My Basic 7-step Ritual Process

 Today, I received a question on how to call upon a spirit.  In this case, rather than explicitly tailor a full ritual to the spirit requested, I felt led to enumerate the simple process I have generally used to call upon spirits.  Afterward, I realized that I hadn't really covered this topic, and therefore- here are the seven points of advice that I feel are the most helpful for those embarking on spirit work. 

1.  Be open-minded.  Do not approach the spirit with fear or loathing; approach with respect and honesty.

2.  Do not use the ritual method in the Goetia. 

3.  Set a day for your ritual, and for three days prior, pray in the name of the spirit, telling it that you wish to call upon it at the day and hour you have set.

4.  At the ritual time, shield, ground, and meditate. Walk in a circle, clockwise, chanting the ENN of the spirit.  Gaze at the sigil of the spirit until it wavers and moves.  Say "I call to you,  (name of spirit), (name of spirit) come to me.  Of my own free will do I invoke you, and call you into me.  Speak to me and through me, (name of spirit), "  Repeat this until you feel the spirit arrive, then say "I welcome you, (spirit's name), please speak to me and through me."

5.  Then listen to what the spirit has to say and write it down.  Do not interrupt.  Tell it what you desire, and ask it if it is acceptable and something the spirit wishes to do.  Do not be afraid to ask it for options, or negotiate.

6.  Do NOT banish the spirit. It will leave of its own volition. 

7. Afterward, eat something, and consider the words of the spirit.  The rest is up to you.

And in a rather tight nutshell, that is the process that I have found most viable in my work.  I have been led to include some flourishes and fanfare as appropriate, of course, and the spirits do appreciate incense, candles, and gifts, as one does.

Also- you may not feel or see the presence of the spirit, but that doesn't mean it is not "monitoring" what you are doing.  The ritual may be successful all the same, or not.  And if  I may in no uncertain terms STRONGLY interject:  Please do not ask the spirits to help you win a fucking lottery or promise you will kill somebody for them as a sacrifice.  This may seem a no-brainer to most, but to all of the dumb-shit psychopaths and witch-hunter dickheads out there, here's your disclaimer.  

Anyhoo, that's all for today, folks.  Hope you enjoyed.  Thanks for dropping by, and as always, I truly hope your day is a pleasant one.

Merihim

 Just a short note to mention my experience with the spirit Merihim.  S. Connolly describes him as "The Prince of Pestilence," and V.K. Jehannum describes him as a "predatory entity who scours the earth for victims and specializes in the causation of suffering."  Pretty ominous, right? However, none of those kind of things interested me much.

Rather than seeking pestilence, I called upon Merihim to request a little-known service he offers; namely, freeing a practitioner (in this case, yours truly) from all vestiges of  influence of the Judeo-christian god, and the efforts of his followers to manipulate you.  Apparently, this is common, and those last remaining vestiges, the hooks left in you from childhood religious indoctrination, insidiously erode your magical progress and endeavors. 

I called upon him at noon, as he is diurnal.  He also appreciates intoxication, so I poured myself a generous libation prior.  Sitting at the kitchen table, I invoked the spirit.  His manifestation, his entry into my person, was dynamic.  It flooded into me with an electricity, quite different than most invocations, and was strongly present.

The spirit had a great sense of humor, and cracked hilarious jokes, one after another.  I do not remember any of them, but I remember sitting and laughing my ass off.  When I addressed him and made my request though, he became very serious, said "Of course!" and went to work right away.  When he had finished... whatever it was he did... I asked him what he would like me to do for him in return.  After cracking a couple of ribald jokes at my expense, he said, seriously, that all he required as sacrifice was an offering of two scrambled eggs with chopped onion.  I think I said something to the effect of  "Are you being serious?" and he assured me that he most certainly was, and that I should hop to it immediately.  

I went to the fridge and picked up an egg, which he promptly knocked out of my hand onto the floor, saying "Whoops!"  and laughing uproariously.  

I couldn't help but laugh as well, as I cleaned up smashed egg from the floor.  Then I scrambled him up some fantastic eggs, and per his instruction, set the plate out at the side of the house.  The next day, of course, the offering was gone.

All this to say (as I have before), in working with spirits, your mileage will vary immensely.  I have a feeling that if I had called upon him for, say, a baneful purpose, I may have seen a completely different side of him.  All the same, the working he performed in that short span of time was powerful, permanent, and effective, and I deeply appreciate him for doing so.

I hope you enjoyed this little anecdote and found the information useful, or at least entertaining.

Till the next time, au revoir, and I hope your day is a pleasant one. CX