First cleanse the area with the ritual broom.
For this circle you will need four large flat stones. If you have none, candles can be used to mark the four cardinal points of the circle. White or purple candles can be used, as can colors related to each direction - green for North, yellow for East, red for South, and blue for West.
Place the first stone (or candle) to the North, to represent the Spirit of the North stone. When in ritual you invoke the Spirits of the Stones, you're actually invoking all that resides in that particular direction, including the elemental energies.
After setting the first stone (or candle) to the North, place the Ease, South and West stones. They should mark out a rough square, nearly encompassing the working area. This square represents the physical plane on which we exist; the Earth.
Now take a long purple or white cord and lay it out in a circle, using the four stones or candles to guide you. It takes a bit of practice to do this smoothly. The cord should be placed so that the stones remain INSIDE the circle. Now you have a square and a circle, the circle representing the spiritual reality. As such, this is a squared circle - the place of interpenetration of the physical and spiritual realms.
The size of the circle can be anywhere from five to twenty feet, depending on the room and your desires. Next, set up the altar. The following tools are recommended:
A Goddess symbol (candle, holed stone, statue)
A God symbol (candle, horn, acorn, statue)
Athame
Wand
Censer (as well as incense)
Pentacle
A bowl of water (spring, rain or tap)
A bowl of salt (it can also be placed on the pentacle)
Flowers and greens
One red candle in holder (if not using point candles)
Any other tools or materials required for the ritual, spell or
magical working
Set up the altar according to your own design. Also, be sure to have plenty of matches, as well as a small heat-proof container in which to place them when used. A charcoal block is also necessary to burn the incense (unless you're using stick or cone incense).
Light the candles. Set the incense smoking. Lift the knife and tough it's blade to the water, saying:
I consecrate and cleanse this water
that it may be purified and fit to
dwell within the sacred Circle of Stones.
In the name of the Mother Goddess and the Father God
I consecrate this water.
(The specific names for the Goddess and God were purposefully left out in this ritual to allow the interested student to discover with which deity-forms s/he feels most comfortable. Deity names can be seen as limitations and some Wiccans don't use them at all.)
As you do this, visualize your athame blasting away all negativity from the water.
The salt is next touched with the point of the knife while saying:
I bless this salt that it may be fit
to dwell within the sacred Circle of Stones.
In the name of the Mother Goddess and the Father God
I bless this salt.
(Salt is blessed rather then purified because it is considered to be pure.)
Now stand facing North, at the edge of the cord-marked circle. (The Wiccan now summons up personal power from within her/his body, readying it to be projected during the circle-casting.)
Hold your athame point outward at waist level. Walk slowly around the circle's perimeter clockwise, your feet just inside the cord, charging the area with your words and energy.
Create the circle through your visualization with the power flowing out from your knife's blade. As you walk, stretch the energy out until it forms a complete sphere around the working area - half above the ground, half below. As you do this, say:
Here is the boundary of the Circle of Stones.
Naught but love shall enter in,
Naught but love shall emerge from within.
Charge this by Your powers, Old Ones!
("Old Ones" is a poetic reference to the Goddess and the God. The last sentence calls upon the Goddess and God to charge, or empower, the circle and the rite which follows with their energy.)
When you have arrived back at the North, place the athame on the altar. Take up the salt and sprinkle it around the circle, beginning and ending in the North and moving clockwise. Next, carry the smoking censer around the circle, then around the Southern point candle or the lit red candle from the altar. Finally, sprinkle water around the circle. Do more then carrying and walking; sense these substances purifying the circle. The Circle of Stones is now sealed.
Hold aloft the want at the North, at the edge of the circle, and say:
O Spirit of the North Stone,
Ancient One of the Earth,
I call you to attend this circle.
Charge this by Your powers, Old Ones!
As you say this, visualize a greenish mist rising and writhing in the Northern Quarter over the stone. This is the elemental energy of the Earth. When the Spirit is present, lower the want, move to the East, raise it again and say:
O Spirit of the East Stone,
Ancient One of the Air,
I call you to attend this circle.
Charge this by Your powers, Old Ones!
Visualize a yellowish mist of Air energy. Lower the want, move to the South and repeat the following with your upraised want, visualizing a crimson Fire mist:
O Spirit of the South Stone,
Ancient One of Fire,
I call you to attend this circle.
Charge this by Your powers, Old Ones!
Finally, to the West, say with wand held aloft:
O Spirit of the West Stone,
Ancient One of Water,
I call you to attend this circle.
Charge this by Your powers, Old Ones!
Visualize a bluish mist, the essence of Water.
The circle breathes and lives around you The Spirits of the stones are present. Feel the energies. Visualize the circle glowing and growing in power. Stand still and sense it for a moment.
The Circle of Stones is complete. The Goddess and God may be called and magic wrought.
RELEASING THE CIRCLE
Once the rite is ended, face North, hold aloft the wand and say:
Farewell, Spirit of the North Stone.
I give thanks for your presence here.
Go in power.
Repeat this same formula to the East, South and West, substituting the proper direction in the words. Then return to the North and hold the wand aloft for a few moments.
Lay the wand on the altar. Take up the athame. Standing in the North, pierce the circle's wall with the blade at waist level. Move clockwise around the circle, visualizing its power begin sucked back into the knife. Literally "pull" it back into the blade and handle. Sense the circle dissolving, shrinking - feel the outside world slowly regaining its dominance in the area. When you arrive at the North again, the circle is no more. (by Scott Cunningham)
Free e-books (can be downloaded):
Isaac Bonewits - The Enemies Of Our EnemiesHoward Phillips Lovecraft - The Curse Of Yig
Medieval Grimoires - The Grimoire Of Honorius
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