Introduction to Occult Prayer

This system of prayer is intended for the use of people who have studied the Qabala, particularly the Qabala of the Golden Dawn as described in the books of Israel Regardie. It is assumed that you know the structure of the Tree of Life, the basic nature of Its components and Their Relationships, the Color scheme of the Queen Scale and a little bit of Hebrew, and that you have some experience with chanting and meditation if not with ritual per se (everybody who has gone to any kind of religious service has participated in ritual). I am also assuming that you are at least open to the legitimacy of the Qabala and the ability of prayer to function on some level, if only internally. Even if you are completely closed to these things, you may still experience some good from these prayers. Like any other system of prayer or meditation, try it for a while and see what happens.

Prayer, recitation, meditation, ritual... much of a muchness. If you like to put your prayers in an elaborate ceremonial context, please do so. Whatever places and procedures work for you, to get you into a physical, mental and spiritual state of peace and receptiveness to the Divine, is a good thing. We can all profit from being open to the validity of all spiritual paths (know them by their works) and processes, for all contain at least One Ray of the Ineffable Light....

The text places the prayers within the ritual context of the Qabalistic Cross. This is the drawing of a Cross upon your body while chanting "Thou art the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory, forever, Amen" in Hebrew. Beginning and ending with this asserts to our own internal components and to the Universe at large and as a Whole that we recognize and affirm the Divine Ultimate as All and Only, and that everything else we do or say occurs within that Divine Context. For more on the Qabalistic Cross...

Words in BLOCK CAPITALS are Sacred Names and should be chanted or resonated or sung. The recitation generally should be done in an affirmative and somewhat dramatic manner. Overall, think mix of Gregorian Chant and Shakespearean acting.

There are various sequences we could apply when using these prayers, the most obvious being the Path of the Sword from Kether thru Malkuth, but the reverse would also be valid. However, I was Divinely Guided to put these Prayers on paper in a particular order (as of this writing, "on paper" is a euphemism -- they exist only in the digital world)....Malkuth, Kether, Chesed, Geburah, Tiphareth so far -- grounded, inspired, generous, firm, perfectly harmonized -- they form a Qabalistic Cross -- and this is, obviously, the sequence in which I am being Divinely Guided to experience them....if different people try different sequences, depending on their own Divine Guidance (and, perhaps, their level of Initiation, if any), and then we compare notes....

Because you almost always want to start and end Magick on the Middle Pillar, start with either Kether or Malkuth, no matter where you decide to go next. Recite the prayer in the plural (we) in the morning, as you go out into the public world, extending these blessings to everyone you deal with all day, transforming your relationships, activities and institutions, and in the singular (I) in the evening as you return to your private world, programming your perceptions and your sleep to transform your body/mind/spirit.

Repeat this process for each of the prayers, in whichever order you choose to use them, working your way thru all of the prayers over time. Doing all the prayers in one day would be a real marathon and not for the inexperienced. I will probably do it eventually and I'd like to hear from others who do -- Path of the Sword is probably best for this, but working it into my Ritual of Blessing for Grounding the Powers of the Etz Ha-Chayim could also work well.

At least once a week, do Kether/we in the morning and Kether/I in the evening to keep you Divinely Inspired, and Malkuth/we in the morning and Malkuth/I in the evening to keep you grounded, affirming the Middle Pillar and the Alchemic Formula (1)=[10]. Perhaps Malkuth on Saturday, Kether on Sunday (reverse if your sabbath is Saturday). Both on the same day is also a possibility.

This project will probably not be complete until sometime late in February, 2000, and it will need tweaking long after. Thanks for your patience.

As I complete an acceptable draft of a prayer, I will activate its link on the list below.

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