Why Should One Evoke One Particular Entity Over Another?
© 2004
>> Alright, advanced question time. Rawn has already gone over the reasons for performing evocation in previous correspondences, but no-one has ever really gone over why one should evoke one particular entity over another. For when Bardon speaks of the Book of Magical Formulae the first item that he places in the forefront is 1. Purpose of the operation. Should the purpose be just to evoke the being? Learn what it has to say, to teach you? To have a sense of communion with something that is outside the normal realm of human consciousness in an attempt to expand one's own consciousness so that it can garner a better understanding of the divine? Or should it be to have the spirit perform a specific task? Something that should, most likely be practiced once a good rapport has been made with that particular spirit. <<
There is no universally applicable "should" in this instance. :) It's up to *you*. All the motivations you've listed are indeed valid, but do not represent a comprehensive list. For example, one motivation you didn't mention is that of inviting a friendly acquaintance into *your* home. :) My recommendation is that one's first evocation be in this spirit of friendship instead of "wanting" or "needing". Greet the entity mentally where they "reside" first and once a rapport has been established, see if they are agreeable to visiting *your* home through an evocation.
>> Bardon states, "When the magician has become sufficiently acquainted with the zone girdling the earth, so that he has contacts with some of its heads, especially the masters of magic, he may start trying to get into contact with intelligences of the Moon sphere." How many spirits should one come in contact with to become "sufficiently acquainted with the zone girdling the earth"? I know that in some areas of PME Bardon seems to imply that to master the sphere one needs to evoke quite a number, if not all of the heads of that particular sphere. Which sometimes boggles my mind given the number of spirits that Bardon lists throughout PME. If he was in personal contact with each of these spirits...even over the course of many years it would almost seem as if he would be performing an evocation or more every day over the course of at several years. <<
:) Evocation is meant to produce an expansion of consciousness -- of *self* awareness. This expansion of self occurs primarily as a result of the mental elevation that is required in order to establish mental contact with the entity. This expansion however, is *integrated* into the lower levels of self *through* the evocation ritual. So as your self-awareness expands to encompass higher and higher levels of that specific mental zone within its experience of 'self', more and more of the overall zone is encompassed. Thus one doesn't need to encompass all the "heads" of a zone, one after the other individually. At a certain point, there is a quantum shift in which you suddenly encompass the entire zone within your self-awareness and it is then that you are ready to begin work with the next zone in sequence.
>> Personally when I work an evocation, I often feel physically drained, and usually quite hungry afterwards. In contrast to this sense of physical fatigue there is an extreme sense of peace and exhilaration upon the astral and mental bodies... <<
This is because you are using your body's own energy instead of drawing all the energy required *from the universe*. Or, if you *are* drawing energy from the universe, then you are resisting its flow somewhere in your astra-physical body.
This is one reason why Bardon placed evocation after completion of Step Eight. By that point in IIH, you are capable of accumulating and condensing whatever sort or amount of energy required for an evocation, directly from the universe.
My best to you,
:) Rawn Clark
23 Aug 2004
>> As far as "needing" goes. If a magician that is truly able to perform an evocation as per Bardon's pre-requisites, then he really doesn't need any help performing a certain task as he can do it on his own. <<
Yes. However, when a friend agrees to take on a specific task, or series of tasks, for you, then your time is freed for other tasks. There are also some entities who will offer a continual sort of assistance that will automatically fulfill certain functions for the magician without the necessity of even asking for assistance situationally.
>> A need for information is a slightly different matter in my opinion given that quite a few of the earthzone spirits have access to quite a few of those hidden little secrets that are still not widely known. <<
Yes and this can be approached in a fashion that honors an entity's willingness and pleasure to *share*. In other words, there's a line beyond which it becomes a matter of greed and of gluttony, which is offensive.
>> Namely that trying to encompass each zone, or trying to merge with the divine is quite a bit like trying to master the akasha. To try to encompass one magnitude of infinity one can not do this with small steps. <<
:) Actually, one can, but the problem is, it takes an infinite amount of time! ;-)
>> At the same time, however, those first small steps are necessary so that one is prepared to make the gigantic leap to encompass all of infinity. <<
Yes.
>> Now, how should one approach the particular zone? I mean, if you first start with a particular zone do you start with trying to contact those "heads" that encompass a vast majority of the zone, or do you start off with the lesser spirits? Start off by contacting lower-middle management or the CEO as it where? I know Bardon suggests introducing yourself slowly and gradually to the zone. <<
This is *not* like a *human* hierarchy. The level at which you *can* enter into a realm and the level of entity that you *can* communicate with has little to do with your desire. It has to do with *your* level of maturity.
My recommendation is that you approach a realm in the manner that Bardon described for working with the Elemental realms. First you enter the realm and establish your presence. Observe and explore your surroundings and wait for an entity of that realm to begin an interaction with you. However, instead of following my recommendation, I suggest that you ask your HGA for advice and spend some time meditating upon this question. The proper answer for *you*, lies within *you*. :)
My best to you,
:) Rawn Clark
27 Aug 2004
>> In the response above you made a statement that Bardon refers to in IIH that I never quite understood. In IIH, Bardon warns the magician not to make contact with the beings of the elements before they contact him (or her) first and he implies that if these instructions are not adhered to, the undesirable consequences may follow. Why is this the case? <<
I suggest that you read my Commentary Upon Step Ten (http://www.ABardonCompanion.com/IIH-Step10.html or pages 122-125 of my first book).
In addition to what I wrote there, is also the issue of the magician's own vulnerability at that moment. This will be the first time that the magician enters an Elemental realm in such a manner. The magician must leave their physical body and condense their mental body within the Elemental realm. This means that the cords which connect the solitary mental body with the physical body are being "stretched" to an entirely new degree for the magician. Furthermore, the magician must fill their mental body with the Element of that realm and this means that they are very vulnerable to any influences that exist within that Element's realm.
So the magician needs time to adapt to this new level of vulnerability and to acclimate their mental body to the new environment. The time it will naturally take for the magician to begin to see within the realm and begin to observe the beings that reside there *is* the time it takes for the magician to acclimate to the new environment. Once the magician has factually reached the point of acclimation, the beings of the realm will begin to notice the magician's presence. But still the magician is vulnerable in that any negative reaction, from the realm to their presence within it, will immediately cause an Elemental imbalance within the magician. Thus the magician should still wait until the beings of the realm initiate an interaction because, *it is at that moment that the magician ceases to be overly vulnerable to a moderate influence from within the realm impacting them and causing an imbalance*. In other words, when *the magician* is ready and would not be harmed by such an interaction, the beings of the realm will initiate an interaction.
The beings of the Elements have no human-like desire to harm others, no human-like motivation to hurt the magician in any way. Their responses are predicated upon the magician's own actions and *factual* level of maturity. If the magician tries to exceed their own true level of maturity, they will be stopped -- without human-like prejudice but very matter-of-factly by the impersonal forces of nature which the beings of the Element embody. Or rather it's not so much that they "will be stopped" as it is that it is simply impossible to exceed such limits. It becomes impossible for the magician to retain their autonomy within the realm so either the magician leaves or they are "absorbed" by the Element and, as Bardon put it, they become a Gnome.
>> How real are the consequences Bardon describes? <<
They are very genuine *possibilities*. However, it must be said that if one has truly mastered each preceding exercise, then such experiences would be *impossible*. :) His warnings are primarily for those who are tempted to "dabble".
>> It sounds like this warning applies to the spheres as much as it does the domain of the elements. <<
In principle, yes, but with experience, comes ease and the "time" it takes to acclimate to each successive realm, decreases rapidly.
My best to you,
:) Rawn Clark
27 Aug 2004