Circle casting is an important, and at times, difficult activity. It involves the use of many skills, and for the beginner it can seem like a pointless, if not impossible, routine. How do you do it properly? When should it be done? And perhaps most importantly: how do you know if you've done it? (Keitha mentally rolls up her sleeves and grins).
Written by: Keitha (FireWind)
Source: http://www.spiritual.com.au/articles/witchcraft/casting-a-circle.htm
The Purposes of a Circle
A sacred circle has several purposes, the most significant of which is to define an area where formal ritual work can be performed. A circle is a place in which the rules and conditions are different to that of the everyday world. A circle is not a barrier, but a doorway to another world. To contain any magickal energy raised and to prevent its dissipation until it has been used up is another purpose of the circle. The sacred circle does not need to be physically represented (drawn or marked on the ground), it just needs to be visualised. The circle is a spiritual entity.
Source http://www.spellsandmagic.com/Casting_a_Circle.html
Questions about Opening the circle
What is a Circle?
A circle is a boundary of energy extending halfway above the ground and halfway below. It marks the boundary between the worlds: inside the circle is a cleansed space where the two worlds can interact. Outside is the mundane, 'regular' world. That's the basics; more on this later.
Why do you need a Circle?
A circle is cast to create a clean space in which to do ritual and magickal workings. It creates an area in which both worlds are present; in a very real sense, it is between the worlds. To invite a Deity, or an Elemental, etc. without a circle (into the mundane world) isn't always such a great idea. It's easier to interact inside a circle. It also acts to keep magickal energy inside until it is ready to be released, or to keep negative energy outside.
What do I need to know to cast a circle?
Well, you must have a lot of focus. You must be able to clearly visualize what you are doing, and how you are doing it. You should be able to feel the energy you are attempting to move, and have a clear idea of where you want to put it. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
What is the purpose of your circle?
To protect from outside negativity; to contain magickal energy; to create a space between the worlds; another purpose; a mixture? The nature of your circle will depend on the ritual you are planning on doing.
How big will your circle be?
If you are casting the circle for practise, then all you need is a circle the size of your own body. For a larger group, no big surprise, a larger circle. In my personal opinion, it should be large enough that you don't keep wandering to the edges and sticking your head through it.
How will you visualize your circle?
If you are just learning, it might be best to stick with simple colours. Later on, you can learn funky patterns and effects. Practice casting a circle in your mind during meditation. You must learn how to visualize things clearly, hold them in your mind, and focus while you rotate and move them. At the beginning, stick to the basics: there's no substitute for them.
Can you keep your focus for as long as it takes to set up the circle?
If you are constantly second-guessing yourself, you can't maintain your concentration. Trust yourself. Treat it with respect. Constantly walking in, through, and out of the circle without cutting a door, or otherwise ignoring its boundaries doesn't really help you much. You can't really expect to cast strong circles if you can't create and keep it in your mind first. The circle is real because you make it real. You make it real by believing in it and acting on it.
When do I cast the circle?
I've found that the best time is right after you have cleansed the space (by blessing, sweeping, or making lots of noise), and before you invoke any elements or Deities. If you have others with you for the ritual, save up jokes, and try to make each other laugh really hard just before you create the circle. This further gets rid of any negativity that might be present, and provides enough positive energy to cast a good circle. My friend and I have had some fascinating rituals this way.
Casting A Circle - How do I know if I did it?
This is the fun part. Everybody has their own unique way of sensing circles. Some people can see the circle; as a band of colour, or a thickening of the air. Some people can feel it as a spark of electricity, or again as a thickening of air. Some people can hear it as a low hum. Everybody is different. One thing is certain, however: circles get really hot. In a strong circle you can feel the cold air rushing in when you cut a door. When you take it down, you can practically feel a breeze. In the beginning, you may not be sure whether or not you've succeeded; don't let that bother you. When you really get the hang of it, you'll know for sure.
Casting A Circle - What's this about cutting a door?
Cutting a door basically means opening a hole in the circle so you can leave it. It's best to stay in the circle the whole time it's up, but there are times when you've forgotten something important in another room (like a lighter), or there's something you have to deal with. My personal favourite way of cutting a door is to hold your fingers and hand in a straight line, and move your hand around a rectangular outline large enough for you to walk through. Visualize the energy of the circle inside that rectangle being sucked into your forearm where you can store it until you get back. When closing the door, do this in reverse, and then smooth out the edges of where the door was. Visualize the energy of the circle swirling around until the location of the door is lost. Still, cutting too many doors in a circle can also weaken it eventually.
I live in an apartment; will the people downstairs walk into my circle and mess it up?
I just added this question because I've wondered about it myself. Yes, the circle does extend halfway below the floor, and yes, someone downstairs could walk right through the bottom part of it. All I can suggest is that you either do your rituals after you're sure they're out or asleep, or just try not to think about it. :)
When and how do I take the circle down?
At the very end of ritual. After the Deities are gone, the Element/als have returned to their respective realms, etc. etc. etc. The only thing that generally follows taking down the circle is eating, drinking, and chatting. Take the circle down exactly the same way that you set it up, in reverse. Take as much time to take it down as you took to set it up. Send the energy back into the Earth, the Sky, or wherever you chose to get it from. If you used the energy from the Earth and Sky, then it's a good idea to change it into healing energy for our planet and our skies before you channel it back.
What's the best way to practice casting a circle?
Actually: alone. If you can do it alone, then you can do it in a group; it doesn't always work in reverse. Working alone also lets you develop your own style, and you don't need to worry about people staring at you. You can work on your concentration more easily by yourself, and you don't feel like you're boring people if you take a while. Write your own visualizations and keep track of your results in a journal. But above all, learn to trust yourself and your instincts; it's one of the most valuable gifts you can give yourself.
Written by: Keitha (FireWind)
Jim Hds way of making the circle
Opening the circle
Take your atheme or your stick or your finger and go round in the circle and run atheme off the ground while saying these words.
Danish
Lad denne cirkel Blive åbnet, Lad dens Magi flyve, Luk alle de onde Ånder ude,
Nu hvor jeg åbnere denne magiske cirkel, Og åbner op for Gud og Gudinden.
English
Let this circle be opened, Let the magic fly, Close all the demons out, Now when I open this magic circle, And open up to God and Goddess.
Closing the circle
Do the same as above bullet just doing it from the top down and say that marketing words instead (important to remember is that you must not leave the circle until you have closed it).
Danish
Lade denne cirkel lukke, lad denne skjulte cirkel gå,
Til jeg eller en anden skal bruge den igen, og jeg takker jer Gud og Gudinden,
for jeres hjælp, Blessed Be.
English
Let this circle close, let this hidden circle go, Until I or another will use it again,
and I thanks God and Goddess, for your help,
Blessed Be.
How To Cast a Circle 1
In Wicca and Paganism, one of the facets common to nearly all traditions is the use of a circle as a sacred space. While other religions rely on the use of a building such as a church or temple to hold worship, Wiccans and Pagans can cast a circle pretty much any place they choose. This is particularly handy on those pleasant summer evenings when you decide to hold ritual out in the back yard under a tree instead of in your living room!
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: Varied
Start by determining how big your space needs to be. A ceremonial circle is a place in which positive energy and power are kept in, and negative energy kept out. The size of your circle will depend on how many people need to be inside it, and what the circle’s purpose is. If you’re hosting a small coven meeting for a few people, a nine-foot-diameter circle is sufficient. On the other hand, if it’s Beltane and you’ve got four dozen Pagans preparing to do a Spiral Dance, you’ll need a space significantly larger. A solitary practitioner can work easily in a three- to five-foot circle.
Figure out where your Circle should be cast. In some traditions, a Circle is physically marked on the ground, while in others it is merely visualized by each member of the group. If you have an indoor ritual space, you can mark the Circle on the carpet. Do whichever your tradition calls for. Once the Circle is designated, it is usually navigated by the High Priest or High Priestess, holding an athame, a candle, or a censer.
Which direction will your circle face? The circle is almost always oriented to the four cardinal points, with a candle or other marker placed at the north, east, south and west and the altar in the center with all the necessary tools for the ritual. Before entering the circle, participants are purified as well.
How do you actually cast the circle? Methods of casting the circle vary from one tradition to another. In some forms of Wicca, the God and Goddess are called upon to share the ritual. In others, the Hight Priest (HP) or High Priestess (HPs) will begin at the north and call upon the deities of the tradition from each direction. Usually this invocation includes a mention of the aspects associated with that direction – emotion, intellect, strength, etc. A sample ritual for casting a circle might take place like this:
Mark the circle upon the floor or the ground. Place a candle in each of the four quarters – green to the North to represent Earth, yellow in the East to represent Air, red or orange symbolizing Fire in the South, and blue to the West in association with Water. All necessary magical tools should already be in place upon the altar in the center. Let’s assume that the group, called Three Circles Coven, is led by a High Priestess.
The HPs enters the circle from the east and announces, “Let it be known that the circle is about to be cast. All who enter the Circle may do so in perfect love and perfect trust.” Other members of the group may wait outside the circle until the casting is complete. The HPs moves clockwise around the circle, carrying a lit candle (if it’s more practical, use a lighter instead). At each of the four cardinal points, she calls upon the Deities of her tradition (some may refer to these as Watchtowers, or Guardians).
As she lights the candle in the East from the one she carries, the HPs says: Guardians of the East, I call upon you
to watch over the rites of Three Circles Coven. Powers of knowledge and wisdom, guided by Air, we ask that you keep watch over us
tonight within this circle.
Let all who enter the circle under your guidance do so in perfect love and perfect trust.
The HPs moves to the South, and lights the red or orange candle, saying: Guardians of the South, I call upon you
to watch over the rites of Three Circles Coven. Powers of energy and will, guided by Fire, we ask that you keep watch over us
tonight within this circle.
Let all who enter the circle under your guidance do so in perfect love and perfect trust.
Next, she circles around to the West, where she lights the blue candle and says:
Guardians of the West, I call upon you
to watch over the rites of Three Circles Coven. Powers of passion and emotion, guided by Water, we ask that you keep watch over us
tonight within this circle.
Let all who enter the circle under your guidance do so in perfect love and perfect trust.
Finally, the HPs goes to the last candle in the North. When lighting it, she says:
Guardians of the North, I call upon you
to watch over the rites of Three Circles Coven.
Powers of endurance and strength, guided by Earth, we ask that you keep watch over us
tonight within this circle.
Let all who enter the circle under your guidance do so in perfect love and perfect trust.
At this point, the HPs will announce that the circle is cast, and other members of the group can ritually enter the circle. Each person approaches the HPs, who will ask:
How do you enter the circle? Each individual will respond:
In perfect love and perfect trust or In the light and love of the Goddess or whatever response is appropriate to your tradition.
Once all members are present within the circle, the circle is closed. At no time during ritual should anyone exit the circle without performing a ceremonial “cutting.” To do this, hold your athame in your hand and make a cutting motion across the line of the circle, first to your right and then to your left. You are essentially creating a “door” in the circle, which you may now walk through. When you return to the circle, enter it in the same place you exited, and “close” the doorway by reconnecting the line of the circle with the athame.
When the ceremony or rite has ended, the circle is usually cleared in the same manner in which it was cast, only in this case the HPs will dismiss the deities or Guardians and thank them for watching over the coven. In some traditions, the temple is cleared simply by having all members raise their athames in salute, thanking the God or Goddess, and kissing the blades of the athame.
If the above method of casting a circle seems boring or dull to you, that’s okay. It’s a basic framework for ritual, and you can make yours as elaborate as you like. If you’re a very poetic person who likes lots of ceremony, feel free to use creative license – call upon “the weavers of the wind, the breezes that blow from the East, blessing us with wisdom and knowledge, so mote it be,” etc, etc. If your tradition associates various deities with the directions, call upon those Gods or Goddesses in the ways that they expect you to do so. Just make sure that you don’t spend so much time casting the Circle that you don’t have any time left for the rest of your ceremony!
Tips:
Have all your tools ready ahead of time -- this will save you from scrambling around during the middle of the ritual looking for things!
If you forget what you mean to say when casting the circle, improvise. Talking to your deities should come from the heart.
If you make a mistake, don't sweat it. The universe has a pretty good sense of humor, and we mortals are fallible.
What You Need Athame
Candles Censer
Other tools of your tradition
Written by: Patti Wigington
How to Cast a Circle 2
Why bother, and how to do it? These questions probably cross your mind from time to time. The "why" has a few answers: Some cast a circle for protection, some to shift between the physical and etheric planes, some see the circle as a container used to store energy until the right moment to release that energy towards a certain goal.
Now, everyone casts a circle in his/her own manner. A circle casting can be very very elaborate, or very simple. We'll start simply:
The idea behind every basic circle is like a child setting up a tea party. Cleansing equals the set-up, calling in the deities/elementals/beings you wish to have present is like inviting the other children (or stuffed animals!) over, and the ritual is the actual party. The act of "casting the circle" part of casting the circle (if that makes any sense) is like setting a boundary between the attendees and the uninvited.
Setting up involves cleaning the area, physically, psychically, and energetically. Clean your practice area so you can move as you see fit. Cleansing with elements can be done by smudging with incense, carrying a