The Bornless ritual is the basic building block for magical work if we want to come into contact with our Holy Guardian Angel (HGA), invoke it, and in general get in touch with this manifestation of ourselves in some way. Of course, there are other methods and ways of working, but in this article, I am only concerned with this ritual. I believe ritualization is essential if we are not concerned only with random appearances. It is also a practice where it is the contact with the HGA, whether external or internal, that we purposely aim for under our Will (serious intent).
In magic, we also find approaches in which HGA becomes uninteresting or only a marginal issue. People practicing this way have other priorities, which is also perfectly fine. In this article, I draw on approaches where, on the contrary, any work with HGA is a priority. It can take different forms, have different intensities, and also manifest in different ways within the manifestation, and it is not at all relevant whether in this life it manages to have a very close contact with the impact on ordinary reality (the material plane). What is essential is that there be some contact, even if it is only for a limited period.
Opponents of regular ritualization consider such a ritual to be boring or part of some religious need because they cannot understand the purpose of this otherwise well-functioning ritual. At the very least, the committed individual will achieve a convergence of cognitive and mental functions. The goal of this article is not to massively expand the practice of this ritual, but to reach people who would be interested in a similar practice. Such an adept needs to be able to keep track of and figure out everything needed.
A little of history
I do not intend to be a historical treatise, rather I will just refer to some sources which, if the reader is interested, he will surely investigate for himself. I assume that the post can be read by someone who has not read much about this ritual.
Greek papyri from the Greco-Roman period discuss a ritual aimed at a being named Akephalos, who is the Headless One. This is a highly divine figure. Mathers translated it as the Bornless One because the head is usually the beginning of birth.
It is also necessary to mention the Abramelin Magic, a manuscript from the 14th-15th centuries that focuses on the evocation of the guardian spirit or angel. The version of the book that is best known today is based on Mathers' translation of the French manuscript. It is a six-month preparation under very strict conditions and constraints. One must establish a conversation with his Guardian Angel to invoke demonic spirits, which were to be of practical use to the magician instructed by his Guardian Angel.
The work of the Golden Dawn and also the magical systems of Aleister Crowley led to contact with the SAS. SAS can also be explained as the unconscious aspect of the mind revealing the essence of the human being. According to Crowley, it is the path to the realization of the Self of each adept as the one supreme absolute of all Truth, Beauty, Purity, and Perfection. The cultivation of the genius and creative power latent in each of us is the True Will. In Crowley, we find it in Liber Samekh.
The first part of the ritual became part of the Goetia, probably Mathers' work (the authors of the now-famous edition are Mathers and Crowley). Crowley himself performed more than 140 invocations of the Unborn and had the goal of teaching this to everyone. Work with the Unborn should also precede research into the Enochian aethyrs. He adapted the ritual to his own terms, found in Liber Samekh.
What version to practice
I recommend doing some investigative research before the actual practice, it really pays off. There are still different versions of this ritual traceable on the internet. It is by comparing Mathers' version (or even the original version of the Headless One) and the changes made by Crowley that one can find the key to adapting the ritual to one's own terms, i.e. one's own HGA, by changing a few words. The Comparative Study, edited and annotated by John Lang, is very interesting.
Understandably, by the time we start practicing our first few dozen of this ritual, we may not have had contact with HGA. It is appropriate to choose a version that is close to us. This work falls away if the reader chooses to go in a particular direction in magic, within that direction they will find a suitable version of this ritual. The reader may find this ritual laborious, but with certain rules and repetition, it is extremely functional. Ono any automatic writing, drawing, etc. will not in itself guide an individual with HGA. This is nicely explained by Stephen Mace in Stealing the Fire from Heaven. Although this is a book practically focused on System A. O. Spare, Mace devotes the last chapter to this ritual, which, despite everything mentioned in the book so far, he considers extremely important. In my personal practice, I have come to the conclusion that it is indeed important. Mace prefers Crowley's version.
My personal practice
I have spent more than 10 years with this ritual without exaggeration and I still find it extremely useful. Because of my Maatmagick leanings, I chose Crowley's version to base it on. I performed the first few dozen rituals in their entirety but decided to memorize the ritual and work through the parts individually. Over time, the performance of the ritual adapted from the general form to its HGA, but the basic structure remained.
It is an invocation, so the ritual should be performed alone or in a very intimate group if the members are already used to each other from the magical practice. To try to practice the ritual in any way with a person who is not interested in practicing the ritual shows a misunderstanding of its purpose and meaning.
It is more than advisable to learn the words by heart. As one member of our lodge noted, looking at oneself in the mirror, in one's own eyes, during the oath and the part that is spoken only when the connection is made, provides the benefits of self-acceptance, of looking at oneself, and underscores the genuineness of the ritual itself.
The different stages of the ritual:
1. oath
2. purification through the elements
3. the invocation itself
4. the formula of union
5. the closing part.
It is extremely important to know what you are doing and why you are doing it. The power of magic is not only in the repetition of the ritual but also in the awareness.
The Oath
This part of the ritual begins. The HGA invocation is binding and the adept should also be very aware of what he is actually invoking. Because for the material plane, it is the HGA that creates our essence, our foundation. It is an entity (or a part of us, depending on what stage of cognition we are in) that is incredibly true, original, and also extremely powerful. We can see this part, when we understand it, as a ritual that enhances magical power precisely by connecting to our own essence.
At this stage, I was already adapting a few words to my own nature. I can't say exactly how many times this part took place before I recognized the effects on myself, because things started to appear differently to me. For practical life, the change of mindset was a bonus.
The purification through the elements
We need to realize that we are in a universe that our HGA has created for us. In the practice of the Golden Dawn, the adept was guided to imagine his astral environment, to be in the backdrop of his astral temple. That magic, when performed individually, is itself conducive to the creation of an environment corresponding to certain dispositions. Fantasy will only provide pretty pictures; real pictures are the source of power. The environment is extremely important for the success of a magical operation.
They first purify and then connect the elements. On the level of the inner world, we need to realize that between us and our HGA, the material existence so far has built barriers, obstacles, inhibitions, fears, and even elements literally fighting against the HGA. Accepting this part of ourselves is perhaps one of the most difficult and hardly describable in ordinary words. But it can be successfully blamed on society and family. If the reader senses irony in my words, it is because material existence itself sets up these barriers. There is no need to blame anyone for it.
Note: don't fool yourself, don't compete with anyone, and remove the fantasy-inducing illusions and rather hallucinogenic phenomena. Not to feel at all costs that something has to happen. Nothing has to happen for a long time.
In these moments, we connect with the elements and our vision becomes accustomed to perceiving them through the etheric planes. In my case, this part culminated in such a strong manifestation of my astral temple that I could touch its walls with my hands. It may not be entirely easy to maintain attention when you are awake, perceiving your real environment, i.e., aware of where you are, and at the same time perceiving the manifestation of the astral environment. Let's just say that this moment changed my view of reality and what it means to blend etheric and material structures a lot.
The invocation itself
The invocation itself begins with the invocation of the elements, for once we are purified through the elements. It is essential to realize how different this being is from everything we have known so far (This is the Lord of the Gods...), including ourselves.
Seeing my HGA for me meant seeing perfection, something that in every way, represents the ideal. For the first few runs, it was very difficult to remember this being in detail (I'm not saying in detail at all). Invocation begins in the mind. It is a perception completely different from such human evaluative judgments (I mean something like I have seen through..., now I will be a better person, I stupid cow...etc., as soon as I hear these evaluative judgments I know that I am really only hearing a human being in all his earthly glory... otherwise very evaluative statements like, I no longer have an ego belong to this category).
I think that's about all that can be described publicly.
The formula of union
The part where the mind connects with the HGA.
Or another part that should be modified a bit according to the nature of the HGA itself. Of course, it won't happen immediately, we need to know this essence first.
From my point of view, it is the gradual recognition that is the advantage of working with the different parts of the ritual.
The union with the HGA is one of the most transformative moments. I consider it advisable to get rid of illusions, delusions, and fantasies before approaching this part. Perhaps that is why this part is not found in Goetia.
Also, the adventure is just beginning in earnest, for, as Crowley suggests, we are only in the realm of Tiphereth, that is, finding the Sun.
It is in further work and conversations that the process for which the name "self to self" corresponds to me personally is deepened. There is also a recognition of what the next step with us (me and HGA) will look like.
To the formula of union, I also assign that part which Crowley only briefly mentions as the Adept's demand that the Adept and his angel proceed to work out their joy on earth among the living.
It is the realization of the hereafter.
Here I want to point out that we really cannot expect anything like a uniform result. That Joy will look a little different for everyone. This is where the Universe tends to take HGA seriously. Although otherwise, it will not break down to stuff any foolish wish down our throats.
The closing part
Very brief.
Need to invoke a lot, make the invocation daily. I did not practice this ritual several times a day. I chose, as I wrote, to take a stage-by-stage approach after a while, because my angel wanted it that way, after a period of daily invocations.
Self-ritualisation according to HGA
I should point out in advance that I have come to it only after 10 years of intermittent almost daily work with this ritual. The work of realizing the meaning of each barbarian name and living it out takes time.
The magical work with HGA takes time because establishing a relationship and deepening it takes time. If co-experiencing on matter is to be part of it, that awareness of what we are practicing needs to be done very thoroughly.
From this perspective, we need to be very careful about which version of the ritual we choose.
Creating a customized HGA ritual for me was preceded by just setting up a few words according to the HGA guidelines. This is very interesting work, very interesting ritualization, and there is no other criterion for it than just the HGA itself.
To imagine that the etheric body is not only HGA but also some planes beyond, can already be very difficult for many.
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