Original Magic: The Rituals and Initiations of the Persian Magi - Michael M. Hughes 2018

The Centering Ritual
Preparation for Ritual

Some witches use the term between the worlds to describe the liminal space in which they do magic. The Centering Ritual is a way to generate a magical space around you. It aligns you with the axis of the universe and connects you with the infinite. In your center you will find safety, peace, calmness, connection to divinity, and wisdom.

This is the core ritual that should be performed before all the other rituals and spells in this book. As such, you should practice it several times a week until you have it memorized. It can also be used nonmagically anytime you’re feeling disconnected, anxious, or out-of-sorts.

The ritual itself is very simple and is based on my years of exploration in a number of magical traditions. It draws upon elements of rituals found in sources as diverse as the ancient Greek Magical Papyri (the Heptagram ritual), contemplative Christian practices, Native American spirituality, and modern witchcraft, among others. It is also indebted to the legendary Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus and the well-known Hermetic maxim carved on it:

That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above,

and that which is Above corresponds to that which is Below,

to accomplish the miracle of the One Thing.

This is usually summarized as “as above, so below.”

The Centering Ritual is also a template upon which you can (and should) build and expand as you grow. Variations and further suggestions may be found in the correspondences in the appendix (see 224).

The Centering Ritual, as the name suggests, centers you in your body and creates sacred space around you. In a magical sense, you become the center or axis of the universe, the nucleus of a magical, protective sphere in time and space. And the center of your body—your heart center—becomes a brightly glowing pinpoint of divinity. As the Chandogya Upanishad eloquently states, “The little space in the heart is as big as this great universe. The heavens and the earth are there, the sun, the moon, and the stars, fire and lightning and winds are there also; and all that exists now and all that exists no longer: for the whole universe is in Him and He lives in our hearts.” ³⁰

Stand or sit comfortably, with your back straight and feet slightly separated. Imagine a string pulling upward at the top and center of your head. This should naturally cause you to lower your chin a bit and further straightens and elongates your spine.

Close your eyes and breathe deeply and slowly through your nose, filling your stomach first and then your chest, and reversing the movement when you exhale.

Place your hands in front of your chest in the well-known prayer position, which is known as the anjali mudra in Sanskrit. Your thumbs should be together and resting on your breastbone, with your fingers extended and lightly touching (don’t smash your hands together—simply allow them to rest against each other, leaving a slight hollow in your palms). Relax your shoulders and elbows. The heart is considered the center of your being; therefore, you are bringing together polar energies (represented by your hands, left is receptive, right is active) and uniting them at your very center (heart).

Say, Spirit before me. You are not calling on individual spirits, but the universal spiritual consciousness that permeates and underlies our reality. Direct your consciousness ahead and feel the immensity of the universe expanding into infinity before you.

Say, Spirit behind me. Feel the immensity of the universe behind you, expanding into infinity.

Say, Spirit on my right, and feel the infinity to the right.

Say, Spirit on my left, and feel the infinity to the left.

Say, Spirit above me, and direct your consciousness to the cosmos above. Feel the universe stretching out to infinity.

Say, Spirit below me, and feel the expansion into the limitless depths of the earth.

Say, Spirit outside me, and feel the universal spirit surrounding you and permeating the universe.

Say, Spirit within me, and feel the infinity within your center. Visualize a bright light at the center of your chest, radiating to, and connecting with, all the directions.

Now a prayer. Begin by extending your arms to your sides, elbows bent, palms turned slightly upward. It should feel as if you are holding up a large, invisible balloon. This is known as the orans posture (Latin for “prayer”).

Say, Between the future, and feel the future unfolding in front of you. It may help if you visualize and feel yourself moving forward physically, into infinite, unfolding possibility.

Say, And the past, and feel and see the past unfurling behind you. Again, feeling yourself moving ahead physically can enhance the sensation. I visualize my body leaving blurry trails behind.

Turn your head to the right, saying, Between the sun, and extend your awareness to your right side. Visualize the sun, radiating heat and bright light, cradled in your palm.

Turn your head to the left, saying, And the moon, and extend your awareness to the left, visualizing the moon, cradled in your palm and shining brightly. Even better, find out the moon’s current phase and visualize it as such.

Tilt your head backward, gazing to the sky, saying, Between the heavens, and visualize the expanse of the starry cosmos above you.

Lower your head toward your feet, saying, And the earth, and extend your awareness down through your feet (or your tailbone, if sitting) into the dark, rocky depths of the earth. See the crystals within the earth shining like stars.

Lift your head and face forward, saying, As outside me, and extend your awareness to the full sphere of space beyond yourself, extending into infinity.

Bring your arms and hands back to the prayer position, saying, So within me. Feel the infinity at the center of your heart, deep and boundless.

Say (or intone), Amen or So mote it be. Or intone, Om, feeling the vibration of the mantra in the center of your chest (with your thumbs resting against your sternum you will be able to focus on the vibration). I find that stretching out the word or phrase and vibrating it results in a deeper connection. Experiment and see what takes you deepest.

Remain standing or sitting, feeling and visualizing your heart as the center of the universe. Breathe slowly and deeply, joyfully experiencing yourself as the nexus around which all else exists. You are present in the timeless now, between the future and the past, the heavens and the earth, the inner and the outer. This is where the magic happens.

When you feel ready, slowly open your eyes. At this point, you can end the ritual by grounding (stomping your feet, shaking your body) or continue with further magical working.

If it sounds complicated, it isn’t. You will probably have it memorized after a week of daily practice. Don’t worry if you mess it up or get confused, just keep at it and soon it will be second nature.

Keep in mind we are dealing with metaphorical centering. Obviously, a literal line drawn through you vertically doesn’t extend into a limitless earth but emerges on the other side of the planet and extends into interstellar space. Instead, we are dealing with symbolic space—the starry cosmos above and the deep, dark regenerative earth below. The center is a spiritual principle, but also a deep, powerful “place.”

Some things to remember:

• You may substitute another word for spirit if it fits your beliefs or tradition better. There is a famous Christian prayer called St. Patrick’s Breastplate that uses Christ, and it fits perfectly into this scheme, for example. You may want to try energy, power, Goddess, God, or names of individual deities or angels, beings, and so on. Experiment and see what works best for you.

• Aim to keep your body relaxed. Don’t strain or stretch beyond your limits.

• If you have disabilities that prevent you from performing the physical aspects of the ritual, visualize yourself doing them instead. In fact, once you are competent at the ritual, doing it in your imagination (while lying in bed, for example) can be very effective.

• You can say the words aloud or internally. Aloud is best, but if you must be quiet, try to hear the words aloud in your head. Some people try different ways of saying the words—stretching them out, using a singsong voice, or resonating them. Experiment.

• Don’t rush the ritual. Take your time and really feel and visualize as you go.

• You may want to visualize lines of energy extending through your body vertically and horizontally and stretching into infinity. They come to a point in your heart in the center of your chest.

• You don’t need to face any particular direction. That’s the beauty of this ritual—it creates sacred space around you no matter where you are or which direction you’re facing. Later, we’ll discuss circumstance in which you may want to align yourself with the four cardinal directions and how to alter this ritual to do so.

• As you become more proficient, you can begin to expand the ritual by adding other directional attributes, including visualizations and sounds (as found in the correspondences section on page 226).

Group Centering Ritual

One person stands in the circle’s center and leads the group in the Centering Ritual. After the final So within me, the leader says, Spirits of the four directions, of the heavens, and of the earth, consecrate this Circle of Art and guide us in our work. So mote it be.

The group responds, So mote it be.

Centering Ritual Cheat Sheet

1. Facing ahead, prayer position. Spirit before me.

2. Sensing behind. Spirit behind me.

3. Sensing right. Spirit on my right.

4. Sensing left. Spirit on my left.

5. Sensing above. Spirit above me.

6. Sensing below. Spirit below me.

7. Sensing all around. Spirit outside me.

8. Sensing within. Spirit within me. Arms in orans position.

9. Between the future … Feel the future, full of possibility, waiting ahead.

10. And the past … Feel the past streaming behind you.

11. Turn head to right. Between the sun … Visualize the sun.

12. Turn head to left. And the moon … Visualize the moon.

13. Look to heavens. Between the heavens … Visualize the starry canopy.

14. Look to earth. And the earth … Visualize the depths of the earth.

15. Face forward. As outside me … Visualize a sphere around you extending into infinity.

16. Return hands to prayer position. So within me. Visualize infinite center of your heart.

17. Intone, Amen, So mote it be, or Om.