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I've never really tried invoking in any formal sense and I was wanting to ask some who have experience with the tables of different entities out there the following question:

If you knew someone who was still really wet behind the ears, who wanted to open the door in the most responsible and conservative manner available for the sake of having some kind of beach-head in the astral with a firm ally on the other side, and if they were asking you which entity has the combination of being very easy to reach and get result and also equally safe to work with and even helpful as a basic instructor/initiator - who would be your first suggestion? What's their classification - ie. elemental king/queen, angel, daimon, god/goddess, etc.?

I don't know if I would, how soon I would, or whether I might hold off on something like that to really get the full understanding of what the basic theurgy implies and even might want to overdo it on the bells-and-whistles of the ceremony and wait until I can. I think this tends to be a fairly standard question - ie. the question of the best place to begin or the safest first-step on the ladder. Keep in mind also that if any part of the above question seems impossible, self-contradictory, etc. to explain the tradeoffs that make the situation to be as such and what developmental angles one would want to take care of beforehand in order to not be asking the impossible.

I just sent an email to a friend of mine who may be able to help you with these questions. I'll let you know if I hear anything.

Well, I've heard good things about Archangel Michael.
I would probably suggest reading and researching the Key of Solomon the King, should you be following a more Biblical sect of High Magick.

As an individual who practices a mishmash of belief systems (understanding that my philosophy is somewhere along the lines of "by any [safe] means necessary") to get from A to B, I may suggest calling upon your spirit animal or one of your totems to help you with the astral planes, or perhaps an ancestor.
For your safety, make sure you have a sacred space cleared and guarded, and only practice when you're in a good, strong headspace. Weakness invites unwanted guests and psychic joyriders.

The energy is universal, and is named for the sake of our understanding.

I would like to point out that the Craft is a long process (much like getting in shape) and requires hours of exercise for your Psychic Muscle. It takes practice, and patience… like anything. Don't rush it or you'll hurt yourself; wait until you're ready. It's a journey.

My one major piece of advice is to read and research as much as you can about as much as you can before jumping in.
As my Dad said, insects specialize.

I'd also like to share one of my favourite online databases of sacred literature http://www.sacred-texts.com/

RoseRed wrote:I just sent an email to a friend of mine who may be able to help you with these questions. I'll let you know if I hear anything.

TY. I'm hoping that since this often comes up it would be great to have a good foundation block for this folder.

BlackElk wrote:Well, I've heard good things about Archangel Michael.
I would probably suggest reading and researching the Key of Solomon the King, should you be following a more Biblical sect of High Magick.

As an individual who practices a mishmash of belief systems (understanding that my philosophy is somewhere along the lines of "by any [safe] means necessary") to get from A to B, I may suggest calling upon your spirit animal or one of your totems to help you with the astral planes, or perhaps an ancestor.
For your safety, make sure you have a sacred space cleared and guarded, and only practice when you're in a good, strong headspace. Weakness invites unwanted guests and psychic joyriders.

The energy is universal, and is named for the sake of our understanding.

I would like to point out that the Craft is a long process (much like getting in shape) and requires hours of exercise for your Psychic Muscle. It takes practice, and patience… like anything. Don't rush it or you'll hurt yourself; wait until you're ready. It's a journey.

My one major piece of advice is to read and research as much as you can about as much as you can before jumping in.
As my Dad said, insects specialize.

I'd also like to share one of my favourite online databases of sacred literature http://www.sacred-texts.com/

Michael does sound like an intuitive choice. I also noticed that with my Self-Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition by the Ciceros that's sitting on a shelf to the right of me that the very first being they suggest contact with is Ma'at in three different phases. Both are symbolic of truth and righteousness.

I heard back from my friend. He does not want to join in this conversation. He doesn't think invoking anything is a great idea right now based on what he read in the post. That's all I got. I can't make him be helpful.

I avoid angels like the friggin plague. I really don't understand why people get so gung ho about them. Perhaps I've had different types of experiences.

I understand seeking guidance along these paths. I don't think invoking is the way to go. I think we all have Guides. Sometimes, it's just a matter of finding them - and sometimes, for that, we need to look for them.

How does one self initiate into the Golden Dawn? I thought the GD was an established group that one needed to be initiated into.

RoseRed wrote:How does one self initiate into the Golden Dawn? I thought the GD was an established group that one needed to be initiated into.

It's pretty well shattered between several competing organizations, one of course which gets a lot of odious press in respect to its leader and the kind of politics he generates. HOGD doesn't do correspondence or by-mail courses anymore so part of the solution to not having a monograph system was to just put a book out there on the market for people to work their way up to portal grade (between 4=7 and 5=6). As far as I understand it it's very stripped-down, built as much as possible for the solo practitioner, and thus it's a way to scrape by for those who don't have the opportunity to do much else based on where they're at. Part of why it's collecting dust is that I bought it just in researching what's out there, trying to figure out whether there were better paths than what I'm already on or whether this was another door I could close. Part of the problem I've found with a lot of books such as these is that you're somewhat stuck, if you want to do the rituals, needing a home or space where you have your own venue both large enough and open to circumambulate, place an altar, etc. and you also need to have a tub big enough for purification baths and the like. If you're looking at trying to do bedroom learning with this AND you're too far from a temple it just isn't going to happen. That and the more I investigate where the BOTA curriculum goes the more I realize that I'll be getting everything I wanted and then some their system.

Also I thank your friend for his input, ie. it sounds like he said a bit on the topic indirectly - ie. that he simply wouldn't recommend it to beginners. That's a perfectly honest stance. I just figured that if I didn't ask the question I wouldn't know and I didn't want to close my mind to an informational resource if it might have been by a mistaken impression.

So, you got the self initiation out of a book?

http://www.amazon.com/Self-Initiation-I ... olden+dawn

That's their outer-order system for distance learners.