Air or Wind is one of the four classical elements along with water, earth and fire in ancient Greek philosophy and in Western alchemy.
Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ancestor. More generally, prayer can also have the purpose of thanksgiving or praise, and in comparative religion is closely associated with more abstract forms of meditation and with charms or spells.
Thelema is a Western esoteric and occult social or spiritual philosophy and a new religious movement founded in the early 1900s by Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), an English writer, mystic, occultist, and ceremonial magician. Central to Thelema is the concept of discovering and following one's True Will, a unique purpose that transcends ordinary desires. Crowley's system begins with The Book of the Law, a text he maintained was dictated to him by a non-corporeal entity named Aiwass. This work outlines key principles, including the axiom "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law," emphasizing personal freedom and the pursuit of one's true path, guided by love.
Wicca, also known as "The Craft", is a modern pagan, syncretic, earth-centered religion. Considered a new religious movement by scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esotericism, developed in England during the first half of the 20th century, and was introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant. Wicca draws upon ancient pagan and 20th-century hermetic motifs for theological and ritual purposes. Doreen Valiente joined Gardner in the 1950s, further building Wicca's liturgical tradition of beliefs, principles, and practices, disseminated through published books as well as secret written and oral teachings passed along to initiates.
In Islam, duʿāʾ is a prayer of invocation, supplication or request, asking help or assistance from God. Duʿāʾ is an integral aspect of Islamic worship and spirituality, serving as a direct line of communication between a believer and Allah. Unlike the formal five daily prayers (Salah) which have specific timings and rituals, duʿāʾ is more flexible and can be made at any time and in any place. Through duʿāʾ, Muslims affirm their dependence on Allah and their trust in His wisdom and mercy.
Supplication is a form of prayer, wherein one party humbly or earnestly asks another party to provide something, either for the party who is doing the supplicating or on behalf of someone else.
Ceremonial magic encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories to aid the practitioner. It can be seen as an extension of ritual magic, and in most cases synonymous with it. Popularized by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, it draws on such schools of philosophical and occult thought as Hermetic Qabalah, Enochian magic, Thelema, and the magic of various grimoires. Ceremonial magic is part of Hermeticism and Western esotericism.
A miko, or shrine maiden, is a young priestess who works at a Shinto shrine. Miko were once likely seen as shamans, but are understood in modern Japanese culture to be an institutionalized role in daily life, trained to perform tasks, ranging from sacred cleansing to performing the sacred Kagura dance.
Choronzon is a demon that originated in writing with the 16th-century occultists Edward Kelley and John Dee within the latter's occult system of Enochian magic. In the 20th century he became an important element within the mystical system of Thelema, founded by Aleister Crowley, where he is the "dweller in the abyss", believed to be the last great obstacle between the adept and enlightenment. Thelemites believe that if he is met with proper preparation, then his function is to destroy the ego, which allows the adept to move beyond the abyss of occult cosmology.
The Bornless Ritual, also known as the Preliminary Invocation of the Goetia or simply Preliminary Invocation, originates from the Graeco-Egyptian Papyri Graecae Magicae (PGM), a collection of ancient spells, invocations, and hymns compiled between the 2nd century BCE and the 5th century CE. Initially used for exorcism and healing, the ritual invokes the "Headless One". In modern times this entity has been re-interpreted as the "Bornless One" without beginning or end, who symbolizes the unity of the divine and the practitioner. Some interpretations suggest that the ritual may have connections with the Egyptian god Set. It is also called the "Headless Rite" or the "Invocation of the Bornless One".
Aleister Crowley wrote The Gnostic Mass — technically called Liber XV or "Book 15" — in 1913 while travelling in Moscow, Russia. He described it as representing "the original and true pre-Christian Christianity." The structure is similar to the Mass of the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church, communicating the principles of Crowley's Thelema. It is the central rite of Ordo Templi Orientis and its ecclesiastical arm, Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica.
Sex magic is any type of sexual activity used in magical, ritualistic or otherwise religious and spiritual pursuits. One practice of sex magic is using sexual arousal or orgasm with visualization of a desired result. A premise posited by sex magicians is the concept that sexual energy is a potent force that can be harnessed to transcend one's normally perceived reality.
Abrahadabra is a significant word within Thelema, received and revealed by Aleister Crowley in The Book of the Law, the central sacred text of Thelema. This magical formula represents the Great Work accomplished—the union of the microcosm (individual) and the macrocosm (universe). It is considered the key to the Aeon of Horus and a word of power that symbolizes the realization of True Will.
The Cake of Light is the eucharistic host found within Thelema, the religion founded by English occult writer Aleister Crowley in 1904. A cake of light contains flour, honey, Abramelin oil, olive oil, beeswing, and bodily fluids such as semen, menstrual blood, vaginal fluids, or a mix thereof. It is usually cooked in the shape of a small, flat wafer. It appears by name in two important Thelemic rituals, the Gnostic Mass and the Mass of the Phoenix.
In the esoteric philosophy of Thelema, founded by Aleister Crowley in the early 20th century, an Aeon is a period of time defined by distinct spiritual and cultural characteristics, each accompanied by its own forms of magical and religious expression. Thelemites believe that the history of humanity is divided into a series of these Aeons, each governed by a particular deity or archetype that embodies the spiritual formula of the era.
Within Thelema, the Great Work is the spiritual endeavor aimed at realizing one's True Will and achieving a profound mystical union with Nuit, the Thelemic personification of the infinite and boundless expanse of the universe. This path, crafted by Aleister Crowley, draws inspiration from Hermetic alchemy and the Hermetic Qabalah. The cornerstone of Thelema is the Book of the Law, received by Crowley in 1904 through a communication with the entity Aiwass. This text became the central scripture, heralding a new Aeon for humanity and outlining the principles of Thelema.
In ceremonial magic, a magical formula or a word of power is a word that is believed to have specific supernatural effects. They are words whose meaning illustrates principles and degrees of understanding that are often difficult to relay using other forms of speech or writing. It is a concise means to communicate very abstract information through the medium of a word or phrase.
In ceremonial magic, banishing refers to one or more rituals intended to remove non-physical influences ranging from spirits to negative influences. Although banishing rituals are often used as components of more complex ceremonies, they can also be performed by themselves. Banishing can be viewed as one of several techniques of magic, closely related to ritual purification and a typical prerequisite for consecration and invocation.
The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram is a ceremonial magic ritual devised and used by the original order of the Golden Dawn that has become a mainstay in modern occultism. This ritual is considered by many to be a basic preliminary to any other magical work, so much that it was the only ritual, besides initiation rituals, taught to members of the Golden Dawn before they advanced to the Inner Order.
Liber Resh vel Helios, commonly referred to as Liber Resh, is a set of daily solar adorations composed by Aleister Crowley, the founder of the religion of Thelema. The practice involves a series of invocations to the Sun at specific times of the day: dawn, noon, sunset, and midnight. These rituals are intended to align the practitioner with the natural cycles of the Sun, thus integrating the physical and spiritual dimensions of existence in accordance with Thelemic principles.
