Editing Evocation (section)

==In Western esotericism==
[[File:A Magician by Edward Kelly.jpg|thumb|[[John Dee (mathematician)|John Dee]] and [[Edward Kelley]] evoking a spirit]]
{{see also|Magic and religion}}

The [[Latin]] word ''[[evocatio]]'' was the "calling forth" or "summoning away" of a city's [[tutelary deity]]. The ritual was conducted in a military setting either as a threat during a [[siege]] or as a result of surrender, and aimed at diverting the god's favor from the opposing city to the Roman side, customarily with a promise of a better-endowed cult or a more lavish temple.<ref>[[Mary Beard (classicist)|Mary Beard]], J.A. North, and S.R.F. Price, ''Religions of Rome: A Sourcebook'' (Cambridge University Press, 1998), p. 41.</ref> ''Evocatio'' was thus a kind of ritual dodge to mitigate looting of sacred objects or images from shrines that would otherwise be sacrilegious or impious.<ref>Nicholas Purcell, "On the Sacking of Corinth and Carthage", in ''Ethics and Rhetoric: Classical Essays for Donald Russell on His Seventy (Oxford University Press, 1995), pp. 140–142.</ref>

The calling forth of spirits was a relatively common practice in [[Neoplatonism]], [[theurgy]] and other esoteric systems of antiquity. In contemporary [[Western mystery tradition|western esotericism]], the magic of the [[grimoire]]s is frequently seen as the classical example of this idea. Manuals such as the ''[[Key of Solomon|Greater Key of Solomon the King]]'', The ''[[Lemegeton|Lesser Key of Solomon]]'' (or ''Lemegeton''), the ''[[The Book of Abramelin|Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage]]''.