Gnostic Pentagram Ritual

by Peter Carrol

[note: this is excerpted from Peter Carroll's "Liber Kaos", a very good primer on Chaos Magick recommended to any student of chaos magick who is serious about hir pursuits in the occult arts.]

The Gnostic Pentagram Ritual begins with a visualization of radiance in five areas of the body. Each visualization is assisted by a vibration of one of the vowels sounds I, E, A, O, U. The sounds are vibrated loudly and each is sustained for and entire slow exhalation. Each should produce a physical sensation in the part of the body to which it is attributed. In effect the body is being played like a musical instrument with each part resonating in sympathy to a particular tone.

Subsequently, pentagrams are drawn in the air at four points around the operator. The pentagrams 'are drawn and an anti-clockwise quarter turn f the whole body is executed after each pentagram thus returning the body to its original position. The pentagrams should be strongly visualized with the eyes opened or closed as desired. Each should be accompanied by a loud intonation of all five vowel sounds I, E, A, O, U, in a single exhalation, with one bar of the pentagram being drawn for each sound. The IEAOU mantra is used here largely to block discursive thought. Finally, the opening sequence in which the visualization of radiance in various areas of the body, reinforced by the individual I, E, A, O, U mantras, is repeated. The ritual may be elaborated at will, for example, by adding colors to the visualized radiances or by adding supplementary pentagrams above and below to form a sphere around the operator.

This ritual can be used in a number of ways:

To establish balance, concentration and control before and after more complex rituals.
As visualization practice at any time.
As a preliminary exorcism of unwanted mental or psychic phenomena.
As an aid to healing, particulary self-healing.

The techniwues emplyed are: mantar vibration, visualization assisted by gesture, breath control.

The ritual entails the visualization of images of radiance within specific areas of the body. These areas correspond with the bodily chakras of some oriental traditions but not others. There is actually little congruence between the various oriental systems. What all these systems are designed to do is to create psychic images of various parts of the body to facilitate greater psychosomatic control. The Gnostic Pentagram Ritual is named in commemoration of certain magickal schools of antiquity which designated the magical force of the universe IAO:

Ritual Procedure

Stand facing any preferred direction.
Inhale fully. Exhale slowly sustaining the sound "I" (a high-pitched ieeeee! sound) while visualizing a radiance of energy in the head area.
Inhale fully. Exhale slowly sustaining the sound "E" (a lower-pitched eeeeh! sound) while visualizing a radiance of enerfy in the throat area.
Inhale fully. Exhale slowly sustaining the sound "A" (a deep aaaah! sound) while visualizing a radiance of energy in the heart and lungs, which spreads to the muscles of the limbs.
As in 2, but the sound "O" (ooooh!) in the belly area.
As in 2, but the sound "U" (a very deep uuuur!) in the genital/anal area.
Repat 6. Then 5, 4, 3, 2, working back toward the head.
Inhale fully. Exhale slowly, forming each of the IEAOU sounds in turn while, with the left arm, drawing in the air a pentagram, which is also visualized strongly.
Make a quarter turn to the left and repeat 8, then continue to turn and draw the remaining pentagrams with mantra and visualization until returning to the starting position.
Repeat steps 2-7 inclusive.

Healing

To assist in healing any part of the body, intone the sound and visualize the radiance which corresponds to the affected part continuously for 5-10 minutes, or for as long as concentration can be maintained.