magician does not wish to present an artificial image at all, but rather to unveil his innermost
self. He is thus highly vulnerable and highly sensitive to external influences.
Usually - particularly in the case of novice magicians - GBM workings are best performed
alone. If anyone else is present, it should only be someone who is so trusted by and attuned to
the magician that no self-consciousness weakens the working. The more individuals present, the
greater the risk of the working deteriorating into a “living theatre” show, with each participant
presenting an artificial image to the others.
Under no circumstances should you permit anyone to be present at a GBM working as
an “observer”, “student”, “interested friend”, or even “potential Setian”. In a working you
necessarily behave in an uninhibited fashion, which will be extremely disconcerting to someone
who is still wearing his character armor. No matter how good his intentions may have been, he
will still react by defensive, condescending denigration of the working. He is compelled to do
this in order to protect and reinforce his insecure, confused self-image. The inevitable
patronizing comments will be annoying to you, awkward for him, and certainly unhelpful to any
ordinary friendship or rapport between you.
If an acquaintance wants to find out what Black Magic is like, invite him to undertake its
study and application personally, just as you did. If he isn’t that interested, he probably doesn’t
have the self-discipline and strength of will necessary for success in Black Magic. He will be
much happier in some variation of a WM environment, wherein pageants and shows are all that
matter.
You undertake a GBM working because you want to understand something or because
you want to change something. The former type may be referred to as an illustrative working,
while the latter is often called an operative working. Each takes effect by expanding and/or
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altering your SU, which then exerts a corresponding and proportionate influence upon the OU -
and other SUs - via the ML phenomenon.
An OU “law” is “a statement of exclusive cause and effect”. By this exacting standard the ML
is not am OU law; nor is it consistent, reliable, or duplicatable. This is because it is not an
influence or process involving only the manipulation of matter or energy in the OU, though a
GBM working may include such manipulation. But the essence of GBM is its effect upon the
SU(s) of the magician and/or others, which are not governed or limited by the laws of the OU.
And such SUs are inescapably the “lenses” or “windows” through which the OU is perceived,
assigned significance, and interpreted. That is how and why operative GBM - and the ML -
works.
Do not underestimate the subtlety and complexity of this phenomenon. To become adept
in GBM requires comprehensive reorientation of your attitude towards your sensory inputs and
outputs, and the way in which you realize, signify, and process information between input and
output. It is essential that you exist, so to speak, at a far higher and more precise level of
consciousness than the profane individual experiencing the same flow of information. This
generates great stress, which even among experienced magicians can be sustained for only brief
concentrations of time and effort. Start simply, and pursue more complex GBM as you gain
experience in and a feel for it.
You should never insist upon a complete alignment of related phenomena in the OU and
other SUs as a result of a GBM working. Such would call for a far greater convergence of energy
over a far greater period of OU time than a single mind can project. When you seek to cause
change, therefore, look for fulcrums which need only be nudged slightly to set a desired chain-
reaction in motion. Consider the most opportune times and locations for change. And do enough
preliminary research to ascertain that the picture you have of the preexisting situation is a
reasonably accurate one - else you may unknowingly change it for the worse.
There is no standard sequence for a GBM working. Each is tailored to its object and to the
magician undertaking it. Setians will find many texts, instructions, and sample scenarios in
Temple of Set resources such as the Jeweled Tablets, the Scroll of Set (including its back-issue
collection), and the Temple Intranet. These are tools which others have used successfully, for the
specific purposes indicated. You may use any such tool for its original purpose, or pick and
choose parts of various tools, and/or construct entirely new tools of your own. The more you
work with GBM, the more fluent you will become with these options.
The Temple of Set, in keeping with this philosophy, has no “official” GBM working rules. It
is our position that “the text of another is an affront to the self”. The following sequence is thus
provided as an example of how a GBM working might be undertaken. You may adapt it as you
desire, or you may create workings which are uniquely your own.
* * * * *
1. Prepare the Chamber
Choose a time and location suitable to your theme, considering privacy, comfort, and its
psychological impact upon you. Decorate it as appropriate.
Black is the traditional color of Black Magic [stands to reason!], because of its mystery,
solemnity, and capacity for dissolving sensory limits and barriers. Paint or drape a room in black
and you will see that it expands rather than confines the space. Flat black is more effective at
dissolving barriers [imparting the sensation that you are “floating in space”], while gloss black
creates a mirror-like effect that suggests an “angular matrix” about you.
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Other evocative colors may be used, but avoid white, pastels, and “head shop” posters.
Natural wood, earth, or stone is excellent; some of the most effective chambers are constructed
from/in unused attics or cellars.
Lighting should be by candles, fires, electric candles, or colored light sources. Ultraviolet
light may be used with great effectiveness because of the “sparkle” that it imparts to the
atmosphere, the negative ions it generates, and the exotic visual effects it produces. Avoid using
it in conjunction with predesigned UV-sensitive pictures or posters, and conceal the light-source
if at all possible. Avoid looking directly into ultraviolet light tubes, especially for
extended periods. Avoid also extensive or concentrated exposure to ozone gas,
whether from UV or electrostatic-generation sources. Use minimum necessary lighting
- one or two candles rather than a dozen. You can see much better in semidarkness than you
think you can. [Rituals may also be conducted wholly or partially in complete darkness, which is
one way of creating an “instant ritual chamber” in the midst of an otherwise unsuitable
environment.]
If you use recorded music, take care that it is not so rigidly sequenced that you have to
march the working in time to it. Otherwise the music, not you, is conducting the working.
“Workings” designed around musical or visual effects are “pageants” and thus fall under the
heading of LBM - designed to influence audiences or specific participants.
An altar may be constructed out of almost anything of convenient size. When it is
serving as
an altar, ensure that it is not used for any other purpose. Indeed this holds true for all ritual
implements. A ceremonial dagger or knife will not be the worse for being used to carve a turkey
at dinner, but in your SU you will never regard it in quite the same way if you suffer it to be used
for mundane purposes.
Behind and above the altar should appear the Pentagram of Set in silver or red against a
black field. Prismatic (fresnel) material is fine for the Pentagram, and other colors may also be
used if meaningful to the magician. If any other emblem is used, as in a specialized or historical
working, it should be displayed either beneath the Pentagram or in another location entirely.
Atop the altar should be [at minimum] a bell, a goblet or chalice (hereafter called the Grail),
and a central flame source (which may range from a large or ornate candle to a small oil or
jellied-fuel brazier). The flame source should ideally produce a blue-black or blue flame; Sterno
is ideal; an electronic-lightning source such as a Tesla coil or “Eye of the Storm” will also suffice.
Any texts required for a ritual may be placed upon the altar, as may additional candles, sword,
knife, dagger, staff, and/or wand. Add whatever else you desire, from talismans and statuettes to
flowers and foliage.
The Church of Satan used to use a naked female as a “living altar” centerpiece, ostensibly to
symbolize carnality and the living Earth. It was a nice idea in theory, but it proved difficult in
practice. It is always awkward for one person to be nude while everyone else is clothed. An
attractive “living altar” tends to distract participants’ concentration, while an ugly one can be
repellent; and of course no two people see “beauty” and “ugliness” in the same way. A large,
sturdily-built altar platform is necessary, and sex always complicates matters with questions
concerning the appropriateness of male altars for female heterosexuals or male homosexuals,
etc. By all means use a “living altar” if you wish to, but don’t feel he/she is essential or even
desirable for a successful working.
No protective circles or pentacles on the floor [or anywhere else] are necessary, though you
are welcome to add them for dramatic or symbolic purposes. Since the Black Magician is at One
with the Powers of Darkness, he needs no “protection” from them. Nor, it may be said, are circles
or pentacles the slightest deterrent to these Powers, save in the SU of a superstitious White
Magician.
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Children should never be allowed to attend any GBM working. They will not
understand it, may be frightened by it, and may wrongly represent it to others. Pets may be
present only if they can be depended upon to enhance, not to disrupt the atmosphere.
Under no circumstances is any life-form ever sacrificed or injured in a Black
Magical working of the Temple of Set. Violation of this rule will result in the
offender’s immediate expulsion and referral to law enforcement or animal
protection authorities.
The purpose of this statement is to prohibit any intentional taking or injuring of life in such
a working. Obviously this applies to the bigger, more visible, more tangible, more familiar
humans and animals. But just as certainly it applies to any other life-form over which you have
aware, discretionary control. If you crush some captured ants, or burn a living plant, etc. in a
ritual, then you are in violation of this principle.
It is the element of “aware, discretionary control” that is key here, because at issue is your
respect for the phenomenon of life per se. Beyond the reach of your senses, you cannot
reasonably exercise such control, and that is that. Probably every time you open and close your
mouth while uttering incantations, you crush to death a great many microscopic residents of
your teeth and gums. And you are certainly not expected to perform magic only in a laboratory
“clean room”! Use common sense, compassion, and especial sensitivity, and you will fulfill the
intent of this guideline.
2. Dress for Working
Dress however you wish, as long as it reflects the serious atmosphere of the working. The
Temple of Set medallion appropriate to your degree should be worn. There are no color or design
guidelines or restriction concerning magical clothing and costumes. If a robe or cowled robe is
worn, however, it should be black. Colored trim or cords for black robes, if used, is traditionally
keyed to the Temple’s initiatory degrees: I°=white, II°=red, III°=silver, IV°=blue, V°= purple,
and VI°=gold.
3. Ring the Bell
The bell, which should have a deep, melodious tone rather than a sharp, tinkling one, is
used to formalize the beginning and end of the working. It should be tolled nine times, either
towards the altar or at the four points of the compass as the magician turns counterclockwise.
The number 9 honors the Council of Nine of the Temple of Set. The magical significance of the
number 9 is also discussed in my “Ceremony of the Nine Angles” and Anton LaVey’s “The
Unknown Known” in #6L, as well as in Pythagorean lore (#12).
4. Light the Black Flame
The central flame source on the altar symbolizes the Black Flame of Set, which brought
isolate self consciousness to higher life. It is the willful act of rekindling this Flame on the altar
which opens a “Gate” of interconsciousness between the magician and the Powers of Darkness.
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5. Invocation
In the name of Set, the Prince of Darkness, I enter into the Realm of
Creation to work my will upon the Universe. O Majesty of Set, hear me,
look upon me, and go with me upon this journey. Enfold me with the
Powers of Darkness; let them become as One with me as I am become
One with the Eternal Set, whose Seat is behind the Constellation of the
Thigh. As I send forth my most exalted and sublime Self, arm it with the
Pentagram of Set and with the sceptre of Tcham that it may defy all
constraints, dismay all challengers, and cast down all that is moved to
appear against it.
Let then my eyes become the Eyes of Set, my strength become the
Strength of Set, my will become the Will of Set. As a Fire in the Darkness I
am Become; as Air in the Sky I am Become; as Earth in Space I am
Become; as Water in the Desert I am Become. I dwell in the Fane of the
Flame of Ba. Time bows before my will, and I am Lord of Life, Death, and
Life in Death. Hear then this Doom which I pronounce, and beware the
Ka which now Comes Into Being through that Art which is mine to
command.
6. Drink from the Grail
The Grail should contain any pleasing liquid, the more unusual and aromatic the better.
The liquid need not be alcoholic and must not be blood. [The use of blood for ceremonial
purposes would represent the destruction of a life-force. The magician respects blood in its
proper vessel, the body, and does not degrade it.]
The liquid may be imbibed only by the celebrant, or it may be shared with others present. If
it is to be shared, the liquid should appear initially on the altar in a suitably ornate flask, then be
poured into individual goblets or chalices by the celebrant or an assistant during this phase of
the working.
It is not recommended that more than one participant share a single goblet. [The
goblets need not match; each participant may wish to bring the one from his own ritual
chamber.]
In the Church of Satan the Grail was called the “Chalice of Ecstasy”, and its contents
symbolized the elixir of life.
In the Temple of Set it assumes an elder and more esoteric identity. The pre-Christian Grail
is one of the most ancient and powerful symbols of the European Black Magic tradition (#14B, C,
D, U). It symbolizes Truth in its purest and most sublime Form. The Grail is ever sought, never
found by the profane, for they fear Truth even when they profess otherwise. Should they chance
upon the Grail through innocence or accident, they dash it from their lips in terror or, upon
drinking from it, come hideously to grief for their rashness. Only the Initiate of the Left-Hand
Path may dare to drink from the Grail with impunity, and only he shall see it brought forth
before him whenever he desires. Woe to him who drinks from the Grail with deceit and
falsehood in his heart; it shall consume him utterly.
“The Knights of the Grail live from a stone of purest kind.
If you do not know it,
It shall here be named to you.
It is called lapsit exillis.”
- Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parsival
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“Hic lapis exilis extat precio quoque vilis
Spernitur a stultis, amatur plus ab edoctis.”
[This insignificant stone is indeed of trifling value.
It is despised by fools, the more cherished by the wise.]
- Arnold of Villanova, Rosarium Philosophorum
7. Summoning of the Elements
The magician now calls upon the living creatures and inert elements whom/which he
wishes to observe or control. He may do this by using their conventional names, or by invoking
symbols of them in isolation or combination (gods, dæmons, chemical or alchemical symbols,
images, musical themes, or other media of description). He weaves around them the appropriate
context of his SU, thus creating what he wishes to Come Into Being.
8. The Working
Upon construction of the working environment, the magician proceeds to enter it, observe
what he desires to, and change what he wishes to. This is a precise, methodical, carefully
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