I posted this technique on the Evocation Magic forums ages ago. I’ve since updated it with my current understanding and posted it to my new blog. Here is a copy:
Recommended: Completion of the first Eight Steps of Initiation into Hermetics or an equivalent.
A Shade in the context of this spell is essentially a being created out of the shadow side of your own psyche, molded from the powerful passions that bubble up from the unconscious. Being a type of servitor in essence, a Shade can be created for any purpose from destructive ends to healing. Use your own imagination for anything you would create it for personally. Know your purpose before beginning.
Hint: Destruction of something would probably use Hate and Anger. Healing of something would perhaps utilize Compassion and Joy. The craving of dominion to manipulate events. Powerful emotions are the fuel behind this spell.
First, spend some time raising the required passions and emotions within your mind, open yourself up to the archetype of your goal. Destruction, Lust, Healing, Wealth, Success, Control. Feel as if these passions are near-bursting within you. A simple exercise, but not necessarily easy. You must crave the outcome with every fiber of your being.
Second, once you have raised the required mental forces, don’t worry exactly how, but gather them together and condense them. On the astral level this will begin generating a well of power suited to your goal. That power will be drawn into the gathered passions, giving them magical potency and life. Feel yourself HIGHLY charged with this energy before you move on. Spend as much time as you need to in order to make the above a reality within yourself. The first step to truly manipulate the macrocosm is to manipulate the microcosm.
Note, the magical energies, combined with the mental or emotional energies containing the chosen qualities that you invoked in your microcosm will now be at your disposal for use at the macrocosmic level.
Third, use your instincts and channel this ‘magical fuel’ you have harnessed into a directed flow, and channel it to a location apart from you and in front of you into a condensed mass in the physical world. A formless body for your Shade to affect the here and now.
Fourth, know that your objective will come to pass, and spend some time visualizing the wanted outcome. Channel this as well into the gathered force to make it more potent and alive with your chosen concepts such as dominion or lust. Again spend as much time as you need to in order to make it a reality.
Fifth, simply give permission for the part of your being associated with your need to step out of you and into the gathered power and passion to give it form, to act separately from you, (but always under your control.) Release your inner healer, or your inner success, etc.
Note, don’t strain your mind over this too much, just let your emotions and power flow into actualizing the magic and your inner self will do the rest.
The Shade has now taken a life of its own. It’s will and power that of your own, but acting of its own volition. The gathered shadows of your soul that have been given life and form will stretch reality around you to its limits. Creating a fluid and dynamic environment wherever it goes, an environment perfect for magic.
You have created a very potent ‘inner demon’ that will carry out your will. I would recommend spending around an hour on this spell the first time you cast it or anything similar to it. A Shade can be created for any purpose, however I recommend such a potent spell to be used in only the most important operations, and after you have achieved a measure of success in the art.
Remember, The greater the effort, the greater the results.
The danger of creating something like this is that if you don’t have a balanced being, the tendencies that you invoke within yourself from the deepest layers of your soul could rise up and overtake your mind. Unless you are strong of will, be warned to ensure balance within yourself before casting.
It is recommended that any users of this spell should keep an astral eye on their creation… It is supposed to only carry out your initial wishes, however it can easily learn to exert remote influence (even if it isn’t “born” with the ability, it is a reflection or copy of you after all.) You may find yourself with more than you bargained for if careful control is not exerted!
Some people just let magic like this run rampant, which is effective in getting quick and easy results, but that is not a ‘clean operation’ if you know what I mean. It might attract the wrong kind of attention when you slip in control to a great extent. This is not to discourage anyone from using this spell, however there are risks as with anything, and it is nice to know them so one can work around them.
Once you are done with it you can integrate it back into yourself so it doesn’t go off and do something you are not aware of. To do so embrace it like an old friend, and let it merge back into yourself. Exert will, embracing the Shade as it becomes one with your being again. This act is similar to returning to ones body after an astral projection. Then meditate for a couple minutes or so on the re-assimilation, making sure it is fully merged, and you are emotionally and mentally balanced.
I have found that once you create a construct of this nature once, it can be summoned again at will from the depths of your psyche, and will most likely grow in power and evolve each time it is summoned and used. Perhaps this will become one of your greatest assets given enough time. If Shades of various purposes are cast, then these purposes will eventually merge into a single entity. At this point the Shade becomes more akin to a self-generated familiar than a servitor spell.
Why use this spell? Personally I prefer to use my own power over the power of Evoked entities when and where possible.
Imagination’s the limit,
Neeros