Course Four: Rites 177
West: Now we turn to the West, still
holding our hands in a triangle with
finger and thumbtips together, bring-
ing them down below our waist like
a cup. The caller says something
like:O great Whale of the Western
Sea, come to us from your
watery depths and teach us the
lesson of flowing! Hail and be
welcome!A cup or shell of water may be splashed on the ground,
and the blue West candle may be lit.North: Finally we turn to the North.
Hands are held low and out from the
body, palms down, reaching like roots
for the Earth. The caller says something
like:O mighty Bull of the frozen
North, come to us from your
land of ice and mountains
and teach us the lesson of
stability! Hail and be
welcome!Salt may be sprinkled on the
ground, and the green North candle may be lit.Lesson 7: Invocations
Now, into this Magick Circle where
we are gathered, we invite the deities
to join us, for our magickal workings
are done in Their honor, and with
Their blessings. As ritual is basically
a spiritual experience, the invocation
of spiritual energies is common.
Spirit beings may be invoked in
whatever form is appropriate—
calling on Hermes, for instance, to
aid in our magick; or Brigit for
creative inspiration (see lists of
deities and their correspondences
in 7.II: “Gods of All the Nations”).
Angels, spirits of the
ancestors, animal totems, the
faerie folk, or anyone else we
may desire would be called in at this
time. In HOME, we often have people
costume themselves as deities for
ritual; the drawings here are of some of
our folks as various gods and goddesses.
Some magickal practitioners regardthese Spirit beings merely as
symbols representing differing
aspects of human conscious-
ness. However, it is my ex-
perience that the Deities, An-
gels, Totems, and other Spirit
beings of the various cultural
pantheons (families of deities)
are very real personalities, just as we are.
They each have Their own stories, histo-
ries, attributes, and most importantly, Their
own agendas (plans)—which may not be the same
as ours! The main difference between Them and the
rest of us is that They are trans-corporeal—indepen-
dent of bodies—and hence
immortal. They are not, how-
ever, omniscient (all knowing)
or omnipotent (all-powerful),
though They do know things and
have influences that we mortals
do not. Just as in dealing with any-
one else, we must treat and re-
spect Them as real beings if we
are to develop a real relation-
ship with Them.
It is entirely up to you to decide
whom you want to invite into your Circle,
and there is no one true right and only way
to do it. Whatever works and feels right is
right. Many rituals will invoke both a
Goddess and a God, just as you might invite both your
Mom and your Dad to a play, concert
or soccer game you’re in. There are,
of course, many different Gods,
Goddesses, and other Spirit beings
to choose from. Every culture that
has existed throughout history has
had its own pantheon, and I
recommend you study some of these
and become familiar with Them.
Of course, beings of Spirit are all
around us all the time, just like radio
waves and TV transmissions. What we are really do-
ing is making ourselves receptive to communion, or
contact with Them at this particular time and place.
This is much like turning on your TV and choosing
the channel you want to watch. This is done by invo-
cation, similar to our Quarter callings,
where we address the Deity or
Spirit as we would a friend
or relative, saying some-
thing like:Oh, most (gracious,
wise, beautiful, power-
ful, beloved, etc.)
(name), (Lord, Lady) of- Rites.p65 177 1/15/2004, 9:08 AM