View source for Evocation

{{Short description|Western tradition of summoning a spirit, demon, god}}
{{About|supernatural conjuration}}
{{redirect-multi|2|Summon|Summoning|the legal document issued by a court|Summons|other uses|Summon (disambiguation)|and|Summoning (disambiguation)}}
{{Magic sidebar|Forms}}

'''Evocation''' is the act of evoking, calling upon, or summoning a [[Spirit (supernatural entity)|spirit]], [[demon]], [[deity]] or other [[supernatural]] agents, in the [[Western mystery tradition]]. Conjuration also refers to a summoning, often by the use of a magical spell. The conjuration of the [[ghost]]s or spirits of the dead for the purpose of [[divination]] is called [[necromancy]]. Comparable practices exist in many [[religion]]s and [[Magic (paranormal)|magical]] traditions and may employ the use of mind-altering substances with and without uttered word formulas.

==Conjuration==
[[Image:White indian conjuror.jpg|thumb|left|[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] "conjuror" in a 1590 engraving]]
In traditional and most contemporary usage, ''conjuration'' refers to a [[magic (paranormal)|magical]] act of invoking spirits or using incantations or charms to cast magical spells. In the context of [[legerdemain]], it may also refer to the performance of illusion or [[magic (illusion)|magic tricks]] for show. This article discusses mainly the original and primary usage, describing acts of a [[supernatural]] or [[paranormal]] nature.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/conjure |title=Conjure &#124; Define Conjure at Dictionary.com |publisher=Dictionary.reference.com |access-date=2014-08-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/conjuration |title=Conjuration &#124; Define Conjuration at Dictionary.com |publisher=Dictionary.reference.com |access-date=2014-08-20}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2023}}

Within some [[magic (paranormal)|magical]] traditions today, such as [[Neopagan witchcraft]], [[hoodoo (folk magic)|hoodoo]] and [[Hermeticism]] or [[ceremonial magic]], conjuration may refer specifically to an act of calling or invoking deities and other spirits; or it may refer more generally to the casting of magic spells by a variety of techniques.<ref name="Conjure">{{cite encyclopedia |author=Houdini, Harry |author-link=Harry Houdini |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Harry-Houdini-on-conjuring-1973131|title=Conjuring |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |edition=13th |year=1926 |access-date=January 22, 2018}}</ref>

==In Western esotericism==
[[File:Ebenezer Sibly - Edwḍ Kelly, a Magician. in the Act of invoking the Spirit of a Deceased Person.jpg|thumb|[[John Dee (mathematician)|John Dee]] and [[Edward Kelley]] evoking a spirit]]
{{see also|Magic and religion}}

The [[Latin]] word ''[[evocatio]]'' was the "calling forth" or "summoning away" of a city's [[tutelary deity]]. The ritual was conducted in a military setting either as a threat during a [[siege]] or as a result of surrender, and aimed at diverting the god's favor from the opposing city to the Roman side, customarily with a promise of a better-endowed cult or a more lavish temple.<ref>[[Mary Beard (classicist)|Mary Beard]], J.A. North, and S.R.F. Price, ''Religions of Rome: A Sourcebook'' (Cambridge University Press, 1998), p. 41.</ref> ''Evocatio'' was thus a kind of ritual dodge to mitigate looting of sacred objects or images from shrines that would otherwise be sacrilegious or impious.<ref>Nicholas Purcell, "On the Sacking of Corinth and Carthage", in ''Ethics and Rhetoric: Classical Essays for Donald Russell on His Seventy (Oxford University Press, 1995), pp. 140–142.</ref>

The calling forth of spirits was a relatively common practice in [[Neoplatonism]], [[theurgy]] and other esoteric systems of antiquity. In contemporary [[Western mystery tradition|western esotericism]], the magic of the [[grimoire]]s is frequently seen as the classical example of this idea. Manuals such as the ''[[Key of Solomon|Greater Key of Solomon the King]]'', The ''[[Lemegeton|Lesser Key of Solomon]]'' (or ''Lemegeton''), the ''[[The Book of Abramelin|Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage]]''.

==See also==
*{{anli|Apport (paranormal)|Apport}}
*{{anli|Materialization (paranormal)|Materialization}}
*{{anli|Psychokinesis}}
*{{anli|Thaumaturgy}}
*{{anli|Theurgy}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |author-link=Max Dessoir |last=Dessoir |first=Max |year=1891 |url=https://archive.org/stream/aroundworldwithm00burl |chapter=Psychology of the Art of Conjuring |editor-link=H. J. Burlingame |editor-first=H. J. |editor-last=Burlingame |title=Around the World with a Magician and a Juggler |place=Chicago |publisher=Clyde Publishing Co. |pages=137–165}}
* {{cite book |author-link=Thomas Frost (writer) |first=Thomas |last=Frost |year=1876 |url=https://archive.org/details/livesconjurors01frosgoog |title=The Lives of the Conjurors |publisher=Tinsley Brothers}}
* {{cite book |author-link=Kocku von Stuckrad |first=Kocku |last=von Stuckrad |title=Western Esotericism: A Brief History of Secret Knowledge |translator=[[Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke]] |place=London |publisher=Equinox |volume=XII}}

==External links==
*{{wikt-inline|evoke|evocation|conjure|conjuration}}

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[[Category:Anthropology of religion]]
[[Category:Ceremonial magic]]
[[Category:Magic rituals]]