Evocations for Beginners

History, Experiences, Analysis and Methods

Harry Eilenstein

• Publisher: Books on Demand
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9783753454344
• eBook ISBN: 9783753437309
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Philosophy History & Theory

Summoning spirits (evocation) does not have the best reputation... as long as they are not called "apparitions of Mary", "cult of the dead", "invocations of gods", "spiritualism" or "family constellations"...What is so scary about contact with spirits? In dream journeys one also meets all kinds of spirits - and poltergeists always come quite unasked. The problem is mainly the fear of death, of the spirits of the dead.This has not always been the case - close contact with the dead was first demonized by the Christian missionaries: They put the one God Father in place of the deceased physical father of every human being - and formed the devil from the archetype of the ancestor spirit.There is hardly an early culture in which spirits were not conjured up. Examples of this can be found in the Neolithic Age, in Egypt, Sumer, among the Hittites, the Romans, in Africa, in the Old and New Testaments, among the Germanic peoples, the Celts, in Islam, and so on.There is a great variety in the methods of evocation, in the reasons for them, in their procedure and in their place in the culture - but the basic principle is very simple.

X The Evocation of the Angantyr

One of the most dramatic descriptions of an evocation of the dead is found among the Germanic tribes in the "Saga of Hervor and King Heidrek the Wise".

Hervor is a king's daughter who disguises herself as a man and commands a Viking dragon ship. She largely has the character of a Valkyrie.

Then Hervor prepared to go off on her own in the clothes and with the weapons of a man. She came to a place where there were some Vikings and sailed with them for a time. She called herself Hervard during this time.

A little later, the captain died and this ‘Hervard’ took command of the crew. And when they came to the island of Samsey, ‘Hervard’ told them to stop there so he could go up onto the island and said there’d be a good chance of treasure in the mound. But all the crewmen speak against it and say that such evil things walk there night and day that it’s worse there in the daytime than most places are at night.

In the end, they agree to drop anchor, and ‘Hervard’ climbed into the boat and rowed ashore and landed in Munway just as the sun was setting.

And he met a man there watching his herd.

The young maiden

met at sunset

in Munway Cove

a man herding.

He said:

"Of human kind,

who’s come to the island?

Hie you hastily

home to your lodging!"

She said:

"Home to my lodging

I’ll hie me not,

as I know none

of the island folk;

so inform me fast

before you go:

where are Hjorvard’s

Howes meant to be?"

He said:

"Don’t ask me that,

you don’t seem wise,

prince of pirates,

your plight is dire;

let’s flee as fast

as our feet can carry us;

it’s all too much

for men out here."

She said:

"Here’s a prize necklace

in payment for talk;

I doubt you’ll divert

the vikings’ leader"

He said:

"None can hand me

such hansom gems,

such good treasures

that I go not my way."

She spoke:

"Let us not be so easily frightened

by that little hiss and crackle,

not even when the whole island

flares up in fire;

let’s not take fright

at fallen heroes

quite so quickly,

come let us talk."

He said:

"Silly would seem

someone to me

who heads on alone

from here by night;

fire is blazing,

barrows open,

field burns and fen –

let’s go faster."

Hotfoot to the holt

the ...

Table of contents

• Table of Contents
• I. What is an Evocation?
• II. The Environment of Evocation
• III. The Roots of Evocation
• IV. Evocation in Christianity
• V. Historical Examples
• VI. Personal Experiences
• VII. Aids in an Evocation
• VIII. What is an evocation?
• IX. Why Evocations
• X. The Evocation of the Angantyr
• Book List
• Copyright