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Everyone knows about the rituals of the Pentagram and Hexagram; this ritual is my invention and its purpose is to invoke and banish the Eight Trigrams (bagua) of Daoist/East Asian spirituality. I would like to know what others on this forum think about this ritual and if it could be useful. I would also be curious to see the results of anyone here deciding to experiment with it for themselves.
The ritual of the Octagram
1. Touch your head with your wand. Say: “Qian, Head of the Bornless One.”
2. Touch your mouth. Say: “Dui, Mouth of the Bornless One.”
3. Point your wand at your eyes. Say: “Li, the Eyes of the Bornless One.”
4. Touch your feet. Say: “Zhen, the Feet of the Bornless One.”
5. Touch your legs. Say: “Xun, the Legs of the Bornless One.”
6. Touch your ears. Say: “Kan, the Ears of the Bornless One.”
7. Touch your non-dominant hand with your wand. Say: “Gen, Hand of the Bornless One.”
8. Touch your heart. Say: “Kun, Heart of the Bornless One.”
9. Facing East, trace an Octagram (a diamond superimposed on a square, forming an eight-pointed star). Repeat this action in the Southeast, South, Southwest, West, Northwest, North, and Northeast.
10. Facing East, hold up your wand with a two-handed grip, so that it points upwards, and say: Before me, Han Zhang Li. Before my right shoulder, Han Xiang Zi. At my right hand, Li Tie Guai. Behind my right shoulder, He Xian Gu. Behind me, Li Dong Bin. Behind my left shoulder, Lan Chai He. At my left hand, Zhang Guo Lao. At my left shoulder, Chao Guo Jiu.
For Within me and Around me is the Eight-Petalled Golden Lotus,
Throne of the Buddhas, Chariot of the Gods!
And now shall I give the Doxology of her Eight Petals:
Heaven, thou palace of the six dragons, Give us thy seed!
Water, be joyous!
Fire, be bright!
Thunder, move and shake!
Wind, thou swayest me not!
Abyss upon abyss, I have plunged thy depths!
Mountain, tall though thou may be, see that thy height is beneath my feet!
Earth, consort of Heaven, I am thy Custodian!
Ye sixty-four figures of the tides, I have mastered thy winds and dominated thy waters,
For blessed are the petals, and blessed are their masters.
On the Tracing of the Octagram
The eight Ritual Implements of the Bagua are:
Qian – Flute
Dui – Fan
Fire – Sword or Dagger
Zhen – Clappers or Castanets
Xun – Lotus Flower
Kan – Gourd
Gen – Drum with some kind of skin
Kun – Anything containing a living fungus, such as a mushroom, piece of sourdough bread, or even beer.
If you would invoke any of the Trigrams,trace his star with a clockwise diamond and square. To banish, trace these shapes counterclockwise. To invoke or banish all the Trigrams at the same time, use a Wand.
On the Golden Lotus
It is the Eastern equivalent of the Merkabah, or Chariot of God. For it is seated on a Lotus that many Buddhas and other Eastern deities are depicted. It is not unreasonable to link the Lotus with the Pentagram and Hexagram because it is present in the Egyptian branch of the Hermetic teachings, being associated with the goddess Isis. The eight Trigrams and their associated entities, the eight immortals, represent the eight petals of the Lotus, in much the same way as the four Archangels represent the four living creatures which surround the Merkabah.
One may therefore also invoke one’s chosen deity by imagining that He or She is standing with His or Her feet in the Lotus, calling to mind the Lotus-Feet of the Hindus. And prostrated at the Lotus-Feet of one’s Deity may one find much indeed.
Uses of the Ritual of the Octagram
As the Eight Trigrams are, when combined into the 64 Figures of the I Ching, representative of the changes taking place in life, one would invoke the eight Trigrams at once (with the Wand) so as to align oneself more closely with this flow of change. Banishing the Trigrams would thus allow one to resist the flow of change. Since this ritual is therefore a theurgical one which essentially allows the magician to decide how much he will harmonize with the Tao of the universe, caution should be exercised. As it is better to be one with Tao than to act against it, one should generally only invoke, and banishing should be reserved for exceptional circumstances.
The Trigrams may also be individually invoked and banished; this is to be contrasted with the general invoking or banishing of the Trigrams. Given the Theurgical purpose of the general invoking and banishing of Trigrams (which is one pole in a duality), specific invoking and banishing of the Trigrams (the other pole) would logically more suit Thaumaturgical or Practical Magick. Benebell Wen’s table of correspondences of the eight Trigrams (which was used as a source when designing this ritual) lists various qualities and traits of the Trigrams which allude to their practical uses. Additionally, the I Ching contains eight hexagrams which are doubled versions of the Trigrams and can be understood as expositions on the Trigrams in general.
The ritual of the Octagram
1. Touch your head with your wand. Say: “Qian, Head of the Bornless One.”
2. Touch your mouth. Say: “Dui, Mouth of the Bornless One.”
3. Point your wand at your eyes. Say: “Li, the Eyes of the Bornless One.”
4. Touch your feet. Say: “Zhen, the Feet of the Bornless One.”
5. Touch your legs. Say: “Xun, the Legs of the Bornless One.”
6. Touch your ears. Say: “Kan, the Ears of the Bornless One.”
7. Touch your non-dominant hand with your wand. Say: “Gen, Hand of the Bornless One.”
8. Touch your heart. Say: “Kun, Heart of the Bornless One.”
9. Facing East, trace an Octagram (a diamond superimposed on a square, forming an eight-pointed star). Repeat this action in the Southeast, South, Southwest, West, Northwest, North, and Northeast.
10. Facing East, hold up your wand with a two-handed grip, so that it points upwards, and say: Before me, Han Zhang Li. Before my right shoulder, Han Xiang Zi. At my right hand, Li Tie Guai. Behind my right shoulder, He Xian Gu. Behind me, Li Dong Bin. Behind my left shoulder, Lan Chai He. At my left hand, Zhang Guo Lao. At my left shoulder, Chao Guo Jiu.
For Within me and Around me is the Eight-Petalled Golden Lotus,
Throne of the Buddhas, Chariot of the Gods!
And now shall I give the Doxology of her Eight Petals:
Heaven, thou palace of the six dragons, Give us thy seed!
Water, be joyous!
Fire, be bright!
Thunder, move and shake!
Wind, thou swayest me not!
Abyss upon abyss, I have plunged thy depths!
Mountain, tall though thou may be, see that thy height is beneath my feet!
Earth, consort of Heaven, I am thy Custodian!
Ye sixty-four figures of the tides, I have mastered thy winds and dominated thy waters,
For blessed are the petals, and blessed are their masters.
On the Tracing of the Octagram
The eight Ritual Implements of the Bagua are:
Qian – Flute
Dui – Fan
Fire – Sword or Dagger
Zhen – Clappers or Castanets
Xun – Lotus Flower
Kan – Gourd
Gen – Drum with some kind of skin
Kun – Anything containing a living fungus, such as a mushroom, piece of sourdough bread, or even beer.
If you would invoke any of the Trigrams,trace his star with a clockwise diamond and square. To banish, trace these shapes counterclockwise. To invoke or banish all the Trigrams at the same time, use a Wand.
On the Golden Lotus
It is the Eastern equivalent of the Merkabah, or Chariot of God. For it is seated on a Lotus that many Buddhas and other Eastern deities are depicted. It is not unreasonable to link the Lotus with the Pentagram and Hexagram because it is present in the Egyptian branch of the Hermetic teachings, being associated with the goddess Isis. The eight Trigrams and their associated entities, the eight immortals, represent the eight petals of the Lotus, in much the same way as the four Archangels represent the four living creatures which surround the Merkabah.
One may therefore also invoke one’s chosen deity by imagining that He or She is standing with His or Her feet in the Lotus, calling to mind the Lotus-Feet of the Hindus. And prostrated at the Lotus-Feet of one’s Deity may one find much indeed.
Uses of the Ritual of the Octagram
As the Eight Trigrams are, when combined into the 64 Figures of the I Ching, representative of the changes taking place in life, one would invoke the eight Trigrams at once (with the Wand) so as to align oneself more closely with this flow of change. Banishing the Trigrams would thus allow one to resist the flow of change. Since this ritual is therefore a theurgical one which essentially allows the magician to decide how much he will harmonize with the Tao of the universe, caution should be exercised. As it is better to be one with Tao than to act against it, one should generally only invoke, and banishing should be reserved for exceptional circumstances.
The Trigrams may also be individually invoked and banished; this is to be contrasted with the general invoking or banishing of the Trigrams. Given the Theurgical purpose of the general invoking and banishing of Trigrams (which is one pole in a duality), specific invoking and banishing of the Trigrams (the other pole) would logically more suit Thaumaturgical or Practical Magick. Benebell Wen’s table of correspondences of the eight Trigrams (which was used as a source when designing this ritual) lists various qualities and traits of the Trigrams which allude to their practical uses. Additionally, the I Ching contains eight hexagrams which are doubled versions of the Trigrams and can be understood as expositions on the Trigrams in general.
