Rituals & Ceremonies Part II - Casting Circle & Calling Quarters

In the last Rituals & Ceremonies post I explained how to cleanse a sacred space.  Now it is time to move to the next step in preparing for a ritual, casting a circle and calling the quarters. 

One of the most popular questions posed to pagans is, "Why do you cast a circle?”  The question might be worded differently but that is the general inquiry.  People will give you a lot of different answers. 

First, creating a circle creates a barrier between you and the outside world.  A buffer if you will.  It is a way to keep outside influences from interrupting your sacred rite.  Of course, there are things that get a free pass through the circles barrier, cats most notably.  Also unless you are using a mosquito net to enclose your circle; bugs and other natural creatures will surely venture in and through your circle, so be ready.  Second, a circle will act as a container to hold energies rose during the ritual.  Those energies would otherwise be lost before they could be directed toward the intended goal.  Third, is to create sacred space for communion with the divine. 

So now that we have the reasons that we create circles down, lets get down to the good stuff, how to cast the circle.  Casting a circle can be as simple or as complex as you like.  The circle may be large or small, delineated with a cord, drawn in the dirt, or simply visualized.  Traditionally, some ceremonial tool is used to direct the flow of energy that we intend to use for casting. It can be an athame or wand, even a sword set apart for ceremonial use.  When nothing is available, all is not lost. Just point your index and middle fingers in the direction where you want to lay down your circle and begin. 

Take your preferred tool and point it at the ground where you want your circle to be cast.  Visualize a blue light or flame rising from the ground at the point and continuing as you walk in a circle, deosil, around the altar.  Be sure to encompass all the area and persons you want to include in the circle.  Continue until you have returned to point you began.  Some traditions pause during the creation and acknowledge each of the cardinal points, additionally; some people tie a knot at the end using the infinity symbol.  A chant is usually said during the creation of the circle.  There is a wonderful one in True Magick: A Beginner's Guide by Amber K. 

”I conjure thee, O circle of power, that thou shalt be a boundary between the world of humanity and the realms of the mighty ones, a guardian and protection to preserve and contain the power we (or I) shall raise within;  wherefore do we (or I) bless and consecrate thee!”

  You are now between worlds and in sacred space.  If you must leave the circle a door must be ‘cut’ in the boundary, resealed and cut again when you return.  As I mentioned before, pets do not need to be cut in or out of circles.

HAZZAH! You have cast your first circle.  Enjoy it, explore it, experience it and be ready for the wonders contained within. 

Next we call the Quarters.

“What do you mean by Quarters, I don’t have any change on me.”  Not those Quarters silly, the quarters of the circle.  You can think of them as the four directions on the compass.  North, East, South and West, alternately East, South, West, and North, depend on your tradition.  Each of the “cardinal” directions can be represented in many different ways and fashions.  Traditional each direction will have an elemental correspondence.  Lets talk about each direction separately starting with East.

East.  The direction of the rising sun.  The elemental correspondence for this direction is Air and the color yellow and shades thereof.  Aspects of the mind such as creativity and imagination are also associated with this direction.  Elemental Sylphs are the air creatures.

South.  The direction to your right as you face the rising sun.  The elemental correspondence for this direction is Fire and the color red and shades thereof.  Aspects of passion such as vitality, will and purpose are also associated with this direction.  Traditionally, salamanders are associated with this direction but the phoenix; a creature born of fire is perfect for this direction. 

West.  The direction of the setting sun.  The elemental correspondence for this direction is Water and the color blue and shades thereof.  Aspects of the emotions including intuition are also associated with this direction.  Undines are the elemental being for West but any creature associated with water is perfect.

North.  The direction to your right as you face the setting sun.  The elemental correspondence for this direction is Earth and the color is green and shades thereof.  Aspects of grounding including the body, foundations, and the material plane are also associated with this direction.  Gnomes (no…not the Travelocity Gnome) are associated with this direction. 

Using all this information you can create some unique ways to call upon guardians to ‘witness and protect’ you in your ritual.  Remember that you should be respectful when calling the guardians.  Some traditions us the word ‘summon’ when calling.  This denotes that the guardians are subservient to you.  This is not the case and there is nothing worse then an angry or pissed off guardian, well accept for a pissed off deity but we will discuss that later.  I personally favor asking kindly and reverently that he guardians come observe and protect you in your ritual and maybe offering guidance relating to their particular aspect.  Green Witchcraft by Ann Moura has some wonderful and simple calls for each direction.  Here is the one for North.  

"I call upon you, Elemental Earth, to attend this rite and guard this circle, for as I have body and strength, we are kith and kin."

 After each call it is nice to add “Hail and Welcome!”, again as a sign of respect to the guardians. 

So you have cast a wonderful circle, strong and powerful.  The sacred space inside is at peace and pleasant.  You have some glorious elemental guardians at each of the cardinal points waiting with anticipation at what will be happening.  Now what?  Well my wonderful readers…that is what we will discuss next time.  Rituals & Ceremonies Part III : The Deities – Whom to call and how coming in two weeks.

Oh I can hardly wait (squeaks). 

Blessings to you and yours my dear readers.  

Rituals and Ceremonies -- Cleansing a space.

In most Pagan traditions it is very important to purify or cleanse a space prior to beginning any sort of ritual. Although there are a different ways of doing this, how you do it will depend on the tradition you follow as well as what you feel comfortable with.

Usually, when ritually purifying an area, most do it deosil and spiraling inwards to the center. There are times when moving in a widdershins direction is appropriate, most notably for Banishing Ritual.


These methods are some examples of common ways to cleanse a space for ritual.

Smudging

Smudging uses smoke, which will carry negative energy away from the area. Traditionally White Sage is used, however, other dried herbs can be added, such as Cilantro, Cedar, Lavender and Mugwort. The herbs are bound with string into a bundle, which is commonly referred to as a “stick”.

When lighting the bundle, try to make it flame for a moment if possible, then blow the flame out. This will leave you with a smoldering, smoking herb bundle. Once you have achieved the smoldering bundle stage it is time to smudge the house.

Now you don’t take the bundle and rub it on the walls and other things in the room, which would make a mess and probably ruin a few things and maybe even start a nice fire. What you do is this. Hold the smoldering bundle in one hand or in a heatproof object, like a shell. With either a fan or your free hand you waft the smoke to the edges of the room, making sure to get it into the corners.

When you have finished smudging you can either snuff out the smoldering end of the bundle by setting it into some sand or by crushing the end. An alternative method is to douse it under a bit of water, making sure to let it dry completely before attempting to use it again.

Sweeping
By long tradition, the broom is associated with cleaning and purification. The broom can be either a special one used solely for ritual cleansing or even your household broom. Use a broom or besom going around the edges of the space, with your intent being to sweep negativity away as you go. Here's a good idea. Start and finish near a door--that way, negative energy is swept outside, rather quite literally.

Asperging
Asperging is the sprinkling with a liquid in order to effect spiritual and magical cleansing. Most people will associate Asperging with the Catholic Church, however the practice is also widely used by pagans for cleansing prior to rituals.

It can be accomplished in many ways. The simplest of these is to have a premixed liquid of your choice and bundle of fresh herbs that you can dip into the water. Then you take the herbs, dip them in the liquid and with a quick flick you throw the liquid off the herb and into area or onto the object to be cleansed. You don’t want or need to have a lot of liquid being thrown though. Just small droplets are perfect. Herbs that are prefect to use are Sage, Lavender, Vervain, Hyssop, Pine, Rue and Rosemary.


Another option that can be used quite effectively to cleanse a space is the use of incense. This can be either in cone form, stick, or powder and charcoal. The incense should be for working with cleaning, purification and even protection if you want to add that bit into the cleansing.

During your cleansing and purification of your space you can also include a little chant to augment the process. There are many to be found on the Internet as well as in books. You might even have one in mind already, in that case write it down so you will remember it for the next time you want to cleanse a room.

In addition to the above, I also ensure that the space is physically cleaned as well. I try to use a non-toxic homemade cleanser to do this. How you physically clean is of course up to you.


I would be remiss if I didn’t do a shameless plug for our online store where we carry many items that are perfect for what I have just talked about. Stop by Grove of the Ancients Pagan Marketplace today and order cleansing supplies.

Blessed Be!