Casting a Quarter-Cast Circle

Blessings Darlings!

I'm going to steal my own writings here.  I explained circle casting in a Facebook group today, and I'm cutting and pasteing that here now.  Enjoy!

A circle is one way of creating sacred space for magic or ritual or healing or whatever purpose. The 'typical' circle is a quarter-cast one, using either the 4 directions or the 4 elements as part of the structure. Details, as always, will depend on the magical group or tradition one trains in. Generically - you can start in the East. Using your finger, or an athame, or a wand, you ask for the power of that direction or element to ward the circle and add it's power to your working, then visualize a blue (usually) etheric flame pouring from it. You visualize that line of flame going from that quarter to the next, as you walk to the South. Repeat, asking that direction or element. Repeat for the next two quarters, and after you invite the North or Earth, continue the line of blue flame to the east again, completing the circle. At that point, change the visualization of the blue flame from a circle around you in one dimension to an orb around you in three dimensions.

You can get fancier. You can have altars at each of the directions. You can draw pentagrams at each direction and open a gate for the power of that direction to enter thru'. Etc.

After you do the hoodoo you do in the circle, you take the circle down by thanking the powers you invited and bidding them farewell. Some do this in the reverse order that the powers were called in, some don't. Use the same tool you used to cast to 'suck up' the energy of the blue flame as you dismiss. And ground that tool afterwards (ground yourself if you used your hand/finger, put the top of the tool to the earth if you used a tool).

Here are the words to two sung quarter-castings by Isaac Bonewits http://www.neopagan.net/IB_Songs_WiccanRitual.html

The Calling, with the blue flame visualization, really is it for a simple circle casting.

The only tool needed is Knife/athame, or wand, or pointed finger.

Again, you can get fancier.  And you're going to get better results the more intimate you are with the elements/elementals and the directions.  

Any questions?

Frondly, Fern