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Table of Contents

• Basics
• What is Goetia?
• What is Goetic Magick?
• Why Practice Goetic Magick
• What is the Negative Stigma
• What are Goetic Spirits Anyway?
• Techniques for Beginners
• Using Goetic Magick without an Evocation
• Bornless One/Headless One Ritual
• Primary Goetic Methods
• Traditional
• Demonolatry
• Modern
• To Banish or Not to Banish
• Proper Ritual Setup
• Ritual Preparation
• Avoiding Negative Effects
• Performing An Evocation
• The Call to Appear
• Manifestation and Communication
• The Petition
• The Offerings
• The Dismissal
• Recording the Ritual
• Follow up
• Learning from Errors
• Ritual Tools
• Additional Resources

Frater Adamasto from Goetic Impressions gives a beginner course on Goetia. Highlighting the basics, techniques and methods, and how to get started working with the goetic spirits. Having practiced goetic magick for over two decades, Frater Adamasto is the co-founder of Goetic Impressions and provides seals and accessories for all 72 Goetic spirits to work with to get you started or amplify your ritual workings. 

We have over 3500+ 5 star reviews from Happy Summoners. 

 

Basics

• What is Goetia?

Goetia is a Greek word (goēteia) for sorcery relating to darker magic which largely pertains to dealing with the 72 demons from the Ars Goetia.

• What is Goetic Magick?

Goetic Magick is a form of magick that deals with working with Chthonic entities. Chthonic entities tend to revolve around that which is dark, buried, or associated with hell or the afterlife. While the association with Christian ‘demons’ may or may not be entirely accurate when discussing the Goetia, the entities themselves very much fall into this Chthonic category.

While most people take ‘Goetia’ to mean specifically the spirits listed in the Ars Goetia of the Lesser Key of Solomon, it is more accurate to describe this as a class of magic revolving around certain acts of evoking spirits more broadly, and several spirits not listed in the Ars Goetia are still very much Goetic, either from the perspective of a modern practicing Goet, or from the perspective of historical scholarship.

There are several other entities that are considered Goetic without being from the Ars Goetia. Some examples of these other entities are Claunek, Leviathan, Lilith, and etc. Methods for working with other Goetic entities will have a lot of crossover with these entities as well.

Goetic grimoires are often known for long catalogs of spirits along with descriptions. For instance the Grimoirium Verum is a grimoire of Goetic magick, and contains such a catalog of spirits. While the methods for working with the spirits outlined in this text is very different from that found in the Lesser Key, this is still very much a text of Goetic Magick.

• Why Practice Goetic Magick?

• It’s effective
• Relatively simply to learn
• Most well known form of ceremonial magick

 

If you want stuff, evoking a demon to get it, is a practice as old as time, and for good reason! Despite its consistent negative reputation people also do tend to get the stuff they asked for - for better or for worse!

 

Compared to other more complex systems of ritual magick like Enochian the ceremonial approaches to Goetic magick are fairly approachable. Additionally there are many people practicing Demonolatry which is even more approachable, but does have some drawbacks as well, more on that later.

It is hard to think of a more widespread or well recognized form of ceremonial magick, which makes information about it relatively easy to find, but also beware as there is a lot of incorrect, false or unverified personal gnosis out there posing as genuine information. When you are dealing with a subject that has the potential to backfire that Goetia has, it is always worth taking a double check of your sources.

• What is the Negative Stigma?

• Christian Influences
• Strong focus on material results
• Operator Error
• Lack of Proper preparation or respect
• Some spirits can be just nasty

Goetic magick is a very old practice and as a result it ‘grew up’ so to speak in the middle of Christian religious fanaticism that spanned much of the western world in the late middle ages. As a result most of the historical texts dealing with the topic approach it from a heavily Christian perspective, and of course demons in a Christian worldview cannot be anything other than pure evil!

There is also a reputation among more ‘pure’ spiritual practitioners that Goetia is inherently flawed because it tends to focus on obtaining material results. Many of these people view the focus on obtaining things in the material realm to be an inherently flawed spiritual pursuit, as things like money inevitably carry their own stigma in spiritual circles. However it is also worth noting that having enough money to live in a modicum of security (i.e. not having to worry about where your next meal is coming from or how the rent will get paid) is incredibly beneficial in allowing yourself to focus on some of these more ‘pure’ spiritual disciplines without having to worry about the constant anxiety of paying the next bill. Needless to say I don’t agree that money is inherently evil, but the blind pursuit of anything (money included) can lead to great harm for anyone, so that is worth keeping an eye on as you become involved in these practices.

Many people approaching Goetia for the first time are unaware of how to approach the spirits and have poorly worded requests, or don’t know what to expect. Interacting with a Goetic entity can be overwhelming and terrifying on a number of levels, and if you are not prepared for it, it can be an absolutely terrible experience. Additionally, poorly phrased or worded requests can lead to vastly different outcomes than what you were seeking when you went in, leading to some really nasty stories of buyer's remorse. 

The Goetic spirits tend not to look super favorably on those who approach them disrespectfully or with frivolous intentions. If such people can successfully conjure a Goetic spirit at all (there are any number of trickster spirits who love to take your offerings and energy and give nothing in return), they are often met by a spirit that is not very pleased to find itself working with such an individual, and things can easily go sideways from there. Remember these are very old spirits and have centuries if not millenia of history of people approaching them as kings, dukes, princes, and even gods in some instances. Don’t treat them lightly!

While the Goetic spirits on the whole tend to range from relatively easy to work with to those that are more intractable, there are some spirits that are just downright mean. Sometimes a nasty spirit is just the spirit you need, but if you don’t know the personality of the spirit you are calling up beforehand being greeted by a cranky asshole of an entity can be a little unpleasant. Do your research ahead of time though and you should be fine.

• What are goetic spirits?

• Thought forms
• Separate entities
• Aliens
• All of the above
• Does it matter?

Ultimately if you work with these spirits enough you will form your own opinions (I certainly have) but also keep in mind that these creatures are so alien to us and come from a realm so vastly different (despite the differing theories on where or what this realm is) that it is always best to regarding them as a bit of an enigma, and I can assure you that no matter how long you have worked with them already there is always something new to learn.

Techniques for Beginners

• Using Goetic Magick without an evocation

• Altars
• Offerings
• Candle Magick
• Petitions
• Spirit Houses
• Sigil Magick

While evocation is the most traditional method for contacting and using the power of Goetic spirits there are a number of simpler methods that you can get started with right away.

Altars: Setting up a small altar to the spirit you want to work with is a great first step, and should probably come before any of the following steps here. An altar gives you a small space dedicated to the spirit where you can leave offerings, written prayers or petitions and anything else you might want to use to work with the spirit. The altar can be as simple or complex as you choose, but it should be dedicated in some way to the spirit and contain something that links back to the spirit, whether that is a sigil, a statue or picture, or something else that signals who the space is dedicated to.

Offerings: Leaving offerings that the spirit you are working with will find appealing is a great way to establish a relationship with the spirit. If you are asking for something from the spirit, general wisdom suggests that you give the spirit only a partial offering or a ‘taste’ and let them know they will get the rest when your request has been fulfilled. 

 

Candle Magick: A candle with a spirit’s sigil carved or engraved on it can be another way of working with the spirit. When the candle is lit you establish a connection to the spirit for a short while where you can communicate with it, even if that communication will not be as clear or back and forth as it would be when doing a full evocation.

Petitions: Written petitions left on your altar are an excellent means of communicating your request to the spirit you are working with. Written requests should be in the present tense (i.e. I get the job) as opposed to future tense, otherwise you are enchanting yourself into a future where you are perpetually looking ahead to something that will one day happen, and not for a future where you live in the world where that thing has already occurred!

Spirit House: Constructing a spirit pot or house is like having an altar 2.0. The connection to the spirit with one of these is more powerful than just having an altar, and usually it will link the spirit to you in a more permanent way. Be careful that the spirit you are working with is one you want to be connected to in a form this powerful before you go about establishing one of these. Additionally you will need to do an evocation where you make a formal request of the spirit to ‘move into’ the house you have made for it. If the spirit accepts, however, you will have a more direct link to that spirit for work in the future where an evocation will not be necessary.

Sigil Magick: Using the spirit’s sigil alone is often enough to make yourself heard by the spirit, and can be a potent means of communicating with it by itself. My preferred method for this is drawing the spirit’s sigil by hand on a blank piece of parchment, and then writing out your petition or request of the spirit on the reverse side. The more energy and attention to detail you put into creating the sigil the more likely your request is to be heard and fulfilled.

• Bornless One/Headless One Ritual

Originally in the Greek Magical Papyri from the Stele of Jeu in PGM V 96-172, this ritual was originally used as an exorcism, but has developed over time in many interesting ways.

Aleister Crowley was introduced to this ritual by the Golden Dawn, and he recognized its potential as a powerful tool with some small changes for a number of different ritual purposes. He later added it to the Lesser Key of Solomon in 1904.

In the Lesser Key of Solomon a form of this ritual appears as the ‘Preliminary Invocation’ to be used prior to a proper Goetic evocation. This ritual is used to build the spiritual power to command the spirit to appear, and once it has appeared for it to take you seriously enough to fulfill your request. 

A form of this ritual in Liber Samekh is used by modern practitioners in Abramelin operations as one part of many to realize their connection to their personal Holy Guardian Angel (K&C of the HGA).

• Primary Goetic Methods

• Traditional
• Demonolatry
• Modern

Traditional methods for using Goetic magick can be found in any one of a number of ancient grimoires. The Lesser Key of Solomon is the most popular example of this, but others exist as well such as the Grimoirium Verum.

Established by S Connolly relatively recently, Demonolatry is very popular among new and younger practitioners. Key differences between Demonolatry and traditional methods involve using a spirits Enn to establish communication, as part of or in place of a full evocation. Additionally Demonolatry places the practitioner in a supplicant position in regards to the spirit, you are asking for a favor from a being more powerful than yourself, as opposed to traditional methods where you are commanding the spirit perform an action for you from a place of power as a magician.

Many modern practitioners use hybrid or custom methods for their goetic practices. Often these are people who have tried several different methods and over time discarded things that didn't work and incorporated things from other systems that did. For instance, while my own practice leans more toward the traditional than anything else, I also use the Enns from Demonolatry within my evocation rituals as I have gotten good results with using them.

• Traditional

• Rigid ritual structure
• Many expensive tools and implements
• Invocations full of christian influences

• Threats, bindings, tortures for disobedient spirits

Traditional methods generally have elaborate rituals, often multiple evocations to recite, as well as various bindings, barbaric names, and names of higher powers or spirits to invoke to compel a conjured spirit to obey and submit to the operator’s will.

Many of these texts are very old and require a number of difficult, expensive, or impossible to obtain items to make the ritual work. Things like amulets made of very rare or expensive metals, garments made from endangered or extinct animals, etc. Perhaps the most famous item in this category is the lion skin belt required by the text of the Lesser Key. Many of these items can be substituted for modern equivalents and the ritual still be successfully performed, that being said sticking as closely to the original text of these books is always recommended when approaching these rituals for the first time.

As many of these books were written during periods of Christian theocratic dominance they contain numerous references to Christian themes, such as the inherent evil nature of the beings being evoked and etc. I have always simply done away with these heavy Christian references in my own rituals, but the fact that they are there at all is a big turn off for a number of people.

Another hallmark of the Christian heritage of many of these traditional texts is the abundance of threats, bindings and tortures for disobedient spirits. While the majority of modern practitioners forgo these practices (it really doesn't make much sense to try to torture a spirit right before you send it out to do some important work for you, after all) the fact that they are included in the text at all is something that leaves a bad taste in a number of people’s mouths.

• Demonolatry

• Enns
• Focus on Invocations
• Views operator in subservient or lesser position to the goetic entity
• Lacks threats, bindings and commands in traditional practices
• Strong personal bonds with spirits are common, as are tattoos, blood offerings

While the original claimed source for the origin of the Enns does not bear up to scholarly inquiry, the Enns themselves do seem to be effective when used in conjurations for the Goetic spirits. In my personal opinion the Enns are the most useful part of Demonolatry generally, and even if you are not a Demonolator they can be incorporated into existing ritual structures without any hiccups and to great results.

When you approach a spirit as a Demonolator you are putting the spirit into a position as a minor deity, and you are approaching it in much the same way that you would pray to a divine figure.

As a result of elevating the spirit so far above the practitioner you are not in any sort of position to bind threaten or torture the spirit, and as such Demonolatry lacks these sorts of things and finds it disrespectful.

Demonolators tend instead to rely on a strong personal connection to the spirit in question in order to obtain results from working with it. Frequently in these practices you will find people who make offerings, including very personal offerings like blood or other bodily substances, getting tattoos of the spirits sigil or Enn, and in other ways dedicating themselves and their body to the service of the spirit.

• Modern

• Experimental
• Varies from practitioner to practitioner
• Combines traditional with Demonolatry along with chaos magick and other techniques
• Not recommended for beginners

People using what I like to call the ‘modern’ method are experimenters, we take what works from any system we come across, and we are not afraid to get rid of what doesn’t. This category is more focused on practice over heavy research (though research is needed as well in order to have a baseline to experiment against).

Each person is going to approach things differently, and it will be the case that various people have differing degrees of success with different methods. Like any Art, people can disagree over how to approach things, while still creating amazing masterpieces from very different schools of thought.

Modern practitioners are not afraid to use what works, regardless of where it may come from and what sort of stigma it may have in the wider occult community.

While anyone can approach ritual work with the idea that they will form their own experimental practice eventually, it does require a high degree of experience with various systems first. You will not be able to find what works for you and what does not without first trying a bunch of different systems extensively, and seeing what you gained success with and what let you down. Further experimentation is required when you are trying to lift individual pieces from those systems and slot them into a new cohesive whole.

• To Banish or not to Banish

• Always Banish Pre-ritual

The pre-ritual banishing does a number of important things, it clears the space of any lingering energies that might interfere with the work you are about to do, it clears out any interloping entities that might try to eavesdrop or hijack your call to the entity you will be working with, and it also sends out something of a call to the universe saying ‘hey, this space is empty, send something to fill it with’ (of course when you do the evocation itself you will be telling the universe what to fill it with exactly, namely the presence of the spirit you are calling.)

Never banish post evocation when using Demonolatry techniques. This is considered very rude in this practice and is essentially ‘kicking out’ the demon right after you invited them in.

Always banish post evocation when using traditional techniques. When using a traditional evocation method after giving the spirit the license to depart they should no longer be lingering in your temple space. If they are, they are acting in opposition to your wishes and it is acceptable to give them the boot to speed them on their way.

Using modern techniques, banishing is optional depending on your level of familiarity with the spirit and overall tone of your ritual. As modern techniques are really a hybrid, do what makes sense based on the overall structure of your ritual.

 

Proper Ritual Setup

• Circle
• Triangle of Art/Manifestation
• Black Mirror
• Candles
• Scrying Crystal
• Incense
• Offering(s)
• Ritual Tools (wands, swords, etc)
• Divination/communication tools

There are a number of ritual tools that would be considered essentials for goetic workings. However the more experience you have mastering regular practice, the less tools you'll likely need. Tools help create a designated space and easier mode of communication for both the practitioner and the spirit. We always recommend using tools, especially for beginners.

Circle: There are a number of misconceptions about what the circle is for, but TLDR the circle is not to bind or constrain the spirit, the circle is to isolate the operator from any outside energies or influences that may disrupt the magickal operation. There are also elements in most traditional circles to protect the operator from the spirit itself if things should go sideways during the evocation.

Triangle: The Triangle is where the spirit is meant to appear during the ritual, it provides a focus both for the spirit and the magician in order to facilitate a way for the two to interact.

Black Mirror: Mirrors are one of several potential scrying mediums that a practitioner could use during an evocation ritual.

Candles: Candles can provide several functions from basic lighting, to mood lighting, to offerings of energy to the spirit, to providing a handy method to burn a written petition, to methods of igniting incense, the list goes on and on. If you are using candles in your ritual please observe basic fire safety, it will not do you any good to have a successful evocation and then burn your house down!

Scrying Crystal: Can be used in place of a mirror for the same function, between the two it is really a matter of preference as they fulfill much the same function.

Incense: Incense can be used as an offering for the spirit directly, as well as a method to facilitate manifestation of the spirit by means of the smoke produced.

Offerings: In addition to the tools already mentioned that can double as offerings, things like food or wine are typical. In Demonolatry you find more extreme and personal offerings like blood.This is not something we recommend.

Ceremonial: Many of these are optional in many techniques, however some traditional methods do call for the use of a sword or wand for specific portions of the ritual. Try to stick as close as you reasonably can to the text of the ritual if using them for this purpose.

Divination: In addition to things like scrying mirrors and crystals this can include items such as pendulums or a deck of tarot cards. These tools are to get clear answers from the spirit that offer more direct answers than the intuition of the magician (though if you are well practiced in direct communication with the spirit this is a valid technique as well.)

Ritual Preparation

• Choosing a desired outcome
• Selecting the right spirit
• Researching the spirit
• Choosing a date and time of operation
• Preliminary call to the spirit
• Other Preliminaries...

Before you start anything else you need to have a reason for performing the ritual in the first place. This can be nearly anything, however it should be something that feels serious and important to you. The Goetic entities are not fond of being called for frivolous or silly requests. What is frivolous to one may be deadly serious to another, however, so just be sure that the purpose you have for calling the spirit is something that matters to you.

Selecting a spirit for the ritual you have in mind takes some care. You will want to choose a spirit that has your desire within its primary sphere of responsibility usually (keeping in mind however that many of these spirits are very powerful and can fill multiple functions, if you have an established relationship with a spirit it will often be better to use that spirit for a given task than calling up a new one). Additional considerations might be things like the disposition of the spirit, what rank it is, and whether the time you have set aside for the ritual is a time that aligns with the spirit you are considering (some spirits are best called at night, others in day, etc.).

Once you have done enough research to establish what spirit you are going to call you will want to familiarize yourself as much as you can with them. What offerings do they tend to find agreeable? What pitfalls have others experienced when working with them? What colors are associated with the spirit? In what direction should your temple space be situated? Etc, etc.

The timing of your ritual should ideally coincide with the ideal dates and times to call the spirit you are trying to contact. If you are constrained in what times you can perform your ritual you may want to consider calling on a spirit that aligns with those times, rather than try to call a spirit at night that ideally appears during the day, or etc.

Before beginning the ritual itself you will usually want to send out a preliminary call to the spirit, letting the spirit know what time and place you will be calling it to appear, and perhaps even why. There are many simple ways to do this like reciting the spirit’s Enn while writing out your intent to call the spirit on a piece of parchment. Personally I prefer to slowly trace the sigil of the spirit onto a piece of paper, taking care to get everything exactly right, while saying aloud my intention to call the spirit at a certain time and place. Once done I will write out my intention behind evoking the spirit on the reverse side of the paper and keep it in a prepared altar space while waiting for the date of the ritual. I try to time my preliminary call at least three days before the day of the ritual itself.

Anything else you need to do, get your temple set up, buy some new candles, run through your ritual once or twice for practice, make sure you know what you are about to be doing!

Avoiding Negative Effects

• Mistakes will happen
• Know your banishings
• Be respectful
• Be ready to make amends at a later date
• Have good magickal hygiene

Don’t dwell too much on mistakes, don’t restart the ritual. If it is something small like a fumbled word or something slightly mispronounced just keep going. Often the worst thing that will happen is the spirit will fail to appear.

Be prepared in case things go very wrong, if a spirit other than the one you are trying to reach shows up be prepared to show it the door, with force if necessary. Trickster spirits are not uncommon, and they often attempt to latch onto less experienced practitioners delving into evocation for the first time.

Always treat the spirit respectfully. Even if it appears that the ritual was not a success and the spirit did not show up, before you break down your ritual space give the license to depart regardless. If the spirit does show up, treat it with honor and respect. If you are being respectful the spirit will often forgive small lapses of protocol or judgment. If, on the other hand, you are rude to the spirit it can often find some way to cause you some discomfort in return.

If you screw up in some way be prepared to make it up to the spirit somehow later. This could take the form of an offering or some small favor for the spirit. Keep this proportional to the mistake you made, you don’t need to put yourself into bondage to a spirit for a small slip of the tongue!

This means don’t bring outside energies into your evocation. Make sure you have done your banishings beforehand to clean off any lingering energy from your day to day life, as well as any negativity or chaos that might bleed into the working you are about to perform.

 

Performing an Evocation

 

Make a list of all the items you will need during the ritual, this may include items like a sword, candles, incense, tarot cards, etc. Double and triple check that your temple space is arranged with these items in convenient places to reach so that you have them at hand at the relevant portions of the evocation. The last thing you want is to be halfway through your evocation when you realize that you left a critical tool upstairs!

I begin preparing for an evocation a day prior. For me this includes ritual diet and fasting, reciting the Bornless One ritual, and several other steps I use for preparation. This also includes fully setting up my temple space for the ritual to come, make sure you double and triple check your setup to avoid mistakes the day of!

• The Call to Appear

• Traditional
• Using an Enn
• Have the Proper Authority
  
• Use of chants or mantras

There are several different methods you can use to call the spirit and it is important to remember that they may not appear right away. Keep using the methods until you feel an energy shift, you may not visibly see something on your first few evocations.

It is important to know the spirits name too! This may seem like common sense but during your ritual evocation you will replace any instances of ‘spirit’ or ‘spirit n’ that appear in the text of your evocation with the name of the spirit that you will be evoking. It is important to be calling the spirit by name here, as the spirits name is one of the things that will allow them to ‘find’ you when moving into this world from whatever immaterial realm where they reside. Even if you may not know the correct pronunciation (as these names have changed over the years through various languages) do your best with it!

Traditional: Traditional evocation methods will often have multiple invocations, increasing in levels of severity and threats if the spirit does not appear after one or two recitations. It is generally best to have these memorized prior to beginning your evocation.

Enn: Enn chanting is typically simpler than reciting lengthy invocations, usually only composed of four or five words. Make sure you understand how to use these within the context of your ritual before going this route.

Authority: It is important as well to mention whatever authority you are calling them by, in a traditional method this might be something like the name of God, but it can also be something like the name of whatever king of hell the spirit in question serves under. (You will find what authorities and names are appropriate to command any given spirit when researching that spirit.) The authority you command a spirit by is very important in traditional approaches, as if your own authority or that of the power you are calling the spirit in the name of is not sufficient the spirit will be free to disobey you as it wishes.

Mantras: The most frequent chants tend to be Enns, but barbarous names such as those in the Bornless Ritual are commonly used in evocations as well. Be sure to stick to what is appropriate for the evocation method you are using.

• Manifestation and Communication

• Have at least two methods of communication available
• Black Mirror / Scrying Crystal
  
• Triangle of Manifestation
• Incense Smoke
• Pen and Paper

If you are not getting results with one you have a backup. Some spirits will respond more readily to certain techniques than to others. Some examples would be tarot cards, a pendulum, I Ching sticks, or any other method of divination you are adept or skilled with.

A black mirror is an ideal medium to allow a spirit to visibly appear. Place the mirror such that your own face is visible in it, if the evocation is successful you will be able to see the spirits features replace your own in the mirror. Similar to the mirror, a scrying crystal or crystal ball functions in much the same way.

The Triangle offers a focal point in the ritual space for the spirit to manifest itself. Without such a focal point it is difficult for the magician to conduct a successful operation, all while spinning around to check that the spirit hasn’t popped up behind them. Our Triangles have a reflective surface that also double as a scrying mirror.

Incense smoke can provide a physical medium that the spirit can manipulate more easily than most other things, allowing shapes to form and present themselves to you in the smoke. If using incense smoke as your manifestation medium be sure to set up your temple so that the smoke is easily visible, usually with a candle or some other light behind it so you can easily see anything that may appear.

Having pen and paper on hand can be an important communication tool along with recording the ritual. You can use it for automatic writing, similar to how a ouiji board works, keep your hand loose and let the pen and paper do the talking. Don't be forceful or tense and don't overthink or analyze things during the process. Just let the pen (or pencil) flow.

• The Petition

• Have a clear desire or outcome
• Be careful with your wording
• Flattery never hurts
• Listen/divine for responses if needed amend petition

This goes back to your preparation in the beginning, know what you want to get out of this interaction with the spirit, and be able to articulate it clearly and succinctly.

Choose your words carefully, at the end of the day these spirits do not live in our world and know what we know about it, they will usually do their best to fulfill your request for you, but if you want them to increase your social media presence, for instance, you may need to explain exactly what it is you need them to do and how you want them to go about doing it.

Some of these spirits have pretty impressive egos, a little flattery with your request often goes a long way toward getting it fulfilled.

Make sure to ask the spirit if it will fulfill your request, and if the response is negative try to find out why. Amend your request if needed, or realize you may be asking for something the spirit either cannot or will not do.

• The Offerings

Remember, an offering doesn't always have to be physical. Strongly visualizing an offering during the evocation itself is a strong tool to promise a future offering to the spirit upon the successful completion of your petition.

Any offerings you promise to the spirit on completion of your request will have to be completed. Make sure your promises are within your power to deliver! 

Offerings during the evocation itself should generally be small and simple, don’t distract from the main ritual with elaborate offerings. Make sure anything you offer can be accessed by the spirit from the location where you have evoked it, for instance don’t pour a goblet of wine for the spirit and then leave it in the circle where the spirit can’t reach it.

Typically when you present an offering, you will say something to the spirit along the lines of ‘Oh great spirit in exchange for your promise of help I offer you X’, then draw attention to the offering you have prepared (you usually want to have prepared the offering ahead of time so that you do not need to step out of the circle or break the triangle in order to offer the item to the spirit. 

• The Dismissal 

• To banish or not (again)
• How long to wait
• Be respectful
• Wording is important

Generally the license to depart will be enough to send the spirit on its way, however if your ritual or temple space feels off afterward, or if you simply had a bad experience during the evocation, make sure to banish after the ritual so that any lingering trace of the spirit's presence is removed. Note that if you are using a Demonolatry based method you will not want to banish after the ritual regardless of what has happened.

Allow the spirit time to savor any offerings you have left for it. For instance if you offered incense, allow the incense to fully burn out, or if you offered food or wine allow a comfortable amount of time for the spirit to consume it prior to the license to depart.

As always be respectful, don’t simply tell the spirit to gtfo.

Traditional wording usually goes something along the lines of ‘Now depart oh great spirit to fulfill the task which you have agreed to undertake for me, and be ready to come again quickly and readily at my call.’

• Recording the Ritual

• Any direct communications from the spirit
• Methods used
• Any possible errors
• Anything odd or unexpected
• Any feelings or sensations
• Anything seen, heard or smelled

Write down any direct communication from the spirit in your record of the ritual. This includes things like what tarot cards were drawn in response to your various queries, as well as any direct sensation or thoughts you perceived from the spirit itself.

Record the method(s) you used for the evocation itself, as you may want to tweak the ritual structure in the future if you felt something was lacking.

If anything happened that may have thrown the ritual off record that as well, these are things to focus on cleaning up for next time.

If anything out of the norm happened make sure to write that down as well, these things may indicate communications from the spirit via unorthodox means, and the meaning of these things may only become clear down the road, where a recording of them will help keep your memory clear on exactly what occurred.

If at any specific part of the ritual you became overwhelmed, or felt anything odd such as hunger, fear, etc, record both what you felt as well as when in the ritual it occurred.

Any direct physical sensations should be recorded, as well as the timing in the ritual when they happened.

• Follow Up

• Make sure to do anything that you promised
• Disposing of old offerings
• Cleaning up your ritual space
• Ongoing workings

Make sure you do anything that you promised! This goes without saying but if you told the spirit you would leave them an offering of wine afterward then make sure you do that in the time frame you promised!

Offerings of food and wine can be discarded after a day or so. Generally you want to leave these somewhere outside that may resonate with the spirit you offered the item to, instead of simply throwing it in the trash. Burying it in a forest or leaving it by a crossroads are traditional methods that are tried and tested and will not offend the spirit.

If you are like most people you cannot simply leave your temple space set up 24/7 taking up an entire room of your house. Put your tools away, cleansing them beforehand, you do not want to leave any lingering energy clinging to anything that may interfere with your next working.

If an item is part of an ongoing working or agreement with the spirit make sure to leave it in a place you promised to do. For instance leaving a spirit house on the altar you have prepared for the spirit you are working with.

• Learning from Errors

• Review your notes
• Correct mistakes
• Try new techniques

Every so often you will want to review the notes of your past evocations. This may be every other month, once a year, or less or more depending on the nature of your individual practice. The idea here is to learn from past mistakes, as well as to notice any patterns or synchronicities that you may have missed in the heat of the moment.

When you identify a mistake, even if it is minor, work to correct it! Correcting your mistakes is a means of showing respect to the spirit, refusing to correct mistakes is disrespectful, and the spirit will know if you are intentionally messing something up.

It is important for your growth as a practitioner to try new techniques, learn what works and does not work for you in the context of your practice, and evolve.

Ritual Tools

Goetic Impressions offers a large range of tools for Goetic evocation that you can find here. From crystal balls, to sigil lamens, to altar cloths our tools are ritual accurate and have been tried and tested by practicing Goetic magicians all over the world.

Make your own: Making your own tools is also a powerful way to infuse them with your own personal energy, and this is often the most effective way to acquire tools that you will want to use for the rest of your life.

Shop around: Look around to find good tools, but make sure you do your research! Not everyone pays as much attention to ritual quality and accuracy as we do at Goetic Impressions!

Additional Resources

We have compiled a list of books and resources to help you on your goetic journey.

Classic grimoires such as the Grimoirium Verum, the Lesser Key of Solomon, etc, offer different and unique approaches to these practices, as well as unique spirit catalogs that may reveal new information about a spirit that you may have missed by consulting only a single source.

Many contemporary authors have unique perspectives on these spirits and practices, checking out their work can give a wide range of new approaches and techniques. Reputable Authors include Jason Miller, Stephen Skinner, Jake Stratton Kent, Colin Campbell, Joseph Peterson, Rufus Opus, others.

There are any number of online groups all over the place that can provide varying ranges of useful information from current practitioners. Make sure to vet and double check any info you get from these groups, even well meaning people can be mistaken, and you do not want someone else’s error to bring you trouble!

Any information you find from any source should be double checked against other sources and your own experience, don’t take any information for granted!