I before E except after Loa...

[TeaDidikai]

Or

Invoking v. Evoking

My path has strict prohibitions against allowing otherlings into my corporeal being.

As a result, invocation is not practiced.

However- a number of traditions do have rituals that are thick with invocation of deities and spirits.

Opinions folks? Which do you do? Which will you not do? What situations would cause you to rethink your traditions' teaching?  

[VisasMarr]

I don't have any particular tradition at the moment. So most of what I have done has been from the n00bfluffy-Wiccan type.

Evoking: Well I never had much of a problem with it. At first though, it seemed rather scary. Any time I have done any formal ritual I have evoked (calling the quarters, asking the presence of Divinity*) it has been a positive experience. I have no real prohabitions with doing it again. Though I would prefer to have more knowledge about what I am evoking, then not. I wasn't particularily educated when I regularily did stuff like that. I wasn't stupid...but I wasn't smart about it either.

Invoking: I have only done this once. And I have never talked about it with anyone except my sister. It was an exhilerating experience...I think it also set in my love for winter... I'm not sure why, I have just seen winter much differently since then. I'll be honest here, at the time, it was a great thing to do, at least it seemed that way. And nothing scary/weird/bad occured, which is good. But I'll be totally honest when I say that I am not entirely sure who or what I invoked. It had a personality to be sure...Thoughts, feelings, existence - it filled me, I could feel it. But beyond that... I don't know. I have certain images that come to mind when I think of that experience. But I'm sure they are mostly just figments I put there to explain things to myself. What ever it was, it wasn't bad...at least, it didn't intend me any sort of harm. But it had motivations of its own. *shrug* I would do it again, but only with significantly more knowledge than I have now.

I use the word 'but' a lot.

I think that both evoking and invoking can be a way of building a relationship with one's gods, or other entities. I think it could also backfire in a really bad way. Not so much with evokation though, I have always thought of that to be much safer than invokation...I think both can be handy tools, that is not the right word...

I wish I had more to say on the subject, but my experiences with both are rather limited. Perhaps more thoughts will springboard as others enter the discussion.

*Divinity, at the time for me, was the Wiccan Lord and Lady. But I guess in retrospect, it really wasn't. I cannot be sure who they were. But I can say that they felt familiar, and not dangerous... They had images too. But I don't think that the images came from any particular tradition or mythology...  

[CuAnnan]

I Aspect a lot. Not sure if that truly counts as invoking, though, because they're not, as Tea put it, Otherlings. They're thought forms. I'm fond of a term a very dear friend has taught me: "masques", particularly since it was one of the best moot topics that was raised. I have two of those. One of which I inhereted from my God and one of which I inhereted from my Spirit Guide.

I can, and at a push will, invoke but by-and-large, I evoke. I call upon my Gods, I don't summon them. I invite the firbolgs into my garden (but never home) and bribe them with nuts and honey but I don't summon them.  

[walkingundine]

So. I regularly evoke- mostly the elements, though every now and again I'll ask a deity to pop by.
I've invoked maybe two or three times. I've never had anything bad happen as a result, but to me it feels a lot like pulling out the big guns, you know? So I tend not to do it lightly. I don't think it has ever left a really lasting change in my personality, though that is something I was taught to be wary of.

I think I'd really only reconsider my willingness to invoke if I saw it go seriously wrong for someone.  

[Pelta]

TeaDidikai

Opinions folks? Which do you do? Which will you not do? What situations would cause you to rethink your traditions' teaching?

I do neither. I feel no need to evoke my god because he's everywhere. Calling him to my presence when he's already there seems a bit redundant.

As of yet I have no need for invocation, though I could forsee possible situations that might require it. Let's just hope things never get that far. Things would have to be very serious before I would consider invoking him.  

[Kal Eldritch]

reagun ban

I Aspect a lot. Not sure if that truly counts as invoking, though, because they're not, as Tea put it, Otherlings. They're thought forms. I'm fond of a term a very dear friend has taught me: "masques", particularly since it was one of the best moot topics that was raised. I have two of those. One of which I inhereted from my God and one of which I inhereted from my Spirit Guide.

I've always called it invoking, but that's just because I consider bringing anything that isn't you into yourself through force of magic or will to be invocation. Masques, eh? I kinda like that term... ninja  

[TeaDidikai]

reagun ban

I Aspect a lot. Not sure if that truly counts as invoking, though, because they're not, as Tea put it, Otherlings. They're thought forms. I'm fond of a term a very dear friend has taught me: "masques", particularly since it was one of the best moot topics that was raised. I have two of those. One of which I inhereted from my God and one of which I inhereted from my Spirit Guide.

I can, and at a push will, invoke but by-and-large, I evoke. I call upon my Gods, I don't summon them. I invite the firbolgs into my garden (but never home) and bribe them with nuts and honey but I don't summon them.

I'd have to see what you are doing as far as "aspecting" is concerned.

I've seen lots of people "aspect" and not really do anything with an independent being.  

[Doctrix]

I've always been drawn to Traditions that practice invocation. I especially enjoy attending local events based on Afro-Carribean religions.  

[maenad nuri]

I feel weird calling a God down into me. I don't like to ask much, but it has happened during ritual, methinks, uncalled.  

[Doctrix]

Nuri

I feel weird calling a God down into me. I don't like to ask much, but it has happened during ritual, methinks, uncalled.

In my personal experience that happens with certain deities frequently. So much so that those who work with them take precautions to prevent invokation when it is not required.  

[Fiddlers Green]

I have had nothing but bad experiences with invocation...
I'm not saying it's intrinsicly bad...
However, never again will I willingly allow any thing to inhabit my body other than me.