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27-460: Like most other Hekhalot texts, the Ma'aseh Merkabah revolves around the knowledge of secret names of God used theurgically for mystical ascent. It begins with a conversation between Rabbi Ishmael and Rabbi Akiva , where the latter expounds on the mysteries of the spiritual world, as well as describing the appearance of the heavenly planes. Hymns with long lists of secret names of God are present throughout

54-586: A favour, or their spiritual presence in a ceremony) or simply for worship , this can be done in a pre-established form or with the invoker's own words or actions. An example of a pre-established text for an invocation is the Lord's Prayer . In general, all religions use invoking prayers, liturgies , or hymns ; see for example the mantras in Hinduism and Buddhism , the Egyptian Coming Out by Day (aka Book of

81-402: A field involving communicating or interacting with certain incorporeal, supernatural spirits . Invocation may take the form of: These forms are described below, but are not mutually exclusive. See also Theurgy . As a supplication or prayer, an invocation implies calling upon God , a god, goddess , or person. When a person calls upon God, a god, or goddess to ask for something (protection,

108-448: A microcosm. Possessive invocation may be attempted singly or, as is often the case in Wicca, in pairs - with one person doing the invocation (reciting the liturgy or prayers and acting as anchor), and the other person being invoked (allowing themselves to become a vessel for the spirit or deity). The person successfully invoked may be moved to speak or act in non-characteristic ways, acting as

135-537: A papyrus booklet dated 880-881. An invocation can also be a secular alternative to a prayer. On August 30, 2012, Dan Nerren, a member of the Humanist Association of Tulsa, delivered a secular invocation to open a meeting of the City Council of Tulsa . Nerren was invited to perform the invocation as a compromise following a long-running dispute with the City Council over prayers opening meetings. The invocation

162-436: A series of hymns for further ascent. Theurgy Theurgy ( / ˈ θ iː ɜːr dʒ i / ; from Greek θεουργία theourgía ), also known as divine magic , is one of two major branches of the magical arts, the other being practical magic or thaumaturgy . Theurgy describes the ritual practices associated with the invocation or evocation of the presence of one or more deities , especially with

189-410: Is differentiated from " evocation ", which involves asking a spirit or force to become present at a given location. Aleister Crowley states that To "invoke" is to "call in", just as to "evoke" is to "call forth". This is the essential difference between the two branches of Magick . In invocation, the macrocosm floods the consciousness . In evocation, the magician, having become the macrocosm, creates

216-436: Is used here in its neutral form to mean "a state (sometimes psychological) in which an individual's normal personality is replaced by another". This is also sometimes known as 'aspecting'. This can be done as a means of communicating with or getting closer to a deity or spirit. In some religious traditions including Paganism , Shamanism and Wicca , "invocation" means to draw a spirit or Spirit force into one's own body and

243-529: The Vodou tradition where devotees are described as being "ridden" or "mounted" by the deity or spirit. In 1995 National Geographic journalist Carol Beckwith described events she had witnessed during Vodoun possessions: A woman splashed sand into her eyes, a man cut his belly with shards of glass but did not bleed, another swallowed fire. Nearby a believer, perhaps a yam farmer or fisherman, heated hand-wrought knives in crackling flames. Then another man brought one of

270-520: The Dead ), the Orphic Hymns and the many texts, still preserved, written in cuneiform characters on clay tablets, addressed to Shamash , Ishtar , and other deities. In Islam , invocation ( duʿāʾ ) is a prayer of supplication or request. Muslims regard this as a profound act of worship. One of the earliest treaties on invocations, attributed to a scholar named Khālid ibn Yazīd, has survived on

297-459: The cosmos. Iamblichus' analysis was that the transcendent cannot be grasped with mental contemplation because the transcendent is supra-rational. Theurgy is a series of rituals and operations aimed at recovering the transcendent essence by retracing the divine 'signatures' through the layers of being. Education is important for comprehending the scheme of things as presented by Aristotle, Plato, and Pythagoras. The theurgist works 'like with like': at

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324-434: The degree of Magus or Adept after a certain level of spiritual attainment. In a traditional and magical sense, theurgy is seen as the opposite of Goetia , even though many argue that they overlap. John Milbank , founder of radical orthodoxy , asserts that theology "encourages a theurgy which aims at a liberation of nature from terror and distress and at a fully harmonious and beautiful interaction between humans and

351-502: The deity or spirit; and they may lose all or some self-awareness while doing so. A communication might also be given via imagery (a religious vision ). They may also be led to recite a text in the manner of that deity, in which case the invocation is more akin to ritual drama. The Wiccan Charge of the Goddess is an example of such a pre-established recitation. The ecstatic, possessory form of invocation may be compared to loa possession in

378-481: The divine light alone. Theurgy in this hermetic sense stresses the need for the individual to separate and analyze the individual components that constitute everyday consciousness and reunite them in a way that changes one's personal awareness into a state that understands and partakes in spiritual grace. Invocation In ritual magic , invocations (from the Latin verb invocare "to call on, invoke, to give") are

405-514: The goal of achieving henosis (uniting with the divine) and perfecting oneself. Theurgy means "divine working". The first recorded use of the term is found in the mid-second-century neoplatonist work the Chaldean Oracles (Fragment 153 des Places (Paris, 1971): 'For the theourgoí do not fall under the fate-governed herd'). The source of Western theurgy can be found in the philosophy of late neoplatonists , especially Iamblichus . Although

432-404: The ground. And he must pray with all his strength, direct his heart to his prayer, and seal himself with his own seal, and pronounce 12 utterances: 'You are living God in heaven, engraved as a SPYSṬWS NWMSṬWS 'QNYPWS 'NBY...' After more formulas, another prayer and ritual is given to protect the practitioner when the angel of the presence (named as PDQRM or PNQRS in the text) descends. This involves

459-507: The higher was lost or transmitted to the lower, which remained unchanged by the lower emanations. For Plotinus and Porphyry the emanations are as follows: Plotinus urged contemplations for those who wished to perform theurgy, the goal of which was to reunite with the Divine (called henosis ). Therefore, his school resembles a school of meditation or contemplation . Iamblichus , a student of Anatolius and Porphyry (the latter himself

486-474: The hold mainstream Christianity had over the empire at the time, this was ultimately unsuccessful, but he did produce several works of philosophy and theology , including a popular hymn to the sun. In his theology, Helios , the sun, was the ideal example of the perfection of the gods and light, a symbol of divine emanation. He also held the mother goddess Cybele in high esteem. Julian favored ritual theurgy, with an emphasis on sacrifice and prayer . He

513-534: The knives to his tongue. We cringed at the sight and were dumbfounded when, after several repetitions, his tongue had not even reddened. Possessive invocation has also been described in certain Norse rites where Odin is invoked to "ride" workers of seidr (Norse shamanism), much like the god rides his eight-legged horse Sleipnir . Indeed, forms of possessive invocation appear throughout the world in most mystical or ecstatic traditions, wherever devotees seek to touch upon

540-483: The material level, with physical symbols; at the higher level, with mental and purely spiritual practices. Starting with correspondences of the divine in matter, the theurgist eventually reaches the level where the soul's inner divinity unites with the One. The Emperor Julian (332-363) embraced neoplatonic philosophy and worked to replace Christianity with a version of neoplatonic paganism . Because of his untimely death and

567-654: The natural world". He continues by stating that theology equally "encourages a theurgy which is a social work of maximising democratic participation and socialist sharing". Some organizations, such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn , teach a type of theurgy that would help one ascend spiritually as well as understand the true nature of the self and its relation to the Divine and the Universe. This tradition holds that theurgists are usually solitary practitioners who seek

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594-561: The neoplatonists are often considered pagan polytheists , they embraced a form of monism . In late neoplatonism, the spiritual universe is regarded as a series of emanations from the One . From the One emanated the Divine Mind (Nous) and in turn from the Divine Mind emanated the World Soul (Psyche). Neoplatonists insisted that the One is absolutely transcendent and in the emanations nothing of

621-566: The recitation of various divine names over one's body, referred to as "seals", designed to ensure that the mystic does not perish due to the fearsome power of the angel: Blessed are you YY who created heaven and earth with your wisdom. Your name is forever. ḤY 'WP SYSY PYY'W LW SM BY KYH TNYY the name of Your servant. By the Seven Seals that Rabbi Ishmael sealed on his heart. 'WRYS SSTYY on my feet, 'BG BGG on my heart, 'RYS TYP' on my right arm, 'WRYS TSY Y'H on my left arm...(etc.) The text ends with

648-612: The text, as well as many angel names including a section listing the various angelic rules of the 7 palaces. Specific ritual instructions are also given at various points in the text, including a technique to invoke the angel of the Presence: The name of the prince of the Torah is Yofiel, and everyone who seeks him must sit for 40 days in fast, eat his bread with salt, and must not eat unclean food; he must perform 24 immersions, and not look at any kind of coloured garments; his eyes must be cast to

675-540: Was a student of Plotinus ), taught a more ritualized method of theurgy that involved invocation and religious, as well as magical, ritual. Iamblichus believed theurgy was an imitation of the gods, and in his major work, On the Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians , he described theurgic observance as "ritualized cosmogony " that endowed embodied souls with the divine responsibility of creating and preserving

702-583: Was heavily influenced by Iamblichus ' ideas. Esoteric Christianity accepts theurgy as a tradition that could greatly benefit a person. The main feat of Esoteric Christianity is to learn the mysteries of God (see Raziel ) and to rise to higher consciousness in the understanding of God's relationship to individual consciousness. Theurgy, in the esoteric tradition, uses this knowledge to heighten one's own spiritual nature. Some branches of Esoteric Christianity hold that if an Esoteric Christian, Rosicrucian , or Theosopher practices it they could potentially rise to

729-562: Was written by Andrew Lovley, a member of the Southern Maine Association of Secular Humanists who had previously used the invocation in 2009 to invoke an inauguration ceremony for new city officials in South Portland, Maine . In this usage, it is comparable to an affirmation as an alternative for those who conscientiously object to taking oaths of any kind, be it for reasons of belief or non-belief . The word "possession"

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