Comselha: An Enochian Macrocosmic Ritual

by Benjamin Rowe ©1995

The purpose of this ritual exercise is to invoke the transcendental power
of the Enochian god, to transform it in turn through all the macrocosmic
powers within the Elemental Tablets, and to organize them into a balanced
form. At the same time, these powers are conditioned so that they express a
particular view of the creation of which they are a part. As the final
step, these energies are directed so that they energize the magician
himself.

The magickal records covering the results of the first use of this exercise
are available separately.

I have received several complaints about my published rituals recently.
Some complain that they are too elaborate, others that they are too simple,
and some question whether they really qualify as magickal rituals in the
traditional sense.

The complaints of over-elaborateness stem from the fact that it is
impossible to perform any significant part of the works in a single
session. This is perfectly correct, and is done deliberately. My experience
has been that the rewards given to the magician by the "angels" of the
Enochian system are very precisely gauged to the amount of care and effort
the magician puts into the work. Works that are planned, rehearsed, and
carried out over a period of weeks or months are much more likely to
produce significant initiations than any number of single-session efforts.
The present work was designed to be performed in stages, with the
expectation that each stage will be performed until the powers invoked
achieve a self-sustaining presence in the magician's temple before he
passes on to the next stage. It can be expected that the rewards will be
commensurate with the effort involved.

Complaints of excessive simplicity derive from lack of the pompous verbiage
typically found in formal rituals, and the dearth of advice concerning
symbols, implements, and materiel that would help to fire the imagination
of the magician. There is a decidedly bare-bones feel to the descriptions.
This is perhaps an expression of my own character as a magician; I find
that complex pomp and ceremony put me off rather than enhancing the work. I
have complete faith that every magician's imagination and intuition will
provide him with enhancements appropriate to his or her own character and
style, and so see no need to provide more than the minimum schema necessary
to accomplish the work successfully.

The differences between these rituals and more traditional forms derives
from the nature of Enochian magick. In most systems, the primary difficulty
is in producing a flow of the desired power. The major portions of the
rituals are dedicated to simply getting the power to appear. Once it does
appear, its direction to the desired end is a relatively simple matter.

In contrast, the Angelic Calls and Names provide a means by which even a
beginning magician can easily call up a strong flow of force. But the
forces involved are much more ambiguous than in other systems. Each appears
to have many different natures depending on the level and orientation from
which they are viewed; their manifestations seem to be potentially
infinite. The primary work of a ritual must accordingly be to focus,
direct, and condition them, through the use of the imagination, so that
they manifest in a clear and manageable way. This work conforms to that
necessity.

Additionally, the specific form used makes this work something resembling
an inverse path-working exercise, going top-down rather than
bottom-upwards. And as Frater Azoth has pointed out, there are resemblances
to the mandala-workings and chakra-visualizations used in Tibetan Buddhism.
They are certainly very similar in intent, though the similarity of form
was unintentional.

The Place of Working

The work may be done in either a physical or an astral workplace. The
magician may find astral working preferable due to the size of the magickal
circle, and also because the area can not be used for any other purpose
while this work is proceeding.

The magickal circle is actually four concentric circles having specific
relative proportions. The "units" referred to may be of any convenient
size, provided that the innermost circle is large enough to stand or sit in
comfortably.

The inner circle has a radius of four units. The next circle has a radius
of eleven units, and thus produces a band 7 units thick around the inner
circle. The third circle has a radius of 12 units, making a band one unit
thick around the second circle. The outer circle has a radius of 13 units,
making another band one unit thick.

All four circles are divided into quarters by lines going from the center
to the circumference in the cardinal directions. Each quarter of the second
circle is further divided into six pie-sections fifteen degrees wide. Each
quarter of the outer circle is divided into three pie-sections thirty
degrees wide.

The innermost circle should be colored some dark neutral color, such as a
dark gray. The two outermost circles in each quarter should be colored in
the King-scale elemental color of the corresponding element, thus:

Quarter Element Color

Northwest Air Bright pale yellow

Northeast Water Deep blue

Southeast Fire Glowing orange-scarlet

Southwest Earth Warm velvet black

The second circle should be in some light neutral color, such as a slightly
grayish white. Alternately, each sector of this circle could be outlined in
the elemental color of the quarter with a fill in one of the planetary
colors, following one of the schemes described further on. But this
alternative may be too burdensome for an astral working.

Symbolism of the Circle

The structure of this magickal circle mirrors the medieval concept of the
heavens. In that cosmology, the planetary and heavenly realms are viewed as
a series of concentric circles surrounding the Earth, each circle going
outwards representing an increasingly more "divine" power. The planets each
take a circle in their cabalistic order. The sphere of the zodiac is
outermost, representing an outer "shell" around creation; beyond it is the
Empyrean, the unknown, invisible realm of God.

The scheme has been slightly modified here to fit the actual natures of the
Enochian powers involved. It is recommended that the magician make a
diagram of the circle and completely familiarize himself with the meaning
of the various parts before beginning work. If this is done, the actual
work becomes a much simpler prospect.

Our goal in this work is to take the invisible power of the divine, bring
it into the realm of creation, and then bring it downward through a series
of transformations to energize and consecrate the Earth and ourselves. Thus
we will be working from the outer circles towards the center.

Functionally, the three Names of God in each Tablet act to gather the
invisible power of the divine and transform it so that it is accessible to
the lower powers of their Tablet. As such they act as the interface between
the Empyrean and the realm of creation, in a way similar to that of the
zodiac. The outermost band of our magickal circle will embody this
principle.

Each of the twelve Names of God will have dual attributes. The first, which
we will call the "outer" attribute, represents the energy the Name takes in
from the divine, as symbolized by one of the zodiac signs. (See The
Zodiacal Round.) The second "inner" attribute represents the energy as it
has been transformed by the Name into a form compatible with its Tablet.
This latter attribute also uses the zodiac signs, but after another
fashion.

The cross that divides the circle into quarters represents the solstices
and equinoxes, and at the same time the "Black Cross" that binds the four
Elemental Tablets together into the Great Table. The western arm of the
cross is the spring equinox and the eastern arm the autumnal equinox. The
northern arm is the winter solstice, and the southern arm the summer
solstice. The three Names of god are assigned to their quarter's three
sectors of the circle's outer band in clockwise order. The relevant
attributes of these names are as shown in the following table.

Name Element Quarter Outer Inner
Attribute Attribute

ORO Air Winter Pisces Gemini

IBAH Aquarius Aquarius

AOZPI Capricorn Libra

MPH Water Fall Sagittarius Pisces

ARSL Scorpio Scorpio

GAIOL Libra Cancer

OIP Fire Summer Virgo Sagittarius

TEAA Leo Leo

PDOCE Cancer Aries

MOR Earth Spring Gemini Virgo

DIAL Taurus Taurus

HCTGA Aries Capricorn

Thus in their outer attributes, the Names collect a complete round of the
divine energies as passed inwards through the zodiac. In their inner
attributes, the Names pass inwards the power of their element, in its
alchemically mercurial, salt, and sulphuric forms.

The function of the Elemental King of each Tablet is to take the power
passed inward by the Names of God, concentrate that power, transform it and
distribute it to the Seniors and the powers of the Lesser Angles. In this
work we will only be concerned with his transformation of the power into
the six-fold constellation of the Seniors.

The Seniors represent the planetary powers, but in a way not entirely
compatible with the medieval cosmology. The medieval system, like the
cabala, sees the planets as ranked hierarchically, some being more divine
than others. In contrast, the six Seniors in each Tablet are in every way
equals; none is higher than the others.

In this work we will consider them as each being a vertically-oriented
power; each represents a flow of power that is colored by a particular
planet's nature, but which passes downwards through all the planetary
circles of the medieval scheme. Each letter of a Senior's name will
represent his power as it manifests in one of those circles. As an example,
the "A" of ACZINOR will be a Jovian power acting in the sphere of Saturn;
the "C" of that name will be a Jovian power acting in the sphere of
Jupiter, and so on.

Following this scheme, the Senior's names are assigned one to each
pie-section of the second band within our magickal circle. They go from the
outside towards the center, as do the powers represented by those names.

The innermost circle represents the Earth as the center of the medieval
cosmology. Additionally, this circle holds all of the Lesser Angles of the
Tablets. There is a more elaborate version of the structure used here, in
which the Lesser Angle powers also have their spheres surrounding the
Earth; but for current purposes all the microcosmic spheres have been
lumped into one.

The Ritual

Preparatory and Concluding Actions

Actions in this section should be practiced daily until they have become
familiar and the feelings and attitudes necessary can be held without
effort. With practice, they should become easy enough that they can be done
smoothly in a couple of minutes. These actions should be performed in every
ceremony, before going on to one of the stages.

1. Use a plain white robe for a costume, with no decorations or regalia of
any kind. A black over-robe, again without decoration, should be worn over
with white robe at the beginning of the ceremony. This second robe should
be such that it can be easily and rapidly thrown off. A plain white wand,
unconsecrated to any other purpose, may be used, or figures may be drawn
with the hand.

2. Perform a preliminary purification and consecration of the Temple with
Fire, Water, and Air. Use frankincense or some other solar incense for the
censing, rather than any specifically elemental incense. DO NOT perform any
preliminary banishings or invocations; the G.D. pentagram and hexagram
rituals are specifically to be avoided, as are any other rituals that
describe a protective circle around the place of working.

3. Move to the center of the circle and kneel or sit comfortably, facing
the direction of the spring equinox.

4. Imagine that the innermost circle is the microcosmic world, and the
entire Earth and all of the purely elemental magickal worlds are contained
therein, as well as your body. Feel all these things being gathered into
the sphere and being immovably fixed there. Spend as long as necessary to
get a strong feeling that this has been accomplished.

5. Imagine that the black robe is a shell, an outer mundane body concealing
the essentially divine essence of your being. Imagine that all the mundane
parts of your being, and every other thing that distinguishes you from the
divine, is part of that shell. Feel these things moving into the robe and
becoming fixed there, leaving nothing but the divine essence, enclosed in
the white robe, contained within it. Again, spend as long as necessary to
feel this has been accomplished.

6. Undo the black robe so that when you stand it will fall away and be left
lying behind within the inner circle.

7. Stand up and simultaneously cast off the black robe. As you do so, feel
that everything of your personal identity is being left behind with it.
Even the physical or astral body your consciousness inhabits should be felt
to be nothing more than a projection, an illusion without substance or
influence. All that remains is a divine essence, free of its envelope. This
essence expands itself into the God of Justice, IAD BALT, who reigns over
the Enochian universe.

From this point on in the work, all actions are to be done as if you were
this god. The region enclosed by the circles is the realm of your creation,
and you can stand within it or outside it without being in any way
influenced by it. You should make an effort to feel a total freedom from
any conditions or limitations of the created world.

8. Still looking towards the spring equinox point, survey your creation and
review its structure. In the center is the World, and the realms of the
elements. Next outwards is the realm of the planets, enclosed by the realm
of the Sun. Beyond the Sun the remainder of the manifest universe is
compressed into realm of the zodiac. And beyond the zodiac is the Empyrean,
your true home and state of being, a higher-dimensional universe in which
your creation is embedded. See each of these realms as separated from the
next by a thin membrane or interface, not so much a barrier as an area
where their influences balance and cancel out.

Meditate on your creation and that which encloses it as long as you like.

9. Concluding actions. After completing these preliminary exercises, or (if
you have passed to one of the later stages) at the end of the ceremony,
return to the center circle. Take up the black robe and put it on. At the
same time, consciously re-absorb everything that you have previously fixed
in it. Take on your personal identity again in all its aspects. Then sit in
silence and seek to absorb any forces generated by the ceremony. As you
proceed through the stages you may note significant changes in awareness,
new insights, revelations, etc. during this time. Take as much time as you
feel necessary to absorb and integrate them into your being.

Finally, declare the work to be completed, and return to your mundane
activities.

Stage One

10. Following step 8, walk to the outside of the circles along the line of
the spring equinox. Imagine at the same time that you are passing through
the realms of your creation back to the Empyrean.

11. Still outside the circle, turn and circumambulate it in a clockwise
direction, drawing a glowing line in the air above outer edge of the outer
band as you go. Imagine that by doing so you are temporarily sealing off
your creation from the higher dimensions in which it is embedded, so that
there is no transfer of information or energy from one to the other.

12. Upon returning to your starting point, turn to face inwards along the
equinoctial line. Vibrate the First Call. As you do so, imagine that it is
causing the gathering of the limitless energy of the Empyrean, and causing
that energy to press inwards on the boundary you have drawn around the
realms of your creation. Vibrate the Call several more times, each time
producing an increase in the energy present, and in the pressure it exerts
upon the boundary. Seek to create as high a state of tension as you can,
with the energy pressing irresistibly, and the boundary resisting
immovably.

Stage Two

13. Move clockwise until you are outside the center of the outer band
sector assigned to the name ORO. Face the center of the circle, and
visualize that name floating in the air above its sector, just inside the
barrier.

14. Vibrate the name ORO several times. Simultaneously draw the hexagram of
Pisces on the face of the barrier and draw the glyph of the sign inside the
hexagram. Next draw a circle around the hexagram just touching its points.
While doing so, imagine that you are etching the circle in the barrier in
the same way you would etch glass with a glass cutter.

15. Strike the center of the circle forcibly with your fist or the wand,
punching out a hole in the barrier. (The hexagram remains suspended within
the hole, its lines glowing.) Immediately you withdraw your fist, the
Empyrean energy pressing on the barrier pushes through the hexagram,
through the hole, and fills up the ORO sector of the outer band. As the
energy passes through the hexagram it takes on the color of the sign
Pisces, and remains this color as it fills the column.

16. Repeat steps 13-15 for the other sectors, going in order clockwise
around the circle. Use the appropriate colors and hexagrams for the
sector's outer attribute in each case. If necessary, take time to renew the
pressure of the Empyrean energy between sectors.

Stage Three

This stage may be done one quarter at a time on separate days. If so, do
not repeat the work on a given quarter in consecutive sessions; instead
continue with the succeeding quarters and repeat the entire cycle of
quarters as many times as necessary to get the energies firmly established.

17. Again move clockwise until you are opposite the center of the ORO
sector in the outer band. Face the center of the circle and visualize the
Name floating above the center of the sector.

18. Vibrate the name ORO several times. Draw the hexagram of Gemini on the
interface between the outer and third bands while continuing to vibrate the
name. Put the glyph of Gemini inside the hexagram. Draw the glyph of
alchemical mercury above the hexagram, and the Enochian glyph of Air below
it. Draw a circle around the hexagram as in step 14, as if etching the
outline of a punch-out on a piece of glass.

19. Strike the circle with your fist and punch out a hole. See the force
accumulated in the ORO sector pushing inwards into the third band, backed
up by the pressure of the Empyrean energy pushing into the sector from
outside. As the energy passes through the hexagram, its Piscean quality is
transformed into the quality of Mercury of Air.

20. Move to the outside of the IBAH sector, and repeat steps 17-19. Except
use the hexagram of Aquarius, with the alchemical glyph of Salt above it
and the Enochian glyph of Air below it. See the energy being transformed
into Salt of Air as it passes through the Hexagram.

21. Move to the outside of the AOZPI sector, and repeat steps 17-19. Use
the hexagram of Libra, with the glyph of alchemical Sulphur above and the
Enochian glyph of Air below. See the energy being transformed into Sulphur
of Air as it passes inwards through the hexagram.

22. Move inwards and stand in the middle of the third band sector assigned
to BATAIVAH, facing outwards. Vibrate BATAIVAH and continue to do so. See
the power of the King's name gathering in the forces flowing through the
three holes from the fourth band, and concentrating those forces into a
point.

Inside the point of concentrated force, the mercurial, salt, and sulphuric
aspects of Air combine to form pure elemental Airy energy, and this energy
explodes outwards from the point to fill the entire sector.

23. Repeat steps 17-22 for the other three quarters in clockwise order
around the circle.

Stage Four

The Seniors are assigned to the sectors of the second band either in
cabalistic order (starting with Saturn and ending with Luna) or in
clockwise order beginning with the upper arm of the Linea Patris. Here the
cabalistic order is used. As noted earlier, the names are written in the
sector from the outside in, and each letter represents the passage of the
Senior's power through one of the Planetary Spheres of the medieval
cosmology.

24. Perform the gathering and combination of the alchemical Airs as in step
22. Try to increase the pressure and volume of elemental Air within the
sector to the maximum.

25. Turn to face inwards and vibrate the Elemental King's name again.
Continue to vibrate it, and feel its power gathering in the elemental Air
from the sector, and forming it into a ball centered on the
previously-created concentration point so that the ongoing conversion of
alchemical Air feeds it. As the amount of elemental Air in the ball
increases, it suddenly ignites and forms a self-sustaining Sun.

26. Staying in the third band, move opposite the first sector in the second
band. Draw the hexagram of Saturn on the interface between the bands, and
vibrate the name of the Senior of Saturn, HIPOTGA.

27. Turn to the sun and draw out of it a line of power. Attach that line to
the center of the hexagram. (This line of power should actually be
something like a narrow hose, within which energies flow out of the solar
sphere and into the Senior's realm. But nothing flows as yet, as a hole has
not yet been punched between the bands.)

28. Repeat steps 26-27 for the remaining sectors in the quarter, drawing
the appropriate hexagrams and invoking the appropriate Seniors.

29. Move into the second band and stand facing the hexagram of Saturn. Draw
the hexagram again on this side of the interface, invoking the Senior. Next
visualize the letters of the Senior's name written in the sector from the
outside towards the center.

30. Draw a circle around the hexagram, etching the surface of the
interface, and strike to punch it out. Energy begins to flow through the
"pipe" from the Elemental King, and as it passes through the hexagram it
takes on the nature of the Senior.

31. Vibrate the name of the Senior slowly and with each letter of the name
distinct. As you pronounce each letter, see the inflowing energy filling up
the region just above that letter in the sector. At the same time confirm
mentally or by visualization that the letter embodies the power of the
Senior in the planetary sphere associated with it in cabalistic order.
Continue to back down the sector towards the center, doing the same for
each letter in turn.

32. When the entire pie-shaped sector has been filled with energy, you
should now be standing in the first, central circle representing the Earth.
On the barrier between the first and second circles, draw the astrological
symbol of Earth, a circle crossed by two lines at right angles to each
other. See the outer circle of this symbol etched on the barrier as before,
and strike to punch it out, allowing the energy to flow into the central
circle.

Visualize the energy spreading outwards from this point to cover the entire
inner circle, as water from a hose spreads out to cover a tile floor. As it
spreads, the energy also soaks into the black robe, which still lies upon
the circle. The energy also fills the entire circle until it is above the
level of your head. When the circle is filled, in your imagination trace
the path of the energy back through all the preceding stages to its origin
in the Empyrean.

33. Repeat steps 29-32 for the other sectors in the second band.

34. Repeat steps 24-33 for the other three quarters in the circle. This
completes the exercise.