Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

132 Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

Lesson 2: The Magick Circle

The four-quartered Circle of Magick is a cen-

tral component in most rituals. It is called the

portal between the worlds, a means of connect-

ing with the deities, spirits, and Elemental pow-

ers of a realm beyond the material Universe. It is

envisioned as a vortex within which we focus our

innate psychic powers, called forth by ritual ac-

tions from the subliminal depths of the mind and

soul. It is a sacred space, a sanctuary for com-

munion with the Old Ones.

Many levels of symbolism are intrinsic to the

Circle: Images and truths of diverse colours and

textures speak in a language as old as human his-

tory. Among these are metaphysical and mystical

concepts that describe the greater reality within

which our lives are experienced. The four “cor-

ners” of the Circle of Magick correspond with

the compass directions and each is associated with

an Element: Earth, Air, Fire, or Water. A fifth El-

ement, Spirit, is often associated with the center

of the Circle or with the Circle as a whole. The

vertical axis (axis mundi or world axis) is an es-

sential part, sometimes seen as a tree connecting

the three worlds.

The realm of wind, water, stone, and flesh is

manifest Spirit; the realm of Earth, Moon, Sun,

and stars is manifest Spirit. Time and space, en-

ergy and gravity, the realm of imagination,

memory, emotion, and desire, all are Spirit mani-

fest: that which can be named and known. Yet the

aspect of Spirit that transcends naming and knowl-

edge, incomprehensible in its mystery, is the

Source of Heaven and Earth.

—Bran th’ Blessed

All of the various magickal systems of correspon-

dences can be diagrammed on the Magick Circle,

which is read like a clock face. This is done by over-

laying a series of polygrams, with their points evenly

spaced around the Circle, as at the numbers on the

clock. Outer concentric circles are then divided into

the appropriate number of segments, just like the hours

and minutes on a clock face. And like the hands of a

clock, time as well as magickal work moves through

each of those segments sequentially (one after another)

in a Dance of the Hours.

It is important to understand, however, that all

these systems have just been made up. Their useful-

ness comes not from them being the actual territory,

but from them being common symbolic maps that

many magickal people share and understand. Most of

these magickal systems were developed a long time

ago and were based on the limited scientific knowl-

edge of the people who created them (at that time, for

instance, people thought the Sun revolved around the

Earth...). These systems can still work for us today,

but their limits have to be recognized, and they often

have to be tweaked to adjust for the problems in their

original design.

But you don’t have to believe in everything that’s

in here in order to successfully become a Wizard. It’s

entirely possible to be an effective magician without

believing in astrology, for example. This is particu-

larly important to remember because you’re going to

have science teachers who will either react

dismissively or outright mock you if you raise topics

like astrology, chakras, and other magickal studies.

Back in 2.I.4, “The Circle of Life,” I explained

the difference between the mundane view of Time as

linear (going in a straight line in one direction, from

past to future), and the magickal view of Time as cy-

clical (looping around and around again in an end-

less circling spiral, like a spring). This same distinc-

tion applies to these two systems of classification. Just

as the branching Tree is the key pattern for all linear

systems of vertical classification, the Magick Circle

is the key to the circular categories of all magickal

systems. After counting off 12 hours, the hands of the

clock come round again to the same point—but Time

itself has now moved forward half a day on the spi-

raling cycle!

We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.

—T.S. Eliot in the last of his Four Quartets

On the next page is a mandala diagram I have

drawn of the Magick Circle. Correspondences of 2,

3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, and 13 are shown. In addition, I

have divided the outermost rings into 52 “minutes”

for the weeks of the year, and 366 “seconds” for the

days (one extra for leap year). Different versions of

this design will be used throughout this class to illus-

trate various sets of correspondences. If you want to

try something really cool, make a copy the same size

as the face of your wall clock, and color it in with

markers. Then open up the front of your clock and

glue it into place.

Lesson 3: Monads, Dyads,

and Triads

Monads and Unities

Monism (“oneness”) is the philosophy that there

is only one ultimate substance or principle, whether

mind/spirit (idealism) or matter/energy (materialism).

That is, all of reality is one organic whole, or unit.

This is expressed perfectly in our concept of the Uni-

verse (“all together”)—which is also called Creation,

the Cosmos, and the World. In Taoism, this is known

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