Saturday, April 14, 2007

3.1 - Putting it all Together: The Altar Layout Revisited

The first thing I did, being the pragmatic Tech-writing Taurus that I am, was to draw up the Glyph on my computer. It's easier to do concentric circles and save them as images in Visio. What I ended up with is this:

As you can see, there aren't seven circles for the spheres of the planets, or four for the elements as you might expect. I drew out all the spheres in earlier drawings, but they're just too big. This suffices, and it has a circle for each of the primary items one works with as an incarnate magician.

The inner three circles represent the sphere of the incarnate magician. They are divided into four quadrants, one for each of the cardinal points. In the innermost circle are the four Demonic Kings of the corners of the world. The brackets here represent their influence upon the magician being bound. Surrounding them are the Four Angelic Kings of the four corners of the World. These angels bind the influence of the Demonic Kings from the sphere of the magician. In the circle around the angles, I placed the elements as presented in Agrippa's Scale of the Number Four.

In the outermost circle are the planets. The order is very specific. If you look at the table in Agrippa's Book 2, Chapter vii, you'll see why they are placed where they are placed.

The order of the planetary spheres as the spirit descends into matter is Saturn-Jupiter-Mars-Sun-Venus-Mercury-Moon. However, we're already incarnated, and when we look up at the spheres from the world of manifestation, we'll see them from the perspective of the material realm.

Placing the planets in their respective quadrants as seen from below represents understanding the place of the incarnated magician in the cosmos. We are spirits, sparks of the Logos, of the Race of Gods. Our origin is from beyond the stars and the planets they influence. Yet our home, our sphere of influence is the material realm. We transcend through the realms of the planets to return to God, yet we retain our places in the manifest world, anchors, as it were, for the power of God to return with us to this realm.

Not to get all loopy or anything. There's only so much theory and metaphysics I can personally stand. It doesn't mean anything if it doesn't affect anything, in my opinion, and it was vitally important to get the harmony represented in the Glyph grounded in my sphere.

Where is the magician's sphere represented physically? Their altar, of course. It holds their elemental tools, the symbols of their authority over the essences that Plato taught combined to form all things. It's also the Table of Practice, the key to working with the spirits of each realm. It represents the access point for the Magician. It's the pivotal point between the realms Above and the realms Below. It represents everything spiritual in the magicians manifest realm.

So I took the Key to Everything represented in the Glyph and put it in place on my altar. The first thing I did was bind the Demonic Kings in miniature Spirit Pots. Then I created miniature talismans of the Angels of the four corners of the Earth using the Kings of the elements in the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. Beside each of these cards on the Altar, I placed the Elemental weapons associated with the Corner. That was great for the physical sphere.

For the planets, I placed the seven talismans in the layout in the outermost circle of the glyph. Outside the circle of the planets, I placed my Lamp, to represent the Source of all, the True Father, the Speaker of the Word who dwells in perfect darkness within the source of the radiating Light.

Immediately I began to see the effects of cleaning up my altar space on my Work. The Spirits of the planets come more quickly, and every aspect of my life has been drawn into an increasing harmony. My credit has cleared up, my job has become more secure, communications that were blocked are open now. Questions I have are resolved quickly and "miraculously."

Everything isn't perfect, of course. We're still in the manifest realm. But I do have an insight and a position of stability and authority from which to oversee the sources and interactions of the forces behind the scenes in my life.

Life is truly Good.

11 comments:

  1. Hey there,

    So to use this "table of practice" say to evoke the elemental archangels (as shown)would you still place the demonic names there still? Since I wouldn't be trying to subdue them at this point--not to that level yet (smile).

    Anuck-su-namen

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  2. Nope, not necessary. The Angels are sufficient.

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  3. Hi,

    I was reading this very interesting post which you made a while back. I'm wondering, how did you bind the Elemental demonic kings? You mention spirit pots..

    Thanks

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  4. Josephus,

    It was pretty simple. I took the little metal containers tea candles come in, and I put two together, crimping on a bit so it would slide into the other. I wrote out the names of the spirits I wanted to bind on four little pieces of paper, rolled them up tightly, and put them into four containers. I put the names of the angels that rule the quadrant on the outside of the containers, and I leave the four kings bound in their little "pots" in the base of my altar (an old entertainment center).

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  5. Thanks for your response R.O. For some reason I had envisioned it as being much more ritualized. But if this works, it works! Great! and thanks again.

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  6. Josephus,

    There was a ritual that went along with it. I lit my candle symbolizing the Eternal Light, called on my HGA by name, and conjured each of the angels to seal in the Demonic Kings.

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  7. sorry to bring this up after all this time but i have a question:
    Do you thing it will be ok to follow the same procedure but change the cardinal points?
    I ve always worked with the GD correspondances which means east-air, south-fire, west-water, north-earth.

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  8. there's everywhere some frustration on the matter of correspondances... since you practice Agrippa its all clear, but for me its a headache.
    S

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  9. I started at the same place you're at. On the Table of Practice from Trithemius, I put the angels in the GD quadrants because hey, it worked for the GD and it resonated with where I was spiritually at the time.

    The Altar glyph I talked about in this post came after a prolonged meditation on the Scale of the Number Four and how it applies to the physical/spiritual continuum. It wasn't after a quick erad through, or even after a lot of study, it was after a lot of conjurations of the spirits, a lot of spiritual initiations, and a lot of growth and integration of forces from many levels. I had been tuned by the spirits to resonate with this particular revelation.

    Start where you're at, make adaptations as necessary, whatever it takes for you to get into doing the magic. The magic changes you, and changes the world for the better. Even if you do it a little "wrong," doing it makes any necessary corrections along the way. It's entirely possible that there will be no need for you to adapt to the Agrippa model I use.

    She moves in mysterious ways.

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  10. I ll definitely proceed (with the nessesary adaptations) & see where it takes me (as always)
    RO thank you for sharing your insights!! love,
    S
    Greece

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Thanks for your comments, your opinions are valued, even if I disagree with them. Please feel free to criticize my ideas and arguments, question my observations, and push back if you disagree.