a ‘mass’ performed in the tantric manner

by Fr. IO

Originally composed as part of the Beast Bay “Compose your Own” Gnostic Mass contest. This ritual shows how to form a classic Tantric worship mandala using the Thelemic Godforms.

Source

Abrahadabra! Taking the view every way perfect,
Making no difference between any one thing and any other thing,
The Scarlet Woman and the Beast establish an altar
To the 3 of the chapters, to the 1 face the magi wear,
To the many protectors of the Law, to they of the 6 destinies,
and to the 8 obstructing classes

The Higher

With Abrahadabra Offerings of the 5 nectars are effectuated
And offered to the 5 types of invited guests

The Inner

With Abrahadabra Each Scarlet Woman in the Circle becomes Ra Hoor Khut
With Abrahadabra Each Beast in the Circle becomes Ra Hoor Khuit
With Abrahadabra He offers Her, in turn or at once, the 5 nectars
And adores Her with the Song Aka dua
With Abrahadabra She offers Him, in turn or at once, the 5 nectars
And adores Him with the Song Aka dua

The After

With Abrahadabra They remain in union, in contemplation,
Each Beast adores Ra Hoor Khut with the Song while
Each Scarlet Woman adores Ra Hoor Khuit with the Song
Until the grand Aum is sounded and with Ha!
All is shattered into Not

After an aeon and an aeon and an aeon
The leftovers are gathered on cracked plates,
The dregs are dribbled on the scraps,
Charged with “So with thy all…”
Until “nay, are none!” and
Effectuated with Abrahadabra,
Unto the low ones these offerings are given

Then gathering up, declaring wishes and wills,
Dedicate the benefit to all and for the success of practice,
and radiate all with Ah

Let this Mass, this Thelemic offering circle,
Be a benefit to all and to all who practice it

May it be sealed with that Bornless Spirit That is about it like a Thunderbolt,
and a Pylon, and a Snake, and a Phallus,
And is in the midst thereof like the
Woman that jetteth out the milk of the stars from her paps.
Abrahadabra

Armature

This is rite in the spirit of a ‘mass’, a group eucharistic ritual written in the Thelemic tradition performed in the tantric manner. ‘Tantric’ in this case means in the manner of the offering pujas as used in both the Shakti and Buddhist traditions. There, the practitioners would gather to form the mandala of the deities they will be invoking. Arrayed in couples each would, after the invocations, treat their partner as the embodiment of the deity. They would offer and receive offerings maintaining the view of their partner and all present as deities, the place as a divine mansion, and the offerings as ‘nectar and ambrosia’ and yet, in the non-dual manner, all ‘of the same taste’. In this kind of rite the offerings may be symbolic or as actual as means and courage allow.

While this rite was composed with a certain invocation of Ra-Hoor-Khuit in mind, any suitable invocation will serve.

Begin by opening the space: banish and consecrate at will, or simply take refuge and generate boddhichitta. Perform such preliminary invocations and accumulations as seem fit.

Next, invoke the presence of the guests into the space or upon the altar. There are 5 kinds of guests in this rite: The three deities of the 3 chapters of the Liber AL are the embodiment of the three gems, the basis of refuge and empowerment. Ra-Hoor-Khuit/ Ra-Hoor-Khut is the specific deity-form of the rite expressed dyadically (in Egyptian the “t” ending indicates the feminine). All of the protector spirits and deities who have vowed to protect the Law receive their place of honor. All of the beings of each of the 6 different ways of incarnating, Deity, Asura/Titan/Jealous God, Human, Animal, Hungry Ghost, and Hell-Being, are each made offering to. Lastly the beings of the 8 obstructing classes, those that interfere with our work are fed as well. In a non dual practice such as this we invite everyone one, friend and foe to the table. Thus we practice viewing all ‘with the same taste’.

The principal officiants can be in the center of the space, with all arrayed about them, or to one side, perhaps the east. They can be the physical objects of worship or they may set up a physical altar. They congregation is best arrayed in pairs but solitary practice is possible with sufficient visualization.

What follows are examples of how to do each of the offerings:

To the 3 of the Chapters

Had!-Ra!-Nu! Abrahadabra! Nuit! Hadit! Ra-Hoor-Khu-it
To you and all your host we offer,
Form, Sound, Smell, Taste, and Touch,
The Whole of Space,
Father‚s Milk and Mother‚s Blood, and the Fruit of Existence
Come and Enjoy!

To the 1 face the magi wear

Had!-Ra!-Nu! Abrahadabra! Ra-Hoor-Khu-it/ Ra-Hoor-Khu-t
To you and all your host we offer,
Form, Sound, Smell, Taste, and Touch,
The Whole of Space,
Father‚s Milk and Mother‚s Blood, and the Fruit of Existence
Come and Enjoy!

To the Protectors:

Had!-Ra!-Nu! Abrahadabra! Hermes, Hekate, Ishtar, Inanna, Tahuti, Maat, Therion, Babalon
To you and all your host we offer,
Form, Sound, Smell, Taste, and Touch,
The Whole of Space,
Father‚s Milk and Mother‚s Blood, and the Fruit of Existence
Come and Enjoy!

To the 6 destines

Had!-Ra!-Nu! Abrahadabra! To all ye Deities, and Jealous Gods,
To ye Humans and ye Animals,
To ye Hungry Ghosts and Hell-Beings,
To you and all your hosts we offer,
Form, Sound, Smell, Taste, and Touch,
The Whole of Space,
Father‚s Milk and Mother‚s Blood, and the Fruit of Existence
Come and Enjoy!

To the 8 obstructing classes

Had!-Ra!-Nu! Abrahadabra! To All ye Deities,
To ye Furies and ye Fates
To ye Daemons and Caco-Daemons
To ye Fairys and Elves
To ye Nymphs and Dryads
To All ye Elementals, Salamanders, Undines, Sylphs and Gnomes
To ye Trolls and Dwarves
And to ye Dragonkind
To you and all your host we offer,
Form, Sound, Smell, Taste, and Touch,
The Whole of Space,
Father‚s Milk and Mother‚s Blood, and the Fruit of Existence
Come and Enjoy!

The offerings themselves are traditionally a set of foods and behaviors forbidden by Brahminic culture or Buddhist monastic rule. Human flesh, cow, horse, dog and elephant meat were all on the menu. Other forms used feces, urine, pus, semen and menstrual blood. This was accompanied by liquor and/or other intoxicants and sexual union both because of their forbidden nature and for the stimulation they provide rite. In general these substances were replaced by the visualization of them along with the physical use of meat, fish, grain, liquor or wine, and sex. The 5-foldedness refers to the 5 senses and so the offerings are referred to under that rubric in classical rites and our current example. To this is added “space” as a euphemism for Mind (Nuos or Rig-pa), the male and female basis for existence and an emblem of the enjoyment of existence as a whole.

Practically, set up your offerings using such food as you have. If the group is small enough plates are set up for each person or couple. If larger, the plates are passed among the congregation. To practice ‘all same taste’ one takes from every plate or cup that passes regardless of personal inclination toward the contents. Using the 5-senses method, an item for each of the senses can be offered: a rose, a candle flame, chocolate, a bell, a caress are all examples.

To begin the inner offerings, the principal officiants and all others to the extent that they are able, invoke and take on the god-form of Ra-Hoor-Khuit or Ra-Hoor-Khut as appropriate. Once present each partner makes offering to each other holding the view of the other as the Deity. L.AL II 34-44 make a good verse with which to open the inner offerings. There is no speech during the inner offerings except the Song. Rather each offering is made, one at a time, in silence or while singing. This serves as a prelude to physical or symbolic union. Remain in union practicing the view as long as the view can be maintained. When difference is again made between one thing and other thing it is time to conclude the inner rite and proceed to the after. Negotiate this with silent signals.

To make offerings to the low ones, the guests too weak or corrupted by their karmic condition to enjoy the higher offerings, take the scraps of the offerings, put them on the worst plate available, preferably one with cracks. Then sprinkle the dregs of the wine or other drink on it. This is to permit the lower guests to enjoy the benefits of the rite converted down to their level where the offerings will not be poison to them.

All of the offerings are effectuated with “Abrahadabra”. This is done by pointing at the arrayed offerings with wand or hand or aught else and sounding the Word. In the specific case of the after offerings, or any where else desired, the offerings are charged with verses 42-45 of L.AL I, starting “So with…”.

In conclusion, offer prayers, wishes and wills for the future, and dedicate the benefit of your work to all beings. This will preserve and project your work wide in the world.

Mangalam! May this knowledge go aright!