A reason to cast a magickal circle.

There is, of course, a myriad of information available on the topic of casting circle. How and when to cast as well as why, today I’m going to focus on the why. As always anything contained here within is entirely my own thoughts, opinions and experiences.

I have to admit that my thoughts on and relationship with sacred circle has evolved and changed over my years of practice and honestly I hope it continues to do so. Originally I casted circle because it is what one does. It was a natural somewhat mindless part of spellcraft and ritual for me. Of course being inquisitive and having a bit of a rebellious streak I did question circle casting and came to a satisfactory explanation from both “educational” material as well as personal relationships with other practitioners as to what purpose the circle was meant to serve. So with out much thought beyond setting a boundary of protection and creating a restricted space for energy building and amplification I cast circle each time I did a working or preformed ritual.

Shortly after my husband and I purchased our first home I found my relationship with circle changing. We have two active grids or circles around the entirety of our property that are recharged and reinforced yearly. We preformed cleansing and protection rituals throughout our home yearly with any number of mini rituals or spells for this purpose preformed as needed in between. We have numerous spells and charms of protection around the home as well. Even though I had cast circle and created sacred, safe space for several years in my practice I began to realize that my home itself was sacred space. It was a protected, energetically clear space in which we regularly were building layers of magick. What exactly did I need a circle for? So I began to practice without casting. I found this liberating in a weird way; As I’ve mentioned I enjoy bucking norms and in my mind, at that time, casting circle was definitely a norm. Admittedly I had the tiniest amount of trepidation. Would my spells and rituals be as powerful and effective as they once were? Well the short answer is yes, they were. If there was any change it was imperceptible to me. (I do want to note here that anytime I did spell work or ritual outside of my home and property I did still cast circle.) This practice continued for many years. It wasn’t until a shift began in my practice and spiritual path that my thoughts on the purpose of casting would change which in turn changed my feeling on the need for circle.

I have a habit of laying out in the grass in my backyard on nice days and communing with Earth energies and nature spirits. On this one particular occasion I allowed my mind to wander a bit and found myself riding an interesting stream of consciousness. The basis of this stream of thought was potentials. Basically everything I could ever want already exists. It is out there somewhere, I simply need to bring my own energy into alignment with the energy of that which I seek and call it to me. My next realization was that circle was a perfect vehicle to do just that. Circle could, of course, be used as a shield of protection or an enclosure for building energy just as I had always believed, but it had the potential to be so much more. By casting circle and carving out a temporary vessel of sacred space I could created a space outside of space and time. A magickal space separate from my everyday mundane life. A space of endless potential

The example I use most often revolves around money. Sometimes pretty much everyone can relate to. If I am struggling financially and I am stressed, worried and in pain I am not only receiving the energy in vibrational alignment with hardship and lacking, but I am on some level projecting that energy as well. It’s completely natural, but in order to successfully call abundance and financial prosperity I need to get into that energetic space. Of course this can be difficult if not impossible. How could I possibly walk around all day as if everything is wonderful and my finances are in perfect order when they clearly are not? Being a practitioner of magick isn’t about living in denial of reality, it’s about changing it! So no, aligning my intent and will with the reality of my desired outcome isn’t always easy, but for me this is where circle comes into play.

If I cast and create sacred space suddenly I am fully outside my everyday mundane life. I am smack dab in the middle of the stream of potentials. Here I can align myself fully with the energy of prosperity and call it to me. In this sacred space I can be anything and have all I desire. A key component to being successful in magick is confidence. Releasing a working and then going on about our lives as if it is already done. It has happened already and it will become apparent in due time. When that level of confidence is difficult to achieve in mundane reality, sacred reality is the space I need to find in order to get there. This is why I cast circle.

Currently my path and practice is greatly shifting and I may find a new relationship with sacred space and circle, but for now I am very comfortable with things as they are.