Everything I am about to describe in the following little banishing and invoking ritual can just as easily be applied using the character and image of any deity or object of your devotion—or any character or any thing of your choosing. I chose Ganesha because when I travel in vision to the throne-room of the supreme consciousness of the Great G, I can instantly and effortlessly imagine that I am beholding the all-loving and beautiful sweet face of Ganesha. My heart swells and overflows with a current of love for the divine, and I can joyously plunge my soul into the massive and cozy heart of that deity. But just as easily, I find myself totally receptive to that same flood of divine love and bliss coming from Ganesha, and therein lies the key.
Once I became comfortable with my new relationship with the Great G in the image and personality of Ganesha, I automatically began to acknowledge his presence and enlist his blessing and guidance prior to embarking on any serious undertaking. His huge ears were perpetually attuned to my prayers; his unjudgmental eyes lovingly bore witness to my noblest thoughts and deeds, and my vilest vices and vanities. At day’s end, I comfortably rested in the folds of his great curled trunk as he rocked me to sleep.
Okay, I confess. I was dangerously close to becoming a Ganesha nut! (No offense to real Ganesha nuts). I even seriously thought about memorizing his 108 attributes, i.e., Lord of the Whole World, Remover of Obstacles, Beloved and Lovable Child, Moon-Crested Lord, Master of Poets, Lord of Music, Huge-Bellied Lord (Boy! Could I identify with a huge-bellied god!), One Who Is Easy to Appease, Destroyer of All Obstacles and Impediments, etc. But I’m a lazy man, and as my Lord Ganesha is easy to appease, I resolved that I would simply chant his name 108 times as a mantra prior to meditation or magick, or in the quiet moments before my lectures or musical performances, or indeed, before I did anything important.
A friend gave me a rosary of 108 beads78 and for a while I used that to help me count off the “Ganeshas.” Sadly, I ended up leaving it behind in an airplane seat somewhere between Copenhagen and London. I felt kind of funny using the rosary in public anyway, especially when I flew (and I fly a lot). Other passengers looked at me like I was some kind of white-haired terrorist saying my last suicidal prayers.
No. I needed a quick and easy way to silently and secretly chant the name of Ganesha 108 times while counting on my fingers. After much experimentation I discovered the perfect technique. I determined that if I sang the word Ganesh (or Ganesha) repeatedly to the tune of Pop Goes the Weasel I need only sing four and one half verses. Each full verse (example below) equals 24 repetitions of the Divine Name.
4½ verses = 108
Ganesh Ganesh Ga-ne-esh Ganesh
Ganesh Ganesh Ganesh-a
Ganesh Ganesh Ga-ne-esh Ganesh
Ga—a—a—nesh-a.
Ganesh Ganesh Ganesh Ganesh
Ganesh Ganesh Ga—ne—sha
Ganesh Ganesh Ganesh Ganesh
Ga—a—a—nesh-a.
It works perfectly. I just keep track on the fingers of one hand. I can do it while driving the car. I can do it mentally while standing in line at the airport. I can do it while flying without alarming my fellow passengers, and, I eventually discovered, I could do it to both banish my magical circle and invoke the Great G.
In order for you to appreciate the simplicity of this little ritual, you need to understand the magical dynamics of how the magician moves about the temple in ritual in order to initiate and direct the flow of energy that either invokes or banishes a specific magical force.
Invoking
(with the Sun)
In order to invoke (bring in the desired magical force), the general magical rule of thumb suggests that the magician move about the temple in a clockwise direction (i.e., around the perimeter or circle of the temple space, moving from east to south to west to north, returning to the east). This movement with the Sun’s apparent daily path is called “deosil.”
Standing in one place and spinning (rotating) clockwise is also considered an invoking movement.
Rotating clockwise (deosil) on one’s axis also invokes.
The magician can also invoke by moving in a spiral pattern starting at the circumference of the temple circle and moving inwardly until coming to rest in the center—as if you were pulling the force or entity into the center of the temple.
Movement in a clockwise (deosil) direction and spiraling inward invokes.
Naturally the power of this invoking movement is further amplified if the inward-turning spiral was performed in a clockwise (deosil) direction, and amplified even more if the magician was also performing deosil rotations while moving along the path of the inward-turning spiral.
Banishing
(against the Sun)
Conversely, in order to banish (or send away), the general magical rule of thumb suggests movement about the temple in a counter-clockwise direction (i.e., east to north to west to south, returning to the east). This movement against the Sun’s apparent daily path is called “widdershins.”
Standing in one place and spinning (rotating) counterclockwise is also considered a banishing movement.
Rotating counterclockwise (widdershins) also banishes.
By now you’ve probably surmised that you can also banish by moving in a spiral pattern starting from the center and moving widdershins outwardly until coming to rest at the far circumference of the circle—as if you were pushing everything out and away from the center of the temple. Naturally, the power of this banishing movement is further amplified if the outward-turning spiral is also performed in a counterclockwise (widdershins) direction, and strengthened even more if the magician is also performing widdershins rotations while moving along the path of the outward turning spiral.79
Movement in a counterclockwise (widdershins) direction
and spiraling outward banishes.
I call this little banishing/invoking ceremony “The Dance of Ganesha” and remind the reader it, like most other
