[Help] How do occultists refine/streamline rituals?

[deaddoves]

Hello Wizard Forums.

I wanted to ask this question because I wondered how people, especially authors of magickal texts, refine and streamline their rituals, or even test the effectiveness of their rituals. How do you test for effectiveness? If a sigil/talisman is working as intended or if there is a better arrangement or something lacking which limits its full potential?

I'd also be interested if there are anh books on this topic (I've already Jason Miller's books) specifically on magickal theory that involved refining pre-existing rituals.

PS: I don't really know if what I'm asking is more chaos magick in nature, because I am not experienced in it. I mostly do Enochian and angelolatry work, but I've seen derivatives of Enochian and angel magick by occult authors, and I wondered how they simplified the rituals.

Thanks in advance.

Post automatically merged: Friday at 8:36 PM

Ah, I should have posted this in Occult Discussion. Apologies.

 

[Ziran]

Hello Wizard Forums.

I wanted to ask this question because I wondered how people, especially authors of magickal texts, refine and streamline their rituals, or even test the effectiveness of their rituals. How do you test for effectiveness? If a sigil/talisman is working as intended or if there is a better arrangement or something lacking which limits its full potential?

The efficacy of a ritual, as I teach it, is a function of the effect it has on the heart and mind of the caster. Intellectual awe and heartfelt desire are like wings which carry the ritual beyond the material.

Here's a brief description I wrote for another thread. Maybe this will help to give you a little nudge.

[Help] - How Can Create My Own Spell?

feel drawn to create my own spell, but I'm unsure of the path. Can anyone share the principles and deeper workings of spell creation?

wizardforums.com

 

[FireBorn]

If someone takes parts of Enochian and builds a new working system from it, they’re really just doing what Mathers did with John Dee’s notes in the first place. Dee himself wasn’t an occultist in the modern sense, he was a Christian mystic recording experiences and conversations. The “system” came later.

So the real question isn’t whether modifying a ritual is legit, it’s whether it works.

Most grimoires were never field manuals. They were theoretical texts, compilations, or manuscript traditions copied by people who often had very limited practical experience. That doesn’t make them worthless, but it does mean they aren’t canon in the way people sometimes treat them these days.

This is actually good news. It means there’s room for testing, and personal refinement. Spirits don’t care about candle color or robe fabric. Those elements are for the operator, not the operation. What consistently matters is intent, focus, and the quality of contact.

Once you’ve established repeatable contact through a ritual framework, you can begin removing what doesn’t serve you. If a spirit responds regardless of minor changes, that tells you what’s essential, and what’s cosmetic.

As for testing: you test rituals the same way anything else is tested. You repeat them, you observe results over time, and, if possible, you have trusted practitioners work them independently. Patterns emerge quickly when something is actually functional.

Many people eventually discover that the “power” isn’t in the ritual structure at all, but in what the ritual teaches them to do internally. At that point, streamlining happens naturally.

The only real limitation is choosing to stay boxed inside a system out of fear or reverence rather than curiosity. That part is a choice.

Last thing here because I think it matters. If you are a person who truly believes contact is only possible via robes and Latin, you are correct. If you are a person who truly believes that contact can only happen in Greek, you are correct. Your belief matters more here than you think.

Hope I answered at least part of your question. Take what resonates, burn the rest.

 

[halafman]

Lots of great answers above. I would just add, the primary means of gathering data on effectiveness is the Magickal journal. Make note of everything, the astrological placements, how you feel , what you did, what went well or poorly and what you changed. I am often “inspired” to change things on the fly, because they “feel right” I take this as guidance from my HGA. Making notes immediately afterwards helps me capture these changes for future use, or meditation on later.