The LBRP: A Ritual I Will Always Be Chewing On
One Practitioner's Journey
I have been practicing the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram for a while now, and I am still learning. I will always be learning. That is part of why I love this ritual.
The LBRP is a foundational ritual from the Golden Dawn tradition. It is a grounding, centering, and protection practice. It is a moving meditation that brings you into your body. It is a way to clear the space and establish sacred boundaries.
For me, it is somatic. It gets me into my body. It grounds me. It anchors me. It establishes a boundary around my space that I can feel.
I do not feel right if I do not do it. That is just me.
What the Ritual Does
The LBRP does a few key things.
First, it activates the self. This is the Cross of Being. You declare who you are and where you are. You establish yourself as the center.
Second, it creates a sacred container. This is the circle. You draw a boundary around yourself and say: this space is mine.
Third, it invokes guardians. In the traditional version, these are the archangels. In my practice, I have also started working with animals at the quarters. More on that later.
Fourth, it seals the field. This is the closing cross. You ground the energy and protect yourself from being an open target.
The ritual works because you work it. Not because you get every detail perfect. The only wrong way to do the ritual is to not do it at all.
The Three Parts
Part 1 — The Cross of Being
This is where you invoke the self. You activate your light, your higher source, whatever you want to call it. You establish yourself as the center of your own universe.
In the Hebrew version, the words are Ateh, Malkuth, ve-Geburah, ve-Gedulah, and le-Olam. They correspond to the Tree of Life on your body — crown, kingdom, power, glory, forever.
I have my own English version that I think in my head while I say the Hebrew words. Crown of Stars, Root of Earth, Hand of Creation, Heart of Receiving, I am the bridge between Heaven and Earth.
Part 2 — The Circle and the Quarters
This is where you create the sacred container. You draw a circle around yourself. You call the guardians of the four directions.
In the traditional LBRP, this is where you draw the pentagrams and vibrate the divine names. Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh in the East, Adonai in the South, Eheieh in the West, and AGLA in the North.
You also invoke the archangels. Before me Raphael. Behind me Gabriel. On my right hand Michael. On my left hand Uriel.
This is where you pass the work over to them. It is not your job to fight. It is your job to show up and ask.
Part 3 — The Cross of Being (Closing)
This is the seal. You repeat the Cross of Being to ground the energy and seal the field.
Without this part, you are an open target. You light up like a beacon, but you have no shield. The closing cross is the lock on the door.
The Hebrew and the English
I practice the LBRP with my husband every day after we work out. We do it together. We say the Hebrew words. We trace the pentagrams. We invoke the archangels.
But in my head, I am thinking my English version at the same time.
If I am saying Ateh, I am thinking Crown of Stars. If I am saying Malkuth, I am thinking Root of Earth. If I am saying ve-Geburah, I am thinking Hand of Creation. If I am saying ve-Gedulah, I am thinking Heart of Receiving. If I am saying le-Olam, I am thinking Forever and always.
I also vibrate Adonai at my heart, between Ateh and Malkuth. That is a personal addition. It feels right to me.
When I do the ritual alone, I have tiny tweaks in my pronunciation or words. I practice slightly differently than my husband. When I practice with him, I do his version so we are in sync. On my own, I do mine.
We both practice the same ritual. We both feel the same protection. The details do not matter as much as the intention.
The Order — Movement vs. Invocation
One thing that confused me for a long time was the order.
When you trace the circle, you go East, South, West, North. That is the movement order.
But when you invoke the archangels, you say Before me Raphael, Behind me Gabriel, On my right hand Michael, On my left hand Uriel. That is East, West, South, North.
They do not match. They are not supposed to match.
The movement order is about tracing the circle. The invocation order is about placing the guardians. They serve different purposes. Both are correct within the tradition.
The Divine Names and the Elements
Some people say the divine names in the LBRP are not elemental. But the traditional Golden Dawn associations connect them to the elements.
Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh is Air, East.
Adonai is Fire, South.
Eheieh is Water, West.
AGLA is Earth, North.
These associations are there. They are baked into the structure. Whether you emphasize them or not is up to you.
I like the elements. I find them grounding. My MMRP focuses on them heavily. The ANYMALS album I am writing is built around them. But I also understand that the LBRP works as a banishing ritual regardless of the elemental associations.
The Animals — A Personal Discovery
I have always loved the underdog animals. Skunk, porcupine, seahorse, coyote. I picked them for a creative project, and then I realized they each represented an element.
East, Air, Raphael, Coyote — the guide.
South, Fire, Michael, Porcupine — the protector.
West, Water, Gabriel, Seahorse — the healer.
North, Earth, Uriel, Skunk — the ground.
I realized these were the animals for my ritual.
I could never picture the angels. I tried. I really tried. But they felt abstract. Distant. Figures from someone else's story.
The animals are easier for me to picture. They are embodied. They are felt. They are known.
Now, when I do the LBRP, I see the animals at the quarters. Coyote at the East. Porcupine at the South. Seahorse at the West. Skunk at the North. Light Coyote in the Center.
The angels are still there. They are just wearing different faces now. Faces I can see.
The Sensory Experience
Over the years, I have experienced a range of sensations during the ritual.
Sometimes I feel temperature changes. Warmth or coolness. Sometimes I feel a touch — a hand on my shoulder, a breeze in front, a soft pressing on my back.
Sometimes I feel warmth moving through my body, especially across my shoulders. Sometimes I wobble or get a little dizzy. Sometimes I see geometric visuals — pentagrams, hexagrams, the glow of light.
And sometimes I get an extreme wave of feeling so present and aware. That is the goal. That is the moment when the ritual stops being a doing and becomes a being.
I am not performing the ritual. I am the ritual.
The Animals in the Invocation
When I do the LBRP with the animals, my invocations sound like this:
Before me Coyote — guide me.
Behind me Seahorse — heal me.
On my right hand Porcupine — protect me.
On my left hand Skunk — ground me.
For about me flames the Pentagrams.
And within me shines the six-rayed star.
This is a personal adaptation. It is not the traditional version. But it works for me.
I am currently working on another version of my MMRP that will mirror the LBRP structure even more closely. I will still practice both versions. I am just enjoying the exploring.
Skunk and the LBRP
Skunk has become a powerful symbol for me.
The spray is the boundary. The stomp is the seal. The tail is the warning. The no is the gate.
Skunk marks the territory. Skunk says this space is mine.
This is exactly what the LBRP does. It marks your territory. It seals your space. It says this far, no further.
Skunk is the LBRP in animal form.
Resources and Teachers
I am not a teacher. I am sharing where I am in my practice. I practice what I can hold. I am always learning.
If you want to learn the LBRP from actual teachers, I recommend exploring the traditional Golden Dawn version, Phil Hine's chaos magic adaptation, and the Witches' LBRP by Paul Hume.
Different traditions have different orders. People argue about it constantly. There is no single right way.
It is okay to make magick your own. Crowley modified the LBRP. Phil Hine adapted it. The Witches' LBRP is a variation. Your version is valid.
The Solar Adorations
In addition to the LBRP, I also practice the solar adorations from Liber Resh Vel Helios. I do them with my husband after the LBRP, along with the verse from the Stele of Revealing.
The solar adorations are a way to orient yourself to the sun and the cycles of the day. Dawn, Noon, Sunset, Midnight. They are grounding and centering in their own way.
I recorded an album called Adore the Sun that walks through these adorations. It is available if you are curious about solar adorations.
The Bigger Picture
What I have come to learn is that all that really matters in magick — and in life — is the intention. The thoughts I am choosing to focus on.
I am someone who lived in a hypervigilant state for a long time. I need this somatic exercise. I need it. I do not feel right if I do not do it.
The LBRP is not about getting every detail perfect. It is about showing up. It is about intending. It is about being present.
The ritual works because you work it.
Closing Thoughts
I will probably rewrite this blog again and again. I already have. I am always learning. My understanding is always deepening.
If you practice the LBRP, know that you are not alone. People practice differently. There is no single right way.
Stay humble. Stay curious. Stay grounded.
Crow keeps watch over you.
