#thesmartwitch.com

I just stumbled across thesmartwitch.com, which is a great resource for spell casting and filling up your grimoire!

Hey Smart Witch: I think I must be a Ceremonial Magician, because I like High Magic. I'd like to know more about what the history of Ceremonial Magic, please and thank you.

The Smart Witch: Ceremonial Magic or Ritual Magic - or as you call it, High Magic - is a broad term. Most it is used within the context of Hermeticism or Western Esotericism, and encompasses a variety of elaborate, complex rituals of magic.

Hermeticism is a religious and philosophical/esoteric tradition based primarily upon writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus. These writings greatly influenced the Western esoteric tradition and were considered to be of great importance during both the Renaissance and the Reformation.

When I write of Western esotericism, this is a generic lable for the ideas and movements within our society that have remained largely distinct from orthodox Judeo-Christian religion and the Enlightenment rationalism of Europe's 18th century.

The tradition of Hermeticism claims descent from a prisca theologia - a doctrine that affirms the existence of a single, true theology that is present in all religions and that was given by God to man in antiquity.

Ceremonial Magic was popularized by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. It draws on schools of thought including Hermetic Qabalah, Enochian magic, Thelema and the magic contained in various historical grimoires.

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was an organization devoted to the study and practice of the occult, metaphysics, and paranormal activities during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was active in Great Britain, and focused its practices on theurgy and spiritual development.

Many present-day concepts of ritual and magic that are at the center of contemporary traditions, such as Wicca and Thelema, were inspired by the Golden Dawn, which became one of the largest single influences on 20th-century Western occultism.

Hermetic Qabalah draws on many influences, notably Jewish Kabbalah, Western astrology, Alchemy, egyptian and Greco-Roman religions, Neo-Platonism, Gnosticism, the Enochian system of angelic magic, tantra and the symbolism of the Tarot.

Enochian magic is a system of ceremonial magic based on the invocation and commanding of various spirits. It is based on the 16th-century writings of Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelley, who claimed that their information, including the revealed Enochian language, was delivered to them directly by various angels.

Dr. Dee's journals contained the Enochian script, and the tables of correspondences that accompany it. Dr. Dee and Mr. Kelley believed their visions gave them access to secrets contained within the apocryphal Book of Enoch.

There is a lot more to Ceremonial Magic than I can convey in a single post. If this is how you identify, why not spend the time in research to gain the necessary basic knowledge and skills, and to discover your true potential through this system of ritual and magic. Some books to consider: The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P. Hall; The Book of Ceremonial Magic by A.E. Waite; and The Lesser Key of Solomon by S.L. MacGregor Mathers and Aleister Crowley.

Notes:

(1) Hermes Trismegistus - The purported author of the Hermetic Corpus, a series of sacred texts that are the basis of Hermeticism.

(2) Renaissance - A period in Europe from the 14th to the 17th century, which bridge the period between the Middle Ages and modern history.

(3) Reformation - The schism from the Roman Catholic Church initiated by Protestant Reformers in the 16th century in Europe.

(4) Grimoire - A textbook of magic that typically includes instructions on how to create magical objects (amulets, talismans), how to perform magical spells, divination and more.

(5) Occult - Knowledge of the hidden.

(6) Neo-Platonism - A 3rd century CE philosophy influenced by Plato and the Platonic tradition.

(7) Gnosticism - A collection of ancient religions whose adherents shunned the material world and embraced the spiritual world.

(8) Tantra - An ancient Hindu tradition of beliefs, meditation and ritual practices to channel the Divine energy of the macrocosm into the human microcosm.