Elemental invocation practice
This came up for discussion at the tail end of another thread and I thought I'd pull it out and post it as its own thread, partly because it may be useful to students and partly because I'd be interested in hearing what other GD practitioners/initiates think.
My original work in the GD system was all self-initiation -- there wasn't any other option in Seattle in the 1980s and 1990s! One thing I did that worked well, while I was going through the Outer Order material, was a weekly practice to invoke elemental energies using the standard GD ritual forms. It went like this:
Set up the temple with a central altar with water, incense, and cross and triangle in the arrangement used with the grade I meant to invoke, and a chair facing the element across the altar -- that is, if I was invoking water, the chair would be in the east of the temple, facing west.
Open the temple in the usual way, with LBRP, purification with water, consecration with fire, circumambulation, and adoration of the Lord of the Universe.
Do the GIRP of the element.
At the altar, facing the elemental direction, do the invocation of the element from the grade ritual assigned to that element. (Once I'd gotten the Vibratory Formula of the Middle Pillar down, I did that with the divine name assigned to the element, and circulated the energy.)
Sit down and meditate on the element, using the traditional GD symbolism of the element as a focus.
Go to the altar and do the release of the element from the grade ritual, including the prayer of the elementals.
Do the GBRP of the element.
Close the temple in the usual manner, ending with the LBRP.
I did this once a week, and rotated through the elements -- Earth one week, Water the next, and so on. I found it extremely useful in the self-initiatory work. To begin with, it was a great way to practice the basic elements of practical solo temple work, so that when I got going on practical magic a little later on, making talismans and the like, I didn't have so steep a learning curve. It also taught me a lot about invoking, shaping, and releasing magical energies generally.
I also found that it was a surprisingly effective way of self-development that had results in everyday life. Doing this made it much easier to, ahem, "be prompt and active as the Sylphs, but avoid frivolity and caprice; be energetic and strong like the Salamanders, but avoid irritability and ferocity; be flexible and attentive to images like the Undines, but avoid idleness and changeability; be laborious and patient like the Gnomes, but avoid grossness and avarice." That had immediate benefits for me in my daily life.
I should probably mention that this was not a replacement for, but a supplement to, the daily work of the LBRP and Middle Pillar exercise. It might be worth considering by anyone who's working the GD path solo and so doesn't have the advantage of getting exposed to elemental energies in an established temple.
Thoughts?