I recently read something that really stuck in my mind. It is so obvious that I can't believe I didn't figure it out for myself.
I'm pretty good at casting circles. This was my job nearly every single time I did a ritual with other Witches. Early on in my newbie Witch days I read about the circle really being a sphere and I just accepted that. I think of my circles as being sacred space that is between the worlds. Another Witch described being in my circle like having a thick curtain pulled around so the mundane world faded away.
I expanded how I use circles over the years. I've set up permanent circles around altars, slept in them so I could heal or Astral travel, and used them for banishing. For banishing work I cast the circle around what I want to be rid of then compress the circle into nothing. This is very effective, works fairly quickly, and can be done completely mentally. And that last example makes me wonder why I didn't figure out the next step because I was almost there.
I read about magick circles not being circles or spheres, but wormholes. Whoa. Now there is a whole new meaning to being between the worlds. It also allows for Astral travel, moving through the time/space continuum, other demensions, visiting past and future selves, reading minds, shapeshifting, and the edge of all infinite possibilities.
What's your thought on casting circles? Is it to create a vessel to hold energy, to define space, to protect, to move between worlds, or all of the above? Do you draw flat circles or conjure spheres? What, if anything, can break a circle? Is casting a circle high magick or the basics every Witch should know? What do you think happens to circles left up? Would Watchtowers be trapped if the circle wasn't taken up? Is opening a circle merely a polite gesture or is the circle broken when stepped over? If stepping on a circle is all it takes to break the boundaries why do we take so much trouble casting one?
The Witchcraft of FreeDragon
1 comment:
You always post the most interesting things. The circle has long been thought of as sacred - the Circle of Life - and many culture have used the circle in sacred ways - Medicine Wheels. Then there is the crystal ball - a circular shape or sphere. Circles or spheres can be cast for many reasons, I think, for protection or to define a sacred area, to hold something within (energy or being) or to keep something out. I believe that casting a circle is something we are all born with, but many people do not know how to summon the energy (power) needed to do it. Witches are usually more in tune with the powers of Nature so they can more readily learn how to cast a circle. Circles which are left up will eventually erode away to nothing, but only if the ground they are cast upon is not 'sacred' - IMO (sacred can mean a variety of different things)
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