Casting a Circle

Not all witches cast circles when they do spell work, but many do. And those who do cast circles may do it quite differently from one another.

The basic idea behind casting a circle is always the same: to create a sacred space to protect anyone involved in the spell, safeguard the magic being worked, and exclude any outside entities or negative energies. You can do it in the same place over and over, which will gradually increase the energy in that space. The nice thing, though, is that you can cast a circle anywhere – inside, outside, or when you’re visiting someplace new. Circles can be cast alone or with a group. Just make sure all the people and items related to the spell are inside the space before you begin!

Circles are cast by beginning at the eastern compass point and moving – physically or mentally – in a clockwise (deosil) direction to the south, west, north, and closing the circle again at the easternmost point. The spell book club at the Honeybee taught me how to cast a circle by sprinkling salt around the perimeter. Some magicians use an athame, or ceremonial knife to draw a circle in the air. I myself don’t care for knives (my athame is a letter opener ; >) so I stick with using salt – even if it does require a bit more clean up.

Another common way to “draw” the circle is to place candles, either of a particular color relevant to the spell or reflecting the four elements that are associated with the four directions. Light them in the same order, again starting in the east.

Or you can simply stand in the middle, turn to the different directions with deliberate intention, and imagine the circle forming. This is a quiet and subtle way to cast a circle, highly personal, and quite common among natural/green hedgewitches.

Some people believe that the archangels Raphael, Michael, Gabriel and Uriel respectively stand as guardians in each direction, and ask for their aid in the spell work. Others have developed a few lines they always say at each compass point.

It doesn’t hurt to remember that there are three other directions to consider as well: above, below, and within. Including those will give you the most complete circle.

To open the circle, use whatever method you’ve chosen and start at the easternmost point – moving counterclockwise (widdershins) and ending again in the east. If you’ve used candles, snuff them out as you go. Thanking the archangels and/or the elements doesn’t hurt, either.

This is a lot of basic information, and in the coming weeks I’m going to share what I’ve learned from the spell book club about each of the elements, the concepts of “above” and “below” being inextricably linked, candle magic, and more.

~Katie