invocation
Invocation ( lat. Invocatio "Hineinrufung") is a technique of magic . The performer believes that he can summon a spirit being. Invoked in the narrower sense here means calling (Latin in-vocare ) into the body and psyche of the magic user. The opposite term to invocation is evocation , whereby the spirit being is thought to be invoked outside of the person.
In terms of religious phenomenology, the invocation refers to the invocation of a higher power. Invocation is a belief , from a scientific point of view it is assumed that the summoned beings are not real, but only exist in the imagination of the "magician".
Occult Magical Practice
However, invocation does not necessarily have to mean the imagined invocation into the practitioner's body. While evocation often draws a protective “spell” (e.g. made of chalk), invocation invites people to enter the circle.
According to the occult theory, only beings who are benevolent to the magician should be called in. The invocation can range from simple forms, such as focusing on a visualization or a prayer to the corresponding spirit being, to higher forms, such as accepting god forms, in which complex mental techniques are used to invoke a divine being. Such practices also include the idea of uniting with these divine manifestations and becoming such a being oneself.
The more complex techniques used by the invocation devotees include studying the symbols and attributes of the being being invoked, intellectually-mentally penetrating the symbols and attributes , building a clear visual-mental image, and fully emotional and intellectual identification with the being to be invoked. Techniques of ritual magic are used.
literature
- John Michael Greer: Encyclopedia of Secret Doctrines. Munich 2005
- Israel Regardie : The Golden Dawn . 6th ed., Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul 1989.