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13 - Invocation of the Gods
And when, by often invoking, all the phantasms are vanished, thou shalt see that Holy and Formless Fire, that Fire which darts and flashes through all the Depths of the Universe; hear thou the Voice of the Fire!
- The Oracles of Zoroaster
Invocation is the process by which the trained magician 'calls down' into himself a particular force from the cosmos personified by usage as a god. The physical manifestation of this process is the intoxication and possession of the magician by the god, so that the magician not only becomes one with the god but acts as the god, even with the power of that god. Evocation on the other hand is the 'calling up' of forces personified as spirits which are incomplete or unbalanced, or as the modern psychological interpretation of magic would have it, a dissociated portion of the magician's own psychological make up. The spirit is called into a triangle, and in extreme cases (the proper material basis having been utilized in the rite) visibly manifests itself.
There is a basic difference in practice as well as theory between the formulae of evocation and the formulae of invocation.
In invocation the magician just uses a circle, and attempts to attain a species of Samadhi, a one-pointedness directed according to the nature of the god invoked which will result in the manifestation of that god in his consciousness. For this reason the circle, a symbol of unity is used. This formula is a formula of the Cup, (1) as the magician opens himself to the god in a passive receptive manner.
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[1] The Cup should be used ceremonially during the invocation, but your other three Elemental Weapons should be present on the altar.
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Contrary to this, evocation is a formula of the Wand, (2) or in a special sense, of the Sword. In it the magician goes to considerable lengths to separate the evoked spirit from himself and his assistants, remaining at all times in complete control, whilst directing the spirit to the accomplishment of the specific task it has been evoked to accomplish. (3) But more of this in the next chapter.
In any religion, a priest becomes the intermediary between the faithful and their god. To transcend his humanity and to do this, ideally the god should be indwelling within him. Invocation therefore has always been a part of religion, which of course is not to say that religion has a monopoly.
Both the priest and the magician have to pass on the force of the invocation. The priest invokes a god to gain power in order to effect a transformation, and 'earths' the force in a Sacrament which becomes (in Christianity) the blood and flesh of God. This then is passed on to the congregation who thereby receive the virtue of the invocation. The invocation of a blessing and the 'laying on of hands' in the Christian rite pass the virtue of an invocation directly to the recipients without using a Sacrament.
The magician does exactly the same thing although he may not limit his invocation to the most High God, but as well invoke those partial aspects which are formulated as the lesser gods of various Pantheons, that suit his purpose. Nor does the magician limit the 'earthing' of his invocation to the consecration of a Eucharist or a Benediction, but will continue the process either in the direction of becoming one with the god or of manipulating the influence and fixing it in the form of a charged talisman or a consecrated weapon.
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[2] The Wand is a traditional implement in evocation, occasionally being replaced by the Sword, indicating that the blasting power of Mars (Geburah) is available to hold the spirit in check.
[3] As Aleister Crowley put it:
'To invoke is to call in, just as to evoke is to call forth. This is the essential difference between the two branches of Magick. In invocation, the macrocosm floods the consciousness. In evocation, the magician, having become the macrocosm, creates a microcosm.' Magick in Theory and Practice, p15.
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This fixing gives the magician the ability to use these forces at a later date without having to do the whole operation again. Thus the weapon or talisman becomes a microcosm of the sphere whose influence was concentrated in them.
In the case of the eucharist, the force which has been thus concentrated is then 'earthed' either by self-consumption thereby increasing the celebrant's efficacy in that sphere, or by passing this tangible essence on to other recipients. In each case the energy must be passed on as its power increases by virtue of it being used, just as a watermill only functions when the water is flowing. A hoarding of the water prevents the mill working effectively: likewise with invocation.
Invocation may have as its channel either the person of the magician or celebrant or a material object. Thus by way of a summary:
1. The magician invokes the god, identifies with it and becomes one with it, speaking and acting with the authority of that god, so that he may:
a. speak as the god, giving oracles. (The same process occurs, but with a different type of entity, during Voodoo ceremonies, although here the stress is much more heavily on ecstatic dancing.)
b. as the god bless a candidate, giving him a very real influx of power, as in the 'laying on of hands' or in the Golden Dawn Neophyte Ceremony, conferring initiation.
c. as the god, command the spirits that come under his jurisdiction. In this way the initial invocation of Thoth may precede an effective evocation of a spirit of Mercury, Thoth being the Egyptian form of Mercury. (See Chapter Fourteen.)
2. The magician can earth the energy and virtue of the god into:
a. a talisman, which can store this and continue operating long after the ceremony has ceased. (See Chapter Eight.)
b. magical equipment, in the same way that the elements were concentrated into and used to charge your Four Elemental Weapons. (See Chapter Seven.)
c. a sacrament which is then administered to a congregation or re-absorbed by the celebrant.
Taking these one at a time:
Initiation
As in the chapter on self initiation, the basis of this operation is obviously the invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel. In a ceremonial initiation carried out in a full magical lodge, the hierophant invokes and assumes the form of the god, in many cases Osiris. As the initiation proceeds on the physical plane the energy working through the hierophant to the candidate, affects to a greater or lesser extent a transformation in the candidate which may have taken him many years to achieve by his own unaided efforts.
Oracles
In the early years of the century Aleister Crowley and Victor Neuburg performed a series of invocations of Jupiter, Mercury, Sol and Venus (omitting the so-called malefic planets) in the Paris Working. During these invocations Neuburg, and occasionally Crowley, gave utterance to various communications which were allegedly the transmission of the words of the god being invoked.
In Evocation
As has already been intimated at the beginning of this chapter, one of the main keys to success in evocation is the clear assumption of the 'god-form' and invocation through its authority, so that the magician is not left uttering idle threats from his position in the middle of the Circle of Art, but is able to command with the authority of a god, or so it will seem to those entities on the astral plane that he wishes to invoke.
Talismans
The short ritual offered as an example of a rite for the consecration of a talisman in Chapter Eight should now be rewritten by the magician so that the appropriate planetary god or goddess should be invoked and the Invoking Planetary Hexagrams (the end of Appendix II) used to increase the efficacy of the ceremony. (4)
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[4] A very extended example of such a Jupiter Talisman consecration occurs in I. Regardie's The Golden Dawn. Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, 1971. Vol 3, pp221-228.
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Weapons
The consecration of the Four Elemental Weapons in Chapter Seven is an example of an invocation of elemental forces into a material basis rather than the invocation of a god. But there are certain pieces of magical equipment which are consecrated by the invocation of a god.
The Eucharist
This is 'one of the simplest and most complete of Magick (5) ceremonies', concerned with invocation. The magician invokes the god, thereby transmuting the material basis, then consumes the sacrament, and absorbs the energy and virtues of that god. Of course the magician can also administer this sacrament to his assistants but more often the working is a closed cycle.
The magician uses the principle of the Eucharist by varying the physical basis according to the nature of the god invoked; thus for Bacchus wine would be appropriate, for Ceres a corn wafer, for Persephone a pomegranate, and possibly for Nuit the milk of the stars. The consecration of the material substance should be proceeded by chastity and abstention from food for some twelve hours beforehand. The place of working should be banished and consecrated with fire and water, as was done for the consecration of the Elemental Weapons.
The invocation should then proceed with the intention of the operation clearly stated. At the climax of the invocation the material basis should be elevated and take on the life of the god being invoked. The magician should fall back in awe as he perceives the identification, then fearing lest he be unworthy of the sacrament, consume it as if it were an act of love. The sacrament should be entirely consumed. The magician allows the virtue of the god to flow through him and when it seems fit, for if the rite is successful he will know the moment, he should banish and close the working.
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[5] 'Magick' is an old variant spelling of magic which has been revived this century by Aleister Crowley to denote his variety of magic, as he said, 'I found myself at a loss for a name to designate my work ... I chose therefore the name "MAGICK" as essentially the most sublime, and actually the most discredited, of all the available terms.' Unfortunately many people seem to have forgotten this and proceed to use the term indiscriminately to apply to anything vaguely occult. The quote comes from Aleister Crowley, Magick in Theory and Practice. Castle Books, New York, nd, p179.
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So much for the uses to which invocation may be put: let us now consider the three main types of invocation, the devotional, the ceremonial, and the dramatic method.
The Devotional Method is the Western equivalent of Shakti Yoga. It relies upon the magician immersing himself in everything connected with the god. He should set up a shrine equipped with an image of the god, the appropriate flowers, herbs, sacraments, and planetary talisman (if this is appropriate to the god). The magician then devises an invocation of his own construction together with an order of ceremony and fixes daily times for his devotions which should be performed at least three times a day.
These should extend over a reasonable length of time, not less than a month, during which the magician lives under the rule of his chosen god; he may find that his ordinary life is impinged on by the god in proportion directly to the strength of his invocations. If he were invoking Hermes there might be a noticeable difference in his ability to catch trains on time, his sense of humour, ability to write clearly, general health, and so on, as Hermes' field of action includes transport, communication, health, theft, and so on.
This can be quite an alarming phenomena (especially if things are not going well) as the number of difficulties or advantages gained in those fields of action associated with the god extends well beyond mere chance or coincidence.
To supplement the ritualistic side of the devotion the magician should take advantage of as many of his external circumstances as possible to reinforce his devotions. Thus he should use every meal he takes as an opportunity to imbibe the qualities of his god which can be centred in the food by an appropriate benediction.
His reading should also be directed towards myths associated with his chosen god, his surroundings should be coloured if possible appropriately. The methods of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola should be practised but in using them choose the stories from the life of the god being invoked to provide the matter of your meditation every night. Finally the magician should feel towards his god a love which he has felt towards no other creature ever before.
This practice has almost a 'written in' guarantee that if performed with persistence of no less a period than a month that there will be no dearth of results, but has the drawback of being drawn out and not always predictable. (6)
The Dramatic Method
This is exemplified in the dramas of the ancient Greeks which involve the lives of the gods, so that for example in Euripides' Bacchae the celebration of the god's life in verse and dance can be easily adapted as a form of invocation of the god.
The dramatic method of invocation is best suited to workings which involve a large number of persons, so that the combined energy available is much greater: it becomes then a true celebration. However, for our present purpose a large scale ritual which demands elaborate staging and a number of competent participants is beyond the scope of this book. If however it was intended to proceed with an invocation using this method it is extremely important that all the participants be thoroughly rehearsed in their various parts, allowing each a certain period of improvisation during which, if they feel moved (but not otherwise) they should do as their inner promptings dictate.
The magician who leads the ritual should arrange it so that his climax and period of improvisation provide the climax for the entire ceremony and this should if successful partake of the nature of the god being invoked: it may be speech, dance, song or trance.
The Ceremonial Method
This method has been most favoured in the West, and if the devotional method does not appeal to you, then the ceremonial method is the next obvious choice.
The ceremony should provide a uniform environment suited only to the manifestation of one type of force. It should isolate the magician from any other possible influences. Every sensory input, be it colour, sound, scent or feel should be thus symbolic of the god being invoked. This effectively blocks all distraction and enforces a form of concentration: the magician becomes single pointed in a ritual rather than a meditational manner.
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[6] One of the best accounts of this technique is Crowley's Liber CLXXV, Magick in Theory and Practice, pp390-404.
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Let us suppose that you intend to invoke Jupiter. As Jupiter is attributed to the fourth Sephirah of the Tree of Life, Chesed, it is necessary to fill your temple with the symbolism of Jupiter. Thus one should have hangings of a sky blue colour, the circle should have a four sided figure set within it, around which is written the godname, archangelic name and angelic name of the fourth Sephirah (for which see the table in Chapter Eight). The four Fours of the Tarot pack should be displayed upon the altar, an amethyst or a sapphire, or any other light blue stone should be provided as a focus in the centre of the talisman of Jupiter (which should previously have been consecrated according to the rules given in Chapter Eight).
If obtainable a shamrock and a olive branch or perhaps celandine should also be laid upon the altar, cedar should be burnt in the censer, and a tetrahedron, pyramid or cube should also be placed upon the altar. Your robe should be belted with a blue cord.
Having thus established an environment conducive to Jupiter, it is now necessary to use a general invocation to exalt your consciousness. Such an invocation is the so-called Invocation of the Bornless One which follows. Although this invocation is usually associated with evocation because it was printed in the Goetia, it is in fact an excellent general invocation: although the barbarous words of evocation are mere shadows of their Gnostic originals, they are nevertheless extremely potent for Opening the veil, once the knack of pronouncing them correctly is mastered. Unfortunately this knack cannot be explained easily in words; it has to be demonstrated. The original is from a Graeco-Egyptian manuscript. (7)
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[7] C.W. Goodwin. Fragment of a Graeco-Egyptian Work upon Magic, 1852. This was reprinted by Sir E. W. Budge in his Egyptian Magic and later by Crowley, without acknowledging its source, in his edition of The Goetia.
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The Invocation of The Bornless One
'Thee I invoke, the Bornless one.
Thee, that didst create the Earth and the Heavens:
Thee, that didst create the Night and the day.
Thee, that didst create the darkness and the Light.
Thou are Osorronophris: (8) Whom no man hath seen at any time.
Thou art Jabas:
Thou are Japos:
Thou are distinguished between the just and the Unjust.
Thou didst make the female and Male.
Thou didst produce the Seed and the Fruit.
Thou didst form Men to love one another, and to hate one another.
I am Mosheh Thy Prophet, unto Whom Thou didst commit Thy Mysteries, the Ceremonies of Ishrael:
Thou didst produce the moist and the dry, and that which nourisheth all created Life.
Hear Thou Me, for I am the Angel of Paphro Osorronophris: this is Thy True Name, handed down to the Prophets of Ishrael.
Hear Me:
Ar: Thiao: Rheibet: Atheleberseth:
A: Elatha: Abeu: Ebeu: Phi:
Thitasoe: Ib: Thiao.
Hear Me, and make all Spirits subject unto Me: so that every Spirit of the firmament and of the Ether: upon the Earth and under the Earth: on dry Land and in the Water: of Whirling Air, and of rushing Fire: and every Spell and Scourge of God may be obedient unto me.
I invoke Thee, the Terrible and Invisible God: Who dwellest in the Void Place of the Spirit:
Arogogorobrao: Sothou:
Modorio: Phalarthao: Doo: Ape, The Bornless One:
Hear Me: etc.
Hear me:
Roubriao: Mariodam: Balbnabaoth: Assalonai: Aphniao:
I: Thoteth: Abrasar: Aeoou: Ischure, Mighty and Bornless One!
Hear me: etc.
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[8] Probably Asar-Un-Nefer, ie the resurrected Osiris.
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I invoke Thee:
Ma: Barraio: Joel: Kotha:
Athorebalo: Abraoth:
Hear Me: etc.
Hear me!
Aoth: Abaoth: Basum: Isak:
Sabaoth: Iao:
This is the Lord of the Gods:
This is the Lord of the Universe:
This is He Whom the Winds fear.
This is He, Who having made Voice by his Commandment, is Lord of All Things; King, Ruler and Helper.
Hear Me, etc.
Hear Me:
Ieou: Pur: lou: Pur: laot: laeo: loou: Abrasar: Sabriam: Do: Uu: Adonaie: Ede: Edu: Angelos ton Theon: Aniaia Lai: Gaia: Ape: Diathanna Thorun.
I Am He! the Bornless Spirit! having sight in the Feet: Strong, and the Immortal Fire!
I Am He! the Truth!
I Am He! Who hate that evil should be wrought in the World!
I am He, that lighteneth and thundereth.
I am He, from whom is the Shower of the Life of Earth:
I am He, whose mouth ever flameth:
I am He, the Begetter and Manifester unto the Light:
I am He; the Grace of the World:
"The Heart Girt with a Serpent" is My Name!
Come Thou forth, and follow Me: and make all Spirits subject unto Me so that every Spirit of the Firmament, and of the Ether: upon the Earth and under the Earth: on dry land, or in the Water: of whirling Air or of rushing Fire: and every Spell and Scourge of God, may be obedient unto me!
Iao: Sabao:
Such are the Words!'
This general opening should be followed by a specific invocation to the god, during which the wording should alter imperceptibly from an address to the god to a speaking as the god. As the invocation makes this transition, the magician should assume the godform. This is accomplished by visualizing the traditional representation of the god build up around you. Previously you should have studied as many pictures of the god as possible prior to embarking on the invocation. When the details of the god's shape are firmly established imagine yourself growing taller till you coincide with the form.
As you do so feel the first inrush of power: automatically you will begin to be conscious of standing in a slightly different stance if your assumption has been successful. Strengthen this impression by feeling that the invocation increases in richness, imperativeness and command.
As the assumption of the godform is one of the keys to successful invocation you should practice it assiduously before the actual invocation, making sure that every detail of robe, symbols (be it crown, spear, crux ansata or whatever) and stance are so clear that stepping into the form is as natural to you as the visualizations of the Lesser Banishing Ritual should be by now.
The second key to successful invocation is to 'inflame yourself with prayers' that is, allow the words to flow freely, neither fearing that you will be unable to remember them, nor fearing that you will say 'the wrong thing' for as the ritual reaches its peak you should begin to spontaneously invoke with little if any conscious effort. Again this will be proportionate to the amount of preparatory study and meditation done beforehand.
To aid this release of inhibition you should pay most attention to feeling the approach, assumption and reality of the god - if you let the intellectual side of the invocation proceed of its own accord once you have started it, relying on the background of rehearsal and memorization, then you can concentrate on the essence of the invocation, which relies for its success on the fervour of the magician, not on his formal correctness.
An example of such a specific invocation is the following modified invocation to Thoth, which was used on one occasion as the preliminary invocation before an evocation of the Spirit Taphthartharath by some members of the Golden Dawn late last century.
The Invocation of Thoth
'1. Procul, O procul este profani.
2. Bahlasti! Ompehda!
3. In the name of the Mighty and Terrible One, I proclaim that I have banished the Shells unto their habitations.
4. I invoke Tahuti, the Lord of Wisdom and of Utterance, the God that cometh forth from the Veil.
5. O Thou! Majesty of Godhead! Wisdom-crowned Tahuti!
Lord of the Gates of the Universe! Thee, Thee, I invoke.
O Thou of the Ibis Head! Thee, Thee I invoke.
Thou who wieldest the Wand of Double Power! Thee,
Thee I invoke!
Thou who bearest in Thy left hand the Rose and Cross of Light and Life: Thee, Thee, I invoke.
Thou, whose head is as an emerald, and Thy nemyss as the night-sky blue! Thee, Thee I invoke.
Thou, whose skin is of flaming orange as though it burned in a furnace! Thee, Thee I invoke.
6. Behold! I am Yesterday, To-Day, and the Brother of To-Morrow!
I am born again and again.
Mine is the Unseen Force, whereof the Gods are sprung!
Which is as Life unto the Dwellers in the Watch-Towers of the Universe.
I am the Charioteer of the East, Lord of the Past and of the Future.
I see by mine own inward light: Lord of Resurrection; who cometh forth from the Dusk, and my birth is from the House of Death.
7. O ye two Divine Hawks upon your Pinnacles!
Who keep watch over the Universe!
Ye who company the Bier to the House of Rest!
Who pilot the Ship of Ra advancing ever onwards to the heights of heaven!
Lord of the Shrine which standeth in the Centre of the Earth!
8. Behold! He is in me, and I in Him!
Mine is the Radiance, wherein Ptah floateth over the firmament!
I travel upon high!
I tread upon the firmament of Nu!
I raise a flashing flame, with the lightning of Mine Eye!
Ever rushing on, in the splendour of the daily glorified Ra: giving my life to the Dwellers of Earth.
9. If I say "Come up upon the mountains!"
The Celestial Waters shall flow at my Word.
For I am Ra incarnate!
Khephra created in the Flesh!
I am the Eidolon of my father Tmu, Lord of the City of the Sun!
10. The God who commands is in my mouth!
The God of Wisdom is in my Heart!
My tongue is the Sanctuary of Truth!
And a God sitteth upon my lips.
11. My Word is accomplished every day!
And the desire of my heart realises itself, as that of Ptah when he createth!
I am Eternal; therefore all things are as my designs;
therefore do all things obey my Word.
12. Therefore do Thou come forth unto me from Thine abode in the Silence:
Unutterable Wisdom!
All-Light! All-Power!
Thoth! Hermes! Mercury! Odin!
By whatever name I call Thee,
Thou art still nameless to Eternity:
Come Thou forth, I say,
and aid and guard me in this work of Art.
13. Thou, Star of the East, that didst conduct the Magi!
Thou art The Same all-present in Heaven and in Hell!
Thou that vibratest between the Light and the Darkness!
Rising, descending! Changing ever, yet ever The Same!
The Sun is Thy Father!
Thy Mother the Moon!
The Wind hath borne Thee in its bosom;
and Earth hath ever nourished the changeless Godhead of Thy Youth!
14. Come Thou forth, I say, come Thou forth!
And make all Spirits subject unto Me:
So that every Spirit of the Firmament
And of the Ether,
And of the Earth,
And under the Earth,
On dry land
And in the Water,
Of whirling Air
And of rushing Fire,
And every Spell and Scourge of God the Vast One,
may be obedient unto Me!'
This invocation is preceded by several conventional openings of the veil, but is primarily derived from the Book of the Dead, which is a positive goldmine of invocations of the Egyptian Gods. For the Greek gods, some of the collections of Orphic poetry (especially Thomas Taylor's Hymns of Orpheus) and Greek mystical verse (see the Oxford collection of Greek verse) provide excellent sources of invocations. Likewise, as has already been mentioned, a study of the Greek dramatists can be quite profitable. The Chaldaean Oracles of Zoroaster (edited by W.W. Westcott) also provides an excellent source of invocatory passages.
A little ingenuity on the part of the practitioner can work more wonders for a ritual than any amount of 'correct' invocatory techniques: it is for this reason that a specific ritual has not been laid out in this chapter - rather a series of suggestions as to how to put one together. Just as you are the only person who can consecrate your own Elemental Weapons, so you are the best person to construct your own invocation which will be your exclusive link with the god invoked.
Often during the course of your first attempts at invocation you will get quite clear intimations as to how to improve the invocation - even complete invocations, far surpassing the usual run of invocations, will be delivered to your inner ear - these, for you, will be infinitely more effective. For this reason always have plenty of writing material handy.
Of course you should incorporate the usual clearing of the place and Banishing Rituals that you are already familiar with, but outside of these basic defences against delusion or intrusion by an unwanted entity, the task is to open yourself, and make a channel to receive the god. Like emptying a tank-you need not worry about the 'head' of water, just worry about opening the tap. The ritual which has been built up using the correct correspondences provides the right 'climate' for the manifestation of the god, both externally and psychologically. The god (unlike a spirit which is constrained to manifest) can not be coerced, but must be enticed.
It is for this reason that a thorough knowledge of the nature of the god, his attributes, hymns, myths, characteristics, dress, even his foibles, is so necessary.
Articulate your impressions of the God - preferably use your own invocation built out of reading mythology and meditative preparation. Within the circle ideas may begin to come - if so concretize them by articulating them - don't fear that they are not appropriate: they may be you beginning to speak as the god.
If it does not work the first time then immerse yourself in the histories of the God and again build a ceremony. However faltering or self-conscious your own words are, they are a better indication to you of the nature of the God and are preferable to the perhaps more high sounding products of someone else's evolution. Later you can test the veracity of your invocation, when you are more 'familiar' with the god.
Finally, remember to note down in full in your Magical Diary details of the ceremony and its outcome.
