​Many witches, myself included, do not do a lot of highly ritualized work. That said, there are many that do, and I have heard these two terms thrown around, and even read them where they were used rather interchangeably. They are definitely not the same thing, and I thought it would be good to point out the difference between them, just in case you come across the same thing.
Invoking, as the name suggests, refers to “calling in” a god/goddess/spirit. Not just into your circle, but into yourself. There are many occasions (like Sabbats or the Great Rite) where ritualistic witches and covens would invoke the goddess into their priestess and the god into their priest. These members allow their deities to “possess” them for a time during the ritual and then release them when the rite is complete. The god, goddess, or spirit that inhabits them is generally given the go ahead to take over and perform whatever task is to be accomplished during that ritual, or answer whatever questions the members have (depending on the reason for invoking them in the first place). This is not something that is taken lightly, and only experienced priests/priestesses take on this responsibility. That said, it would be up to the coven who is chosen to do this, and if you are not part of a coven, things can be a bit trickier (though not impossible). Either way, invoking any entity requires a vessel (read person) to contain the entity while the work is being done.
Evoking, on the other hand, refers to “calling up” a god/goddess/spirit. Basically, this means that you are calling upon on them to appear before you. No living vessel is needed. You may call up on them to appear inside your circle, or inside a circle you have prepared for them. I would say this is more often the chosen path, since it can be done in a group or alone. As solitary practitioners, if we have a patron god/goddess, we might evoke them to gain their help in spell work, to ask for their guidance, to invite them to our celebrations, or just thank them for all they have done.
Both of these usually (but not always) require much preparation and ritual, as well as a good relationship with whichever deity/spirit you wish to contact. I would suggest that if you want to try invoking someone/something, that you talk to someone who has successfully done this before., and be sure you are well versed in ritual so it feels smooth, rather than awkward or “choppy” for you. It might also be a good idea to have someone with you who understands what you are going to do, just to be safe. You never know what things you might be unprepared for if you go it alone. The same could be applied to evocations. It never hurts to consult an expert.
As you can see, these terms are not interchangeable. Have you ever practiced either of these? Or been part of a ritual/ceremony that included one of them? Does it interest you? Do you have any tips/advice to anyone who might be?

If you are a witch of any kind, it is quite likely (though not at all mandatory) that you have a pet of some kind. Whether that is a cat, a dog, a snake, a bird, or some other furry/feathered/scaley creature (or something different entirely), he or she is likely regarded as a member of your family. We devote our love, time, and resources to make sure they are well taken care of, and we mourn when they are sick or they pass on. We may even think of them as guardians or a physical representation our spirit or totem animal. Another word that gets tossed around regarding out pets can be “a familiar”, but what is that exactly?
If you google the definition of a familiar you likely find, at the top of the list, that it is a demon that is under the control of or obeys a witch. While that very Christianized definition is quite popular among nay sayers of the craft, it is not entirely accurate. A familiar is not a demon, and is not under the control of the witch either. The relationship between a witch and her/his familiar is a mutual partnership. One can manifest a familiar into their life (usually through meditation or ritual), or one can appear to you of its own free will. Either way, a familiar is generally a physical, living creature. A familiar is not a pet. It may come to live with you, or it may come when you need it (or it needs you), but it is free to help, or not, as it sees fit. You can call on them to help you with magical workings like manifesting, healing, protection, or any other magical workings you need. While calling on a familiar is not an every-day thing, and you don’t need them for every little spell you do, it is also not a “one night stand” either. You don’t call for one just to drop it after you are done. It is a magical partnership. You can call on them when you need, but they will also seek you out for help when they need you.
There are other ways to attain magical help as well, without the commitment of a familiar. You can call on your guides, angels or other beings from alternate realms/planes to help you. This can be more of a one-time deal, though it is often best to build a rapport with them before asking for their help. It is always good to know who you are asking for help, and if they are even likely to supply such help. Some  beings/entities prefer to help with certain kinds of requests more than others, or like to build a relationship before offering their services. Always be careful and take precautions so you don’t end up attracting the wrong kind of help on the astral planes. This can also be done through meditation, journeying, ritual, or astral projection (if you able to do this).
Another way to attain magical help without a familiar is to create a thought form or servitor. These entities are made by you for a specific purpose, and are to be used for no more than 7 days. These can be made though ritual or visualization. A statue to house it in is commonly used. A thought form or servitor is generally made with a specific purpose in mind, created and fed by your energy, and set it to dissipate when the task is done or 7 days are up. These are always temporary help, and are great when you need that extra help to carry out whatever you are trying to manifest, create, or otherwise get done. Just to note, a servitor or thought form can sometimes be made by accident. Especially when we hard core focus on something. If one fixates on a problem or the desired solution we wish we could create, one can accidentally create one that will try to carry this out for us. However, this is not a desired outcome, since there would be no control on the part of the creator (you might not even know it exists), and so there could be unforeseen consequences. It is always best to try and process our negative feelings like anger, grief, and sadness in positive ways so this does not happen.
Any of these ways is acceptable for acquiring magical help. It is up to you to decide which one would work best for you, or what would be the most help in your particular situation. Personally, I have never called for a familiar. I have had many pets that I was very close to, but none that I have ever asked for magical help from. How about you? Do you have a familiar? Would you want one? Do you ask for magical help elsewhere? What is your experience?

​At some point in time I think most of us have experienced déjà vu, meaning “already seen”; that feeling that we have experienced whatever we are currently doing once before. This is a fairly common occurrence. Whether you believe that this just a miscommunication in the brain between memory recollection and familiarity, or you feel it has a more paranormal/extrasensory explanation is up to you. Personally I lean more towards the latter, but that is my opinion. Either way, this is a concept that most people are familiar with. There is, however, another similar concept being studied called déjà reve, that you may not have heard of, though you may have experienced it.
Déjà reve means “already dreamed”. It describes a situation where you feel you previously dreamed about a situation before it actually happens. Yes, it does sound like precognition, but there are actually a few scenarios that fall under this term that make it a little different. (side note: despite how much the government has studies the Claires and other such skills, “science” is not ready to admit to their existence just yet, baby steps). Science explains this phenomenon by saying that they believe that our brain has a special section that stores our dreams and that real life situations can trigger these memories, causing that feeling of déjà reve. According to research done in 2010, they have found evidence that the people more likely to experience either déjà vu or déjà reve are those who have “thinner boundaries” between mental states. Which makes sense. If you are more open to that kind of experience you are more likely to have that experience. They also have shown that these stated occur mostly in the medial temporal lobes, which is the part of the brain that plays a major role in emotions and memories.
 Déjà reve actually breaks down into three different types.

1. Episodic-Like  Déjà Reve, which refers to scenarios where the person can recall having that specific dream at a specific date/time that is now happening in real life.
2. Familiarity-Like Déjà Reve, which refers to scenarios when the person associates certain elements of a dream (people, places, events) to what is happening, but cannot relate these elements to a specific dream at a specific date/time.
3. Dreamy State Déjà Reve, which refers to a scenario where the person actually feels like they are in a dream-like state of consciousness at the time.

There are some who believe there is a fourth category as well that describes dreaming about something you have already dreamed about. This one happens to me quite a bit. If you are of the belief, like so many others, that your dreams contain messages (whether from guides/spirits, the universe, your higher consciousness, or your subconscious), then paying close attention to dreams that reoccur would be an important step on your spiritual journey. This is, perhaps, where dream journaling would be an asset.
Regardless of how/why you believe these happen, it is definitely an interesting phenomenon. The brain still holds many mysteries, and I believe the key to unraveling many of them lies somewhere between science and they mystical realm. What do you think? Have you experienced wither of these phenomena? Which one? How do you explain it?

​The other day I read “The Hidden Messages in Water” by Masaru Emoto. I was already aware of his work, but had not read his book until now. His experiments have shown that water, which makes up approximately 60% of the human body, can be positively or negatively affected by our thoughts and words. Beautiful crystal formations are made by water when exposed to positive words, whether spoke or written; regardless of the language used. Even beautiful pictures and music have this same effect. The opposite is true of the same kinds of negative stimuli. Instead of pretty crystal structures there were only partially formed or deformed structures found. To me, this says a lot about how our thoughts, how we talk to ourselves, and how we let others talk to us affects our bodies and out health.
There is a lot of talk these days about positive and manifesting, and this experiment scientifically shows how true this is. According to this study, while love grows elegant crystals, when combined with gratitude, it is even more spectacular. In fact, gratitude alone had better results. In his book, he compared it to a water molecule (H2O), saying that if it were, then love would represent oxygen (1) part and gratitude would represent hydrogen (2 parts). This combination had powerful healing properties.
 We all know water is good for us, but imagine the extra benefits of positivity infused water! Regardless of the message you want to convey, the water can be infused by talking to it, sitting it on a picture, or writing the words on paper and wrapping them around the container so the water can “read” it. Yes, it appears the water gets the message that is written, and it does not matter what language it is written in either.
We tend to take water for granted, but if you think about it, it is so amazing. Healing, life sustaining, and refreshing. We truly cannot live without it.
My take from this is simple: Positive energy, in any form, breeds more positive energy, in many forms. It is a powerful, natural, universal element necessary for life and good health (on every level). For all the benefits it provides, it takes so little effort to spread it everywhere. So the question is, how do you talk to yourself and others? Will you be listening more closely to the words you use, or do you do this already?