Class IV: Conducting a Ritual
in which we wish to work and makes the work proceed
more smoothly. Then it is time to put up the Circle.
This is like getting out a large bowl in which to hold
the ingredients so they can be mixed together. In this
way, the Circle becomes a cauldron to contain the
energies we invoke until they can adequately
transform. This container is formed by casting the
Circle. This marks the physical area, clearly defined as
sacred space. It may even be marked on the ground or
floor by drawing with chalk or cornmeal. Often it is
drawn in the air with a magickal tool, such as a wand or
athamé. Yet it can also be created only in the realm of
your imagination.
Once we have a clean bowl and a clean space to
work, we bring in our ingredients, according to the
recipe chosen. For a cake, it’s eggs, flour, milk, and
sugar. For a Circle, this includes the four Elements and
directions, the deities and spirits, and whatever else is
appropriate for the purpose of the ritual. These
ingredients are invoked into the Circle and “stirred”
together. The deities who are called into the Circle are
the special magick that makes for a good cake. It is not
enough to merely follow a cookbook; a talented cook
adds those special spices that make it unique. The
deities are the archetypal principles that we wish to
connect with in ourselves and remember as influences
in our working. This divine essence cannot be
controlled, but it can be invited by invocation.
Then comes the working. This is where we stir
the ingredients together. Do we beat them like
meringue, or gently fold them together, like marble
cake? Do we mix some separately before adding? This
is the most creative part of a ritual, and it is the real
essence of the magick. Then we need to raise energy
for transformation of the ingredients into something
new. In baking a cake, this is the part where we stick it
in the oven and turn up the heat. In a Circle, it may be
drumming and dancing, chanting, meditating, or
focusing energy on symbolic objects. When this
energy is applied, as in the case of heat from the oven,
a transformation does indeed take place. Afterwards,
a cooling-off period is needed. The cake holds better
if it is allowed to sit for a bit, and a Circle often spends
this time sharing food, drink, and discussion that is in
some way backing off from the previous intensity of
raising energy.
Once cooling has taken place, the cake can be
taken out of the pan. It will hold its new shape and
can be shared outside the kitchen. In the Circle, it
means the magick has taken place in whatever fashion
it was intended, and the Circle can be removed to
allow that magick to pass on to wherever it is intended.
The pans are cleaned, the ingredients put away, and
the ritual is ended.- Introduction: “HOME Cooking:
The Magick Circle”
—by Anodea Judith (HOME Cooking, 1997)
HE FIRST AND MOST BASIC ELEMENT
of conducting magickal ritual is
the creation of sacred space.
Ritual is something made special,
set apart from everyday, requiring
a focused attention. The setting
up of sacred space marks this time
as different from that time; these
words as more significant than idle chitchat; these
movements have significant meaning. It allows us to
alter our consciousness, to redirect our attention.
The Circle is the sacred center in which all ritual
takes place. Like a cauldron in which we mix and stir a
magick elixir, the Circle forms the psychic boundaries
that keep unwanted energy out, while at the same
time allowing the magickal energy within to be
contained until transformation is complete. As such
the Circle is seen as a place between the worlds—a
place outside the ordinary stream of time and space,
yet a place which inevitably influences this stream.
Therefore, the Magick Circle is extremely important,
as it is the essential foundation of all ritual. This means
that the space in which the Circle is held is purified
and consecrated for the rite in question, that care is
taken to be as conscious as possible of all words and
actions within the Circle, and that there are certain
codes of behavior for protecting the sanctity of the
Circle.
One of these codes is the law of Perfect Love and
Perfect Trust. This means that we only enter into a
Circle with the feeling and intention that we can behave
toward all members and toward the rite in general with
this attitude. It means we agree to open our hearts and
minds to each person in an aura of trust, and to not
betray the trust of anyone in the Circle. If we cannot
enter a Circle in this manner—for instance, if we have
a major quarrel with someone in the Circle—then we
should not enter the Circle at all.
Since in my tradition, the Holy Order of Mother
Earth, we often refer to our magickal practices as
“HOME Cooking,” I like to use the analogy of baking
a cake to represent the various aspects of creating a
magickal Circle. Before baking the cake, it is necessary
to clean off the counter. We do not want to prepare
food on a counter cluttered with yesterday’s dirty
dishes. This corresponds to purifying the space we
are going to use, and may involve magickally banishing
unwanted energies, or it may be simply sweeping the
floor and unplugging the phone. This clears the fieldCorrected pages 3rd printing.2.p65 8 6/10/2004, 4:02 PM