Instead of pulling the average "Different strokes for different folks" I would like to really have a discussion on ritual and energy work.Your POV,ideas,experience,why you would prefer one on another.
I see that both of them are valid path and each one of them can supplement the other but I prefer ritual more than mental/energywork.I just enjoy the usage of symbols and the "mystery" in it, something where you combine everything into one thing.In energywork you just accumulate and send energy,direct, and manipulate it.The thing that bother me with energy work is that the only way to beat psychological projection is to do work on the body and you can't affect other people in the "outer world" without strengthening the psychological projection.All rituals can be done by mere visualization and will but not all energywork can work on visualization.
What interest me most is the old rituals and how in them there is a huge lore and energy packed in them that most people ignore.I am probably facing a group of people who are going to say mostly "ATKINSON" and yell at me "MENTAL MAGIC", but I see it's worth the shot.Lastly I see some rituals are able to refine and amp-up some working which energy work might take more time to finish
On energywork what I like most is the versatile application of the system and the ability to modify it to suit one need.Rituals can be time-consuming and sometime take more effort than energy work.Fake/Wiccan spellbooks can be made effective and practical using energy work, sadly most people ignore this fact.
The only exceptions to these both is the inner guide meditation actually. it combines both and benefits both and achieve the supreme end of each of them(and doesn't strengthen the psychological projection).Though it need more of FPS visualization and little of "active imagination".