Making Invocations
An invocation is the formal calling upon a God or Goddess.
Witches work with the Goddess (female) and God (male) energy
of the Universe, the yin and yang of being. The balance or
tension between the two kinds of energy is a source of magic.
Ancient deities, except for the Great Goddess (who is
the Universe), are thought forms. They are human creations
in which power of particular kinds has been invested. Some
examples:
Aphrodite for love and sexuality
Neptune for ocean power
Jehovah/Allah for power over others
Isis for help and protection
Brigid/St. Brigit for healing
The names of the goddesses and gods are hekau, Words
of Power that are chanted to strike desired vibrations in
the universe. They are the keys that open doors and channel
psychic energy in intended directions.
Invocations can simple:
O, __________.
O, Mithras!
Hail, __________.
Hail, Marduk!
I invoke __________...
I invoke Damkina...
I invoke __________ for ...
I invoke Hecate for lunar power.
I call upon __________ ...
I call upon Janus ...
By __________ I command...
By Ishtar I command ...
By the power of __________, I command...
By the power of Anu, I command...
Help me, __________.
Help me, Kali!
Or complex:
"Grateful and welcome is thy coming unto us,
O Great God, thou vanquisher of the hosts of darkness."
----Egyptiian prayer
"O thou that was before the earth was formed,
Ea, Binah, Ge,
O tideless, soundless, boundless bitter see,
I am thy priestess, answer unto me.
Oarching sky above and earth beneath,
Giver of life and bringer-in of death,
Persephone, Astarte, Ashtoreth,
I am thy priestess, answer unto me.
O Golden Aphrodite, come unto me."
----Dion Fortune, The Sea Priestess
Invocations can praise:
"Osiris
With one heart and one voice
Ehypt raiseth cries of joy to thee."
To Isis:
"You set the orb of heaven spinning around the poles,
You give light to the sun,
You govern the universe,
At your voice the stars move, the season recur."
Prayer to Ra:
"O thou who art in thy egg (Ra), who showest from
thy disk, who riset on thy horizon, and dost shine with
golden beams in the height of heaven, like unto who there
is non among the gods. Who sailest above the Pillars of
Shu, who sendeth forth blasts of fire from thy mouth, who
illuminest the Two Lands with thy splendor..."
Or invite:
Coventina, Mother of Covens, we welcome you to this
circle...
"Auspicious Sita, come thou near."
Ancient prayers can be used to form new invocations. This
invocation could be used to invite any deity:
(adjective) (name of deity), come thou near.
Mighty Thor, come thou near
Golden Aphrodite, draw thou near
Goat Pan, I call thou to me
Adding a deity's title(s) to an invocation increases its power:
Ares, Throng of War--Yemaya, Queen of Witches--Nergal,
the Unsparing
Portuna, Lady Luck--Marduk, King or Kings--Nut,
Might One of Valor
Lugh, Lord of Light--Scylla, She Who Rends--Mot,
Prince Dissolution
Usas, Mistress of Time--Mary, Queen of Sorrows--
Carmenta, Revealer of Wisdom
God/desses can also be invoked:
in special places
at certain times of the day, year or lunar cycle
with images, herbs, numbers of colors
Knowledge of mythology is helpful with this. Don't worry
about it if you are not sure how to pronounce a deity's
name. It is my experience that invocation have just as
much power if you say the name wrong. Intent is what
matters.
Deities often have more than one name, or different spelling of
their names:
Amon / Amun / Amen / Ammon
Hela / Hel
Ra / Re
Chango / Shango / Xango
Uranus / Ouranos
Bast / Bastet / Ubastet
Egyptian Invocations
Witches often use Arabic to invoke Egyptian god/desses:
Ya, Thoth--Ya, Isis--Ya, Hathor--Ya, Ma'at
The Arabic greeting ya functions like yo' does in
Brooklyn (think of Rocky yelling "Yo, Adrian!"). The a
is pronounced like the a in apple. No expert has
the faintest idea how the vowels of the heiroglyphic
language were pronounced, so feel free to say Egyptian
names any way that sounds good to you. Some use mondern
Arabic pronunciations for Egyptian god/desses (th pronounced
as t, long vowels, rolled r's, etc).
These invocations are adapted from the Egyptian Book of the
Dead:
To a Fire Goddess:
Flame, Lady of Fire, who absorbs the entreaties which
are made to her...
Blazing Fire, Unquenchable Lady with far-reaching
tongues of flame, irresistible slaughterer, who one may not
pass
through for fear...
To a Mars Goddess:
Lady of Tremblings, high-walled, the Sovereigh lady,
the Lady of Destruction, who uttereth the words which
drive back
to the destroyers, who delivereth from
destruction him that cometh.
For astral of Uranus goddess:
Lady of Heaven who art infinitely greater than any
human being...
This one is suitable for any Goddess who is honored
in your home:
Lady of the Altar, the Mighty Lady ot whom offerings
are made...
To a Sun Goddess:
Lady of Light, who roareth mightily, whose breadth
cannot be comprehended. Her like hath not been found since the
beginning.
For a goddess in her Dark Aspect:
I know thee, and I know thy name. 'Lady who is
Acclaimed on the Day of Darkness' is thy name.
For Death Goddess:
Goddess of the loud voice, who maketh her supplients
to mourn, the awful one who terrifieth, who herself
remains
unterrified within.
Terrible One, Lady of the Rainstorm, destroyer of the
souls of men, devourer of the bodies of men, 'orderer,
producer, and maker of slaughter' is thy name.
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