Outline of the common course of study or procedure for advancement for the traditional student.

1. L.R.P. for at least 1 week (a month is better)

2. L.R.P. and L.R.H. for 2 weeks, or long enough so that you know L.R.H well enough to go further.

3. Middle Pillar would be good to work in here (or other similar chakra work to begin turning-on the energy centers) to step up your energy.

4. S.R.P. (Supreme Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram- invoking elemental energy)- balanced invocation for 1 month (at LEAST 2 weeks).

An example of how a working for practice and personal development would procede at this point:

A. L.R.P.

B. L.R.H.

C. S.R.P.

a. First do invoking form of the S.R.P. (using invoking forms of the pentagrams and Sign of the Rending of the Veil at appropriate places)

b. Then, after all the portals are open, address each quarter individually (beginning with East then on to South etc.) and say something to the effect of this:

"May the forces of (insert element) purify and equilibrate me."

Then, inhale the element into your body (clear down to your feet and in your arms-until you are filled with it). If it is Air, imagine the energy of air clearing away impurities. If it is Fire, imagine the fire burning them away. If Water, imagine the water washing them away. And if Earth, you might imagine elemental earth energy cleansing you in its own way and making you stronger. Again, do this with each quarter one at a time.

c. Once you have done all you need to do with this stage of the ritual, you need to systematically close each portal. To do this, you need to go through the entire S.R.P. all over again, but this time use the banishing forms of pentagrams you used before, and use the Sign of the Closing of the Veil (to close the portals) instead of the Rending of the Veil (like you did the first time around).

D. The portals being closed and the Q. Cross performed, pause for a moment and collect yourself if needed.

E. L.R.P.

F. L.R.H.

E. and F. at the end of the ceremony are to clear the area again and get rid of any unwanted entities that may have been trapped by your ceremony. There are nicer/gentler ways of doing it, but these are far more thorough for the beginner.

5. During this next stage, you would normally study/explore/work with each element individually for at least 1 week each. A month is probably better, but definitely more difficult. To do this, you could use the S.R.P. in the predescribed manner, but invoking ONLY 1 quarter. Then you can sit in your circle and meditate on it or, if working with Enochian spirits, ask them to teach you about that element (recommended). Don't forget to close the portal properly when you're done.

Instead of going through the ritual at all, you could use the middle pillar exercise and simply invoke the element privately and meditate on it. If it is fire, try to feel your body filled with the warmth of fire (but not being harmed- just visualize it strongly). If Earth, try to feel yourself lying in cool earth- try to smell it too!  You'll think of similar things to do for each. Explore them each (for one week): Earth, Water, Air, Fire, Spirit.  

We don't have a formal ritual to invoke Spiritual energy very easily. It's that positive refined White energy (some of us see just a hint of ultra-violet in it).

Remember this for later: all energy is the same energy, the same light, just in a DIFFERENT PHASE or color etc. The 4 lower elements are different aspects or phases of Spirit. When energy is in a different phase, it takes on different properties and can be used for more specialized purposes. See essay on Energy. There are probably an infinite variety of phases of energy- Cosmic energy included.

6. Next, it will be very necessary for 1 week of balanced invocation using the S.R.P. again. The reason for this is because you just got done systematically UN-balancing yourself/your energies. Now it would be a good idea to re-balance. Why so much work with the elements? Because they're easy, useful, and if you can learn to work with them, you can eventually learn to work with other more difficult forms of energy. Also, such work with elemental energy will give you a good grounding and provide a solid foundation for future advancement.

"If thou thyself hast not a sure foundation, whereon wilt thou stand to direct the forces of Nature?"

7. At this stage, it is common to study planetary energy. I recommend beginning with the Sun first. I'll try to have some methods worked out for you if you wish.  You may even think of ways on your own.  Some aspects of Astrology can be useful, but in the scientific sense (I usually disagree with the methods of interpretation). Astrology is a complicated science in itself and requires much time devoted to it. There are various forms of planetary working; Sepherotic and planetary angels are good teachers to call on.  Always keep in mind that the true adept is not ruled by the planets. He is aware of their influence, but is able to turn whatever effect they may impose upon him into a positive and beneficial one in his life, rather than being lead about by the nose and driven by unconscious impulses like most people.  

Planetary positions show patterns of influence, or in the case of a birth chart, the circumstances during which an entitity chooses to make its entrance on the 'stage' of physical life.  Can sometimes show the possible 'lessons' a being wishes to learn based on the obstacles it sets up for itself by incarnating at a particular time.  A person's fate is not always set in stone.  The element of chance is always at work.

Another reason for studying planetary energy is the fact that it is another type of energy and can be channeled, collected, and applied to particular tasks.  There are ways to do this properly.  I recommend siphoning some of a planet's energy from around it's sphere of influence (either through planetary angels or planetary hexagrams etc.) rather than contacting the planet spirit directly (as in the planetary heptagram ritual); not all of the planet spirits are congenial.  The last 3 planetary spheres are not even supposed to be visitable by most humans (not fun places to be anyway).  Be very careful and use extreme caution when dealing with any energy from around the sphere of Uranus.  That stuff is highly radioactive, unstable, and unpredictable; it can easily screw up almost anything it touches. You don't want it in you if at all possible.  The influence it has on our planet tends to be on a more social scale and deals with spontaneous (often random) changes. I'm sure it has a practical use if applied VERY sparingly.  Looks kind of flourescent yellowish-green to me.

8. Study of the Zodiac is often the next step, but it could be combined with #7 in some way; either through the Tarot or Astrology even- each goes where the other does not and both are worth comparing. Individual stars can be looked at as well. See the book Starwalking- Shamanic practices for traveling into the night sky, and similar texts to get ideas of other possibilities if you wish.

9. Ultimately, regardless of whatever direction you decide to pursue from here, you'll have to figure out a way to put all this stuff together into One system- YOUR OWN.  The non-traditionalist would have an advantage here, having been developing his own personal system and ways of viewing reality all along.  

From a purely traditional point of view, I found that it was easy to get stuck viewing reality in only one way: that of the system in which I was submerged.  As more aspects of reality were opened up for me, I realized that my system was only one small part of the whole.  All of reality cannot be contained within one book or one way of doing things.  I therefore decided that I should expand my consciousness to fit reality, rather than trying to condense reality down to fit a shriveled consciousness.

10. Finally, learn to go beyond that system. Reality is infinite, afterall.  Try to keep an open mind and don't get stuck in a rut. There are always new ways to look at things you already thought you knew. Astral work, if not already in progress, provides a wide range of study. The Enochian system or Shamanism can be positive directions too, depending on your preferences.  If you make it through the previous work, you should have amassed a huge amount of discipline and experience with traditional methods. The more work you do, the farther you'll go.  You'll only get out of it what you put into it.