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Preparations for formal ritual

by Diane Vera

Copyright © 2003 by Diane Vera. All rights reserved.

Before you perform any formal ritual, I recommend that you do the following:

• Obtain some black candles if possible. If not available in any local stores, try the mail-order distributors listed here.

  Alternatively, you may use a can of Sterno in place of a black candle.

  Whether you use a candle or a can of Sterno, make sure you have a good, solid holder for it that won't tip over easily.

• Obtain some comfortable, all-black clothing that you will wear only for ritual purposes. The clothing need not be a robe. A pair of black pants and a black shirt are fine too, as long as they are comfortable enough not to distract you in any way. Just don't wear the clothes for any purpose except rituals.

  Alternatively, you may prefer to perform your rituals naked. That's fine too.

• Obtain a small table that you can use as an altar. Ideally, the table should be used only as your altar and for no other purpose. Ideally too, it should be in a room that is used for no other purpose too. But, if you lack sufficient room or privacy for even a permanent altar, let alone an entire room reserved for that purpose, then your nightstand will do.

• Obtain a piece of black cloth that you can use as an altar cloth. If you lack suffiecient room or privacy to have a permanent altaar (in whcih case the table you are using as an altar will also be used for other purposes at other times), then the altar cloth should be on the table only when you are doing rituals, and at other times should be folded up and put away.

• It is desirable to decorate both your altar and the walls of the room with a variety of Satanic symbols, such as a Baphomet. If possible, decorate the walls of the room with symbols and pictures that are not only Satanic or "dark" but also appropriate to the four elements (west = Water, south = Fire, east = Air, and north = Earth, transposing north and south if you live in the Southern hemisphere). However, this is not absolutely necessary. All you really need is an altar and, on your alter, a cloth and a candle.

• As a gesture of respect and to help avoid distractions, the room in which you perform your rituals should be cleaned shortly beforehand. In particular, the floor should be clean, because you will be looking downward to address the the "Dark One" and the "Legions of the Pit."

• Some people use incense. I personally don't. Whether or not you personally find incense helpful will likely depend on your religious background. For example, if you were brought up Catholic, you will probably find incense helpful. On the other hand, if you were brought up in a non-liturgical Protestant church, you may find incense to be more of a distraction than a help.

• Try to memorize your invocations, etc. before the ritual. However, it's perfectly OK to use crib sheets in case your memory falters.

• Unless you have very good eyesight, you may need more than just candlelight to read your written prayers or other crib sheets. Have a small flashlight handy for that purpose.

• If you intend to dispose of your written prayers or other crib sheets rather than save them after the ritual, it is recommended -- as a gesture of respect -- that you burn these sheets of paper immediately after or near the end of the ritual itself, rather than just throw them in the garbage later. Reading a prayer and then burning the paper on which it is written is a common ritual practice among theistic Satanists. It isn't absolutely necessary. However, written prayers used in ritual should be either kept or burned, not thrown in the garbage.

  To that end, have a ceramic bowl handy. And, if you've never done this before, spend some time practicing the art of burning paper in a bowl before you do your first ritual. For safety, practice it in your bathroom or kitchen sink before you practice it anywhere else.

• For obvious fire safety reasons, make sure there isn't any paper clutter or other highly flammable stuff anywhere near your altar. Also, make sure you know where your fire extinguisher is. Fire safety should be a consideration even if you're just using a candle and not using incense or burning paper.

• If you will be burning paper or using incense, disconnect your smoke alarm before the ritual, and be sure to remember to reconnect it afterward. Write a note saying "reconnect smoke alarm!" and put it someplace where you'll be sure to see it, like perhaps taped to your bathroom mirror.

• Your altar should be positioned so that, when facing your altar, you will be facing whichever direction will be most appropriate to the centerpiece of the ritual. For example, for a healing ritual, you might want to have your altar facing west, corresponding to the element of Water, since our bodies are mostly water. On the other hand, for a destruction ritual, you might want to have your altar facing south, corresponding to the element of Fire. For a ritual to help you do better in school, you might want to have your altar facing east, corresponding to the element of Air. For a ritual pertaining to making money, you might want to have your altar facing north, corresponding to the element of Earth. (See Infernal names, directional correspondences, etc.)

  For a self-initiation ritual or a dedication ritual, your altar should face west. West is one of the directions traditionally associated with Satan for millenia. For example, before every baptism in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, a renunciation of Satan is said facing west. West is also the direction associated with the element of Water, and thus with the things you need most in order to do magick or spirituality of any kind, such as intuition, primal emotion, and access to your subconscious mind.

• Several hours before the ritual, eat a hearty meal and drink lots of liquids (at least four cups' worth), and then don't drink any more liquids after that, before the ritual. This will help ensure that, during the ritual itself, you will not be distracted by hunger, thirst, or a need to go to the bathroom. (You'll probably need to go to the bathroom at least a few times before the ritual.)

• An hour or two before the ritual, cleanse yourself physically. Bathe or shower, brush your teeth, and perhaps gargle.

• Then disconnect your telephone -- and make sure you'll remember to re-connect it after the ritual.

• Finally, for at least a half hour before you perform the ritual itself, relax and listen to some appropriate music, to help put yourself in a suitable frame of mind for the ritual. I personally recommend such music as the "O Fortuna" chorus from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana and the "Passacaglia" part of Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor. Whatever music you do use, it should evoke a sense of awe and wonder.

  During at least part of your pre-ritual relaxation time, it is desirable to meditate or do one or more visualization exercises. Use a visualization which both helps to still the mind and inspires awe and wonder. For some people, the hurricane visualization may serve these purposes.

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