LIBER NOX > NOX MATERIA
Liber NOX studies
Supportive references.
History and Background
By Tim Hartridge.
During the early 1980's with the help of a close group of friends (Peter Bowden, Gillian Dodge, Sheila Reynolds, and Mark Stewart, aka Hawthorn) I began to explore an idea for an alternate approach to my magickal work.
Our backgrounds and interests were all very diverse. Our interests and experience ranged from the ritual traditions of the Golden Dawn and Thelema to Witchcraft and Shamanism. We found a common interest with a relatively well-known Thelemic ritual “The Star Ruby”, and used this as a basis to make a start.
This ritual was a variation on the Pentagram banishing rite with the Thelemic orientation having been introduced by Aleister Crowley sometime before 1913. However, our experience of the ritual was somewhat different to its intended purpose. We began experiencing a type of gnosis or occult darshan (ie. a direct and personal experience of mystical states of consciousness), which led us into a new energy and interaction with the psyche. This was probably originally due to the unique combination of the five ritualists participating in the rite. We very quickly found the ritual developing itself via a type of metamorphosis as a journey into the Underworld (our personal and collective unconscious worlds).
Almost from the beginning the ritual took on a much broader scope than a mere 'banishing' rite. The mudras and movements used in the rite developed themselves into exercises not dissimilar to the practices found in Tai Chi. That is, where one connects to the energy flow in and around the body known as 'Chi'. As we developed our connection to the 'Chi' of the ritual, more experiences were transmitted. In this way the members of the Circle acted as the medium or the psychic links in the transmission of direct trance and mystical experiences; and gradually an evolving and new rite was developed out of these practices.
In many ways my whole approach to magick and ritual changed from that moment onwards. I realized that through connecting to the chi of the ritual I could allow myself to follow the prompts I was experiencing in body and mind. All I had to do was let myself go and I could receive instruction and knowledge in a direct way. A type of gnosis could be experienced which I subsequently termed 'Occult Darshan'. In other words, 'from out of the unknown or hidden (occult) I could have a direct psychic experience and communication (darshan). Via this ritual and its practice I began entering an enigmatic and psychic reality, and then the work of understanding and integrating these experiences could begin.
The Dark Circle
The designated name NOX has a duel meaning. As mentioned previously, the original rite is based upon a Thelemic variation on the Pentagram ritual and was called the 'Star Ruby' or Liber XXV. This version of the Pentagram rite was created by Crowley (in fact he had two versions of the rite – one appearing in his book 'Magick' and the other in his 'Book of Lies'). In the rite there is a reference to set ritual asana/mudras called "the signs of N.O.X." It was from the use of these mudras that we substituted the name of the ritual to simply 'NOX'.
While there is significance to the individual letters N.O.X. (hence the capitalization), what’s of interest to us is its more literal meaning – from Latin 'nox' which simply means 'night'. This holds the key to the ritual's objective – the invocation of Night. In effect, within the ritual circle the participants attempt to explore the 'nightside' of the Self. This is known in mythical terms as the dark journey into the Underworld, and psychologically as entry into the Unconscious. Poetically we experienced the ritual as a journey through a 'dark' circle to encounter the enigma of nocturnal mysteries, the uncharted and unbounded world of the spirits of Night. Not too surprisingly we began calling ourselves 'Dark Circle' and eventually the 'Dark Circle Collective'. The experiences gained from the NOX ritual are as varied as the Initiates who practice the techniques. Such unique experiences may then form the basis for the building of a personal occult philosophy, as well as personal development. Grounded in your direct experience rather than mere theory of how things work, you can be said to be truly self-initiated.
Definition of NOX
'NOX' Latin for 'Night':
1. A time when liminal states of consciousness link us to parts of the Self not normally accessible;
2. A period experienced between ordinary reality and a non-ordinary, or a 'psychic' (soul) reality
3. A rite (the 'right' time) to gain access to experience a profound level of reality beyond the limits of time and space.
Objectives of the NOX Practicum
The ritualists enter an inner, nocturnal world via meditation, mantra, ritual, dance and trance for the purpose of initiation.
Blending Ritual and Psychic Realities
Typically the Western Magical Tradition has drawn from the Mystery Schools of the classical world and especially from that of Ancient Egypt. The arid Egyptian desert preserved more than the bodies of mummies and tombs; its religious-magickal traditions remained intact for thousands of years. These have continued to be a lasting influence upon our western psyche.
Is it the remote stillness of the desert regions of the world that marks them out as places of mystery and ancient magicks?
The Australian continent is dominated by the presence of the desert and is unquestionably a place of ancient powers and mysteries. The psychic dimension to Australia is aptly known among the Aborigines as the 'Dreaming', while the desert itself is sometimes called the 'Never Never' - names which all evoke the impression of night, darkness and mystery. It could even be said that we occupy a land (which from a mythological point of view) is a 'type' of Underworld (lying quite literally 'down under').
The NOX ritual is psychically located in a desert at night. In a psychological sense such references to the Dreaming, the Underworld, and even 'down under' create mythical connections to the Unconscious (both personal and collective). Within the Western Magical Tradition, rituals may be used as passports to such nether regions – and this is the central purpose of the NOX ritual.
Trance Dance
There are two distinct dance forms used in the NOX ritual, both draw from Arabic culture. The first is from the whirling Sufi (Dervish) or Sema dance practice. The second is Zaar (Zar) dance mainly practiced by women from the North African regions, Egypt, Sudan and Iran.
Although quite distinct from one another, both dance forms are associated with mystical and psychic experiences. The Sufi dance is largely an exclusively male dance form and in some regions women are not permitted to be even present during it's performance. The Zaar is primarily a women's religious spirit possession dance used to remove or cast-out the Zar (a possessing spirit). Both dances have been embraced as dance forms by Westerners without recourse or attachment to either a spiritual or psychic practice.
A couple of things led to our use of these dance forms in the NOX rite. The NOX ritual evolved out of the Star Ruby rite which gives n instructions for the casting-out of 'spirits'. This was naturally related to the Zaar-trance dance. There was also another instruction in the Star Ruby to “circling widdershins”. This was combined with the initial ritual gesture of “dashing down the hand with a great sweeping action” at the beginning with the whirling of the Sufi Sema-trance dance.
My longstanding interest in Middle-Eastern culture meant I was able to introduce both these trance-dance techniques into the NOX ritual. The Sufi Sema was readily pursued as an effective method of trance by the members of Dark Circle. The Zaar dance was incorporated sometime later and initially because of it's distinct drum rhythm and then as an alternative to the whiling Sema dance.
Both dance styles have formed part of my personal Magickal practicum for many years and seem to naturally go together in a balance, culturally speaking, between masculine and feminine energies.
There are some simple yet specific techniques to using these dance forms so that you don't come to any physical injury and it is best to have this shown to you in a practice workshop, rather than just blundering in on a NOX ritual.
Sufi Slow Sema (dance)
Several forms of Trance Dance
Example dance forms.
Mevlevi Sufi Lodge
The Mevlevi Order are a Sufi mystical brotherhood founded in Konya (in present-day Turkey) by the followers of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi-Rumi, a 13th century Persian poet, and follower of Rumi. They are also known as the Whirling Dervishes due to their famous practice of whirling as a form of dhikr (remembrance of God). Dervish is a common term for an initiate of the Sufi path; the whirling itself is known as the Sema and the participants are properly known as semazens Another name used for the Sufi seeker is dervish. The goal of Sufism, as defined by the renowned Darqawi Sufi teacher Ahmad ibn Ajiba, is "a science through which one can know how to travel into the presence of the Divine, purify one’s inner self from filth, and beautify it with a variety of praiseworthy traits." Well known Occult and Sufi writer Idries Shah, felt the Sufi philosophy is universal in nature, that its roots predated the arising of Islam and the other modern-day religions. Some Muslims feel that Sufism is outside the sphere of Islam, although some scholars contend that it is simply the name for the inner or esoteric dimension of Islam.
Ahura Sufi Dance - Jaran (part I)
A-HU-RA is part of the name of god in the Zoroasterian religion, practice and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the Iranian prophet Zoroaster. Ahura Mazda is Auramazdain Old Persian. In the Gathas, the hymns thought to have been composed by Zoroaster himself, the two halves of the name are not necessarily used together, or are used interchangeably, or are used in reverse order.
Sufism has been greatly influenced by the teachings of Zoroaster. Fire and the Sun, as the celestial emblem of the Fire, is kept burning within the homes and fire-temples as an undying and unremitting tribute to the spirit of the Creator, Ahura Mazda. Universal Sufism, an order of Sufism founded by Hazrat Inayat Khan in the early 20th century. He introduced this form of Sufim to the West while traveling between 1910 and 1926. This form of Sufism was particularly influenced by Zoroasterian ideas and is one of the forms of Sufism that does not exist within the traditional framework of Islam.
The Zaar
The Zaar (Zar) is an extremely ancient dance form. In Africa and the Middle East it has been used almost exclusively by women for sickness, and particulalry in times of stress thought to be caused by spirits. Followers of the Zar cult believe that sickness can be caused by the “red spirits” which is where the Zar acquires it's name from. The Zar spirits seek to use human bodies as hosts, which can cause sickness either physically or spiritually. One of the ideas behind the Zaar trance-dance is that by acknowledging the spirit's presence and meeting its demands, the woman will discover the zar's identity and attain a symbiotic relationship with her possessor thus restoring a balance.
NB. Many of the versions of the Zaar trance-dance to be found online are highly stylised with performance and an audience in mind, but traditionally these are a serious ritual practice done to placate the zar, or red-spirits.
Bangarra Dance Theatre: 40,000 years of dance, ritual, myth and dreaming.
Bangarra is the national Australian Aboriginal dance company. Their work explores many examples and adaption of traditional Aboriginal dance. These include what may be described of totemic animals and Dreaming mythological themes. There are frequently powerful shamanic or shape-shifting into spirit beings.
Yoga Trance Dance with Shiva Rea
A contemporary use of dance with yogic base as it's inspiartion.
NOX and symbolic form
The NOX ritual has a fundamental structure found also in the ceremonial and philosophical architectures of a diverse range of spiritual traditions. By using the Jungian approach to symbol-amplification we can explore ideas that shed a deeper appreciation of the symbolism.
In this brief exploration of Symbolic form I include two very different cultures, the Sufis and an Australian Aboriginal tribe. In the following two examples I touch upon the Sema (the Sufi whirling- dance) and the Ngurra-kurlu (Way of Living) from an interview with Aboriginal educator Steve Jampijinpa. While culturally diverse, both examples have an archetypal pattern which talks about a Centre around which orbits, or are supported, four psychic elements, and it is this that drew my attention while exploring the symbol-amplification of the NOX rite.
Within the ritual structure of the NOX is found the four qualities or psychic (soulful) elements which are orientated around a central source, or centre of awareness. In the Sufi example we see how this is expressed through the four Selams (or stages) of the ceremony. This is then contrasted with Steve Jampijinpa's description of the four Aboriginal Warlpiri clan principles that encircle their homeland, which he collectively calls Ngurra-kurlu (right Way of Living), and gives expression of this through a simple image drawn in the sand.
Whirling Dervishes: The first notable comparison with the NOX rite is the whirling dance of Sufis. The dance known as the Sema is practised in the semahane (ritual hall) according to a precisely prescribed symbolic ritual with the dervishes whirling in a circle around their sheikh. The sheikh, who is the only one circling around his axis, is exactly like the principle ritualist in the NOX, who assumes the archetypal form of Anubis. Anubis in the NOX mythology is the Seeker and the word Dervish means 'seeker'.
The Sema is performed by spinning on the right foot. The dervishes wear a white gown a symbol of death, a wide black cloak (hirka) a symbol of the grave and a high brown cap (kûlah), a symbol of the tombstone. All are suggestive of the entrance to the land of the Dead. Similarly, the NOX mantra “Ompehda, oh Ompehda” which means, to open the 'mouth' of the tomb, is suggestive of the same rite of passage.
Sema ceremonies are broken up into four parts which all have their own important meanings:
Naat and Taksim – Naat is the beginning of the ceremony where they sing praise for the Prophet Mohammed. The first part is finished with Taksim or the playing of the reed flute which symbolizes our separation from God. Devr-i Veled - Devr-i Veled is when the dervishes bow to each other. The bow is said to represent the acknowledgement of the Divine breath which has been breathed into all of us. After all the dervishes have done this they kneel and recite a short dhikr (zikir) before removing their black cloaks.
Similarly in the NOX rite the first four stages of the ceremony involve the following comparatives to the Sema: mediation to upon centre symbol of the NOX pantacle; the chanted mantra; the visualisation via the recited myth; and the ritual invocation which is an enactment of the myth. These are essentially a form of zikir.
The four Selams are the central part of Sema. The semazen, or the whirling dervishes, are said to be representative of the moon as they spin on the outside of the Sheikh who is representative of the sun (or spiritual source). As they spin on their right foot, they hold their right palm upward toward Heaven and their left palm facing downward to the earth. The cycle of the four selams are representative of the spiritual journey that every believer goes through. The first selam is the recognition of God, the second one is the recognition of the existence in his unity, the third represents the ecstasy one experiences with total surrender, and the fourth 'selam' is actually a concluding prayer rather than dance, drawn from the Holy Qu'ran by the Sheikh.
The NOX follows an open and individual dance using a variant form of whirling dervish practice, and even allows for the incorporation of the more wild and primal Zaar trance-dance. The role of the dance is to encourage an individual visionary trance experience, which naturally cannot be pinned down by rigid structure or dogma. The dance part of the NOX rite encourages the following of a path of mystic-magician that may lead to a gnosis, or self-expression of the Mysteries. However, at the ceremony's conclusion there is a collaborative centering ritual performed after which everyone is encouraged to share experiences that are ready for disclosure. Anything shared in the Circle are treated as personal holy mysteries.
Ngurra-kurlu: the Way of Living
Warlpiri educator and scholar Steve Jampijinpa explains the five pillars of Warlpiri culture. The message conveyed in this short film explains the relationship and value between Land (or Home), Law (or Lore), Ceremony, Language, and Family (or Clan). These are fundamental cultural values and Jamiljinpa emphasises a loss of any one of these 'pillars' will result in 'sickness'. The 'sickness' can be seen not just in the Aboriginal communities, but also within Western societies in general.
The search for meaning and the Sacred is I believe (and as Jampijinpa suggests) an attempt to reclaim this balance to the life of the Psyche (Soul). At a fundamental level, many people embracing contemporary Paganism are seeking a restoration between the pillars of Ngurra-kurlu, The enduring interest in the NOX ritual (begun in 1983) points to a healing that culturally fits those with an interest in Pagan and Magickal practices and what they are able to provide.
This film was made by Steve Jampijinpa, with Maxwell Tasman and Tristan Tasman from Lajamanu, Northern Territory, Australia.
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LIBER NOX > NOX MATERIA