(^32) A Wiccan Bible
habits come to mind. As Wicca is a path towards self improvement, many Wiccans have
taken to the inclusion of an outside offering or banishment within their rites as an
affirmation that those things, the outsiders, are still an influence in our lives even though
we have time and time again rejected them. By recognizing these demons, it is hoped
that we can then begin to remove them from our being.
Casting the Circle of Art
The term ‘Circle of Art’ has fallen from favor in the Wiccan community. It has been
replaced with the shorter term ‘Circle.’ I believe this has come about not out of simpli-
fication but because the masses are looking for something dark and spooky, and the
word art tends to bring about pleasant thoughts. As art is the act of creation, and cre-
ation is exactly what the Wiccan rites celebrate, I have chosen to again use this term.
The casting of the Circle has many symbolic meanings. In the largest symbolism, it
represents the Earth. In its smallest symbolism, it represents the self. Somewhere in
between its largest symbolism and its smallest symbolism, it represents one’s country,
one’s state, one’s city, and one’s home. It is a boundary, a place where the rite ends and
is separate from the outside world. It is often viewed as a place that is not of this world
as if to say, this is where my concentration will be, here in this world that I have created
by casting the Circle.
Generally speaking, the Circle is cast twice. If cast by a solitary, it is cast once for
our Lord and once for our Lady. If cast by two people, presumably a male and a female,
the male (host or priest) will go to the east most part of the ritual area and point the
athame at the ground and visualize our Lord Father Sky reaching down to our Lady
Mother Earth through his body. The female (hostess or priestess) then does the same,
only she points the athame to the sky and visualizes our Lady rising to meet her Lord’s
embrace. Both begin in the East and walk clockwise around the ritual area to form a
circle ending in the East. I do not believe the order in which this occurs is of great
importance, but generally speaking Wicca conducts its rites with the belief that Dark-
ness comes before Light, so for reasons we will explore later, it is a good idea that the
first casting of the Circle be done to draw up Mother Earth.
Inviting the Four Quarters
Wiccan ritual includes an invitation to the Four Quarters because it is a world reli-
gion. Wiccans accept the fact that all life is sacred, including plant, animal, and human.
But it also recognizes that we have been given a unique position in this world. The
invitation at the Four Quarters is an affirmation that we draw on all of humanity to
meet the demands of that position. Because humanity has spread to the four quarters
of the world, seeming to take on different races and cultures, we call the Four Quarters
to rally our troops. We call the Four Quarters to state firmly that the task of protecting
that which is sacred is much larger than any one person, tribe, culture, or religion can
accomplish. So we call them all into our effort and into our sacred duty.
g WB Chap 0.p65 32 7/11/2003, 5:47 PM
barré
(Barré)
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