This is of course a big goal for many occultists but as to the "when" seems to be a matter of contention. I started working with Bardon´s "Initiation Into Hermetics" a few months ago and according to him you should not attempt any evocation until all 10 steps of his book are complete, which if you´re not following his course, implies a total mastery over low magic. Completing all 10 steps of his course to a good standard will no doubt take years. On the other hand, there are people who seem to jump into evocation straight away! So I´m confused. Is Bardon being hyperbolic? I´m not even talking about cracking up an Ars Goetia and summoning a demon or Satan himself or whatever, but you know, even just Venusian or Solar spirits or what have you. At what point is one "ready"? After balancing their elements?
What do you think?
My recollection of Bardon's PME is a little rusty, but there are far too many reasons why it is a good idea to follow his instructions.
However, it should be mentioned that there's a bit of a discrepancy of understanding in this situation between Bardon's instruction and the common perception of the occult community.
Bardon's instruction is precisely concerning the legitimate, 100% literal definition of Evocation, while many occultists today are muppets who don't understand the difference between Evocation, Invocation, and more general spirit-work.
The term Evocation gets thrown around very loosely these days and many who are supposedly engaging in such a thing are in fact not.
First you got morons who seem to think any ritual work vaguely involving spirits is Evocation when all they're doing is some kind of spirit-sorcery, then you have those who are incidentally engaging with Invocation but don't quite grasp the difference between the two, and then finally, yes, there is a number of practitioners who are actually attempting to engage with actual Evocation.
A good portion of that last group fail and usually end up flaking from occultism period, while the majority of the other portion either fall prey to delusions and their own over-active imaginations, or actually end up managing to at least catch the attention of their target and may be gifted some interesting experiences or w/e by the generosity of said spirit.
Finally, there is that teeny-tiny portion who actually do manage to succeed with legitimate Evocation, but that is rarer than an honest politician.
But, notice that the vast majority of spirit-workers or "evokers" on occult forums usually allude to uncanny coincidences, dreams, successful spells or "blessings", and many other questionable anecdotes as evidence of success for their "Evocation" work?
Well that's not really what genuine Evocation is or what it's about, historically speaking. That's not true success in Evocation, it's failure in Evocation with side effects of success elsewhere (excluding just the delusional morons succeeding in theatre).
This state of things within the modern occult community is nothing at all what Bardon is presenting you with.
His intended course of instruction regarding Evocation is meant to put you in a position to
effectively and reliably operate the 100% literal and historical practice of Evocation.
That means literally summoning the full manifested presence of a demon into the earth-zone right before your eyes and smelling that sulfur stench assaulting your nostrils, or summoning a planetary intelligence and feeling their overwhelming aura enveloping the room and vibrating every fiber of your mental, astral, and physical being - or summoning whatever other spirit you have in mind. The point is, it's very, very literal.
The things that can be gained from a spirit in such an interaction is equally fantastical.
But, it's not uncommon for even the most respected spirit-workers in any given occult community to have never had an experience with genuine Evocation, and they often doubt such a thing is even possible in the first place.
That's just how rare it is.
But that's what Bardon's instructions are situated for, and why they seem so demanding. Ridiculous magic requires ridiculous development.
Now there's plenty of lower-level spirit work that you can engage with that don't have such requirements, but just don't confuse other kinds of spirit-work with genuine Evocation as found in Bardon's PME.
Vandheer is correct, Bardon states that the practitioner may engage with the true practice of Evocation when the student has reached at least Step 8 of the IIH.
I didn't get to go over some of the practical details of why the course of development in the IIH is vital to the later operation of Evocation like I wanted to, but I only have so much time and that's an essay of its own that I'm too tired to write.
I´m not even talking about cracking up an Ars Goetia and summoning a demon or Satan himself or whatever, but you know, even just Venusian or Solar spirits or what have you.
Just for the record, in regards to genuine Evocation, the Planetary Intelligences are far greater existential threats than most of the common demons you find in these kinds of grimoires. The Solar intelligences in particular are arguably the most dangerous spirits in the entire Cosmos alongside the Martian and Saturnian Intelligences.
Simply evoking the wrong Solar intelligence can result in your immediate and very literal obliteration.
The Planetary Intelligences are not to be taken lightly whatsoever when Evocation is involved, as they're probably close to the oldest and biggest spirits that exist, if not exactly that.
