Everything

To achieve excellence, one must have perfection. To work one’s Will, one must have the discipline to master that Will and then direct it with utmost confidence. In an outsider’s perspective, the rigorous devotees of High Ritual Magick (all capitalized) are a pretentious pack of OCD pricks. For those devotees, however, the truth is plain: you must be strong, courageous, disciplined, and wise to unlock Creation’s power. High Ritual Magick demands those qualities.

In High Ritual Magick, everything has significance: the alignment of planets, the tone of words, the calculations necessary to discover the correct number of times to repeat certain phrases, the formalities of address, and the measure or angle of materials aligned just so for maximum effect. That precision has a dual purpose: in one regard, the relationship of those many elements is crucial for success. In the other regard, the precision tests and challenges the magician, forcing him to overcome his flaws and become the superior person whom such intricacies demand. This practice is both an Art and a Science whose expertise has withstood the tests of time. You cannot be weak or sloppy or stupid, goes the reasoning, if you wish to work your Will upon Creation. Only the smartest, the bravest, the most refined people are capable of True High Magick, and so the rituals and their elaborate preparations discourage everyone who lacks the excellence to succeed.

(This mindset also explains the condescending attitude for which High Ritual Magicians are so infamous. Although they don’t all feel this way, many such wizards believe that other practitioners have not earned the right to work True Magick. Lesser mages, to them, are like drunken kids speeding down dark mountain roads with Daddy’s car, an expired learner’s permit, and the wizard strapped in the back seat, unable to avoid the coming crash.)

Though often associated with medieval Europe, High Ritual Magick has many forms, all of them refined by civilized urban cultures. China’s ritual magick boasts Confucian complexity, and rites from Egypt and Mesopotamia provide the centerpiece for the Western occult traditions of Greece, Rome, Persia, Israel, and Arabia. Nubia’s ritual Arts remain a closely guarded secret, held by the Ngoma as a timeless inheritance. Tibet, India, and Japan all have sublime ritual practices, whereas North American occultism blends Old World sophistication with New World eclecticism. The rites of South and Central America have largely been lost, thanks to Spanish conquerors… and yet, in secret corners of Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, and Peru, sects preserve those Aztec, Maya, and Incan practices.

In all forms, High Ritual Magick demands preparation, discipline, and the finest materials a magician can acquire. Such practices connect the mage with greater powers – gods, angels, demons, elementals, and the faceless forces of the universe – and those powers demand respect. The wizard, too, must earn respect; such powers do not answer to fools. In practical terms, High Ritual Magick is slow and precise. The wizard might call upon the results of his prior work in the heat of the moment, but those results – enchanted wands, crafted staves, precious amulets, mystic scrolls, imprisoned demons, angelic favors, priceless statues, carved jade pendants, Otherworldly gates, fine robes, imposing tomes – must be prepared well in advance.

Despite all those trappings, an accomplished Ritual Magus understands that it is his Will that commands those elements. He does not hope or beg – he commands. Spirits can be bargained with, dragons might be conjured, God Himself might slip the mage a favor, but in the end all of those parties respect the High Magus because, ultimately, he has shaped himself into the true instrument of Will.

Associated Paradigms: A Mechanistic Cosmos; A World of Gods and Monsters; Bring Back the Golden Age; Divine Order and Earthly Chaos; Everything is Data; Everything’s an Illusion, Prison, or Mistake; Might is Right; Tech Holds All Answers

Associated Abilities: Academics, Belief Systems, Cosmology, Crafts, Expression, Esoterica, Investigation, Leadership, Meditation, Occult, Research

Common Instruments: Books, celestial alignments, circles and designs, computers (for modern wizards), cups and vessels, elements, eye contact, fashion, gems, gestures, languages (Latin, Sanskrit, Mandarin, Greek, etc.), meditation, numbers and numerology, offerings and sacrifices, prayer and invocations, social domination, symbols, thought forms, True Names, wands and staves, weapons (swords and knives), writing and inscriptions