Real Magic and Occult Achieves - Ritual of the Pentagram Alignment

Ritual of the Pentagram Alignment

Preparation Suggestions:

Grounding & Centering

The practice of crossing oneself is nearly as old as time itself. Today commonly practiced by Xtians this practice involves annointing (or simply touching with the fingertips) the four locations of the body that are thought to have corresponded to the cross that Jesus was crucified on. The locations annointed during this practice are the forehead, solar plexis and two shoulders.

Pagans, however were familiar with this practice of aligning their body's energy centers thousands of years before Christ. The pentacle annointings are done a little differently from the Xtian's version and are meant to revere the five points of the pentagram star. Pagans were thought to do this practice before and after ritual and any time they needed to feel close to the power and balance of the upright, five-pointed star. The most common locations of the Pentacle Alignment are (in this order) the forehead, your left hip bone, your right shoulder, your left shoulder, your right hip bone and back to your forehead. This completes the single motion of the pentacle and reminds the witch performing it that the perfection of nature's pentacle star is within all of us.

The following ritual is a more advanced version of this simple process and is specialized in that it utilizes only ritual gestures, visualization and short incantations to be successful. It is especially useful because it can be performed anywhere to aid in Grounding and Shielding or in more dire circumstances when ritual alignment is called for but time does not permit a full formal ritual.

There are two forms of this ritual, a positive and negative version. One is used for invoking the element of Fire. This is the masculine side of the ritual and should be likened to the Waxing phase of the moon. Raising energy for protection, creation, healing, increase, etc. are suited for this version. The second form of this ritual invokes the element of Earth and thus is the negative version. Liken this version to the Waning phase of the moon. Immediately Grounding your personal energy, banishing, exorcising, and decreasing in any form is suited to this version of the ritual.

*Note: The incantations as listed in the picture above correspond to the Wiccan system of the Element-Directional attribution. You can alter this ritual to correspond to your own tradition if it differs by rearranging the directional incantations to correspond to the elements as you know them.

There are five movements to each version of the ritual and the movements correspond to a different invocation. Similar to the Catholic "Crossing" ritual, the Ritual of the Pentagram Alignment utilizes the upper half of the body. However, while the Catholic Crossing Ritual emphasizes the points of the cross on the body, the Pentagram Alignment emphasizes the points of the pentacle and how they correspond to the human form. Also, while people performing the Crossing Ritual intone their incantations when their fingers touch each of the four points, those performing the Pentagram Alignment intone their incantations while moving between points. In essence, the lines of the pentacle are more important than the points. Also note that compared to your body the sites listed on the picture and written in the instructions will seem backwards. That is because you are facing the representation of your body and therefore it will be mirrored. To ensure that you get the invocations correct, follow the written directions.

To begin the Fire Invocation:

Place the tips of your (Right: Projective) fingers to your THIRD EYE position. Next intone the word: NOTOS as you move your fingertips to your LEFT HIP BONE.
Intone the word: ORIENS as you move your fingertips to your RIGHT SHOULDER.
Intone the word: ZEPHYR as you move fingertips to your LEFT SHOULDER.
Intone the word: AQUILO as you move fingertips to your RIGHT HIP BONE.
Intone the word: SPIRITUS as you return to your THIRD EYE position.

Again this ritual is best used for quick energy and protection, but it can be used for any instance where you need to align yourself with the energy of INCREASE. The reverse of this ritual is used for DECREASE, Grounding or banishing of any kind.

To begin the Earth Invocation:

Place the tips of your (Right: Projective) fingers to your THIRD EYE position. Next intone the word: AQUILO as you move your fingertips to your RIGHT HIP BONE.
Intone the word: ZEPHYR as you move your fingertips to your LEFT SHOULDER.
Intone the word: ORIENS as you move fingertips to your RIGHT SHOULDER.
Intone the word: NOTOS as you move fingertips to your LEFT HIP BONE.
Intone the word: SPIRITUS as you return to your THIRD EYE position.

As complicated as this system might seem in the beginning, learning it and being able to immediately perform it at any instant can help keep you balanced and in control of forces that other people are quite content to have control them. The symbolism of the ritual is the witch's control over the forces of the Four Winds.