ONA, 1990eh.
Magick enables us to capture again and again those moments
which not only shape our lives but which can extend the
possibilities of our existence: those moments when we know with
an exhilaration and an insight that transcends words, when we
become more than a single isolated individual burdened with a
causal existence.
For some time there has been a denial of, and attempts to
undermine, the ceremonial in magick: there has arisen a plethora
of self-written rituals and "chaos" type workings. This, however,
arises from a misunderstanding of the nature of ceremonial
magick. Basically, there are two types of ceremonial workings in
magick: dure ceremonial, and sedue ceremonial. The first is
essentially ritual used for internal magick – to produce or provoke
or inspire changes within the consciousness of those
participating/attending. The second is (or rather should be) a
performance which transports the individual participants to another
realm and which engages their whole being. It is not however a
possession – but rather a developed awareness, a new way of
being distinct from "everyday" existence, one in which all the
elements (mind, body, emotions etc.) are a unity. A sedue
ceremonial is an artistic event of the highest type because it is a
conscious attempt to make the acausal real (to presence it) in
causal time. However, like any artistic performance, a ritual can be
good, indifferent, bad or great depending on the talent and abilities
of those performing/conducting it. If it is any of the first three, it
will not achieve its purpose.
A great performance is one which captures the essence of the ritual
– which brings the acausal, which "opens a nexion", and which
thus has the magickal power to transform. This of course is a rare
event – at least these days – and like, for example, a great
performance of a drama or a symphony, requires both talent and
preparation. Unfortunately, in the past as in the present,
ceremonial rituals when attempted are done mostly by inept
performers with little or no preparation and little if any empathy
with the magick which the ritual re-presents. Thus the ritual is
magickally ineffective: non-inspirational for the participants and
congregation. Further, elements of self-delusion (regarding the
"magick") are mostly present. Such "performances" tend to
confirm the mistaken belief that ceremonial forms are either boring
or outmoded or both.
A ceremonial ritual should be vivifying – and awaken "numinous"
feelings. It should stimulate all the senses - for a sedue ritual in a
subtle way; for dure ritual in an obvious/overt way. Incenses and
fragrances should stimulate the sense of smell; the eyes should be
stimulated by colour and imagery; hearing by the sounds of
chanting, by music, words; the intellect by the
symbols/content/intent; the passions by the spirit or elan of the
performance and perhaps the sight/gestures of an individual or
individuals performing a specific "role", their manner of dress (or
undress) and their physical movement.
A ceremonial ritual is a seduction – of the participants and
congregation by he/she/they conducting it or the power of the rite
itself because the rite captures or transforms an aspect or aspects
of the acausal. This seduction is subtle if the ritual is a sedue one,
and obvious/overt/harsh if it is a dure one. But by its nature it
always has a temporal structure, as it always is a nexion to the
acausal – if it is a genuine magickal rite, that is, one that
possesses when performed acausal (or magickal) energy/power.
Both of these aspects – the temporal structure and the nexion –
are important, although hitherto esoteric.
Each shall be considered in turn. First, temporal structure. This
means that the ritual has a beginning, a middle (or
'action'/development) and a definite end: it is confined in temporal
time, and while a specific performance may be 'fast' or 'slow'
depending on the mood and the intensity, it is generally of a
certain duration. Second – a nexion. This means that in form and
content (e.g. the techniques used to draw upon magickal energy) it
is effective – it accesses the forms/symbols and so on required for
its purpose. This means more than that it 'produces emotion'.
Emotion arises or should arise from the performance by the effort
and talent of the performers. Rather, such accessing means it represents
certain elements of the acausal in an accessible form,
such as archetypes or numinous symbols. This requires what can
only be called a type of 'artistic creation' – and this in itself can be
of varying quality, as in music or any creative endeavor. Most
creations, however, as rituals, are not effective: they do not
presence the acausal, although they may produce emotion and
perhaps the occasional insight. Emotion, however, is not magick –
just as "intellectual stimulation" and/or undisciplined behaviour are
not, although such things result and are expected to result from
what passes for "magickal rituals" today. Only rarely does a
creation become or be magickal – that is, a nexion, despite the
intent of the person or persons who undertake such creation. Thus,
no amount of desire, no amount of intellectual knowledge can
make or create a ritual which is magickally effective. Only rarely
does a creation become or is magickal. It may become so due to
the "aura" or "tradition" surrounding it (partly due to past
performances) – but even in this instance it must still possess
some aspects which access the acausal directly. It is magickal
when it is that rare entity: a genuine magickal creation.
The temporal structure and accessing of a ritual mean that a
genuine rite, once created or transmitted via tradition, must be
respected for what it is: effective performance requires fidelity to
the temporal limits and its internal structure – in terms of all its
formalized elements such as words, chants, symbols, images,
colours etc. Outside of this, there can be (and indeed should be)
artistic interpretation, a vivifying of the original by the talent and
skill of the performer(s). A genuine magickal ritual is a work of art
– and requires 'interpretation', that is, performance, to presence
the acausal. It is, in short, a conscious causal expression of aspects
of the acausal – and in performance lives in both the causal and
the acausal. Hence its power to transform. [It should be
remembered that only ceremonial magick is being considered here
– the above does not imply that only ceremonial forms are
effective as magick. There are many other forms or means of
accessing the acausal.]
Given this understanding, it should be obvious that there are very
few rituals, written down or transmitted, which presence the
acausal and which, in an inspiring performance or interpretation,
are capable of transforming either the consciousness of others or of
producing changes in the causal metric itself. That is, there are few
rituals which possess in their written form the potential to be a
nexion to the acausal: and even these require inspirational
performance: rehearsal, planning, the correct intent or desire ... In
short, the creation of "atmosphere" and skill/ability in performance.
The rituals that proliferate today – and most of those regarded as
'traditional' – may in their performance pass some moments of
causal time and may even fill some individuals with emotion (and
boredom is an emotion), but they are not and never will be
magickal.
Of the rituals that do exist, those in 'The Black Book of Satan'
together with a few others (such as The Ceremony of Recalling in
its various forms) rank as supreme works of magick. Some other
rites possess the potential to do even more on the causal level
(e.g. the Nine Angles rites) - producing aeonic changes. Thus
explicated, genuine Black Magick becomes available to all: for the
first time ever.
- Order of Nine Angles -