Contest Rituals
The Magus, hunter succeeds only when his will is honed and his inner world is in order. Over millennia, countless methods have been developed to train the will for magical use; these essentially reduce to the so-called «Contest» rituals.
Most evocation-based approaches not motivated by mercenary aims fall into this category, and, of course, the most dramatic and dangerous of the Contest rituals — the one that has become notorious in recent years — is the Wild Hunt.
The essence of rituals of this type is that the Magus consciously enters into competition with beings of other evolutionary categories, that is, other forms of mind whose modes of thought and action differ from his own. In addition, an important condition is that the Magus’s opponents in these Rituals must be predators, intent on seizing the Magus’s life force.
The contest itself can take many forms: in goetic procedures it consists in forcing a spirit to appear, to name itself, and to give a sigil — things the spirit naturally does not wish to do. In the Wild Hunt the point of the contest is that the Magus passes through the spirits’ territory, guarded by them, without their permission, and does not pay them with his life force.
In any case, the Magus makes himself conspicuous to predator-spirits — in effect he lures them — but strives to avoid the loss of force while achieving his objective.
The key point is precisely the goal itself being unclear: if the Magus summons a spirit, say, to find a treasure, such a Ritual is not a contest in the strict sense, since its aim is not the development of the will but something else; if the Magus undertakes the Wild Hunt in order to make later use of the territory, the contest-like character of the Ritual is likewise diminished.
Thus, in a “pure” contest the Magus imposes his own rules of engagement on the opponent: he breaks into another’s territory, swarming with predators who only dream of seizing his life force, and tries to remain unharmed. In Goetic hunts the Magus is at least protected by the circle and the power of the sacred names. On the Wild Hunt, however, he breaks into the very lair of the predators, protected only by his personal impeccability.
What the Magus gains if the Ritual succeeds is Authority; what he loses if he fails is life force, up to and including death. In other words, a Contest ritual is a ritual of hunting for Authority.
The scheme of a Contest ritual includes the classic eight steps: understanding, purification, creating a space (lighting a fire or drawing a circle), incantation, sacrifice, opening the Rift, speaking with the spirit (or following the Hunt’s route), and returning and closing. A harmonious combination of these steps is equally necessary for the Ritual’s success as the correctness of each step.
Nevertheless, being a Hunt, any contest ritual cannot be predicted with certainty; it is always a matter of probability between different outcomes, and the Magus, as warrior and hunter, must be prepared for defeat as well as for victory — only in that case will he acquire Authority — that is, become capable of accumulating power.
Can the current overcoming of predators encountered on the way be seen as a hunt for power, especially if they have their material carriers in this world?
With a very large stretch, it can be said, but still, it is more of creating conditions for further hunting rather than the hunt itself.
Is conscious travel in a dream also a ritual hunt for Authority?
Is winning the complete absence of loss of life force, or is some loss still allowed? Less than what the spirits would desire 🙂 For instance, the magician barely made it home, gathering all his will, although he could have stayed there forever. What about in this case?
Of course, sometimes just staying alive can already seem like a victory, however, victory is preserving the maximum amount of Power, that is, a complete rejection of predators in their claims. But, as in any Game, in a competitive Ritual – the main thing is to reach the end.
I noticed that any ritual in my practice involves contact (work) with people, angels, and demons. Moreover, contact with a demon is the apotheosis confirming that the ritual has successfully approached its conclusion.
It’s pleasant to end the ritual of Body Creation by merging, ‘bridging’ from demon to angel. For the first time, I consciously saw an Angel.
About a year ago, I organized a competitive ritual for myself. I can’t say I consciously wished for it, but the actions led to a result. At first, it was hard, and in the end, I was congratulated and laughed at. It was an adventure for a lifetime. But now, looking back, I see a border before and after.