Magickal invocation is the esoteric art of drawing a specific consciousness—be it a deity, an archetype, a spirit, or even a potent emotional state—into yourself. It is a journey inward. Unlike evocation, which summons a spirit to appear externally, invocation is an act of sacred embodiment where the magician’s own consciousness becomes the temple for the invited force. The methods for achieving this are vast and varied, ranging from the structured rites of ancient ceremony to the fluid, psychological techniques of the modern Chaos Mage.
The Inward Call: Understanding Invocation vs. Evocation
The first step in mastering invocation is to understand its fundamental distinction from its counterpart, evocation. The difference is simple but absolute: invocation is calling in, while evocation is calling out.
- Invocation is an act of merging. You become a vessel for a chosen consciousness, seeking to temporarily adopt its qualities, perspective, and power. It is a subjective, internal process of embodiment. Think of it as putting on a divine mask and allowing the spirit of that mask to guide your actions.
- Evocation is an act of separation. You summon an entity into your presence as an objective, external being, with whom you can then interact, negotiate, or command. All the methods that follow are techniques for the inward call—the art of becoming.
Ancient Rites: Ceremonial and Devotional Methods
The oldest and most structured methods of invocation are found in ceremonial and devotional traditions, which use established rituals and intense reverence to open a channel to the divine.
- Ceremonial Magick: This is a formal, highly structured approach. The ceremonial magician uses specific robes, tools, vibrated incantations, and carefully memorized “god-forms”—a series of postures and visualizations associated with a particular deity—to create an environment that is perfectly resonant with the target consciousness. The ritual builds in theatrical and energetic intensity until the magician’s identity is eclipsed by the god-form they are assuming.
- Devotional Prayer: This method transcends simple begging and becomes an act of active, passionate invocation. The practitioner focuses their entire being—their love, awe, and reverence—onto a chosen deity. Through sustained, intense prayer, the separation between worshipper and worshipped begins to dissolve, and the devotee takes on the qualities of the divine they so ardently adore.
The Thespian’s Path: Invocation Through Role-play
This psychologically-focused path treats invocation as a form of deep, trance-based method acting. The magician consciously studies and then embodies the chosen archetype, acting “as if” with such total commitment that the boundary between performance and reality blurs. The practitioner might spend days researching the myths, personality, typical gestures, and patterns of speech of the entity. Then, within a ritual space, they begin to move, speak, and think as the entity would. This is not mere pretending; it is a willed and deliberate shift in personality, designed to create a psychic space for the archetypal consciousness to manifest and operate through the magician.
Postmodern Pantheon: Invoking Through Media Immersion
In a world saturated with “modern myths”, the Chaos Mage recognizes that the subconscious does not distinguish between a 3,000-year-old god and a well-developed character from a video game. If a fictional character serves as a potent, detailed archetype of a desired state of consciousness, they can be invoked. This technique involves deep immersion in the character’s story. A magician seeking to cultivate ruthless efficiency and strategic thinking might invoke a character like Hitman’s Agent 47 by playing the game, adopting the character’s calm posture, and internalizing his focused mindset. Someone needing a burst of chaotic, creative inspiration might immerse themselves in the mythos of The Joker. The media provides a rich, pre-packaged set of mannerisms, beliefs, and energies for the magician to model and embody.
The Neurological Circuit: Invocation as NLP Modelling
Stripped of all mystical language, invocation can be understood as a practical neurological process, closely paralleling the techniques of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) modelling. In NLP, modelling is the process of adopting the specific physiology, language, and beliefs of an individual to replicate their skills. Magickal invocation is the esoteric version of this. You are not just copying a god’s posture (physiology) or reciting its ancient titles (language); you are temporarily adopting its entire worldview (beliefs) to rewire your own mental circuits. By doing so, you gain access to its state of consciousness and its associated capabilities, effectively running its “software” on your own neurological “hardware”.
The Chemical Catalyst: Invocation via Chemognosis
A controversial but potent path involves chemognosis, the use of psychoactive substances to lower mental barriers and act as powerful amplificators for the invocatory state. In this method, the substance is not the goal itself, but a catalyst that makes other invocatory techniques more immersive and profound. Psychedelic substances, in particular, are known for their ability to facilitate ego dissolution, which is the primary obstacle to a successful invocation. When the rigid sense of “I” is chemically weakened, the consciousness of the “Other” can be embodied more completely and vividly. For example, a practitioner might use a small, ritual dose of psilocybin before a devotional prayer to deepen their feeling of connection to a nature deity. This path carries significant legal and psychological risks and demands a mature, harm-reduction-focused approach. For a full exploration of this high-risk path, refer to our dedicated article on chemognosis.
Final Words
It’s important to understand that invocation is not a temporary performance but an act of deep self-modification that leaves a lasting imprint (unless devoked after the rite). The most vital protip is to pay close attention to the invocation “residue”—the subtle but noticeable shifts in your mood, thought patterns, and experienced synchronicities in the hours and days following a ritual. Learning to recognize and integrate this residue is as important as the invocation itself, as this is where the lasting change occurs. Also, remember that you are not limited to invoking traditional entities; a powerful technique is to invoke abstract concepts directly, such as “Clarity”, “Courage”, or “Silence”, treating them as conscious forces in their own right.
For daily, practical application, you don’t always need a full, deep-trance ritual. A useful protip is the practice of “aspecting”, which is a lighter, momentary invocation of a single quality of an archetype for a mundane task—for instance, briefly invoking the patience of a mountain before a difficult meeting, or the eloquence of Hermes before a phone call. This turns invocation into a flexible, integrated life skill. However, this ease of use comes with a warning about psychic hygiene: repeatedly invoking the same force without a counterbalance can lead to an unhealthy obsession or personality bleed-through. The wise magician learns to balance the invocation of one archetype with the invocation of its opposite to maintain psychological equilibrium.
Frequent Questions
Q: Can an invocation cause noticeable physical changes in the magician?
Yes, a successful invocation can produce temporary psycho-somatic effects. Invoking a war god might make you feel physically stronger or warmer, while invoking a knowledge god might seem to sharpen your eyesight or hearing for the duration.
Q: Can a deity or spirit refuse to be invoked, and what does that feel like?
From a psychological perspective, a “refusal” is your own subconscious blocking the connection. It often feels like hitting a wall, a sudden draining of energy, or the inability to hold the entity’s image in your mind, signaling that you are not ready.
Q: Does invoking a fictional character mean they are a “real” spirit?
It means the archetype the character represents is real and potent within your psyche. The Chaos Magick approach is not concerned with the entity’s objective reality, only with its effectiveness as a symbolic gateway to a desired state of consciousness.
Q: How long should an invocation last?
A formal, deep trance invocation should be long enough to achieve your goal but short enough to control. For many, this is between 15 and 30 minutes, though this is highly personal and depends on the magician’s skill.
Q: How can I ensure a safe invocation?
Through an intentional devocation or banishing after the rite. This ensures you cleanly separate your consciousness from the invoked force and return to your baseline self, preventing psychological inflation.
Q: The devocation article mentioned sometimes not devoking. When is this a good idea after an invocation?
This is an advanced technique used when the goal is the permanent integration of a specific trait. For example, after invoking a god of courage multiple times, you might choose to skip the final devocation to allow that quality to become a permanent part of your personality.