Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Ceremonial magic
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
{{Short description|Variety of rituals of magic}} {{Redirect|Magick||Magic (disambiguation)}} {{Globalize|1=article|2="Ceremonial magic according to Crowley", instead of "Ceremonial magic through the ages and the world,"|date=August 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} {{CS1 config|mode=cs1}} {{Use shortened footnotes|date=September 2024}} [[File:Aleister Crowley, Golden Dawn.jpg|thumb|right|260px|alt=Crowley wearing the ceremonial garb of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn|[[Aleister Crowley]] in [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn|Golden Dawn]] garb]] {{magic sidebar|Forms}} {{Golden Dawn|expand=Teachings}} {{Thelema|expand=Core concepts}} '''Ceremonial magic''' (also known as '''magick''', '''ritual magic''', '''high magic''' or '''learned magic'''){{sfnp|Davies|2003|p=ix}} encompasses a wide variety of rituals of [[Magic (supernatural)|magic]]. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories to aid the practitioner. It can be seen as an extension of ritual magic, and in most cases synonymous with it. Popularized by the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]], it draws on such schools of philosophical and [[occult]] thought as [[Hermetic Qabalah]], [[Enochian magic]], [[Thelema]], and the magic of various [[grimoire]]s. Ceremonial magic is part of [[Hermeticism]] and [[Western esotericism]]. The synonym ''magick'' is an archaic spelling of 'magic'{{sfnp|Crowley|1997|p=xxiv}} used during the [[Renaissance]], which was revived by [[Aleister Crowley]] to differentiate [[occult]] magic from [[magic (illusion)|stage magic]]. He defined it as "the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will",{{sfnp|Crowley|1973b}} including ordinary acts of will as well as ritual magic. Crowley wrote that "it is theoretically possible to cause in any object any change of which that object is capable by nature".{{efn|{{harvp|Crowley|1997|p=127}}: "What is a Magical Operation? It may be defined as any event in nature which is brought to pass by will. We must not exclude potato-growing or banking from our definition. Let us take a very simple example of a Magical Act: that of a man blowing his nose."}} [[John Symonds]] and [[Kenneth Grant (occultist)|Kenneth Grant]] attach a deeper occult significance to this preference.{{efn|{{harvp|Symonds|Grant|1973|p={{page needed|date=December 2021}}}}: "The Anglo-Saxon ''k'' in Magick, like most of Crowley's conceits, is a means of indicating the kind of magic which he performed. K is the eleventh letter of several alphabets, and eleven is the principal number of magick, because it is the number attributed to the Qliphoth β the underworld of demonic and chaotic forces that have to be conquered before magick can be performed. K has other magical implications: it corresponds to the power or ''shakti'' aspect of creative energy, for k is the ancient Egyptian ''khu'', ''the'' magical power. Specifically, it stands for ''kteis'' (vagina), the complement to the wand (or phallus) which is used by the Magician in certain aspects of the Great Work."}} Crowley saw magic as the essential method for a person to reach true understanding of the self and to act according to one's [[true will]], which he saw as the reconciliation "between freewill and destiny."{{sfnp|Crowley|1998|p=207}} Crowley describes this process in his ''[[Magick (Book 4)|Magick, Book 4]]''.{{efn|{{harvp|Crowley|1997|p=134}}: "One must find out for oneself, and make sure beyond doubt, ''who'' one is, ''what'' one is, ''why'' one is ...Being thus conscious of the proper course to pursue, the next thing is to understand the conditions necessary to following it out. After that, one must eliminate from oneself every element alien or hostile to success, and develop those parts of oneself which are specially needed to control the aforesaid conditions."}}
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)