February 2024
Welcome February !
This month I would like to explore the practice of invocation.
I was raised Roman Catholic and spent my whole life “praying.” Reciting established prayers and in moments of need I would reach out to God and ask for what I wanted. In some way what I was doing was actually invoking the main deity in my life to provide me with extra support. However, it always felt one sided. I was consistently asking for things, but did not know how to give back. Sometimes I would broker deals when the guilt of continual asking overwhelmed me; “Dear God, if you help me get an A on this test I promise I will never punch my brother again.” That was a pretty good deal if you were my brother, for a day or two.
When we invoke our trusted powers and spirit allies we are asking for heightened relationship with them. We are approaching them with reverence, sincerity, and an invitation for equal exchange. When I use the action of invocation I am offering my words, deeds, and energy to amplify our connection.
The day I truly understood invocation was in a moment of desperation. I was mad, angry, and wanted answers from the universe. I remember pounding my fists on the ground, demanded to know where my guides were, and crying out to my ancestors. My tears fell to the earth and when exhaustion overtook me I realized that for the first time in my life, I had really truly prayed. The act of invocation was the vehicle for my prayers and my tears were a gift.
As we move through the month of February, my invitation to you is to practice invocation. Call out. Enter into verbal relationship with your trusted powers and open your heart for your soul’s prayer to pass through.
~ Jen
“Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men.
Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts.”
― PATRICK ROTHFUSS, THE NAME OF THE WIND
~ February VIDEO MESSAGE ~
questions for reflection
Have you consciously and intentionally made an invocation? How did it feel to you? What were some of the nuances you picked up on after you made your invocation?
What is the difference between prayer and invocation? Are they the same act, different, or symbiotic?
Consider the moments in your life when you made invocations, what were those defining moments and how did the invocation help to move the energy of what you were experiencing?
Season Ritual PDF
Seasonal rituals will be released in Pdf format during the months of September, December, March, and June.
Reflect on this past seasons ritual; are you still in process with the ritual? Did you notice any shifts as a result of completing the ritual? Take a moment here to reflect on your time with this ritual.
“Any ritual is an opportunity for transformation.”
~ Starhawk
monthly ritual
Each month you will be given a ritual in Pdf format. These rituals arise from a combination of experience, divination, guidance, and natural cycles. Create the time & space to bring regular ritual into your life using these pdf’s as guideposts.
February meditation
CURIOUS ABOUT THE ELEMENTS?
If you are curious about weaving elemental medicine into your spiritual and ritual practice consider taking the Elemental Intelligence Series. Classes may be taken stand alone.
Adventurer Monthly Gift / Discount (changes each month):
Use the code HIVE and save 20% on the Winter 2024 HIVE Ancestral Healing Collective Series. Expires 2/28/2024
This is a beautiful example of an invocation. Notice it is also called a prayer made through the act of calling out. Speaking out loud our prayers and petitions is the act of invoking. Invoking builds relationship through reciprocity.
“When the invocation descends into the heart, if there is darkness within, it illuminates it; and if there is already light, the invocation increases the light and intensifies it.”
~ Ibn Ata Allah
RESOURCE ARTICLE
This is a transcript of an interview with Sobonfu Somé from Sounds True in which Sobonfu discusses the importance of who/what you are invoking and why.
