Powers of the Word: Declamation, Evocation, and Invocation - Principles of Practice

Secrets and Practices of the Freemasons: Sacred Mysteries, Rituals and Symbols Revealed - Jean-Louis de Biasi 2011

Powers of the Word: Declamation, Evocation, and Invocation
Principles of Practice

In every Masonic ritual, the word has a central function. There are no silent initiations; there are no ceremonies without words. Freemasonry is rooted in two major traditions, both of which emphasize the power of the word: the Bible, and the Hermetic Tradition. The word is central to the mythology of both traditions. The first few chapters of this book described that mythology in more detail.

The founders of Freemasonry used the word in two ways: (1) they provided extensive texts that explain the mythology surrounding each degree of advancement, certain moral teachings, and various symbolic interpretations; and (2) they used passwords, words that are distinct to each degree, and other sacred words transmitted by the tradition.

The function of the first use of the word is twofold: to teach, and to evoke. These two aspects are complementary. The first aspect is focused on the intellectual dimension; the second one on the imagination and spiritual being of the aspirant.

You may be amazed, when you read some of the ancient Masonic rituals, to discover how large the lessons are, and how short the theatrical part (the action or ritual) actually is. In some ways, things are more balanced today, but these teachings continue to be a major part of the initiations. You must remember that Freemasonry was created at a time when many people were unable to read. Each degree taught mythical lessons combining history, morals, myths, and mysteries in a way that inextricably linked these elements. The founding myths provided in the first chapter of this book offer the reader some idea of the style of presentation of these teachings. Of course, the goal of this transmission and teaching is not to give scientific or historical information but to tell a story in order to build memories that are common to every initiate. The lessons are also an opportunity to learn the tradition, by teaching the students how to reason and understand the knowledge of traditional symbolism.

It is also interesting to realize that some of these lessons were and are more symbolic than purely narrative. The goal of the inclusion of this symbolic material is to use the function called evocation. The use of evocation is rooted in the sacred representations of the mysteries that are included in classical drama. The memorization of rituals prior to performing them also employs evocation. This is a mental process limited to our consciousness. It doesn’t involve any other dimension. It requires an inner ability to use our capacity for memorization and visualization, to give birth to a myth or story in the initiate’s mind.

The art of persuasion is another key to powerful evocation. It is very close to the use of suggestion in hypnosis. For example, when you tell a story to a child at bedtime, and you do so with great conviction, that child will really believe what you are saying. All the characters of the story will be present in the bedroom! Similarly, in a ritual, this kind of persuasion is used when you declaim the myth.

Of course, this process should never be used manipulatively, to corrupt the original intention of the drama. An initiation always respects the freedom of the candidate and he can ask to stop it at any time. This is a fundamental principle of all authentic and respectable initiatic processes: the initiate must be completely free in every aspect of the process and at every moment of his progress along the spiritual path. At this level, this use of evocation has the same function as it has for an actor: to give life to a story in order to allow the public to experience it as a reality.

However, the mental representation, paired with the inner conviction of the initiate, is capable of accomplishing even more. Each ritual is a sort of sacred theatrical play. The myths that are central to these plays are connected to very potent archetypes. The evocation of such universal symbols links the initiate to a center of power (an ancient memory that is external to the play) at the precise moment of evocation. At this point, I am very close to describing what happens during the evocation of a theurgic dimension. Something deeper and stronger is evoked, a memory of the past masters who are always present on the invisible plane and who are also resident in the unconscious memory of all living beings. In this perspective, the words are imbued with a level of intensity that is sometimes astonishing.

The second aspect concerns the passwords and other sacred words. I spoke extensively about this dimension and the use of such words in Chapter Four. You may review that part of the material again if it seems hazy. Otherwise, it won’t be necessary to develop those concepts again here.

However, their use in ritual is not a commonplace phenomenon. Any tradition that teaches about sacred words will instruct its students that there is a special process that must be used when these words are part of a ritual, and that there is a specific and special pronunciation that must be used as well. Considering their function, you now understand why these requirements are so necessary. To continue in the consideration of these matters, I must distinguish between the passwords, the common words, and the sacred words.

Most of these Masonic words have their origin in the Hebrew Tradition. At the time of the elaboration of the rituals in use today, the knowledge of the precise roots of these words had been lost. The circumstances of the birth of Freemasonry implies that most of the people involved didn’t know the Hebrew language and they therefore lacked the capacity to understand the words they were writing and speaking; they were not able to correct their mistakes. They transmitted what they believed was correct, but it was often wrong or inaccurate. Frequent misspellings, along with various confusions about pronunciation and other matters, were repeated over and over down through the years; this repetition created a strong (but false) belief that they held a precious stone, instead of an ordinary rock. Even the form of some of the sacred letters has sometimes been so misshapen that they are difficult to recognize. Research and study has resulted in some students discovering the real roots, but to correct the errors in the rituals is not a simple matter. Sometimes the tradition itself has a ponderous inertia that resists change.

If you study all the degrees of the Scottish Rite, it is possible to identify sacred words from other traditions that existed prior to the birth of Freemasonry. Albert Pike demonstrated his knowledge of these other traditions many times, and he introduced accurate corrections of the words of power. However, in the first three degrees, this is generally not the case. It is important to remember that Freemasons are using substituted words because they lost the original ones. However, the most important of all these considerations is for the student to have the desire to penetrate the veil, in order to find the root word, whether near or far from the substituted word. The initiate must penetrate the veil to find the real word for both the passwords and the other sacred names. Interestingly, the Hebrew language was used by Hebrew and Christian Qabalists to speak about the spiritual realities. Even the Hermetists in the Renaissance and after chose this system to hide some secrets about their tradition. It is why an understanding of the basic Qabalah is important.

However, it is not necessary to know the Hebrew language and to be able to speak it fluently in order to be an effective initiate. That has never been the point of these lessons. The initiate Iamblicus wrote about sacred names in “barbarian” languages, saying the initiates must retain their pronunciation in order to preserve their power and be in harmony with the superior beings.

These directions (from Iamblicus) reveal the power associated with sacred words and introduce a new concept: invocation. All sacred and traditional words contain a hidden meaning. The first initiates chose each word carefully and each word has received power throughout its long life. For the ancient Hermetists and the Hebrews, a sacred word is the material representation of an invisible reality. The letters, their shape and sound, are the appearance, the envelope, and the body of a spiritual being. A word is never a sequence of dead block capitals printed on a piece of paper. A sacred word corresponds to a living being that you can invoke with the use of that word. When an initiate advances far enough in the order and is called to initiate other candidates, the inner work he has done will allow him to really invoke these powers, in order to increase the state of consciousness of the candidate. In this way, they will be elevated, and their spiritual eyes will be opened. For example, if you are working inwardly on the Masonic lights (beauty, strength, and wisdom) with the correct process of Masonic meditation, you create a strong contact with your inner powers and archetypes. When a ritual officer respectfully pronounces sacred words during a ritual, totally aware of their deepest meaning, he will accomplish a real inner invocation that has the capacity to affect the visible and invisible planes. This ritual work is simple, discreet, and can be felt even by someone who knows nothing about the process.

You now should have a better understanding of the difference between evocation and invocation. However, it is important that you don’t think of them as being opposite forces. These two levels can be associated with each other and used together in a Masonic ritual. In fact, every Masonic ritual is a combination of many well-organized aspects, including symbols, gestures, ritual movements, lights, sounds, etc. The word allows us to animate this entire process. The invocation manifests the power of the breath we received at birth. Remember, too, that a ritual is a result of many participants. Their inner and individual work is a key to the expression of that ritual’s power.