Raise no more spirits than you can conjure down.

Understand the thought

Meaning in plain English

Do not set more activity or conflict in motion than you can responsibly manage. The conjuring image warns about consequences, without requiring total control over others or claiming that every uncertain undertaking should be avoided.

What the words are saying

The spirits raised by the speaker have become more numerous than the speaker can settle again. Figuratively, an intervention can create demands that exceed the preparation or support available. Before starting it, a person may need to consider who will handle questions, follow-up or unintended effects. That does not mean taking responsibility for every action another person chooses. Nor does uncertainty make an undertaking automatically unsuitable. The useful concern is the gap between initiating something and having a workable arrangement for what it brings. The supernatural image supplies a comparison, not a factual claim about spirits or practical instructions for summoning them.

Everyday example

An organiser limits a new discussion programme to the number of sessions the facilitators can prepare and follow up, rather than announcing many at once.

When to use it

Use it when initiating an activity will create responsibilities that need realistic support.

Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.