# Evocation

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{{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](/source/Spirit_(supernatural_entity)), [demon](/source/demon), [deity](/source/deity) or other [supernatural](/source/supernatural) agents, in the [Western mystery tradition](/source/Western_mystery_tradition). Conjuration also refers to a summoning, often by the use of a magical spell. The conjuration of the [ghost](/source/ghost)s or spirits of the dead for the purpose of [divination](/source/divination) is called [necromancy](/source/necromancy). Comparable practices exist in many [religion](/source/religion)s and [magical](/source/Magic_(paranormal)) traditions and may employ the use of mind-altering substances with and without uttered word formulas.

==Conjuration==
[[Image:White indian conjuror.jpg|thumb|left|[Native American](/source/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas) "conjuror" in a 1590 engraving]]
In traditional and most contemporary usage, ''conjuration'' refers to a [magical](/source/magic_(paranormal)) act of invoking spirits or using incantations or charms to cast magical spells. In the context of [legerdemain](/source/legerdemain), it may also refer to the performance of illusion or [magic tricks](/source/magic_(illusion)) for show. This article discusses mainly the original and primary usage, describing acts of a [supernatural](/source/supernatural) or [paranormal](/source/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 [magical](/source/magic_(paranormal)) traditions today, such as [Neopagan witchcraft](/source/Neopagan_witchcraft), [hoodoo](/source/hoodoo_(folk_magic)) and [Hermeticism](/source/Hermeticism) or [ceremonial magic](/source/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](/source/John_Dee_(mathematician)) and [Edward Kelley](/source/Edward_Kelley) evoking a spirit]]
{{see also|Magic and religion}}

The [Latin](/source/Latin) word ''[evocatio](/source/evocatio)'' was the "calling forth" or "summoning away" of a city's [tutelary deity](/source/tutelary_deity). The ritual was conducted in a military setting either as a threat during a [siege](/source/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](/source/Mary_Beard_(classicist)), 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](/source/Neoplatonism), [theurgy](/source/theurgy) and other esoteric systems of antiquity. In contemporary [western esotericism](/source/Western_mystery_tradition), the magic of the [grimoire](/source/grimoire)s is frequently seen as the classical example of this idea. Manuals such as the ''[Greater Key of Solomon the King](/source/Key_of_Solomon)'', The ''[Lesser Key of Solomon](/source/Lemegeton)'' (or ''Lemegeton''), the ''[Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage](/source/The_Book_of_Abramelin)''.

==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](/source/Nicholas_Goodrick-Clarke) |place=London |publisher=Equinox |volume=XII}}

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

{{Witchcraft |state=expanded}}
{{Fantasy fiction}}
{{Authority control}}

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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Evocation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evocation) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evocation?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.