The first post of the Practical section is mercifully brief, but I think it’s important to include the Lamp in your list of required magickal tools. Its influence and usefulness will help with the application of the subjects that follow.

The Lamp is a tool I hadn’t really used much before getting the vision of that Glyph that started this series of posts on the NP basics. Usually, I would light some appropriately-colored candles in my Work, and either let them burn out as part of the ritual, or snuff them and relight them later.

Then Modrocus posted a couple of experiments he had been doing using the Papryi Graecae Magicae (PGM) at the ritual_magic yahoo group. This was about a day or two before I had a revelation about the Glyph and the altar setup it implies. When the revelation came, the role of the Lamp became pretty clear.

In the PGM, the Lamp is used as a means to commune with the spirits. In some rituals, when the spirit is present, the magician or skryer can see their presence as a quality of the light around the Lamp that isn’t there when the spirit isn’t present. In other rituals, the Lamp is like a transmitter, with the wick being made out of a cloth with the spell written on it and then burned. I thought that was pretty cool.

Then I had the revelation of the Glyph, and it became apparent to me that the Lamp plays another role as well. In order to be effective in this role, the Lamp must be positioned outside the circle of the planetary talismen, representing the realm of infinite light that surrounds the divine darkness in which the Good dwells. This minor little detail has made a big impact in my Work. I never grasped the far-reaching effects a properly laid-out altar can have on your personal and magickal life. The altar is the representation of the macrocosm and the implements at your disposal to function within that macrocosm as a magician. Just setting up your altar properly results in a fundamental change in your life.

My “Lamp” is a tall brass candle stand, about 18 inches high. I have a tea-lite candle holder on top of this, and I can drop in a tea-lite before the ritual begins, and it has a really neat effect on the rest of the altar layout. It provides just the right ambiance for scrying in a crystal, and as I go through the various stages of the Work, I can check the Lamp to see if I’m where I need to be. If the Spirit of God is present, it shows.

In addition, I can use the Lamp as a transmitter through the use of tea-lites appropriately inscribed and anointed, following the guidelines of the PGM.

So in addition to the “standard” elemental tools a magician in the NP system has on their altar, I strongly urge you to include a Lamp. It completes your altar in a way that can’t be easily described, but is almost instantly understood when implemented.

Once the Altar was laid out appropriately, methods of using the Glyph in practice came naturally.

The binding of the Demonic Kings immediately cut off a great deal of mischief in my life. People at work that were obstacles to accomplishing my work suddenly became too distracted doing their work to give me grief, and began giving me the information I needed to do my job quickly to get rid of me. The kids behaved better. My spouse and I understood one another better. I quit running over curbs. (This is a big deal. For some reason, I’ve been running over curbs a lot in the last few years. It twisted the frame of one van, and popped the tire of another.)

The placement of the elemental Kings in their appropriate locations (that is, not the traditional GD quadrants) brought me into harmony with the tiny parts that go into the moments I experience. The first few days, I had supra-luminescent vision, that transcendentalist-painting-vision, where the underlying divinity of all things is bursting through the edges of the forms they’re wearing to manifest in. I performed (successfully) workings within the elemental kingdoms for the first time in my magical career since leaving behind the 21 Lessons of Merlin. (Don’t read it.)

My elemental weapons have gained a “shine” to them that wasn’t there previously. I don’t feel at all silly using the wand or dagger like I used to. They’ve become a natural extension of my Work. The Elemental realms themselves appear at the edges of my Altar space in the astral temple I use. My favorite is Raphael standing on the windswept mountains of the West. Reminds me of Colorado.

The Planetary Talismans… Well, let’s just say things are going as well there as they are everywhere else in my Work. I’ve been doing a lot more Work with Michael in the Sun for others as part of the Solar Attunements included with the Genius rites I have performed for people, and it’s been… wonderful. I can’t recommend highly enough the importance of having a talisman for each planet on your altar arranged in the right place. Wonderful.

Enough of the Bliss. It’s good, trust me. But the practical benefits are awesome too. Having the Talismans in their appropriate place in the physical representation of my magickal sphere has resulted in the effects of those planets integrating in ways I didn’t expect. I can be fifty miles away from home at work, and feel a planetary influence, conjure the archangel or one of their legions, and receive something I need right then and there. The communications are bi-directional, and the results are cumulative.

Once the Altar was laid out appropriately, methods of using the Glyph in practice came naturally.

The binding of the Demonic Kings immediately cut off a great deal of mischief in my life. People at work that were obstacles to accomplishing my work suddenly became too distracted doing their work to give me grief, and began giving me the information I needed to do my job quickly to get rid of me. The kids behaved better. My spouse and I understood one another better. I quit running over curbs. (This is a big deal. For some reason, I’ve been running over curbs a lot in the last few years. It twisted the frame of one van, and popped the tire of another.)

The placement of the elemental Kings in their appropriate locations (that is, not the traditional GD quadrants) brought me into harmony with the tiny parts that go into the moments I experience. The first few days, I had supra-luminescent vision, that transcendentalist-painting-vision, where the underlying divinity of all things is bursting through the edges of the forms they’re wearing to manifest in. I performed (successfully) workings within the elemental kingdoms for the first time in my magical career since leaving behind the 21 Lessons of Merlin. (Don’t read it.)

My elemental weapons have gained a “shine” to them that wasn’t there previously. I don’t feel at all silly using the wand or dagger like I used to. They’ve become a natural extension of my Work. The Elemental realms themselves appear at the edges of my Altar space in the astral temple I use. My favorite is Raphael standing on the windswept mountains of the West. Reminds me of Colorado.

The Planetary Talismans… Well, let’s just say things are going as well there as they are everywhere else in my Work. I’ve been doing a lot more Work with Michael in the Sun for others as part of the Solar Attunements included with the Genius rites I have performed for people, and it’s been… wonderful. I can’t recommend highly enough the importance of having a talisman for each planet on your altar arranged in the right place. Wonderful.

Enough of the Bliss. It’s good, trust me. But the practical benefits are awesome too. Having the Talismans in their appropriate place in the physical representation of my magickal sphere has resulted in the effects of those planets integrating in ways I didn’t expect. I can be fifty miles away from home at work, and feel a planetary influence, conjure the archangel or one of their legions, and receive something I need right then and there. The communications are bi-directional, and the results are cumulative.

The first thing I did, being the pragmatic Tech-writing Taurus that I am, was to draw up the Glyph on my computer. It’s easier to do concentric circles and save them as images in Visio. What I ended up with is this:

As you can see, there aren’t seven circles for the spheres of the planets, or four for the elements as you might expect. I drew out all the spheres in earlier drawings, but they’re just too big. This suffices, and it has a circle for each of the primary items one works with as an incarnate magician.

The inner three circles represent the sphere of the incarnate magician. They are divided into four quadrants, one for each of the cardinal points. In the innermost circle are the four Demonic Kings of the corners of the world. The brackets here represent their influence upon the magician being bound. Surrounding them are the Four Angelic Kings of the four corners of the World. These angels bind the influence of the Demonic Kings from the sphere of the magician. In the circle around the angles, I placed the elements as presented in Agrippa’s Scale of the Number Four.

In the outermost circle are the planets. The order is very specific. If you look at the table in Agrippa’s Book 2, Chapter vii, you’ll see why they are placed where they are placed.

The order of the planetary spheres as the spirit descends into matter is Saturn-Jupiter-Mars-Sun-Venus-Mercury-Moon. However, we’re already incarnated, and when we look up at the spheres from the world of manifestation, we’ll see them from the perspective of the material realm.

Placing the planets in their respective quadrants as seen from below represents understanding the place of the incarnated magician in the cosmos. We are spirits, sparks of the Logos, of the Race of Gods. Our origin is from beyond the stars and the planets they influence. Yet our home, our sphere of influence is the material realm. We transcend through the realms of the planets to return to God, yet we retain our places in the manifest world, anchors, as it were, for the power of God to return with us to this realm.

Not to get all loopy or anything. There’s only so much theory and metaphysics I can personally stand. It doesn’t mean anything if it doesn’t affect anything, in my opinion, and it was vitally important to get the harmony represented in the Glyph grounded in my sphere.

Where is the magician’s sphere represented physically? Their altar, of course. It holds their elemental tools, the symbols of their authority over the essences that Plato taught combined to form all things. It’s also the Table of Practice, the key to working with the spirits of each realm. It represents the access point for the Magician. It’s the pivotal point between the realms Above and the realms Below. It represents everything spiritual in the magicians manifest realm.

So I took the Key to Everything represented in the Glyph and put it in place on my altar. The first thing I did was bind the Demonic Kings in miniature Spirit Pots. Then I created miniature talismans of the Angels of the four corners of the Earth using the Kings of the elements in the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. Beside each of these cards on the Altar, I placed the Elemental weapons associated with the Corner. That was great for the physical sphere.

For the planets, I placed the seven talismans in the layout in the outermost circle of the glyph. Outside the circle of the planets, I placed my Lamp, to represent the Source of all, the True Father, the Speaker of the Word who dwells in perfect darkness within the source of the radiating Light.

Immediately I began to see the effects of cleaning up my altar space on my Work. The Spirits of the planets come more quickly, and every aspect of my life has been drawn into an increasing harmony. My credit has cleared up, my job has become more secure, communications that were blocked are open now. Questions I have are resolved quickly and “miraculously.”

Everything isn’t perfect, of course. We’re still in the manifest realm. But I do have an insight and a position of stability and authority from which to oversee the sources and interactions of the forces behind the scenes in my life.

Life is truly Good.

The first thing I did, being the pragmatic Tech-writing Taurus that I am, was to draw up the Glyph on my computer. It’s easier to do concentric circles and save them as images in Visio. What I ended up with is this:

As you can see, there aren’t seven circles for the spheres of the planets, or four for the elements as you might expect. I drew out all the spheres in earlier drawings, but they’re just too big. This suffices, and it has a circle for each of the primary items one works with as an incarnate magician.

The inner three circles represent the sphere of the incarnate magician. They are divided into four quadrants, one for each of the cardinal points. In the innermost circle are the four Demonic Kings of the corners of the world. The brackets here represent their influence upon the magician being bound. Surrounding them are the Four Angelic Kings of the four corners of the World. These angels bind the influence of the Demonic Kings from the sphere of the magician. In the circle around the angles, I placed the elements as presented in Agrippa’s Scale of the Number Four.

In the outermost circle are the planets. The order is very specific. If you look at the table in Agrippa’s Book 2, Chapter vii, you’ll see why they are placed where they are placed.

The order of the planetary spheres as the spirit descends into matter is Saturn-Jupiter-Mars-Sun-Venus-Mercury-Moon. However, we’re already incarnated, and when we look up at the spheres from the world of manifestation, we’ll see them from the perspective of the material realm.

Placing the planets in their respective quadrants as seen from below represents understanding the place of the incarnated magician in the cosmos. We are spirits, sparks of the Logos, of the Race of Gods. Our origin is from beyond the stars and the planets they influence. Yet our home, our sphere of influence is the material realm. We transcend through the realms of the planets to return to God, yet we retain our places in the manifest world, anchors, as it were, for the power of God to return with us to this realm.

Not to get all loopy or anything. There’s only so much theory and metaphysics I can personally stand. It doesn’t mean anything if it doesn’t affect anything, in my opinion, and it was vitally important to get the harmony represented in the Glyph grounded in my sphere.

Where is the magician’s sphere represented physically? Their altar, of course. It holds their elemental tools, the symbols of their authority over the essences that Plato taught combined to form all things. It’s also the Table of Practice, the key to working with the spirits of each realm. It represents the access point for the Magician. It’s the pivotal point between the realms Above and the realms Below. It represents everything spiritual in the magicians manifest realm.

So I took the Key to Everything represented in the Glyph and put it in place on my altar. The first thing I did was bind the Demonic Kings in miniature Spirit Pots. Then I created miniature talismans of the Angels of the four corners of the Earth using the Kings of the elements in the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. Beside each of these cards on the Altar, I placed the Elemental weapons associated with the Corner. That was great for the physical sphere.

For the planets, I placed the seven talismans in the layout in the outermost circle of the glyph. Outside the circle of the planets, I placed my Lamp, to represent the Source of all, the True Father, the Speaker of the Word who dwells in perfect darkness within the source of the radiating Light.

Immediately I began to see the effects of cleaning up my altar space on my Work. The Spirits of the planets come more quickly, and every aspect of my life has been drawn into an increasing harmony. My credit has cleared up, my job has become more secure, communications that were blocked are open now. Questions I have are resolved quickly and “miraculously.”

Everything isn’t perfect, of course. We’re still in the manifest realm. But I do have an insight and a position of stability and authority from which to oversee the sources and interactions of the forces behind the scenes in my life.

Life is truly Good.

The first thing I did, being the pragmatic Tech-writing Taurus that I am, was to draw up the Glyph on my computer. It’s easier to do concentric circles and save them as images in Visio. What I ended up with is this:

As you can see, there aren’t seven circles for the spheres of the planets, or four for the elements as you might expect. I drew out all the spheres in earlier drawings, but they’re just too big. This suffices, and it has a circle for each of the primary items one works with as an incarnate magician.

The inner three circles represent the sphere of the incarnate magician. They are divided into four quadrants, one for each of the cardinal points. In the innermost circle are the four Demonic Kings of the corners of the world. The brackets here represent their influence upon the magician being bound. Surrounding them are the Four Angelic Kings of the four corners of the World. These angels bind the influence of the Demonic Kings from the sphere of the magician. In the circle around the angles, I placed the elements as presented in Agrippa’s Scale of the Number Four.

In the outermost circle are the planets. The order is very specific. If you look at the table in Agrippa’s Book 2, Chapter vii, you’ll see why they are placed where they are placed.

The order of the planetary spheres as the spirit descends into matter is Saturn-Jupiter-Mars-Sun-Venus-Mercury-Moon. However, we’re already incarnated, and when we look up at the spheres from the world of manifestation, we’ll see them from the perspective of the material realm.

Placing the planets in their respective quadrants as seen from below represents understanding the place of the incarnated magician in the cosmos. We are spirits, sparks of the Logos, of the Race of Gods. Our origin is from beyond the stars and the planets they influence. Yet our home, our sphere of influence is the material realm. We transcend through the realms of the planets to return to God, yet we retain our places in the manifest world, anchors, as it were, for the power of God to return with us to this realm.

Not to get all loopy or anything. There’s only so much theory and metaphysics I can personally stand. It doesn’t mean anything if it doesn’t affect anything, in my opinion, and it was vitally important to get the harmony represented in the Glyph grounded in my sphere.

Where is the magician’s sphere represented physically? Their altar, of course. It holds their elemental tools, the symbols of their authority over the essences that Plato taught combined to form all things. It’s also the Table of Practice, the key to working with the spirits of each realm. It represents the access point for the Magician. It’s the pivotal point between the realms Above and the realms Below. It represents everything spiritual in the magicians manifest realm.

So I took the Key to Everything represented in the Glyph and put it in place on my altar. The first thing I did was bind the Demonic Kings in miniature Spirit Pots. Then I created miniature talismans of the Angels of the four corners of the Earth using the Kings of the elements in the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. Beside each of these cards on the Altar, I placed the Elemental weapons associated with the Corner. That was great for the physical sphere.

For the planets, I placed the seven talismans in the layout in the outermost circle of the glyph. Outside the circle of the planets, I placed my Lamp, to represent the Source of all, the True Father, the Speaker of the Word who dwells in perfect darkness within the source of the radiating Light.

Immediately I began to see the effects of cleaning up my altar space on my Work. The Spirits of the planets come more quickly, and every aspect of my life has been drawn into an increasing harmony. My credit has cleared up, my job has become more secure, communications that were blocked are open now. Questions I have are resolved quickly and “miraculously.”

Everything isn’t perfect, of course. We’re still in the manifest realm. But I do have an insight and a position of stability and authority from which to oversee the sources and interactions of the forces behind the scenes in my life.

Life is truly Good.

If anyone wants to see the whole NP Basics series from start to the latest post, click the little green NP Basics link beneath the post. You'll have to scroll down to get to the beginning, and then go up. Or you can click this link, and it will take you there too:

http://headforred.blogspot.com/search/label/NP%20Basics

Long ago, and far away, I began this series on the Neo-Platonic system. It began because I wanted to share the background that had lead up to the satori experience I had while studying Agrippa’s table on the Scale of the Number 4 (Book 2, Chapter 7 ). Everything I had been studying all came together in that moment, and the result was a compelling urge to map out what I was seeing on paper. Working into the wee hours of the morning with a compass and some folded paper to serve as a straight edge (the kids had broken my ruler), I ended up with a Glyph. This Glyph embodies the Great Work of the Magician, the realms of the spirits we work with in the material realm, the spirits of the seven planetary realms, and the role of the magician balanced in between the Above and the Below.

Pretty neat, in my opinion. Not long after receiving it, I posted the information everywhere I could. I thought that just looking at the Glyph would bring instant Illumination to everyone who saw it. When people looked at it and said, yeah, ok, neat, and went on with their lives and Work, I thought they just didn’t have the background to see the awesome impact this Glyph can have on Ceremonial Magicians. Taking what it represents, taking the keys that are summarized in its concentric circles and the perspective of the layout, and putting it into practical use results in complete and total control of all things material and spiritual, from an enlightened and beneficent place of authority in the cosmos.

So I labored on the different sections of this work with the goal of bringing everyone this power, illumination, and understanding of Life, the Universe, and Everything.

Since the time that I got this Glyph, I’ve been using it to great effect in my Work. It really does do everything I thought it would do. But I’ve realized that it’s not going to be for everyone.

Understanding now that this is a personal revelation, I’ve been putting off wrapping up the series. I intended it to be a climactic culmination that brought everything else together and sparked a mass enlightenment experience that spread like wildfire through my audience that has grown to a global scale. I no longer expect that to happen, but nevertheless, I hope this serves to at least inspire some of you on to your own Glyphs, your own empowerment, and your own harmony.

Long ago, and far away, I began this series on the Neo-Platonic system. It began because I wanted to share the background that had lead up to the satori experience I had while studying Agrippa’s table on the Scale of the Number 4 (Book 2, Chapter 7 ). Everything I had been studying all came together in that moment, and the result was a compelling urge to map out what I was seeing on paper. Working into the wee hours of the morning with a compass and some folded paper to serve as a straight edge (the kids had broken my ruler), I ended up with a Glyph. This Glyph embodies the Great Work of the Magician, the realms of the spirits we work with in the material realm, the spirits of the seven planetary realms, and the role of the magician balanced in between the Above and the Below.

Pretty neat, in my opinion. Not long after receiving it, I posted the information everywhere I could. I thought that just looking at the Glyph would bring instant Illumination to everyone who saw it. When people looked at it and said, yeah, ok, neat, and went on with their lives and Work, I thought they just didn’t have the background to see the awesome impact this Glyph can have on Ceremonial Magicians. Taking what it represents, taking the keys that are summarized in its concentric circles and the perspective of the layout, and putting it into practical use results in complete and total control of all things material and spiritual, from an enlightened and beneficent place of authority in the cosmos.

So I labored on the different sections of this work with the goal of bringing everyone this power, illumination, and understanding of Life, the Universe, and Everything.

Since the time that I got this Glyph, I’ve been using it to great effect in my Work. It really does do everything I thought it would do. But I’ve realized that it’s not going to be for everyone.

Understanding now that this is a personal revelation, I’ve been putting off wrapping up the series. I intended it to be a climactic culmination that brought everything else together and sparked a mass enlightenment experience that spread like wildfire through my audience that has grown to a global scale. I no longer expect that to happen, but nevertheless, I hope this serves to at least inspire some of you on to your own Glyphs, your own empowerment, and your own harmony.