The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram (or LRP) is a ceremonial magic ritual devised and used by the original order of the Golden Dawn that has become a mainstay in modern occultism. This ritual is considered by many to be a basic preliminary to any other magical work, so much that it was the only ritual, besides initiation rituals, taught to members of the Golden Dawn before they advanced to the Inner Order. There are two forms of the ritual, the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (LBRP), and the Lesser Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram (LIRP). Description and structure The principal components of the Qabalistic Cross and the LBRP are drawn from the works of French occultist Eliphas Levi. The ritual is highly dynamic, using gesture, visualization and the pronunciation of certain words of power, combining prayer and invocation as well as clearing and preparing a space for further magical or meditative work. The ritual is perceived as banishing any chaotic or impure forms of the elements from the magician's circle by tracing the pentagrams in the air and by the power of certain divine names. This is followed by an evocation of the archangels ruling the elements to fortify and guard the circle. These archangels are connected to the classical elements via the astrological symbolism of the biblical four living creatures: "Michael is the 'lion-headed', Raphael the "human-headed", Uriel the "bull-headed", and Gabriel the "eagle-headed". This symbolism connects Michael with the astrological sign Leo and the classical element of fire, Raphael with Aquarius and the element of air, Uriel with Taurus and the element of earth, and Gabriel with Scorpio and the element of water. Contemporary books on ceremonial magic tend to advise using only the banishing version for the first few months of ceremonial practice: The ritual has an invoking counterpart, the Lesser Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram. Together, they are sometimes known as the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram. Many ceremonial magicians perform the banishing version daily, and some perform both the invoking and banishing versions. The ritual Equipment In its more elaborate forms, modern practitioners sometimes include the following: An altar in the center of the ritual space, upon which are placed instruments representing the four classical elements A ceremonial robe (e.g. a tau robe) or other suitable ritual garb is worn by the magician A ritual dagger (e.g. an "athame") used to gesture to