Introduction To Rituals

Emotion magic is prayer on steroids. Only immaterial conscious emotions and feelings have any chance of crossing the veil passing into the spiritual realm. We are not on the phone with deities.

Living the magical life with all its benefits and awareness is a habitual lifestyle. It is not something one occasionally does like applying lotion. Emotion magic (magick) works by keeping open certain emotional channels for a period of time and others closed. Things will then happen eventually because we live in a spiritual/social network. If your life is a mess just look at what emotional channels you typically have open. Magick is like setting the stage prior to the play. It is not a cooking recipe with immediate results. Emotional/Magical fitness is like physical fitness. It requires constant practice to achieve results.

The Placebo effect is an emotion magic component. It shows how emotional channels can affect perception for demonstrated body effects, both for health and illness. Keeping the channels open for this effect to happen requires emotional conditioning. This phenomena is an important clue as to how magick works.
The above image was made to support a Canadian Broadcasting Company weekly show called The Nature of Things which was also broadcast in the U.S on National Public Radio.

Plausibility of Emotion Magic

(Jan 3, 2023) Perhaps every family has their "ghost stories." Additionally, many have actually experienced strange spiritual events or have been told of them in confidence by trusted friends. Those who live a magical life have a higher probability of experiencing these events because the relevant emotional channels are not blocked by materialist expectations.

Yet, the more skeptical among us wedded to the materialist paradigm will claim these events all have rational materialist explanations. Those people (and I included myself among them) will first need to be convinced of that the existence emotion magic is possible and even likely.

First Observation

The first piece of evidence magic's existence is the observation that conscious experiences are not material. They represent a completely different realm of reality. Conscious experiences are not found in any theory of modern physics. Additionally, they are produced in low energy brains when all the frontiers of physics are at high energies.

Second Observation

Next consider what might be the evolutionary purpose of consciousness. It must provide some evolutionary benefit for social mammals in order for the biological brain to connect to it. Most likely it evolved for the purpose of stealth group emotional propagation for aiding in non-verbal group coordination (like group yawning to indicate time to rest)

Third Observation

Electrical stimulation studies of the brain indicate that conscious experiences are not involved in individual intelligence. Electrical stimulation studies of the brain show different conscious sensations are only generated in different specific sensory regions of the brain. They are not generated in its reasoning or cognitive centers.

Fourth Observation

Two ways exist to change the state of a system. Consider a paddle ball held to a paddle by a rubber band. Hitting the ball harder (adding more energy) makes the ball go farther but so will weakening the stiffness (spring constant) of the rubber band. The material world works with energy in which the physical constants (spring constant) are, well, assumed to be constant under all conditions. This assumption is likely false for complex neuro-proteins and that is the mechanism by which the spiritual realm interacts with the material realm and vice-versa.

Creating a Sacred Space

(August 30, 2022) To get into a spiritual mood and to set the right mood for the desired ritual, a sacred space should be created. This is a time to forget about normal day to day existence and focus on the spiritual and eternal. This done by darkening the area, cleansing the area, "calling the corners," and lighting a fire or candles. Optionally music and scents are added.

Calling the cardinal direction using some meaningful correspondences begins to focus the mind while simultaneously defining the ritual space. The classical element correspondences work well:

Earth

Confidence
Stability, Grounding, Practicality
Home, Comfort

Air (ancient languages used the same word for air and spirit)

Insight, Awareness
Empathy
Motion, Spirits (winds of change)

Fire

Passion, Energy, Motivation
Heat, Primal Feelings
Transformation

Water

Cleansing
Life Flow, Focus (moving waters, blood, sap, rivers)
Life Birth and Death, Reflection (still waters, womb, ponds)

If in a group then circling a central alter with a chant is a good technique. If solitary then a habitual grounding and centering practice like some simple meditative yoga moves is also good in which feeling awareness starts at your core with breathing and then moves outward to your extremities and beyond.

Earliest Ritual Corner Correspondences 1000 CE

(January 14, 2025)

This is a chart found in an early book justifying the Christian date of Easter. The date of Easter is determined in each year through a calculation known as computus paschalis, or simply Computus. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the March equinox. The first full or new moon after the equinox was an important Pagan marker for planting crops in the spring.

The book is called the "Harmony of the Months and Elements" written by Byrhtferth of Ramsey (c. 970–c. 1020). He was a priest and monk who lived at Ramsey Abbey in Huntingdonshire (now part of Cambridgeshire) in England. The original book is lost, but two independent ‘copies’ made in the early 12th century remain. This diagram aligns different aspects of time (solstice, equinox, months, seasons, ages of man), the zodiac, and the four elements, in order to introduces a number of key concepts relevant to the computus. In the Oxford manuscript, the diagram comes right at the end of a section (ff. 3r-7v) which contains a miscellaneous variety of short texts and visual designs related to the computus, and directly precedes another section (ff. 8r-15v) containing tables and texts on computus.

Notice the use of Ogham text in the center.

Ritual Element-Direction correspondences

These make sense for any European. The texts are in Latin.

East (Latin Oriens) = Earth (terra) as in the landmass of Russia
South (Latin Meridie) = Water (aqua) as in the Mediterranean
West (Latin Occidens) = Air (aer) as in the direction of the prevailing winds and weather
North (Latin Aquilo) = Fire (ignis) as in the direction of the northern lights

Corner Phrases on the Inside of the Connective Diamond

East Corner: Anathole a oriens = Anadole a oriens = Anatolia from the east
South Corner: Mesioi brios m meridie = I am at noon
West Corner: Disis o occidens = You are far away, O West
North Corner: Arcton a aquilo = Close to the north

Phrases on the Inner Diamond (blue) Shaped Connecting Lines

(Connecting earth and water from the south) Terra sicca a frigida = Dry earth from cold
(Connecting earth and fire from the north) Igni calu dus a siccus = The fire is hot and dry
(Connecting air and fire from the north) Ver humidus a calidu = Spring is humid and hot.
(Connecting air and water from the south) heims frigi da a humida = cold and humid

Reference

De concordia mensium atque elementorum (Byrhtferth’s diagram). Online at: https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/De_concordia_mensium_atque_elementorum_(Byrhtferth's_diagram)

Book online at: https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/Oxford,_St_John%27s_College,_MS_17

Nothing is a powerful as a well prepared small group ritual with friends out in nature. Group rituals if properly done can be special time of sharing spiritual energy.

Creating the Sacred Space

To set the mood for the ritual a sacred space should be created. This is a time to forget about normal day to day existence and focus on the spiritual and eternal. This done by darkening the area, cleansing the area, "calling the corners," and lighting a fire or candles. Optionally music and scents are added.Calling the corners begins to focus the mind and defines the ritual space. Each direction is typically associated with these correspondences:

Earth (north)

Confidence
Stability, Grounding, Practicality
Home, Comfort

Air (east) (ancient languages used the same word for air and spirit)

Insight, Awareness
Empathy
Motion, Spirits (winds of change)

Fire (south)

Passion, Energy, Motivation
Heat, Primal Feelings
Transformation

Water (west)

Cleansing
Life Flow, Focus (moving waters, blood, sap, rivers)
Life Birth and Death, Reflection (still waters, womb, ponds)

Emotion Magic Rituals

Ritual Preparation

(July 8, 2022) In a deep sense we are always doing a rituals because we are constantly connected to a social/spiritual network. Every focused feeling we have affects those around us.

Rituals can range from spiritual exercises to celebrations after a time of preparation. They can be either solo or group. The most popular exercise ritual is Yoga. Whether Yoga as ritual is intended or not it has a significant spiritual effect.

Effective rituals generate feelings. Only conscious feelings have any chance of transmission to and from the spiritual realm. Participants reading from a prepared script is a sign of an inherently non-effective ritual. Rituals must be done from the heart.

The greater the number of people in a ritual harder it is to get the same shared energy. Consequently, large rituals tend to be more about the social bonding than about doing emotion magic.

Every ritual has a start, middle, and an end. The start is all about getting in the mood by raising spiritual energy and getting focused. The middle is the connective part where props may be used to aid in making the desired connections. The end is a time of quieting and reflection. Remember that you are responsible for its consequences so start out simple.

Every effective ritual must meet four conditions:

1. Do you feel you have the needed wisdom?

Do you feel emotionally comfortable with the ritual's intent? Do you really know what you are doing?

2. Do you feel you have the needed insightful focus?

Are you able to feel the emotions needed at this time? Are you focused and ready for the time period required?

3. Do you feel you have the needed confidence?

This is not a question of believing hard enough. This deals with our emotional conditioning and in making sure we have removed all relevant emotional blockages to the conscious thought flow.

4. Do feel you have the passion?

Are you really motivated and energized for this?

Significantly, the apostle Paul listed three of these ritual conditions in his manifestations of the spirit section of 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (along with healing, prophecy, and miracles). This whole passage suggests that the earliest Christians were still doing magical rituals in accordance with the teachings of Jesus. Only with the rise of the apocalyptic viewpoint was this magical practice suppressed. Puritanical Paul only left out passion. This is his list:

Conscious connections (logos) of Wisdom (sophia)
Conscious connections (logos) of Insight (gnosis)
Conscious connections (logos) of Confidence (pistis)

Like the focal point in great art, the performance of a ritual or spell needs to be considered as the focal point of a greater ritual process involving emotional conditioning and mindfulness. These are the things which really make rituals and spell work powerful. The focal point in art is something which initially captures attention and then allows the eye to wander around exploring its context before once again drawing attention back to itself. Likewise with rituals, an effective ritual is one which grabs your attention so you take time to prepare for it and then allows you afterward to explore its context while coming back to it again and again. It all about opening up emotional channels for the flow of conscious feelings.

Defining the Emotional Focus of a Ritual

(July 8, 2022) Mental focus (intention) is required to channel emotions. This is why the ancient texts call magical emotions "considerations." If the mental focus is too broad and too undefined the results may not be what is expected because many channels are subconsciously opened due to prior emotional conditioning. Most ritual leaders have stories about unexpected ritual results. Proper use of emotionally resonant objects helps the narrow down the possibilities.

Rituals and emotion magic have three categories of intent which should not be mixed because that reduces emotional focus (Historically this is the ancient Aegean point of view). They are:

Transformation (to acquire or expel something, to change direction. In ancient times this was imagined as editing network links)
Amplification (make something more or less. In ancient times this was imagined as affecting the flow rate of spiritual fluids)
Connection (thankfulness, receptiveness, empathy)

Self-Awareness and Setting Ritual Awareness

(July 8, 2022) Mental focus (intent) is required to channel emotions. This is why the ancient texts call magical emotions "considerations." If the mental focus is too broad and too undefined the results may not be what is expected because many channels are subconsciously opened due to prior emotional conditioning. Most ritual leaders have stories about unexpected ritual results. Proper use of emotionally resonant objects helps the narrow down the possibilities.

Rituals and emotion magic have three categories of intent which should not be mixed. They are:

Transformation (to acquire or expel something, to change direction)
Amplification (make something more or less)
Connection (thankfulness, receptiveness, empathy)

Existence connection ritual originated as a fertility ritual in Wicca involving the God and Goddess.

The Connection Ritual originated as a fertility ritual in Wicca involving the God and Goddess. The masculine component is represented by the Athame (ritual dagger) and the feminine is represented by the Chalice. (image from http://www.insgrum.com/user/sarahjgoadphoto/1119603994/1277505884259249942_1119603994)

This ancient Athame was found at the port city of Malia. It dates to about 1700 BCE. Now at the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion (Olmsted personal photo)

Connection Ritual

(July 8, 2022) Connecting to existence requires connecting to the spiritual power of causality which makes all existence possible. Causality has two complimentary components which are "flow" and "guidance." For example, fluids are guided by river banks or by pipes, while the flow of electricity is guided by wires.

Significantly, these components of causality were recognized by the Neolithic Farmers who incorporated them into their Ancient Pagan Paradigm. They identified flow as a masculine power and guidance as a feminine power. All life powers thus had their masculine and feminine components (deities).

The feminine life source powers seems to have been represented by a chalice since ancient times. The Indus-Valley Unicorn seals shows a chalice representing the feminine underdome in front of the unicorn bull (image below). The life network is pouring fluid into it and that looks like a dagger (athame).

In Sumerian times the life source goddess was named Erishkigal meaning "wise One of the Earth Chalice." Her later lordified name was Ningal meaning "Lady of the Chalice." (Gal means chalice, Nin means "lady" while ki means earth)

Gerald Gardiner who invented it was apparently inspired by recent Sumerian and Indus Valley findings. He incorporated causality into it as "all the powers of the universe." The whole phrase is: "As the woman is to the chalice so is the man to the athame. In their union are all the powers of the universe. "

The Regius Poem dating to 1390 ends with the phrase (translated) "Amen! Amen! So mote it be! So say we all in the name of charity. " It thus ends by casting powers out to both classes of spiritual powers (life powers and motion powers respectively).
This poem lists the governing rules for medieval mason craft guilds. It predates the Masonic Order of today although they considered it to be a part of their lineage. (Image from http://www.freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/regius.html)

Ritual Closing Phrases of "Amen" and "So Mote it Be"

So Mote it Be

(July 8, 2022, updated November 11, 2024) This ancient ritual closing phrase seems to derived from an the Akkadian magical phrase Ma'u-Tu meaning "push with astrology-magic" or more loosely as a ritual ending "May this be pushed with astrology-magic."

Astrology magic is associated with the motion source god Su. Because motion powers were thought to have two sources, one from the moving heavenly bodies and the other from emotions, the god Su represented the astrological powers as the dark new moon and the inner emotional powers as the pupil of the eye. It's English dictionary entry is:

Mote - "particle of dust," Old English mot, of unknown origin; perhaps related to Dutch mot "dust from turf, sawdust, grit," Norwegian mutt "speck, mote, splinter, chip."

The word "mote" was the King James Bible word assignment for the Greek noun karphos meaning "withered thing" like a raisin.

(Matthew 7:3-4, KJV) And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

Amen

The word "Amen" also seems to come from the Druid Akkadian phrase AMu-ENu meaning "Reed-Boat reassign" or more loosely as a ritual ending "May the Reed-Boat reassign."

The "Reed-Boat" is an epithet for the crescent moon goddess Ayu who edits the life network to direct the flow of life powers to earth. She can reassign the life power flow to other places. That is what this ritual ending is asking.

As a phrase "Amen" could be used either at the start or ending of a statement. One example of its use at the start of a sentence is preserved in one passage in the Hebrew Scriptures.

(1 Kings 1:36 NIV) Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, “Amen! May the Lord (Yahweh), the God of my lord the king, so declare it.

In Summary, we have the "So Mote it Be" ending for rituals involving changing the motion powers and the "Amen" ending for rituals involving the life-powers.

References

Olmsted, D.D (January 1, 2022) Mediterranean Akkadian Lexicon 3rd Edition – 2022. DOI Permanent URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/nbb6-wg16. Online at: https://www.academia.edu/66851810/Mediterranean_Akkadian_Lexicon_3rd_Edition_2022

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