The Art of Invocation
I would like to start this article with a small definition, simple but necessary, of what invocation is since it is still confused with Evocation. Invocation rituals actively seek to call something within ourselves, our consciousness, our psyche. It is incredibly wide what can be invoked and this is not limited only to divinity, since all kinds of forces, energies, concepts, and spiritual currents can be invoked, as always, we must keep our mind open.
Before starting to think about performing an invocation practice, we must ask ourselves a few things, this is what will allow us to have a genuine experience, and above all productive. Because the experience will go through our interior, through our mind, these practices are somewhat advanced, they require that the people who try it, at least should have some things clear, and have developed some basic skills within magic. To be even clearer, we must understand the mechanism of magic, we must be able to enter meditative states at will, know how to use the word, intonation, as well as visualization. Without this, it will be difficult to have a smooth experience.
Among the questions that I consider to be essential before these practices, we can ask ourselves: why do I want to invoke? In my opinion, this is a question that we always have to ask ourselves and we have to have a clear answer. If I do not know why I want to invoke what it is going to invoke, it is possible that the result is at least unpredictable or that it may go wrong that we are about to carry out. What is the invocation going to bring me? It is necessary to know the pros and cons of the ritual that we are going to do, this will avoid many problems and headaches. One has to understand that once one invites a force into our lives, it will act and it is not that many times we can be in control of what will happen. One of the best ways to approach this is to consult with a divinatory system (tarot, I-Ching, runes, etc.) with this we will have an overview of the trends, and it will allow us to act accordingly. Does what I am going to invoke fit what I intend to achieve? It seems absurd, but, suppose that what we seek is to develop a romantic magnetism on someone we like, but instead of invoking energy according to romance, we call a demon/demoness that has to do with lust… which one will the result be? Are we going to achieve that romantic magnetism in the person or will we only be sexually pleasant in front of the person’s gaze? Like these, there are a lot of questions we can ask ourselves before attempting a summoning ritual. So I encourage you to do them all before proceeding with the ritual itself, once all doubts are cleared, only then should you go forward.
Once we have answered all the questions, another question comes: is the ritual I am going to do mine, or is it someone else’s? This is very important since what one affirms within the ritual chamber/personal temple has a tremendous impact, so the language we use has to be methodically analyzed. Many times it is not possible for us to know the real motivation behind someone else’s ritual, and especially in the first steps, people do without considering the consequences. So if we are going to use the ritual words of another, regardless of whether the text says: «change nothing», one must make an exegesis of it. When we do this, we analyze whether or not it reflects the nature of what we want to do, if it does not meet our requirements, we change the words, either a sentence, or the entire text, at the end we want to produce a change in our «subjective universe», and there no one who has authority in this but ourselves.
The left-hand path is full of rituals with primordial forces, many related to the principles of Primal Chaos and Dissolution. However, one has to be clear about why we´re going to call on these forces, it cannot be for the simple fact that it is fashionable to be «Anti-Cosmic», «Gnostic Luciferian», «Spiritual Misanthrope» or any other variable of the kind. Nor can we invoke these energies believing that we are going to fight against «boogeyman» or better known as Demiurge. Since once we invite these forces into our lives, we will not have any control over what happens, that is, that our entire existence will probably go systemically into a sewer, and two, that we will not be able to do anything, we just have to accept the wrong way, that this was a magical ordeal that must be overcome to move forward. I put this point for reflection, since those who know me know that I think about these concepts, I do not think they represent the essence of the Left-Hand Path, and those who promote it through the networks and YouTube, are nothing more than children without maturity and understanding on the matter, they only take a concept superficially, expand it and believe they are teaching something. To work with the forces of Chaos and Dissolution, a lot of previous work is required, a real advance within the initiation, which leads to maturity, and then, we can be suitable for this type of ritual, otherwise, the only thing that you are going to get are big problems in your personal life, which is going to lead you to an imbalance, both material and psychological, and that when you ask what happens, they will answer that it is part of an ordeal that you must overcome, something which is not real.
Let’s see now what invocation rituals can be used for. First, the invocation has a wide use within magic, it can be a ritual that can be carried out alone as well as in a group way, it can have as its purpose the knowledge, understanding the nature and power of divinity, it can be used within Initiation Magic, in fact, it is one of the active principles of this, it can have oracular uses, as well as they can also be applied in sorcery rituals.
If we start from the principle that an invocation ritual is an act of calling something external within our consciousness, when assembling the ritual framework, it usually begins with the opening of our temple or ritual chamber, the next step will be that of entering a suitable mental state, then the call to the force that we want to incorporate into our consciousness is recited, this usually begins with the exaltation of that force, then comes the invitation and finally the declaration of purpose. Sometimes the chalice is used as a symbol of exchange of both essences. The next step is the visualization of that force merging with us, hence a good visualization is required. From now on, the experience is usually internal, where we have visions, images, words, sensations. It all depends on the degree of sensitivity and experience of the magician. In the cases of collective rituals, one of the magicians can act as a channel or vessel, turning that person into a kind of oracle, being able to allow interaction between those present and that invoked energy. This type of internship requires not only experience but also great trust and transparency since it can easily lead to anything but a genuine experience. In the cases of initiatory magic, one works with active principles that one calls to produce a profound change in our psyche, which can then be seen reflected in the outside world. This type of work usually begins in the ritual space but continues to have an impact over time and outside of ceremonial settings. Finally, it is possible to invoke a force that embodies this or that concept to empower a spell. Suppose we want to cast a curse on an enemy, we could invoke a god/demon/entity that embodies the principle of entropy, assume the essence of it in us, empower us and then cast the spell, this would enhance what we are doing.
As we can see, the invocation is an art, which well done can have a multitude of different purposes, which can lead us far beyond our limits, but which, like everything in magic, requires study, understanding of what is being done. Doing with an open mind but deep rationality, if all these elements are present, surely the experience will be just what we want, and not something uncontrolled, fanciful, or meaningless.
Daemon Barzai