Customer Reviews

Summoning Forth Wiccan Gods &

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Although Lady Maeve Rhea's book only contains 152 pages, including the "Suggested Reading" section, it's a small book that packs a big punch.

As a relatively new one to the Wiccan path, I found it informative and to the point, with enlightening passages on meditation, visualization, evocation and invocation. For those who are new to invocation and evocation, there is a simple explanation of what each entails and when each can be used - both as a group or as a solitary. Lady Rhea uses a personal one-on-one approach to the subject as she covers preparation, invocation, evocation and the subsequent pitfalls and possibilities one might encounter while attempting to "dance with Divinity."

Evocation is defined as forming a psychic space with a group of people in which a 'God-form' can manifest. On the other hand, invocation involves welcoming the 'God-form' into the circle itself so he/she can interact on an earthly plane. However, if you are new to both of these, you should read the entire book first before attempting either of these.

Readers first learn how to create a sacred space within themselves, as well as how to create a physical sacred space. There's also a chapter on "psychic first aid," should the need arise.

In the section on invocation, preparation and selection of an appropriate 'God-form' is discussed. The author stresses the importance of being completely knowledgeable before you invoke a particular 'God-form' (Isis, for instance), and making sure you have a good reason for invoking the 'God-form' in the first place.

Practice is stressed, along with an admonition that this is serious business, and not for those who would use the information for frivolous, nonsensical purposes.

Invocation of the Fourth Face is discussed in depth, as is the primary invoking ritual. In the following section on evocation, the author provides examples of two actual evocations, as well as an evocation of Divination (best done during a full moon) and an evocation of the Four Elements.

Finally, in the end section on pitfalls and possibilities, the author tackles many sensitive subjects, including She also touches upon how alcohol, drugs, sex and physical deprivation is thought to aid invocation and evocation.

If you are an all-out prude, you may want to skip these chapters; otherwise, they offer eye-opening, straightforward information that should be thoughtfully considered. Perhaps the most helpful part of this final section is the one on "Finding the Web of All Being." Simply put, this Web includes all things you can imagine - and those you cannot. It is the matrix of All.

The end message here is that we are all following our own unique paths of learning - and when all is said and done, no path is more advanced or more "important" than another's path. It's in this final chapter that the author's sincerity of purpose shines through with the most clarity.

For her part, she succeeds in bringing forth a sense of familiarity and good will in all readers who stumble onto her book. Indeed, although you may have never met this woman, by the end of the book, you'll feel as if you have been friends with her for a long time. And on second thought, who's to say you haven't?

I have read the other reviews and I am very disappointed in the ones who think that this is a bad book. This book has worked wonders for my 2nd circle students. This is one of the few books that i have found that actually get the reader ready with exercises to invoke.

I'm also impressed with the way that it covers Invoking and evoking. For students who have not been exposed to both concepts this book explains and gives exercises to get one ready for each. It gives them a basis of what to expect. I do, however agree that this book is not for beginners. I don't believe that beginners should be invoking period. I also must say that the feeling of invoking a deity is different for everyone. I do not go to another place. I am here but a presence has come within me, inside of me.

I was relieved to find someone who also saw deity the way that I do. nit to offend anyone who worships a Goddess because I do but Deity does NOT have a gender. I have read countless books that tell me that I can not inoke a male God because I am a female and that is ridiculous. I've been doing it for 14 years and it's never hurt me. There are many different Gods and Goddesses. The some Greek Gods are alot more feminine than some female Sumerian Goddesses so the difference isn't the gender, it is the person calling and who they are.

All in all I would definately suggest this book to anyone who has studied the basics of witchcraft and wishes to move on.

"Summoning forth the Wiccan Gods and Goddesses" is a solid manual for doing just that. A large portion of the book is made up of psychic preperation for the actual rituals. This is important, since the technique described here involves actual communication with dieties, which requires a psyche that is both unfettered by old traumas and open to the Universe. Common sense and experience permeate the work, as does the assumtion that all people have the right to directly communicate with the dieties. That being said, it is unfortunate to have to point out this book's major flaw. An intolerance of other religions, and a refusal to evaluate them outside of the author's framework, creeps through this book and adds to it a combative undertone that is totally inappropriate. The main point of her criticism of other faiths is that they deny the sacredness of the flesh, and that many of the world's holy books constitute "viscious, world hating manifestos". To properly evaluate the attitude of the "major" religions toward the mundane world would require a book of its own. With many, especially the myriad religions lumped under the classification of "Hinduism", the question is far from a simple either-or proposition. In any case, the book is about how to summon Wiccan dieties, not the benefits of yoga or lack thereof. As an adjucnt to the above objection, the author states quite unequivacably that "Ceremonial (Enochian) Magick doesn't work". First, the terms "Ceremonial" and "Enochian" Magick are not interchangeable. Enochian Magick is a very difficult, somewhat dangerous, form of magick which falls under the umbrella of Ceremonial Magick, but is by no means the only variety. Again, the topic is far too intricate to get into its finer points here. It should be stated, however, that the author presents very little evidence for her thesis other than a very bad experience with a con-artist posing as a real Magus. As for the argument against such feats of metaphysical athleticism as "invisibility" I would encourage any interested to seek out the Rose Cross Ritual, which does indeed confer a species of invisibility when performed correctly. Even with this flaw, this is a very good book. The irony is that the beginning work for the techniques described seems to inavdertantly follow the advice of a renowned Ceremonial Magician. Israel Regardie, a student of Crowley himself, suggested that anyone interested in Magick should undergo a program of psychotherapy before embarking on the path. The intent of psychotherapy is precisely the intent of the poppet exercise: to release old trauma and become a healthier participant in life. There is much to learn from this book, and it would be unfortunate to miss out on its benefits because its occaisionally antagonistic tone. Perhaps, in future edtions, such comments and biases could be editited out. Until then, brace yourself and read with an eye for the diamond in the rough that this book has to offer.

When you're ready to get real about Wicca and the Craft, read this book. I've read many books by such popular authors like Silver RavenWolf and Ray Buckland. Maeve Rhea finally gives us some meat to chew on. (not to cast disparaging remarks in those authors' books. They are good primers to get your appetite whetted!) But contrary to the "I've got to write another book to support my family" mentality of SOME pagan "authors", Maeve Rhea basically rips open her guts and shows us how to really really perform Magick and commune effectively with the Divine. If you're someone who obsesses on what color candle or phase of the moon is correct for any working, basically a "book" pagan, then keep reading the Llewellyn trash that is cranked out each month. But if you are serious about knowing how to really be a true witch and clergy, read this book.

Hooray! It's about time someone wrote a book on Wiccan practice that goes beyond the "101" level. This book is a "how to" on the advanced techniques of invoking and evoking divine elements, which is the sum and substance of REAL Wiccan magic. There are dozens of beginner books on the market. This one is for the serious student of the craft. My personal measure of a Priest or Priestess has always been how effectively they call the God/dess into themselves and the circle. This book, by a veteran High Priestess tells you how.

I feel compelled to write a review of this book after having read it. While the book has some strengths, it is, on the whole, not a worthy volume. This is a major disappointment, since there are few books on working with pagan deity forms. The book is overly didactic; while the author indicts Christianity and other religions for their dogmatic assertions, she turns around and makes her own absolute pronouncements, such as "there are no transcendent god-forms." The book contains several factual inaccuracies and must have had a bad copy-editor, as words are occasionally used incorrectly. The author cautions against bad mythographers but heartily recommends Robert Graves--a notoriously reductive and highly selective scholar whose work has great poetic value but little historical or textual accuracy. She discusses the Indian guru Meher Baba and is correct that his teachings are "world-denying and ascetic" but her two paragraphs on him contain at least two factual inaccuracies that a trip to the Encyclopedia Americana would have corrected and she seems quite ignorant of his Indian cultural context, judging instead from her own biased cultural vantage. She seems to be on a vendetta against vegetarianism and insists throughout that ceremonial and Enochian magic are completely fraudulent, basing this claim only on her own experience with a single ceremonialist and on the failed career of Franz Bardon. This dismissive and somewhat arrogant tone prevails throughout the book. She indicts others for patriarchalism and for seeking power-over, yet embraces the hierachical titles "Lady" and "High Priestess" for herself. On the positive side, the book reminds us that we can access divinity for ourselves and affirms the value of full engagement with the physical world and our physical bodies. The techniques she suggests for accessing deity, however, seem to lack depth and many readers would probably find them unfulfilling.

But this book came in the nick of time. For a few months I've been reading all the "required" beginning Wicca books, and even some more advanced ones. They all very beautifully talk about Drawing Down the Moon, bringing Goddess into the sacred circle, calling on God during the casting of a spell. I love the idea of nature worship and knowledge of the gods, but as a former Christian I really didn't GET how to make it happen. I'd meditate, call on the Goddess, and it was never the connection I long for. THIS BOOK takes you from the very beginning to the "how" of God/Goddess Worship. How to create a state of real connection and belief. Not a lot of formula and rules--Rhea trusts that you know yourself better than "The Almighty Author" might. I feel that with this book I was handed the key I so desperately needed. I was truly beginning to doubt my ability to be a real Wiccan, with all the webweaving of belief, connection & self-understanding that is implied. This book is the breath of fresh air I needed.

Normally, I would write positive reveiws for books, but this has to be a definite exception. I am not missing the point, to those whom would counteract my judgement, either. Whereas the grasp of the book is just fine with me, I am displeased with her claim that Ceremonial Magick is not real, that it is just hocus-pocus. To invalidate another person's faith and practice makes her worse than your average fundamentalist. She states on several occasions that both Enochian Magick and all of Ceremonial Magick is fake (she ignorantly assumes that both are one in the same, BTW) just because of one bad experience in her life. She goes on and on and on invalidating any belief in it whatsoever. The irony of it all is that her book on Invocation and Evocations are Ceremonial Magick aspects that were put into Wicca back when it was assembled by Gardner, Fortune, and Crowley. There is evidence supporting this. Not only that, Ceremonial Magick goes way back further before the concept of ritual magick was put into Wicca. Not only is she a hypocrit, but I do feel sincerely sorry for anyone that she teaches *if* she is a High Priestess. Besides her obvious bigotry within the book, she will attempt to say that her rituals will truly work, when any good Wiccan will know that what works for one will not work for all. I am basing the above information in comparison with my experience in both many years of Ceremonial Magick (and it works~ effectively at that!) as well as a High Priest in Wicca. I do hope that in future books that she does change her negative attitude about other forms of Magick, and has an equal heart to any form that she does not practice~ a sad trait in any type of religious fundamentalism.

The first 16 chapters of this book are unbelievable - knowledgeable, understanding of the human principle behind group evocation and invocation, and extremely useful. All chapters after 16, however, are about how the author's system is better than all others because the 4 individuals whom she saw try anything else were crackpots. Personally, I think she should have stuck with teaching what she knows; if she had, it would have been a 5 star response.

If there is only one book you can buy, buy this one. The author has done a remarkable job as writing the true beliefs of witchcraft when it comes to the Divine. If you wish to find answers about your relationship with Divinity, read this book. It's a little book with Great depth. As a true witch, you should have it on your shelf.