The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (LBRP)

[loona wynd]

This is a very popular ritual found in ceremonial magic. There are aspects of this ritual that are similar to circle casting done by various form of witchcraft traditions. This is a very powerful ritual for cleansing an area, connecting to yourself, and connecting to the angelic powers. This ritual does involve the archangels of the four elements and Yaweh. I have found that the ritual still has power even when you do not worship or work with these beings.

I did not write this ritual. This is a ritual I was taught by the priest of the local OTO group. Its been a very powerful ritual in my collection since then. I showed it to my mother who was thrilled with it because of her background in Catholicism (she was raised Catholic). I believe that this ritual should be shared and should be discussed. That is why I am posting it here and sharing it here.

The following ritual comes from Hermetic.org. I will link the article with the ritual and the meaning so you can see the rest of the article and explore the meaning of the practices at your leisure. If you have worked with this ritual please share your experiences with it here.

The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram

The Qabalistic Cross
Take a steel dagger or knife in the right hand. Face East.
Touch thy forehead and say Ateh (Thou art).
Touch thy breast and say Malkuth (the Kingdom).
Touch thy right shoulder and say ve-Geburah (and the Power).
Touch thy left shoulder and say ve-Gedulah (and the Glory).
Clasp thy hands before thee and say le-Olam (forever).
Dagger between fingers, point up and say Amen.

The Construction of the Circle
Make in the Air toward the East the banishing Pentagram of Air and, bringing the point to the center of the Pentagram, vibrate the Deity Name Yod-He-Vau-He, imagining that your voice carries forth to the East of the Universe.
Holding the dagger out before you, go to the South, make the Pentagram and vibrate similarly the deity name Adonai.
Go to the West, make the Pentagram and vibrate Eheieh.
Go to the North, make the Pentagram and vibrate Agla.
Return to the East and complete your circle by bringing the dagger point to the center of the first Pentagram.

The Invocation of the Archangels
Stand with arms outstretched in the form of a cross and say:
Before me Raphael.
Behind me Gabriel.
At my right hand Michael.
At my left hand Auriel.

The Affirmation of the Circle
Before me flames the Pentagram, and behind me shines the six-rayed Star.
Make the Qabalistic Cross as directed above.

Hermetic.com

[loona wynd]

Now I personally feel a bit giddy when I perform this rite. I think its in part because of the power you connect to during the Quabblic cross aspect of the ritual. I genuinely feel power and energy abundant around me when I work this ritual. Its different from rituals where I call in other elemental guardians and divine forces. I can remember the first time I experienced this ritual and how I was stunned at what I felt.

This is a ritual I am working to refamiliarize myself with. I think that the more familiar I become with it the better it will work for me. Right now because it has been a while since I performed the ritual I have a text of the ritual in front of me that I am following. This is a distraction in the ritual and does make it less effective. The only reason I am using the text though is to make sure I get the vibrations of Gods names right with the right directions.

[random417]

I use a different configuration of Godnames honestly.

This is for me also, one that gives me a distinct feeling of being energized and balanced. It took me a while to memorize it as well. Are you using just the earth pentagrams, or are you doing each element in its quarter?

[Akairyuu]

Funny, I do my LBRPs slightly differently yours.

Firstly, as I don't have a dagger, I have to make do with my right hand but I've never had an issue with it so far.
When I'm saying Malkuth, I point my hand down to the ground in front of my groin area while imagining a beam of light shining right through me and into the ground. Also when I'm doing the pentagrams, I normally vibrate the names as I trace a banishing pentagram of Earth before performing the sign of the Enterer and Sign of Silence.

I'm just curious, but how does changing the banishing pentagram of Earth to banishing pentagram of air affect the ritual? Also how does touching the heart rather when saying Malkuth affect the QC part?


Though I have not followed that set up in particular and that I have only been practicing for a month, I have notice that I'm starting to become more aware and that my clairvoyance/visualisations have been improving a lot. In fact, I even saw a spirit with my own eyes, which I have never been able to do before (I believe it was one of my Grandads )

[loona wynd]

I use a different configuration of Godnames honestly.

I posted this one and this version because this is the one I was taught. What confiuguration of Godnames do you use?

This is for me also, one that gives me a distinct feeling of being energized and balanced.

There is also a sense of energy flowing through me at a higher rate than before. I feel my vibrations actually shift. I have actually come up with an exercise using the hermetic philosophy of vibration that may help me connect to this ritual even more. The principle of vibration is one I have found very useful.

It took me a while to memorize it as well.

I had it memorized at one point. The day I learned the ritual we performed it like five or six times in that hour. We did this so we could really learn the ritual and have its energy signature in us and it engrained in our minds. The teacher wanted us to be able to use it by ourselves with no issue after Pagan Pride day.

Because I have gone a while without doing the ritual I just needed an outline to make sure I was going to get the names in the right place and the vibrations correct. I'm hoping that by doing the ritual every day I will be able to memorize it again and build power through it. I've also found it to be a great way to just start focus and building energy before any other sort of working.

Are you using just the earth pentagrams, or are you doing each element in its quarter?

Right now I am only using the earth pentagrams. Its my goto pentagram for doing workings and invocations. Its also the first pentagram I learned how to use. I was also taught using just one pentagram. The teacher said that while using the different pentagrams does increase the effectiveness of the invocations you can effectively work the ritual with just the earth pentagram.

[loona wynd]

Funny, I do my LBRPs slightly differently yours.

I'm sure there are variations out there. That is part of the point of this thread. To discuss the variations and our experiences with the ritual. Its a powerful ritual no matter what form.

Firstly, as I don't have a dagger, I have to make do with my right hand but I've never had an issue with it so far.

When I learned to do the ritual I learned how to use my finger as the point for directing energy. While I think the formal full ceremony says that you should have a blade I don't think its a requirement. Tools like anything else are just ways you can focus the energy to make the spell or ritual work.

When I'm saying Malkuth, I point my hand down to the ground in front of my groin area while imagining a beam of light shining right through me and into the ground. Also when I'm doing the pentagrams, I normally vibrate the names as I trace a banishing pentagram of Earth before performing the sign of the Enterer and Sign of Silence.

How does that work for you? Why your groin?

Though I have not followed that set up in particular and that I have only been practicing for a month, I have notice that I'm starting to become more aware and that my clairvoyance/visualisations have been improving a lot. In fact, I even saw a spirit with my own eyes, which I have never been able to do before (I believe it was one of my Grandads )

That's good for you. I feel my power and connection to my higherself and the spirit worlds flow much stronger when I am in the LBRP.