The Ritual of the Star and the Snake stands as a powerful expression of Thelemic sex magick, a rite where polarity is not merely enacted, but consciously lifted into a vessel of gnosis. Drawn from my broader study on Sex Magick, this ritual deserves reflection on its own.
The Star represents the radiance of the Angelic Will, the point of pure celestial identity, while the Snake signifies the ecstatic intelligence that rises from the depths, coiling upward toward illumination and sacramental union.
What makes this working particularly striking in the Thelemic current is how it blends ceremonial precision with erotic consecration. Invocation, vibration, sacrament, polarity, and orgasmic release flow together in a single continuum of intent. The formula of ABRAHADABRA is not here employed as ornament, but as the very key of the Great Work in motion: the reconciliation of opposites through Will, culminating in a moment where individuality is offered into a greater field of Selfhood.
Seen within the larger frame of sex magick, this ritual is a practical rite of stellar consciousness. The participants do not simply perform desire; they elevate it into liturgy, transforming instinct into intention, and intention into Will. The dynamic between Priest and Priestess reflects the mystery of Babalon and the Beast, not as mere myth, but as living magical grammar, a way in which force becomes Will
For this reason, I felt it important to present the full rite separately from the main essay. Some readers seek the philosophy behind sex magick; others seek the ritual form through which that philosophy takes flesh. This page is for the latter: a complete ceremonial transmission of the Ritual of the Star and the Snake, ready for study, reflection, and initiatory practice according to Will.
The ritual itself is part of ORDO XI, division within the the Order of Thelemites, brought forth by my lifelong friend and Brother, Frater Alion.
Participants: Priestess and Priest.
The temple is arranged according to Will.
The altar is oriented toward Boleskine; upon it are all magical weapons, the Stele of Revealing, and LIBER AL vel Legis and/or the Holy Books of Thelema.
Preparations and purifications are carried out as desired. Incense is lit, and appropriate music is played.
The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram and the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram are performed, followed by the Ruby and Sapphire Star, and then the Ritual of Therion and the Ritual of Babalon. Instead of this, the opening given in the Ritual of Passing Through the Tuat may be performed—or something else, according to Will.
Together they recite the Invocation:
“O ye heavens which dwell in the Infinite, ye are mighty in the parts of the Earth, and execute the Judgement of the Highest! Unto you it is said: Behold the Face of your God, the beginning of Comfort, whose eyes are the brightness of the Heavens, which provided you for the Government of the Earth, and her unspeakable variety, furnishing you with a power of understanding to dispose all things according to the Providence of Him that sitteth on the Holy Throne, and rose up in the Beginning, saying: The Earth, let her be governed by her parts, and let there be Division in her, that the glory of her may be always drunken, and vexed in itself. Her course, let it run with the Heavens; and as a handmaid let her serve them. One season, let it confound another, and let there be no creature upon or within her the same. All her members, let them differ in their qualities, and let there be no one Creature equal with another. The reasonable Creatures of the Earth, and Men, let them vex and weed out one another; and their dwelling-places, let them forget their Names. The work of man and his pomp, let them be defaced. His buildings, let them become Caves for the beasts of the Field! Confound her understanding with darkness! For why? It repenteth me that I have made Man. One while let her be known, and another while a stranger: because she is the bed of an Harlot, and the dwelling-place of him that is fallen. O ye Heavens, arise! The lower heavens beneath you, let them serve you! Govern those that govern! Cast down such as fall. Bring forth with those that increase, and destroy the rotten. No place let it remain in one number. Add and diminish until the stars be numbers. Arise! Move! and appear before the Covenant of His mouth, which He hath sworn unto us in His Justice. Open the Mysteries of your Creation, and make us partakers of the undefiled knowledge.”
Let the Participants now meditate upon the Flaming Sword descending and the Serpent of Wisdom ascending, while vibrating the names of the Sephiroth and the Paths. Alternatively, they may meditate upon the sigil of ABRAHADABRA or the sigil of KHABS, awakening those energies within themselves. Then let them read a chapter from LIBER AL vel Legis. Let one meditate upon the Star, and the other upon the Snake.
The Priestess sings: (She begins the stimulation of the Kteis):
M u pa telai,
Tu wa melai
a, a, a.
Tu fu tulu!
Tu fu tulu
Pa, Sa, Ga.
Qwi M u telai
Ya Pu melai;
u, ti, u.
‘Se gu malai;
Pe fu telai,
Fu tu lu.
O chi balae
Wa pa malae:—
Ut! Ut! Ut!
Ge; fu latrai,
Le fu malai
Kut! Hat! Nut!
Al OAI
Rel moai
Ti—Ti—Ti!
Wa la pelai
Tu fu latai
Wi, Ni, Bi.
The Priest speaks: (He begins the stimulation of the Phallus):
Silence! the moon ceaseth (her motion),
That also was sweet
In the air, in the air, in the air!
Who Will shall attain!
Who Will shall attain
By the Moon, and by Myself, and by the Angel of the Lord!
Now Silence ceaseth
And the moon waxeth sweet;
(It is the hour of) Initiation, Initiation, Initiation.
The kiss of Isis is honeyed;
My own Will is ended,
For Will hath attained.
Behold the lion-child swimmeth (in the heaven)
And the moon reeleth:—
(It is) Thou! (It is) Thou! (It is) Thou!
Triumph; the Will stealeth away (like a thief),
The Strong Will that staggered
Before Ra Hoor Khuit! Hadit! Nuit!
To the God OAI
Be praise
In the end and the beginning!
And may none fall
Who Will attain
The Sword, the Balances, the Crown!
They then assume the position of “69,” both chanting the formula ABRAHADABRA. At the moment of climax, they partake of the Sacraments and exchange them in a kiss, after which they relax and/or enter into silent meditation. Let them then meditate—one upon the Star, the other upon the Snake—uniting themselves with these energies.
The Priest speaks: (He begins the stimulation of the Phallus):
Unity uttermost showed!
I adore the might of Thy breath,
Supreme and terrible God,
Who makest the gods and death
To tremble before Thee—
I, I adore thee!
He then sings:
A ka dua
Tuf ur biu
Bi a’a chefu
Dudu ner af an nuteru
The Priestess speaks: (She begins the stimulation of the Kteis):
I am the harlot that shaketh Death.
This shaking giveth the Peace of Satiate Lust.
Immortality jetteth from my skull,
And music from my vulva.
Immortality jetteth from my vulva also,
For my Whoredom is a sweet scent like a seven-stringed instrument,
Played unto God the Invisible, the all-ruler,
That goeth along giving the shrill scream of orgasm.
She then sings:
Omari tessala marax,
tessala dodi phornepax
amri radara poliax
armana piliu
amri radara piliu son;
mari narya barbiton
madara anaphax sarpedon
andala hriliu.
The Priest and Priestess unite. She assumes the active position, like the whore Babalon riding the Beast on Atu IX “Lust,” chanting the formula ABRAHADABRA as they contemplate the union of the Star and the Snake. At the moment of orgasm, let a cry burst forth from them: ABRAHADABRA HRILIU ABRAHADABRA! After the orgasm of union, let them partake of the Sacrament and surrender to meditation, as they Will.
THE FINAL LITANY FOLLOWS:
I. Who is this that cometh forth from the Abyss from the place of rent garments, the habitation of him that is only a name? Who is this that walketh upon a ray of the bright, the evening star?
Refrain. Glory unto him that is concealed, and glory unto her that beareth the cup, and glory unto the one that is the child and the father of their love. Glory unto the star, and glory unto the snake, and glory unto the swordsman of the sun. And worship and blessing throughout the Æon unto the name of the Beast, four-square, mystic, wonderful!
II. Who is this that travelleth between the hosts, that is poised upon the edge of the Aethyr by the wings of Maut? Who is this that seeketh the House of the Virgin?
Refrain. Glory unto him that is concealed, and glory unto her that beareth the cup, and glory unto the one that is the child and the father of their love. Glory unto the star, and glory unto the snake, and glory unto the swordsman of the sun. And worship and blessing throughout the Æon unto the name of the Beast, four-square, mystic, wonderful!
III. This is he that hath given up his name. This is he whose blood hath been gathered into the cup of BABALON. This is he that sitteth, a little pile of dry dust, in the city of the Pyramids.
Refrain. Glory unto him that is concealed, and glory unto her that beareth the cup, and glory unto the one that is the child and the father of their love. Glory unto the star, and glory unto the snake, and glory unto the swordsman of the sun. And worship and blessing throughout the Æon unto the name of the Beast, four-square, mystic, wonderful!
IV. Until the light of the Father of all kindle that death. Until the breath touch that dry dust. Until the Ibis be revealed unto the Crab, and the sixfold Star become the radiant Triangle.
Refrain. Glory unto him that is concealed, and glory unto her that beareth the cup, and glory unto the one that is the child and the father of their love. Glory unto the star, and glory unto the snake, and glory unto the swordsman of the sun. And worship and blessing throughout the Æon unto the name of the Beast, four-square, mystic, wonderful!
V. Blessed is not I, not thou, not he, Blessed without name or number who hath taken the azure of night, and crystallized it into a pure sapphire-stone, who hath taken the gold of the sun, and beaten it into an infinite ring, and hath set the sapphire therein, and put it upon his finger.
Refrain. Glory unto him that is concealed, and glory unto her that beareth the cup, and glory unto the one that is the child and the father of their love. Glory unto the star, and glory unto the snake, and glory unto the swordsman of the sun. And worship and blessing throughout the Æon unto the name of the Beast, four-square, mystic, wonderful!
VI. Open wide your gates, O City of God, for I bring No-one with me. Sink your swords and your spears in salutation, for the Mother and the Babe are my companions. Let the banquet be prepared in the palace of the King’s daughter. Let the lights be kindled; Are not we the children of the light?
Refrain. Glory unto him that is concealed, and glory unto her that beareth the cup, and glory unto the one that is the child and the father of their love. Glory unto the star, and glory unto the snake, and glory unto the swordsman of the sun. And worship and blessing throughout the Æon unto the name of the Beast, four-square, mystic, wonderful!
VII. For this is the key-stone of the palace of the King’s daughter. This is the Stone of the Philosophers. This is the Stone that is hidden in the walls of the ramparts. Peace, Peace, Peace unto Him that is throned therein!
Refrain. Glory unto him that is concealed, and glory unto her that beareth the cup, and glory unto the one that is the child and the father of their love. Glory unto the star, and glory unto the snake, and glory unto the swordsman of the sun. And worship and blessing throughout the Æon unto the name of the Beast, four-square, mystic, wonderful!
Let them surrender to silence, or to meditation, or to love, as they Will. At the end, let them consecrate and partake of the Sacraments, offer blessing and gratitude to the Most High, and bring the ritual to a close.
Frater 273
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- Sex magick – Harnessing sexual energy to fuel spiritual growth and personal transformation within the Thelemic concept.
- Pranayama – Techniques for conscious breathing designed to strengthen inner focus, enhance awareness, and support meditative practice.
- The Holy Guardian Angel – Insight into the Thelemic concept of the Holy Guardian Angel, exploring its role in spiritual development.
- Persephone – A symbolic reading of the Persephone myth, highlighting themes of inner transformation, cycles of descent and renewal, and the journey through the Probationary path.
- Notes on the Ritual of Pentagram – Step-by-step exploration of Pentagram ritual variations, emphasizing energy cleansing, mental clarity, and focused intention for magical work.
Frater 273 | Reflections on Thelema 