evocation

[bdc]

a few questions on evocation, mainly directed to jim, but i would be delighted to hear the thoughts of anyone else also!

in the case of yetziratic planetary entities, agrippa describes the intelligences as "good" and the spirits as "bad". the spirits are not of an adverse nature though, and my instinct because of this is not to be as black and white as this, however this notion seems to have persisted.
i notice that in the case of sample ritual #8 of 776 1/2, you chose to outline the evocation of the intelligence tiriel, and not the spirit taphthartharath. was their any particular reason for this? was agrippa's classification of the spirits as "bad" a factor at all? i am curious also as in "in the continuum" (vol. 5, no. 3) you say "I do not recall seeing anyone deal with the Intelligences themselves, except as a means of summoning and commanding
the Spirits (including their common, conjoint use on planetary talismans)."

regarding the ceremony outlined in 776 1/2, if one wanted to evoke taphthartharath, would one evoke tiriel to visible appearance and communication (as outlined) and command him to send taphthartharath, and then visualise the spirit coming forth from the vortex, or is the process different?

finally, a couple of questions regarding the classic triangle, crowley in his evocation of bartzabel uses one with the names "anaphaxeton", "anaphaneton", and "primeumaton". are these suitable for use as they are, or are they blinds for other godnames?
also, the name "mi-ca-el" is used (as it is in the goetia), however, in tise case of evoking a martial spirit, would kamael not be more suitable?

[Jim Eshelman]

i notice that in the case of sample ritual #8 of 776 1/2, you chose to outline the evocation of the intelligence tiriel, and not the spirit taphthartharath. was their any particular reason for this?

The Intelligence is a little higher on the food chain, tends to be in management (so to speak) whereas the spirit is more the "grunt" worker. Another way to say it is that the spirit is closer to the material, the Intelligence slightly more abstracted. It's a judgment call usually, and I picked the one that felt like it was more "hitting the mark" for the objective: I wanted "insight into nature," which is more of a psychological rather than material phenomenon.

was agrippa's classification of the spirits as "bad" a factor at all?

No, not at all. And it's pretty useless with Agrippa unless you stop and realize that he's following a Christian way of thinking wherein the more material, sensual, or instinctual something is, the more "evil" it is.

regarding the ceremony outlined in 776 1/2, if one wanted to evoke taphthartharath, would one evoke tiriel to visible appearance and communication (as outlined) and command him to send taphthartharath, and then visualise the spirit coming forth from the vortex, or is the process different?

Not necessary to bring the Intelligence to visible appearance in that case - just add him to the hierarchy for the evocation. Process essentially the same.

finally, a couple of questions regarding the classic triangle, crowley in his evocation of bartzabel uses one with the names "anaphaxeton", "anaphaneton", and "primeumaton". are these suitable for use as they are, or are they blinds for other godnames?

I try to stay away from the Goetia in any form as much as possible. (These names originate there IIRC.) Too much sewage.

[bdc]

excellent, many thanks for taking the time to answer the questions, as ever.

I try to stay away from the Goetia in any form as much as possible. (These names originate there IIRC.) Too much sewage.

ok, great. with regards to divine names on the edges of the triangle and circle, what would the general rule of thumb be for a planetary evocation? general ones like יהוה, אהיה and אלהים for the triangle, and ones specific to the planetary force for the circle? or are they necessary at all?

[Jim Eshelman]

with regards to divine names on the edges of the triangle and circle, what would the general rule of thumb be for a planetary evocation? general ones like יהוה, אהיה and אלהים for the triangle, and ones specific to the planetary force for the circle? or are they necessary at all?

In one sense, it doesn't matter much. Holy names are holy names. And, in particular, I've never been one for drawing a formal circle, let alone painting it in detail. On those few occasions where I need a circle, a ring of astral light, strongly fortified, has always been sufficient.

For the triangle, though, I'm inclined to think it needs some reinforcement. Pick names that are the highest and holiest known to you. I'm inclined to pick names that have a necessary triangular relationship to each other. If there's nothing else that moves you, consider using Nuit, Hadit, and Heru-Ra-Ha on the three sides, with pentagrams at the points.

[ThelemicMage]

I was going to suggest what Jim just suggested, but he explained the points much more eloquently.

Something that represents Divinity to you.

For instance, Anaphaxeton means "through/by the Light". Anapheneton is most likely "before thought" or "the First Thought."

Michael is picked for obvious reasons we need not go into, but I will say he was not selected by Crowley and the Goetia because of primarily Christian influence, as much of the Goetia's material is, hence Jim's comment on "too much sewage."


Good luck, my Friend.

[bdc]

excellent, many thanks to you both! i shall submit a report of my evocation experiences on here in the near future.

[bdc]

just reading lon milo duquette's "my life with the spirits" at the moment, and he mentions that "runyon rediscovered the key secret of conjuring a spirit to visible appearance in the black mirror. this facial distortion technique has been lost in the middle ages, leaving a half millennium of magicians struggling to see spirits in the incense smoke rising from an empty triangle."
any thoughts on this, and on the "black mirror" technique as opposed to using incense smoke as the material basis?

[Jim Eshelman]

I've seen it, it's a viable alternative - and a clever interpretation of mounting the mirror as a triangle upright instead of tracing it on the floor.

Personally, the other approach works way better for me (but, then, I've never had a knack for skrying in crystal balls - can do better without them). Also, the smoke etc. technique actually allows for the bringing of a low-frequency Yetziratic being into physical form, whereas the mirror primarily allows a mental connection off of an image and your own psychological projections. For communication, they're potentially about the same value - butg for full training in magick, experience in materialization (drawing non-material beings into a temporary physical form) is a valuable skill (since you learn so much else from it).

In A.'.A.'., work in evocation begins as early as 1=10, but testing in it doesn't occur until 4=7 (as part of the Path of A'ayin for moving on toward Tiphereth). I've always felt that, in that particular context, the process of materialization was a significant part of what was being learned.