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the Frater's Mark
Fellow net-pagans, this column and the one for the next issue are written with a distinct purpose in mind (and, amazingly for my mind, it doesn't include whips, chains or new and imaginative ways to dedicate your ritual room). After perusing several misleading tomes and having in-depth conversations with several friends and acquaintances, I feel the need to dedicate this column to the magickal art known as invocation. There are so many clashing ideas out there, any aspiring magickian can quickly become lost, and his or her rituals become ineffective and disappointing. And this amazes me, as invocation, given the proper information, is a simple and straightforward way of coming into contact with the true, revelatory religious experience. Enough commentary - on to the marrow.
Invocation, in the most basic sense, is the summoning, inviting or arousing (hence the value of some tantric practices in invocation - remember the Law of Attraction) of superior beings for assistance in magickal practices or for the gifts of their presence, "to call forth by incantation" according to Webster's Melodramatic Collegiate Dictionary. Invocation is the act of calling in or down - as evocation is the act of calling forces up or out - and the distinction that these prepositions supply is critical. They suggest communion with higher forces as well as a willful opening of the personal spirit, sometimes to the point of a temporary displacement of the self. The summons - whether spoken or silent, ritual, mantra or prayer - must be earnest and heartfelt enough to alter the state of consciousness of the individual or individuals, but it must never be demanding, threatening or insulting.
The duration of invocation is normally very short and difficult to maintain, as is any true enlightening religious experience. Therefore invocation includes all of the following: Calling of the Quarters and the Watchtowers, the Invocation of the God and the Goddess, Drawing Down the Moon and the Sun, and even channeling, as the High Priestess who assumes the mantle of the Goddess and the wholly absorbed, entranced channeler have many of the same manifested traits, both mentally and parapsychologically.
Invocation should only be practiced with benevolent deities and, therefore, the welcoming circle is the shape best suited for the art (evocation demands the angular, entrapping triangle). Direct identification with the deity to be invoked and the ability for creative visualization are essential, thus every aspect of the entity must be examined beforehand, studied, assessed, analyzed, committed to memory. That is the art of the craft of invocation - the ability to blur the line between mortal self and immortal archetype, the ability to breach the veil that limits one's visual and mental acuity. It is the difference between envisioning a portrait and envisioning a living, breathing deity, anxious to communicate with you, to impart teaching, news, revelations.
Invocation should be an entirely positive process, one of magickal experience and spiritual growth.
Web sites dealing with invocation are plentiful, as any pagan sabbat or major ritual must - or should, of necessity - contain selected invocations. The following sites, however, give a little twist to the tired generalities that the words of invocation can become:
www.avalon.net/~anima_lu/rituals.html
Burgundy's Ritual Page - some nice invocations in terms of aesthetic and lyrical value. Also, a set of Chinese Elemental Invocations, just in case you need 'em.
members.aol.com/janus59/index.htm
The Janus Gate - a good general source that contains some interesting variances on the Quarter calls. Very ingenious.
www.unc.edu/~reddeer/index.html
Wicca 101 @ Red Deer & Elenya's - some beautiful invocations tucked in amidst some very detailed, albeit non-objective and somewhat overly melodramatic ritual discriptions.
www.gatewest.net/~dem/low/low.html
Fishgoat's Leaves of Wonder - though it only contains a handful of Quarter invocations and specific God and Goddess invocations, they are excellent in terms of variety and realized possibility.
And, just to throw in a taste of good old fashioned ceremonial magick:
The Ritual of the Invocation of the Bornless One - this Greek-English text shares many of the features of general invocation as well as serving as a key historical document in terms of magick. The concordance notes alone shed valuable light on many overlooked aspects of proper and successful invocation.
Next issue: Be sure to wear your most powerful talisman - it's time for evocation!
- Frater S.P.R.V.