Ritual is a form of drama which permits the magician to put aside his or her concerns and focus on a specific area or pattern that exists within and without the magician. The ritual allows the magician to enter into a psychological relationship with the ritual intention. Enacting this play and using focal objects will help the magician to change consciousness, to actively raise his or her awareness and realign it.
Intention is the heart of ritual, it is important to spend time carefully considering why you are seeking to perform the ritual. What is it that you seek to achieve though this method?
There may be a far more effective method of producing the desired effect. Ritual can be used in order to provide some form of service to others. Equally ritual can be used to celebrate a festival, or to explore some deeper inner mystery of your own being, or the nature of manifestation. The style in which you will perform ritual depends entirely upon the intention behind it. A festival will have a sense of jollity about it, whilst a ritual for a persons well being may be more serious.
Intention also dictates what you will be doing within the main part of the ritual. If you are seeking to explore some particular aspect of esoteric philosophy and your personal relationship to it you will want to use the time to take a visualised journey. Whilst a more practical intention may require a more practical activity.
Ritual should be a very personal process, whether you are working alone or with others you should spend time preparing. Consider all of the factors that are involved, in order to help you decide on your approach. There are many pre-written rituals about, but they are always less effective than that which you have developed for yourself.
For ritual to work well it should be something you feel strongly related to, that belongs to you. To that end what is presented here is a framework ritual. You will have to think about what you want to say in each part, as very little will be prescribed.
