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the Frater's Mark
In French law, evocation is the act by which a judge is removed from a case so that the power may be conferred onto other judges to decide the verdict. To produce an intense response is referred to as "evoking" a given emotion. The word's etymology reveals its Latin roots: from evocare, e- out + vocare, to call, from vox, vocis - voice. So far, we have the elements of authority, of summoning forth and of the necessity of voice. Do all of these correspond to the magickal act of evocation? You bet. It's no accident the early magickal texts of evocation are referred to as "grimoires", French for "grammars". Grammars of old, as we may have huddled over in grade school, collected both the rules which speakers of a language utilized subconsciously and the many observations of the linguist, whose job it was to consciously catalog in an orderly fashion these rules. In evocation, the magickian is responsible for both tasks. Two things are thus suggested about grimoires and evocation: 1) the ability to rattle the evocational cage resides in each of us; it is simply a matter of will and desire as to whether or not the potential becomes manifest, whether or not we assume the authority necessary, and 2) just as there is a vast difference between the dynamic speech of the native speaker and the dry, static recordings of the linguist, there is an immense difference between evocational names employed in superficial usage and the underlying formulation of the essence carrying the name. It is the difference between an editor digging out a dictionary to make sure that a Norse god's name is spelled correctly in a manuscript and the magickian seeking the proper vibratory level of the name that will aid him or her in summoning that god's thought form. No system of evocation is all-inclusive, no grimoire absolute. The will and the imagination of the magickian must be engaged, through progressive adaptation, for results to occur and for the unexpected to be summarily and effectively dealt with.
Thus evocation is to call (presumably) lesser entities, both generically good and evil, forth, into a given space and in accordance with a well-defined set of parameters defined by the magickian's will and various ceremonial trappings. The magickian studies the nature of the spirit to be evoked in depth, but never identifies himself with the spirit. This is key; in invocation, the knowledge grated by the presence of the spirit is welcomed. This is not always the case in evocation. In invocation, the best defense is a good offense - be ready to glean and assimilate every ounce of information granted by the entity. In evocation, the reciprocal is true. The magickian is calling forth a given spirit into a physically/psychically detectible form for a given purpose. If one is evoking a spirit of Mars for advice on the best plan of action in a business-related power struggle, one may not want to take to heart the spirit's candid, legally (not to mention tastefully) questionable advice on disembowelment. Invocation should be practiced daily. Evocation is a powerful, disciplined tradition best utilized cautiously and with goals in mind.
Time has sired two predominant schools of evocational thought, though they are certainly not mutually exclusive (and I do not mean to slight the growing practice of Chaos magick; as it is an extension of the basic models of action, an understanding of the foundations is important to catch all of Chaos magick's nuances). The first is that of the Solomonic Cycle, known as Goetia, including the Key of Solomon, the Lemegeton (the Lesser Key of Solomon) and the Sworn Book of Honorius. This assumes to deal predominantly with "fallen" spirits, but as each of us is part of the macrocosmic whole, this conclusion is, at the least, partly false. The second is the Enochian school, birthed by Dr. John Dee, the Elizabethan magus, and his partner, Edward Kelley. Imparted to them by angelic beings, this form of evocation encompasses an entire language and designs of communication and divination. The difference is that the Enochian school professes to deal with no essentially "evil" spirits. The jury is out on the true essence of angelic beings (as they seem to be dispatched any time that mass destruction, dire warnings or paranormal activities need to carried out). Either way, both systems are effective and forceful.
And now, a few choice sites:
Goetia:
The Garden of Will - a nice collection, including some photographs, of information and personal experience and reflection. Professional without being arrogant or obscure.
www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=goetic;list
The Goetic Webring - due to the sinister reputation that Goetic magick has gained, truly beneficial and scholarly sites seem to be few and far between. Though it's like searching through coal for diamonds at times, often the best way to find the gems is to surf the webrings. Here's a good starting point.
Timeline of Esoterica - a good resource for keeping grimoires straight. Now, which came first - The Sworn Book of Honorius or Agrippa's Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy?
Enochian:
www.budget.net/~jdnolan/DEEMarksIII.htm
Bookmarks for Enochian - a delightfully gluttonous romp through practically every worthwhile Enochian site on the web: Thelemic, Golden Dawn, the John Dee Project, et al. Manuscripts, rituals and history - oh my!
members.aol.com/AJRoberti/enochlng.htm
Enochian Linguistics - a burgeoning field, judging from the number of related articles swarming the 'net. This site is an excellent source of some of the most in-depth material available.
www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/5577/story.html
Enochian History - a good resource for keeping the angelic studies straight. Now, which came first - John Dee and Edward Kelley swapping wives or the death of Agrippa?
While Dr. John Dee's works are enjoying a new renaissance, Agrippa's tomes are readily available and books on Enochian magic and language are rampant, some of the key ancient grimoires can be difficult to locate for the purposes of study and analysis. Titles like:
The Red Dragon - The Grand Grimoire
The Grimorium Verum
The Black Pullet
The Black Raven - Dr Johannes Faust's Miracle and Magic Book
The Arbatel of Magic*
The Key of Solomon the King
The Complete Lemegeton - The Lesser Key of Solomon the King (and be sure it's the complete edition, including the Goetia, the Theurgia/Goetia, the Ars Paulina, the Ars Almadel and the Ars Nova)
Liber Juratus, or The Sworn Book of Pope Honorius*
The Grimoire of Armadel
* Dee was obviously influenced by these titles and his later work, like De Heptarchia Mystica, reflect this fact.
Some of the previously mentioned titles can be found on the web at either:
Twilit Grotto - www.avesta.org/esoteric.htm
Norton's Imperium - w3.one.net/~browe
The rest can be found at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble or at the following occult book shops:
Magus Books and Herbs - www.magusbooks.com
Serpents Occult Books via the Advanced Book Exchange - www.abebooks.com
or e-mail Steve Savedow at: SerpentsBk@aol.com
The ardent seeker will also want to read:
"Solomon and the Ars Notoria" by Lynn Thorndike from Magic and Experimental Science - an excellent, in-depth essay on the Solomonic cycle of ceremonial magick and the origins of The Sworn Book of Pope Honorius.
www.avesta.org/solomon/mes49.htm
The Testament of Solomon - this Pseudepigraphic Old Testament manuscript presents the tale of Solomon's magickal workings in surprising detail. Dating from the first to third century AD, it serves as a fundamental treatise on successful evocation.
www.avesta.org/solomon/testamen.htm
In addition, for a full, twenty-first century understanding of magickal evocation, I suggest the following titles:
Magick in Theory and Practice - Aleister Crowley
The Goetia - trans. By Mathers, ed. By Alesiter Crowley
The Practice of Magical Evocation - Franz Bardon
Conjuring Spirits: Texts and Traditions of Medieval Ritual Magic - ed. by Claire Fanger.