The purpose of ritual is to awaken consciousness. We all have our mundane rituals, whether it is daily hygiene or the path by which we drive to work or school, if we even drive at all.

In the novel “Way Of The Peaceful Warrior” by Dan Millman (a semi-autobiography), Dan is a student-athlete at Berkeley in the 1960s and befriends an elderly gentleman who works at an all-night gas station. He calls him Socrates, and they have many philosophical conversations. They discuss matters of life including relationships, politics, and even health.

One night, Socrates pulls out a cigarette and lights it to Dan’s dismay. Dan questions Socrates as to why he would smoke a cigarette after extolling the virtues of a healthy regimen. Seeing as he had never seen Socrates smoke, he asks him if his occasional smoking is about moderation.

The old man bristled, “Moderation? It’s mediocrity, fear and confusion in disguise…it’s the Devil’s dilemma…it’s neither doing or not doing. It’s the wobbling compromise that makes no one happy. Moderation is for the bland, the apologetic, for the fence sitters of the world afraid to take a stand. It’s for those afraid to laugh or cry, for those afraid to live or die. Moderation is lukewarm tea, the Devil’s own brew!”

Dan retorted, “But you’ve told me the value of balance, the middle way, the golden mean…” Socrates answered, “Smoking is not disgusting, only the habit is…I may enjoy a cigarette, then not smoke again for six months…and when I do smoke, I don’t pretend that my lungs won’t pay a price…I follow appropriate action afterward to help counterbalance the negative effects…I have no compulsions or habits…my actions are conscious, spontaneous, intentional and complete…”

This is why rituals are important, to make us aware of everything that we do, not only to ensure that the task is done correctly but to justify its relevance in our lives. When rituals lose their meaning, they become habits, whether they are “good” or “bad.”

When the first thing a person does when they wake up in the morning is thoughtlessly put a cigarette in their mouth, it would be considered a bad habit—whereas in certain Native American tribes there is a ritual called a Calumet Ceremony in which a pipe is filled with tobacco and the presence of Mother Earth & Father Sky is acknowledged and their names invoked as well as that of the four directions. This ritual is done to mark special events such as treaty signings or rites of passage to seek blessings from the Great Spirit.

In our Hermetic Qabalah tradition there are many rituals. Each and every accoutrement used in our rituals has profound meaning. Every word used in Convocations, Attunements and other ceremonies have much gravitas and are written to produce the optimum effect intended.

When I was in culinary school, it was a requirement to take a class in baking. I learned how to bake bread, pies, make pasta, etc. I learned that the difference between baking and cooking is that in baking, a detailed formula is necessary and in cooking, it is a suggested recipe, one where vague measurements such as a “pinch of salt” or a “dash of pepper” are often employed.

But I learned a hard lesson in baking (and later theurgy) because I was late to class one time and missed the instructor’s directions as to how to bake blueberry muffins. So I measured the ingredients exactly, put them in the mixer, poured the batter into the greased baking tins and placed them in the pre-heated oven at the correct temperature. Alas, the muffins weren’t rising. I panicked and asked my instructor what went wrong. He said that if I had gotten to class on time, I would have heard him say to use a paddle attachment to mix the muffin batter instead of the bread hook attachment. The paddle attachment would have created air bubbles that would cause the batter to rise. Instead, I made a delicious blueberry bread, but not what I was supposed to bake.

The point is, just as there is an explicit formula for baking muffins which must be followed to the “T,” the steps taken in an alchemical process must also be followed ardently to achieve the desired result. This is why our rituals must be rehearsed prior to their performance so that the proper blocking for the officers can be perfected as well as the scripted dialogue preferably memorized. The same can be said for working with a Sound and Color exercise. The appropriate musical notes must be intoned to match the corresponding colors so that the intended effect can occur.

Whether it is baking blueberry muffins, or achieving peace on Earth and good will toward mankind, certain specific steps must be taken to bring about the expected outcome…

A note from the Grand Lodge : Thank you to all who attended to OHM 2025 Conclave in Santa Fe!   Stay tuned for updates on upcoming classes coming later this fall…