The Greater
Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram
by Simon JesterMost of you are by now thoroughly familiar with the ritual implements, symbols, movements, Names and visualizations used in the traditional Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (usually abbreviated as the LBRP.) You are also probably aware that there are many variant forms of this ritual. The same is true of the Greater Pentagram rituals. Different practitioners of the Magical Arts begin by learning one version of a given ritual, but, as their understanding of magic deepens, they inevitably end up creating their own variations. Like different directors of a single stage play, each magician may choose to give emphasis to an aspect of a particular ritual that another magician might prefer to understate.
The version of the Greater Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram that I present here emphasizes the significance of the Classical Elements in each of the Four Qabalistic Worlds (i.e., the Worlds of Atziluth, Briah, Yetzirah, and Assiah) and brings these elements together under the rule of the quintessential fifth element: the Spirit (which may be assigned to the Qabalistic World of Adam Kadmon.) Unlike the LBRP, which only involves the ritual drawing of the Earth pentagram/banishing form, the Greater Banishing Pentagram ritual given below requires that the banishing forms of all the elemental pentagrams be drawn as well as the banishing forms of both the Active and Passive Spirit Pentagrams. Additionally, it involves three symbolic gestures (the Sign of the Enterer, the Sign of Silence, and the Sign of the Closing of the Veil) and employs the Names of the Divine and Elemental Beings associated with each element in the Four Worlds. The Hebrew names of the elements and the four cardinal directions are also used.
This is a much more complex ritual than any I have so far presented here, and learning it will require a lot of concentration, memorization and plain hard work. But it is an exceedingly powerful ritual, one that will enable you to banish the negative elemental forces of all four Classical Elements on all four levels of being simultaneously and bring the powers of the Higher & Elemental Realms into combined focus for your protection. And, in complete honesty, I feel a definite sense of mounting evil in the world at this moment in history that moves me to share this ritual with you now.
In order to facilitate learning this version of the GBRP, you should begin by practicing the various elements of the ritual in small units until you feel thoroughly familiar with them. Simply pick a set of signs, gestures, or Names from the following lists and work with them until you're ready to assimilate another set.
Here is what you need to learn in order to perform the GBRP. In order to avoid presenting material easily available elsewhere online, I've linked some of the following items to web pages that explain or depict them in more complete detail:Drawing the Pentagrams
1. Active & Passive Spirit Pentagrams/Banishing Forms.
2. Air, Fire, Water & Earth Pentagrams/Banishing Forms.
Click here to review how to form these pentagrams.
Signs & Gestures
1. The Sign of the Enterer (also called the Projection Sign, the Neophyte Sign, or the Sign of Horus) & The Sign of Silence (also called the Sign of Harpocrates or Horus the Child.)
2. The Sign of the Closing of the Veil—click here and scan down the page to find the section titled "The Portal Grade Signs."
3. The Elemental Signs of Air, Fire, Water & Earth—these are also the Golden Dawn Grade Signs for the Theoricus, Philosophus, Practicus, and Zelator grades respectively. Click here to see examples of these Signs.
Directions & Elements
East (Hebrew= Mizrach)—Air (Hebrew=Ruach)
South (Hebrew=Darom)—Fire (Hebrew=Asch)
West (Hebrew=Maarab)—Water (Hebrew=Maim)
North (Hebrew=Tzaphon)—Earth (Hebrew=Ophir)
Names for Charging Pentagrams
In the East (Mizrach):
Active Spirit Pentagram/Banishing Form—Ehyeh
Air Pentagram/Banishing Form—Shaddi El Chai
In the South (Darom):
Active Spirit Pentagram/Banishing Form—Ehyeh
Fire Pentagram/Banishing Form—YHVH Sabaoth
In the West (Maarab):
Passive Spirit Pentagram/Banishing Form—AGLA
Water Pentagram/Banishing Form—Elohim Sabaoth
In the North (Tzaphon):
Passive Spirit Pentagram/Banishing Form—AGLA
Earth Pentagram/Banishing Form—Adonai haAretz
Divine & Elemental Names
Air—Raphael, Chassan, Ariel, Paralda, the Sylphs
Fire—Michael, Aral, Seraph, Djin, the Salamanders
Water—Gabriel, Talihad, Tharsis, Nichsa, the Undines
Earth—Uriel, Phorlakh, Kerub, Ghob, the Gnomes
These are the Elemental assignments as given by the Golden Dawn. The first Name given in each row is that of the Archangel who presides over the element in the World of Briah. The next two names in the rows (defined by the Golden Dawn as the Names of the Angel and Ruler) are the Names of the relevant Angelic Powers in the World of Yetzirah. The last two Names given in each row are the Names of the Elemental King and Class of Elementals associated with each element in the World of Assiah. The Names given in the previous table that are used to charge the Elemental Pentagrams are the Divine Names assigned to each element in the World of Atziluth, and the Divine Names used to charge the Spirit Pentagrams relate to the quintessential Fifth Element or World of Adam Kadmon. Thus, this particular version of the Greater Ritual of the Banishing Pentagram invokes the Powers of all four Qabalistic Worlds, or Olamot, under the Ultimate Power of the Spirit, and asks them to help the Magician purge himself/herself of all unclean forces and banish these dark elements to the Sitra Achra (the Other Side—a Qabalistic term for the Dark Dimension.)
Here, at last, is the ritual itself:
The Greater Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram
Facing East
Perform the Ritual of the Qabalistic Cross
With hand, knife, or sword form the Active Spirit banishing pentagram. Charge with the Name "Ehyeh."
Give the Sign of the Enterer & the Sign of Silence
Say: "Spirits of darkness and evil, depart from me and this place through the Gate of the Holy Spirit in Mizrach."
Give the Sign of the Closing of the Veil
Say: "I close this portal to you and drive you into the infinite emptiness."
Holding arms up, say: "May the Holy Spirit of Ehyeh banish you to the Sitra Achra and bar your return."
With hand, knife, or sword form the banishing Air pentagram and charge with "Shaddi El Chai."
Give the Sign of the Enterer & the Sign of Silence
While giving the Air/Theoricus Sign say: "Spirits of darkness and evil, depart from me and this place through the Gate of Ruach in Mizrach."
Give the Sign of the Closing of the Veil
Say: "I close the portal of Air to you and drive you into the airless void."
Holding arms up, say: "May Shaddi El Chai banish you to the Sitra Achra and command Raphael, Chassan, Ariel, Paralda, and the Sylphs to bar your return."
Facing South
With hand, knife, or sword form the Active Spirit banishing pentagram. Charge with the Name "Ehyeh."
Give the Sign of the Enterer & the Sign of Silence.
Say: "Spirits of darkness and evil, depart from me and this place through the Gate of the Holy Spirit in Darom."
Give the Sign of the Closing of the Veil.
Say: "I close this portal to you and drive you into the outer darkness."
Holding arms up, say: "May the Holy Spirit of Ehyeh banish you to the Sitra Achra and bar your return."
With hand, knife, or sword form the banishing Fire pentagram and charge with "YHVH Sabaoth."
Give the Sign of the Enterer & the Sign of Silence.
While giving the Fire/Philosophus Sign say: "Spirits of darkness and evil, depart from me and this place through the Gate of Asch, the Eternal Flame, in Darom."
Give the Sign of the Closing of the Veil.
Say: "I close the portal of the Eternal Flame to you and drive you into the cold, dark abyss."
Holding arms up, say: "May YHVH Tzabaoth banish you to the Sitra Achra and command Michael, Aral, Seraph, Djin, and the Salamanders to bar your return."
Facing WestWith hand, knife, or sword form the Passive Spirit banishing pentagram. Charge with the Name "AGLA."
Give the Sign of the Enterer & the Sign of Silence.
Say: "Spirits of darkness and evil, depart from me and this place through the Gate of the Holy Spirit in Maarab."
Give the Sign of the Closing of the Veil.
Say: "I close this portal to you and drive you into the desert wilderness."
Holding arms up, say: "Atoh Gibor LaOlam Adonai, banish these evil ones to the Sitra Achra and bar their return."
With hand, knife, or sword form the banishing Water pentagram and charge with "Elohim Sabaoth."
Give the Sign of the Enterer & the Sign of Silence.
While giving the Water/Practicus Sign say: "Spirits of darkness and evil, depart from me and this place through the Floodgates of Maim in Maarab."
Give the Sign of the Closing of the Veil.
Say: "I close the portal of Water to you and drive you into the parched wasteland."
Holding arms up, say: "May Elohim Tzabaoth banish you to the Sitra Achra and command Gabriel, Talihad, Tharsis, Nichsa, and the Undines to bar your return."
Facing NorthWith hand, knife, or sword form the Passive Spirit banishing pentagram. Charge with the Name "AGLA."
Give the Sign of the Enterer & the Sign of Silence.
Say: "Spirits of darkness and evil, depart from me and this place through the Gate of the Holy Spirit in Tzaphon."
Give the Sign of the Closing of the Veil.
Say: "I close this portal to you and drive you into the lifeless black depths."
Holding arms up, say: "Atoh Gibor LaOlam Adonai, banish these evil ones to the Sitra Achra and bar their return."
With hand, knife, or sword form the banishing Earth pentagram and charge with "Adonai haAretz."
Give the Sign of the Enterer & the Sign of Silence.
While giving the Earth/Zelator Sign say: "Spirits of darkness and evil, depart from me and this place through the Gate of Ophir in Tzaphon."
Turn back to the East, and complete the circle of burning light that connects all the pentagrams around you.
Stand with feet wide apart and arms extended so that your body
forms a pentagram shape. You now call upon the Four Archangels
of the cardinal directions by saying the following"
"Before me, Raphael." (Pronounced "Ra-fi-el.") Raphael is the Archangel of the Sephira Tiphereth and the element of Air. He is traditionally visualized as a winged being wearing yellow robes and surrounded by bright yellow light. His right arm is uplifted and he holds a raised sword in his right hand.
"Behind me, Gabriel." (Pronounced "Gah-bree-el.") Gabriel is the Archangel of the Sephira Yesod and of the element of Water. He is traditionally visualized as a winged being in blue robes surrounded by blue light. He holds a silver chalice in his right hand.
"At my right hand, Michael." (Pronounced "Mee-ki-el.") Michael is the Archangel of Fire, and is usually portrayed as a fiery figure robed in bright red with an upraised flaming wand or sword in his right hand. He cups a bright flame in his left hand.
"At my left hand, Uriel." (Pronounced "Your-ee-el.") Urial is the Archangel of the element Earth. He wears green robes, carries an assortment of flowers and plants with his left arm and holds his right hand up, palm outward. In the center of his palm appears an open eye of greenish color. He stands upon a boulder and beyond him appear green fields and forests.After saying these invocations, move your feet together and keep your arms extended in a cross-form. Say: "About me flame the pentagrams, and in the column shines the holy six-rayed star." Imagine the pentagrams in their various colors blazing around you and see a column of light descending from above your head down to your feet. Directly in front of you, just above your chest and within the column of light, imagine that a glowing six-pointed hexagram is formed.
After visualizing the various symbolic elements of the ritual arrayed around you, conclude the GBRP by once more performing the Qabalistic Cross.
