Rising on the Planes, Method III

• This method is to be used with the twelve permutations of YHVH, along with the corresponding Zodiacal names, colors, etc.
• This method requires an open astral temple (ie: no walls or ceiling) that has been created and sustained by use over a period of time. 
• Perform the Lesser Banishing Rituals of the Pentagram and Hexagram.
• Formulate a golden archway in the east of the temple. On the other side of the archway is your astral temple or environment. 
• Using the methods outlined in the previous installments, formulate the body of light and transfer your consciousness to it. 
• Project through the archway using the sign of the enterer. Use the sign of silence to seal the archway behind you. 
• Once your body of light has been firmly established in your astral temple, invoke the Zodiacal force in question using the proper pentagram. 
• Let your astral body be filled with light of the color of the Zodiacal sign in question in the King scale. Visualize the letters of the permutation of YHVH in question in white light in the center of your astral body (typically in the cavity of the chest). 
• Vibrate the letters of the permutation in question. As you do so, let the colored light that fills your astral body expand to fill the confines of space. 
• Vibrate also the name of the Archangel corresponding to the Zodiacal sign in question, and the Angel. Vibrate these names numerous times, but always come back to the Atziluthic name. 
• When the level of vibration has risen to a sufficient degree, and you have become firmly established in within the light and essence of the Zodiacal sign in question, let your body of light rise by effort of will. 
• As you continue to rise, the atmosphere will become more rarefied, subtle, refined. 
• If, at any time, you feel resistance to further progress, you may send some astral substance from your body of light back down, proceeding onward with the subtler components of your body of light. This may be done numerous times if necessary, until your body of light consists of no more than a minute point of refined essence. 
• As with the first two methods, this exercise may be used to attain unto the heights of mystical consciousness.
• When you can rise no further (be careful not to exhaust yourself in an effort to rise further), return down the way you came. The full form of your body of light will return to you as you descend. 
• Let your astral temple again formulate around you. Spend a few moments re-establishing your body of light in your astral temple. 
• Banish the Zodiacal force in question using the proper pentagram. 
• When you are ready, project back through the golden archway and merge your body of light back with your physical body. Physically give the sign of silence after you have come back to your body. 
• Close using the Banishing rituals of the Hexagram and Pentagram. 

Rising on the Planes, Method II

• This method is to be used with the planetary Sephiroth only (Yesod – Binah). Pick one Sephira with which to do the exercise (it is wise to start with Yesod). 
• Perform the Lesser Banishing Rituals of the Pentagram and Hexagram, then invoke the planetary force in question by Hexagram (using the proper colors, incense, etc.) 
• Formulate a golden archway in the east of the temple. On the other side of the archway is an open temple representing the Sephira that you wish to rise in. Let the decorations of the temple be consistent with the nature of the Sephira in question (for example, a temple of Yesod might have a blue or indigo floor, a white marble altar with the image of a beautiful naked man inscribed upon it in violet, perhaps a silver dish sits upon the altar as well, from which rises a white flame, etc.) The temple should have no walls or ceiling. 
• Using the methods outlined in the previous installment, formulate the body of light and transfer your consciousness to it. 
• Project through the archway using the sign of the enterer. Use the sign of silence to seal the archway behind you. 
• Once your body of light has been firmly established in the temple of the Sephira in question, vibrate the Atziluthic name of the Sephira numerous times. 
• Once the necessary force has been strongly invoked, let your body of light rise by effort of will. The atmosphere through which you rise (and which interpenetrates your body of light) should be of the color of the Sephira you are rising through in the Queen scale, though the color may change to that of the King scale as you rise. 
• As you continue to rise, the atmosphere will become more rarefied, subtle, refined. 
• If, at any time, you feel resistance to further progress, you may send some astral matter from your body of light back down, proceeding onward with the subtler components of your body of light. This may be done numerous times if necessary, until your body of light consists of no more than a minute point of refined essence. 
• As with the first method, this exercise may be used to attain unto the heights of mystical consciousness, though this is possible only for one who has already reached the threshold of Briah. 
• When you can rise no further (be careful not to exhaust yourself in an effort to rise further), return down the way you came. The full form of your body of light will return to you as you descend. 
• When you have again reached the floor of the temple of the Sephira in question, spend a few moments re-establishing your body of light in the temple, laying your hands astrally on the altar and vibrating the Atziluthic name of the Sephira. 
• When you are ready, project back through the golden archway and merge your body of light back with your physical body. Physically give the sign of silence after you have come back to your body. 
• Banish the planetary force invoked by hexagram, then perform the Lesser Banishing Rituals of the Hexagram and Pentagram. 

Rising on the Planes, Method I

This exercise is best done only after proficiency has been gained in basic astral projection using such symbols as the Tattwas or Tarot Trumps. There is no reason for one to rise to the higher levels of Yetzirah before one has gained a general mastery of the lower to mid levels. Similarly, there is no reason to work in Yetzirah at all until one has gained quite a bit of proficiency with the magical work in Assiah (ie: the physical plane). 

Throughout the course of the theurgic work, there is a general increase in the rate at which the elements of the operator's vehicle of consciousness are able to vibrate. This increase is what allows one to rise to greater heights on the inner planes. It is this dynamic that allows one, when a sufficient rate of vibration has been reached, to enter into the World of Yetzirah, and at length beyond that into the World of Briah. The two methods for rising on the inner planes (this exercise and the one that follows) are designed to raise the rate of vibration of these elements to their maximum capacity, and to expand that capacity in the same way that lifting weights expands the capacity of the muscles. 

• This exercise is to be opened and closed by the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (performed in your physical body). 
• Formulate a golden archway in the east of the temple. On the other side of the archway is a black and white checked floor, with a black, double-cube altar upon which sits a purple quartz crystal. East of the altar are the black and white pillars. There are no walls or ceiling. This is the Temple of Makuth, from which you will rise. 
• Imagine an image of yourself, robed in white, standing before the golden archway. Let the figure's hands be risen before the solar plexus, the fingertips of each hand touching the fingertips of the other. 
• Let the seven chakras alight, from the crown to the base, in color or with white light, in the body of light. Let the light from the base chakra extend down to the toes, while the light from the heart chakra extends down the arms to the fingers. 
• Take a deep breath, and upon exhale, transfer your consciousness to the body of light. Feel the crown chakra alight above the head and the heart chakra in the breast. Feel the legs straight, feet touching the ground, and the fingertips touching on each hand. 
• Raise the left leg of the body of light, set it down. Repeat with the right leg. Let the hands come apart a bit so that the fingers are no longer touching, then join them again. Allow yourself to fully feel the sensations that accompany these actions. 
• When you are thoroughly established in the body of light, open your astral eyes and gaze through the golden archway to the temple of Malkuth. Look to the left, then to the right; you should see the contents of your physical temple on either side of the archway. 
• Project through the archway using the sign of the enterer. Once on the other side (you should be able to sense the archway behind you), use the sign of silence to seal the astral door. 
• In the Temple of Malkuth, astrally vibrate the name ADONAI HA-ARETZ several times, until you feel that the vibratory level of Malkuth has been established. Spend a little bit of time establishing youself within the temple. Lay your hands upon the altar and pillars. There should be a particular effect upon touching each pillar.
• When you feel ready, return to the center of the Temple of Malkuith and let your body of light rise by effort of will. 
• Above the Temple of Malkuth is the Path of Tau. This should be formulated by act of will. The path is flooded with indigo light, and you will pass through a large black tau cross with a single drop of blood in the center. This may be accompanied by other images and sensations as well. Vibrate ‘Tau’ astrally several times while rising through the path. 
• You will come at length to the level of Yesod. This will be filled with purple or indigo light, and should feature a large crescent, silver or pale yellow or white. Continue to rise through the level of Yesod, astrally vibrating SHADDAI EL CHAI several times. 
• The next level is the Path of Samekh, which is filled with blue light, and features a white arrow shooting upwards. Astrally vibrate ‘Samekh’ while rising quickly with the arrow. 
• If, at any time, you feel resistance to further progress, you may send some astral substance from your body of light back down, proceeding onward with the subtler components of your vehicle. This may be done numerous times if necessary, until your body of light consists of no more than a minute point of refined essence. 
• If further progress is still met with resistance after you have shed as much of your body of light as you are able, return the way you have come. 
• At length, you may reach Tiphareth, in which the inner sun will arise in yellow or golden hues. Astrally vibrate YHVH ELOAH VE-DAATH at this point several times. Let the radiant essence of Tiphareth shine through you, even to the point of overwhelming what remains of your body of light. 
• It is possible that you may rise further, even onto the path of Gimel. This exercise may be used to attain the heights of mystical consciousness, though this is possible only for one who has already reached the threshold of Briah. 
• When you have gone as far as you are able (be careful not to exhaust yourself in an effort to rise further), return back the way you came, astrally vibrating each name along the way. The full form of your body of light will return to you as you descend. 
• Returning again to the Temple of Malkuth, take some time to touch the altar, the crystal and the pillars. When you have once again become firmly established in your body of light at the level of Malkuth, project back through the golden archway and merge your body of light back with your physical body. Physically give the sign of silence after you have come back to your body. 

Upon merging the body of light back into the physical body, I like to light up each of the chakras again, this time in the physical. These are like the screws (or nails, I suppose) which join one body with another, with practice they can be loosened and tightened at will. 

Mem, spelled in full: Mem Yod Mem

Mem is water, attributed to elemental Water and The Hanged Man.
Yod is the hand, attributed to Virgo and The Hermit.

As the path of Nun involves a dissolution of those elements of the outer persona which obscure the Light of Tiphareth, the path of Mem involves the dissolution of the individual ego in the waters of the absolute. The Adeptus Minor in Tiphareth learns to surrender to the higher, entering into a species of Samadhi or mystical union. (Note that this is true for the Adeptus Minor in the A.:A.:, which takes place in Briah, whereas the grade of Adeptus Minor in the Golden Dawn takes place in Yetzirah, corresponding roughly with the 2=9 level in the A.:A.:). The adept on the path of Mem must learn to surrender to the state of mystical union again and again, with regularity and under will. This state is known in the A.:A.: as Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel.

It is not enough on this path to merely undergo the dissolution of the ego on a regular basis. The aspiring Adeptus Major must at length learn to extract something from the dissolute. There is an immortal flame found within the depths of the Great Waters which is not subject to dissolution, since it is itself the essence of those waters. This is the fire of True Will, the transcendent Word of the adept which determines every possible manifestation of their Yechidah.

True Will is the ultimate expression of the universal through the individual, and thus expresses the perfect harmony between them. The expression of the Will, unhampered by attachment or aversion, kindles a flame upon the face of the world that transforms all that beholds it.

The water of Mem is an extension of the watery nature of Hod, the origin of the path. These are the waters of universal mind, aptly represented by Hod in Briah. The fire of the Yod set between (or within) the waters signifies the fiery Sephira Geburah to which the path leads. Geburah is a path both of action and restraint. The Adeptus Major must bring the whole of their outer nature into strict conformity with the Word which is recovered from the infinite waters. The Yod appears between the two Mems as if hidden, which in a sense it is. The adept is at first overwhelmed by the dissolution of the ego in Samadhi. The prospect of recovering anything from that experience seems beyond comprehension. It is only after the adept has assimilated themselves to the greater Light that the Seed of that Light can be extracted therefrom.

The paths of Nun and Mem reflect each other. Each features, in their spelling, a flame within the depths of the waters. On the path of Nun, the flame is that of a torch planted firmly in the earth (this is suggested by the shape of the letter Vau), for the aspirant at this level is still bound to the outer world. The Vau in this case is the nail that keeps them rooted in the ego as elements of that ego are dissolved in the waters of death. On the path of Mem, the flame is naked and unbound. It is in fact rooted in the higher rather than the lower. It is part of the work of the adept to tie that Word to the outer world, in accordance with the nature of their Will.

The fire of Yod is a secret fire, a hidden force. None can ever truly comprehend the Will of another, nor can one every truly know (speaking in the Biblical sense) another's Angel. Though a hidden fire, True Will is aptly symbolized by the lamp of the Hermit. It is a beacon of Light, illuminating the way for all toward knowledge of their own True Will.

The letters Mem Yod Mem add to 90, which is also the value of the letter Tzaddi, the fish-hook, as well as domem, 'silent'.

Vault Wall: Jupiter

The Jupiter Wall of the Vault of the Adepti (one of seven)

5' x 8'

Background squares: base color with 20% (or so) purple

Symbols: base color with 20% (or so) yellow

Next up: Venus

This wall and the Mercury wall are visually linked, in that the color schemes of the two walls directly oppose each other. 

The Bornless Rite: A Redaction

What follows is my personal redaction of The Bornless Rite. Much of the modifications come straight from a version written by Regardie, found in the smaller black Golden Dawn book (as with everything else on this blog, I make no claim to great originality - nor would I consider this a "new" version of the rite, it's a slight modification at best). 

This is a version that I've been using on a very regular basis for quite a few years, and which I have found to be very effective. I post it here with the simple hope that it might inspire at least one other person to create their own personal modification. Regardie's version inspired mine, maybe mine will inspire somebody else's. Needless to say, there is no reason to perform The Bornless Rite until one has had quite a few years of practice with the basic techniques that comprise it, as well as a mastery of some more general synthesis of the elements through spirit (the Watchtower Ritual, for instance, provides this). 

The temple is arranged with Enochian elemental tablets in the quarters. The Tablet of Union, placed on top of the Sigillum Dei Aemeth, sits on an altar in the center. Placed around the sides of the Tablet and Sigillum are the elemental weapons (used for the elemental invocations), with the Lotus Wand (for spirit) on the right and the Mars Sword (here for balance) on the left. For planetary workings, I like to put the Sigillum on top of the Tablet of Union.

A quick read-through of Crowley's Liber Samekh will provide details left out below (for example, when letting fly with the barbarous names, use the proper magical tool to send a current of will blazing through the pentagram, extending exponentially with each name until it transgresses the limits of the space). This is a ritual which, once thoroughly mastered in the physical, does benefit quite a bit from performance on the astral.

This rite is endlessly adaptable. It is perfectly sufficient in itself to exalt the consciousness and fortify the spirit if used regularly over time, though it is also useful as an opening for every type of ritual. Typically a ray of light is directed upward in the penultimate section (in the God form of Thoth), up beyond the tops of the pillars and into the infinite Light above, while the aspirant is made to rise into that Light in the final section. For talismanic or Eucharistic work, the light can be brought back down into the aspirant in the final section, and directed, through the aspirant, into the talismanic base. Alternately, the talisman can remain covered throughout the entire ritual, and the intended force can be invoked after the final section as in a more conventional talismanic consecration, after which point the talisman is uncovered and imprinted with that force (assuming it's been neutralized by water and fire beforehand). 

There is no God form listed for the final section, but there is indeed a God form that is used with that section. This form will come with practice, it is nameless and has no specific colors or characteristics, it is the Lord of Yetzirah and commands all of the spirits. The other God forms are Yetziratic images reflecting a Briatic archetype, so with the final God form (though you might say the source in this case is based in Atziluth). 

The Bornless Rite

Begin in the center, East of the altar:

Thee I invoke, The Bornless One
Thee, that did create the Earth and the Heavens
Thee, that disdst create the Night and the day.
Thee, that didst create the Darkness and the Light.
Thou are ASAR UN NEFER, who no one has ever seen.
Thou art IABAS
Thou art IAPOS
Thou hast distinguished between the Just and the Unjust.
Thou didst make the Female and the Male.
Thou didst produce the Seed and the Fruit.
Thou didst form Men and Women to love one another, and to hate one another.
I am [motto], Thy Prophet, unto Whom Thou didst commit Thy Mysteries, the Ceremonies of The Magic of Light.

Thou didst produce the moist and the dry, and that which nourisheth all created Life.
Hear Thou Me, for I am the Angel of Nu, of Had, of Ra Hoor Khu: this is Thy True Name, handed down to the Prophets of The Sun.

Pass by North to East:

Invoke Spirit Active (EXARP, AHIH) and Air (ORO IBAH AOZPI, YHVH, BATAIVAH)

Take on the God form of Aroueris.

Hear Me:
AR ThIAF RhEIBET A-ThELE-BER-SET A BELAThA ABEU EBEU PhI-ThETA-SOE IB ThIAF

Hear Me, and make all Spirits subject unto Me: so that every Spirit of the firmament and of the Ether: upon the Earth and under the Earth: on dry Land in the Water: of Whirling Air, and of rushing Fire: and every Spell and Scourge of God may be obedient unto Me.

Circumabulate, once around and to the South:

Invoke Spirit Active (BITOM, AHIH) Fire (OIP TEAA PDOCE, ELOHIM, EDLPERNA)

Take on the God form of Horus.

I invoke Thee, the Terrible and Invisible God: Who dwellest in the Void Place of the Spirit:
AR-O-GO-GO-RU-ABRAO SOTOU MUDORIO PhALARThAO OOO AEPE, The Bornless One!

Hear Me, and make all Spirits subject unto Me: so that every Spirit of the firmament and of the Ether: upon the Earth and under the Earth: on dry Land in the Water: of Whirling Air, and of rushing Fire: and every Spell and Scourge of God may be obedient unto Me.

Circumambulate, once around and to the West:

Invoke Spirit Passive (HCOMA, Atoh Gibor Le-Olam Adonai) Water (MPH ARSL GAIOL, AL, RAAGIOSL)

Take on the God form of Isis.

Hear Me:
RU-ABRA-IAF MRIODOM BABALON-BAL-BIN-ABAFT ASAL-ON-AI APhEN-IAF I PhOTETh ABRASAX AEOOU ISChURE Mighty and Bornless One!

Hear Me, and make all Spirits subject unto Me: sot aht every Spirit of the firmament and of the Ether: upon the Earth and under the Earth: on dry Land in the Water: of Whirling Air, and of rushing Fire: and every Spell and Scourge of God may be obedient unto Me.

Circumambulate to the North:

Invoke Spirit Passive (NANTA, Atoh Gibor Le-Olam Adonai), Earth (MOR DIAL HCTGA, ADNI, ICZHHAL)

Take on the God form of Nephthys.

I Invoke Thee:
MA BARRAIO IOEL KOThA AThOR-e-BAL-O ABRAFT

Hear Me, and make all Spirits subject unto Me: so that every Spirit of the firmament and of the Ether: upon the Earth and under the Earth: on dry Land in the Water: of Whirling Air, and of rushing Fire: and every Spell and Scourge of God may be obedient unto Me.

Circumambulate to East of Altar:

Invoke Spirit (4 Spirit pents. in the order of the Tablet of Union, with names as before), followed by EHNB

In the names and letters of the mystical Tablet of Union, I invoke ye, ye Divine forces of the Spirit of Life!

Recite the Exhortation of the Portal (alt: the 1^st Key):

OL SONUF VAORSAGI GOHO IADA BALTAH ELEXARPEH COMANANU TABITOM ZODAKARA EKA ZODAKARE OD ZODAMERANU ODO KIKLE QAA PIAP PIAMOEL OF VAON

Go by North to the North-East.

The visible sun is the dispenser of light to the earth. Let me therefore form a vortex in this chamber, that the invisible Sun of Spirit my shine herein from above.

Circumambulate 3 times, with 0=0 signs, as in Watchtower.

Return to the center, East of alter.

Take on the God form of Thoth

I Invoke Thee:
AFT ABAFT BAS-AUMGN ISAK SA-BA-FT IAO

This is the Lord of the Gods:
This is the Lord of the Universe:
This is he Whom the Winds fear.
This is he, who having made Voice by his Commandment, is Lord of All Things; King, Ruler and Helper.

Hear Me, and make all Spirits subject unto Me: so thaht every Spirit of the firmament and of the Ether: upon the Earth and under the Earth: on dry Land in the Water: of Whirling Air, and of rushing Fire: and every Spell and Scourge of God may be obedient unto Me.

Hear Me:
IEOU PUR IOU PUR IAFTh IAEO IOOU ABRASAX SABRIAM OO FF AD-ON-A-I EDE EDU ANGELOS TON ThEON ANLALA LAI GAIA AEPE DIATHARNA THORON

I  am He! The Bornless Spirit! having sight in the feet: Strong, and the Immortal Fire!
I am He! I am Truth!
I am He! Who hate that evil should be wrought in the World!
I am He, that ligteneth and thundereth.
I am He, from whom is the Shower of the Life of Earth.
I am He, whose mouth ever flameth.
I am He, the Begetter and Manifester unto the Light.
I am He, the Grace of the World.

"The Heart Girt with Serpent" is My Name!

Come Thou forth, and follow Me: and make all Spirits subject unto Me: so that every Spirit of the firmament and of the Ether: upon the Earth and under the Earth: on dry Land in the Water: of Whirling Air, and of rushing Fire: and every Spell and Scourge of God may be obedient unto Me.

IAO. SABAO.

Nun, spelled in full: Nun Vau Nun

Nun is the fish, attributed to Scorpio and Death.
Vau is the nail, attributed to Taurus and The Hierophant.

The path of Nun leads from Netzach to Tiphareth, from the highest Sephira in the triad of the personality to the Sephira of the Inner Sun of Light and Life. This is a path of the dissolution of the outer persona. The Hierophant is the Voice of Wisdom and the Expounder of the Mysteries. It is this that we come to know when the outer has been stripped away and we reside alone in the void of self-hood.

When one letter is surrounded on either side by another it is an indication that what is represented by the letter in the center is to be found within the midst of the process symbolized by the surrounding letter. In the case of Nun, we rise above the level of the outer self as the LVX dawns within us, only to be plunged into the vast sea of the unconscious in which we lose our sense of self. The Voice of the Higher is found within these hopeless depths. It is for this that the fish hook of Tzaddi is cast into those waters. This is the inner Wisdom which leads us from the chaos of the void and of night into the Light of Tiphareth, this is the initiator that leads us to the higher life of the Inner Sun. Were it not for this voice, the waters of the unconscious would be a place of darkness and obscurity in which we would never find our way. The Hierophant is the power which leads to regeneration from the waters of death.

Taurus is opposite Scorpio on the zodiacal wheel. The arrangement of letters in Nun mirrors that of the next letter, Mem, in which a letter signifying fire (Yod) is found between two instances of a letter signifying water (Mem). In this case, it is a stabilizing force that is found within the chaotic waters of Nun. In Tiphareth, the Voice of the Hierophant becomes the new foundation of the aspirant's self-hood, which is no longer fully based in the old persona. That persona is revealed to be a mere mask, obscuring the true Self. The Higher Will now replaces the will of the persona, though it typically takes several years for this process to come to full fruition.