LESSON 12
Rite of Protection
This rite is to be performed every time you need to be sure about the safety and stability of your Temple environment. At first, it is strongly recommended that the Rite of Protection be performed every time the Temple is open. With time and practice, you will develop the sensibility to perceive the times and places in which the rite is most needed. This is also the only rite that can be performed anytime and anywhere, i.e., without the need for opening the Temple before or closing it after. It works as a standalone, all-purpose protection ritual. The patron for the Rite of Protection is the Ruler of the Second Zone, which means the rite is an act of prudence: on the one hand, it prevents malicious influences, negative side effects, and accidents that could prevent the operations in the Temple from being effective; on the other hand, the rite reinforces hope and confidence in the divine powers and in your own ability to make use of them. You are advised to practice this rite as often as possible, preferably as the last thing to do before going to bed. The effectiveness of the Rite of Protection relies greatly on your capacity to execute it with confidence, poise, and elegance, but above all with that kind of joy or blissfulness which is the seat of the power of the Second Ruler in the soul. Another thing the effectiveness of this rite relies on is your inner work with the virtues of the Second Ruler, so keep up your meditations and practice of the Virtues and do not attempt to make the rite "work" based solely on practiced performance.
Preparation
Assemble your Oratory. Mark the Star of the Rulers with the symbol for the Second Ruler, reciting its motto. Light the Operative Candle and place it on the Star if it is not already like that. Stand facing your Oratory.
When performing the rite away from your Oratory, simply make sure you have the space to spin around 360 degrees with your arm stretched forward, then light the Operative Candle and hold it in your non-dominant hand. Also, firmly visualize the Seal of the Godhead a little ahead and above your reach.
Performance
Pick up the Operative Candle in your non-dominant hand (if you haven't already done that). Extend your other arm, palm of the hand facing up, towards the Seal. Recite:
Holy are you, God, stronger than all power!
I pray to you to command the Ruler of the Second Zone to bless me and my surroundings with its Virtue, which is Prudence, in order that I may be protected from the Tormentor of Grief.
With help and support from the Second Ruler, I hope to unburden my soul—and this place—of the energy of the Second Zone, which is the energy of Evil Machinations.
Holy are you, God, stronger than all power!
Take a few steps back. You will visualize yourself at the center of a Star of the Rulers and start to invoke each of the powers. Start invoking the powers by turning to the "forward" direction (the direction of your Oratory) and extending your arm forward, pointing in that direction. Recite:
In the name of God, of whom Nature is an image, I call upon the Virtue of the First Ruler to make this place holy and safe!
Next, you will turn to each of the other directions and repeat the invocation above, only substituting the appropriate Ruler in the formula. The 7th Ruler is invoked in the same direction of the 1st, closing the circle.
When you have finished invoking all 7 Rulers, approach your Oratory and replace the Operative Candle on the Star. If you are not in your Temple, simply place the Candle on the ground. Next, put your hands together in an attitude of prayer and recite:
In the name of God and by the powers of the Rulers!
Be banished from here, and forbidden to return, every intelligence, spirit, shadow and elemental at the service of the Darkness and its Tormentors.
Glory to the Mind, glory to the Word, glory to the Body. God's will be done!
If your Operative Candle is on the ground at this point, pick it up, blow it out, and put it away.
Vision
In this and every other magical rite, you will always try to maintain the same emotional and imaginative outlook as described in the Vision for the Rite of Opening. Try to feel the presence and attention of God, etc. This rite, however, is supposed to be more intensely visual than other rites, so really exercise your imagination. When visualizing the Star at the center of which you will be standing, try to imagine it in such a way as to elicit a feeling of power and safety; imagine that it is traced in bright white light, or flashing rainbow colors, or spreading waves of brilliant mist all around—any inspiring visuals you can conceive of. Remember that ceremonial magic (this is what you are doing!) depends on drama. When invoking the powers of the Rulers in each direction, you can imagine columns or light descending from heaven at your command, or bursting up from the ground as you recite the invocation. You can imagine them in different and specific colors, too, or even visualize a symbol of some sort for each Ruler (ideally their Seals). However, if the effort to use visualizations is overwhelming at first, keep it simple; just imagine bright light of your favorite color tracing everything you need to visualize, and work slowly from there.
Spend at least a week practicing the Opening of your temple, followed by a Rite of Protection, and then the closing of the Temple, as explained in previous lessons. Keep practicing this ritual sequence daily until you feel secure that you can do it not only from memory or automatically, but in an effective way.