Invocation A personal experience

By Pablo M. Dotro The Mage of the Many Shadows1

wizard@elysium.com.ar
Rev. 1.0.0 June 2007 (CE) In this short essay I describe both what an invocation is and how did I came to be proficient in the art of using invocations effectively in ritual work. I mainly recount my personal experiences, with the hope these can be of use as a baseline for those interested in learning more about this important aspect of magickal learning.

Introduction and overview.

In contrast with the scholarly nature of my previous essays, this document is focused on personal experience, lightly contrasted with published materials. The main reason for this is that I desire not to focus on the technical aspects of invocation, but on the subjective experience and in the attached personal meaning of this experience. Of course, given my background in science and in ceremonial magick, I cannot escape the need to put things in perspective by clearly defining certain technical aspects. My own experience is flavored by my understanding of the minutiae of detail.

The role of invocation in modern Wiccan Ritual.

Invocation has a preeminent role in iccan ritual. If we take a look at the structure of our rituals!, we can see that in every step in which we raise significant power during our rites, there is always an invocation preceding or taking central part of it. e invoke when we "call the #uarters$, when we call upon the %oddess and %od, when the &igh 'riestess "draws down the moon$, etc. (ach iccan ritual is filled with highly symbolic forms of invocation. It is at the heart of our ritual drama, and thus it is at the heart of our way of connecting with the )ivine. &ighly ritualistic traditions of icca like %ardnerian and *lexandrian favor more complex techni#ues of invocation, still retaining the feeling of +ictorian,era ceremonial magick. In these traditions we can see how the ritual drama is mainly driven by formal operations that follow strict formulations preserved in the coven-s .ook of /hadows. 0or them, invocation has a very precise meaning, and it is not to be taken lightly. In most modern free,form traditions of icca, the concept of invocation is still central, but it has lost much of it-s precise connotation. The difference between invocation, prayer, chant and spell is #uite blurred for many a modern itch. This is often emphasi1ed by the 2hristian cultural background that is common for most 'agans.

1 Practicing Pagan and magickian, student of the First Degree in Correllian Wicca at Witchschool.com. 2 See [IB , section !"he o#er$all %attern of &a generic Wiccan rite&'
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In a recent discussion on a 2orrellian study group, it became clear that our Tradition clearly favors intent over the forms, and that we, as a group, tend to blur the lines around what an invocation is... we keep an intuitive approach, never actually defining the term. 3evertheless, there exists wide consensus that no matter the specific form, invocation is one of the main elements of effective ritual.

Defining Invocation.
The concept of invocation is one of those "inherited$ techni#ues that come to modern icca from the earlier ceremonial traditions. Invocation is a mainly estern practice, and has had a place of honor in almost every magickal system this side of India. In its more current incarnation, invocation often takes one of these forms4
* command or conjuration directed to spiritual or other non corporeal beings. This kind of invocation borders the concept of evocation. It is basically enacted by a verbal and spiritual calling to a being of a spiritual or astral nature, "ordering$ it to come forth and perform some service to the invoker. In iccan ritual, these kind of invocation is often seen 5but not always6 in the elemental calling of the *irts during circle casting. *s a form of possession. Once the most common form of invocation, and in any case the one more in concordance with the traditional definitions of the term, in this practice the invoker calls upon a spiritual or astral being and allows it to manifest within his7her body and mind. The literal meaning of the word invocation 5"to call within$6 is the one that describes this practice more accurately. The invoker becomes a channel for the invoked force. In iccan ritual, this form of invocation is the one used in the ")rawing )own the Moon$ ceremony, and is sometimes also used in other instances where deities are invoked. 2alling by self identification. This is the most refined and subtle form of invocation. In this practice, the invoker fully identifies him7herself with the invoked entity. .y wearing symbolic tokens, reciting heartfelt prayers and by the performance of elaborate visuali1ation and ritual dramati1ations, the invoker-s mind and soul is temporarily "raised$ and "fused$ to the level of the invoked entity. This techni#ue is inherently modern, and it often takes advantage of the archetypal nature of the invoked beings by trying to transcend the names and formal attributes. hile it could arguably be the most suited techni#ue for iccan ritual, its complexity and the re#uired training in the highly ceremonial art of "assuming the godforms$ usually put it out of reach of many a witch.

It is not often that we see invocation discussed or analy1ed in great detail. Most books on icca almost without exception just skim the subject. In part this may be related to the fact that it is almost impossible to teach anyone to do a proper invocation without personal experience and direct contact. .ut the lack of better transfer of this knowledge, even in limited written form, is a contributing factor to the "watering down$ of our rituals, and to the limited effectiveness of many of them when applied to practical 5i.e. 3on devotional, non celebratory6 magick.

Invocation and pra er. In many modern iccan groups, the boundaries between invocation and prayer are somewhat blurred. 0or example, 8esson 9 of the 0irst )egree 2ourse in 2orrellian icca at itchschool.com indicates that "*n invocation then, is basically a kind of formal prayer.$ hile it is true that the wording of some prayers 5in particular those that are influenced by more monotheistic religions6 closely resembles some "soft$ types of invocation in its "command or conjuration$ variety, there are some key differences. Invocation involves a form of active involvement on the part of the invoker. Invocation is a re#uest for immediate action. The invoker, by connecting with his7her &igher /elf, is asking a certain and individual entity to perform an action instantly. .e it the charging of a talisman, the protection and charging of a magic circle, the possession of the invoker when )rawing )own the Moon or its empowerment during a practical ritual, this action is clearly performed in real time, and its success or failure is clearly sensed by those attuned to the ritual that is being performed. 'rayer is a little more passive. hile we are of course free to complement prayer with visuali1ation and drama, the outcome of prayer is often subtle and not immediate. The level of involvement of the supplicant is also a lot less severe than in true invocation. This is not to say that prayer is worthless, that it cannot be answered instantly or that is not suited for ritual. On the contrary, prayer is an important part of all of the estern systems of religion. .ut the ability to distinguish one techni#ue from the other is analogue to the tech-s ability to distinguish a screwdriver from a cable plier. It is also important to note and remember that invocation is not necessarily a religious practice, and so it cannot be solely defined as a form of prayer. 2eremonial magicians, chaos magicians and many other types of practical occultists make use of this techni#ue in a totally non,religious, non,theological setting. 'rayer, on the other hand, is inherently religious.

A personal road to successful invocations.

My personal experience with invocation is flavored by my particularly uncommon approach to 'aganism and Magick. I-ve never had a 2hristian background, or a religious background for that matter. I came to my faith from a very tortuous road from the deepest of atheist,agnostic, skeptic,hard core exact sciences. .ut also from more than a decade of high fantasy role playing and a form of fascination with myth and song. My options were few. .uenos *ires is not an exactly 'agan,friendly city. &owever, you may say I was lucky. 0rom the ton of wannabe witches I found on message boards and Internet groups, I managed to meet and get to know one of the most serious ones. /he is one of the few who takes real magick seriously, and paganism as a true religion and not something you do on a whim. *nd she had a very learned teacher at the time. * Mithraist and %olden )awn initiate 5my dig on her story would put her in at least :;< grade6. I kind of got into that world by sharing countless hours of study, practice and fun with my witchy friend. My early approach was solemn and measured. *fter all, I was a scientist and a technician, so I focused a lot on form. The strict nature of our particular blend of icca, folk magick and high magick was very well suited for this kind of attitude.

2hecking out my journal for those years I can see that it took me around four full fledged rituals, and a lot of personal ones to get myself comfortable leading an invocation 5calling a #uarter, for example6. .ut practice makes perfect, and even today...after a lot of ritual work of various kinds, I can see the marks this training left in me. "orm and su#stance. In group rituals, form is important. The form 5body language, voice, words, etc.6 leads the ill of the participants, focusing it on a particular image or concept. This is, of course, at the heart of every ritual operation, and so a great deal of a magician, priest or priestess training is focused on the skill of weaving intent into form. Mine was no exception. 0rom the outset, I was asked to "take the lead$ on key parts of ritual, and was encouraged to practice on my own. *t first, my techni#ue was wavering, too structured, devoid of flow. It took me literally years to achieve mastery over it. It is often said that is intent that matters, that the )ivine see through all of our flawed attempts of creating stricture and forms in ritual work and mind it not when we do something silly. That may be true, in particular when you are experienced and have no problems with shifting your consciousness. .ut for the beginner, it is not so simple. My experience, both in learning the *rt and transferring this knowledge to others is that attention to form can be of the utmost importance. 0orm leads the untrained mind through the ma1e of everyday awareness towards the open fields of the unseen. ell practiced form allows you to focus on intent, while keeping your pesky mind on familiar ground. It-s like the stairs that lead to the jump point towards the higher awareness characteristic of effective ritual. It is my feeling that the current "intent over form$ approach of entry level groups and books can sometimes hamper those who are still not familiar with the ground they are about to tread. 0orm, however, is not to be over emphasi1ed. I "suffered$ from a self inflicted form overdose on my early training, and the experience is as harmful as discarding form altogether. 0ocusing on form overmuch leads to sterile ritual, turning what should be an enlightened, rich and fulfilling operation into a dry and dogmatic affair. *s in all things, balance is essential. "rom precisel formulated invocations to improvisation. hen my early teacher and friend found that I was focusing so much on form, and despite the fact that my rituals were effective, decided to challenge me to "let go$ of my unhealthy structuralism. hat she did was change the way we prepared for ritual, not telling me much about our objective, or which deities would be involved... and not letting me prepare the callings beforehand. *fter almost a year of this 5which meant = /abbats, around !> (sbats and a few practical rituals6, I finally got out of the mindset of /aturn and started to let things flow. Today, I rarely write my invocations on the ritual script 5there are exceptions, of course6. It turned my detail oriented nature into a focus oriented one. One of the effects was that my sensibility to the flow of energy was sharpened, and that my rituals evolved into a highly symbolic and evocative way.

The step from learning a script 5something so often mandatory on 2eremonial or &igh Magick6 to invoking "on the spot$ is an important one. It allows the ritualist,in,training to "let go$ of the limits of the rational mind, opening its imagination up like a flower, while at the same time it allows the mind to remain "in sync$ and focused by virtue of the second nature form has become after the strict practice period. "rom words and simple images to self identification The next step for me came a long while after I left my original group. 0or a couple of years before entering itchschool.com, I practiced alone. I also learned a lot of the "theory$ behind most of our magickal techni#ue. My contact with the local %olden )awn temple grew sparse during these times, and I focused on myself. hen I started my first degree, I was already fully capable of leading an effective ritual, both for myself and in public. I had already performed a handfasting in front of more than ?>> non 'agan guests and survived to tell the tale. .ut a year later, something impressive took place. *fter a period of personal crisis and turmoil, I decided to reaffirm my spiritual nature, and started performing group rituals regularly again. The setting 5I have access now to a big garden where I can do my rituals undisturbed6, the years and the training finally transmuted my style into something more subtle. I was now able to identify and assume the form of the invoked entities. ords became background, and energy flowed in completely different ways. I have talked to many witches and magicians online, and some in person. *nd very, very few of them have truly got to the point where "assuming a godform$ makes any sense. This is, however, the main form of invocation practiced by our 2eremonial predecessors in the +ictorian era. It implies a very strong visuali1ation of a change in outer form, but more than that, a sense of total oneness, of complete connection and fusion with the invoked entity. It is not a submission of oneself, it is not a complete possession, but a melding and reshaping of one-s own spiritual essence in a temporary connection with whatever one is invoking. 3ames and outer symbols remain important, but in the background, so long as the mind of the invoker and its higher self are attuned enough with each other and that which they are calling. It is a radical difference, and enables the magician or witch to perform more elaborate, subtle and effective rituals, even when the participants are not initiated into or dedicated to the same path.

&volution.
This temporal evolution I have just described shows a clear path. * path that I suspect was the way into a guide or teacher could induce a student to start its own practice. In these days of Internet learning, it may not apply to most forms of study, but it remains nevertheless effective. The three ways of invocation that I described in ")efining invocation$ are taken from *leister 2rowley-s "Magic$ 5.ook @ 'art ?6... a book I only ac#uired three years ago. I had no clue, when I was self,learning all of this, that I was following a path that was so well clarified by others. My "form$ stage relates directly to the first type of invocation, and to the image of the Aenaissance 2eremonial Magicians 5and to those found in many Aole 'laying %ame literature6. My "improvisational$ stage allows for a looseness of form that is both an open door to "invocation as a form of possession$ 5something I did not experience6, but also is a great framework to the latest stage4 "self identification$. I know my learning is not over, but from this analysis I also know that I do have a reliable structure and experience as foundation to an even higher understanding. It is my hope that this small recollection of memories and experiences will help others in their own path.

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(i#liograph and References.

)I(*+ .onewits, I. "The 'atterns of iccan Aitual v?.?$. This is a very good analysis of the structure of iccan rituals. *n online copy is hosted at the /piritualitea metaphysical community, http477www.spiritualitea.com7articles7wiccanritual.shtml