, 4:03 PM