INVOCATION

This is one of the most misused terms in magic. It literally means "calling in", and should only refer to a precisely willed possession (which is nine tenths of the whole of the Law). This is as opposed to Voodoo possession, in which the practitioner is chosen by a deity, evocation, in which a being is called forth into an area rather than a person, and channelling, in which someone speaking in a funny voice extracts large sums of money from gullible people who wear crystals.

90% of the time, the words "I invoke" either mean "I evoke" or "I am now going to say something already scripted in a funny voice". It cannot be overemphasised that calling a deity into yourself and then saying the same guff about the moon or whatever, is highly insulting to the deity concerned, who might have something more important or interesting to say. This is because most entry-level systems do not actually teach people how to "get out of the way" and let the invoked being in, let alone explain the extent to which the conscious mind remains present. This generally depends upon the system.

Spiritualism and Voodoo normally expect the complete absence of the conscious mind during the possession. Both involve training by experienced practitioners.

Magick is different. For a start, not only deities can be invoked. Spirits, powers and principles can be invoked as well. It is even possible in some systems (such as Enochian and English Rose Cabala) to invoke and explore spirits and principles that have been devised for the occasion. There are several ways to invoke properly:

1) Forget Christian Demonology and the Horror Movies that they have inspired. No spiritual entity can remain in the body for too long, so getting rid of them is rarely a problem, keeping them there for long enough is. Unfortunately the Golden Dawn and systems derived from it, such as Wicca, spend ages on Banishing without exploring summoning enough.

2) Forget the Protestant Work Ethic. Long and involved summonings, learning names of power by rote and the like, only exist because they are aimed at readying the magician. They have no effect on the spiritual force whatsoever. Likewise colours, incenses, and astrological timings. What you call upon will come if you are prepared. This is not true for evocations unless you do them solo, since it is essential to have some group agreement on forms and methods.

So how to invoke? Here is a quick set of steps:

1) Trust, and fake it till you make it. If you accept that what you invoke is present, ask yourself what the being would say or do at that point and then do so without hesitation. This leads on to deeper invocatory practices.

2) Letting go of the mouth. There are two different ways - glossolalia, in which you babble meaningless words until they become recognisable (during which time you should have moved aside), or for less experienced magicians, stream if consciousness, in which you do prepare something to say, but it is incomplete (such as "I am Isis of Ten Thousand Names, and I say to you that........")

3) Letting go completely. Start by viewing everything that is happening from a distance, as though watching it on TV. When things get going, concentrate on a sign or sound that maintains the link, such as an astrological sign or name of power.

Finally, how to let go of the entity. If you are alone, there should be a time limit (10 minutes max) built into some background music. Try ten minutes of Celtic harp music followed by something from Monty Python. If you are in a group, the person running the ritual who is not possessed (there should always be one) should ask for some personal information about you to check that you are back (mother's maiden name has become sort of traditional). As stated earlier, it is difficult enough to get a genuine contact. However:

Voudon deities should never be invoked properly outside an initiated and trained group situation. Evoke them instead, they really like riding their horses!

Occasionally, especially when dealing with ensouled concepts rather than full blown deities, there is an imprint left behind. This is simply a sign that the ritual worked, and will eventually be evened out by invoking balancing concepts, but does lead some newbies to think that "it's still there". No concept (or "spirit") is ever absent anyway, you're just more aware of it than usual.

Above all, never get involved with groups that do not teach invocation unless you see magic as an extended RPG, or just need to belong to a group so much that they don't care that the magic never actually works, or at least not beyond the limits of chance. Needing to belong to a group is a natural instinct in our species, but without invocation there is no magic, even if it isn't called that.