Journal First Steps Towards Goetic Evocation

[BuscaSombras]

Hello, everyone. I decided to make this thread in this forum in order to share my progress working with the Ars Goetia. I am writing down this stuff anyway and someone might find it useful, who knows?
This is my first time attempting to do something like this, stepping off the armchair and into the circle. I do like reading a lot about philosophy, with a particular interest in Platonism and Buddhism, and I do have a practical religious life. But never tried magic (unless you would consider some basic tantra, and some lackluster attempts at "theurgy" magic).

So getting into the meat of the topic, I am writting this a few days after my first attempt at evocation, which was done Wednesday, 18th of February 2026 at the eight planetary hour. The evocation failed. Perhaps the day chosen was ill fated as the combination of the moon being still close to the sun, though in Pisces, and the eclipse the day before might have impaired the manifesting of the spirit. The reason I chose this day is because the spirit I was trying to evoke, Valac, is a Mercurial spirit, and I didn't want to have the moon square to mercury, as it shall be next week.

The Preliminary Steps:

Spoiler: Preliminary Steps

I fasted for seven days, the first four being an intermitent fasting where I only ate one meal a day, and the last three and a half days(I started my fast the night of the Saturday) being water only. I am still in a fast like state as I only had a vegetable broth after the operation. The fast came with abstinence from sexual activity for 9 days. As well as daily ritual confession and meditation. Every day I would recite "Asparges me, Domine..." in the shower. The day of the ritual I took a full bath, after droping a handful of salt into the bathtub.

The items I consecrated to carry out the ritual were the following:

1. Robes, grey not white. I could not get my hands on a white one.
2. A white fabric belt. I tied this arround my waist, used it to hide the Hexagram of Solomon under. The idea was that the cloth would act as a sort of proxy for a white robe.
3. Annoiting oil. Made it myself by mixing myrrh and cinnamon in olive oil and letting it extract for a while.
4. An earthenware censer.
5. Charcoal disk (only took one with me into the circle which was a mistake as I shall discuss later)
6. The appropriate incense, storax and frankincense. Though I also had benzoin and rose petals with me, and vacuum sealed garlic in case I needed to banish something quickly.
7. A single tea candle and it's container.
8. Matches
9. A steel sword.
10. A medal with a laser-engraved Pentacle of Solomon, steel
11. A medal with a laser-engraved Hexagram of Solomon, steel
12. A medal with a laser-engraved seal of Valac on one side, Iahhel's seal on the other, steel
13. A container with holy water.
14. Three ball point pens.
15. Paper
16. A printed "contract" containing 5 articles, which in total contain within them all together 19 subarticles.
17. A notebook with the conjurations.
18. A simple handcrafted bamboo cane whistle.
19. Two chalk sticks, which I used to draw the circle.

All of these were consecrated through the week previous to the ritual using the methods shared by David Rankine in his book "Claves Intelligentiarum". The consecrations were done on a waning moon, rather than a waxing moon. I was ill advised on this, as I later learnt from Rankine's book that they should be done on a waxing moon. So I am reconsecrating them all again.

As for the circle and triangle I copied the three band model:
Inner circle read: +Agla+ +Adonai+ +Eloy+ +Tetragrammaton+
Middle circle read:

1. Name of the hour, Thamic
2. The angel of the hour, Raphael
3. The seal of Raphael
4. The angel of the day, Raphael
5. His ministers, Miel and Seraphiel
6. The name of the season I am working in, Casmaran
7. Angels of the season, Gargatel, Tariel, Gaviel
8. Sign of the season, Tubiel
9. Name of the Earth in this season, Festavi
10. Name of the sun in this season, Athemai
11. Name of the moon in this season, Armatus

Outer circle read: Mediat Rex, Suquinos, Sallales (Aerial king of wednesday as well as his ministers)

The triangle was made also out of chalk, with its base towards the circle and its other end pointing to the west. On each side it read, Anaphaxeton, Primeumaton, Tetragrammaton. And in the inside each angle had a sylable of the word MICHAEL. Just besides the triangle I left a bell, expecting it to be rang if there be a manifestation.

Ritual Structure:

Spoiler: Ritual Structure

I will divide this in the 6 step process outlined by Skinner and Rankine.

Consecratio Dei:
I started with the trinitarian formula in Latin.
Then as I put on the robe and belt I recited the formula:

Ancor, Amacor, Amides, Theodonias, Anitor, by the merits of thy Angels, O Lord, I will put on the Garments of Salvation, that this which I desire I may bring to effect: through thee the most holy Adonay, whose kingdom endureth for ever and ever. Amen.

Followed by the consecration of the circle, the benediction of the incenses and the exorcism of the fire, as indicated by the Heptameron.
On the consecration of the circle I also traced the outline of the inner circle with the sword while saying:

I consecrate myself by the virtue of these holy names I speak. Adonay, Eloy, Agla, Tetragrammaton.

This was indicated on the GlitchBottle podcast as well as the following step. Here is where I recited the Amorule prayer to the four portions of the circle, rather than doing it in the evocation step.

Invocatio:

I started by calling the angels of Wednesday. Raphael and his ministers Miel and Seraphiel.

Raphael et ministiri Miel et Seraphiel invoco vos
O Angeli supradicti, estote adjutores meæ petitioni, & in adjutorium mihi, in meis rebus & petitionibus.

After having asked for their help in the evocation I then moved to calling the angels of the four cardinal directions.
Then I recited the middle band of the circle containing all the seasonal angels. You might have noticed the angels are the ones of summer, I am in the Southern Hemisphere so I was unsure as to whether I should go with them or the winter angels, decided the summer angels fit the mood better, but perhaps this is a subpar reason to base this choice on.
Afterwards I invoked Iahhel by reciting the Psalm verse associated with him.
Finishing with:

O vos omnes, adjuro atque contestor per sedem Adonay, per Hagios, ò Theos, Ischyros, Athanatos, Paracletos, Alpha & Omega, & per hæc tria nomina secreta, Agla, On, Tetragrammaton, quòd hodie debeatis adimplere quod cupio.

And the conjuration of the angels of Wednesday. Asking again for their help in this operation.

To end this section I also shortly invoked the king Mediat Rex, using the whistle after each invocation. I did use the "exorcisme of the spirit of the air" as said in the Heptameron, as the book I was basing this on "The Goetia of Doctor Rudd" omited it.

Evocation:

For the rest of the ritual I used the exact same formula given in the Goetia of Doctor Rudd, only skipping the curses section, as I lack the materials.

How it actually went:
It was an interesting experience. The feeling of stepping into the circle is quite interesting. Having drawn the circle, after figuring out how to do somewhat perfect circles in chalk, with all the names written down I was left with a vague feeling of power. The sensation of being inside the circle was quite nice.
Now what went wrong with the ritual, or what I think went wrong.
Nothing came of course, but something major that happened to me and lowered my spirits is that I actually forgot the coal disks outside the circle. This left me with only one charcoal disk for the whole operation, which eventually started fading. Likewise the incense, storax, ran out surprisingly quickly, and I underestimated how much I would need to have a constant amount of smoke filling the room. I am no stranger to using charcoal disks, but this really threw a wrench into my operation I think.

Spoiler: Issues

Major Issues:
I did memorise the consecratio dei, the invocatio, and the first conjuration. But I really could not manage to make enough time to memorise the second conjuration, the constraint, and the calling of the king. As such I had to rely on a notebook, which I did consecrate, but even reciting the memorised lines felt a bit clunky. I did know the text, but I didn't feel the text.
I said the first conjuration outlined in the Goetia of Dr Rudd, then went to the second which I used several times, then the constriction which threatens the spirit openly, then the invocation of the king. After saying the invocation of the king I went over the conjurations again. I did this process several times till I ran out of fire and incense. In no part of the process did I feel anything indicating a precense being called into the room.
The only point at which I did actually feel like something was happening was when reciting the first conjuration. It did feel like the temperature of the room dropped a bit, but only while I was reciting the first part of the conjuration. It quickly faded away.
Overall I did feel very clunky throughout the evocation. I still did all of the remaining steps until the license to depart just in case, but doubt anything would happen.

Other issues:
The seal of Valac was laser engraved on a stainless steel medal. While this is technically not iron, iron still is the main component of steel.
I did draw the four pentagrams outside the circle, but I didn't place anything in them. It has come to my attention that candles are supposed to go there, and I also think I placed them wrongly.
Another thing I didn't know about is that it seems people put a paper version of the seal into the triangle. I was not aware of this, my triangle was empty.

What am I looking forward to:
After seeing some comments online it seems like the days for the evocation of the 70th demon, Seere, are supposed to happen next week. So I am tempted to try my hand at another evocation next thursday, I will have to do all paper seals however as it is practically impossible for me to get a tin laser engraved sigil in such a short time. My idea is to hand write them with a fountain pen.
The alternative is to prepare myself better for another evocation some other waxing moon season. But this feels like a good opportunity window, and after a few days it feels like the memorisation step has sticked better in my brain. The text feels more internalised. Furthermore I don't know for how long I shall have access to this empty house. If anyone has any interesting idea they would like to share I would of course appreciate it, especially on the structure of the ritual.

Spoiler: Disclaimer

I tried to structure my post in a legible manner. I skipped the creation of a thread in the introduction section, if this is considered rude I apologise.

 

[Riva626]

Damn, this is a helluva post. You put more work into this evocation than most practitioners. Between the fasting and celebacy alone, you should feel incredibly proud.

I'm not sure why you tried to blend so many systems together though, literally everything you need is in the Lemegeton. Including the appropriate times to conjure Seere, and the waxing moon etc. It's a minor oversight though, and overall, you seem to have done great.

Might I ask what you conjured it for?

I ask because in many cases you don't need the spirit to show up to get results. Nor will results come immediately. In most of my evocations I will get some kind of strange phenomena that indicates the spirit has arrived. But even if I don't, I will pretend that it has, then give it the license to depart anyway. Sometimes I'll do smaller petition style workings to the spirit for several days after the initial work too.

The point I'm trying to make is, don't give up or feel disheartened because nothing showed up. Keep asking for what you want, do the work, and hope for the best.

Once again, great account, thanks for sharing.

 

[BuscaSombras]

I'm not sure why you tried to blend so many systems together though, literally everything you need is in the Lemegeton. Including the appropriate times to conjure Seere, and the waxing moon etc. It's a minor oversight though, and overall, you seem to have done great.

Well the reason as to why I ended up with this mix is because my starting point was the Goetia of Doctor Rudd. That book is the one that suggests the Heptameron influence, so it's what I went with. What other edition of the Lemegeton would you suggest?

Might I ask what you conjured it for?

Revelation of information regarding a hidden treasure. I would prefer remaining a bit mysterious on this one, but it is also what is making me consider Seere as well. I did give Valac the command that this information may be given during a timeframe of up to a week, so I am trying to pay attention and have some spare paper and pen with me if possible.

The point I'm trying to make is, don't give up or feel disheartened because nothing showed up. Keep asking for what you want, do the work, and hope for the best.

I think what I have taken out of this experience the most is that I now have a much better feeling for the ritual, what to expect, and things regarding the practical side of things. Constructing the circle out of chalk, having a better sense for the amount of resources needed, memorisation of the necessary formulas, having a good sense of the fasting process, etc.
Which is why I am considering a new attempt this thursday as I might have front loaded a large amount of the learning curve towards the first evocation. I might have to use the consecrated paper to create the sigils of Seere on my own, but I'm thinking this might lead to more success than the steel laser-engraved ones.

 

[Riva626]

Well the reason as to why I ended up with this mix is because my starting point was the Goetia of Doctor Rudd. That book is the one that suggests the Heptameron influence, so it's what I went with. What other edition of the Lemegeton would you suggest?

Revelation of information regarding a hidden treasure. I would prefer remaining a bit mysterious on this one, but it is also what is making me consider Seere as well. I did give Valac the command that this information may be given during a timeframe of up to a week, so I am trying to pay attention and have some spare paper and pen with me if possible.


I think what I have taken out of this experience the most is that I now have a much better feeling for the ritual, what to expect, and things regarding the practical side of things. Constructing the circle out of chalk, having a better sense for the amount of resources needed, memorisation of the necessary formulas, having a good sense of the fasting process, etc.
Which is why I am considering a new attempt this thursday as I might have front loaded a large amount of the learning curve towards the first evocation. I might have to use the consecrated paper to create the sigils of Seere on my own, but I'm thinking this might lead to more success than the steel laser-engraved ones.

In 2018 I had a spirit manifest visibly to me as an orb of white light that shot through my wall and landed in the crystal. I have never been able to replicate this kind of manifestation since. But if I were to guess why it was so successful, I'd say it was a mix of celibacy, a three day fast, and the luxury of performing the evocation in an isolated countryside home where no one could hear me belt the conjurations from the top of my voice. The whole procedure was emotionally charged with personal issues at the time too.

I had little in the way of tools. Merely a circle, table of practice, a wand, and incense.

I think a lot of people get hung up on acquiring all of the tools and doing the procedure by the book (myself included). When the reality is that there are likely some underlying principles upon which manifestations are likely to occur. It's my belief that the aforementioned factors of my own operation in 2018 are those core principles.

Prayer
Fasting
Isolation
Desire
And saying those damn conjurations like you mean it!

Or perhaps I'm wrong. Perhaps I just got lucky.

However, think of it like boxing or grappling. Most casual observers will see their idol hit the knock-out combo or fancy submission, go back to the gym and drill it, but struggle to pull it off their own competitions. Why? Because they ignored the fundamental steps it took to get there. They didn't see their idol's footwork, they didn't take note of how he controlled the centre of the ring, how he controlled his opponents with carefully placed punches and positioning BEFORE he created the opening for the knockout combo.

It's the same with grappling, the grappler can't pull off the fancy submission without first executing the fundamental principles of taking their opponent down, passing guard, controlling them, and finding themselves in a position to land that submission.

I've gone on a long winded tangent. But what I'm trying to say is, are the fancy tools and timings the linchpin upon which a successful operation rests? Or is it the steps it took to get there? Do the spirits respond to the procedure, the process, both, or something else entirely?

 

[BuscaSombras]

In 2018 I had a spirit manifest visibly to me as an orb of white light that shot through my wall and landed in the crystal. I have never been able to replicate this kind of manifestation since. But if I were to guess why it was so successful, I'd say it was a mix of celibacy, a three day fast, and the luxury of performing the evocation in an isolated countryside home where no one could hear me belt the conjurations from the top of my voice

Yeah, I am dealing with an apartment. While it's empty I kind of feel self conscious, but not as much anymore after having done it, as I let me raise my voice. The issue is the appartment, being empty, gives an echo to my voice.

I had little in the way of tools. Merely a circle, table of practice, a wand, and incense.

I think a lot of people get hung up on acquiring all of the tools and doing the procedure by the book (myself included). When the reality is that there are likely some underlying principles upon which manifestations are likely to occur. It's my belief that the aforementioned factors of my own operation in 2018 are those core principles.

Prayer
Fasting
Isolation
Desire
And saying those damn conjurations like you mean it!

This is my thinking going into the second attempt, which is why I am looking forward to doing a paper seals. I will use high quality paper for it, which does have a nice feel.
Mind sharing what your method was? The conjurations and all that. The reason I want to try Seere next, besides the fact I do feel quite compelled to do it, with a sort of enthusiasm, is that the Illustrated Goetia by Duquette, Hyatt and Wilson lists his days as being February 19 to 28.

I've gone on a long winded tangent. But what I'm trying to say is, are the fancy tools and timings the linchpin upon which a successful operation rests? Or is it the steps it took to get there? Do the spirits respond to the procedure, the process, both, or something else entirely?

The way I am treating it is like baking a cake. Recipe books lists a lot of ingredients and procedures, and no two bakers will give you the exact same cake. But if I don't know how to bake a cake I have no idea what steps are 100% essentials, which are not essential but nice to have, and which are the particular inclinations and flavourings of the cook. I imagine once you have succesfully baked one or two cakes you might start behaving which more freedom.

 

[Riva626]

I basically used the watered down version of Goetia by Rufus Opus. His Modern Goetic Grimoire should be floating around the internet in pdf format.

As far as duquette's timings, I think he took them from tables that Crowley constructed, but I could be totally wrong, it's been a while since I read either of them. I try to stick to the times from the Lemegeton, no point complicating things.

"
"Thou art to observe first ye Moones age for yr working. The best dayes are when ye moon is 2, 4, 6, 8,124 10, 12 or 14 dayes old, as Salomon sayeth, and no other dayes are profitable....The chife [chief] kings may be bound from 9 to 12 of ye Clock at noone & from 3 till sunset.129 Marquizes may be bound from 3 of ye Clock in ye after Noon till nine at night and from 9 at nt [night] till sunrising. Dukes may be bound from sunrising till Noonday in clear weather. Prelates may be bound in any hour of the day. Knights may be bound from ye dawning of ye day till sunrising or from four of ye Clock till sunset. Presidents may be bound in any hour of ye day, Except Twilight, at Night, or [if] the king whome he is under, be also Invocated &c. Counts or Earles may be bound in any hour of the day so [if] it be in woods or any other place where Men resort Not, or where No Noise is &c."

 

[BuscaSombras]

I basically used the watered down version of Goetia by Rufus Opus. His Modern Goetic Grimoire should be floating around the internet in pdf format.

I did read it, it was useful in trying to dynamise the ritual structure for me.

As far as duquette's timings, I think he took them from tables that Crowley constructed, but I could be totally wrong, it's been a while since I read either of them. I try to stick to the times from the Lemegeton, no point complicating things.

Yes, I bet they are actually from the Golden Dawn. I was compelled to pay attention to them due to the timing coinciding so well with what I was working with.

As I said before I was going to try a new evocation yesterday and I did.

The Implements:
The implements used in the evocation were more or less the same as before.
I drew two sigils of Seere on paper using a fountain pen, instead of laser engraving them in steel. I made a small perforation on one of them, so I could wear it with a thread.
I also replaced the three pens I used previously for a single fountain pen, which was more comfortable to use.
I consecrated 4 more candles, these went into the pentagrams drawn on the four angles outside the circle.

The Circle:
I concluded that it made no sense to have the outerband being the aerial king of the day, which I no longer called anyway, so I removed it. Leaving me with only two circles. The inner circle with the names of God, and the outer circle with the names of the angels and the season.

The Triangle:
Made it bigger since I had more space to work with now. I also added a circle inside the triangle, were I placed one of the sigils.

The Timing:
I really think the timing couldn't have been better. The moon was waxing, on its 8th day after the new moon.
Other elements were also well timed, I believe. The moon was conjunct to Jupiter, and both were in trine to the Sun. No harsh aspects were in the sky that day at all. Furthermore the Zodiacal timing as given by Crowley was exactly right, the Sun was on the 8th degree of Pisces.
So I really don't think the timing could have been improved, it seemed like yesterday was the perfect day.

The Ritual Structure:
I followed the same structure as before, the major change was I no longer even bothered to call the Aerial King.
So after repeating the invocation of the angels twice I moved directly into the Evocation of the spirit.
Again, I said the following as outlined in the Goetia of Dr Rudd. The First Conjuration, The Second Conjuration, The Constraint, and the Invocation of the King

How It Went:
My perception of the evocation is that it was not a success.
Going into the circle I felt like I really had everything down this time, I even went at night to generate more tension in my mind. And even the tarot reading I got before starting the fasting indicated success, as I drew The Star as a primary card, with the Queen of Pentacles, Queen of Swords, and King of Pentacles supporting it. Which symbolically felt quite appropriate for a Solomonic ritual.
This time I made sure to have the sufficient coal and incense. I burnt a huge amount of incense, the ritual's room was loaded with the smoke, it was so much that I could actually taste the flavour of Benzoin while saying the conjurations, and even today after having a shower I can sometimes catch a whiff of smoke on my body, and I am not even on the same apartment I did the ritual in.
I repeated all the conjurations, including the invocations of the angels many times. The whole ritual took the lenght of two hours forty-nine minutes. So you can get an idea of how many times I repeated the invocations, evocations and threatened the spirit. At some point I got so angry at the spirit not coming that I drew his sigil on paper and held it over the tea candle while I threatened him with binding him in the eternal fire and into the lake of fire and brimstome, and I did eventually dip the sigil into the fire.
And I did voice out the conjurations, as this is probably my last attempt in a long while I took the effort to get past my hesitation and I ended up practically shouting some of the conjurations.
As with the previous attempt, even though my initial perception is that nothing came before the circle (I am now having second thoughts on this) I still eventually did proceed with the ritual as if it was obvious something came. The only thing I want from him is information regarding a hidden treasure, just knowledge.

Looking Forward:
I think this shall be my last attempt at evocation for a long while. All the fasting, preparation of the implements, and studying did take a toll on me. I can not prepare another evocation before the full moon, and it is very doubtful I shall have access to the space I did the ritual in next month.
I really do hope that my message to Prince Seere did come across, and the information I demanded is given to me, it would really turn my life arround for the better. Guess we'll have to see if it worked this week.

 

[Riva626]

Amazing work. Well done. You should be proud of yourself. The preparation that went into this far exceeds most practitioners.

Don't be discouraged because nothing showed up. Pay attention to your dreams over the next week, and take note of any other strange occurrences.

You can also do shorter, consistent, folk style magic with Seeres seal over the coming days. Burn some incense, leave an some offerings, and repeat your request. The results might surprise you.

Again, well done, and thanks for sharing.

 

[BuscaSombras]

Amazing work. Well done. You should be proud of yourself. The preparation that went into this far exceeds most practitioners.

Don't be discouraged because nothing showed up. Pay attention to your dreams over the next week, and take note of any other strange occurrences.

You can also do shorter, consistent, folk style magic with Seeres seal over the coming days. Burn some incense, leave an some offerings, and repeat your request. The results might surprise you.

Again, well done, and thanks for sharing.

Yeah, I will pay more attention and be meditative. Let's see if anything happens. I might try some other things as well.

On one hand I would be lying if I said I didn't feel discouraged, on the other hand recollecting the ritual it does seem like at times something did happen.
Like at some point, exactly when I put the censer inside the triangle(using the sword to move it I did not step out of the circle), with burning benzoin there was a strong rumbling sound of unknown origin, and at other point in the ritual I had briefly this strange sensation. I wouldn't call it fear, more fear adjacent. A similar sensation to when you hear the thundering of a storm that is directly above you.
Another thing that was strange is that the sigil that was contained inside the triangle showed this brownish shadow directly on the sigil today, as if it had been faintly burnt.
On the other hand at no point did it felt like there was a presence in the room with me. You know that feeling of having another person right besides you, or suddenly feeling that something's watching you, and it turns out it's your cat or your dogs.
I don't want to gaslight myself into thinking something did happen, but these are things that happened yesterday which did not happen at all the first time.

 

[Riva626]

Those are great signs. But I understand how you might feel discouraged. Most of my evocations rarely produce any physical phenomena, and after having experienced something so vivid in 2018, it's very disheartening even to this day.

That being said. I will sometimes see a blueish haze, and sparkly dots in my vision. If I don't get an apparition or sign of appearance, I will ask for one. I'll ask the spirit to make a dog bark, or bird sing, or for some other similar sign. Blasts of wind or sudden rain for the duration of the ritual are common. If I scry I'll see things in the crystal, but like yourself, I don't like to delude myself into thinking they have any importance, or that they aren't subconscious projections.

Ultimately, if I get the result I asked for, then all is well, regardless of how discouraging a lack of apparition can be.