Creating Circles and Ceremonies: Rituals for All ... - reading...

Book I: T he Magick Circle 17
adding? This is the most creative part of a ritual, and it is the real essence of the magick.
After the working we need to raise energy in order to transform the ingredients into
something new. In baking a cake, this is the part where we apply heat by placing the mixed
ingredients in the oven. In a Circle, raising energy may entail drumming and dancing, chanting,
meditating, or focusing energy on symbolic objects or on the Priestess herself. When this
energy is applied, as in the case of heat from the oven, a transformation does indeed take
place—the cake now holds a new form.
Once this transformation has taken place, a cooling-off period is needed. In the same
way that a cake “sets” better if it is allowed to sit for a bit, a Circle often spends this time
sharing food, drink, and discussion that allays 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, this means that the magick has
taken place in whatever fashion 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 “containers” and
“ingredients” put away, and the ritual is ended.
Circle Symbolism
By Bran th’ Blessed
The four-quartered Circle of Magick is a central element in most Western magickal
rituals. It is called “the portal between the worlds,” a means of connecting with the Deities,
Spirits, and Elemental Powers of a realm beyond the material universe. It is envisioned as a
vortex within which we focus our own innate psychic powers, called forth by ritual actions
from the subliminal depths of the mind and soul. It is a “sacred space,” a sanctuary for
communion with the old ones, the deities of our faith.
Many levels of symbolism are intrinsic to the Magick Circle:. Among these metaphors
are metaphysical and mystical concepts that describe the greater reality within which our
lives are experienced. The four “corners” of the Circle of Magick correspond with the compass
directions and their associated Elements (Earth, Air, Fire or Water). A fifth Element,
Spirit, is often associated with the center of the Circle or with the Circle as a whole.
Anaximander of Miletus, a Greek philosopher of the sixth century BCE, proposed that reality
had its foundation in an all-pervasive, unending substance which he called the Infinite or
Boundless, the Divine Source of all things. The Boundless divided itself into two components
by spinning about its center. Its hotter and lighter component was flung outward to form the
heavens while its colder and heavier component sank toward the center to form the Earth. Later
the Earth separated further into the dry land and the wet oceans. Today we find this same
explanation for the formation of planets, stars and galaxies whose shapes are sculpted by the
interplay of gravity and energy. Anaximander’s Boundless is the Spirit of the Circle imagery and
the source of Heaven (Air) and Earth. Spirit is the very force and fiber of existence; but in spite
of its fundamental importance in our being, it is virtually beyond comprehension.
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, energy and gravity, the realm of imagination,
memory, emotion, and desire—all are Spirit manifest in that they can be named and
known. Yet the aspect of Spirit that transcends naming and knowledge, incomprehensible in
its mystery, is the ultimate Source of all these things.
Many Pagan groups, Wiccan covens, and the HOME Tradition place Air in the East and
Fire in the South. Some believe Water should be assigned the direction of the nearest ocean.
Earth is generally assigned to the North, and Fire to the South; but in the Southern Hemisphere,
Earth may be assigned to the frozen Antarctic South, and Fire to the hot equatorial
North. However the details, Circle symbolism speaks to the heart and mind with images that
remind us of our bonds to the universe and its awesome wonders.