Middle Pillar versions 2020 03 26

1. Mystical Pentagram (choose your own godnames for the sephirot

2. ‘gnostic lrp’ – IAO to awaken radiances in the column –
3. Agostino Taumatourgo Middle Pillar, chakras, and variations – Lord’s Prayer MP
4. L. Christopher, Kabbalah, Magic, etc. 72ff. basically Regardie

1. Mystical Pentagram
https://www.sacred-texts.com/bos/bos027.htm
Internet Book of Shadows, (Various Authors), [1999], at sacred-texts.com

Brightstarr, Kathexis
The Mystical Pentagram is a technique which will enhance psychic self-awareness. Practiced on
a daily basis it will produce surprising individual results. One of the features of this technique is
that it encourages personal development by allowing each entity to discover a personal mantra
which corresponds to the five elements.

To begin, you will need a table of correspondences such as "777" by Aleister Crowley. Look up
the names of the gods and goddesses which correspond to the air element. Pick a name which
when chanted 'feels' right for you. For example, Nu is the Egyptian lord of the firmament and
corresponds to air. If I were inclined towards egyptian deities, I would chant the name Nu for
several minutes to see what effect transpired. If I felt relaxed, comfortable, and generally positive
I would inwardly know that this name would be in tune with my inner self. Proceed to find
correspondences for fire, water, and earth in the same manner and finally for spirit since it is the
aggregate of the four common elements.

Once you have found a personal mantra or a chant consisting of five names, vowel sounds, etc.
You are ready to proceed with the practical application of the Mystical Pentagram.

Assume your favorite meditation position, relax and begin to breathe in a rhythmic pattern; ie.
inhale count one, two, three, four, exhale count one, two, three, four and so on. Continue to
breathe in such a manner for about five minutes so that a definite rhythm is firmly established.

Visualize the five psychic centers. Memorize their positions so that you become familiar with the
positions.

Next visualize a brilliant white light forming a circle above your head in the spirit center.
Mentally draw a white light pentagram within the circle of light. This should be an invoking
pentagram.

If your mind should begin to wander, gently bring it back and vocally vibrate the mantra you
have chosen for the spirit center. Let your mind dwell on this center and intone your mantra
several times for at least five minutes.

Next see a shaft of white light radiate down through your skull stopping at your throat near the
adam's apple. See a circle of white light begin to form and pulsate. Mentally draw an invoking
pentagram within the circle of light and vocally vibrate your chosen mantra for the air center.
Continue to stimulate this center for at least five minutes.

Now see a shaft of white light radiate down through your torso stopping at your fire center. This
is located just above the navel. See a brilliant white light begin to pulsate at this center and draw
an invoking pentagram within the circle of light. As your mind begins to wander gently guide it
back to he image of the glowing white pentagram. Here vibrate your chosen fire mantra. Once
this center is stimulated the sensation is unmistakable. A mild tingling or vibration of the solar-
plexus area is physically experienced. Continue to dwell on this center for at least five minutes.

See the shaft of white light push down to the water center which is located in the groin area.
Here, too, a brilliant circle of white light should be visualized. Again draw an invoking
pentagram within the circle of light. Intone the mantra for the water center and repeat the sound
several times for the next five minutes.

Having arrived thus far, see the shaft of white light radiate down through your legs stopping at
the bottom of your feet which is the earth center. Form a brilliant, white, pulsating circle of light
and draw an invoking pentagram within the circle. Intone your earth mantra and vocally vibrate
the sound several times during the next five minutes.

When all of the energy centers have been stimulated, direct the light energy from the spirit center
to the earth center. As you exhale see the light travel from the top of your head down through
your body to the bottom of your feet. As you inhale see the energy travel from your feet up
through your body up to the top of your head, the spirit center. These circulations should be
persisted for at least seven complete circuits. See the energy cleanse and vitalize every part of
your being and expand your awareness to cosmic consciousness. As you continue to repeat this
technique each day you will begin to see and feel a change in your psychic awareness and a
marked improvement in your health.

Don't become discouraged if you don't achieve results immediately. This technique produces
very positive effects but they are cumulative in nature. Be gentle with your inner self however
you must also be persistent and keep the communication open. It is also a good idea to perform
this exercise at the same time each day in order to allow your body cycles incorporate the energy
flow in a natural order.

Suggested reading:
The Art of True Healing -- Israel Regardie
Energy Ecstasy -- Bernard Gunther

2. ‘gnostic lrp’ – IAO to awaken radiances in the column –

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. It is good respect the freedom of others to think what their consciences lead
them to think, and it is also good to point out when their actions, their words, their emotional
manifestations, their symbolic gestures, and their professed beliefs and intentions are out of
agreement.

3. Agostino Taumatourgo Middle Pillar, chakras, and variations – Lord’s Prayer MP

Chakras, the Middle Pillar, and the Lord’s Prayer

Posted on April 5, 2016by Agostino

[WARNING: This is a VERY long post!]

Contents

Introduction
The Chakras
The Middle Pillar
The Rousing of the Citadels Variant
Eastern Orthodox Chakras
You Will Be Assimilated
Imprinting the Perfect Prayer

Introduction

For this post, I’ll find myself going outside the constraints of Christian theology.

Or maybe not so much. Christian theology, like all theologies, purports to give an accounting for
all supernatural phenomena, that means Christian theology must also find ways to wrap its head
around such phenomena when encountered outside its established paradigm.

This post, therefore, lies within the task of the theologian.

When such spiritual beliefs or practices are encountered, Christian theology

(actually, all theologies) can respond in one of three ways.
1. By baptizing it. This is found in the Fourth Gospel and the works of 2nd-century Fathers
such as Justin Martyr, where the Pagan concept of the Logos (the rational principle of the
Universe) is baptized and used as another name for Christ. Here we see the Logos accepted
whole-cloth and simply transferred onto a Christian concept.
2. By rejecting it. This is found in the orthodox Christian attitude to samsara (also called
“transmigration,” “rebirth,” or “reincarnation”). While more or less rejected by the orthodox
party (Hebrews 9:27), the subject was debated until 553 when it was flatly condemned at the
Second Council of Constantinople (Chapter 11, the condemnation of Origen). Note that in
modern times this rejection only applies at the “official” or denomination level, since many
individual Christians believe in reincarnation and nobody I hear no one getting
excommunicated them for it.
3. By engaging it, on the assumption that anything inherently good must have come from
God somehow, and that anything not-so-good can be cherry-picked out. This operates on the
principle that pre-Vatican II theology calls natural revelation, which means what human
beings are able to learn about God and the spirit world(s) by observing the world about them
and putting 2 and 2 together. The scriptural basis is Romans 1:20, and it’s the guiding
principle behind documents such as Gregory the Great’s Letter to Mellitus and Vatican
II’s Nostra Aetate (stated explicitly in paragraph 2).
This third approach is the one I’ll be using in this essay.

The Chakras

The chakras are a concept originating in Tantric Hinduism and often talked about in the West,
but apparently not well-understood. The word itself means “wheel” and refers to an “energy
node” or “subtle energy center” visualized at or near some part of the body. Westerners
commonly teach that there are seven chakras, as follows:
1. Muladhara (मूलाधार, “root support”) or root chakra, at the base of the spine.
2. Svadhishthana (स्वाधिष्ठान, “one’s own base”) or sacral chakra, variously linked tot he
lower abdomen or the reproductive organs.
3. Manipura (मणिपूर, “jewel city”) or solar plexus/navel chakra, in the solar plexus (around
the stomach).
4. Anahata (अनाहत, “unstruck”) or heart chakra, in the chest.
5. Vishuddha (विशु द्ध, “especially pure”), or throat chakra, at the throat.
6. Ajna (आज्ञा, “command”) or third-eye chakra, above the brow.
7. Sahasrara (सहस्रार, “thousand-petaled”) or crown chakra, above the crown of the head.
These are the seven chakras as described in most English-language writings on the subject,
owing largely to Charles Leadbetter’s The Chakras (1927) and Woodroffe’s 1918 English
translation of Purnanda’s Ṣhaṭ-chakra-nirūpaṇa, or “Explanation of the Six Chakras” written in
1577. Woodroffe’s translation is a chapter of his book The Serpent Power.
These sources also associate a one-syllable “seed-mantra” (called a bija in Sanskrit) with each
chakra, which New Agers are taught “activates” or “balances” each chakra. These mantras are, in
order: LAM, VAM, RAM, YAM, HAM, OM, and Silence.
The truth is that these bijas don’t “activate” the chakras but are associated with the Five
Elements. LAM, VAM, RAM, YAM, and HAM are the bijas of Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and
Ether respectively, while OM refers to ultimate reality. What this means is that rather than
“activating” or “balancing,” the operator is instead installing the properties of that element into
his chakras and in effect seeking to seal those properties onto his soul.
Sanskrit scholar Chris Wallis gives an excellent analysis of this and other issues found in these
works and modern understandings of the chakra system in general. Dr. Wallis speaks from a
scholarly perspective and is careful not to belittle other’s practice or experience (an approach I
agree with), while giving explaining that the modern seven-chakra system has issues owing to
those who brought it to the English-speaking world, that the number of chakras is not fixed but
varies according to the system or teacher (anywhere from five to more than twenty-eight), that
the chakra system is prescriptive and not descriptive, and of course this, which should be our
biggest take-away:
“[The chakras] are  conceptual structures yet are phenomenologically based, since they tend to
be located where human beings experience emotional and/or spiritual energy, and since the
form in which they are visualized reflects visionary experiences had by meditators.” (emphasis
mine)
What we get from this – the varying number of chakras, the fact they’re prescriptive and not
descriptive (i.e. describing something as it actually is), and that they’re conceptual structures –
we come to one conclusion: that the chakras do not exist on their own, but that we make them
real through our work with them, analogous to how a magician creates an egregore.

Once we understand that the chakras are something we create from scratch and the number is
semi-arbitrary (i.e. determined by what the teacher is seeking to teach and the system is aiming
to accomplish), it becomes easier to discuss the Middle Pillar.

The Middle Pillar

The Middle Pillar is one of the two best-known spiritual exercises originating from the Golden
Dawn tradition (the other being the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram), and superimposes the
“Middle Pillar” Sefiros from the Kabbalistic Tree of Life onto the Tantric paradigm of the
chakras.
In fact the more one examines Golden Dawn rituals, the more he or she will find they’re
incapable of being “pure,” that is, of being composed from elements of one and only one
spiritual system. The rituals are a combination of elements from Kabbalah, Egyptology, the
Grimoires, and whatever else seems to have been fashionable back in late 19th century Britain. I
say this not as a condemnation but as an observation, and leave the reader to his or her own
mileage with the system. The fact that Golden Dawn rituals have been copied and adapted in
various ways throughout the past century tells me they must’ve done at least something right, or
else people would’ve discarded the system entirely by now.
The Middle Pillar relies on a five-chakra system patterned after the five middle-pillar Sefiros of
the Tree of Life, also mapped to certain locations on the body:

1. Keser (‫כֶּתֶ ר‬, “Crown”), above the crown of the head.

2. Da’as (‫ּדַ עַת‬, “Knowledge”), the throat.
3. Tiferes (‫ּתִ ְפא ֶֶרת‬, “Beauty” or “Adornment”), the heart.
4. Yesod (‫י ְסוֺד‬, “Foundation”), the groin.
5. Malkhus (‫ ַמלְכּות‬, “Kingdom”), between the insoles of the feet.
These Sefiros (with the exception of Da’as) are each attributed to one of the Four Worlds of
manifestation and each of them to one of the Four Elements, leading in turn to endless lists upon
lists of correspondences and attributions (because lots of modern Hermeticists are into that sort
of thing).

For our purpose it suffices to point out that the Golden Dawn assigned each Sefira a four-fold
color scheme (King, Queen, Emperor, and Empress Scales), and these Sefira/Chakras formed in
the Middle Pillar are visualized in colors from top to bottom: white brilliance, lavender, golden
yellow, violet, and four quarters of citrine-russet-olive-black.

During the Middle Pillar, the practitioner is to breathe rhythmically while visualizing each Sefira
in succession, focusing on each Sefira for the space of three or four breaths. When exhaling, the
practitioner is to vibrate – that is, chant/sing on a note where you feel like your entire body is
vibrating – the Divine Name of the Sefira being visualized:
1. ‫אֶ ְהי ֶה‬, Eheieh (“I Am.”)
2. ‫י ְהֹוָה ֱאֹלהִים‬, Adonai Elohim (“Lord God”). Some would rather say “Yahveh Elohim,” and
I’ve seen videos from Israel saying “Y’hovah.” I leave the reader to decide.
3. ‫יְהֺוַה ֱאֹלו ַּה וַּדַ עַת‬, Adonai Eloah Va-Da’as (“Yahveh/Adonai God and Knowledge”). Often
translated as “The Lord God Manifest in the World of Knowledge.”
4. ‫ׁשַּדַ י אֵ ל חַי‬, Shaddai El Chai (“Almighty Living God”).
5. ‫ָָארץ‬
ֶ ‫אֲדֹנָי ח‬, Adonai Ha-Aretz (Lord of the Earth”). In this case the word is actually
“Adonai” and not standing in for the actual name of God as in #2 and #3.
These names are names of God as found in the Hebrew Scriptures: the Tanakh, corresponding to
the “Palestinian Canon” or Protestant version of the Old Testament (Catholic and Orthodox
Bibles descend from the “Alexandrian Canon” or the Septuagint, retaining books that some
Protestants reject and others consider apocryphal). In yet another instance of theologians and
occultists speaking entirely separate languages – or of occultists misunderstanding theology yet
again – modern Hermeticists often take these names to refer to aspects of God rather than
recognizing that they’re simply various names for the Creator himself.
The names serve a purpose similar to the bijas used in the chakra system: whereas the bijas seek
to install an Element’s property onto our souls, the use of Divine Names makes this exercise into
an attempt to write the properties of God onto the operator’s very soul, although this may be seen
as a side effect since most practitioners’ immediate purpose is to focus on and open up the
Sefiros/Chakras within.
Once the names are vibrated and the Sefiros/Chakras visualized, there are two versions of what
happens next. One version is to visualize your aura filling with the golden light of Tifares
(Regardie, The Golden Dawn, 6th Edition, p. 90):
“Make the Qabalistic Cross to indicate that you have called down the Light of your Kether and
balanced it in your aura. Then let your imagination dwell on the aura and see it oval and clear,
pulsating with the glow from Tiphareth.”
The other version for concluding the Middle Pillar can be called a “Circulation of the Body of
Light,” and the earliest reference I’ve found to it is Regardie’s The Middle Pillar, first published
in 1938. As to the question of whether the Circulation predates Regardie or was invented by him,
I’ve not been able to find an answer.
In a very lengthy passage, Regardie describes the Circulation as having three “formulas.” For
brevity I excerpt the most important parts below:
FIRST FORMULA
“With every one of the Five Middle Pillar Centers active and throwing power into the mind and
body, and there is a clear awareness of an actual column extending interiorly from the Crown of
the Head to the Soles of the Feet, an entirely different technique must now be pursued. The
student should return to the contemplation of his KESER, the lamp of invisible light above his
head. Imagining this Center still to be in a state of radiation, let him will that his energy
circulates through the system in this wise. It descends from the head towards the Left shoulder.
Passing through the entire length of the Left side of the body, the magnetic current strikes the
sole of the Left Foot. Thence it passes over to the Right Sole , upwards through the leg and thigh
and body to the right shoulder, eventually returning to KESER.”
SECOND FORMULA
“It is now necessary to circulate the stream of power in yet another direction. The object is to
ensure that no single area of the Sphere of Sensation be omitted from its vitalizing and cleansing
passage. Once again returning to the (Vision of the Light above the Head), this time imagine and
will that the Current of Spiritual Power descends from KESER in a forward direction. That is to
say, it passes downward in front of the face, descending through that region along the neck and
chest, down the thighs to the feet. When it strikes the thighs, the stream turns backward along the
Soles of the Feet, along the Calves at the Back, ascending the spinal column and neck until, once
more, it reaches KESER.”
THRD FORMULA
“The two preceding methods will be discovered to have produced Wheels of Power spinning
around the periphery of the Aura or Sphere of Sensation at Right Angles, as it were. The Third
Formula is more akin to the motion of a Spiral. Having returned on each of the former occasions
of circulation to the contemplation of KESER, imagine the upright column of brilliance,
corresponding to the Middle Pillar, formulated through the center of the body. Pass now to the
Visualization of MALKUS emanating its inherent power of stability and equilibrium and fertility.
Perhaps the easiest way to conceive of the motion of the Third Formula is to imagine the act of
swathing or bandaging a leg. You wrap the gauze tightly around the lower part of the limb,
gradually ascending the leg in closely wound spirals. This simply, is the technique of the
Formula under consideration. You should imagine a Ray of Power coming out from the Right
Side of MALKUS, moving over to the Left Foot. Here it descends under the legs, and comes up
on the Right a little higher up the Spiral.
“Repeat the same move again and again , until you feel the distinct sensation of a whirling of
Spiritual Power which gradually rises from the feet to the thighs, its Spiral Current still fairly
close and connected , over-lapping those immediately below. From the thighs, the Whirling or
Spiral proceeds up the trunk tightly enwrapping or enswathing it with a bandage of Pure White
Light. This continues, until once more the Current returns to rest in KESER.”
While a long description, it’s a thorough plan for circulating energy throughout one’s entire
body. A theological commentary would either find this a harmless exercise or nitpick multitudes
of “sinful practices,” depending on the theologian doing the commentary. I myself see the
Circulation exercise as making use of natural faculties (permissible under moral theology) and
the exercise as making invocation of no forces other than the Divine (not forbidden under moral
theology), and thus see theological commentary as unnecessary.

The Rousing of the Citadels Variant

As with all Golden Dawn rites, the Middle Pillar was by no means immune to tinkering and even
improvement by individual practitioners and even magical orders. The internet is littered with
examples, and in my opinion the best form is found in the Rousing of the Citadels taught by the
Aurum Solis system, where it’s also called the 1st Formula Clavis Rei Primae (this translates as
“Key of the First Affair”).
The Aurum Solis is known originally in the works of Melita Denning and Osborne Philips, and
there’s been some debate as to whether the Aurum Solis is their invention and initially intended
as a commercial enterprise. I choose not to enter that debate; my purpose is simply to inform that
it exists. I’m a pragmatic at heart, and I say that whatever its original intentions, the Order has
attracted students who found the curriculum works for them and works well, meaning the Order
has legitimized itself as an organization even if their historical narrative is a sham (in which case
simple honesty is all that would be needed).
Where the Middle Pillar employs five centers, the Rousing employs six Centers of Activity, to be
visualized as spheres roughly two inches in diameter and corresponding to the five Sefiros
referenced in the Middle Pillar, and a sixth to correspond to the “Third Eye.”
The six Centers are, in order from top to bottom:

1. Corona Flammae – the “Crown of Flame” above the head and corresponding to Keser.
White Brilliance, like burning magnesium.
2. Uncia Coeli – the “Ounce of Heaven” or “Inch of Heaven” over the brow; corresponds to
no Sefira, but my personal interpretation has been to liken the Uncia Coeli to a synthesis of
the Sefiros Hakhmah (‫ ָח ְכ ָמה‬, “Wisdom”) and Binah (‫ּבִינָה‬, “Understanding”). Soft Dove Gray.
3. Flos Abysmi – the “Flower of the Abyss” in front of the throat and corresponding to
Da’as. Deep Purple.
4. Orbis Solis – the “Orb of the Sun” at the heart and corresponding to Tiferes. Golden
Yellow.
5. Cornua Lunae – the “Horns of the Moon” at the groin and corresponding to Yesod.
Lavender and rapidly swirling.
6. Instita Splendens – the “Shining Lady” between the insoles of the feet and corresponding
to Malkhus. Seven prismatic colors lazily swirling.
Regarding the Golden Dawn’s omission of the Third Eye Center, Denning and Phillips say that
“this omission is emphatically condemned by the present writers.” (The Sword and the Serpent,
p. 376) My personal opinion is that while I don’t condemn this omission, the exercise does feel
more “complete” with the Uncia Coeli’s inclusion.
As with the Middle Pillar, the Centers are visualized while Divine Names are vibrated. The
Hebrew may be used as with the middle Pillar – except Adonai Elohim is vibrated at the Third
Eye center while the Da’as center takes the name ‫( ֶע ְליֺון‬Elion, “Most High”).

In the “Sub Rosa Nigra” system unique to the Aurum Solis, a series of Greek names may be used
in place of the Hebrew; the proviso is given that:

“Your decision to ‘go Hebrew’ will in no measure diminish the value to be derived from
practical application of The Magical Philosophy.”
(Foundations of High Magick, p. 303, boldface in original)
Without pausing for comment or translation, the Greek names are, in order: Έν-τό-Πάν (En-to-
Pan), Τυράνα (Tyrana), Δεστάφιτον (Destaphiton), Όνοφις (Onophis), Ιάω (Iao), Βάθ-Μένιν-
Εκάστου (Bath-Menin-Ekastou).
In its original form, the Rousing was concluded by “The Caduceus,” whereby one visualizes two
shafts of light (one white and one red) projecting out of the Malkhus center and wrapping around
the body until reaching (and then disappearing into) the Da’as center.

A later form of concluding the Rousing is labeled “Circulation of the Light” and found in
Denning and Phillips’ Llewellyn Practical Guide to Astral Projection, where the Rousing is
renamed “Formula One.”
“From the Earth Centre bring upwards again a jet of white light which ascends to just above
your head, divides, and descends just outside your arms. Passing beneath your feet, the two
columns join, to ascend again as before. There is thus a continuous fountain of dividing,
reuniting and circuiting light. Maintain this last image for only a few complete rhythmic breaths,
then let it slowly fade.”
Our discussion of the Rousing should show how the Middle Pillar can be adapted and even
improved to suite a practitioner’s or group’s tastes or circumstances, and a cursory glance
through the internet will show many such adaptations exist: some fairly standard and others just
plain weird.

Eastern Orthodox Chakras

There are none. The Wikipedia article on chakras claims that “Comparisons have been made
between the Hesychastic centres of prayer and the position of the chakras,”
with Hesychasm (from ἡσυχία, “stillness”) referring to the Orthodox tradition of quietist
spirituality with its end in seeing God’s uncreated light. The only reference I’ve found to specific
“Centers of Prayer” in Hesychasm is Mircea Eliade’s Yoga, Immortality, and Freedom, in which
he describes four centers:
1. the Cerebrofrontal Centre: in the space between the eyebrows
2. the Buccolaryngeal Centre: “the commonest thought, that of the intelligence, expressed
in conversation, correspondence, and the first stages of prayer.”
3. the Pectoral Centre: “in the upper and median region of the chest”; “stabilty of
thought…is much greater than in the preceeding cases, but it is still thought that defines the
emotional color-ing and that is modified by it”
4. the Cardiac Centre: “near the upper part of the heart, a little below (or ‘a little above’)
the left breast;” “It is the physical sight of perfect attention.”
For my own part, I’m no expert on Eastern Christianity or Hesychasm and make no claim to the
contrary. That said, I’ve yet to find an Orthodox source corroborating the idea of concrete
centers of prayer so much as a method for learning to keep one’s mind from wandering and
cultivating a state of nepsis (νῆψις, “watchfulness”), directing one’s intellect from the head to the
heart.
Hesychasts openly admit their practices have parallels with Hinduism, Buddhism and Sufism,
maintaining that what truly matters is the one invoked:
“The essential point in the Jesus Prayer is not the act of repetition in itself, not how we sit or
breathe, but to whom we speak; and in this instance the words are addressed unambiguously to
the Incarnate Saviour Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son Mary.”
All this said, the “Centers of Prayer” in Hesychasm come closest to a chakra system in that they
serve to help imprint the Jesus Prayer – Κύριε Ιησοῦ Χριστέ, ἐλέησόν με (“Lord Jesus Christ,
have mercy on me”) – onto the heart (onto the soul?) of the one praying while opening the
hesychast up to the vision of Divine Light. This is very important, but beyond this there is no
parallel. When coupled with the opposition to visualization I’ve encountered amongst Orthodox
faithful, the Orthodox “Centers of Prayer” cannot be properly argued as a chakra system.
You Will Be Assimilated

What we’ve discussed so far gives a great deal of insight, and we now come to the question of
how (or whether) we can assimilate these concepts into our own theological matrix and what we
can do with them.

So you’ll know the starting point for my analysis, I come from the equiprobabilist school, the
school of thought which believes an opinion in favor of liberty is valid if it as at
least equally probable with the opinion in favor of prohibition. I’m also a proponent of
the normative principle, which states that if Scripture and the Canons do not explicitly forbid
something, then the thing is automatically permitted.
Thus my analysis is as follows:

1. There is no prohibition – scriptural or otherwise – against visualizing spheres or anything

else around your body.
2. There is no prohibition against invoking the Names of God in conjunction with those
visualizations.
3. There is no prohibition against seeking to grow and find balance spiritually.
My conclusion, therefore, is that the chakra system as represented in the Middle Pillar and the
Rousing of the Citadels is permissible to a Christian magical practitioner. I believe that it’s
possible to baptize the practice of constructing a number of focal points in relation to one’s body
and implanting them with Names of God or with other prayers, and that so doing becomes a
variant of the Act of Spiritual Communion whereby the soul seeks to draw closer to deity and for
deity to manifest within the soul.

Those whose philosophies are guided by probabiliorism, scrupulosity, or the regulative principle
are likely to come to the opposite conclusion. This is an area where wide variance in opinion is
bound to occur, and I hold that there’s much room for charitable disagreement.

That said, this is my conclusion and I’m sticking to it!

Imprinting the Perfect Prayer

Thus far we’ve discussed and offered opinions on the dynamics of the chakra system,
misconceptions common among Westerners, adaptations made in Western magical orders from
at least the early 20th century onward, and whether a Christian practitioner can assimilate or adapt
any such system into his own spiritual routine.
Having answered the last question in the affirmative, I’d like to propose a system of my own
design, with which I’ve experimented over the past few weeks and obtained good results. It
effectively constructs the spiritual centers while mentally reciting one or other petition of the Our
Father, effectively seeking to imprint on our souls the Perfect Prayer.

In so constructing, I’ve chosen to go with the six-center variant found in the Rousing of the
Citadels, first because its roots in the Sefirotic system bring it closer to the Jewish roots of the
Lord’s Prayer, and secondly because it’s the system I’ve been using off and on for the past 22
years.

My own work has used the prayer in Latin, at the speed of a Latin Mass, while focusing on the
meaning of the words; this may require practice on the operator’s part, and one can go slowly if
there’s a struggle. After regular practice it will eventually become second nature.
In this exercise the operator is welcome to use Latin, Hebrew, Greek, or vernacular. I’ll give
these translations in the pertinent parts of the instructions below.

THE EXERCISE
Begin the exercise by assuming the Rhythmic breath, breathing in through the nose and out
through the mouth.
Once you’re breathing in a comfortable rhythm, inhale while visualizing the Corona Flammae
above (but not touching) the crown of your head. As you exhale, say mentally:

Pater noster, qui es in caelis.

‫ָאבִ ינּו שֶׁ בַּ שָׁ מַ יִם‬
Πάτερ ἡμῶν, ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς•
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Think the prayer quickly, while at the same time paying attention to the words. If you struggle
with it, then think the prayer slowly until it becomes second nature. If you wish to say the prayer
out loud or “vibrate” it you may, but this can become awkward during longer segments.

Repeat three or four times: inhale, strengthening the Corona Flammae, then exhale while
mentally reciting “Pater noster qui es in caelis.”

After the third or fourth breath, inhale again, visualizing a shaft of brilliant light extending from
the Corona to the Uncia Coeli or Brow Center. As you exhale, say mentally:

Sanctificétur nomen tuum.

‫יִתְ קַדַּ ׁש שְׁ מֶ ָך‬
ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου,
Hallowed be thy name.
Repeat this likewise three or four times, and on your next inhalation visualize a shaft of brilliant
light descending from the Uncia to the Flos Abysmi or Throat Center. Repeat the process while
mentally saying:

Advéniat regnum tuum, fiat volúntas tua: sicut in caelo et in terra.

‫ָארץ‬
ֶ ָּ‫תָּ בֹוא מַ לְ כּותְ ָך יֵעָ שֶׂ ה ְרצֹונְָך כְּ בַ שָּׁ מַ יִם כֵּ ן ב‬
ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου, γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου, ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done: on earth as it is in heaven.
The process is the same as you proceed through each center, and the portions of the prayer for
each follow:

Orbis Solis or Heart Center:

Panem nostrum quotidiánum da nobis hódie.
‫אֶת־ ֶלחֶם חּו ֵּקנּו תֵּ ן־לָנּו הַּיֹום‬
Τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Cornua Lunae or Groin Center:
Et dimmíte nobis débita nostra, sicut et nos dimíttimus debitóribus nostris.
‫שּסֹו ְלחִים גַּם ֲאנַחְנּו לַחֹוטְאִ ים לָנּו‬ ֶׁ ‫ּו ְסלַח לָנּו עַל ֲח ָטאֵינּו ְּכפִי‬
Καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν, ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφίεμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Instita Splendens or Feet Center:
Et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem, sed líbera nos a malo.
‫וְַאל־תְּ בִיאֵנּו לִידֵ י נִסָּיֹון כִּי אִם ַח ְּלצֵנּו מִ ן ה ָָרע‬
Καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν, ἀλλὰ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Once you’ve built up the Centers of Activity and imprinted the Lord’s Prayer on each of them,
inhale while mentally “moving your eyes” down the shaft of light from the Crown to the Feet,
visualizing each center as you come across it. As you exhale, strengthen the shaft of light
connecting them.

On your next inhalation, imagine the light rising from your Foot Center and traveling the column
all the way to the Crown. From the Crown, it splits into two fountains going down your
shoulders and down the sides of your body, falling like a waterfall to your foot center, and then
climbing up the column of light to fall down your sides. Repeat this visualization for about three
to five breaths.

After the last breath, inhale again visualizing the light climb up the column as before, but this
time it falls down your front and your back, down to the Feet and up again to the Crown. Cycle
the light this way for the next three or five breaths, then let the image fade from your
consciousness but know it’s still there in reality.

Finally, seal this reality into yourself by making the sign of the Cross while saying out loud the
“Protestant Ending” to the Lord’s Prayer:

Quia tuum est regnum – et potéstas – et glória – in sáecula. Amen.

‫ּכִ י לְ ָך – הַ מַ לְ ּכּות – וַהַ ּגְבּורׇה – וַהַ ּגְדֻ לׇה – לְ עֹולְ מֵ י עֹולָ מִ ים ָאמֵ ן׃‬
῞Οτι σοῦ ἐστιν – ἡ βασιλεία – καὶ ἡ δύναμις – καὶ ἡ δόξα – εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. ᾽Αμήν.
For thine is – the kingdom – and the power – and the glory – forever and ever. Amen.
The exercise is finished. Now go have a glass of water, make yourself a sandwich, and get on
with your day.

Conclusion

It’s taken me three days to write this post, and we’ve gone over a lot of ground. For those
who’ve made it through the entire post, my hope is that something new was learned or at least a
new appreciation has been gained for the components and significances of the Middle Pillar in
any of its forms.
I also hope the reader realizes he or she is not limited to pairing this exercise solely with Divine
Names as found in Hebrew Kabbalah or other systems, but that one can use the exercise to
imprint a prayer – be it the Our Father, the Jesus Prayer, the Anima Christi, select lines from
the Veni Creator, or any another devotion directed to the Triune God. Good ritual systems, the
ones that last, tend to be flexible and adaptable to varying circumstances and times; the Middle
Pillar is clearly on the side of flexibility.

4. L. Christopher, Kabbalah, Magic, etc. 72ff.

Based on Regardie GD 50 – 59
Gives IAO for Tiphareth Name, begins 1st two circulations at the feet (inhale, up, right side,
exhale, down, left side, etc. Same for front and back – inhale up the back, exh. down the front.