/sum/moning Info

Welcome to the Summoning Information Page!
Below you'll find an assortment of information about the 72 Goetic Demons/Spirits for aspiring Goetic Summoners who don't know where to begin.

The main text where most of our information is based off of is called The Lesser Key of Solomon, also known as Clavicula Salomonis Regis or Lemegeton. Published at some point during the 17th-century, the grimoire’s origins and sources are a mystery. Though it claims to have been written by King Solomon, whose birth predated Christ’s by 900 years. Here are a number of versions with a short description:

The Lesser Key of Solomon Goetia By S.L. Mathers
http://www.hermetics.org/pdf/grimoire/goetia.pdf
Mathers drew from a single manuscript accessible to the Golden Dawn at the time, the White transcript of Sloane's Manuscripts.

The Lesser Key of Solomon: Detailing the Ceremonial Art of Commanding Spirits Both Good and Evil By Joseph H. Peterson
https://goo.gl/ORWT16
Peterson does the best with straight transcriptions of old manuscripts.

Lemegeton: The Complete Lesser Key of Solomon By Mitch Henson
http://goo.gl/HzwWO9
Henson standardizes his edition of Lemegeton from 3 resource manuscripts as well as White transcription itself. Henson's edition is the best edited synthesis of multiple mss that's available, and is thus recommended by /sum/.

Aleistar Crowley's Illustrated Goetia: By Lon Milo DuQuette
https://goo.gl/PPprJf
Very clear on how to evoke on a budget and an overall fine version for beginners.


Next up we'll get to the meat of the matter. A quick step by step guide by A.M.S.

So you want to get started but don't like reading dense occult texts? Here's how to do it,
quick, dirty, and cheap.

First, you will need:
    * A big enough space, a typical bedroom is enough if you move the furniture out of the way.
    * Chalk or some other way of drawing on the floor, preferably in such way that you can clean it up later.
    * Incense and an incense burner. These can be typically be picked up for a few dollars.
    * Three candles, any color is fine, but try to make them all the same color and shape.
    * The seal of the spirit you wish to summon. It's usually easiest to just print this out.
    * A wand. A tree branch should work just fine.
    * The Hexagram of Solomon. It's also usually a good idea to just print this out.
    http://www.occultopedia.com/images_/hexagram-of-solomon.jpg
- Note, some Hexagrams of Solomon may or may not have varying words inside the circle. These do not invalid other forms of the Hexagram or make one better than the other.

Here's what you do:
1. On the east side of the room, draw a triangle big enough to hold your incense burner and the seal.
2. Draw a circle on the ground, big enough for you to fit inside, several feet to the west of the triangle.
3. Around the edge of the circle, write the names of whatever God or Gods you have the most faith in.
    (If you're not sure about what names to use, just write "YHVH ADNI AHIH AGLA" over and over again.)
4. Once the names are written out, draw another circle around them and the first circle you drew.
5. Place the seal and incense burner into the triangle, and the candles at the three points of the triangle.
6. Make sure you have the wand and the hexagram ready inside the circle.
    Once you're done with the setup, it should look like this:
    http://www.sacred-texts.com/grim/lks/img/fig153-4.jpg
    *Notice the cardinal directions
    **The four candles outside the circle were not mentioned in this guide, and are therefore not mandatory.
7. Take a bath or shower, brush your teeth, get as clean as possible.
8. As you get into the bath, chant:
    "Purge me with hyssop, make me whiter than snow."
9. Put on clean black or white clothes. If you don't have nice shoes, go barefoot.
10. Light the incense and the candles. Make sure all other lights in the room are off.
11. Do what you need to do in order to get into the right frame of mind. The more hyped-up you are, the better. Here are some ideas:
    * Perform a invocation ritual.
    * Pray to whatever God you believe in.
    * Meditate and clear your mind.
    * Masturbate until you're painfully aroused.
12. Once you're all jittery, point the wand at the triangle and chant something like this:
    "Hear me, (name of spirit). Come peaceably and visibly before me in the triangle of art. Come forth from the abyss, from which my dagger conjures you. Hear my call and appear before me."
13. If you don't see, hear, or feel a presence, repeat that last sentence until you do. If you repeat it three times and still get nothing, just move on - the spirit is might be there, but you can't see or hear it.
14. Welcome the spirit to the triangle by saying something like this:
    "I welcome you, (name of spirit), to this, the meeting place of spirits."
15. Command the spirit to aid you in some way. Here are some tips on doing this:
    * Be reasonable - spirits are apt to avoid summoners who make crazy demands.
    * Give the spirit a deadline by which the task is to be finished. Allow it plenty of time to work, but don't give it forever or it will never do anything.
    * Stipulate that you and your loved ones are not to be harmed.
    * Offer the spirit something in return. For small favors, offering to praise it and spread its seal online should work.
16. Hold up the hexagram so that it can be seen from the triangle. Say something like:
    "I bind you now to our contract by the Hexagram of Solomon and the authority of the Most High."
17. Now that you've bound the spirit, time to get rid of it. Say something like:
    "I give you, (name of spirit), license to depart this place. Go now back to wherever you came from. Go peaceably and do no harm to me or my loved ones.""
18. Whew, it's all over. Turn the lights back on and clean the place up so you don't have to answer any questions.
19. Post in the /sum/ thread about who you summoned, why, and what happened.

Here's what you need to be aware of:
  * While setting up, DO NOT BREAK THE CIRCLE. It must be intact before you begin your summoning and remain intact during the whole ritual.
  * From the moment you first say "Hear me..." to the moment the ritual ends with the License to Depart, DO NOT LEAVE THE CIRCLE.
  * You may feel very tired or depressed for about 24 hours after summoning. This is normal, and it will pass shortly.



Frequently Asked Questions

    *What spirit is best to call on for a beginner?
- We'd agree that Orobas would be a good start, as his description states "He is very faithful unto the Exorcist, and will not allow him to be tempted of any Spirit." , which is beyond helpful in this field.

    *Do I have to offer anything to the spirits and if so, what?
- You don't have to, but it's better to offer something as payment for their works. Offering will also give them an incentive to lend you a hand.
For small favors, offer to praise it and spread its sigil online or wherever you can. For larger favors, the most common offerings are alcohol, food and sex.
**Note: If you do offer alcohol or food, do NOT consume it unless you specifically tell the spirit you will consume it on its behalf. Leave the drink out until it completely evaporates, or the food out until its on the verge of decay, THEN dispose of it.

    *Aren't Demons Evil?
- Not exactly, while most of the 72 Goetic demons are interested in getting what's beneficial to them regardless of cost, some of them are actually helpful and may be beneficial towards the Summoner. The main thing to remember is that although the Lemegeton refers to them as demons and dark spirits, they're mostly compromised of gods and high beings from other older religions and pantheons where they were revered, respected, and worshipped in their time. It is not to say that you shouldn't be respectful when performing your rituals, because offending demons is an extremely dangerous business.

    *What's the best time to summon?
- Every Spirit has a different time, either Night or Day, for summoning as listed in the Lemegeton. However when in doubt about the proper time, nighttime is the best default for a number of reasons. You're almost guaranteed no interruptions, there's little to no audio interference from passing cars or other ambient noises, and there's a certain power that the night holds that seemingly increases the chances of evocation as opposed to a day time summoning.

    *How to summon gf/not be forever alone?
- There are actually several demons who, as listed in the Lemegeton, actually specialize in matters of love. A few examples are Sitri, Zepar, Uvall and Sallos. These spirits, and others, have the power to possibly help regain a lost love or help gain a new one.



   *What's the difference between Invoking and Evoking?
- Evoking, or evocation, is the practice of summoning a spirit outside of your body. In relation to the Goetia, evoking a spirit is the act of summoning a spirit to show themselves to you on our physical plane, whether it be through smoke, candle flickering, or physical presence.
- Invoking, or Invocation, is your practice of summoning a spirit inside your body. In relation to the Goetia, invoking a spirit is the act of summoning a spirit into your mind or into your presence on the astral plane and having the spirit show themselves to you normally through an extra voice in your head or through whispers in your ear.

    *Can I just invoke a spirit into my mind?
- Yes you can, some sources state that all you need to do is create a mind temple and through concentration and meditation, focus on calling out to whichever spirit you wish from within this temple.
NOTE: Invocation is a viable form of summoning spirits, HOWEVER it should be noted that invocation does have it's dangers. As you are summoning without a protective circle, you are more open to spirits who may or may not cause you harm. While there is a risk with evocation on the physical plane, this risk is multiplied with invocation on the mental/astral plane and therefore we do NOT recommend invocation as a form of summoning for beginners.


For more information on anything listed here, further studies, other interpretations and a huge world outside of the Goetia check out the /omg/ - Occultism & Magick Library run by Thoth. It's well kept and constantly updated, you won't be disappointed.

Anyone interested in adding useful knowledge to this pastebin is welcome to contact either A.M.S., A. or N.D. in the /sum/ threads.