9. USING THE TOOLS

       The symbolic level of ritual is the one most often studied and perhaps the overfamiliarity with a single side of the subject has created what must seem to many like impediments. Traditional modes of ceremonial magick draw upon finite sets of symbols, that are derived from the mythologies associated with the various traditions. So, for instance, the Christian symbol-set features the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, the Virgin Mary, various forms of crosses, saints, etc. The Egyptian symbol-set has its ankhs, its hieroglyphs, and its Neteru, the pantheon of deities. Likewise the Greek symbol set is populated with entities with names like Pan, Artemis, Zeus, Apollo, Athena, etc. The astrological symbol set considers qualities with names of planets and constellations. An eclectic or post-modern approach to magick goes further, drawing upon a collection of symbol sets, the many different traditional mythologies that are available to everyone through global information technology. That creates a greater, but still finite set of symbols.
       No matter how much you have studied, the number of symbols that you can consciously deal with remains finite. Some people may be able to remember more names of gods, goddesses, angels, demons, barbarous words, gestures, and gematria than others, but relative to the vast number of permutations that can take place in an infinite universe, it still remains a limited set. The trick here, as previously discussed, is to create a microcosmic set of symbols that fits within the limited active memory of the human mind. That set needs to be internally consistent, and of some broader symbolic quality when taken as a whole. This may seem complicated in theory, but in practice one may find that the resources are very close to hand.
       For the Perfected Self rituals, the ancient symbol system of the elements was selected as being simple to learn -- someone without a classical education would already likely be able to name the elements air, water, earth, fire -- and the terms are unused and open-ended enough to elicit very personal meanings for each individual. The bulk of these rituals, in fact, is the work of applying meaning to the symbols.
       We attach meaning to symbols all the time, throughout every day of our lives. It's a process that we are familiar with, although most people have rarely applied it toward the task of consciously creating ritual. For instance, you buy a new telephone. When you get it home from the store, you plug it in and find out that it has a different ring from your previous telephone. The ring of the telephone is an auditory symbol -- it is a sound with a very definite meaning. The first time that the new phone rings, you immediately learn to associate that particular ringing with the meaning: someone is calling you. Or someone tells you their phone number. You write it down or remember it in association with that person's name. When the name is spoken or written, you can then quickly (one would hope) access the associated information: the phone number. You might remember names by associating mental images of the name-bearers with the sound of the name. The examples of this kind of thinking are nearly infinite; the symbol/meaning associative process is a fundamental component of our day-to-day, ordinary means of creating mental maps to operate on. It a basic factor in the way we think, all the time, in every way.
       In the neuro-linguistic terminology of Richard Bandler and John Grinder, this kind of association is called anchoring. An explicit method of anchoring forms the basic building block of ritual magick.

       Sample Anchoring: As you relax, wherever you are, remember a time when you were particularly happy (if you can't remember such a time, imagine what such a time would be like). Remember what you saw at that time. When the memory of the visual component is as strong as it can be, squeeze one of your hands together. Remember what you heard at that time. When the memory of the auditory component is as strong as it can be, squeeze the same hand together. Remember what you felt at that time. When the memory of the physical component is as strong as it can be, squeeze the same hand. Now take a deep breath, change your position, shake yourself a bit. Now you can close your eyes, and squeeze that hand again. What happens?

       When anchoring, if you wish to increase the effectiveness of the anchor, you can adjust parameters of your memories or internal experiences. Increase the intensity of the light, increase the volume of the sound, up the impact of the feelings. An unusual phenomenon may occur at this point when you increase or decrease a parameter in one sense, there will be a corresponding increase or decrease in a parameter in another sense. For instance, if you turn the lights up on a memory of a nervous trip to the deepest recesses of the basement, you may find that with the increase in light, the nervousness decreases. Or, similarly, if you turn up the intensity of tactile feeling in the memory of an intimate encounter, you may find that the volume of the sound increases accordingly. The combinations of correspondences are almost infinite, and the combinations that will occur are absolutely unique for every person and every situation.
       One way of understanding the idea of ritual is as a means of creating artful and useful situations and events that are composed of multiple anchors. On a very basic level, the act of combining, linking, or stacking anchors tends to produce results that are more than the sum of the parts or significantly different than a linear 1 + 1 conception would indicate. For instance, the combination of apparently opposing anchors powerful attraction + strong dislike, confidence + insecurity, good + evil, and so on tend to create significant altered states that are associated with ideas of resolution or transcendence. Uniting a series of anchors in a holistic fashion to create an experience of microcosmic reality can produce altered states that are associated with harmony, congruence, revelation, and more.
       In traditional magical traditions, the combination of anchors occurs quite naturally. In the graphical representation of the pentagram, each of the five points of the star are associated with an element, earth, air, fire, water, spirit. By viewing or studying or drawing the symbol in this context, the anchors are associated with each other anchored to each other to form a representation of the microcosm that is man (or the universe).
       Chaining anchors is another easily-created phenomenon. Anchors that are associated in a sequence will tend to repeat in sequence. The activation of one anchor will lead smoothly, effortlessly, and often unconsciously to the next anchor in the sequence. This is one explanation for the ease in recalling complex rituals that many experimenters report the act of performing a gesture, vibrating a word, etc., will lead smoothly to the next part of the ritual, once it has been experienced in a strong way. Of course, chained anchors occur naturally as well. Complex and repetitive behaviors usually involve the chaining of anchors as they are learned. For instance, someone first learning how to drive a car will learn the individual uses of each pedal or lever, anchoring an associated movement to each device, then putting them together into a sequence: starting the car, parking it, etc.
       One of the keys to working with anchors in this way is the attention paid to make the anchors strong, pure, powerful, isolated, and passionate. The anchor is ultimately a tool to access powerful experiences with ease, but the first time, when the anchor is created, the experimenter may have to apply considerably more conscious intent to the act. In short, put some energy into the experiences you anchor make them as intense as you can, make them mean something to you, make them as pure and important as you can. With some creativity, you may find that you can create your ritual experiences in a setting of joy, excitement, and exploration.
       In the context of rituals in the Western Esoteric Tradition, one means of creating some force behind your anchors is the vibration of words. This, first and foremost, creates an auditory (and kinesthetic) anchor that is pure in association, even if the word being vibrated is a common one. Next, when taken in sequence or combination with other such anchors, the force of the vibrations creates an even more unique and powerful conglomerate.
       The act of vibration is fairly simple, though there are many variations on the theme. Take a full breath to begin each word (if you are familiar with yogic breathing, that can intensify this even further). Use the whole breath for the word. Feel/hear/see the vibration of the word through your whole body -- or direct the vibration toward the specific imagery or idea that you are working with. Give the word as much force of will as you are able to. In the case of words that also have common everyday usages (as with the elemental words used in this ritual) pronounce the word with emphasis on the phonetics of each individual letter, rather than with its common pronunciation. For example, if you use the word EARTH, you can stretch it out to EEEE - AAAAA - RRRRR - THHHHH .
       Basic ritual preparations should be utilized to isolate and concentrate the entire experience. On the simplest level, this means working in a place where there are no distractions turning off the phone, the television, the stereo, etc. Give the ritual priority, for a limited period of time, over the other aspects of your life. Find a metaphor for approaching it that excites you, for instance, approach the ritual as you would a night with a very special lover: with respect, excitement, and joy; or as you would a meeting with a great sage: again with respect, excitement, and joy. If you need more suggestions about preparing for a ritual experience, I refer you to my previous book, FUTURERITUAL: Magick for the 21st Century.

   

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