Invocation of Deity. A simplified explanation
Having Gods be a part of your practice is a personal choice, and a deeply spiritual one. It will help you develop a better understanding of who that Deity is, allowing them to show you your short comings and allows them a better view of your world, and you a better view of theirs. But sometimes, bringing them into your space can be overwhelming.
So here is a simple guide/introduction on Invoking and Dismissing Deity from a Wiccan or otherwise Energy created Protective Ritual circle. (This method is by no means the only way to do this, but its the one I know)
First, let’s talk Invocation vs Evocation. What is it?
Within Witchcraft circles you are likely to come across 2 terms that essentially mean the same thing, but differ slightly.
Invocation refers to calling something and raising our vibrations to where we can invite the higher level beings to join us, such as Gods and Angels.
Evocation will refer to calling something, often a Guide or Elemental lesser level vibration being into our sacred space.
(There are some schools of thought that insist that they are both the same, however I feel differently. If anything we humans need a healthy blend of both to remain balanced.)
Both cases its important to remember that you are Inviting the being to join you, not demanding or commanding them. Mutual Respect goes a long way.
Some magic users insist you can invoke whenever you desire to. But I believe that this is just gonna cause issues. If you have a friend that you are always calling on to help you out with every little thing you do, eventually they are gonna get agitated with you and not really want to do anything with you or for you. Same goes for Deity.
In my tradition, we invoke Gods for big rituals such as Esbats and Sabbats, and we evoke the elements in most rituals.
Work with the deity you want to invoke BEFORE you invoke them! Developing a relationship based on mutual respect takes time, having a “Flavor of the month” deity style isn’t gonna make your spiritual life full and blessed.
So we defined Invocation, but what exactly is it?
Essentially, its using our vibrations and energy to call upon, summon and/or invite Higher Vibrational beings to us, and reversely us to them. When we invoke Deity in particular we are “moving” our sacred space up into their dimension of space OR creating a lesser vibration look for deity that they can take the form of and join us in our space for our purposes. (your views of deity will depict the difference here really, if you are a Hard polytheist or a soft one will make a difference)
We are telling that Deity that we desire some interaction with them in a way outside our heads and minds, we are seeking to share space with them.
Often times this is a poetic summons that looks something like this:
I ask for you to join us,
You are the Raven above the battlefield
Phantom Queen of many names.
The bringer of peace when the fight has been lost
You are the Wolf, the Crow,
The carrier of souls in your black and blue feathers
Join us in our Circle here.
As you can see, this is a rather long invocation, but effective. What it does is calls upon the particular aspect of the Deity you are wanting to work with, it calls on that particular attribute you need. And its fully customized to suit whatever your needs. (not to mention your UPG)
Everyone will do this a bit differently depending on their preferences and views, but here is my simplified method.
First thing with Invocation, its not just reading a poem about the God out loud. Its FEELING the words. its taking those words and turning them into intent filled energy and sending that up to the higher plane to the God you desire. It takes practice, and patience.
Second thing to remember/consider is what will work better for you and that Deity?
Some people like long poetic invocations full of love and admiration, and other people are more blunt and to the point. Use your judgment here, if you and the Deity have a deep connection, it may be that you just need a basic invocation to call on your Deity.
But if you are developing a new relationship with that God or perhaps doing a public ritual where not everyone has a relationship with that Deity, a more structured and descriptive poem might suit the bill.
Third thing is the power of a NAME. Some Deities have many names that bring about different aspects of that Deity (Such as Morrighan, who has many aspects that are very different from each other) In these cases its important to consider that when writing your invocation.
Once you have exactly who you want to call in your mind, you are ready to write. Even if you don’t use Poetry to call, consider using a rhythm and flow that keeps you in a magical mindset. (saying something like “Hey dude, the Green one, come on down” probably isn’t gonna cut it)
If you need any more pointers or clarification let me know, this topic is a bit difficult for me to explain via text but I hope this helps!