Casting a Circle

[GateKeeper]

Think of Stonehenge, a great circle of stone megaliths. Or consider the enormous ditch in nearby Avebury, England, that is 1,200 feet in diameter, and the ring of standing stones within it. Stone circles like these dot the landscapes of Britain and Ireland. Circles symbolize both wholeness and protection, which is why magicians usually perform spells and rituals inside the perimeter of a magic circle.

When you cast a circle, you work on several levels simultaneously. At a physical level, you’re defining the boundaries for your magical work, separating it from ordinary space. At a spiritual level, you’re imbuing the space with your personal power and erecting a psychic barrier to keep out any unwanted energies.

In The Spiral Dance, Starhawk describes the circle as “the creation of a sacred space … Power, the subtle force that shapes reality, is raised through chanting or dancing and may be directed through a symbol or visualization. With the raising of the cone of power comes ecstasy, which may then lead to a trance state in which visions are seen and insights gained.”

If you wish, you can draw a circle with flour, sea salt, sticks of burning incense, candles, feathers, flowers, or, of course, stones. But you needn’t use a physical substance to cast a circle; you can simply envision a wall of white light surrounding you instead. You can cast a circle outdoors or inside. The circle should be large enough to accommodate the number of people who will be doing magic inside of it, as well as any objects that will be in the circle and your work area (such as a table, altar, or fire pit).

Bring all the ingredients you’ll need and everyone who’ll participate in the spell or ritual into the area before you cast the circle. Once inside, no one should leave the circle until the spell or ritual is finished. Cast your circle in a clockwise direction, so that when it’s completed you’ll be inside it. Begin at the easternmost point of the space where you’ll be working (use a compass to find this point, if necessary). Move clockwise to the south, then the west, and the north, and finally come back to the east again to close the circle.

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