Ceremonial magic (or magick) is a broad term used in the context of Hermeticism or Western esotericism to encompass a wide variety of long, elaborate, and complex magical rituals; it is named as such because the works included are characterized by ceremony and a myriad of necessary accessories to aid the practitioner. It can be seen as an extension of ritual magic, and in most cases synonymous with it. Popularized by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, it draws on such schools of philosophical and occult thought as Hermetic Qabalah, Enochian magic, Thelema, and the magic of various grimoires.
Renaissance magic
The term originates in 16th century Renaissance magic, referring to practices described in various Medieval and Renaissance grimoires and in collections such as that of Johannes Hartlieb. Georg Pictor uses the term synonymously with goeteia.
James Sanford in his 1569 translation of Agrippa's 1526 De incertitudine et vanitate scientiarum has "The partes of ceremoniall Magicke be Geocie, and Theurgie". For Agrippa, Ceremonial Magic was in opposition to natural magic. While he had his misgivings about natural magic, which included astrology, alchemy, and also what we would today consider fields of natural science, such as botany, he was nevertheless prepared to accept it as "the highest peak of natural philosophy". Ceremonial magic, on the other hand, which included all sort of communication with spirits, including necromancy and witchcraft, he denounced in its entirety as impious disobedience towards God.
Enochian magic
Enochian magic is a system of ceremonial magic based on the evocation and commanding of various spirits. It is based on the 16th century writings of Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelley, who claimed that their information was delivered to them directly by various angels. Dee's journals contained the Enochian script, and the table of correspondences that goes with it. It claims to embrace secrets contained within the apocryphal Book of Enoch.
Recommended books (Free download):
Aleister Crowley - Intro Magick
Amber K - The Basics Of Magick
Gerald Cremonensis - Astrological Geomancy
Arthur Edward Waite - The Book Of Ceremonial Magic
Dion Fortune - Ceremonial Magic Unveiled
