Ritual Magic in the Temple of Set

by Don Webb, high Priest Emeritus

The terms ritual or a ceremonial magic conjure up a smoky image of portly men in Golden Dawn robes mispronouncing Greek and Hebrew. An interesting entertainment perhaps, and certainly something to do before TV was invented.

The purpose of ritual is impress a direction on the Matrix of Darkness.

The Matrix of Darkness has two poles. It is "dark" because the contents are magical, unknown, and to the untrained preceptor frightening.

One pole if that part of yourself form which unexpected thoughts, feelings and actions arise. How often have major life changes come form what seem to be the least of whims? "I read that book. I went to that movie. I ate at that restaurant -- and I met my beloved, changed my religion, or decided what I wanted to major in at college." From that internal Dark comes forth things, clothed in Darkness that change our lives. The inner darkness is not infinite, although we may wish like Lautreamont's character Maldoror that it were so that we might enjoy endless change and metamorphosis.

The other pole is that part of the Cosmos we call the future. There too things are not tied down, there too the unexpected thing comes forth, and we are changed. Sometimes these unexpected things are vast and transpersonal like a war, other times more focused like an idiot that runs into your car. Here too possibilities arise. The future is not infinite, although we may wish like E. E."Doc" Smith that it were so, that we might enjoy endless progress.

But it is form these two apparently separate things, that we can make Change.

Now we can follow the prescribed rituals of another, and try to make ourselves and our world into another model. The Catholic Mass is one of the best examples of ritual designed to do this. It has kept the Church going despite the forces of civilization and hazard. This type of magic is trying to impose the Known, the Light on the darkness and is henceforth known as White Magic.

Or we can begin by seeing the true nature of that which we would Work with. If we've got a better handle on Darkness, we can get a better result. So we can impose Darkness on Darkness -- impose Change on that which Changes. This Black Magic is more potent for the simple reason that it is more resonate with the forces of change. One Black Magician can do what a hundred White Magicians can not. This does not lie in the elegance of his rituals, nor in the secret knowledge that she possesses, but in the nature of the Cosmos as a place of darkness. In this great and darkling Void, all is ready for our Creation.