Speaking in simpist terms evocation is essentially calling or summoning a force to you. Alternatively an evocation can be something you call out from within yourself. For example I sometimes evoke elementals to temporarily gain abilities through their forces. For example and air elemental may be summoned for inspiration or creative ability. Sometimes I find myself in a fog and have to compose a paper or create something. Air is often associated with intelligence and creativity.
With a little bit of experience I have found that sometimes aspects of my consciousness are undesirable, yet unavoidable and I can temporarily evoke such aspects from myself so that I may perform what over other task is at hand. So that creative fog, for example, can be evoked from myself and I can tap my natural creative abilities instead of relying on elemental forces.
From a psychological perspective evocation is drawing out aspects of our consciounsess such that we work independantly of a given aspect. An aspect that is evoked in such a manner can then be considered an archetype (say that of an angel or demon) it can have a name and an image, as well as a rank and a specfic way to summon it. An archetype is a representation of an entity and it contains many different qualities associated with an independant being or force (elemental forces can also be seen as archetypal). These archetypes can be the enbodiments of magickal powers that exist within ourselves. Theoretically we do not summon such archetypes from otherworldly dimentions, but rather from the recesses of our own minds. That is not to say that there are not entities that can be called forth from such realms. But consider this: If the Archangel Michael was just one being in heaven, how could he rationally exist in the so many different places where people summon him, unless he actually exists as an archetype within ourselves? Thus the purpose of using evocation is to manifest magickal change from within ourselves or to call upon otherworldly forces for aid.
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