⭕ Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - Circles in Magick

[CelestiaMoon]

@Trixie_Thojrne

Finally, I did not try this one, because I’m not exactly sure how I would do it, but I’ve read something about enchanting an article of clothing so that whenever it is put on, your circle is cast. Has anyone done this? @CelestiaMoon made a beautiful bracelet which would make a perfect enchanted circle accessory. I’d love to hear the community’s thoughts on how creating this circle might be done.

Thank you sweet, I’m happy with it too
I created my bracelet with a different intention, it helps me tap into my magick when I’m out of my house I know some people like to wear ritual clothing that helps them settle into the sacred space, accessories may serve a similar purpose. I haven’t thought of it connected to the circle casting specifically, but that might work too. The clothes / accessories may be enchanted to have a psychic protection / magickal defense attribute so to speak (for all you RPG nerds out there )

@Trixie_Thojrne

I read in one of the “helpful topics articles” about casting a circle with sound and loved the idea! Sound is oddly visual for me. When I meditate I strike a singing bowl with a mallet before and after my session, and just realized I have been casting and dismissing a circle.

I’ve intuitively come to do this too!
And continuing from last week’s challenge, opening and closing the day by placing the bowl over my solar plexus chakra and ringing it there.

[TheMuslimWitch]

Challenge entry- Circles in Magick

Here is the circles I plan to do a future outdoor ritual at:

As I mentioned earlier they used to store water like water tanks before the new water systems came in, now they just look like a cool place to do a ritual

[Garnet]

Almost everyone can hear music, but to see it is a gift.
Garnet
“There are a thousand ways to cast a circle, and none of them is wrong.”

[JadeMermaid_Lara]

Thank you for sharing about the circle cast using sound. That sounds fascinating and beautiful!

[Phoenix_Rose]

I should have also mentioned that I am dyslexic so sometimes I do get my left and right confused. I tried doing the circle around me the other way and it didn’t feel the same. So, in a more alert state, I pictured myself as the clock and one with me in the center of the clock. And in really paying attention to what I am doing, although I am going in different directions in each situation, it is always left to right.

[Phoenix_Rose]

@Garnet

I never thought about it.
I’m Right handed, so I use my (R) just raising it and moving to the left until the circle is joined. I am the conjurer, the witch who holds the power in my body, my hand, and even my fingers. It manifests in your mind and is directed by your wand, hand, or finger.
The power is in you. You are born with it, we all are but life wears down and crushes the precious spark between childhood and magick. But take heart, it’s never truly lost.
Blessed be
Garnet

Thanks @Garnet!

@Kasandra

But after I had cast my circle, I had forgotten at least one item for my ritual and had to open the circle, so circle casting became tedious.

I, too, have done this! So I stopped casting circles so I went back to putting the intention that I was protected. However, as I want to experience being in a circle, I am going to continue with putting it around myself. Like what you have described below:

@Kasandra

That’s when I began to visualize a circle of orange and yellow dragon flames surrounding me. It was a way to “carry” my circle with me so I wouldn’t have to open or close it if I forgot something.

Funny, now that I can carry it with me, I hardly ever forgot a journal, BOS, pen, crystals, herbs or candles.

lol! I call that Murphy’s law!!

[Susurrus]

Challenge Entry

This challenge actually made me kind of really think about the if, how, when I use any circles in my practice. So after a few days of kind of… thinking & looking back, paying attention to things that I do… Here we go:

When I first joined Spells8 & went through the courses. I had learned about circles. I thought it was something that I had to do… & I tried I really did. I would either forget the circle entirely, remember the circle mid-way, or cast the circle but then forget something… after a little while. I didn’t cast a circle anymore. Which also meant that the use of my wand decreased. However, since I love the wand… it’s made of crystals… Amethyst, pearl, turquoise, & clear quartz points at either end… I still have it on my shelf with my little jars of crystal chips. I don’t use a wand really anymore… I do have specific times that I use my Selenite Athame though, which is more when I am working with the Morrigan than any other time.

Otherwise, I use my right hand to direct or send energy where I want it to go to be.

I thought about that for a little while. I am in my space when I do anything practice related. It’s my sacred space, my safe space. That being said, I cleanse the entire room regularly. Every day I light my protection candle & energy cleansing/healing candle

I play music to use sound & to calm the energy in the room. I have been told that my room is the most comfortable room in the house & also feels really good inside. I know it’s because of the energy I put into & maintain in the room. So the room is kind of my “circle”.

If I am outside by my fire pit, I set up the table in front of the pit the way I need to & hang my pentacle chandelier next to the area I’m working in… I make sure to put the tealights in their little cauldrons from each point of the chandelier. I use cleansing herbs in the fire pit before I start doing anything & set up the table the way I need to for what I am doing.

My protective talismans, charms, stones, etc… are all in my sacred space throughout the room. My Ancestor altar includes my space for Brigid. My Brigid’s Cross hangs to the left of my window that faces the front of my house. My main altar where the Morrigan’s space is directly across the room with my protection candle

That’s not to say that I don’t use circles of any kind.

When I am working with the Morrigan on my main altar, I do use a circle. For example, this morning:

First I placed my metal pie plate on my altar. I placed Her black candle & Her red candle beside each other. I use my chalice with a pentacle on it to hold Storm Water & 3 drops of Dragon’s Blood. Her statuette was in front of the candles. Her raven statuette next to Her… which I believe I can use as a tealight holder, but I actually use it for something else… I placed Her small bottle of Snake Shed on next to the Raven holder in the little dish (where I’m assuming the tealight would go), P placed her Clear Quartz Chonk & piece of Jet next to Her with my Obisidian bracelet which I anointed with Her oil. I got out her offering mix & enclosed the entire setup within a circle of the offering mix.

So the pie plate is an enclosed circle for all of the items I am working with on my altar. Whether for working with one of my deities, making up a spell pouch, oil, etc… as a bonus it’s easier to clean up than an altar cloth & if wax accidentally drips on it… my heart doesn’t get cracked a little bit because some cloths, it’s harder to get out of than others. I also make a circle with the offering herbs around the setup for the Morrigan & I will do it for Brigid at specific times too when I use her offering herbs.

[Amethyst]

Weekly Witchy Challenge Entry for Amethyst.

Well for me I went with the simple, new chant to cast a circle with. I hope you like it.

Circle of Power by Amethyst

I cast a circle of power,
to protect me in this place at this hour.
A bubble of energy that’s sent from above,
that fits around my desk and property like a glove.
A circle to protect me and all that I do,
that keeps me from evil and its purview.
Three times around with my wand,
And this circle is sealed from the beyond.

This circle of power I cast with my wand,
has protected me from all and did respond.
I now unseal it with but a word,
and put to rest the energy that’s been stirred.
With perfect love and perfect trust,
I open this circle that was robust.
Three times around with my wand,
this circle is open to the beyond.

So mote it be!

I envision a big bubble of energy, coming down from above to envelop me since I can’t walk a circle. Hope you like it!

[CelestiaMoon]

It’s beautiful @Amethyst

[Trixie_Thojrne]

@CelestiaMoon

And continuing from last week’s challenge, opening and closing the day by placing the bowl over my solar plexus chakra and ringing it there.

I had not considered doing this before! Awesome idea, thank you for mentioning it!

@TheMuslimWitch

Here is the circles I plan to do a future outdoor ritual at:

OK these are pretty magical! I am envisioning the entire Infinite Roots Coven standing around your circles in a very Merry Meet ritual!

[MeganB]

Alright, I still plan on writing up a post on my blog but I want to get this out before the challenge is over My blog post will have way more detail anyway and won’t happen for a few more weeks.

---

I have actually been doing something regarding circles for about a week now that I didn’t even realize until this challenge was posted. I have been experimenting with creating my inner temple. For a quick recap on what an inner temple is…

The Inner Temple, as its name says, is within you. It’s a sacred space that you can use to meditate, to perform rituals and spells, to celebrate the sabbats and more!

Inside our temple, we can experience deep connections with the Universe and with our archetypes (deities, elements, astral planes). We can find healing, guidance, and answers.

The Inner Temple for Casting Spells without Tools – Spells8

I really enjoy guided meditations, but as I get further along in my path, I’m looking for more ways to do trancework rather than meditation. They’re both great, but trancework is for more deep, internal work and a way for me to commune with my deities in my own space, if that makes sense.

It is also a way to experience the Otherworld through spirit flight - it is the first step, anyway!

So anyway, one morning I decided I was going to create my inner temple and begin work on building it. At first, I thought it would be a good idea to build a cave. The walk into the cave would be the meditative process of getting deeper into trance. However, I couldn’t envision a cave well and it just didn’t feel right. I thought it would be a good idea but it turns out that wasn’t right for me.

So I began again. This time, I was immediately drawn to the forest and how the ancient Celts would hold their ceremonies in circles and groves of trees. So that’s what I went for! It was very easy for me to begin to build in my mind a circle of oak trees. These trees, though, are like the oaks in my yard. They are guarded by small palms in between the trees, and from the branches hangs long flowing tendrils of Spanish moss.

The trees I envision are similar to the ones in the above picture. These are the trees native to my area of Florida - actually, they’re all over the south. Since the branches spread wide, the trees in my inner grove are spaced apart. This is where the short palms come in. They are evenly spaced between the oaks, guarding the gaps with their spines and prickly points.

Then the Spanish Moss hangs down to act as a curtain, a veil between the outside space and the space I will hold trance.

I had originally planned on making it like it would have looked in Ireland, but that doesn’t give me much connection to myself. It is much better now that it is connected to me personally.

Inside is more sacred, and I haven’t quite gotten that right yet so I’m not going to share it yet.

But I realized that I’m basically building a circle as my inner grove - perfect for this challenge!

All images are from Unsplash.

[jill5]

Challenge Entry

I cast my first circle about 25 years ago, I was 17 and had no idea what I was doing. I was just following directions from some book (probably by Silver Ravenwolf). Over the years, I must have changed the way I cast a circle a million times. I came to understand that I should just do whatever felt right to me. Depending on the spell, I’ll use my finger, wand, or athame to cast my “sphere” of protection. I sometimes walk the full circle and sometimes I stay in the center. I think my favorite way to cast a circle these days is to stay in the center and visualize the sphere of protection. While I call each of the quarters (and spirit), I flip one of my elemental stones to show the elemental symbol. Something about turning each stone over as I call the guardian of that direction draws such power for me. I’m sure it will change again soon, but I love that about my craft.

[CelestiaMoon]

Your inner temple looks really beautiful Megan I can feel the peace and sacredness from the picture and your writing, it sounds like the perfect place to do your most intimate workings

[CelestiaMoon]

@jill5 Is that your athame in the picture? It’s absolutely majestic

[jill5]

Yes, it is It’s been with me a long time.

[JadeMermaid_Lara]

Challenge Entry

I took some time to explore circles in magic here on spells8 and also a couple of other websites. I really enjoyed the #castalong video on an easy circle of protection. I found it very grounding and powerful. I intend to use it frequently as a way to practice bring myself to a centered and grounded space.

I remembered that I created a circle around our favorite backyard red maple tree a couple years ago using bricks. I spent some time in it this week and enjoyed its energy. This circle feels even more special to me now in the context of seeing it as a magical circle.

I feel inspired to create some circular patterns in my yard to cast a circle when outdoors. I have been trying to think of a way to work with rocks and shells that I have created in nature and think that this might be a neat way to do this. I look forward to seeing what I am able to come up with.

[Nixi]

CHALLENGE ENTRY
When I started out the first time my only resources were a couple of books and a shop owner that very quickly stopped being a resource.
My first book had some good information but she was very detailed in some areas and very vague in others. Each pantheon was described in great detail and it was all but a must that you figure out which one fit before continuing. The list of tools was long and a must before continuing.
A circle was an absolute must for everything. The process of casting a circle was very detailed, walking the circle, l making it with salt and calling the quarters, and described in a way that made it sound as THE way. Her process was very intense and probably the thing I remember the most from that time. I think there were additional steps for more formal rituals.
My next book, by what I was told was a very respected author and I now know to be, was so layed back in comparison, sort of anything is everything, that I didn’t even read half of it before putting it on a shelf.
When I got here with very little memory I was so confused by how layed back everything was and had circle casting been the first thing I read I would not have stayed.
I have read everything here, lessons and spells as well as here in the forum that I can find and it all makes so much sense. This challenge was a very interesting journey for me and a great way to concentrate my energy on learning about something so very important

[Wysteria_Norn]

Brilliant!

[MeganB]

@Dierna_Nimue_Selene

Mostly when I am working.

I also work from home and never really thought about casting a circle while I work… I did have a routine where I would sit at my desk, take a few deep breaths, and light a candle imbued with focus but I haven’t done that in a while. I need to start that back up - thanks for the inspiration!

@Cosmic_Curiosity

For my circle cast, i call upon the 4 sons of Horus.

Your circle cast ritual is beautiful and I love how you’ve incorporated your own deities into it rather than going with a standard Wiccan ritual!

@robin77

Since then, I continue to use that but have modified it

Awesome job with modifying a ritual to suit your needs! I think that’s a sign of a witch who knows their practice well enough to make changes

@Trixie_Thojrne

So, I decided to take a few days to “test drive” some different methods of circle casting.

I love witchy experimentation and tests! I hope you’ll let us know how your circle within a circle test goes. That sounds like it would be interesting!

@TheMuslimWitch

Challenge entry- Circles in Magick

Oh wow, I think that would make a great ritual space!

@Susurrus

So the room is kind of my “circle”.

I like this a lot. I’ve been thinking more about where I spend my time. The majority of my time is spent in my office area because of work, but there’s not really anything sacred about it. I’d like to make my room feel this way, but I don’t spend too much time in my room I’ll get there one day, I think, just not yet.

@Amethyst

Circle of Power by Amethyst

Another beautiful chant as always, Amethyst

@jill5

but I love that about my craft.

I love this part of your process so much! It’s almost like flipping the stone over acknowledges that Spirit’s presence and calls them forward, if that makes sense. It’s like giving them a vessel to be present in your ritual space.

@CelestiaMoon

Your inner temple looks really beautiful Megan

Oh thank you very much! I’m hoping to have it mostly finished within this next week. Honestly, this is one of the practices that has been easy to keep the same every time I go, if that makes sense. Nothing really changes when I visit the grove, except maybe the time of day. That’s how I know it’s working right when I can hold the visual in my mind for multiple days without anything being different.

@JadeMermaid_Lara

I look forward to seeing what I am able to come up with.

I also look forward to seeing what you come up with!

@Nixi

This challenge was a very interesting journey for me and a great way to concentrate my energy on learning about something so very important

This is the beauty of having so many magical paths to explore! Some paths are very ceremonial - ritual tools, proper steps, proper words, etc. And then other paths are extremely laid back and very off-the-cuff. I’m glad you were able to find some self reflection here in this challenge!

[Phoenix_Fire]

challenge entry

Around and round we go

My heart is breaking and darkness has come
I keep on fighting but no battle is won
I keep on trying to find the light
Even in this darkest of night

Things ease up and light shines through
Plans are made you know what to do
The sun comes up to the brightest day
Burning and wiping all the tears away

But shadows form and darkness closes in
Your loosing hope and your dreams in the bin
The walls are closing in all around
Your heart is screaming but making no sound

Just as the day comes and goes
The darkness hides what only the light shows
Seasons around us in weather and in song
Show us our place and that we belong

Even through the darkests of night
When you feel you don’t have the strength to fight
Rain falls and coldness fills the air
Things crash and you feel despair

But so does it ease and the sun starts to shine
Rebuilding is happening and your planning the time
Replant the seeds washed away by the tears
Shine the brightest light to push away the fears

Watch as they grow and colours start to show
Watch as life begins again and suddenly you know
No darkness lasts for all time to be
Rebirth is something we can always see

When the sun shines brightest and the heat bears down
You know relief will comes so you dont wear a frown
The fruits of your labour with one day arise
Youll look out to see a beautiful suprise.

So even after good times have come and gone
Darkness creeps in, know it wont be for long
As day turns to night and around again
So each season has a start and also an end

Even when it feels that there will be no end
Your calling on your guardians for some help to send
Whether its struggles, seasons or events to be
Dont loose hope, the sun will rise again, so mote it be.