Evocatio

The latin term "evocatio" is very often quite misconceived: this name originated the word "evocation". In the religious sphere we can frequently find that "some rites have been performed to evoke a given God/Goddess" to describe that some rites have been done to call that God/Goddess, to reveal a Deity. In brief the verb "to evoke" is used to invoke: an evocation is a form of invocation.

The term evocatio has, on the contrary, a rather opposite meaning also involving a precise rite (as in the case of the "devotio"): evocare, among the rites of the Traditional Roman Spirituality, implies a precise sense and meaning and it is therefore important to use this term in a correct way in order to avoid misunderstanding and confusion.

Evocatio is a very complex and peculiar rite, to be used only in specific conditions, through which one or more Divine Forces, protecting and/or permeating a site, a building, groups of people or individuals, are removed and moved somewhere else. This means that places or people can be deprived of their Divine support: this support, once removed, have to be placed in another site well accepted by the Divine Force involved in the rite of evocatio.

Evocatio implies a well defined certo carmen. The term evocatio is linked to the idea of Vox: this is therefore a spiritual process where the Divine Forces and Energies involved must be clearly identified, named and expressed. This involves remarkable skills in acknowledging and indentifying these forces cited in the rite of evocatio, a deep understanding of the names and characteristics of these forces because they must be clearly cited and described with no space to errors. 

Evocatio shows some analogies with the rite of ex-auguratio. Both cases are based on the idea that we can find Divine Forces everywhere . In the rite of ex-auguratio the operator asks these forces to leave a given place in order to give space to other forces. In the evocatio there is a dramatic removal, a transfer of a force from a place to another, an emptying, a cosmic weakening. 

The rite of evocatio must be extremely precise and cannot be improvised or executed by improvised operators because, among others, it involves the Science of the Names and the Science of Signatures. These Sciences, whose complex details cannot be described here, are at the base of the knwoledge and exact pronunciation of the true Gods'/Goddesses' names, the true names of the Divine Forces, of the arcane Energies of the Nature, of the sacred things and the living beings. 

Evocatio firstly implies the identification (interpretatio) of one or more Deities to be evoked but however comparable to those of the Roman Tradition. Being comparable means not only a similarity for example in names and functions. Deities not comparable or inconsistent with the Traditional Roman Spirituality are those unable to provide any benefit, constrasting the Traditional ethos. They cannot be evoked and therefore they "cease", their functions are extinguished and their places and qualities cease to be sacred (because they originally weren't sacred)

Evocatio then implies a votum or an exchange based on an offer. The formula is as follows:

precor ueneror ueniamque a uobis peto...

( I pray, beseech, and earnestly entreat that...)

then:

Si ita feceritis, uoueo uobis...

(If ye will do this, I promise to...)

The uotum is linked to an obtestatio with three gestures: 

• touching the chest during the uotum with the right hand (gesture dedicated to Fides and personal obligation)
• touching the ground (invoking as witness the Mother Earth)
• raising the hands to the Sky (invoking as witness Jupiter)

Tellus Mater (manibus terram tangit)

teuqe, Iuppiter (manus ad caelum tollit)

obtestor

Now the operator has to observe the signa to verify if the vota have been accepted or not (the Divine Force involved may decide not to accept the vota and therefore not to be evoked).. 

In conclusion it is important to remark tha the evocatio is not a magical ritual, but a real religious rite which has to be performed with precise aims and scopes. As already mentioned, this is a rite not viable to profane or not-initiated people. I however hope that this clarification will be useful for a correct use of this kind of terms in the religious domain. In the future, while performing our rites, we will think very carefully before "evoking" a God or a Goddess.