Ritual · “Repetition Rewires”
Banishing
To clear the space and one’s own headspace before magic or important work — sweeping away intrusive thoughts, ambient ‘noise’, and lingering moods so the mind is centred and the subsequent practice (or task) runs unimpeded.
White’s daily banishing: Stand centred, breathe. Speak the clearing (e.g. “Hekas, hekas, este bebeloi”), then sweep the space in a circle — clearing intrusive thoughts and stale mood with gesture and intent. Orient north / to Orion, centre, and notice the reset. Then move straight into your working or your task. White’s daily order: banish → Headless Rite → work. Honest read: a potent psychological transition-and-attention ritual; the “removing energies” layer is unproven.
What it is
Like most of the Western magical tradition, Gordon White treats banishing as the first thing you learn and the first thing you do — the clearing that opens every session.
In The Chaos Protocols he recommends a daily/foundational banishing to clear both the physical space and your own mental “noise” before any working (or before an important real-world push), and offers his own refinements to the classic forms (notably tying orientation to Orion and the immortal northern stars, consistent with his Headless Rite).
Read honestly, banishing is a short transition ritual: a repeatable, embodied routine that resets attention, drops you out of the day’s clutter, and marks the boundary into focused practice.
The Method
White points to established banishing forms and customises them rather than inventing a wholly new one. A faithful, generic version in line with his teaching:
- Stand and settle. Stand in the centre of your space, feet planted, a couple of slow breaths to arrive.
- Declare the clearing. Many practitioners (and White’s lineage) use a spoken banishing phrase to begin — e.g. the PGM-derived “Hekas, hekas, este bebeloi” (“Far, far be removed the profane”) — said with intent as you begin to clear.
- Sweep the space. Moving in a circle (turning through the quarters), sweep away stagnation, intrusive thoughts, and lingering mood with gesture and intent — picture the clutter clearing as you go. The point is to physically enact the clearing, not just think it.
- Orient. Consistent with White’s framing, face north / toward Orion to anchor the cleared space to the “immortal Northern Stars” before proceeding.
- Centre. End standing still and centred, noticing the quieter, reset state — the space and your head are now “clear.”
- Proceed. Move straight into the next thing from this cleaned state: the Headless Rite, an enchantment, divination, meditation, or simply the day’s important task. White’s daily structure runs banish → empower (Headless Rite) → work. (Sourcing note: White recommends banishing as foundational/daily and contributes the Orion / northern-stars orientation in The Chaos Protocols. The specific gestures and the “Hekas, hekas…” phrase belong to the wider PGM/ceremonial tradition he draws on rather than being unique to him; he is explicit that the practitioner may use whichever banishing form they prefer. Treated here as White’s recommended foundation, faithfully, with that caveat.)
Source & Lineage
Gordon White (1976–2026), of Rune Soup and The Chaos Protocols (2016), inherited banishing from the Greek Magical Papyri → Golden Dawn → chaos magick stream, where a daily banishing (Crowley advised at least one a day) is standard hygiene.
White’s signature additions are the Orion / northern-star orientation and his insistence on banishing as the accessible daily floor of practice that prepares the empowered state for his other techniques. → suggested node. Companions.
The Traditions' versions
Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (Golden Dawn) — the canonical Western daily banishing White’s practice descends from.
- PGM clearing formulae — “Hekas, hekas, este bebeloi” and related.
- Smudging / saining / incense purification — folk clearing of space across cultures.
- Salt, sweeping, bell, or sound clearing — domestic and temple purification.
- Secular “transition rituals” — a deliberate routine that marks the shift from one mode to another (the evidence-based core).
- Grounding / centering meditation openings — the contemplative cousin.
Common refinements
Doing it purely in the head. The benefit is largely embodied — move, gesture, voice it; don’t just think “cleared.”
- Endless / anxious banishing. Repeating it compulsively to feel “safe” signals anxiety, not hygiene, and can reinforce the very worry it’s meant to settle.
- Form-fetishism. White is explicit that you may use whichever banishing you like; agonising over the “correct” ritual misses the function. Pick one and do it consistently.
- Treating it as protection from real threats. Banishing settles your state; it is not security against real-world dangers.
- Skipping it before big workings. White’s structure puts it first for a reason — entering a working from a cluttered head muddies everything after.