Evoking Deity: Calling Forth the God and Goddess

Working with the energy of deity is one of the primary reasons why we create sacred space. If you’re leaving that out of your ritual, then you’re missing out on a huge potential part of your practice.

Where do you start? How do you plan? Who do you call? Those are topics we’re going to cover today.

Evoking vs. Invoking

For the purposes of this article (and just about anything I ever write or teach), the words “invoke” and “evoke” mean very different things. Here’s the distinction:

• To evoke means to “call forth.” This happens when you bring the energy of a deity into your sacred space.
• To invoke means to “call into someone or something.” This happens, for instance, when you invite a deity to temporarily reside in your body.

In other contexts, those words might have completely different meanings. In this article, however, we’re just talking about evocation. Invocation, like “drawing down,” is a different method entirely and perhaps we’ll discuss that on another day. Or perhaps we’ll just leave some things to mystery. Who knows?

Just to reiterate: If I have invited the energy of a deity to be present around me and within my ritual space, then I have just evoked a deity.

Deity Relationships

The process of evoking a deity starts way before the ritual ever begins. The first actions happen days, weeks, or even months prior when you choose who you want to work with, do your due diligence, and start forming a relationship.

That’s right, kids. It’s about relationships. Think of it like astral networking.

I find that a lot of people have a certain type of expectation here… how shall I put it? It’s a Biblical expectation. No joke. People are expecting a “burning bush” moment similar to what Moses had in Exodus. If you’re not familiar with that particular myth, then I’ll summarize: Moses encounters a bush in the dessert that is ablaze, but never consumed by the fire. The voice of God speaks loudly through it, basically saying “I choose you, Moses!”

Some might find that situation awe-inspiring. To me, it sounds like a bad trip, but I do understand and sympathize with that desire to be chosen. In some respects, that would make everything easier, wouldn’t it? You’d suddenly feel like you have a clear and certain sense of purpose. And you’d feel special, too.

Are you waiting for the etheric hand of deity to reach out of the clouds and point at you? Stop waiting. That type of situation might occur for a few people here and there. It does not happen for most.

But don’t worry! There’s tons of different ways to open up the door. No burning bush is required.

• Learn their myths, stories, poems, or prayers
• Understand their art, symbols, names, epithets, and patronage
• Discover how they were venerated throughout history

That’s right, folks. With this simple mnemonic device, L.U.D., you can start the process of connecting to any deity of your choice. And I’m giving that to you all for the low price of free. Hades? Minerva? Lugh? Kali? No problem. They’re all included. Seriously.

In summary: it’s research.

Ask yourself questions. Do they have a particular thing that they like for offerings? Are they part of a family? What was their origin story? What were their temples like? Can we still find depictions of them today? You might be surprised by the answers.

This is why one of the first assignments we give students in our coven is to write a paper on a god or goddess of their choice.

Of course, that inevitably leads to another, potentially infinite question: Who do I pick?

Let me answer that for you. It doesn’t matter. It. Doesn’t. Matter. Just pick someone. Open up a book of mythology and flip to a random page. Draw an oracle card from a deity-themed deck. Or just type “who is patron deity of _______” into Google.

It’s way more important that you start the process. That process is going to give way to other processes. And eventually you’ll find that you’ve expanded your knowledge and spiritual connections. Somewhere along the way, you may feel called to build an altar and tend to it regularly — and that’s great, too, but in most cases it isn’t required.

Just remember one thing: If you try to evoke a deity that you not researched or established an existing relationship with, then you shouldn’t be surprised if nothing happens in your ritual. Do you have a habit of inviting strangers over to your house? Probably not. That’d be weird. The same applies here. If someone doesn’t know you, they probably won’t even answer when you call.

Scripted or Unscripted

Alright, well… hopefully by this point you’ve selected a deity and done your research. Now all you need are some words to say and a time to say them.

Evoking deity is usually done in the middle of ritual. You might think of it as the final step in building the temple. We’ve cleansed the area, consecrated elements, created sacred space, and summoned elementals… now it’s time to bring the honored guest(s)!

Exactly how you do that is completely up to you. Some people like to just speak from the heart, but others may wish to plan ahead and write something down before the ritual starts. I personally shift between both extremes depending on my mood, the deity, and the purpose of the ritual.

Let’s take a look at what others have done:

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Those are some generic scripts. They will work for pretty much any deity you’re choosing to call. If you’re working with a particular god or goddess, however, it’s much better to write something a little more personal.

To start out, you could just follow a formula like this:

“Great/Gracious Lord/Lady (insert name of deity) of the (insert their domain), you who (insert first characteristic of deity) and (insert second characteristic of deity), we humbly ask you to join our sacred space. Lend us your energy and aid in our rites. Blessed be!

It’s kind of like playing Mad Libs. If you’ve done your research, it should be pretty easy to fill in those blanks. Following the formula, a call to Pan might look like this:

“Great Lord Pan of the Green Wood, you who is master of the wild hunt and protector of the flock, we humbly ask you to join our sacred space. Lend us your energy and aid in our rites. Blessed be!”

Let’s follow the same rules, but for Selene:

“Gracious Lady Selene of the moon and night sky, you who wears the silver crescent crown and shines your radiance down upon us, we humbly ask you to join our sacred space. Lend us your energy and aid in our rites. Blessed be!”

And if you want to flex those literary muscles, check out Jason Mankey’s call to Pan from Transformative Witchcraft (which, apparently, he adapted from an Oscar Wilde poem):

Writing such a piece is certainly not for the faint of heart! This task might not be for everyone, but if you find yourself regularly working with a particular deity, it can be a great way to honor them and further develop your relationship.

Oh, and if you’re looking for more inspiration, the Orphic Hymns provide some excellent models for venerating a deity with words.

In Form

As I mentioned earlier, the deity calls usually happen in the middle section of the ritual. The circle has been cast, the quarters have been called, and now it is time to invite the god and/or goddess. Once they’ve joined us, and with their aid, we perform our magick or coven rites.

In practice, it’s very common for the High Priestess to call the goddess. While saying the words, she holds the wand above her head or stands with arms outstretched. She will end her call with “blessed be,” which the coven will echo. Next, the High Priest will call the god. While saying the words, he holds the wand and athame, arms crossed over his chest. He, too, will end his call with “blessed be,” which the coven again will echo.

I’m not saying you have to do it that way or anything. I’m just saying that’s a model that you’ll find in lots of different rituals and with lots of different covens.

Icing on the Cake

The words for your evocation are just one part of the process. Optionally, you could try to add some of these things as well:

• Place a picture of statue of the deity on your altar
• Burn an incense blend that you have crafted specifically for them
• Leave an offering that you know they like

Depending on your selected deity, there might be some other extras you can throw in, too. Lots of folks associate Brigid with bees, for instance. If you were calling Brigid into your sacred space, you might have honey or tiny little bee figurines on the altar. You could perform a ritual where you light a beeswax candle. You’re only limited by your imagination.

Again, research is key. The more you know, the more you can do.

But…

Research shouldn’t hold you back. Don’t feel like you have to know everything before you start. If you can carry on two minute conversation about your selected deity, then you probably possess enough knowledge to practice evoking them. You’re not expected to know everything, especially at the beginning. As you continue to work with a deity, your knowledge will expand.

Conclusion

The energy of deity is important for a “standard” practice, but it takes a little bit of legwork on your part to form that relationship. The best time to start, of course, is now! Do your research and create the connections. Write down some words and experiment!