u/Ok_Blacksmith_169

I’ve been trying to figure out instructions on the greater ritual of the pentagram and finding it a little infuriating and confusing haha (Book 4 instructions seem barely instructions at all).

Should we:

A) invoke all the elements in turn (active spirit, air, active spirt, fire etc) and then later banish them?

B) Are we meant to use it to invoke/banish just one specific element ie. just fire in the south (with the invoking active spirit) AND do we ignore the other elements and their quarters or do we banish those other elements in turn (do we also perform banishing versions of the spirit pentagrams)

At the moment I’m just learning/practicing, so I’m thinking I should invoke in the morning and banish in the evening

I’ve recently started studying and practicing Thelema, beginning with Liber Resh and now daily LIRP/LBRP every morning and evening, alongside practicing the middle pillar and some tarot pathworking. I have had a daily meditation practice including pranayama, so I feel that already covers my bases there.

The potential problem, or tension, I’m feeling is that my meditation is Kashmir Shaivism based, and while it seems that many Thelemic/magickal practices are tantric-influenced (such as installing deities along the central channel in middle pillar), I’m wondering if it’s possible to practice both at the same time.

There are points of clear philosophical and metaphysical convergence, such as the non-dual conception of reality as consciousness-only (this is my reading of Qabalah but I’m not too familiar yet), and ideas such as Nuit and Hadit broadly align.

Im wondering if anyone else feels tensions between the two or has worked with them as complimentary practices?

I want to emphasise that I’m talking about classical Tantra here, which has barely any emphasis on sex compared to how it has been filtered into the western magickal current. Speaking of which, does anyone know of any authors who talk about Tantra-magick connections without the over emphasis on sex? I have nothing against utilising sex in magick btw!