I posted on the RoE forums too, but I'd like your thoughts too.

I have noticed sorcerers seem to get vastly better results when they evoke and command a spirit or an energy to do their bidding, as opposed to merely asking for help from said spirit or energy.

Is Archangel Michael simply an universal energy closest to Source which can be directed for a purpose, or is Archangel Michael an actual entity with his own Will, who decides whether or not he wants to help?

When we perceive Archangel Michael, are we perceiving an universal energy that takes on the symbolic form we expect, or are we perceiving something other than that?

I don't subscribe to many of E.A. Koetting's morals and techniques (he is a black sorcerer and I'm not a black hat), but he did describe this:

On one particular occasion, a client of mine was being magickally harassed by a coven of witches. His health had given out without warning, his financial success evaporated, and he even started experiencing poltergeist activity, as well as at least one spontaneous "hag attack" while he was sleeping.

I asked why he thought this might be a curse, as most people who think they're cursed simply aren't very adept at managing their affairs, and often will find out that they are sabotaging themselves, rather than being victims of some evil curse.

Rather than just relying on some fleeting feeling of phantasmagoria, though, this particular client had good reason to believe that he was under a curse. Three days into his suffering, he received a phone call from one of these witches, who laughed as she asked how he was feeling.

When he told her how every aspect of his life had taken a nose-dive, her cackle became hysterical. She told him that he was being punished, and that his misery would continue to increase until he was finally dead.

My client confessed to me that this group of witches had discovered that he had been unfaithful in his marriage, and this group of witches were friends of hers, so their attacks against him could be construed as justified. Nevertheless, he had hired me to protect him against their attacks, and so that's exactly what I did.

Without considering any other entity to work with, I broke out a scrying mirror, candles, incense, and the sigil of Michael, and began the conjurations.

Although the entire coven was helping in placing this curse, three of them in particular were leading the charge. So, it was those three that I worked directly against.

Michael The Archangel's Face Appeared In My Mirror...

With Michael the Archangel's face visible in the black mirror, I commanded him to bind these three witches, so that they could no longer use their power to harm others.

Within 24 hours, the same witch called my client's phone, no longer laughing, no longer so sure of the potency of her curse.

"What have you done?" he reported her screaming at him through the phone. Not only had their power been bound from harming my client, but it was as if their ability to tap into the spirit world was taken from them completely. They could no longer astral project, summon spirits, or conduct the most basic spellcasting rituals. Michael had bound them with a fury that I had never before witnessed, nor have I seen a binding hat effective since.
*excerpt taken from http://www.becomealivinggod.com/news...f-witches.html

I'm wondering if I'd see more success from evoking and commanding as well as making offerings to establish and maintain a relationship with Archangel Michael?

Thoughts? Have any of you tried evoking and commanding Archangel Michael for protection? What were the results?