# Have you successfully summoned a spiritual entity? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 26, 2003, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-successfully-summoned-a-spiritual-entity/197792 "2003-08-26T17:55:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-successfully-summoned-a-spiritual-entity/197792/41 "2003-08-29T19:22:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by WeRSauron \* > \*\*There are many people out there who invoke and summon spirits, gods, and other such entities as part of their spiritual work. > > Has anyone here summoned an entity and seen it appear, or know someone who has? > > WRS \*\* :eek: Uh…You are a prime candidate to ask for Carl Sagan’s “Demon Haunted World”… Actually, don’t wait for someone to give it to you, you better rush out and get it yourself. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2003, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-successfully-summoned-a-spiritual-entity/197792/42 "2003-08-30T01:55:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Isabelle \* > \*\*Now that is the kinda action I’d like to see at my house! \*\* Unfortunately, the typical [incubus](http://www.geocities.com/dasydministries/incubus.html) has a tendency to put a crimp in one’s social schedule. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-successfully-summoned-a-spiritual-entity/197792/43 "2003-08-30T02:27:58Z")
Not to mention one’s [acting skills](http://www.incubusthefilm.com/). [sub]Cursed from the beginning, was he? Well, _that_ explains a lot…[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2003, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-successfully-summoned-a-spiritual-entity/197792/44 "2003-08-30T04:20:22Z")
I tried summoning demons. I told them to bring pie when come back. They never did. I just know they ate the pie without me. Bastards. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2003, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-successfully-summoned-a-spiritual-entity/197792/45 "2003-08-30T05:11:41Z")
Yog-Sothoth. Once. Cattle blood is hard to get out of carpet fibers. ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2003, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-successfully-summoned-a-spiritual-entity/197792/46 "2003-08-30T07:53:54Z")
So, how is old Sothothy doing these days \*\* Michael Ellis \*\*? ---
**Author:** ![Jaade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dfb087/32.png) [@Jaade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaade)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2003, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-successfully-summoned-a-spiritual-entity/197792/47 "2003-08-30T22:10:35Z")
My anscestors did, they called him Lasher ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-successfully-summoned-a-spiritual-entity/197792/48 "2003-08-31T02:21:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DreadCthulhu \* > \*\*I don’t think any of us mean any harm by this thread . . . Heck, \*\* Sunspace \*\* and \*\* t-keela \*\* I need some extra human volunteer sfor my next summoning, if you want to see what it entails. Also, umm being a virgin would be a big help too. \*\* Say you need a **VIRGIN** …by what definition? ---
**Author:** ![rmbnxs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9e5f3/32.png) [@rmbnxs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rmbnxs)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-successfully-summoned-a-spiritual-entity/197792/49 "2003-08-31T02:37:02Z")
One time I thought I saw the Virgin Mary floating before me, but it turned out to be only an eye-booger. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-successfully-summoned-a-spiritual-entity/197792/50 "2003-08-31T13:09:00Z")
What you are asking about is specifically termed “evocation” in the trade, as opposed to “invocation” which simply arouses a spiritual force within the operator. Evocation is supposed to manifest an entity externally, and for this you need a triangle outside the circle to constrain the entity. Invocation only needs a circle. I used to do Golden Dawn Ceremonial Theurgy Magick, back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Invocation was my normal practice. I only attempted evocation once. The recommendation was to use an herb called Dittany of Crete as the incense, because it makes big billows of smoke from which the visiting entity can form the visible semblance of a body. I made a botch of the operation, however. It took hours to get it set up. At one point I had to make another trip to the hardware store to get more white tape to make my circle and triangle. This delayed me so much that I was hours behind schedule. My wife, a graduate student at the time, was studying at the university library that Saturday afternoon. I was supposed to pick her up when the library closed at 6. You can guess where this is going. When I finally got started with the ceremony, I was really stoked and I worked at evoking an Earth spirit. I don’t remember which one, this was 21 years ago. All I remember was that I really started to see it taking shape in the triangle to the north of my circle. Eerie. The distinctive thing I observed about it was that it had a vagina in the middle of its chest, where the heart should be. Right then the phone rang, oh shit, my wife is waiting for me. I had to break off the ceremony prematurely and rush to get her. I had to apologize all over the place for being late. I never did get to interact with the entity. I learned the lesson that Magick demands impeccability of the practitioner. If you’re not perfectly prepared and capable of dealing with any situation, you’re better off not even starting. ---
**Author:** ![rmbnxs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9e5f3/32.png) [@rmbnxs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rmbnxs)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-successfully-summoned-a-spiritual-entity/197792/51 "2003-08-31T19:29:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jomo Mojo \* > \*\*What you are asking about is specifically termed “evocation” in the trade, as opposed to “invocation” which simply arouses a spiritual force within the operator. Evocation is supposed to manifest an entity externally, and for this you need a triangle outside the circle to constrain the entity. Invocation only needs a circle. > > I used to do Golden Dawn Ceremonial Theurgy Magick, back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Invocation was my normal practice. I only attempted evocation once. The recommendation was to use an herb called Dittany of Crete as the incense, because it makes big billows of smoke from which the visiting entity can form the visible semblance of a body. > > I made a botch of the operation, however. It took hours to get it set up. At one point I had to make another trip to the hardware store to get more white tape to make my circle and triangle. This delayed me so much that I was hours behind schedule. My wife, a graduate student at the time, was studying at the university library that Saturday afternoon. I was supposed to pick her up when the library closed at 6. You can guess where this is going. > > When I finally got started with the ceremony, I was really stoked and I worked at evoking an Earth spirit. I don’t remember which one, this was 21 years ago. All I remember was that I really started to see it taking shape in the triangle to the north of my circle. Eerie. The distinctive thing I observed about it was that it had a vagina in the middle of its chest, where the heart should be. > > Right then the phone rang, oh shit, my wife is waiting for me. I had to break off the ceremony prematurely and rush to get her. I had to apologize all over the place for being late. I never did get to interact with the entity. I learned the lesson that Magick demands impeccability of the practitioner. If you’re not perfectly prepared and capable of dealing with any situation, you’re better off not even starting. \*\* I’m just going to assume you’re being ironic. Yep, that’s what I’m going to do. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-successfully-summoned-a-spiritual-entity/197792/52 "2003-09-01T01:31:31Z")
Unless you count Scott Adams, no. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-successfully-summoned-a-spiritual-entity/197792/53 "2003-09-01T13:32:30Z")
Why, **rmbnxs**? What are you talking about? ---
**Author:** ![WeRSauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f19dbf/32.png) [@WeRSauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WeRSauron)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-successfully-summoned-a-spiritual-entity/197792/54 "2003-09-02T04:34:34Z")
Guess I should chime in. Wicca, witchcraft, magick, the Western Mystery system, and even some Eastern magical schools are very concerned with the summoning of spiritual entities - whether for worship, divination, or consultation/work. Invocation is an issue by itself - which I will ask about in a later thread. I am not concerned with that here since invocation (very common in the religious traditions of Vodoun, Santeria, Wicca, Western magic(k), etc.) may potentially be explained away by psychology, psychosomatic or psychological processes. What I am interested is like what **Jomo Mojo** wrote about - physical appearances of spiritual entities. Tangent - many instructions to evoke spiritual entities involve the presence of smoke, usually incense smoke. I wonder if this had anything to do with what is perceived to happen. I don’t know if **Jomo Mojo** is serious, but believe it or not such accounts might be common. I’m hoping **Jomo Mojo** (whose posts I love very much anyway) can explain more if he was serious - does he believe this was a real entity? Where did it come from? Where did it go? Why did he summon it? Why did he not do so again? Sure, poke fun. (I actually chuckled at many responses.) But this is something many people try to do with painstaking detail - and I want to know if they’re successful or if they’re simply deluded in thinking they’re successful. WRS ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-successfully-summoned-a-spiritual-entity/197792/55 "2003-09-02T05:02:10Z")
I’m surprised at the puzzlement my post was greeted with. I simply related what happened, as I observed it. Of course I was serious. The outcome was disappointing because I had to break it off prematurely. I have no idea what would have been the result if I had carried it all the way through. There do exist folks who work with occult workings. If anyone is unaware of this fact, maybe they need to get out more. Why did I summon it? I think it was mainly because that was one ritual in the G.·.D.·. repertoire I hadn’t tried yet and I wanted to know how it worked. Where did it come from? I have no idea. Where did it go? I guess wherever it came from! I did do a proper banishment before leaving the circle, of course. Even though I was in a hurry. Why didn’t I do I again? I don’t know. I guess because it was a big expenditure of time and effort, and I didn’t find another opportunity, or was busy with other pursuits. I quit Magick a couple years later. Oh yeah, I had only a little Dittany of Crete and could not obtain any more. I used it all up in that one go. Do I believe it was a real entity? In the framework that I operated in, “belief” had no relevance. It was experiential: you do certain actions, and certain results follow. I don’t know how to define what is meant by a “real entity.” “To the human nervous system, reality is indistinguishable from vividly imagined experience.” (I just watched the Monkees movie _Head_ today, which had that line in it.) I didn’t get enough chance to interact with the thing anyway. I got a brief look at it is all. Sorry I have no definite answers for your questions. Thanks for the compliment though, **WeRSauron**. “Believe those who seek the truth; doubt those who say they have found it.” I was a seeker, not an answerer. I don’t think that this particular experience held much significance. There were many other experiences I had in Magick that were much more significant for me. This one was just a botched experiment. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-successfully-summoned-a-spiritual-entity/197792.md?page=2)