Last week, I talked about how to cast your circle. I talked about the Duly Cast Circle, and why casting the same way every time is preferable to anything goes, any time. I walked you, step by step, through the exact process I use, every time I cast circle. But I only went through the first two parts of the standard, Cleans Cast & Call.
Today I’m going to talk about the last part required to create ritual space, Calling the Quarters, and Invoking the Gods. Again, I’m describing what I do, and why I do it. There are those, who’ve been practicing a long time, or follow another Tradition, who do it differently. For someone new to Witchcraft, I suggest following my direction, until you find a suitable Teacher, or you’ve become adept enough to recognize a better way, when you see it.
Hopefully, after reading last week’s blog post, you have been practicing what I described. None of this will do you any good, if you only read it, and never do it. Ours is a participatory Spiritual Path, and I personally, learn best by doing. Reading gives me a theoretical concept, but doing teaches me the practical aspects. I know different people learn in different ways, but believe me when I say, this isn’t something you can just read about, and you’ll know it. It must be done. It must be practiced.
Calling the Quarters
The first thing you have to understand about the Elementals you are going to call, is that while they are self-aware, they are spirits that do your bidding. They each have their own natures, and will follow that nature unless they are controlled. I have known Witches who refuse to treat Elementals as anything other than equals, so they ask, and suggest, instead of commanding. A Fire Elemental’s nature is to burn and consume. Do you really want that let loose, to do as it will, in your house?
These Elementals are powerful beings, but they have no will of their own. Therefore, commanding them to do what you will, is not Black Magick, as it would be, if they were a person. This is where many Witches get themselves into trouble. They anthropomorphize human traits onto the Elementals, and never take control of them. That’s just a disaster, waiting to happen.
The Call
Starting at the Eastern most point of the circle, clear your mind, and then, using all your senses, experience the element of Air. Feel the breeze against your skin. Smell the fresh air. Hear the wind blow. See in your mind’s eye, the effect the air has on things around it. Now, in a clear voice, call the Elemental to your circle.
All hail the Watchtower of the East.
The Element of Air.
I do hereby Summon and Call you forth, the be a guard unto my circle.
Be here, now!
You should feel the Elemental as it comes to your circle. With whatever tool you used to cast the circle, draw a Pentagram in the air facing East, at the edge of your circle, to seal the Call. See the Pentagram in the air with your mind’s eye as you draw it, a bright, blue-white fire from the tip of your blade, wand, or finger. Do not let the Pentagram fade as you move to the next Quarter, keep it in your mind at all times.
Now move deocil around the circle, to the South, and do the same. Experience the element of Fire with all your senses. Feel the heat on your skin. Smell the burning fire. Hear the roar of its consuming flames. Taste the ash in the air. See the inferno in your mind’s eye. Now call the Elemental.
All hail the Watchtower of the South.
The Element of Fire.
I do hereby Summon and Call you forth, the be a guard unto my circle.
Be here, now!
Again, draw the sealing Pentagram in the air to the South. Using your mind’s eye, see the lines as you draw them, and keep this in your mind also, as you move to the next Quarter. You should now be able to see Pentagrams at the East, and South sides of your circle.
Move deocil once more, to the West. Clear your mind, and begin to reach out with all your senses to the Water Elemental. Feel the water on your skin. Smell the rain in the air. Hear the sound the water makes. Taste the water. See it in your mind’s eye, and call it to you.
All hail the Watchtower of the West.
The Element of Water.
I do hereby Summon and Call you forth, the be a guard unto my circle.
Be here, now!
Feel the change, as the Elemental comes to you. Draw the Pentagram in the air to the West, seeing it as you draw it. You can now see and feel three Pentagrams around your circle. Only one more to go.
Move to the North of your circle, and clear your mind. Feel the Earth against your bare feet. Smell the rich, fertile soil. Taste the air of healthy growing plants. See in your mind’s eye, the dark, rich soil, and call it to you.
All hail the Watchtower of the North.
The Element of Earth.
I do hereby Summon and Call you forth, the be a guard unto my circle.
Be here, now!
Feel the Earth Elemental as it lumbers into your circle. See in your mind’s eye, as you draw the Pentagram in the air before you, to seal the call. Now, you can see and feel the four Pentagrams around your circle. This is known as a Balanced Circle. It has all four Elementals, each at their point on the circle. As each Elemental joined, you may have felt a slight shift in your circle. With all four, now present, the circle has returned to normal.
You now have a Temple worthy of the Gods
Unlike the Elementals, the Gods are people. You do not command Them, you invoke Them. Now that you have a proper Temple for Them, you invite Them to join you. They will come, or not, as They choose. I have attended many rituals, with a poorly cast circle, where the Gods did not attend. Casting your circle is serious business, and if not done to Their satisfaction, the Gods will not come to your ritual.
This is something most people, when they are first starting out, do not realize. Some, who’ve been practicing for years, have not realized this, and they wonder why their rituals always feel flat. You will know if the Gods decide to show up to your ritual. I can’t tell you how you will know, it is different for every Witch. I can only tell you that you will know.
There are many ways to invoke the Gods. Every book will have a different way to do this. Over the years, I have developed a relationship with my Gods. I ask them to come, and they do. Even when I didn’t know the name of my Goddess, because I took the time to know Her, She would join my rituals. Once I realized who She was, I understood why she never told me Her name.
If you want to have a personal relationship with your Gods, you must find out who they are. After all, isn’t a personal relationship with Deity, the entire reason for having a spiritual practice? Your Gods are with you, all the time. They whisper in your ear, even if you don’t realize it. They guide you, even when you don’t listen to Them.
Being observant, as I pointed out a couple of weeks ago, has advantages. One of those advantages, is that consciously observing the things that happen around you, will lead you to the identities of the Gods who have chosen you. With the basic information you observe, some searches, using your favorite Engine, will bring up far more information than you can digest, on any particular God or Goddess.
Now that you know who They are, and what They’re about, you can start to develop a personal relationship with them. How? Try talking to Them. I have conversations with my Gods all the time, even when I’m not consciously aware that I’m doing it. Should I do this, or that? What is my next step? Have I done everything I need to, to ensure success? All of these, are questions the Gods will help you answer. They won’t give you the answers, but They will guide you to the answers.
Once you have a relationship to your Gods, it doesn’t really matter how you Invoke them into your circle. Simply put out the invitation, and They will attend. This is one of the Truths I have found. All the flowery words in the dictionary, won’t get the Gods to come to a crapily cast circle. Gods you have a relationship with, will come whenever you ask, anywhere you ask, however you ask.
The circle is duly Cast, let none leave, without Just Cause.
Now that you have your ritual circle cast, the Quarters have been Called, and the Gods are in attendance, it is time for your Working. The Working can be a bit of magick, an acknowledgement of the moon phase, or a seasonal celebration. Your Working, is completely up to you. This is the part that will be different, each and every time you do ritual.
Once you are done with the Working, it’s usually time for Cakes & Wine. This is the time where you ground and center, especially after manipulating energy in some magickal way. If you belong to a Coven, this part of the ritual can go on for quite a while, as members talk and laugh. One of the benefits of belonging to a Coven, is this sense of family.
Now that you’ve completed your ritual, it’s time to open your circle. First, you thank the Gods for attending, then give them leave. This is usually done with the phrase, “Go if you must, stay if you will.”. It is you, stating that the ritual is done, and you have finished ritually honoring Them. What the Gods do after that, is up to Them.
Next, you go around the circle, starting again in the East, and you start Banishing the Quarters you have Called, again moving deocil around the circle. Here is where I see a lot of Witches really screw up. They will ask the Elemental to leave, instead of commanding it to leave.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the words “Go if you must, stay if you will.” while someone dismisses the Quarters. What that has done, is given permission for these four powerful Elementals, to stay, and follow their nature. I hear from these people, all sorts of stories, about leaking pipes, small fires started out of nowhere, wind damage to their homes, cracks in their foundation, and never once do they realize why.
You can dismiss the Quarters any way you like, as long as you are firm about it, and tell them what you expect of them. Remember, they are here at your bidding, they must be banished by your bidding as well. Just like Calling them, it’s not the words that are important, it’s the will of the person doing the banishing, that counts.
Watchtower of the direction.
Element of Elemental.
Thank you for attending my ritual.
Return now from whence you’ve come.
Harming none along the way.
Hail, and farewell!
It’s as simple as that. The intention is clear, and the words reinforce that intent. Again, it’s the will and intent, that are important. The words are just a way for the new Witch to verbalize their intent. I once attended a handfasting, outside, where as soon as the fasting was done, it started to rain. Everyone ran for shelter.
Someone asked after a few minutes, if the Quarters had been dismissed. They hadn’t. One of the guests, who was former military, said he had it. He marched out the center of the circle, in the rain, and called “Dis-missed!”, just like he was dismissing troops. His intent was clear, and that one word was all it took to properly dismiss all the Quarters at once.
My students and Coven mates will tell you that I have a tendency to banish each Elemental with the words “Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.” added to the banishing above. Anyone who has played Monopoly, will understand that reference. It verbalizes my intent clearly. My intent is all that matters.
Now that you have properly banished the Quarters, you can walk to the edge of the circle, and cut it with your Athame, sword, staff, wand or finger. The circle is Open, yet unbroken. Congratulations! You have concluded your properly cast, and opened ritual circle.
I know there are going to be a lot of people out there, who are going to read this, and have one (or more) issues with it. Comment below, and let me know what you thought was right, and what you think is wrong.
