One important consideration that I would like to declare before continuing is that this method is more conducive to working with the various angels associated with the Qabbalah than with the evocation of demons. Therefore, I will concentrate on producing a system that addresses that need, while the erstwhile student can consult with other grimoires to fill in the blanks to work with the goetic demons, if that is his or her desire.
First, let's review the five classical stages of magickal evocation, which were the assumed steps that a magician in the Renaissance would have performed. These are associated with the Latin words: Consecratio, Invocatio, Conscrictio, Ligatio and Licentia. (See The Goetia of Dr. Rudd, p. 91 - 94)
Consecratio, or Consecratio Dei, represented all of the activities that the magician performed to prepare for the work, including sacred baths, aspurging the temple and tools with lustral water, burning incense, and performing psalms, prayers and orisons to achieve the favor and benediction of the Godhead; a required state prior to performing the work. These activities would be performed even after the magician had sealed himself up in the magic circle, and might include the preparation and sanctification of the circle, vestments, tools and temple area, as well as the fumugation, reciting psalms, and engaging in a final bout of contemplative prayer.
Invocatio were the invocations and incantations that the magician declared once he was safely ensconced in the magic circle, fully vested and prepared for the work. All preparations had already been minutely addressed and successfully accomplished, and all that was required at this point was to summon the spirit, angel or demon. The magician might begin with a general invocation, such as of the angels of the four parts of the world that rule over the air. To invoke a demon, the magician might first invoke one of the corresponding angels of the Ha-Shem, since they were believed to be the rulers of the Goetic demons. Often there were anywhere from one to several invocations, and if the spirit did not appear, then there were even more severe conjurations.
However, it was assumed that if the preparations were correct, the timing auspicious, and the integrity and faith of the magician impeccable, then the spirit invoked would materialize in some form or another. The magician could use his talismans and protective lamen to assist in adding greater force to the invocation, but if, after a time, the spirit failed to appear, then the magician had to perform either a single or several exorcisms, burn obnoxious herbs and generally banish anything that might have been summoned before breaking the magic circle and leaving the work place.
Constrictio was where the magician sought to constrain the manifesting spirit. He also had to verify the spirit's identity, ensuring that it was exactly what the magician had summoned in the first place. If a demon was summoned, then the magician had to force it to assume a favorable aspect and to desist in acting in a threatening and vile manner. Constraining a spirit was a requirement when summoning a demon; but often the magician had to validate an angelic entity as well, at least to verify that he was not being deceived by some lesser spirit or demonic influence. The magician used his special ring, talismans, pentacles, and various words of power to constrain the spirit. Once this was accomplished, the invocation process was considered to be stable, and the magician could move on to the objective of his work.
Ligatio was the act of binding the spirit, usually with an oath, words of power, threats (if it were a demon), to perform a task suited to its nature, and for it to be accomplished in a specific duration. Binding a spirit could be considered a kind of pact, except that there was no quid pro quo - the spirit obeyed the magician because of his acquired (although temporary) holiness and because of his assumed authority granted by God and his angels. The constraint was performed in a less severe manner with an angel (or not at all), and was extremely important and quite severe with any other spirit, especially a demon.
To harness the spirit, the magician also required it to reveal its secret name and mark (usually as a seal, character or sigil), which the magician noted down in his magical book. The sigil that the magician used to summon the spirit may also be marked or charged in some special manner, and collected later to be kept in the magician's book (a special Liber Spiritus). The charged sigil or special name and mark could be used in the future to summon the spirit without having to repeat the ordeal of invocation, and it could be done at any time that the magician desired it. The spirit was constrained to obey the magician, and over time, the magician collected other such names and marks until his workbook became a treasure trove of obedient spiritual servants, ready to do the will of the magician whenever required.
Of course, in some cases the spirit was summoned to perform a specific task within a specific time frame, and after that, the spirit would be released. In other situations, a magician may permanently bind a spirit to his will, turning his eventual death into an event where all of the spirits kept in his book would be instantly released (if his workbook was properly burned). A truly legendary and catastrophic event, where the spirits sought to avenge themselves on the soul of the magician before he ascended to heaven, or more likely, descended to hell. The magician might also constrain the spirit to reside in a receptacle, such as a sealed lamp or brass jug, to be available whenever released and commanded to appear.
Licentia was the license to depart that the magician gave to the spirit once it had been properly bound. It was important for the magician to realize that the spirit was to be treated with some respect, and that he would not therefore perform any kind of banishing action if the binding of that spirit was successful. The idea was to conditionally allow the spirit to return to its natural abode, there to await future summons and willed appearances. The license to depart was therefore quite different than performing a banishment or an exorcism, which would only be performed if the magician either failed to manifest the spirit or failed to constrain it. Once the spirit was properly and completely departed via the license, the magician might perform banishments and exorcisms afterwards to ensure that nothing else was lurking outside of the magic circle. In addition to the above five steps, the magician might also perform banishments and exorcisms in case the operation fails, or they could be performed before the invocation and afterwards, to ensure that nothing is summoned that doesn't conform to the purpose and will of the magician.
All of the verbiage of these various invocations, constraints, licenses to depart, exorcisms and banishments would be kept in the magician's personal grimoire (the black book). Although the magician should memorize all aspects of the operation, he may not have recourse to all of the actions contained in the book, and he might also find himself under extreme duress or supernatural attack. Thus having the words written down would be a form of insurance, and it would also be a form of magic itself.
As you can see, the above five stages would require quite a bit of time and resources to successfully achieve. However, through the use of the Qabbalah, the above five steps can be made into an almost fool-proof methodology for performing a theurgistic invocation or a goetic evocation. The key to this whole process is that the Qabbalistic magician already knows the spiritual hierarchy and the matrix of correspondences that will greatly assist this procedure, and ensure that it produces the expected results.
One of the first things that a Qabbalistic magician needs is a symbol that represents his spiritual beliefs, authority and power. This symbol is called the magician's "lamen," and it traditionally consists of some kind of pentagram or hexagram device drawn on leather, parchment, fabric or etched on a piece of precious metal and worn on the person of the celebrant. This lamen should also be consecrated in some manner, either being touched by incense smoke and lustral water, blown upon by one's breath or blessed with sacred words and signs, or a combination of all of these forms.
The lamen should be a personal creation and not look like anything else that is in print. Base geometric forms that can be used are the pentagram, hexagram, septagram, octagram, eneagram, Vesica Pisces, or whatever is personally significant. The geometric form should be decorated with sigils, characters, symbols, or other elements that are personally meaningful to the magician. The design can also be colored, using specific symbolic colors that the magician finds important and symbolically representative of him. The magician draws from various sources, including Qabbalistic correspondences, to build up this design. The most important element for the lamen is that it should have the magician's magickal name or moto inscribed within it, either using a foreign or magickal alphabet, or fashioning it into a sigil form.
Once completed, the magician's lamen represents the power and authority through which she operates, and it becomes the foundation for all magickal workings. To help the magician align herself to this newly developed and crafted design with the mind and will of the magician, she should spend quite a bit of time gazing fixedly at the lamen, until its form and structure are completely absorbed into her memory. The magician should be able to project the image of this lamen from her memory unto a blank wall just by staring and focusing her mind.
Two tools that the Qabbalistic magician will need to build and design are the dagger and the wand. These can be made to any specification or taste, purchased and customized or made completely from scratch. I will leave the specifics to the imagination of the magician, but there are many examples of these specific weapons. Basically, the dagger is used to aggressively protect and ward the magician, and the wand is used to summon and call spirits. Also, it would be prudent for the magician to have use of a room and to be able to draw or paint a magick circle on the floor, especially if she is going to be performing goetic evocations. Examples of a traditional magick circle are found in a number of grimoires, and the magician may adapt and create a unique circle custom made for his work. Yet if the purpose of the magick is to just invoke angels and perform theurgy, then a circle is not needed, (nor, for that matter, would the magician need a dagger).
Still, having a room reserved for meditation, contemplation and simple rituals is a requirement, however that is achieved. Other items that the magician will need are incense, an incense burner or brazier, charcoal, lamps and lamp oil, and a gallon container filled with consecrated salt water (called lustral water). Vestments (robe), jewelry, perfumed oil, and a colored cloth scarf to wear around the neck and shoulders should round out the necessary things needed to work simple Qabbalistic magick. All of these things must be blessed, consecrated and kept clean and completely apart from any mundane belongings; they should also be exclusively used for the work and nothing else.
The first thing that the celebrant must determine in order to perform a working is to choose a specific angel to invoke. Then a time must be selected for the operation, with certain basic auspices determined in advance, such as that it should be performed at night and with the moon waxing. The operation should also be done during a period of three days and nights, and the magician will have to be completely sequestered during that time.
Once a spirit is chosen, then the magician will determine the entire line of the spiritual hierarchy associated with that entity, particularly the Godhead name of the Sephirah, or the Sephiroth and Pathway. All of the symbolic correspondences should be noted, particularly the color (for the scarf), incense, perfume and anything else that would be pertinent. The imagery, symbology, characteristics and quality of the spirit would also be noted down for use by the magician. A sigil, seal or character combination also needs to be crafted that can uniquely identify the target spirit, and this should be constructed with paint or ink on a piece of parchment.
Preparation would include all of the obligations and tasks associated with the first stage of classical theurgy and evocation, which is Consecratio Dei. The focus of this first stage should be upon the spiritual hierarchy, most notably the qualities and characteristics of the Godhead name. The magician should employ a partial fast, pray, meditate, contemplate and essentially commune with the Spirit of this Godhead, and thereby become totally immersed within that entity. Other spirits who reside in that linear hierarchy may also be called and communed with once the magician has successfully connected with the specific Godhead.
You can see that learning to master this technique of forging a deep inward connection with aspects of the Deity is quite important to any Qabbalistic work, but it makes the process of an invocation far more certain than it would if this step were omitted. Ensuring that all of these preparations are completed and successful is critical for the next step (invocatio) to be successful. The more time and effort spent in preparation, the better the overall outcome. The key to this operation is acquiring a powerful link with the Godhead associated with the target spirit's hierarchy. Unless or until that link is forged, the invocation should not be performed.
At the appointed time, the magician will perform her final ablutions by taking a bath in consecrated water, anointing herself with the correct perfume, donning the robe with the correctly colored scarf draped over her shoulders, and the lamen worn prominently on her person. The room where the operation is to take place has already been prepared, with the floor carefully cleaned and the circle consecrated with lustral water. The consecrated sigil of the spirit is placed either in a triangle just outside of the circle (if a demon), or in the center of the circle, if its an angel. The lamps are lit, and the magician proceeds to fumigate the area with the proper incense. Then she enters into the circle and proceeds to pray and meditate for a period of time, focusing on that all-important connection with the Godhead.
When the moment is right, the magician will begin with the invocations, knowing that they are being done through that sacred link with the Godhead. It will seem as if the Godhead itself is speaking through the magician, instead of the magician acting and speaking his words in vain. The magician should focus now on the qualities and characteristics of the spirit, concentrating on the sigil wherever it has been placed. Between each of the three invocations, the magician should pause for a period of time to gauge its effect. If it is successful, then he will proceed to the next three stages, if not, then he must abort the working and perform a thorough banishing. This won't be necessary if the magician has successfully contacted and established a powerful link with the Godhead associated with this spirit, since such a connection will make the rest of the invocation process successfully assured.
Whatever transpires between the celebrant and the target spirit should be noted in a note book kept for that purpose. If there is a specific task that the magician is seeking, then he or she should write this desire down on parchment, including a specific period for this thing to be accomplished. The task should be given as a command through the Godhead link (during the ligatio stage) to ensure that it will be done without prevarication or deception. The magician should also make certain that such a command is given in a clear and concise manner, making certain that any ambiguity is carefully eliminated. Often times, though, it is just as well to seek knowledge and advice or a blessing directly from the spirit, especially if it is from archangels and super archangels.
Crafting a set of powerful invocations is also an important requirement. The erstwhile magician should consult the old grimoires to find the proper kind of word choice and tone. I would recommend the Heptameron as a good primary resource, but other choices and select grimoire material would work as well. The magician may choose to use words of power, such as the infamous barbaric words of evocation (verba ignota), or she may even choose to use a sacred language, such as Latin, Greek or Hebrew. When using a foreign tongue, it's very important to know exactly what you're saying, so having a good translation as well as knowing how to pronounce the words is quite critical. Care should also be given to the selection of the various Godnames and the religious tone of the invocation, since each religion would verbalize such pronouncements differently. You may replace the Christian or Jewish elements of an known invocation with elements of your own spiritual pantheon, and by doing so, you will not destroy either the intent or the power of that invocation. A pagan or wiccan practitioner could also use pagan gods and goddesses as the Godhead for a specific Qabbalistic correspondence.
The most important element of Qabbalistic theurgy is that the magician uses the innate hierarchy of the Tree of Life to formulate the invocation, and that the highest level, the Godhead, is the primary empowered link for a successful magickal outcome. The Qabbalist has some advantages over the sorcerer because he is able to make this effective spiritual connection before attempting a magickal operation. There is less guess work and a much better indicator of success, at least in my opinion. If you add to this technique the methodology of Qabbalistic pathworking, then you will see that it can be done in a completely comprehensive manner, where the spiritual mechanisms of personal transformation are also harnessed.
Granted, this is not the way that I practice magick today, but it was a system and a methodology that I intuitively discovered and developed many years ago when I first learned to use the Qabbalah in my magickal workings. I hope that you have found this exposition interesting and perhaps even helpful.
