How To Cast A Circle
This is a very generic Circle casting ritual that can be adapted to just about any purpose.
Required Tools:
A casting tool - it could be a wand, athame, staff, sword, besom or finger (or perhaps something I haven't thought of. Anything you can point with will do.)
Directions:
1. Prepare your space. Clear the area of debris, purify it by whatever means suits your tradition (sweep it with a besom, fumigate, asperge, etc.)
2. You may mark out the area of your circle physically or just keep in mind where it will be. Some like to mark out the entire Circle with chalk or just mark the four "corners" of the Circle (the cardinal directions) with a candle or symbols of their corresponding elements. (or both)
3. Prepare your self by grounding and centering and/or calling the quarters(while lighting the candles you set out in your for "corners" if you did so) or just take several deep breaths and spend a few minutes meditating on what you're about to do.
4. Stand in the center of your Circle area. Invite anyone you wish to have in the Circle with you to join you with the full intention of staying until the Circle is taken down. This includes physical and non-physical people. If you're on your own, skip this bit.
5. Raise your casting tool (wand, athame, sword, staff or finger) and declare your intention to cast a Circle, detailing the purpose of the Circle. Some popular stated purposes of casting a Circle follow:
- To create sacred space
- To protect the sacred space from outside energies
- To protect the people within the Circle.
- To place the ritual area in a place "between worlds" (In order to allow easier transfer of energy)
- To create a portal between realms
- To contain the energy raised during the rite
- To contain any entities you plan to summon into the Circle.
- To keep specific entities out.
You may declare as many purposes as you like, but do so with equal intention and force and feel the energy in your belly flare with intent as you make each declaration.
6. Point your casting tool on the ground at the starting point of your Circle (this varies by tradition, many begin at the North because of its connection to the Earth - which also varies by tradition, some begin in the East where the Sun and moon rise, etc. Figure this out before you start.) Allow the energy to flow from your Center out through your casting tool to "draw" a Circle on the ground, spinning your whole body clockwise as you do so. (Alternatively, you can close your eyes and visualize the Circle forming around you, or a bubble if you prefer, while not moving at all, but make sure you feel the energy coming out from the Center of you as you do so.)
7. When you have completed your work, raise your casting tool once more and declare your intention to dismantle your Circle. Point it at your starting point again and either re-absorb or sort of suck the energy back into it and return it to your center or dissipate it while turning your body counter-clockwise.
8. Return yourself and your space to normalcy by reversing your quarter call and/or grounding and centering again, taking a few deep breaths, and/or getting something to eat.
Additional Comments:
This circle need not be reserved for "special occasions". If you feel threatened at any time, including on the astral plane, you may cast this Circle to surround yourself with protection. It can be any shape you like, including a bubble that moves as you move.
For More Information:
Print this page for your Book of Shadows
Did you try this project? Tweak it? Have a different method? Tell us what you think!
Hi,
Is casting the circle absolutely necessary?
I am new to this so I was reading here and there and some sources say it's absolutely necessary for all spells, some said that for small spells it's not needed and some others say you don't need to at all.
If it's not needed for all spells, what spells are they needed for? I.e. I will be making some light spells to attract positivity such as success, or healing spells, some attraction spells (but not manipulating others, merely bringing out my best qualities out), maybe some debt relief spell, 3rd eye opening or sixth sense enhancement and occasional banishing or binding if the situation comes, to name a few.
Also, due to a bit of different belief systems, I am not looking to summon any deities, or borrow energy from outside (with the exception of drawing energy from Mother Earth) or to call the quarters. Are those absolute necessary steps of casting the circle?
Thank you in advance! :)
No. It is absolutely not necessary unless you feel it is necessary. Step #5 above lists some reasons people have for casting a Circle. I find going through the process helps me to ground and center, but there are so many other, quicker ways to do that. The majority of my casting does not involve a Circle or any tools. When I am casting with a group, we usually cast a Circle just to get everyone on the same page. It is said that the Circle helps contain the group's energy before it is released. Some traditions require a Circle to be cast because it creates an in-between place, between the material and energetic world which makes for better communication with the energies you're hoping to influence.. You can also do this via astral projection if you're on your own, but in a group we sometimes need to approach things differently.
There are also religious traditions that require casting a Circle, sort of like building a temple, each time. But if you don't belong to one of them, that's irrelevant.
I personally dont use any of the steps when i use my spells i dont tend to manipulate anything or anyone other then myself and i only use an athame totems and the 5 elements so it works for me but im a path of an alchemist soo …
I make stuff up as I go along and do what feels instinctive and also what I have time to do. A roaring fire under my couldron during a waxing moon would be ideal, but I don't have several hours! I brewed a potion on my stove the other day, so I just cleaned it first in the usual way, then drew a quick pentacle around the ring with my finger dipped in my charged water, just so I had the calm of doing it and could see the pentacle. I took each element and held it before placing it. All this was done in silence as I needed to be discreet. My offering to air was a scented candle as it's all I had, and it went out several times so I had to keep re-lighting it. Not "perfect", but good enough for me. Potion brewed with a few extra herbs whose properties I wanted. Job done. Thanked the elements and the gods and the circle, and wiped it off again. Job done. Potion was for strength, comfort and guidance in an interview. I can't change the will of the interviewer, but the potion worked for me as I was cool as a cucumber.
Do I have to close the circle if I am trying to "close" my house to anything unpleasant from the spirit world? My house sits directly on a ley line and I have a lot of traffic through the house (to say the absolute least about the situation). I have been thinking that if I were to set the house in a circle this may help. So….do I have to actually "close" the circle?
I am not sure what you're asking. Closing the circle just means completing the energetic circuit. If it's not closed, it's not a circle, it's a… horseshoe maybe?
Hi!
I don't usually cast circles at all, but lately I've been interested in spirit communication and I feel like casting a protecting circle would be necessary for this. I've been reading a lot about casting a circle, and do you think it's alright/it still works if I personalize the process and tweak it around to my own needs? For example using salt to mark the circle, using tarot cards to mark the elements instead of candles and that sort of things?
You can absolutely tweak your Circles to suit your personal needs. I do not like using salt to mark out a circle though, for a few reasons: 1. Salt absorbs energy, I feel like this might interfere with things. 2. If you're outside then salt can be absorbed into the soil and damage the soil biology and kill nearby plants. 3. It's kind of a mess to clean up.
But when it comes to marking things, you use the symbols that are meaningful to you and your specific tradition.
The "official" guide to casting circles for working with spirit beings is in the Key of Solomon, but as a Pagan witch, I personally find it problematic because it is very very Abrahamic and I think most of us do have to do some tweaking. We can hardly depend on a God we don't like much (or in some cases believe in at all) to help us out in these matters. Many of us do follow the Wiccan model, but that doesn't work for everyone either.