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 Many
religions have physical churches, temples, or other
structures as places of worship. The repeated,
consistent use of these places for sacred purposes
embues them with a kind of power and energy that
can profoundly effect one's state of mind. Most of
us have felt the impact of walking into an old
cathedral or other place of worship. The impact is
not just a consequence of the architecture and
decoration; the place echoes the thoughts and
feelings of all who have used it since its
establishment.
Modern
Pagans, for the most part, do not have buildings
devoted solely to the performance of ritual. We
happily perform ritual outdoors, to affirm our
intimacy with nature, or indoors in homes or rented
buildings for privacy and comfort. So we transform
mundane space into sacred space as part of our
ritual practice. In most modern Pagan traditions
(and some non-Pagan magical traditions as well),
this is done by casting a circle.
In the
Middle Ages, the most imperative function of the
magical circle was protective. The medieval
magic-workers feared intrusion by both hostile
human authorities and hostile demons and other
spiritual entities. The circle created a boundary
that kept the magician from harm.
Modern Pagan
circles still serve this function, but in most
circumstances, protection is no longer primary. The
circle sets apart the place and time of the ritual
and makes it special and spiritual. It connects us
with all those who have done ritual in sacred
circles before us, and serves as a container for
the activities and energies that constitute the
ritual itself. When enclosed by a properly cast
circle, the participants are "between the worlds",
removed from ordinary space and time and attuned
with the world of spirit.
There are
many ways to cast a circle. Ultimately, it is a
mental operation; the physical actions reinforce
and illustrate what the mind is doing. In Wiccan
practice, the circle is usually cast by the
priestess, walking the perimeter with her athame
directed at the ground, inscribing a line of blue
fire on the earth or floor. The circle is also
usually cleansed with the four elements (salt water
for earth and water, incense for fire and air).
Most cleanse before the actual casting with the
athame, but some cleanse after casting. Ritual
words may be spoken as the circle is walked, or
immediately afterwards to declare the result. A
wand is sometimes used in place of an athame if the
latter feels too intense for the purpose of the
particular ritual. A sword can be used in a large
space for extra drama.
For a
personal ritual, the casting can be entirely
mental: you can visualize the circle extending
around yourself. For group work, this is not really
possible, unless all participants are in total
mental synchronization and can visualize the same
circle at the same time.
A nice
alternative is to have participants join hands, one
by one, going around the circle clockwise and
saying "hand to hand, the circle is cast". This
emphasizes the human dimension of the operation and
feels more comfortable for those who don't care for
a lot of formal trappings in their ritual
work.
Wiccan
tradition establishes certain behavioral
expectations within the circle. All motion should
be deosil (clockwise, pronounced "dyessil" or
"jessil"), whether walking, dancing, or passing
items. (Motion may be widdershins or
counterclockwise only if required for a specific
purpose.) No one may cross the circle boundary,
unless a "door" is cut in the circle and closed
again afterwards. (Small children and animals are
exempt from this rule.) It is also extremely
important to respect the sacredness of the space in
your attitudes and actions. It is not necessary (or
even desirable) to be somber and deep at all times,
but indifference, inattention, and cynicism are
extremely detrimental.
These rules
may strike some as needlessly formal and
restrictive, but they are important. If energy is
being raised in the ritual, the circle contains and
concentrates the energy so that it can be applied
to the chosen purpose without dissipating. If the
participants' sense of being enclosed in sacred
space is compromised, so is the viability of the
work being done.
It is not
difficult to find Pagans who insist that a circle
must be cast in a certain way, or that some
particular detail must always be observed. It is
usually true - for them. Once things become bound
together subconsciously, their connection becomes
necessary. But different people and traditions
practice differently and form different
subconscious associations. The fact that no
particular detail of form is required for effective
circle casting does not mean, however, that one
need not do anything in particular to cast a
circle. There are dozens of ways to cook potatoes,
but leaving them raw is not one of them!
You can
experiment with different ways of creating sacred
space and see what they feel like and which ones
produce the strongest results for you. Trying
something new every time you do a ritual is not a
good idea, however. All skills are improved through
practice, and circle casting is no exception.
Anyone who does ritual often should have at least
one method that is second nature to them. When the
mind is not struggling to remember the mechanics or
distracted by bits and pieces of different methods,
it is free to focus exclusively on the desired
result and the directing of energy required to
achieve it.
Some Pagans
cast the circle around the assembled participants;
others cast the circle first and then lead
participants into it, one by one. Purification of
participants sometimes takes place before circle
casting, sometimes afterwards, and sometimes as an
integral part of it.
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