Circlecasting is the act of drawing a circle around a magical pracitioner, and is usually done near the start of a ritual (sometimes before or after calling the quarters/invoking the elements, but sometimes the two acts are combined). Many witches choose to cast circles before spellwork and divination. Circles may be cast for a variety of reasons:
-To hold or encase the magical and/or spiritual energy that is about to be raised/stirred/or otherwise conducted.
-To seperate the space/time in which the practitioner is working magic from the rest of the mundane world.
-To get the practitioner into a confident, relaxed, and/or otherwise magical mindset.
-To protect the practitioner from unwanted spiritual energies.
When I cast the circle, I feel protected and empowered. It is a positive experience that carves a special time and place into my reality for which I then feel magically and mentally empowered, confident and prepared to practice my spirituality.
Not ony can the act of circle casting be incredibly personal, but it can also connect the practitioner to the long line of practitioners before them. Similar to egregores, the more people who practice circlecasting, the more powerful the act becomes as the collective contributes time, energy, thought, etc. to the meaning and power of the circle.
You may wonder. Circlecasting can look like any number of things depending on the tradition. A practitioner may use their finger, a wand, or an athame to trace a circle around their space (including their altar). As they do so, they may recite a prayer/chant/song/spell/incantation specifically for casting the circle (or they may do so silently, simply focusing on the energy).
While tracing the circle, the practitioner will visualize the circle being cast. This can look like any number of things. If you read a lot of Wicca-based witchcraft books, you will read about pracitioners visualizing a violet-blue coloured flame of protection surrounding them.
Some practitioners, instead of tracing the circle, choose to physically create a circle out of candles or stones, either placing them at the four quarters or surrounding their space in a circle of candles/stones. People have also used ropes or several broomsticks to create a circle around them. I know some witches who do both. They will set up a circle of stones, candles, or lay a rope on the ground AND visualize casting a circle.
There are less traditional ways to cast circles, too, and a variety of ways to visualize the act:
-A circle of mist.
-A circle of stardust.
-A bubble (like Glinda from The Wizard of Oz) or a circle of bubbles (like you might see if you spin around with one of those bubble wands).
I know many witches who will simply light a candle and envision the light from the flame expanding and enveloping them in a protective sphere of light, and this is their version of a circle. Some witches call this candle their working candle (a working candle being a candle that is always lit before a magical working).
Modern practitioners who are open to the influence of pop-culture have incorporated imagery from comics, movies, books, anime, etc. These forms of media can be very helpful for people, especially those who have a hard time visualizing.
What you say while you cast a circle is up to you. It can be something basic, like:
"By the strength of my Will and the power of the elements, I cast this, my magic circle. May it be a space of power between worlds, where I am protected and connected to the Goddess and God. So mote it be."
I have done rituals before where I used chants for different acts of the ritual (circle casting, invocation, raising power, closing the circle, grounding and centering). There are many witchy and pagan musicians out there with songs that can be used in ritual. Below is a song by Wendy Rule that I have used to cast circle and invoke the elements before.
Many books on Wicca-based witchcraft will have an example of circlecasting with a chant/incantation included. Two books that I recommend for learning more about circlecasting are The Outer Temple of Witchcraft by Christopher Penzcak and To Stir a Magic Cauldron by Silver Ravenwolf.
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