The Qabalistic (Kabalistic, Kabbalistic, Qubaalistic) Cross Ritual is traditionally performed before the Lesser Banishing Ritual of a Pentagram. The idea is that it is to bring down divine light and energy into the practitioner to center and strengthen the practitioner, allow them to be ready for what they are about to do, and to ground. It also acts as a means of devotion, putting the practitioner in the center of the Universe, working their way to their placement in the temple of the Gods.
This very simple ritual, which can also act as a simple prayer as well, when practiced regularly, is to help expand the sphere of consciousness as well. It is a means of connecting practitioner to the Universe and the divine before they begin, and when they finish a ritual.
Some teachers say that the Qabalistic Cross should be practiced and mastered at least a week before moving on to the Lesser Banishing Ritual of a Pentagram (LBRP), while some disagree, and even include the Qabalistic Cross in the steps of the LBRP.
The Qabalistic Cross I learned was from Donald Machael Kraig’s Modern Magick. I’ll outline it here, and then go into some of the difference I have come across since.
So, here it is, in steps.
First, find yourself a quiet, private space where you won’t be disturbed. Give yourself a few minutes to do the Relaxation Ritual (or any other breathing, meditative technique you prefer). You can have a dagger if you wish, though not the dagger that is a part of your alter that represents air (If you do choose to use a dagger, and I do recommend it, be sure that it is only for ritual purposes such as these).
- Face east.
- Be standing, your feet lined up with your shoulders, back, and standing tall (See the general importance of your stance in the video at the bottom of this post). Your hands should be at your side. If you are using a dagger, it should be in your right hand, pointing forward. If not, your right hand should be in a comfortable fist, your index finger pointing forward, at your side.
- Visualize yourself growing. Picture yourself getting taller and taller, comfortably going through the roof of your practice space (if you’re inside), beyond the neighborhood you’re in, towering over the city or town or area you live in. Your feet are firmly planted, you’re not going anywhere, just growing up and up and up, into the atmosphere. You see the planets along their paths, and you keep moving up, out of the solar system, growing past the galaxy, through the infinite amount of other galaxies.
- About this time, there is a sphere of white light way above you, that you are growing toward. It is a brilliant white light. You can’t look at it for it’s brilliance, but know it is the divine light.
- Bring your finger (or dagger up), as if to connect with the light. Visualize it connecting.
- Bring Down this light and touch your forehead.
- Virbrate Ah-Tah
- Bring your finger down and point to the ground between your feet, allowing the white light to follow and shoot down into the earth.
- Vibrate Mahl-KOOT
- Touch your right shoulder with your finger/dagger.
- Vibrate Vih-G’Boo-RAH
- Touch your left shoulder.
- Vibrate Vih-G’Doo-LAH
- Bring your hands together in front of your chest, palms together, in a classic prayer stance. If you have your dagger, it should be held between your hands, pointing up.
- Visualize all the points of the energy you have just drawn coming together in that center. Know at this point you are the center of the universe.
- Vibrate Lih-Oh-LAHM, Ah-MEN.
- Stay in this position for as long as you wish. Breathe in the energy, and understand your position in that moment. Feel the Universe, feel the Divine Light.
Thus is the Qabalistic Cross Ritual. This is to open. To close, you do all the same steps, though omit the first step of growing. You’ve already grown – you don’t need to do it again!
Variations:
Magick is like any other art – there are different techniques that work for different people. Every one has their own way that they work, their own mind set that connects things differently, their own energetic flow. As such, here are a few variations of some different practices.
- Instead of vibrating “ah-TAH”, at the touch of the fore head, vibrating “eh-Heh-Yeh”
- After the last vibration, bringing the right finger up – without the dagger, and touch the lips, as if to seal the Ritual in secret.
- A dagger most definitely should be used, and a steel one at that.
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- An almost entirely different Ritual:
Both hands should be raised toward the divine light, without a dagger. They should be open palmed and facing you, fingers up.
Vibrate: In Thy hands, o ineffable one
Imagine “an ocean of divine light” pouring into a sphere just above your head, you draw your hands downward while exhaling, and touch your forehead.
Vibrate: Is
You bring both hands down so that the palms are still facing you and the energy streams in a 1-2 inch channel to a pool at your feet.
Vibrate: The Kingdom
Move your right hand to your shoulder, imagining a sphere of light at this point.
Vibrate: The Power
Go to your left shoulder and visualize a fourth sphere of light.
Vibrate: And the Glory
Bring both hands to the center of your chest and cup them, open sides inward, toward you.
Vibrate: Forever and ever, Ahmen.
A Few Things to Understand
As mentioned before, there are variations to each practice. Some swear by the strictest of rules that it must be done to the letter as the Golden Dawn did it. Others understand that these are occult practices – meaning secret. They are public knowledge now that we have entered the Age of Information. However, these practices have survived centuries of being passed in hushed halls, of extremely select few gaining access to this knowledge. That being said, there are debates as to how things are done. You can find many books and websites which talk about certain tweaks that are ever so slight, yet are insisted upon for optimal perfection. At the end of the day, you are the Magician. Yes, you are the one that is practicing this for you and your own vibrational flow. After time, and with study, you will find what works best for you, what yields the best results. This is why is is of the UTMOST IMPORTANCE that you keep a ritual journal. This is something that will be gone into at a later post. However, it records the date, day, time, moon phase, weather, your emotions, your physical being and the rituals your perform, how you performed them as well as your response/result. I have a separate section at the end of each entry for reflection which allows me to go into greater detail of what has been going on in my environment which may have influenced my performance/outcome.
Vibration
Hod – By Alex Grey
What on earth does that mean? Much like the deep throat singing of certain monks, the idea is to find that voice within yourself that when used will have influence over the vibrations of your space. Kraig calls it harmonic resonance:
“If one vibrates powerfully enough, another object nearby will start to vibrate (or resonate) with the firstif the second object has a natural vibratory rate in harmony with the first…Thus if you can control the vibration rate of one object, such as yourself, you will be able to cause certain reaction in other objects, such as those which exist on other planes of existence.” (p.43)
What am I saying?
Validly, you may be wondering just what the words vibrated mean. It is extremely important to have understanding of the words you’re using during ritual. After all, as mentioned above, you’re altering vibrations, and you’re doing so with your verbal resonance.
- Ateh – Thou Art
- Malkuth – the Kingdom
- ve-Geburah – and the Power
- ve-Gedulah – and the Glory
- le-Olam – Forever
- Eheieh – I am
The last one was in light of the possible alteration as mentioned above, that would replace Ateh.
A wealth more of information can be found:
- Erwin Hessel – this site is extremely detailed, and gives the learner a lot to think about, different visualization techniques and important things to consider. I strongly recommend reading through this.
- Modern Magick by Donald Michale Kraig. This book is what got me started on Ceremonial Magick, and goes more in depth as to why certain words are used as well as what motions mean.
- Self Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition by Chick and Sandra Tabatha Cicero. For any aspiring practitioner of Ceremonial Magick, I recommend this book. Even if you’re not planning on initiation into the Golden Dawn, there is copious amounts of information within these pages.
- Web of Qabalah – I shared this link above, but I wanted to make sure it didn’t get missed out on. This is where I found the English version of the Qabalistic Cross Ritual, which also gives more information on a closing version as well.
- Hermetic – Personally, I am going to be more open to anything that has the words Hermetic or Thelemic in the title, purely because I resonate well with those systems. This is a personal choice. This site has good bulletted instructions that make this and the LBRP easy to follow.
**Jane is a student in Bellingham, Washington of Academics and a self-study pupil of magickal arts. She has spent time over a span of 15 years practicing meditation and attuning to the Universe, though her Will leads her along the path of the Written Word. You can read her other blog, Scribing English or her other articles on her Hubpages account, ThompsonPen
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