So, I have this nifty Table of Manifestation as a result of my ceremonial magic work, specifically under the tutelage of Fr. Rufus Opus and his Red Work series of courses.  A recent photo of it shows the tools on the Table: the four elemental weapons (pentacle, chalice, sword, and wand), representatives of the four elemental angels (four amethyst crystals in the Platonic solid forms assigned to each element), and the seven planetary talismans (one for each of the seven traditional planets), with a space in the middle to act as a focus.  An incense burner and consecrated candle are also present.

However, neither RO nor any other source I could find showed how to actually use the tools.  It all seems to act as a general layout to form a ritual space incorporating the forces a Renaissance Neoplatonic Hermetic magician might work with, and it all seemed kinda mish-mashed and jumbled together.  Until now.

Based on reading my friend’s post about orgone generators and Babalon matrices, it turns out he incorporated a technology called a crystal grid.  Basically, it’s a set of crystals linked up to each other energetically to form a cohesive unit of magical power for a certain task.  The crystal grid was overlaid with the Babalon matrix to generate a more powerful field, but the crystal grid works well on its own.  Interestingly, he says that the components of the grid need not be crystals, or even stones; he says that any object that can hold a (magical?) charge can work, from crystals to ritual weapons to pieces of driveway gravel and twigs.  And, boy howdy, do these things on my Table of Manifestation ever have a charge.

So, my idea was to use the same technique for the crystal grid and Babalon matrix to link up the tools on my Table of Manifestation, to turn the many into one coherent unit.  However, this is a fairly advanced layout, with several “layers”: the elemental angels, the elements themselves, and the planets.  Further, the Babalon matrix or crystal grid relies on a focus stone or object; however, the focus here is simply the center of the altar, which is empty unless actively being used to charge or work on something.  Using the original altar layout designed by Fr. RO, I came up with the following scheme to link the layers up:

1. If desired, put a focus stone or object of intent/Will in the center
2. Trace: Center → Crystal of Auriel → Center→ Pentacle →Center
3. Trace: Center → Crystal of Gabriel → Center→ Chalice →Center
4. Trace: Center → Crystal of Raphael → Center→ Sword →Center
5. Trace: Center → Crystal of Michael → Center→ Wand →Center
6. Trace: Center → Talisman of the Moon → Center
7. Trace: Center → Talisman of Mercury → Center
8. Trace: Center → Talisman of Venus → Center
9. Trace: Center → Talisman of the Sun → Center
10. Trace: Center → Talisman of Mars → Center
11. Trace: Center → Talisman of Jupiter → Center
12. Trace: Center → Talisman of Saturn → Center
13. Repeat steps 2 through 12 until a sufficient link is present between the tools
14. Input of energy, drawing from the (lit) consecrated candle into the center

This setup, used in conjunction with the Alignment of Forces ritual (done before the linking?), will probably sate my need for a coherent setup and “fix” for the Table.  In this case, the Alignment ritual would give a good, solid charge with the individual tools, then to the set of tools as a whole; following this by setting up the grid between the tools would snap them all into place, as it were.  For inserting or charging something in the focus, I’d probably just forgo the Alignment ritual (unless it’s just time for that anyway) and link everything to the focus object.