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A METHOD OF HIGH MAGIC

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© 2020 Ariel’s Corner

All rights reserved. No part of this document may be

reproduced or shared in any way without the express
permission of the author.

www.ariels-corner.com

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If that which you seek, you find not within yourself, you will
never find without.

—Doreen Valiente

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INTRODUCTION
Before Christianity arrived there, the Iberian Peninsula was
home to a vast variety of pagan practices. Religions from
various cultures namely the Celts, the Greeks, and the
Romans were all quite active in Spain.

According to legend, the Apostle James brought the doctrine

of Christianity to the Iberian Peninsula, The Dominican
tradition holds that the Rosary came in a flash to St. Domenic
when he witnessed an apparition of the Virgin Mary.

However, Craft tradition maintains that the Rosary has its

roots in pagan goddess worship which was in practice in
Iberia and was one of the few pagan practices of that region
to survive in tact.

Although the original prayers of the ancient Rosary are lost to

eternity, the particular configuration of the original rosary (not
the one currently in use by the Catholic Church), is said to be
a direct holdover from this very ancient magical practice.

PRAYER BEADS
The English word bead is derived from the Old English bede
which means a prayer. The earliest known use of beads goes
back at least as early 10,000 BC. Throughout the centuries
different cultures have continued to make beads from various
materials including stone, gem, glass, bone, shells and clay.

The exact origins of strings of prayer beads remain uncertain,

but their early use is recorded in multiple cultures throughout

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history. Prayer beads are fingered to allow the practitioner to
keep a count of the number of prayers which have been
performed, thus allowing them to focus their attention solely
on the prayers themselves.

Cord, or knot magic, has been a part of the folk and oral
traditions of many cultures. Knots tied into cords or ropes
during the repetitions of chants, incantations, spells, prayers
and curses forms the basis of a great deal of magical practice
throughout most magical cultures.

The use of knots on prayer cords in Christianity dates back to

the 3rd and early 4th centuries. These were primarily devices
used for counting prayers such as the Jesus prayer. From
about the year 431, there began an increased use of Marian
prayers (prayers to the Virgin Mary) while using these prayer
cords, which later became the Catholic Rosary.

THE CATHOLIC ROSARY

The term Rosary comes from the Latin rosarium "rose garden"
and is an important and traditional devotion of the Catholic
Church. The modern Catholic Rosary combines prayer and
meditation in sequences, called “decades," of the Lord's
Prayer, Hail Mary, Gloria Patri as well as a number of other
prayers (such as the Apostles' Creed and the Salve Regina).

The prayers are accompanied by meditation on different

Catholic Mysteries which are events in the life and ministry of
Jesus. This traditional Catholic form of the rosary is attributed
to Saint Dominic, though some Catholic writers have doubted
this claim.

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Unlike these relatively modern practices of praying the
Rosary, the earliest versions of the Catholic Rosary were
prayed using only two prayers: the Lord’s Prayer and the Hail
Mary. The original versions of the Catholic Rosary did not
include any other prayers besides these two, nor were any
mysteries meditated upon.

The early Rosary string, being much simpler in construction

than the current one, consisted simply of a string of a series
of ten small beads (decades), each separated by a single
larger bead. There was usually a tassel at denoting the
beginning of the rosary, but not a cross or crucifix.

The Lord’s Prayer was repeated for each large bead, and the
Hail Mary was repeated for each of the smaller beads. The
extra beads, crucifix, additional prayers and meditations on
different Catholic Mysteries were not a part of the original
Rosary, having been added to the practice over time.

In the early Rosary a complete Rosary sequence was prayed

for a total three times through. This could be done all at once,
or throughout the day (one round in the morning, one at
midday, and one in the evening). The completed 15 decades
meant that a total of 150 Hail Marys were prayed.

This is why the Rosary was also known as “Mary’s Psalter,” as

this was the same as the number of Psalms in the Bible.
Being that many people were illiterate, and were incapable of
reading the psalms each day, praying the rosary was
considered a substitute for praying the Psalms.

It is interesting to note that the pagan origins of the Rosary

are one of the fundamental reasons many non-Catholic
Christians site as being their aversion to the use of the
Rosary.

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THE WITCH’S LADDER
There is a common practice in modern Wicca to use a type of
rosary called The Witch’s Ladder. This can be a string of
beads or a cord with knots.

The number of beads or knots used varies depending on the

practitioner and their tradition, or the symbolism desired by
the practitioner. The Witch’s ladder is used in a similar fashion
to other types of prayer beads, as well as being a counting
device for incantations, affirmations and chants.

In this booklet, I am teaching the use of what I call a Witch’s

Rosary. This can be made with beads or knots. The Witch’s
Rosary, like the Catholic Rosary, uses the decade system: one
large bead for every 10 small beads.

A witch can use a Witch’s Ladder, a knotted cord or a Witch’s

Rosary in any way that she sees fit. It can be used to count
affirmations, incantations, invocations, prayers, charms or
anything that is appropriate to the spell involved.

The magical system of the Witch’s Rosary as described in this

course is a specific formula. To perform it, make sure your
Rosary is configured properly

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ROSARY MAGIC
The system of Rosary Magic I am presenting here is one that
has been tried and true and gives impeccable results when
used with the appropriate mindset. I certainly hope you try it.

If you don’t feel comfortable using the biblical source material

presented herein, perhaps you could try writing your own
prayers.

These forms of the ancient prayers in this booklet really

speak to me; I love working the Rosary exactly as given here.

For a witch’s rosary, you will need to either make a Rosary

yourself, repurpose a Catholic Rosary (by taking off the tail
and Crucifix, and adding your own charm or tassel at the
end), or by purchasing a Witch’s Rosary pre-made)

You want something to mark the beginning/end of the Rosary.

I prefer a simple tassel. But you can use a pentagram,
hexagram, ankh, equal armed cross, Celtic Cross, spiral, or
anything else that you like.

THE PRAYERS
Being that the early church tended to “borrow” many pagan
customs, I see no problem in “borrowing back” several of
them for my magic. A witch tends to use whatever works.
That’s what we are doing here. The Witch’s Rosary is a highly
effective method of magic that always gives wonderful
results.

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I have adapted the earliest forms of the Catholic Rosary
prayers for this Rosary magic, as these prayers seemed to be
the closest to the pagan source materials from which I
believe they were originally borrowed.

THE GODDESS PRAYER

The Hail Mary (Ave Maria) in its earliest form was, “Hail Mary,
full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among
women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. So mote it be”

This was a prayer based on two separate pieces of new

testament scripture: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with
thee;” and, “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is
the fruit of thy womb.”

The addition of “Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us

sinners, now and at the hour of our death,” came in the 14th
Century, along with naming Jesus as the fruit of Mary’s womb.

I see Mary as a clear biblical symbol for Mari, the sea, the
womb and the divine mother, the older, more primitive Hail
Mary seems to be an actual carry-over from earlier goddess
worship.

The form of the prayer I developed for use when using the
Witch’s Rosary is thus:

Holy Mother, full of grace,

The Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women, and
Blessed is the fruit of your womb.
So mote it be.

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This is a potent prayer to the Divine Mother, and gives the
practitioner a visceral experience of the presence of the
Universal Goddess in a very pure form:

We address her: “Holy Mother”

We name her nature: “full of grace”
We acknowledge her consort: “the Lord is with you”
We acknowledge her universality: “blessed are you among
women”
We acknowledge her as the mother of all things: “blessed is
the fruit of your womb.”

THE LORD’S PRAYER

The Lord’s Prayer, taken from the New Testament, is one of
the simplest, yet most remarkable invocations ever written.

The common prayer is prayed thus:

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy

kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our
trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Amen.

My version which I use is:

Our Father, in Heaven, your name is sacred.

Your Kingdom is come,
Your will is done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts
As we have forgiven our debtors.
Lead us out of temptation, and

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Deliver us from evil.
So mote it be.

It is clear that we are addressing the masculine god form in

the opening, “Our Father.”

In the bible, the name of something is its nature. It is the

nature of the Father in Heaven to be sacred. You could thus
very easily encapsulate the opening line of this prayer as

“Father Sky, you are sacred.”

Try praying the Lord’s Prayer that way and see how it feels.
The occult meaning for Heaven or “sky” is not a place
separate and distinct from us. It is the realm of the
Superconscious, which is within us.

In the next lines, two important Hermetic principles are

stated. a) Your kingdom is come, your will is done states the
principle that Power flows from the causative plane into
manifestation; and, b) on earth as it is in heaven states the
principle of that which is above, is below.

Give us this day our daily bread means “fulfill all our needs
this day.” We are expressing the fact that we receive the
means to fulfill all of our needs on a daily basis.

We are not saying, “Give us enough for the rest of this

month,” we are claiming our faith in the Power, by stating,
“fulfill our needs this day.” We have absolute certainty that
tomorrow’s needs will be filled tomorrow.

“Forgive us our debts as we HAVE forgiven our debtors.”

Notice the tense we are using in this version.

We are claiming forgiveness of all of our own errors,

transgressions and mistakes because we acknowledge that

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we have already forgiven everyone who has been indebted
to us on any level.

We are simply stating a magical law. We owe no Karmic debts

because we have already done our part by forgiving all that
we hold against another; therefore, we can claim forgiveness
and all its practical benefits for ourselves liberally, here and
now.

Lead us out of temptation and deliver us from evil,

This line encapsulates simply the thought, “give me the

guidance in each moment to make the correct choices, and
keep my mind, body and actions focussed on that which is for
my highest good.”

Father Sky, you are sacred.

Your power is here, now.
Your will is done.
As is above, so is below.
Meet all my needs this day.
Forgive all my debts, as I have forgiven all my debtors.
Give me guidance in each moment to make right choices and
right actions.
Keep me focussed on only that which is for the highest good.

The Lord’s Prayer is commonly spoken in the royal “we,”

however you can see that you may easily pray it in the first
person if you desire to, as well. There is no reason you can’t
make any prayer, spell, invocation or incantation your own as
long as you understand what you are doing and why you are
doing it.

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THE WITCH’S CROSS
The act of crossing oneself did not originate with Christianity.
It is a universal method of blessing that is used as a way of
grounding and centering and self blessing.

The Catholic version of crossing oneself, names the Christian

trinity by stating, “In the name of the Father, The Son and the
Holy Spirit.” The trinity of the Christian belief seems also to be
something that was borrowed from earlier practices, but was
obviously changed and made purely masculine.

To us, the Holy Spirit is Shekhinah, who is the Goddess.The

Son, is called the “Holy Child,” which denotes the Higher Self,
the Mabon, or the Universal Mind of all. So we relate to the
holy trinity in its early form which is simply the Father, The
Mother, and The Child.

I use a method of crossing myself which I find to be quite

effective, and in keeping with my understanding of the inner
mysteries.

I touch my forehead and say, “By the power of the Father.”

I touch my breast, and say, “By the power of the Mother,
I touch one shoulder, and then the other while saying, “By the
power of the Holy Child,”
I bring my hands together over my heart and say, “Blessed
be.”

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THE QABALISTIC CROSS
You may, instead, want to use what is called the Qabalistic
Cross, practiced widely these days:

Touch the forehead: “Ateh" (thou art)

Touch the breast: “Malkuth” (the kingdom)
Touch the right shoulder: “Ve Geburah” (the power)
Touch the left shoulder: “Ve Gedulah” (the glory)
Bring the hands together over the heart: “Le Olam,
Amen” (forever, so be it).

In the Qabalistic Cross, the right shoulder is touched first, in

the Christian cross, the left shoulder is touched first. There
are several reasons for the difference, the most pragmatic
being that in Hebrew, one reads from the right to the left, and
Latin and German based languages are read from left to right.

There may be also Qabalistic significances as well as

crossing from the right to the left could be seen as the
lightning bolt descending the tree, and crossing left to right
could be seen as the Serpent climbing the tree.

I recommend that when doing the WItch’s Cross, you try it

both ways and notice the difference, if any, that you
experience. This way you can make up your own mind based
on your experience.

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HOW TO WORK THE ROSARY
The actual performance of Rosary magic is actually quite
simple. You will undoubtedly notice the great power that is
raised when performing the ritual. It becomes more potent
the more you practice it. You may notice that you go into an
altered state as a result of the repetitive chants. This is a
good thing. Just do your best to stay focussed on your goal
and also the meaning behind the words you are chanting,
even as you go into a trance. I have noticed that it is most
effective when chanted aloud, but if you prefer to do it in
silence that is fine as well. Try it both ways and notice the
difference you experience between the two.

Begin by dedicating your rosary session to a specific goal: “I

dedicate this rosary to perfect harmony in my home,” “I
dedicate this rosary to a ten percent increase in my salary,” “I
dedicate this rosary to the complete health of my mother’s
body,” etc.;

Perform either the Witch’s Cross

On your first large bead, say one God prayer;

For each of the 10 smaller beads which follow say one
Goddess prayer (10 prayers in all)

Repeat this process until all 5 decades of your Rosary have

been completed;

Feel and state gratitude that it is done;

Complete a total of three rounds for the same purpose

throughout the day if possible. While three rounds daily is
recommended, even one or two rounds per day is remarkably
effective.

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Take time while reciting the prayers to feel the meaning of
each prayer to the best of your ability, but also keep a
consistent rhythm whilst chanting.

Take time to envision your goal either during the recitations,

just prior and/or just after you have completed the rosary.

Perform a final crossing, or grounding and centering.

In my experience, the Witch’s Rosary as I have given it here, is

one of the most satisfying and highly effective magical
techniques I have ever used. I hope you try it and find it to be
as much of a blessing in your life as it is in mine.

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ABOUT ARIEL GATOGA

Ariel has been teaching the Craft for over three decades. He
is best known for his 18-week self-study audio course called,
A Witch’s Primer, as well as his popular audio Lectures.

You can find more about the witch’s rosary as well as shop for
some rosaries at https://www.ariels-corner.com

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