Ceremonial magic

Ceremonial magic (also known as magick, ritual magic,

high magic or learned magic)[1] encompasses a wide
variety of rituals of magic. The works included are
characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite
accessories to aid the practitioner. It can be seen as an
extension of ritual magic, and in most cases synonymous
with it. Popularized by the Hermetic Order of the Golden
Dawn, it draws on such schools of philosophical and occult
thought as Hermetic Qabalah, Enochian magic, Thelema,
and the magic of various grimoires. Ceremonial magic is
part of Hermeticism and Western esotericism.

The synonym magick is an archaic spelling of 'magic'[2]

used during the Renaissance, which was revived by Aleister
Crowley to differentiate occult magic from stage magic. He
defined it as "the Science and Art of causing Change to
occur in conformity with Will",[3] including ordinary acts of
will as well as ritual magic. Crowley wrote that "it is
theoretically possible to cause in any object any change of
which that object is capable by nature".[a] John Symonds Aleister Crowley in Golden Dawn garb
and Kenneth Grant attach a deeper occult significance to
this preference.[b]

Crowley saw magic as the essential method for a person to reach true understanding of the self and to act
according to one's true will, which he saw as the reconciliation "between freewill and destiny."[4]
Crowley describes this process in his Magick, Book 4.[c]

Definitions and general purpose

The term magick is an Early Modern English spelling for magic, used in works such as the 1651
translation of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's De Occulta Philosophia, Three Books of Occult Philosophy,
or Of Magick. Aleister Crowley chose the spelling to differentiate his practices and rituals from stage
magic (which may be more appropriately termed "illusion") and the term has since been re-popularised
by those who have adopted elements of his teachings. Crowley defined Magick as "the science and art of
causing change to occur in conformity with will."[5][6]
Qabalah and the Tree of Life
The Tree of Life is a tool used to categorize and organize various mystical concepts. At its most simple
level, it is composed of ten spheres, or emanations, called sephiroth (sing. "sephira") which are connected
by twenty two paths. The sephiroth are represented by the planets and the paths by the characters of the
Hebrew alphabet, which are subdivided by the four classical elements, the seven classical planets, and the
twelve signs of the Zodiac. Within the western magical tradition, the Tree is used as a kind of conceptual
filing cabinet. Each sephira and path is assigned various ideas, such as gods, cards of the Tarot,
astrological planets and signs, elements, etc.

Crowley considered a deep understanding of the Tree of Life to be essential to the magician:

The Tree of Life has got to be learnt by heart; you must know it backwards, forwards, sideways,
and upside down; it must become the automatic background of all your thinking. You must
keep on hanging everything that comes your way upon its proper bough.[7]

Similar to yoga, learning the Tree of Life is not so much magic as it is a way to map out one's spiritual
universe. As such, the adept may use the Tree to determine a destination for astral travel, to choose which
gods to invoke for what purposes, et cetera. It also plays an important role in modeling the spiritual
journey, where the adept begins in Malkuth, which is the every-day material world of phenomena, with
the ultimate goal being at Kether, the sphere of Unity with the All.

Components

Body of light
The body of light, sometimes called the 'astral body'[d] or the 'subtle body,'[e] is a "quasi material"[8]
aspect of the human body, being neither solely physical nor solely spiritual, posited by a number of
philosophers, and elaborated on according to various esoteric, occult, and mystical teachings. Other terms
used for this body include body of glory,[9] spirit-body, radiant body,[10] luciform body, augoeides
('radiant'), astroeides ('starry' or 'sidereal body'), and celestial body.[11]

Crowley referred to the augoeides, a Greek term for the body of light, and connected it with 'the
Knowledge & Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel' associated with each human being.[12][13] He
stressed that the body of light must be built up though the use of imagination, and that it must then be
animated, exercised, and disciplined.[14] According to Asprem (2017):

The practice of creating a "body of light” in imagination builds on the body-image system,
potentially working with alterations across all of its three modalities (perceptual, conceptual,
and affective): an idealized body is produced (body-image model), new conceptual structures
are attached to it (e.g., the doctrine of multiple, separable bodies), while emotional attachments
of awe, dignity, and fear responses are cultivated through the performance of astral rituals and
protections from "astral dangers" through the simulation of symbols and magical weapons.[14]
Grimoires
A grimoire is a textbook of magic, typically including
instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans
and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and
divination, and how to summon or invoke supernatural entities
such as angels, spirits, deities, and demons.[15] In many cases,
the books themselves are believed to be imbued with magical
powers, although in many cultures, other sacred texts that are
not grimoires (such as the Bible) have been believed to have
supernatural properties intrinsically. The only contents found
in a grimoire would be information on spells, rituals, the
preparation of magical tools, and lists of ingredients and their
magical correspondences. In this manner, while all books on
This design for an amulet comes from
magic could be thought of as grimoires, not all magical books
the Black Pullet grimoire.
should be thought of as grimoires.[16]

While the term grimoire is originally European—and many Europeans throughout history, particularly
ceremonial magicians and cunning folk, have used grimoires—the historian Owen Davies noted that
similar books can be found all around the world, ranging from Jamaica to Sumatra.[17] He also noted that
in this sense, the world's first grimoires were created in Europe and the Ancient Near East.[18]

Magical formulae
A magical formula or 'word of power' is a word that is believed to have
specific supernatural effects.[19] They are words whose meaning
illustrates principles and degrees of understanding that are often
difficult to relay using other forms of speech or writing. It is a concise
means to communicate very abstract information through the medium
of a word or phrase.

These words often have no intrinsic meaning in and of themselves.

However, when deconstructed, each individual letter may refer to some
universal concept found in the system in which the formula appears.
Additionally, in grouping certain letters together one is able to display
meaningful sequences that are considered to be of value to the spiritual
system that utilizes them (e.g., spiritual hierarchies, historiographic
data, psychological stages, etc.) Classic magic words

A formula's potency is understood and made usable by the magician

only through prolonged meditation on its levels of meaning. Once these have been interiorized by the
magician, they may then utilize the formula to maximum effect.

Magical record
A magical record is a journal or other source of documentation containing magical events, experiences,
ideas, and any other information that the magician may see fit to add. There can be many purposes for
such a record, such as recording evidence to verify the effectiveness of specific procedures (per the
scientific method that Aleister Crowley claimed should be applied to the practice of magic) or to ensure
that data may propagate beyond the lifetime of the magician. Benefits of this process vary, but usually
include future analysis and further education by the individual and/or associates with whom the magician
feels comfortable in revealing such intrinsically private information.

Crowley was highly insistent upon the importance of this practice. As he writes in Liber E, "It is
absolutely necessary that all experiments should be recorded in detail during, or immediately after, their
performance ... The more scientific the record is, the better. Yet the emotions should be noted, as being
some of the conditions. Let then the record be written with sincerity and care; thus with practice it will be
found more and more to approximate to the ideal."[20] Other items he suggests for inclusion include the
physical and mental condition of the experimenter, the time and place, and environmental conditions,
including the weather.

Magical weapons
The practice of ceremonial magic often requires tools made or consecrated specifically for this use, called
magical weapons, which are required for a particular ritual or series of rituals. They may be a symbolic
representation of psychological elements of the magician or of metaphysical concepts.

In Magick (Book 4), Part II (Magick), Aleister Crowley lists the tools required as a magic circle drawn on
the ground and inscribed with the names of god, an altar, a wand, cup, sword, and pentacle, to represent
his true will, his understanding, his reason, and the lower parts of his being respectively. On the altar, too,
is a phial of oil to represent his aspiration, and for consecrating items to his intent. The magician is
surrounded by a scourge, dagger, and chain intended to keep his intent pure. An oil lamp, book of
conjurations and bell are required, as is the wearing of a crown, robe, and lamen. The crown affirms his
divinity, the robe symbolizes silence, and the lamen declare his work. The book of conjurations is his
magical record, his karma. In the East is the magic fire in which all burns up at last.[21]

Techniques
According to Crowley, there is a single definition of the purpose for ritual magic: to achieve Union with
God through "the uniting of the Microcosm with the Macrocosm."[22] Since this process is so arduous, it
is also acceptable to use magic to develop the self (i.e. one's body of light) or to create ideal
circumstances for the Work (e.g. having access to a place in which to do ritual undisturbed). There are
many kinds of magic, but the categories of ritual that are recommended by Crowley include:

Banishing—the elimination of unwanted forces. "The Magician must therefore take the
utmost care in the matter of purification, firstly, of himself, secondly, of his instruments,
thirdly, of the place of working."[21]
Invocation, where the magician identifies with the Deity invoked. There are three methods:
1. Devotion —where "identity with the God is attained by love and by surrender, by giving
up or suppressing all irrelevant (and illusionary) parts of yourself."[21]
2. Calling forth—where "identity is attained by paying special attention to the desired part of
yourself: positive, as the first method is negative."[21] (e.g. assumption of godforms)
3. Drama—where "identity is attained by sympathy. It is very difficult for the ordinary man to
lose himself completely in the subject of a play or of a novel; but for those who can do
 so, this method is unquestionably the best."[21] (e.g. many initiations and the Gnostic
Mass)
Evocation—which is bringing a spiritual being before, not into, the magician (e.g. goetia)
Eucharistic ritual—which "consists in taking common things, transmuting them into things
divine, and consuming them."[21]
Consecration—"the active dedication of a thing to a single purpose."[21]
Divination—such as the use of the Thoth Tarot or other tools used to gather information.

Vibration of god-names
In magical rituals, a vocal technique called vibration is commonly used.[23] This was a basic aspect of
magical training for Crowley, who described it in "Liber O."[24] According to that text, vibration involves
a physical set of steps, starting in a standing position, breathing in through the nose while imagining the
name of the god entering with the breath, imagining that breath travelling through the entire body,
stepping forward with the left foot while throwing the body forward with arms outstretched, visualizing
the name rushing out when spoken, ending in an upright stance, with the right forefinger placed upon the
lips. According to Crowley in "Liber O", success in this technique is signaled by physical exhaustion and
"though only by the student himself is it perceived, when he hears the name of the God vehemently
roared forth, as if by the concourse of ten thousand thunders; and it should appear to him as if that Great
Voice proceeded from the Universe, and not from himself."[25]

Banishing
The purpose of banishing rituals is to eliminate forces that might interfere with a magical operation, and
they are often performed at the beginning of an important event or ceremony (although they can be
performed for their own sake as well). The area of effect can be a magic circle or a room. The general
theory of magic proposes that there are various forces which are represented by the classical elements
(air, earth, fire, and water), the planets, the signs of the Zodiac, and adjacent spaces in the astral world.
There are many banishing rituals, but most are some variation on two of the most common—"The Star
Ruby" and the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram.

Crowley describes banishing in his Magick, Book 4 (ch.13):

[...] in the banishing ritual of the pentagram we not only command the demons to depart, but
invoke the Archangels and their hosts to act as guardians of the Circle during our pre-
occupation with the ceremony proper. In more elaborate ceremonies it is usual to banish
everything by name. Each element, each planet, and each sign, perhaps even the Sephiroth
themselves; all are removed, including the very one which we wished to invoke, for that forces
as existing in Nature is always impure. But this process, being long and wearisome, is not
altogether advisable in actual working. It is usually sufficient to perform a general banishing,
and to rely upon the aid of the guardians invoked. [...] "The Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram"
is the best to use.[26]

He further states:
 Those who regard this ritual as a mere devise to invoke or banish spirits, are unworthy to
possess it. Properly understood, it is the Medicine of Metals and the Stone of the Wise.[27]

Purification
Purification is similar in theme to banishing, but is a more rigorous process of preparing the self and her
temple for serious spiritual work. Crowley mentions that ancient magicians would purify themselves
through arduous programs, such as through special diets, fasting, sexual abstinence, keeping the body
meticulously tidy, and undergoing a complicated series of prayers.[26] He goes on to say that purification
no longer requires such activity, since the magician can purify the self via willed intention. Specifically,
the magician labors to purify the mind and body of all influences which may interfere with the Great
Work:

The point is to seize every occasion of bringing every available force to bear upon the objective
of the assault. It does not matter what the force is (by any standard of judgment) so long as it
plays its proper part in securing the success of the general purpose [...] We must constantly
examine ourselves, and assure ourselves that every action is really subservient to the One
Purpose[26]

Crowley recommended symbolically ritual practices, such as bathing and robing before a main ceremony:
"The bath signifies the removal of all things extraneous or antagonistic to the one thought. The putting on
of the robe is the positive side of the same operation. It is the assumption of the frame of mind suitable to
that one thought."[26]

Consecration
Consecration is an equally important magical operation. It is essentially the dedication, usually of a ritual
instrument or space, to a specific purpose. In Magick, Book 4 (ch.13), Crowley writes:

The ritual here in question should summarize the situation, and devote the particular
arrangement to its purpose by invoking the appropriate forces. Let it be well remembered that
each object is bound by the Oaths of its original consecration as such. Thus, if a pantacle has
been made sacred to Venus, it cannot be used in an operation of Mars.[26]

Invocation
Invocation is the bringing in or identifying with a particular deity or spirit. Crowley wrote of two keys to
success in this arena: to "inflame thyself in praying"[28] and to "invoke often". For Crowley, the single
most important invocation, or any act of magic for that matter, was the invocation of one's Holy Guardian
Angel, or "secret self", which allows the adept to know his or her true will.

Crowley describes the experience of invocation:

 The mind must be exalted until it loses
consciousness of self. The Magician must be
carried forward blindly by a force which, though in
him and of him, is by no means that which he in his
normal state of consciousness calls I. Just as the
poet, the lover, the artist, is carried out of himself in
a creative frenzy, so must it be for the Magician.[28]

Crowley (Magick, Book 4) discusses three main categories of

invocation, although "in the great essentials these three
methods are one. In each case the magician identifies himself
with the Deity invoked."[29]

Devotion—where "identity with the God is attained

by love and by surrender, by giving up or
suppressing all irrelevant (and illusionary) parts of
yourself." An example of the magic circle and
Calling forth—where "identity is attained by paying triangle of King Solomon
special attention to the desired part of yourself."
Drama—where "identity is attained by sympathy. It is
very difficult for the ordinary man to lose himself completely in the subject of a play or of a
novel; but for those who can do so, this method is unquestionably the best."
Another invocatory technique that the magician can employ is called the assumption of godforms —
where with "concentrated imagination of oneself in the symbolic shape of any God, one should be able to
identify oneself with the idea which [the god] represents."[30] A general method involves positioning the
body in a position that is typical for a given god, imagining that the image of the god is coinciding with or
enveloping the body, accompanied by the practice of "vibration" of the appropriate god-name(s).

Evocation
There is a distinct difference between invocation and evocation, as Crowley explains:

To "invoke" is to "call in", just as to "evoke" is to "call forth". This is the essential difference
between the two branches of Magick. In invocation, the macrocosm floods the consciousness.
In evocation, the magician, having become the macrocosm, creates a microcosm. You invoke a
God into the Circle. You evoke a Spirit into the Triangle.[29]

Generally, evocation is used for two main purposes: to gather information and to obtain the services or
obedience of a spirit or demon. Crowley believed that the most effective form of evocation was found in
the grimoire on Goetia (see below), which instructs the magician in how to safely summon forth and
command 72 infernal spirits. However, it is equally possible to evoke angelic beings, gods, and other
intelligences related to planets, elements, and the Zodiac.

Unlike with invocation, which involves a calling in, evocation involves a calling forth, most commonly
into what is called the "triangle of art."
Eucharist
The word eucharist originally comes from the Greek word for thanksgiving. However, within magic, it
takes on a special meaning—the transmutation of ordinary things (usually food and drink) into divine
sacraments, which are then consumed. The object is to infuse the food and drink with certain properties,
usually embodied by various deities, so that the adept takes in those properties upon consumption.
Crowley describes the process of the regular practice of eucharistic ritual:

The magician becomes filled with God, fed upon God, intoxicated with God. Little by little his
body will become purified by the internal lustration of God; day by day his mortal frame,
shedding its earthly elements, will become in very truth the Temple of the Holy Ghost. Day by
day matter is replaced by Spirit, the human by the divine; ultimately the change will be
complete; God manifest in flesh will be his name.[31]

There are several eucharistic rituals within the magical canon. Two of the most well known are the Mass
of the Phoenix and the Gnostic Mass. The first is a ritual designed for the individual, which involves
sacrificing a "Cake of Light" (a type of bread that serves as the host) to Ra (i.e. the Sun) and infusing a
second Cake with the adept's own blood (either real or symbolic, in a gesture reflecting the myth of the
Pelican cutting its own breast to feed its young) and then consuming it with the words, "There is no
grace: there is no guilt: This is the Law: Do what thou wilt!" The other ritual, The Gnostic Mass, is a very
popular public ritual (although it can be practiced privately) that involves a team of participants,
including a Priest and Priestess. This ritual is an enactment of the mystical journey that culminates with
the Mystic Marriage and the consumption of a Cake of Light and a goblet of wine (a process termed
"communication"). Afterwards, each Communicant declares, "There is no part of me that is not of the
gods!"

Divination
The art of divination is generally employed for the purpose of obtaining information that can guide the
adept in his Great Work. The underlying theory states that there exists intelligences (either outside of or
inside the mind of the diviner) that can offer accurate information within certain limits using a language
of symbols. Normally, divination within magic is not the same as fortune telling, which is more interested
in predicting future events. Rather, divination tends to be more about discovering information about the
nature and condition of things that can help the magician gain insight and to make better decisions.

There are literally hundreds of different divinatory techniques in the world. However, Western occult
practice mostly includes the use of astrology (calculating the influence of heavenly bodies), bibliomancy
(reading random passages from a book, such as Liber Legis or the I Ching), Thoth Tarot (a deck of 78
cards, each with symbolic meaning, usually laid out in a meaningful pattern), and geomancy (a method of
making random marks on paper or in earth that results in a combination of sixteen patterns).

It is an accepted truism within magic that divination is imperfect. As Crowley writes, "In estimating the
ultimate value of a divinatory judgment, one must allow for more than the numerous sources of error
inherent in the process itself. The judgment can do no more than the facts presented to it warrant. It is
naturally impossible in most cases to make sure that some important factor has not been omitted [...] One
must not assume that the oracle is omniscient."[32]
 The Crystal Ball, by John William
Waterhouse (1902), depicts a crystal ball,
a skull, a wand, and a book of ceremonial
magic.

History

Renaissance magic
The term originates in 16th-century Renaissance magic,
referring to practices described in various Medieval and
Renaissance grimoires and in collections such as that of
Johannes Hartlieb. Georg Pictor uses the term synonymously
with goetia.

James Sanford in his 1569 translation of Heinrich Cornelius

Agrippa's 1526 De incertitudine et vanitate scientiarum has
"The partes of ceremoniall Magicke be Geocie, and Woodcut illustration from an edition of
Theurgie". For Agrippa, ceremonial magic was in opposition Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia (1582)
to natural magic. While he had his misgivings about natural
magic, which included astrology, alchemy, and also what we
would today consider fields of natural science, such as botany, he was nevertheless prepared to accept it
as "the highest peak of natural philosophy". Ceremonial magic, on the other hand, which included all
sorts of communication with spirits, including necromancy and witchcraft, he denounced in its entirety as
impious disobedience towards God.[33]
 Francis Barrett
Among the various sources for ceremonial magic, Francis Barrett, a
late 18th-century Englishman, called himself a student of chemistry,
metaphysics, and natural occult philosophy.[34] Barrett was enthusiastic
about reviving interest in the occult arts, and published a magical
textbook called The Magus. The Magus dealt with the natural magic of
herbs and stones, magnetism, talismanic magic, alchemy, numerology,
the elements, and biographies of famous adepts from history. It was a
compilation,[35] almost entirely consisting of selections from Cornelius
Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy, the Fourth Book of
Occult Philosophy attributed to Agrippa, and Robert Turner's 1655
translation of the Heptameron of Peter of Abano. Barrett made
modifications and modernized spelling and syntax. Possibly
Portrait of Francis Barrett, influencing the novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton, the book gained little
author of the book The Magus
other notice until it influenced Eliphas Levi.
(1801)

Éliphas Lévi
Éliphas Lévi (1810–1875) conceived the notion of writing a treatise on
magic with his friend Bulwer-Lytton. This appeared in 1855 under the
title Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie, and was translated into
English by Arthur Edward Waite as Transcendental Magic, its Doctrine
and Ritual.

In 1861, he published a sequel, La Clef des Grands Mystères (The Key

to the Great Mysteries). Further magical works by Lévi include Fables
et Symboles (Stories and Images), 1862, and La Science des Esprits
(The Science of Spirits), 1865. In 1868, he wrote Le Grand Arcane, ou
l'Occultisme Dévoilé (The Great Secret, or Occultism Unveiled); this,
however, was only published posthumously in 1898.

Lévi's version of magic became a great success, especially after his

Éliphas Lévi death. That Spiritualism was popular on both sides of the Atlantic from
the 1850s contributed to his success. His magical teachings were free
from obvious fanaticisms, even if they remained rather murky; he had
nothing to sell, and did not pretend to be the initiate of some ancient or fictitious secret society. He
incorporated the Tarot cards into his magical system, and as a result the Tarot has been an important part
of the paraphernalia of Western magicians. He had a deep impact on the magic of the Hermetic Order of
the Golden Dawn and later Aleister Crowley, and it was largely through this impact that Lévi is
remembered as one of the key founders of the twentieth century revival of magic.

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (founded 1888) was a secret society devoted to the study and
practice of the occult, metaphysics, and paranormal activities during the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. Known as a magical order, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was active in Great Britain
and focused its practices on theurgy and spiritual development. Many present-day concepts of ritual and
magic that are at the centre of contemporary traditions, such as
Wicca[36] and Thelema, were inspired by the Golden Dawn, which
became one of the largest single influences on 20th century Western
occultism.[f][g]

The three founders, William Robert Woodman, William Wynn

Westcott, and Samuel Liddell Mathers, were Freemasons. Westcott
appears to have been the initial driving force behind the establishment
of the Golden Dawn.

The "Golden Dawn" was the first of three Orders, although all three are
often collectively referred to as the "Golden Dawn". The First Order
taught esoteric philosophy based on the Hermetic Qabalah and
Samuel Liddell MacGregor
personal development through study and awareness of the four Mathers (1854–1918), in
classical elements, as well as the basics of astrology, tarot divination, Egyptian costume, performs a
and geomancy. The Second or Inner Order, the Rosae Rubeae et ritual of Isis in the rites of the
Aureae Crucis, taught magic, including scrying, astral travel, and Golden Dawn.
alchemy.

Aleister Crowley
English author and occultist Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) wrote about
magical practices and theory, including those of theurgy ("high magic")
and goetia ("low magic"). In The Book of the Law and The Vision and
the Voice, the Aramaic magical formula Abracadabra was changed to
Abrahadabra, which he called the new formula of the Aeon of Horus.
He also famously spelled magic in the archaic manner, as 'magick', to
differentiate "the true science of the Magi from all its counterfeits."[37]
He also stated that "The spirits of the Goetia are portions of the human
brain."[38]
Aleister Crowley, c. 1925
His book Magick, Liber ABA, Book 4, is a lengthy treatise on magic in
which he which also presents his own system of Western occult
practice, synthesised from many sources, including Yoga, Hermeticism, medieval grimoires,
contemporary magical theories from writers like Eliphas Levi and Helena Blavatsky, and his own original
contributions. It consists of four parts: Mysticism, Magick (Elementary Theory), Magick in Theory and
Practice, and ΘΕΛΗΜΑ—the Law (The Equinox of The Gods). It also includes numerous appendices
presenting many rituals and explicatory papers.

Dion Fortune
Dion Fortune (1890–1946) was a Welsh occultist, ceremonial magician, novelist and author. She was a
co-founder of the Fraternity of the Inner Light, an occult organisation that promoted philosophies which
she claimed had been taught to her by spiritual entities known as the Ascended Masters. A prolific writer,
she produced a large number of articles and books on her occult ideas and also authored seven novels,
several of which expound occult themes.
Fortune was a ceremonial magician.[39] The magical
principles on which her Fraternity was based were
adopted from the late nineteenth century Hermetic
Order of the Golden Dawn, with other influences
coming from Theosophy and Christian Science.[40]
The magical ceremonies performed by Fortune's
Fraternity were placed into two categories: initiations,
in which the candidate was introduced to magical
forces, and evocation, in which these forces were
manipulated for a given purpose.[41]

The Fraternity's rituals at their Bayswater temple were An illustration of Fortune's hometown, Llandudno,
carried out under a dim light, as Fortune believed that in 1860
bright light disperses etheric forces. [41] An altar was
placed in the centre of a room, with the colours of the
altar-cloth and the symbols on the altar varying according to the ceremony being performed. A light was
placed on the altar while incense, usually frankincense, was burned.[41] The senior officers sat in a row
along the eastern end of the room, while officers—who were believed to be channels for cosmic forces—
were positioned at various positions on the floor. The lodge was opened by walking around the room in a
circle chanting, with the intent of building a psychic force up as a wall.[42] Next, the cosmic entities
would be invoked, with the members believing that these entities would manifest in astral form and
interact with the chosen officers.[42]

Fortune was particularly concerned with the issue of sex.[43] She believed that this erotic attraction
between men and women could be harnessed for use in magic.[44] She urged her followers to be naked
under their robes when carrying out magical rituals, for this would increase the creative sexual tension
between the men and women present.[45] Although sex features in her novels, it is never described in
graphic detail.[46] The scholar Andrew Radford noted that Fortune's "reactionary and highly
heteronormative" view of "sacralised sexuality" should be seen as part of a wider tradition among esoteric
currents, going back to the ideas of Emanuel Swedenborg and Andrew Jackson Davis and also being
found in the work of occultists like Paschal Beverly Randolph and Ida Craddock.[47]

The religious studies scholar Hugh Urban noted that Fortune was "one of the key links" between early
twentieth-century ceremonial magic and the developing Pagan religion of Wicca.[43] Similarly, the
Wiccan high priestess Vivianne Crowley characterised Fortune as a "proto-Pagan".[48] The scholar and
esotericist Nevill Drury stated that Fortune "in many ways anticipated feminist ideas in contemporary
Wicca", particularly through her belief that all goddesses were a manifestation of a single Great
Goddess.[49] Graf agreed, adding that Fortune's works found "resonance" in the work of the later feminist
Wiccan Starhawk, and in particular in the latter's 1979 book, The Spiral Dance.[50]

In researching ceremonial magic orders and other esoteric groups active in the London area during the
1980s, Luhrmann found that within them, Fortune's novels were treated as "fictionalized ideals" and that
they were recommended to newcomers as the best way to understand magic.[51] The Pagan studies
scholar Joanne Pearson added that Fortune's books, and in particular the novels The Sea Priestess and
Moon Magic, were owned by many Wiccans and other Pagans.[48] The religious studies scholar Graham
Harvey compared The Sea Priestess to the Wiccan Gerald Gardner's 1949 novel High Magic's Aid, stating
that while neither were "great literature", they "evoke Paganism better than later more didactic
works".[52]

Jack Parsons
John Whiteside Parsons (1914–1952) was an American rocket
engineer, chemist, and Thelemite occultist. Parsons converted to
Thelema, the new religious movement founded by the English occultist
Aleister Crowley. Together with his first wife, Helen Northrup, Parsons
joined the Agape Lodge, the Californian branch of Ordo Templi
Orientis (O.T.O.) in 1941. At Crowley's bidding, Parsons replaced
Wilfred Talbot Smith as its leader in 1942 and ran the Lodge from his
mansion on Orange Grove Boulevard.

Parsons identified four obstacles that prevented humans from achieving

Parsons in 1941 and performing their true will, all of which he connected with fear: the
fear of incompetence, the fear of the opinion of others, the fear of
hurting others, and the fear of insecurity. He insisted that these must be
overcome, writing that "The Will must be freed of its fetters. The ruthless examination and destruction of
taboos, complexes, frustrations, dislikes, fears and disgusts hostile to the Will is essential to progress."[53]

In 1945, Parsons separated from Helen, after having an affair with her sister Sara; when Sara left him for
L. Ron Hubbard, Parsons conducted the Babalon Working, a series of rituals intended to invoke the
Thelemic goddess Babalon on Earth. The Babalon Working was a series of magic ceremonies or rituals
performed from January to March 1946 by Parsons and Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.[h] This
ritual was essentially designed to manifest an individual incarnation of the archetypal divine feminine
called Babalon. The project was based on the ideas of Crowley, and his description of a similar project in
his 1917 novel Moonchild.[i]

When Parsons declared that the first of the series of rituals was complete and successful, he almost
immediately met Marjorie Cameron in his own home, and regarded her as the elemental that he and
Hubbard had called through the ritual.[54] Soon Parsons began the next stage of the series, an attempt to
conceive a child through sex magic workings. Although no child was conceived, this did not affect the
result of the ritual to that point. Parsons and Cameron, who Parsons now regarded as the Scarlet Woman,
Babalon, called forth by the ritual, soon married.

The rituals performed drew largely upon rituals and sex magic described by Crowley. Crowley was in
correspondence with Parsons during the course of the Babalon Working, and warned Parsons of his
potential overreactions to the magic he was performing, while simultaneously deriding Parsons' work to
others.[55]

A brief text entitled Liber 49, self-referenced within the text as The Book of Babalon, was written by Jack
Parsons as a transmission from the goddess or force called 'Babalon' received by him during the Babalon
Working.[54] Parsons wrote that Liber 49 constituted a fourth chapter of Crowley's Liber AL Vel Legis
(The Book of the Law), the holy text of Thelema.[56]
Phyllis Seckler
Phyllis Seckler (1917–2004), also known as 'Soror Meral', was a ninth degree (IX°) member of the
Sovereign Sanctuary of the Gnosis of Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), and a lineage holder in the A∴A∴
tradition. She was a student of Jane Wolfe, herself a student of Aleister Crowley.[57]

Sekler was a member of O.T.O. Agape Lodge, the only working Lodge of the O.T.O. at the time of
Aleister Crowley's death. Seckler was also instrumental in preserving important parts of Crowley's
literary heritage, typing parts of his Confessions, and the complete texts of The Vision and the Voice and
Magick Without Tears during the 1950s. Seckler was also instrumental in re-activing the O.T.O. with
Grady Louis McMurtry, during the early-mid 1970s, following the death of Crowley's appointed
successor, Karl Germer.

Seckler continued her lifelong work with the A∴A∴, founding the College of Thelema and co-founding
(with James A. Eshelman) the Temple of Thelema, and later warranting the formation of the Temple of the
Silver Star. Seeking to guide her students to an understanding of the Law of Thelema, especially deeper
understanding of oneself and of one's magical will, Sekler published the bi-annual Thelemic journal In
the Continuum which featured her essays on Thelema and initiation as well as instructional articles for the
students of the A.:.A.:., illustrations and essays which help to clarify some of Crowley's thoughts and aid
in the understanding of Thelemic principles expressed in Liber AL. Printed for 20 years from 1976
through 1996, In the Continuum also published rare works by Aleister Crowley which at the time were
out of print or hard to find.[58]

Seckler served as a master of 418 Lodge of O.T.O. in California from its inception in 1979 until her
death.

Kenneth Grant
Kenneth Grant (1924–2011) was an English ceremonial
magician and advocate of the Thelemic religion. A poet,
novelist, and writer, he founded his own Thelemic
organisation, the Typhonian Ordo Templi Orientis—later
renamed the Typhonian Order—with his wife Steffi Grant.

Grant was fascinated by the work of the occultist Aleister

Crowley, having read a number of his books. Eager to meet
Crowley, Grant wrote letters to Crowley's publishers, asking
that they pass his letters on to Crowley himself.[59] These Grant in the library of his Golders Green
eventually resulted in the first meeting between the two, in home (taken by Jan Magee in 1978)
autumn 1944,[59] at the Bell Inn in Buckinghamshire.[60]
After several further meetings and an exchange of letters,
Grant agreed to work for Crowley as his secretary and personal assistant. Now living in relative poverty,
Crowley was unable to pay Grant for his services in money, instead paying him in magical instruction.[61]

In March 1945, Grant moved into a lodge cottage in the grounds of Netherwood, a Sussex boarding house
where Crowley was living.[62] He continued living there with Crowley for several months, dealing with
the old man's correspondences and needs. In turn, he was allowed to read from Crowley's extensive
library on occult subjects, and performed ceremonial magic workings with him, becoming a high initiate
of Crowley's magical group, Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.).[63] Crowley saw Grant as a potential leader
of O.T.O. in the UK, writing in his diary, "value of Grant. If I die or go to the USA, there must be a
trained man to take care of the English O.T.O."[64]

Grant drew eclectically on a range of sources in devising his teachings.[65] Although based in Thelema,
Grant's Typhonian tradition has been described as "a bricolage of occultism, Neo-Vedanta, Hindu tantra,
Western sexual magic, Surrealism, ufology and Lovecraftian gnosis".[66] According to Djurdjevic, Grant's
writing style is notorious for being opaque with "verbal and conceptual labyrinths".[67] The historian of
religion, Manon Hedenborg White, noted that "Grant's writings do not lend themselves easily to
systematization".[68] She added that he "deliberately employs cryptic or circuitous modes of
argumentation",[69] and lacks clear boundaries between fact and fiction.[65]

Grant promoted what he termed the Typhonian or Draconian tradition of magic,[70] and wrote that
Thelema was only a recent manifestation of this wider tradition.[71] In his books, he portrayed the
Typhonian tradition as the world's oldest spiritual tradition, writing that it had ancient roots in Africa.[72]
The religious studies scholar Gordan Djurdjevic noted that Grant's historical claims regarding Typhonian
history were "at best highly speculative" and lacked any supporting evidence, however he suggested that
Grant may never have intended these claims to be taken literally.[73]

Grant adopted a perennialist interpretation of the history of religion.[74] Grant's wrote that Indian spiritual
traditions like Tantra and Yoga correlate to Western esoteric traditions, and that both stem from a core,
ancient source, has parallels in the perennial philosophy promoted by the Traditionalist School of
esotericists.[75] He believed that by mastering magic, one masters this illusory universe, gaining personal
liberation and recognising that only the Self really exists.[76] Doing so, according to Grant, leads to the
discovery of one's true will, the central focus of Thelema.[73]

Grant further wrote that the realm of the Self was known as "the Mauve Zone", and that it could be
reached while in a state of deep sleep, where it has the symbolic appearance of a swamp.[77] He also
believed that the reality of consciousness, which he deemed the only true reality, was formless and thus
presented as a void, although he also taught that it was symbolised by the Hindu goddess Kali and the
Thelemic goddess Nuit.[78]

Grant's views on sex magic drew heavily on the importance of sexual dimorphism among humans and the
subsequent differentiation of gender roles.[79] Grant taught that the true secret of sex magic were bodily
secretions, the most important of which was a woman's menstrual blood.[72] In this he differed from
Crowley, who viewed semen as the most important genital secretion.[80] Grant referred to female sexual
secretions as kalas, a term adopted from Sanskrit.[81] He thought that because women have kalas, they
have oracular and visionary powers.[69] The magical uses of female genital secretions are a recurring
theme in Grant's writings.[82]

James Lees
James Lees (August 22, 1939[83] – 2015) was an English magician known for inventing the system he
called English Qaballa.

Lees was born in Bolton, Lancashire. He established a career as an analytic chemist. In his search for
truth, he also studied psychology. Not finding the answers he wanted from science, he turned to the study
of astrology, even making a living for a time as a horary astrologer.[83]
Still resolved to discover further answers, Lees decided to
study Kabbalah and the Tree of Life. From here he proceeded
to experiment with invocations from the Key of Solomon.
Satisfied with the results, he proceeded to perform the 18-
month working described in The Book of Abramelin by means
of the Bornless Ritual. Claiming to have successfully invoked
his Holy Guardian Angel, he turned his attention to ascending
the 'Middle Pillar' of the Tree of Life, culminating with an
experience known as crossing the abyss.[83]

Then, in November 1976, Lees constructed[84] the "order &

value of the English Alphabet."[85] Following this, Lees
founded the O∴A∴A∴ in order to assist others in the pursuit
of their own spiritual paths.[83] The first public report of the
system known as English Qaballa (EQ) was published in
1979 by Ray Sherwin in an editorial in the final issue of his
journal, The New Equinox. Lees subsequently assumed the The mysterious 'grid' page of Liber AL's
manuscript. "for in the chance shape of
role of publisher of The New Equinox and, starting in 1981,
the letters and their position to one
published additional material about the EQ system over the another: in these are mysteries that no
course of five issues of the journal, extending into 1982.[84] Beast shall divine. ... Then this line drawn
is a key: then this circle squared in its
In 1904, Aleister Crowley wrote out the text of the failure is a key also. And Abrahadabra."
foundational document of his world-view, known as Liber AL
vel Legis, The Book of the Law. In this text was the injunction
found at verse 2:55; "Thou shalt obtain the order & value of the English Alphabet, thou shalt find new
symbols to attribute them unto" which was understood by Crowley as referring to an English Qabalah yet
to be developed or revealed.[86]

The "order & value"[85] constructed by James Lees lays the letters out on the grid superimposed on the
page of manuscript of Liber AL on which this verse (Ch. III, v. 47) appears (sheet 16 of Chapter III).[85]
Also appearing on this page are a diagonal line and a circled cross. The Book of the Law states that the
book should only be printed with Crowley's hand-written version included, suggesting that there are
mysteries in the "chance shape of the letters and their position to one another" of Crowley's handwriting.
Whichever top-left to bottom-right diagonal is read the magickal order of the letters is obtained.[87]

Little further material on English Qaballa was published until the appearance of Jake Stratton-Kent's
book, The Serpent Tongue: Liber 187, in 2011.[88] This was followed in 2016 by The Magickal Language
of the Book of the Law: An English Qaballa Primer by Cath Thompson.[89] The creation, exploration, and
continuing research and development of the system up to 2010, by James Lees and members of his group
in England, are detailed in her 2018 book, All This and a Book.[83]

Nema Andahadna
Nema Andahadna (1939–2018) practiced and wrote about magic (magical working, as defined by Aleister
Crowley) for over thirty years. In 1974, she claimed to have channelled a short book called Liber Pennae
Praenumbra.
From her experience with Thelemic magic, she developed her own system of magic called "Maat
Magick" which has the aim of transforming the human race. In 1979, she co-founded the Horus-Maat
Lodge. The Lodge and her ideas have been featured in the writings of Kenneth Grant.[90][91]

Her writings have appeared in many publications, including the Cincinnati Journal of Ceremonial
Magick, Aeon, and Starfire. According to Donald Michael Kraig:

Nema has been one of the most influential occultists of the last quarter century although most
occultists have never read her works. What Nema has done is influence those who have been
writers and teachers. They, in turn, influenced the rest of us.[92]

See also
Astral religion – Worship of stars and other heavenly bodies as deities
Black Books – Collection of Carl Jung's private journals
The Book of Abramelin – Book by Abraham of Worms
Bornless Ritual – Ritual of Western ceremonial magic
Greek Magical Papyri – Body of papyri from Graeco-Roman Egypt
Magical organization – Organization for the practice of occult magic
Medieval European magic – Magic as understood during the Middle Ages
The Red Book – Manuscript by Carl Jung
Rosicrucianism – 17th-century European spiritual movement

Notes
a. Crowley (1997), p. 127: "What is a Magical Operation? It may be defined as any event in
nature which is brought to pass by will. We must not exclude potato-growing or banking from
our definition. Let us take a very simple example of a Magical Act: that of a man blowing his
nose."
b. Symonds & Grant (1973), p. : "The Anglo-Saxon k in Magick, like most of Crowley's
conceits, is a means of indicating the kind of magic which he performed. K is the eleventh
letter of several alphabets, and eleven is the principal number of magick, because it is the
number attributed to the Qliphoth – the underworld of demonic and chaotic forces that have
to be conquered before magick can be performed. K has other magical implications: it
corresponds to the power or shakti aspect of creative energy, for k is the ancient Egyptian
khu, the magical power. Specifically, it stands for kteis (vagina), the complement to the wand
(or phallus) which is used by the Magician in certain aspects of the Great Work."
c. Crowley (1997), p. 134: "One must find out for oneself, and make sure beyond doubt, who
one is, what one is, why one is ...Being thus conscious of the proper course to pursue, the
next thing is to understand the conditions necessary to following it out. After that, one must
eliminate from oneself every element alien or hostile to success, and develop those parts of
oneself which are specially needed to control the aforesaid conditions."
d. n.b. however, this term may refer instead to the Theosophical concept of the astral body.
e. n.b. however, this term may refer instead to the subtle body of Eastern esotericism.
f. Jenkins (2000), p. 74: "Also in the 1880s, the tradition of ritual magic was revived in London
by a group of Masonic adepts, who formed the Order of the Golden Dawn, which would
prove an incalculable influence on the whole subsequent history of occultism."
 g. Smoley (1999), pp. 102–103: "Founded in 1888, the Golden Dawn lasted a mere twelve
years before it was shattered by personal conflicts. At its height, it probably had no more
than a hundred members. Yet its influence on magic and esoteric thought in the English-
speaking world would be hard to overestimate."
h. Urban (2011), p. 39–42: "The aim of Parson's 'Babalon Working' was first to identify a
female partner who would serve as his partner in esoteric sexual rituals; the partner would
then become the vessel for the 'magical child' or 'moonchild,' a supernatural offspring that
would be the embodiment of ultimate power... According to Parson's account of March 2–3,
1946, Hubbard channeled the voice of Babalon, speaking as the beautiful but terrible lady..."
i. Urban (2006), pp. 135–137: "The ultimate goal of these operations, carried out during
February and March 1946, was to give birth to the magical being, or 'moonchild,' described
in Crowley's works. Using the powerful energy of IX degree Sex Magick, the rites were
intended to open a doorway through which the goddess Babalon herself might appear in
human form."

References

Citations
1. Davies (2003), p. ix.
2. Crowley (1997), p. xxiv.
3. Crowley (1973b).
4. Crowley (1998), p. 207.
5. Crowley (1973), ch 1.
6. Crowley (1973b), Part III, "Introduction".
7. Crowley (1973), ch. IV.
8. Samuel & Johnston (2013).
9. Behun (2010).
10. Mead (1919).
11. Mead (1919), pp. 34–35.
12. Michael (2005).
13. Sutin (2002).
14. Asprem (2017), p. 40.
15. Davies (2009), p. 1.
16. Davies (2009), pp. 2–3.
17. Davies (2009), pp. 2–5.
18. Davies (2009), pp. 6–7.
19. Lecouteux (2015), p. .
20. Crowley (1997), "Liber E".
21. Crowley (1997), p. .
22. Crowley (1997), ch. 1.
23. Scarborough (2003).
24. Crowley (1997), "Liber O".
25. Crowley (1909), p. 18.
26. Crowley (1997), ch. 13.
27. Crowley (1997), p. 690.
28. Crowley (1997), ch. 15.
29. Crowley (1997), p. 147.
30. Crowley (1979), ch. 26.
31. Crowley (1997), ch. 20.
32. Crowley (1997), ch. 18.
33. Nauert (1957), p. 176.
34. King (1992), p. 29.
35. Priddle (2013), p. .
36. Colquhoun (1975), p. .
37. Crowley (1997), p. 47.
38. Crowley (2008), p. 17.
39. Sadovsky (2014), p. 31.
40. Fanger (2006), pp. 377, 378.
41. Richardson (2007), p. 224.
42. Richardson (2007), pp. 224–225.
43. Urban (2006), p. 167.
44. Hutton (1999), p. 182.
45. Hutton (1999), p. 231.
46. Chapman (1993), p. 147.
47. Radford (2018), p. 166.
48. Pearson (2002), p. 29.
49. Drury (2003), p. 179.
50. Graf (2007), p. 50.
51. Luhrmann (1989), p. 88.
52. Harvey (2007), p. 179.
53. Parsons (2008), pp. 69–71.
54. Pendle (2006), pp. 263–271.
55. Sutin (2002), pp. 412–414.
56. Nichols, Mather & Schmidt (2010), pp. 1037–1038.
57. Starr (2003), p. .
58. "Essay on Sister Phyllis Seckler aka Soror Meral" (http://zeroequalstwo.net/great-essay-on-
phyllis-seckler/). 22 March 2019.
59. Evans (2007), p. 286.
60. Bogdan (2015), p. 2.
61. Evans (2007), p. 286; Kaczynski (2010), p. 533–534; Bogdan (2015), p. 2.
62. Evans (2004), p. 227; Evans (2007), p. 286; Kaczynski (2010), p. 534.
63. Evans (2007), p. 287.
64. Evans (2004), p. 227; Evans (2007), p. 287.
65. Hedenborg White (2020), p. 161.
66. Bogdan (2015), p. 1.
67. Djurdjevic (2014), p. 91.
68. Hedenborg White (2020), p. 181.
69. Hedenborg White (2020), p. 169.
70. Djurdjevic (2014), p. 95.
71. Djurdjevic (2014), p. 106.
72. Djurdjevic (2014), p. 96.
73. Djurdjevic (2014), p. 109.
74. Hedenborg White (2020), p. 159.
75. Djurdjevic (2014), pp. 92–93.
76. Djurdjevic (2014), p. 98.
77. Djurdjevic (2014), p. 99.
78. Djurdjevic (2014), p. 100.
79. Hedenborg White (2020), p. 168.
80. Hedenborg White (2020), p. 174.
81. Djurdjevic (2014), p. 107.
82. Hedenborg White (2020), p. 165.
83. Thompson (2018).
84. Lees (2018).
85. Crowley (2004), ch. 3, v. 47.
86. Crowley (1974).
87. Stratton-Kent (1988).
88. Stratton-Kent (2011).
89. Thompson (2016).
90. Grant (1980), p. .
91. Grant (1999), p. .
92. Kraig (n.d.).

Works cited

Primary sources
Crowley, Aleister (September 1909). The Equinox. Vol. I (2). London: Simpkin, Marshall,
Hamilton, Kent & Co.
Crowley, Aleister (1973). Magick Without Tears. Falcon Press.
Crowley, Aleister (1973b). Magick. Samuel Weiser. ISBN 978-0-7100-7423-2.
Crowley, Aleister (1974). Magical and Philosophical Commentaries on the Book of the Law.
Montreal: 93 Publishing.
Crowley, Aleister (1979). The Confessions of Aleister Crowley. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Crowley, Aleister (1997). Magick: Liber ABA, Book 4, Parts I-IV (Second revised ed.). Boston:
Weiser. ISBN 0877289190.
Crowley, Aleister (1998). The Revival of Magick and Other Essays (Oriflamme). United States:
New Falcon Publications. ISBN 978-1561841332.
Crowley, Aleister (2004). The Book of the Law: Liber Al Vel Legis. Red Wheel Weiser.
ISBN 978-1578633081.
Crowley, Aleister (2008). Aleister Crowley's Illustrated Goetia. Original Falcon Press, LLC.
ISBN 978-1935150299.
Grant, Kenneth (1980). Outside the Circles of Time. Muller. Contains a lengthy account of the
writing of Nema's Liber Pennae Praenumbra.
Grant, Kenneth (1999). Beyond the Mauve Zone. London: Starfire. Contains a photo facsimile
of Liber Pennae Praenumbra.
Lees, James (2018). Thompson, Cath (ed.). The New Equinox: The British Journal of Magick.
Hadean Press Limited. ISBN 978-1907881770.
Parsons, John Whiteside (2008). Three Essays on Freedom. York Beach, Maine: Teitan Press.
ISBN 978-0-933429-11-6.

Secondary sources
Asprem, E. (2017). "Explaining the Esoteric Imagination" (http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:
se:su:diva-139732). Aries. 17 (1): 17–50. doi:10.1163/15700593-01701002 (https://doi.org/1
0.1163%2F15700593-01701002).
Behun, W. (2010). "The Body of Light and the Body without Organs". Substance: A Review of
Theory & Literary Criticism. 39 (1): 125–140.
Bogdan, Henrik (2015). "Introduction". In Bogdan, Henrik (ed.). Kenneth Grant: A Bibliography
(second ed.). London: Starfire. pp. 1–11. ISBN 978-1-906073-30-5.
Chapman, Janine (1993). Quest for Dion Fortune. York Beach, Maine: Samuel Weiser.
ISBN 978-0-87728-775-9.
Colquhoun, Ithell (1975). The Sword of Wisdom: MacGregor Mathers & the Golden Dawn. New
York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
Davies, Owen (2003). Cunning-Folk: Popular Magic in English History. London: Hambledon
Continuum.
Davies, Owen (2009). Grimoires: A History of Magic Books. Oxford University Press USA.
ISBN 9780199204519. OCLC 244766270 (https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/244766270).
Djurdjevic, Gordan (2014). India and the Occult: The Influence of South Asian Spirituality on
Modern Western Occultism. New York City: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-40498-5.
Drury, Nevill (2003). Magic and Witchcraft: From Shamanism to the Technopagans. London:
Thames and Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-51140-4.
Evans, Dave (2004). "Trafficking with an Onslaught of Compulsive Weirdness: Kenneth Grant
and the Magickal Revival". In Dave, Evans (ed.). Journal for the Academic Study of Magic:
Issue 2. Oxford: Mandrake. pp. 226–259. ISBN 978-1-869928-72-8.
Evans, Dave (2007). The History of British Magick after Crowley. Hidden Publishing. ISBN 978-
0955523700.
Fanger, Claire (2006). "Fortune, Dion". In Wouter Hanegraaff (ed.). Dictionary of Gnosis and
Western Esotericism. Leiden: Brill. pp. 377–379. ISBN 978-90-04-15231-1.
Graf, Susan Johnston (2007). "The Occult Novels of Dion Fortune". Journal of Gender Studies.
16 (1): 47–56. doi:10.1080/09589230601116182 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F095892306011
16182). S2CID 144244843 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:144244843).
Harvey, Graham (2007). Listening People, Speaking Earth: Contemporary Paganism
(second ed.). London: Hurst & Company. ISBN 978-1-85065-272-4.
Hedenborg White, Manon (2020). The Eloquent Blood: The Goddess Babalon and the
Construction of Femininities in Western Esotericism. Oxford and New York: Oxford
University Press. ISBN 978-0-1900-6502-7.
Hutton, Ronald (1999). The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft (https://
archive.org/details/triumphofmoonhis00hutt). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-
0-19-820744-3.
Jenkins, Phillip (2000). Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History.
Oxford University Press.
Kaczynski, Richard (2010). Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley (https://archive.org/details/d
owhatthouwiltli0000suti) (second ed.). Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books. ISBN 978-
0-312-25243-4.
King, Francis X. (1992). The Flying Sorcerer: Being the Aeronautical Adventures of Francis
Barrett. Oxford: Mandrake.
Kraig, Donald Michael (n.d.). "Review of Maat Magick". New Moon Rising: A Magickal Pagan
Journal (45).
Lecouteux, C. (2015). Dictionary of Ancient Magic Words and Spells: From Abraxas to Zoar.
Inner Traditions/Bear. ISBN 978-1-62055-375-6.
Luhrmann, Tanya M. (1989). Persuasions of the Witch's Craft: Ritual Magic in England.
Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-66324-4.
Mead, G. R. S. (1919). The Doctrine of the Subtle Body in Western Tradition. Watkins.
Michael, John (2005). The New Encyclopedia of the Occult.
Nauert, Charles G. Jr. (1957). "Magic and Skepticism in Agrippa's Thought". Journal of the
History of Ideas. 18 (2): 161–182. doi:10.2307/2707622 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F270762
2). JSTOR 2707622 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2707622).
Nichols, Larry A.; Mather, George; Schmidt, Alvin J. (2010). Encyclopedic Dictionary of Cults,
Sects, and World Religions: Revised and Updated Edition. Zondervan. ISBN 978-
0310866060.
Pearson, Joanne (2002). "The History and Development of Wicca and Paganism". In Joanne
Pearson (ed.). Belief Beyond Boundaries: Wicca, Celtic Spirituality and the New Age. Milton
Keynes: Open University. pp. 15–54. ISBN 978-0-7546-0820-2.
Pendle, George (2006). Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life of Rocket Scientist John
Whiteside Parsons. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0156031790.
Priddle, R.A. (2013). More Cunning Than Folk: An Analysis of Francis Barrett's 'The Magus' as
Indicative of a Transitional Period in English Magic. Ottawa: The University of Ottawa.
Radford, Andrew (2018). "Anxieties of Mystic Influence: Dion Fortune's The Winged Bull and
Aleister Crowley". In Christine Ferguson; Andrew Radford (eds.). The Occult Imagination in
Britain: 1875–1947. Abingdon and New York: Routledge. pp. 165–180. ISBN 978-1-4724-
8698-1.
Richardson, Alan (2007). Priestess: The Life and Magic of Dion Fortune (new and revised ed.).
Loughborough: Thoth Publications. ISBN 978-1-870450-11-9.
Sadovsky, Sonja (2014). The Priestess and the Pen: Marion Zimmer Bradley, Dion Fortune and
Diana Paxton's Influence on Modern Paganism. Woodbury: Llewellyn. ISBN 978-0-7387-
3800-0.
Samuel, G.; Johnston, J. (2013). Religion and the Subtle Body in Asia and the West: Between
Mind and Body. Routledge studies in Asian religion and philosophy. Taylor & Francis.
ISBN 978-1-136-76640-4.
Scarborough, Samuel (Autumn 2003). "The Vibratory Formula and its Use in Daily Ritual Work"
(http://www.jwmt.org/v1n5/vibratoryform.html). Journal of the Western Mystery Tradition. 1
(5).
Smoley, Richard (1999). Hidden Wisdom: A Guide to the Western Inner Traditions. USA: Quest
Books.
Starr, Martin P. (2003). The Unknown God: W. T. Smith and the Thelemites. Bolingbrook,
Illinois: Teitan Press. ISBN 0-933429-07-X.
Stratton-Kent, Jake (March 1988). "The English Qaballa". The Equinox: British Journal of
Thelema. VII (1): 17–25. ISSN 0953-7015 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0953-7015).
Stratton-Kent, Jake (2011). The Serpent Tongue: Liber 187. UK: Hadean Press. ISBN 978-1-
907881-07-7.
Sutin, Lawrence (2002). Do What Thou Wilt: A Life of Aleister Crowley (https://archive.org/detail
s/dowhatthouwiltli0000suti). Macmillan. ISBN 978-0312252434.
Symonds, John; Grant, Kenneth (1973). "Introduction". in Crowley (1973b).
Thompson, Cath (2016). The Magickal Language of the Book of the Law: An English Qaballa
Primer. Hadean Press Limited. ISBN 978-1907881688.
Thompson, Cath (2018). All This and a Book. Hadean Press Limited. ISBN 978-1-907881-78-7.
Urban, Hugh B. (2006). Magia Sexualis: Sex, Magic and Liberation in Modern Western
Esotericism. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-24776-5.
Urban, Hugh B. (2011). The Church of Scientology: A History of a New Religion (https://archive.
org/details/churchofscientol0000urba). Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691146089.

Further reading
Bogdan, Henrik (2012). "Introduction: Modern Western Magic". Aries. 12 (1): 1–16.
doi:10.1163/147783512X614812 (https://doi.org/10.1163%2F147783512X614812).
Evans, Dave (2007b). Aleister Crowley and the 20th Century Synthesis of Magick. United
Kingdom: Hidden Publishing. ISBN 978-0955523724.
Hanegraaff, Wouter (2012). Esotericism and the Academy: Rejected Knowledge in Western
Culture. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521196215.
Peters, Edward (1978). The Magician, the Witch, and the Law. University of Pennsylvania
Press. ISBN 978-0812211016.
Thompson, Cath (2017). A Handbook of Stellar Magick. West Yorkshire: Hadean Press.
ISBN 978-1907881718.

External links
Learning materials related to The Practice of Thelema at Wikiversity

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ceremonial_magic&oldid=1289977809"