I have a few thoughts on this topic. I find it fascinating personally. First, I think we blur the shit out of terms in this thing we call the Occult (why not? I mean the only things we care about are exact candle colors, moon phases and Latin words. jokes!
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Invocation to some is allowing the spirit to come through your psyche, and some mean it is just in your direct area. Some mean evocation as full bodied manifestation, others mean evocation to mean manifest in the spiritual in your direct area. These aren’t small differences. When the same terms mean different things to different people, and nobody makes their meaning clear, learning gets harder than it needs to be.
Your framework matters much more than you think it does. Does your personal framework align with the ritual system you are trying to operate in? Your framework matters, and it just might be the very thing that helps you make actual contact.
To me, invocation is very personal. I have only allowed 2 demons though me via invocation. Its intimate and I choose. It can be vastly different from person to person, so try to hold all of this with an open hand, as your experience will be unique to you. How you view this is your choice.
I have heard folks say repeatedly that invocation is easier than evocation. I have Aphantasia so for me evocation is a bit different. Since I cannot visualize at all, if I 'see' something (third eye), it's way harder to argue with. I cant imagine then visualize a specific thing, so for me its pretty cut and dried. Every single teacher I have worked with and most of the spirits I have worked with I have experienced via evocation, invocation builds upon that contact and relationship. That's just me though.
For me evocation feels less intimate because I experience it as apart from me, rather than in or through me. Nothing in spirit conjuration is guaranteed. That said, evocation isn't that hard. You are just calling the spirit into your space. Pay attention to everything around you. I experience it as voltage (whether demon, angel or deity) physically. Im not you, so take that for what its worth. it might help to divorce yourself from the idea of having to "See" a spirit for it to be present. Sometimes the spirit can be there and you cant see it, maybe just feel its presence or hear its voice. Those count too, dont be so quick to discount an experience, or call it a failure if it doesn't go exactly the way you envisioned, or hoped it would go.
Give it time and be patient. Spirits, in my experience, aren't out there just waiting for someone to evoke/invoke them. They have other spirit shit to do. Stay after it. Choose the spirit you want to try it out with and actually try it out. The books can be great, but remember, they are only maps, not the terrain. Our experiences, even mine are only maps for you.
Take what helps and burn the rest. I truly hope you have an actual encounter!!
