Okay, so maybe séance is the incorrect word to describe what we did. The word “séance,” by definition, defines a meeting where people try to talk to the dead, often through a medium. We did not have a medium present, nor did we want to talk to the dead.
The whole idea of our “séance” started off with one of my friends wanting to summon the antichrist. My reaction was: “ABSOLUTELY NOT.” I am not religious at all, but I simply want to steer clear of summoning demons. I do not need to be proven right or wrong. If you’ve ever seen The Vampire Diaries, Shadowhunters, or any other teen supernatural drama, you’ll get what I mean. Even Satan, often tied to the antichrist, is a character in Milton’s Paradise Lost and is very interesting. He starts as a fallen angel and then becomes the king of the devils. But on the chance that Satan is “evil,” I don’t want to summon him either.
After much deliberation, we decided to summon the energy of Aphrodite. We wanted to bring self-love, romantic love, abundance, and success in relationships into our lives. This was the moment when our “séance” became an evocation.
We then moved on to building the altar in the center of the room. Altars are incredibly important, and you need to bring gifts or an offering to put on them. We brought wine and flowers. You can research what deity you are praying to, what they’re known for, and what they would like as gifts. For our altar, we also included rose quartz, which is considered to be Aphrodite’s crystal. We also added some selenite for cleansing. We lit candles and lavender incense, and I also included some moon water (a glass of water left all night in the moonlight that becomes charged with moon energy).
As most practicing watches will tell you, it’s important to have a balance of elements in your altar. It is a basic way to start building your altar. We had a fire with candles, air with incense smoke, water with the moon water, and earth with crystals.
Witches usually recommend having more than one altar. Most of the time, they will break up which altar is which by intention. There could be one just for ancestral magic, another for manifestations, and more for the other many kinds of magic. On my personal altar beside my bed, I have crystals representing each chakra, a violet flame crystal from Mt. Shasta, California, rose quartz, black obsidian, snowflake obsidian, selenite, sage, and a smudging bowl. Travel altars are also a great tool for grounding when away from home.
Our evocation could also be described as a ritual, except that we had no prescribed order of actions. After we haphazardly set up the altar, we started speaking. But no one knew what to say. We quickly Googled “prayers to Aphrodite.” Another tip: playing melodic music to raise the energy frequencies in the room or chanting is a nice way to start.
We think our “séance” worked because at the end of it, I was fiddling with the rose quartz stone from my necklace and it jumped into the wine glass. We took that as a sign that Aphrodite heard our prayers and manifestations. Our “séance” is proof that you don’t need to be a practicing witch or extremely knowledgeable to take part in rituals, séances, or any other witchy activities.
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