Circle Outline
I. Cleansing Sacred Space
Before casting a circle the room or area where you plan to do ritual must be cleansed. Using your magick besom (broom), sweep out the negative energy. While sweeping say a little rhyme to sweep out bad and bring in good. Once the negativity is swept out the area needs to be consecrated. To do this walk around the circle three times. Each time you go carry something that represents one of the elements. Walk deosil and say a little rhyme as you go
1. water
2. Salt
3. Smoldering incense in a censer
II. Defining a Circle
Some people will use rope, chalk, stones, etc. to define the outline of the circle. Take your athame, wand, sword, or staff and walk deosil around tracing the circle as you go. Envision the circle forming as you do this.. You need to use your creative visualization to form the circle. Envision a white light flowing from you into the athame and then out. Others Envision a bubble forming around them. Remember do what feels right, and works for you. Just hang in there and keep practicing.
III. Calling and working with different entities.
Summon, Stir, and Call
There are many different entities that can be called on to assist in magickal workings, when you work with the various entities you must treat them with respect. These entities are very old and wise and should be treated as honored guests. They do not act like humans do, so be very SPECIFIC in what you want them to do.
Summon: Four elements, faeries, and the elementals.
Stir: Large entities, ancestors, watchtowers, dragons.
Call: Deities, angels
Request: Winds and spirit guides.
Invite: Your familiar.
The Elements:
Fire, water, earth, and air.
Elemental realm
Summon to ritual
When calling the quarters, many witches summon the elements to stand outside the circle and guard it or just have them there to witness the ritual and magick. Depending on what type of magick you are doing, you may want to summon a particular element, such as fire for love and sex magick. Any magick dealing with emotions would be the water element. Earth for stability, growth and birth. Air for communication and ideas.
Dragons:
Types: Fire = South, Water = West, Earth = North, Air = East, and Spirit =Akasha.
Elemental realm
Stir gently
TREAT WITH RESPECT!!
Many witches see the dragons as holding the awesome power of their respective element.
The earth dragon when angry will cause earthquakes and geological shifts.
The water dragon when provoked can cause tidal waves.
The air dragon causes jet streams and tornadoes.
The fire dragon causes lava to flow from the volcanoes.
The spirit is the essence of the Goddess and God and the Spirituality of all on earth.
Stir the dragons for special occasions such as wiccanings, handfastings or initiations. If your group or coven is facing a major issue you may stir the dragon as well.
Guardians of the Watchtowers:
Fire, air, water, earth
Elemental realm
Stir gently
Guardians of the elemental forces of each direction. They possess tremendous power. They are the “bouncers”. Observe, guard, or protect during ritual. Wiccanings, initiations, handfastings or strife or major conflict.
Create the circle within a square. Watchtowers need corners to sit in.
Take magick and deliver it quickly and forcefully. This is called air magick. Help in communication and weather magick.
Faeries:
Flower faeries, mermaids, mermen, little people, spirits, and pixies.
Realm of faeries
Summon
Make sure that you really want them in your life. They can appear in many forms and can change shape to match their environment. You can summon them to ritual, but it’s not a good idea if you are a novice. They can cause havoc with the energy you have raised. Best time to contact them is…dawn, dusk, noon, midnight; as well as equinoxes and solstices. You will know that they have arrived when your candle flames begin to dance. Some people feel a crawling sensation on their skin, as if bugs are crawling on it.
Faeries are skilled in the arts of healing, metalworking, and all artistic endeavors. Faeries will help enhance your magick and help it to happen quickly. They may inspire you and guide your hands in their workings. Faeries can be used for magick involving the weather, sleep or states of altered consciousness.
Faeries do not like to be thanked constantly. They expect to be paid for their services. If they have helped you then leave them a bowl of sweetened milk, shiny coins or trinkets as your payment. Faeries will guard the house but are extremely hard to get rid of once they are invited in. They can also be very mischievous.
The Elementals:
Salamanders, Undies, Gnomes, and Sylphs
From: Realm of faeries
Summon to ritual
Summon to ritual but DO NOT invite into circle. They will guard, observe or carry your magick to its destination. Elementals have a basic mentality and are not very compassionate. They are a lot like faeries, they don’t like to be constantly thanked but instead given gifts.
Salamanders: Inhabit places of fire. Summon for issues involving sex and love. Their king is Djinn and they influence emotions, metabolism, and idealism. Their energy is of transformation. They destroy and rebuild. They will help heal and destroy the body. Difficult to control.
Undines: Places of water. Emotional aspects, healing, creativity, emotional or purification magick. Female form queen named Niksa. Influences dreams, creative expressions and artistic performance. Help awaken empathy, imagination and intuition. Regulate water balance in body.
Gnomes: Of the Earth. Sensations and fertility, growth, nurturing, abundance and prosperity work. Guards treasures of the earth and will help you find it. King is Ghob. Give each rock and crystal own energy. Endurance and persistence.
Sylphs: Air. Thoughts and mental developments. Their king is Pararda. Gives inspiration, intuition, or digest a lot of information. Spur and activates imagination.
Tree Spirits:
Faery realm
Summon to ritual
Each has their own personality depending on the kind of tree. A few examples are..
Willow: binding, forgiving, adaptable
Oak: strength, wisdom, steadfastness
Redwood: longevity, wisdom, aging issues
Deities:
Lord, Lady, God, Goddess, the All
Realm of spirit
Call
Protect, guide, and support. Help carry out magick if it’s positive. Heal, nurture and love.
Angels:
Known by many names
Realm of Spirit
Call to ritual
Level 1 – Seraphim – Angels of pure love and thought. Cherubim – spirits of harmony and wisdom of the All. Thrones – spirits of will and justice.
Level 2 – Dominions – Angels of wisdom and intuition. Virtues – Angels of choice and movement. Powers – Angels of form and space.
Level 3 – Principalities – Angels of personality and time. Archangels – Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael, messenger and guardian angels.
You probably shouldn’t deal with highest level. They are very intense and can be frightening. The guardian and archangels are more accessible.
Ask to help and enhance magick to carry up to deity. Help magick manifest. Spiritual issues and health matters. Helps heal you of physical and psychological pain. Call on for protection. DO NOT call for day-to-day matters.
Ancestors:
Various names
Realm of Spirit
Stir
These are figures from the past who held wisdom and knowledge. Do not have to be related to that person. Many witches use Merlin, Aradia, ancient Pharaohs, and Socrates. Stir and ask to attend ritual for aid in creativity and wisdom.
Spirit Guides:
Varies from individual to individual
Realm of spirit
Request their presence
Assigned to us at birth. We can have up to 7 of them. They may be a soul who doesn’t need to reincarnate again. Help learn spiritual lessons. Will watch over you and guide you on your path. May set up learning situations to help you evolve. Comes to us in our dreams or may be drawn to. Will send messages and warnings. Invite into circle. Help carry out magick.
Spirit Animals:
Animals
Realm of Spirit
Summon
Represents the spirit of a particular species of animal. Possess all knowledge and habit of species. If you ask it to carry magick of message it will perform in manner of their species. Many people have only one spirit animal.
Badger: Aggression
Bull: Sexual Energy
Butterfly: Friendship
Cardinal: Beauty
Cat: Independence
Cow: Docility
Dog: Loyalty
Donkey: Helpful Energy
Elk: Bravery
Otter: Playfulness
Lizard: Wisdom
Hummingbird: Joy
Pig: Intelligence
Skunk: Protective, defensive
Familiars:
Various
Realm of Spirit
Invite
Individual animals. Works to help with magick. Familiars will seek you out. Has more dignity, can communicate telepathically with you and is drawn to ritual. Can enter and exit a circle at any time without need to cut a door. DO NOT force animals to attend circles or rituals, they will show up on their own. Will give you confidence, enhance the magick and warn you of accidents.
IV. Entering and Exiting
If you need to leave the circle for any reason a door must be cut. If you are alone you must reseal it from the outside. If you are working with others, someone within the circle will guard it and then close it once you are out/in. Use your athame to cut and reseal the doorway. This will keep unwanted beings from entering the circle.
V. Work Magick
VI. Cakes and Wine
IF you are alone then use this time to record the ritual in your BOS, relax, meditate, commune with the Goddess, or whatever you feel you need to do. If you are with others you can discuss any problems, concerns, or worries that they may have, but any thing said within the circle is to be kept within the group.
VII. Take down the circle
Say farewell and thank you to the quarters.
Say farewell and thank you to the Lord and Lady
Take your athame and starting in the east walk widdershins (counter clockwise) around the edges and envision the energy getting pulled back into the athame through your arm and down your legs into the ground. Take contents of the bowls and empty them outside on the ground. Never throw in the trash or down the drain.
This is just an outline of how a circle should be cast. There are many ways to do it. This is how Chrianhawk and I do ours.
