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When we have called in all the Kindred, it is time to call on the Being of the Occasion. Usually you will hear it called Deity of the Occasion (DotO), but we should be honoring more than just deities throughout the year. The perfect example of this comes at Samhain. In my personal practice, on Samhain night, I do a dumb supper and the beings I invite in are all my ancestors. Here the Ancestors are the Beings of the Occasion. There are also going to be times where you are going to want to do a ritual to various land spirits. This could be a house weight (fey, spirit, etc.) your local body of water, a tree, your cat (they do love worship ;) ). Because the place of honor is not always a deity, and shouldn't always be a deity, that is why I prefer to call that part of the ritual the Beings of the Occasion.
So, how does one go about creating a call for one of these beings? Well, research is always the first step. Find out about the being. What are they known for? What kinds of feats have they performed? What skills do they have? Read their lore, read reliable interpretations of their lore. Even go out and look for invocations that others have done. The idea is to start off with knowing who they are, and unless you already have a relationship with them, the best way to do that is research. Yep, we are a religion with homework, but it pays off.
Once you get to know the being, then you can start working on an invocation for them. For me the general way to frame the call is something along the following.
NAME!
You who did X, Y, and Z.
I call on you to join us for PURPOSE
Come, Join us at our fire as we celebrate tonight.
NAME, Accept our Sacrifice!
That is a very basic form that can easily be expanded. Lets go through it though. First, we identify who we are calling. We then give epitaphs of what they are known for. This is for a few reasons. First, it helps puff them up and makes them feel more important. Who doesn't like hearing all their accomplishments called out for all to hear? Secondly, it allows those in the ritual who are not familiar with the being to get to know a little bit about the being. When choosing what epitaphs to use, they should be related to the next line. Once we describe the being and their accomplishments, we then ask them to join us and tell them why we want them to join us. The fourth line is just verbiage to keep the invocation stylistically the same as the Kindred calls. Finally, we make offerings or sacrifice to the being and ask that they accept it.
Now, what epitaphs you use will vary depending on the ritual purpose and who the audience is. I'll give you a couple examples of how I call on Oðin. First will be how I would call him for a Yule ritual.
Oðin!
One eyed! Wanderer! Leader of the Wild Hunt!
We call on you tonight to come and help us celebrate Yule and keep us safe from the hunters you lead this time of year.
Come, Join us at our fire as we celebrate Yule tonight.
Oðin, Accept our Sacrifice!
When I do Seiðr work, I also call on Oðin.
Oðin!
Wanderer and One Eyed!
You have traveled all the worlds, you have sat in the high seat to see all, you have sacrificed to Mirmir's well so you can know what you need to know.
You gave us the runes, and you gave us the practice of Seiðr.
We call on you tonight to honor you and your skills.
We call on you to aid us and guide us in our works this evening.
Watch over the seer as he does his work, and assist him if he needs assistance.
Oðin! Accept our Sacrifice!
This call is a little longer, but it follows the same idea. The second through fourth lines are listing things he is known for. The fifth through seventh lines are telling him why we are calling him. Stylistically, I don't need the request for him to join us at the fire because that is not how the ritual I took this from is written, but it could be added if needed.
Finally, when I am doing my own private rituals, I go about calling him with other epitaphs.
Oðin!
You One Eyed Bastard! Wanderer! Teacher! Guide! Rider of Sleipnir! Friend, and Patron!
I call on you tonight as my patron and to give you honor.
Come, join me in my works as I honor you tonight.
Oðin, Accept my Sacrifice!
The key to take away here is that what epitaphs you use will depend greatly on the purpose and setting of the ritual. I surely wouldn't be calling on Oðin as friend and patron in a public ritual, and I would probably offend people if I called him a bastard in a public ritual, but in private it is appropriate for a call from me. Ultimately though, the general formula I had at the start is how all these are laid out, and it is honestly a common formula that is used throughout many groups.
As there are so many deities and other beings out there that can be called, I'll ask that you give it a shot and leave invocations you've used, or invocations you've created in the comments.
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