Invoking and banishing are two opposite ceremonial operations. In broad terms, invocation calls a chosen power or quality into ritual attention, while banishing dismisses it or restores an uncommitted working space. Both actions can be represented using the same geometric figure traced in a different direction.
Why directions matter
Golden Dawn pentagram instruction assigns movements to the elemental points of the star. Drawing the same outline from different starting points is not decorative variation: within that ritual grammar, it selects an element and establishes whether the operation is invoking or banishing. The five-pointed figure thereby becomes a tool of distinction, not simply an emblem printed on a page.
Banishing does not imply evil
A completed invocation may be followed by a banishing because the work has ended, not because the invoked symbol was judged harmful. The original ritual papers explicitly discuss moving between elemental and planetary operations and clearing what belongs to the earlier operation before commencing the next. Ceremony uses closure in much the same way that ordinary actions use a recognised ending.
Invoking does not mean summoning a person
In the lesser pentagram form the elements are treated collectively through a balanced quarter structure. More elaborate ceremonies may address individual divine names, planetary correspondences or angelic names. These should not all be collapsed into the idea of summoning a visible being. Different texts mean different things by a successful invocation, depending on the intended level of symbolism.
The practical distinction
When reading a ritual, ask exactly what its author says is being invoked, how its chosen sign is made, what quarter it uses and how the working ends. An invoking pentagram in a general lesser ritual is not necessarily the same sign or use as a specialised planetary hexagram. The original instructions set out this difference with considerable care, and keeping it in view makes the ritual system intelligible.