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Hi,
i'm new here and i have wanted to post but it takes forever to be included in the system. at any rate - i have done some invocation/evocation (i'm new still haven't worked out the difference) and this was all done about a year - yr and a half ago. i called a variety of spirits from the goetia because my visualization skills are next to nothing (i was desperate for help at the time so didn't stop to consider these shortcomings in my work) but was surprisingly successful for one so new - maybe it was the smell of a newbie that drew such success at any rate i don't feel that i would want to continue with any workings with the goetia. i am disinclined to the use of the system because i feel that slavery whether it be a spirit or another human is wrong. At any rate, my goal at the time at the evocations was not to exert control but solicit aid. in my negotians however - i know that i was lacking - but by the same token i would not take the time to ask questions here if i did not feel that such questions were warranted. Forgive me if i seem to be rambling a bit - but you must understand the circumstances from which i am posting in order to be able to answer the questions that follow. i read on here that some of you more seasoned practitioners have not had any spirits manifest themselves through the smoke of the incense that you burned - i have. possibly for the simple reason that my visualization skills are lacking - but perhaps there are other reasons that i could only fathom to guess? any ideas as to why they would choose to show themselves to an inherent newbie such as myself would be very interesting to know. the second thing is that one of the spirits that i called also manifested by voice... now he has since made his presence known - in fact more recently - but i am curious as to why he would choose to make his presence known after so long - and especially assuming that he was disinclined to give me a straight answer when i made my request. another thing that is very puzzling to me is that last night another spirit that i had called upon (but had forgotten about until last night) chose to make his presence known and now i'm not sure of his intent. have any of you encountered something similar to this? i'm sure that most of you weren't as new to this when you first started as i was - nor does it seem that you would undertake an endeaver which you don't fully understand. mine was simply an act of desperation in a private matter which has yet to be resolved - yet seems like it could swing one way or the other as far as those called upon to help me. tho i have been told that if it's been a while (like a yr) they're answer was more likely to be negative. Anyone with further information regarding this - or even willing to wage a guess would be most appreciated.
thanks
Sera

Why ANYBODY would want to use the Lesser Key of Solomon for anything magickal other than a history lesson on the absurdity of 16th and 17th century occultism is completely beyond me. It seems useless and dangerous to play with such things when if you're interested in using spirits and angels you can invent your own that will be benevolent and beneficial. I have little respect for stale old magick paradigms -- they're usually boring, ineffective and seem to only have credence now BECAUSE they're old.

Invent your own spirits, entities, angels: use your imagination. Create your own ceremonies that have meaning for you! We've advanced far enough in magick now that you don't need to rely on musty relics. Anything you create for yourself is just as valid (if not more) as anything in the Goetia. Write your own magickal language, invent sigils for yourself, create symbolic associations with personal meaning. Create your own worlds, planes, or anything else. Don't take anything for granted, "energy" included. Destroy "energy," banish it from your mind, or reinvent it and market it to yourself in a shiny new cellophane package. Practices like these will be much, much more powerful than anything you'll find in a 17th century book.

As a caveat I'll say that it IS indeed fun to read old magickal texts and incorporate elements of it into your practice or become inspired from it.

I only mention any this because you're new and I thought I'd grab you and shake you down before you become one of the zombies you see around magick forums that are trapped in the past.

Good luck!

The idea of a Supreme God governing angels, demons, etc... is held dear by billions of people worldwide, so while the books themselves may not reflect modern advances in technology, the "paradigm" behind them is as vibrant as ever.

No matter what background a magical spell or ceremony has, if the procedure is defined you can try it and see what happens. The grimoires have an advantage (for practicing occultists, at least) in that the ceremonies are described for use rather than for study or mystic illumination. The spells and conjurations of the grimoires, and many other magical texts, do not lose efficacy with time.

The proof of a magical system is found in what you do with it, not in its relation to science or philosophy. Sure you can "make up" anything and use it, but to what extent? Like the grimoires and any other written occult work, the only way to know if you have something useful is to use it.

If you get the sort of results you want, that's great, but are there results you desire that you can't produce? A lot of these desirable effects are listed as the rewards and powers of conjuring in "musty old books," and I think they're worth exploring for that reason. Additionally I try to approach magic with the scientific method in mind, and I never though it was scientific to dismiss an entire subject without at least giving it a fair test.