Invoking the Gods
Once the Circle is cast, assemble in a circle
around the Central candle to invoke the Goddess. You may use a formal
invocation, or a wordless chant; you may wish to invoke one specific attribute
of the Goddess depending on your particular needs. Study the Correspondences
on Seven and read all the mythology you can, especially Graves, to become
familiar with different aspects. Durdin-Robinson is extremely useful as
a reference book, too. One invocation which works well for me is the following
(be careful not to hyperventilate during this one--people have been known
to collapse during it).
NAME TO CHANT: GULA (goo-lah)
COLOR: deep red
CHAKRA: basal
NATURE OF THE ENERGY: the interior heat of the earth
NAME TO CHANT: ANAT (ah-naht)
COLOR: orange
CHAKRA: gut
NATURE OF THE ENERGY: fierce warrior queen, force
NAME TO CHANT: TANIT (tah-neet)
COLOR: yellow
CHAKRA: solar plexus
NATURE OF THE ENERGY: power enlightened by knowledge, light
NAME TO CHANT: ISIS (eye-sis)
COLOR: green
CHAKRA: heart
NATURE OF THE ENERGY: love
NAME TO CHANT: NEITH (neeth)
COLOR: turquoise
CHAKRA: throat
NATURE OF THE ENERGY: communication, order
NAME TO CHANT: PSYCHE (sye-kee)
COLOR: dark blue
CHAKRA: third eye
NATURE OF THE ENERGY: mind, ego
NAME TO CHANT: KORE (koh-ray)
COLOR: purple
CHAKRA: crown, back to earth
NATURE OF THE ENERGY: mystery, the potential of the Goddess in each of
us
Stand erect and breathe deeply, holding
hands. As you chant each Goddess name, feel the energy rising up out of
the Earth and spiralling upward through your body, particularly in each
of the seven traditional chakras. Feel the energy in color, feel it coming,
first from the East, then from the South, then from the West, then from
the North, then straight up from the Center to the next level above. When
you reach the top, the crown chakra, let the energy spill out and down
to the earth again, to make a complete cycle.
Stand quietly for a few moments to appreciate
Her presence.
Then take the wand, and beat out a rhythm
for the invocation of the God. You may wish to do a free-form wordless
chant, or to call upon a specific aspect of the God. One good all-purpose
invocation is the following, initially composed by Arden: "Seed-sower,
Grain Reborn, Horned One, come" repeated with gathering intensity and
volume until the energy peaks and you feel the presence of the God. This
can get pretty rowdy, and the energy is likely to be extremely high, as
opposed to the deep reverence and awe generally felt after the preceding
invocation to the Lady. This high energy is best used by doing some sort
of magickal working which involves tangible objects--a spell, a consecration,
or a healing, for example. It is not a good idea to go directly to any
sort of tranceworking, as the unused energy will make everyone fidgety
and unable to concentrate. If you need to do a tranceworking right away,
it is good to do a group back-rub in order to steady the energy, and possibly
a group "OM" chant to quieten your bodies down.
During Sabbats, when there is no scheduled
magickal working to do, this is the point at which some seasonal observance
is made, such as a God-Sacrifice for Lammas or a Maypole Dance for Beltane;
this is generally followed by the blessing of cakes and wine and feasting.
References: Robert Graves, The White Goddess; Lawrence Durdin-Robinson, Goddesses of Chaldea, Syria, and Egypt