casting a circle
I think casting a circle is one of the most important things to learn as a beginner witch. It creates a save haven between yourself and outside energies and forces, giving you a place you know you won’t be disturbed. I also believe that by creating this circle, your energies that you want to focus on are amplified with positive. A circle can be cast at any time, maybe for spellwork, rituals, divination and even meditation, but that is decided for each individual. I tend to only cast a circle if I am working somewhere other than my altar, as I keep this place cleansed at all times. But that’s just my personal preference, some cast a circle every time they work!
So everyone will cast a circle slightly differently, and it might differ from time to time. Some people like to use a physical barrier, such as salt, grains, and maybe chalk if you have somewhere you can safely draw. For me, I like to use cleansed water. So firstly, before I make sure I have something representative of all of the elements, I like to use salt water and sage. I take lukewarm water and dissolve some salt into it, representing Earth and Water, and the sage for Fire and Air. Some people use the chalice from their altar to make the saltwater, I don’t actually have a chalice, so I use my fave witchy mug (Hey, we gotta improvise sometimes!) Starting facing East working clockwise, I sprinkle the saltwater around me until I have gone full circle and I’m back facing East again. I then take the lit sage and waft it around in a circle until facing east again! At this point I would usually use my finger, point it out directly in front of me, and call out my deities, and say something along the lines of:
‘The Triple Goddess and The Horned God, I call upon you to protect this circle, thank you’ I then imagine that theres a bright light coming from my feet and out towards my hand, to the edge of my finger tips. I like to then thank each of the elements whilst visualizing this, so starting East again I’d thank the Air, South - Fire, West - Water, and then North for Earth. Then just make a last call upon the final element, Spirit to look upon me whilst I work.
Then it’s time for the magick to happen! Perform your ritual/spell/divination as you would normally. Then upon finishing, reverse the process but instead thank the elements, and thank your deities, work counterclockwise in order to close everything off again.
Remember, theres no real right or wrong way to cast a circle, you can add or remove steps as you feel is right for you! Do you!
*picture credit: pinterest*