"I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. "Come unto me" is a foolish word: for it is I that go." AL II:7
"We are all god in disguise. Jesus found that out, and they crucified him for saying so." Alan Watts (We are in disguise, hiding from ourselves.)
Mastery in magick comes from knowing what time it is because there is a time and a place for all things, and the adept knows this. Magick occurs in the mind. Performance means nothing unless it is rooted in a logical-to-you understanding of personal metaphysics. There is too much doing and not enough contemplation. Our love of fantasy may be the issue.
I like wearing robes and swinging my wand around (cue Beavis and Butthead), but I have to feel like what I do is connected to the paradigm I use to achieve my goals.
So the magician calls, and his subject answers.
The best way to describe the relationship between the magician and the subject invoked is by using the phenomena of lighting to show its similarity with the art of invocation. Most people are more familiar with lightning than with magick, so this will make for a suitable metaphor.
All conditions must be met before lightning can manifest, whether from the ground up or sky to the ground. Energy is directed to the earth from above, and vice versa.
Typically, negative electricity descends from the skies toward the ground, where matter is generally positively charged. Opposites attract, and when the positive energy rises from the earth to meet the sky, negative energy descends to meet it, and lightning is the result.
Alternatively, we can consult Newton's Third Law which states that for every action (force) in nature, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In other words, if object A exerts a force on object B, then object B also exerts an equal and opposite force on object A.
It is no different with magick or life. It is a reciprocal relationship that conforms to the laws of nature. We give our lives meaning, and life returns the favor.
These metaphors are particularly helpful if kept in mind when studying the Tree of Life. Invocation works similarly. Certain conditions must be met if one is to be successful.
Does this mean that whatever mental aspect you are invoking must want to be summoned?
This is precisely what I am saying.
So how does the magician create the desire to be invoked? Usually, by stimulating that aspect of one's mind by studying symbols associated with those aspects. Color, scent, geometry, mythological attribution, and meditation. All those things should precede any invocation to maximize the chances of making contact.
There needs to be more clarity about the difficulty of this work because many potential magicians that could benefit from The Work walk away from it to other, less reliable but more fantasy-driven systems: and that IS dangerous.
Magick is easier for us than it was for those that came before us that had a limited understanding of how the mind works. One of the challenges modern magicians face is the difficulty of esoteric language in the grimoires used to hide the purpose and meaning of The Work from groups of religious/superstitious fanatics. For this reason, we recommend the study of Qabalah very early in The Work, as this will provide the student with a solid foundation and language by which to approach these texts.
The other issue is the fabrications from gatekeepers tell others to keep them in their place. The pseudo-intellectual snobs who collect first-edition grimoires and never read them, much less practice.
We can forgive our predecessors for not understanding nature at such an early time in human development. After all, even Jesus appears to have believed in ghosts.
"Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."
Luke 24:39 NIV
Nevertheless, let us avoid becoming fantasy-stricken, well-meaning warlock types who stepped on this path without the proper training and live in a fantasy world of our own making.
The key is simplicity. Humans like puzzles. We want to make things more complicated than needed because our egos feel good when we conquer a difficult task. We also like adventures. These two human qualities serve us as fuel.
Let us do away with the misconception that a human cannot be both spiritual and in the world, with all the baggage that comes with being human. We can be angry about our world; Gods know we deserve it. We can try to change the world; that is why we are here. Any hesitation to be anything other than who and what we are is based on a two-thousand-year-old superstition reflected in Christianity. It is a lie that we carry into modern metaphysics and has to end. Because the people who pretend that perfection either believe it is accurate and are fooling themselves or are trying to sell something.
In the New Aeon, perfection means accurate self-reflection. Legitimacy without apology.
Have a conversation with your ego. Try to convince it that achievement is more interesting than struggle. You will spend much more time progressing toward your goals and less time treating wounds.