Course Four: Rites 175
When the Circle is inscribed with a magickal
implement it forms a protective barrier against external
negativity, and a lens within which to focus the energy
of the individual or group. It is a good idea in the
beginning to mark the Circle with tape or string on
the floor, or inscribe it in the dirt with your athamé if
outdoors. We have even drawn Circles of lime for
outdoor rituals in grassy parks. This will serve as a
visual aid to focus your attention on the proper
boundary line. Mark out a circle using your cingulum
as a compass, with the knots measuring the radius
(see 3.III.4: “Your Cingulum”).
The dimensions of the Magick Circle will largely
depend upon the number of people who will be using
it. For solitary work, a 3- or 5-foot circle will do nicely;
for small groups, 9–13 feet may serve. There should
be enough room for a small altar in the middle and
for those in attendance to move
around it comfortably.Purifying the Temple
If the room or area where you
will be working is normally used for
mundane activities (such as a living room),
you may want to cleanse your temple of any
negative thoughts and vibrations before
beginning the ritual. Put some water into a small
bowl and add a scoop of salt from the blade of
your athamé, stirring it into the water. Beginning
in the East, use a sprig of herb (rosemary, basil,
lilac, or pine) to sprinkle the salt water around
the room in a deosil direction, saying:Water and Salt, where you are cast,
No spell or adverse purpose last
That is not in accord with me.
As I will, so mote it be!Then light a bundle of sage or cedar and, starting in
the East, carry it around the room deosil (we hold it in
an abalone shell), fanning it into all the corners with a
feather fan or bird’s wing, while chanting:Fire and Air, this charge I lay:
No phantom in your presence stay
That is not in accord with me.
As I do will, so mote it be!As you do this, visualize with your mind’s eye all of
the negative thoughts and vibrations leave, and only
the pure white light of Spirit permeate the area. Your
temple is now ready for whatever ritual or work of
magick you wish to perform.Lesson 4: Smudging and
GroundingAs people enter the ritual area, or after everyone has
assembled into a Circle, we will often have a smudging
in which smoking incense (usually sage or cedar) is
carried around the Circle in an abalone shell, and the
smoke is fanned over each person with a feather fan
or bird’s wing. This helps to cleanse our personal auras
of any energies we do not want to bring into the Circle.
Grounding is done to harmonize the energies of
everyone in the Circle and tune us all into the
vibrational field of the Earth. In my tradition, we use
a grounding we call “The Tree of Life.” We stand in a
circle, close our eyes, and visualize as if we are trees
in the forest. The person who is leading the grounding
will say something like this:“Imagine that you are a tree. Plant your feet firmly
on the ground. Now send your roots deep into the
Earth. Feel the layers of cold
soil and rock beneath your feet.
Feel the roots of other plants
and trees, as you reach down
through the bones of your ancestors,
through the pages of the Ages, down,
down, to the molten heart of Mother Earth.
Now draw that heat up through your roots,
up into your trunk. Feel Her life force flow
upwards through your body, filling you with
Mama’s magick. Now stretch your branches
up, way up, reaching your leaves towards the
Sun, towards a million billion suns, and draw
the cosmic radiance from the Universe down
into your body, where it meets the hot energy
you drew up from the center of the Earth. Feel
yourself filled with light and life, with the
blended energies of Heaven and
Earth. Take a deep breath, let it
out, and be here now!”Everyone opens their eyes and the Rite begins.Lesson 5: Casting the Circle
The Magick Circle is a space between the worlds of
Mundane and Faerie. A boundary is created around
this space by “Casting the Circle.” This is done by
walking deosil around the edge of the Circle, starting
in the East, while chanting something like this:Magick, magick, everywhere
In the Earth and in the Air!
Magick seals our Circle round
Between the worlds it shall be bound!
Three times around, three times about
A world within, a world without!The person doing the Circle casting holds a wand or
athamé and uses it to draw a surrounding ring of astral- Rites.p65 175 1/15/2004, 9:08 AM