Banishing Rituals -- Basic Overview

As far as I can tell, the reliance on Banishing Rituals goes back to The Golden Dawn. No doubt there were rituals with similar functions before then, but in terms of widespread use, the GD seems to have really popularized the idea that a Banishing Ritual should begin and end larger rituals and even any kind of personal practice. Going to meditate? Why not banish first? Astral travel? Banish first. Invocation? Banish first. And so on.

At first glance, this seems like this must indicate a severe case of paranoia. If the purpose Banishing Ritual is to get rid of undesired entities or other external influences, then the practitioner who follows this advice must be constantly afraid that such influences are waiting in the wings, hell-bent on sending him/her astray. As it turns out, however, that's a big 'if'.

What other ideas are out there about the purpose of the Banishing Ritual? Well, one is the psychological interpretation, that we are banishing thoughts which are unsuitable to our practice. In other words, we aren't banishing anything external at all, but rather we are banishing undesired internal influences from our conscious awareness.

Some other ideas are more general. For example, Chaos Magick co-founder Peter Carroll in Liber Null made the claim that:

A well-constructed banishing
ritual has the following effects. It prepares the magician more
rapidly for magical concentration than any of the trance
exercises alone. It enables the magician to resist obsession if
problems are encountered with dream experiences or with sigils
becoming conscious. It also protects the magician from any
hostile occult influences which may assail him.

This at least partly gives a more functional approach. The Banishing Ritual will rapidly prepare the magician to concentrate. It helps the magician to resist obsession. Omitting that last sentence, this seems to provide a somewhat more general idea of what the practitioner is trying to accomplish: Whether obsession originates from within or without, a good banishing ritual will help the practitioner to resist its influence. But something else should be clear: This view also says quite directly that the Banishing Ritual does not just banish. In the view above, a successful Banishing Ritual assists quick concentration, and not as a side effect, but as a fundamental condition of success.

That Banishing Rituals are not necessarily only about Banishing has been expressed by other esteemed practitioners as well, notably Aleister Crowley, who, in his "Notes on the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram" made the somewhat famous pronouncement:

Those who regard this ritual as a mere device to invoke or banish spirits, are unworthy to possess it. Properly understood, it is the Medicine of Metals and the Stone of the Wise.

What the hell's this all about, then? Well, I don't claim to have all the answers, but in my next installment I'll at least address the famous Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram and give a few thoughts of its other (non-banishing) functions.