As I am sometimes a fan of efficiency, I have the following question: Are rituals necessary at all when doing a summoning spell? I assume that if a certain being (god, spirit, demon) wants to get in touch with me, it should not too much care about some candle, scent, sigil, music, etc. Also as a powerful being it should be able to hear / feel me calling without me using herbs or smoke. So why not just shout a name and "it" comes? (Sorry for the kind of blunt question which as greenhorn I dare to ask).
the short answer is mostly yes, rituals are necessary.
they set things apart from whatever else you're doing, they set things in a whole 'nother dimension in a sense.
And thats what's needed, is a whole lot of energy to open up a door, create a riff in reality (even if only your personal reality) where the being can come through. not even a spell i feel has sufficient energy to open up a doorway without a ritual to back it up.
There's a lot of ways of seeing it/ explaining "how" exactly, but what remains is that energy/ effort is needed.
Also, the ritual hopes you to focus/ narrow down who you want coming through the door by creating a like/ similar agreeable energy by association/ symbolism.
you dont want anyone to come through the door that you didn't call.
Rituals are not alawys nesscary if you want to you can use one. When summoning a being I would be very careful and put up proper protection and have a banishing spell ready you never know what a non-human being might do.
Thank you both for answers and support, which helps to learn more.
As for "who is visiting me" please don't worry. I do neither intend to do some protection spell nor to block the way for any being who wants to come. I am longing since long for getting in touch with strong beings and experience spiritual interaction, no matter how challenging it will be (except for the devil maybe...)