A Heathen Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram
Jun. 22nd, 2018 11:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ecosophia
Several of my Heathen readers have inquired recently about a project that's been under way for a while -- the development of a system of Golden Dawn magic, parallel to the one I published in my book The Celtic Golden Dawn, but invoking Norse Heathen gods and goddesses and deriving all its symbolism and structure from the Norse tradition. My co-conspirator Sven Eriksen and I have been working away at it for a while now, and here's the first publicly available result: a version of the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram suitable for Heathens. ************
The Hammer Sign
This replaces the Cabalistic Cross of the Hermetic version of the LBRP. It's done as f
ollows:
1. Stand facing east, hands at sides, and form hands into fists. Imagine yourself expanding upward and outward, until you experience yourself standing upon the Earth as though it were a sphere a foot across below your feet.
2. Sweep your hands up and out to your sides in twin arcs, and bring them together above your head, turning your hands as you go, so that the heels of your palms meet. This is best done quickly, with some "snap," and the hands should come together with noticeable force. As they meet, say the words, “Hallow me...”
3. Draw the joined fists down to heart level, imagining a beam of light descending from infinite space above you to your heart, and through it to the Earth below your feet. Say the word, “...hammer...”
4. Snap the arms out to the sides, hands still held in fists, until your arms stand straight out from your body with the palms of the fists turned up. Your body thus forms the image of Thor's hammer, and you visualize yourself transformed into Mjolnir, a hammer the color of lightning, a mighty weapon ready for the hand of a god. Say the words: “...in the High One’s name.” Then vibrate the word of power WOD.
The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram
1. Perform the Hammer-Sign in the center of the space, facing east.
2. Go to the eastern quarter of the space, and trace a pentagram with the first two fingers of your right hand, beginning with the top point, and tracing counterclockwise to banish. (This is for the banishing ritual; you'd trace clockwise to summon.) Visualize the pentagram drawn in a line of light. Point to the center of the pentagram and vibrate the name THOR.
Trace a circle around to the south, draw the pentagram in the same way, point to the center, and vibrate the name SAGA.
Repeat to the west, trace the pentagram, and vibrate the name RIGR.
Repeat to the north, trace the pentagram, and vibrate the name IDUN.
Trace the line back around to the east, completing the circle.
3. Return to the center and face east. Say: “Before me the Spear Gungnir; behind me the Gjallar-Horn; to my right hand the Sword Sumarbrandr; to my left hand the Ring Draupnir. For about me stand the five point stars, and upon me shines the Aesir’s light.”
4. Repeat the Hammer-Sign. This completes the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram.
Three notes:
a) Sága is a goddess mentioned in both the Elder and Younger Eddas, and Rigr is another name for Heimdall.
b) You can also do a somewhat less complex form of the words in step 3: "Before me Gungnir, behind me Gjallar, to my right hand Sumarbrandr, to my left hand Draupnir," and so on.
c) Yes, I know the Old Norse didn't practice this kind of ceremonial magic. If you're minded to take offense at the thought that some of today's Heathen's might want to give this a try, I want you to imagine a bold Viking raider striding down the gangplank from his long ship onto his native soil, with a big sack of loot over his shoulder. Do you think that even once, in all the history of the Viking age, it ever happened that the people on shore told him, "No, you can't bring that here! That's Frankish gold, not Norse"?
No, I didn't think so either. The same principle applies here: I offer you plunder. It's yours for the taking, if you're strong enough to carry it off.
