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

74 Creating Circles & Ceremonies
as if you were throwing a spear. Then you should just collapse and lie down until you have the
energy to sit up again. Warning: Don’t overdo this! Hyperventilation can be dangerous.
Most magick is meant to take effect outside the Circle. To raise energy for such purposes,
a favorite method is the Circle dance, generally done deosil (sunwise for either hemisphere).
While you concentrate on the stated objective of intent, everyone holds hands and dances faster
and faster around the circle, weaving your steps in and out. Bring your hands gradually up as
you dance, until at the climax they are high above your heads. At the same time, visualize a
vortex, or bright shining cone of energy, forming around the Circle and rising higher and higher,
like an upside-down tornado funnel. If the working is to create a spell of protection, for example,
you should visualize your combined energy rising up and then spreading over the Circle in a
great dome—an umbrella-shaped “deflector shield.” Such a shielding dome should have an
outside surface like a perfect mirror that will reflect away all negativity. A good focusing device
for this is to have a large garden “gazing ball” in the middle of your central altar.
A favorite dance step used in traditional
Circle dance as a way to raise energy in a group
is called the “grapevine” step, because of the
weaving pattern made by the feet of the dancers.
At right is a diagram of the grapevine step.
Another very popular Circle dance is the Spiral Dance made famous by Starhawk through
her book by that name, and her huge public rituals held each Samhain, that have grown to
thousands of participants. This dance is also called “Troy Town” after the old maze pattern,
which was said to resemble the walls of Troy. The wonderful thing about a spiral dance is that
everybody comes face-to-face with everybody else, even if there are hundreds of people.
Here’s the way we do a spiral dance: We start out in a circle, all holding hands, and begin
moving deosil just as in any other Circle dance. Then the leader breaks contact with the person
on her left and starts leading the dance in a spiral towards the center, keeping just inside the outer
ring. When she reaches the center, she suddenly turns sharply to her left, leading everyone back
out in a reverse spiral until the circle becomes complete again, only this time with everybody
facing outward, and releasing the energy out into the world. In the outward part of the spiral,
each person passes every other person, and the idea here is to look each one, however briefly, in
the eyes. In smaller Circles I’ve even seen people kiss on the fly, which is really fun! The most
important thing in a spiral dance is, don’t let go! Below is a diagram of a spiral dance.
For the energy-raising Circle dance, a good drumbeat is great (or you can put on a CD with
a good heavy beat!), and a Circle dance song will help create the right juice. Here’s one of our
favorites, which I have found to be very effective:
Circle ‘round the fire
To raise the cone of power
To win what we desire
So mote it be!
Dance the Circle in the moonlight
Dance and sing the whole night long
Dance the Circle in the moonlight
Dance and sing a Witches’ song!
—Selena Fox
Repeat louder and faster until you can’t dance and sing any faster, then on the final “so mote
it be,” scream that “beeeee!” as loud as you can, breaking loose of each other’s hands as you
fling your hands to the sky and release all that energy to go and work your will. Visualize the
top of the cone erupting like a volcano, sending a beam of power where you want it to go.
Immediately afterwards, everybody collapses to the Earth, grounding ourselves and letting
the Mother’s strength and love flow back into our bodies.
Moose Dixon of Ozark Avalon says: “An easy way to script musical accompaniment for