Holy Guardian Angel...what is it?

[OGirly]

Okay. Let's discuss this wonderful topic

I'll throw my two cents out there, and lets see what everyone else is thinking on the subject. Personally the HGA to me is nothing more than the connection with the 'divine' that helps you cross the Abyss. Let me explain a bit more my interpretation of this. Keep in mind I've approached this entire subject since I started from a position of scientific exploration so please excuse me if I don't use mystical terms etc. It's not my nature, nor how I keep my records. (The method is science the goal is religion...lol ) Anyway, this is just my interpretation which I know a few others share so I'm sure you can google this and find even more detail if I do a terrible job of explaining myself (as I am prone to do).

I'd like you to refer to your lovers card first, and the tree of life. Looking on the lovers card you see the obvious instructions on how to perform magick (here on out magic so it doesn't cause any problems with site indexing etc). Your conscious mind is represented by the male figure (also representing the positive side of the tree of life, or the white side). Your subconscious mind is represented by the female (also representing the negative side of the tree of life, or the black side). Follow the eyes on most of the typical designs of this card and you will see that it goes from the males eyes to the female, and if you follow her eyes it goes up to the 'divine' which in turn is looking down on them both. (It helps to note here just for fun that the Fool card runs from the man to the 'divine' while the Magician card runs from the female to the 'divine' ). Anyway, the Abyss is the space between the two halves (between the male and the female). The 'divine' is something called by contemporary psychology the 'collective unconscious'. (C.G. Jung has wonderful writings on this if you are curious, and feel like taking a stab at it. Start with Man and his Symbols. It was written for not physicians/psychiatrists unlike much of his other work.)

The female is looking to the collective unconscious while the male is looking to the female. You must impose your will (male influence) upon the subconscious (female) through ritual etc etc. Its why sexuality is so often associated with all of this (God, Goddess etc etc). Anyway the female has a connection to the divine, but the male does not. He must 'listen' to the subconscious for the answers etc. Contacting your HGA I interpret is nothing more than finding an aid, or learning, how to cross this 'Abyss' regularly. Becoming an Adept.

So I feel the HGA is nothing more than a way to understand and interpret the things coming from your subconscious which are coming from the 'divine' or collective unconscious. Like demons, angles and the like you happen to interpret this as something outside of yourself..and maybe in a way it is since it emanates from the collective unconscious.

Anyway my two cents...I know that was long..I'm long winded I'm super interested to hear what others have to say on the issue.

Also that was pretty much my understanding of magic in a nutshell (summed up and simplified lol). Maybe I"m wrong but its been working pretty well for me

[OGirly]

ha I misspelled the title See how excited I was to make this thread lol

[Shub Niggurath]

Yay, I was waiting for you to start this thread and finally - here it is! (Btw, you can edit the title if you want )

Anyway, for those who are not familiar with the concept of Holy Guardian Angel and Abramelin's Operation, here's a simplified explanation:

The text describes an elaborate ritual whose purpose is to obtain the "knowledge and conversation" of the magician's "guardian angel." The preparations are elaborate, difficult, and long. All of the German texts describe a duration for the operation of 18 months before any divine contact is known. In the Mathers translation, the initial phase of working the system lasts only six months.

During the period of the work, the magician must daily pray before sunrise and again at sunset. During this preparatory phase, there are many restrictions: chastity must be observed, alcoholic beverages refused, and the magician must conduct his business with scrupulous fairness.

After the preparatory phase has been successfully completed, the magician's Holy Guardian Angel will appear and reveal magical secrets.

-------- You can stop the practice here --------

Once this is accomplished, the magician must evoke the 12 Kings and Dukes of Hell and bind them. Thereby, the magician gains command of them in his own mental universe, and removes their negative influence from his life. Further, these spirits must deliver a number of familiar spirits (four principal familiars, and several more associated with a set of magical word-square talismans provided in the Abramelin's Book Four).

The magical goals for which the demons can be employed are typical of those found in grimoires: the practitioner is promised the ability to find buried treasure, cast love charms, the ability of magical flight, and the secret of invisibility, to list a small number of examples.

Magic squares feature prominently in the instructions for carrying out these operations, as does a recipe for an anointing oil (taken from Exodus 30), popularly used by ceremonial magicians under the name "Abramelin Oil". There are also several further tools - such as a holy Lamp, a Wand made of an almond branch, a recipe for incense known today as "Abramelin Incense" (also taken from Exodus 30), various Robes, a square or seven-sided plate of silver or (bees) wax, etc.

Because the work involves evocation of demons, the Abramelin operation has been compared to Goetic magic, especially by European scholars. However, the text's primary focus is upon the invocation of the guardian angel, and modern works on the subject tend to focus upon this aspect as well.

(Source / find out more: Click)

You can download Abramelin's full 3 books here: Holybooks.com


First of all, what's worth addressing here is that this technique is highly effective, even in a modified and simplified version. Its goal is, as OGirly mentioned, to gain access to your subconscious mind or even to the collective unconscious, in a form of conversations with your personal Holy Guardian Angel. What makes it work are mainly two factors: faith and a psychological sunk costs effect. Of course it can be explained in many other ways, depending on your personal paradigm of choice.

What are the benefits of invoking your HGA?
- Getting more in touch with your higher self / your subconscious / intuition;
- Gaining access to the knowledge of the universe / collective unconscious / Akasha records;
- Noticing strong improvements in any and every sphere of your life - finding your path, gaining stability and focus on fulfilling your wishes;
- Feeling protected and having the ability of calling on your HGA if you need protection;
- And more.

How to simplify the ancient method to fit our modern needs?
- You can adjust the duration of the operation, it doesn't necessarily need to take 6/18 months - you can continue on this practice as long as you feel that your calling is answered and then focus on maintaining the connection;
- Redefining chastity - it doesn't necessarily mean abstinence - as long as you're following the modern "cohabitation" standards (monogamy, no deviations etc) which can be perceived as a pure form of sharing a bed with someone it's totally fine;
- Not using any mind altering substances during the operation would be best but consumption in moderation and being fully sober while performing your prayer (in the morning and at sunset) will suffice;



What are your thoughts on it?
Anyone would like to try performing Abramelin's Operation? Anyone already did or practiced something similar and would like to share their experience?

[Chalice]

I have studied it through Kabballah.
Also the Correllian's talk about the Roman version called honouring the genius.

I'm studying a witchcraft course right now, and this week's lesson is on the Holy guardian Angel.

The holy guardian angel is that part of your being that is a divine spark. It comes from the divine and is divine. We access it, for divine messages. It is a part of us, but only a part.

[Seraphin]

First of all, I would like to say that I'm coming from a Kabbalistic, Enochian Hardcore Polytheistic Animist Stance and as a person who believes in Otherworlds such as Spirit Realms. I personally believe in angels as entities -- spiritual entities to be more specific, who exist to perform the will of the Deities (the Hebrew word for angel, "malach," also means "messenger") -– Many sacred texts (Mythologies, Epics or the Bible) contain many references to such supernatural beings.

However, some Zoharistic sages told that each Mitzvah (commandment) that mankind do creates an angel. In Kabbalah, it's said that by keeping each of the Mitzvot (commandments -- depends on what tradition one is following), one takes the part of the Light or what Chalice said, "Divine Spark" and deposits it in his/her Kli (vessel) where the Light is clothed. It has the power to create angels that serve as a shield and protection for him/her.

So in that sense, Kabbalah says we create our own Holy Guardian Angels.

I haven't tried the Abramelin's Operation but I'm working with angels for many years now as I started as a Judeo-Christian Angelic practitioner. Last December was my first attempt to Enochian magick and I'm now in the process of the 19-day Encohian working. It's a set of prayer recitation geared towards each group of the Enochian hierarchy, beginning from highest (the Secret Sacred Names of God) to the lowest (the servient angels). It's a great way to practice the ritual procedure, develop and enhance more my practice, and familiarize myself with the all the beings in the pantheon. After this, I expect to be more familiar, more confident and more comfortable with Enochian Magick, and only then will I call my Holy Angel of choice (to do my bidding and such).

[random417]

What are your thoughts on it?
Anyone would like to try performing Abramelin's Operation? Anyone already did or practiced something similar and would like to share their experience?

My thoughts on the HGA are pretty well captured by Seraphin (sp? I'm on my phone and can't double check, apologies), although I am a soft polytheist, so it's a bit different, but it's pretty close.

The HGA for me is kind of your personal link with the greater Divine, and as such it's kind of something that should be approached as an advanced thing.

To get guidance and insight is one thing, but "real" knowledge and conversation, that's a different animal. It's something people can work their entire life for. Put in Christian terms, for a common reference point, it's getting a glimpse of Gods plan for you.

Approaching it in that mindset, I'm not quite ready for the Abramelin op, but I'm getting prepped for it. I'm hoping to actually take 6 months for it as well, but not this coming winter, but the next one.

[OGirly]

I find it fascinating that so many of you are prepared to try the Abramelin ritual! That's encouraging to hear. I would love to hear the results, read the diaries, etc if anyone feels like sharing post experiment. My order works a bit differently, and we attain knowledge and conversation with the HGA through years (usually 15 -20) of independent study, self conditioning, and yoga (breath control, postures, etc). There is much more to it, but it's not really for me to talk about it. If you are curious you can get our books on hermetic.com (the equinox vol 1 no 1 is a good starting point). Anyway it's for the same goal so it's nice to be in the company of like minded individuals.

Most of you seem to have a similar understanding of what the HGA actually 'is', or at least we all seem to be more or less in agreement. I find it interesting especially to hear the opinions of those with theistic beliefs. As someone unsure, agnostic and skeptical myself, its interesting to hear it described in a context much different than my own interpretation. I must ask though what the experience is like when you approach from a theistic stand point? I"m sure it's individual to everyone, but if any of you feel like sharing what the event was like from a religious stand point I would be very interested to hear. I can imagine it was quite the religious experience, and must have confirmed many beliefs; but I may be wrong.

[random417]

I find it fascinating that so many of you are prepared to try the Abramelin ritual! That's encouraging to hear. I would love to hear the results, read the diaries, etc if anyone feels like sharing post experiment. My order works a bit differently, and we attain knowledge and conversation with the HGA through years (usually 15 -20) of independent study, self conditioning, and yoga (breath control, postures, etc). There is much more to it, but it's not really for me to talk about it. If you are curious you can get our books on hermetic.com (the equinox vol 1 no 1 is a good starting point). Anyway it's for the same goal so it's nice to be in the company of like minded individuals.

Most of you seem to have a similar understanding of what the HGA actually 'is', or at least we all seem to be more or less in agreement. I find it interesting especially to hear the opinions of those with theistic beliefs. As someone unsure, agnostic and skeptical myself, its interesting to hear it described in a context much different than my own interpretation. I must ask though what the experience is like when you approach from a theistic stand point? I"m sure it's individual to everyone, but if any of you feel like sharing what the event was like from a religious stand point I would be very interested to hear. I can imagine it was quite the religious experience, and must have confirmed many beliefs; but I may be wrong.

It's funny, I look at pretty much everything through the lens of the Kabbalah, and the idea of Trees within Trees plays a big role in how I think...

For me, there's one Sephera that you work through for your entire life, if you're lucky, you'll move on next life. Then there's a Tree you work through in one lifetime, then several trees that you work through throughout that process. Progress up the Tree relies on working through the Tree for each sephera. The HGA sits in Tipareth, as a bridge between you and the Divine. I figure 15-20 years on the Tree you work through once in your life is probably about right.

I've put Abramelin off already twice, and may end up putting it off again, but honestly, I've been working on one spiritual path or another seriously for about 12 years now, so I'm hoping to be ready this time. If not, there's no shame in putting it off again. I set goals to keep me moving, but it's a big deal.

It's funny, as I get closer and closer to it though, I find myself discarding more and more preconcieved religious beliefs. I kind of feel like being prepared for anything is part of the process. It's kind of why I put it off last year, I felt like I was still holding on to too many ideas regarding Divinity. "unite by thine art so that all disappear" and all that.

As much as I feel it will confirm many of my ideas, I imagine that it'll shake up as much as it confirms. That's how growth comes out of this.