Tonight we will conduct a ritual for love. Last night's post contained the list of tools and supplies needed to cast a magickal circle for a ritual. To refresh your memory and to also eliminate the necessity of switching between discussions, you need the following to cast a circle:
a small bell
an altar pentacle or a piece of paper and a pen to draw a pentacle
seven small votive candles, one each of the colors white,black, blue, green and yellow and 2 red votives. (Have an extra red votive if you are not making an oil.)
a small bowl to hold spring water in
spring water
a small bowl to hold salt in. Regular household salt is fine.
powdered incense
a censer or fire proof container to burn a charcoal briquette in
small amount of sand, 1 cup is fine, to burn charcoal on
charcoal briquettes, in a foil roll, sold at all fine witch supply stores
a lighter
an athame, wand or your finger will work to cast the circle
optional, gentle background music if desired
Now have your space chosen for the ritual and as we are here in New England, encased in over 6 feet of snow!!!, We will be conducting this ritual indoors. You can thank me later! Set a table or flat surface in the center of the space you've chosen as your ritual area. This is your altar. An important note** Altar is spelled with 2 a's. No e's. An altar is a surface upon which to conduct a religious ceremony or for Wiccans a work surface to place our tools and ingredients to conduct a ritual or to craft our spells. The word alter is to change or adjust something an is a verb, whereas altar is a noun. I'm a bit of a stickler for proper spelling as the witch is defined as 'the wise one' by ancient arcane understanding. And frankly with spell check on your computer it amazes me that we've become even more sloppy with our spelling nowadays! Shameful! Well, that's another discussion!! So, onto our ritual.
You may choose to cover your altar with a red cloth, or pink. Right now, in preparation for Valentine's day you can find all sorts of perfect material covered with hearts, in all the right colors in your local fabric store. After you've covered your altar with the cloth of choice, you then set up your tools and supplies. I have an example of how to set up your altar below.
The maiden, mother and crone candles are a white, red and black votive in that order. I apologize for the graphics being covered a bit by the boxes on the right, but the only thing covered is the incense which should be placed on the right of the altar. In this depiction you will be standing in the South, facing North as a ritual for just one person is conducted. You may use the athame instead of the wand and the cauldron with the burning charcoal or ember can be placed to one side or the other to prevent having to work directly over the hot surface. If you don't have an altar pentacle you may draw one on a piece of paper and place it in the center of the altar. Your altar pentacle looks like the star in the center of the altar depicted above, but with a circle around it.
After you've set up your altar, then place the remaining four votive candles, the colors of green, yellow, red and blue in the proper directions along the perimeter of the room. To refresh, green goes in the North, yellow in the East, red in the South and blue for the West. Please make sure they are on fireproof surfaces and protected from household pets, small children or your robes touching the flames.
Need I say, burning witches . . . bad!!!
I then light all the candles. Yes, before I do anything else. I find that the flow and energy of the circle you are casting can be disrupted by struggling to light a candle that doesn't wish to be lit, or digging a wick that has hardened into the melted wax from the last ritual etc. So, prepare your candles, make them ready to burn by trimming the wick and making sure they are placed properly and then lighting them. All before the first step of casting the circle.
Now, is your altar set? All candles lit? Good. Now light the charcoal, to get it started. Oh, do you have the ingredients for your potion? If you wish to make a love potion that is. Ideally I put together my potion or oil before I cast a circle, but it can be put together while in the circle. If you have all of your 'stuff' let's get started. Start the soft music if desired and make sure you won't be disturbed while in the circle. This means either locking the door or telling your family to stay out! Small children should not be present if you are just starting out as they will prove to be a distraction that will hurt your ability to totally focus on the work at hand.
Stand in front of the altar, in the South facing North. Ring the bell three times. Place the bell down after the last tones fade from the air. Pick up your athame or wand, or use your finger and draw a pentacle in the air over the altar. This is how we do that. Starting at the top of the star (in the air) move tool to the lower right 'leg' of the star, up and over to the upper 'arm' on the left of the star, straight across to the upper 'arm' on the right of the star, then down to the left again, this time the lower 'leg' of the star and back to the top apex of the star. Then finish the pentacle shape by moving your finger or tool in a clockwise circle from the top of the star all the way around to the top again. This is how we draw a pentacle shape of protection and blessing in the circle.. Practice makes perfect.
You may say if you wish: "Goddess bless this altar."
Hold your hands out, palms facing the three burning candles in the center of the altar and say: "Lovely lady, we thank you for your flames which enlighten, protect an dilluminate us within your magick circle."
Now, place the burning censer with the charcoal already lit in the center of the altar, on top of the altar pentacle. Hold your tool, athame, wand or finger over burning charcoal and say "Goddess bless this creature of fire" and make a pentacle shape as we just did. Then hold your tool over the powdered incense and do the same, but this time say "Goddess bless this creature of air". Then place three pinches of incense on the burning charcoal and walk the censer with clouds of fragrant smoke wafting up around the circle, starting in the North and walking deosil, or clockwise around the circle. You may recite at this time "As this incense burns and drifts our powers become more sure and swift". You will start in the North, move to the East, then South and then West, finishing up again in the North. Only one time around the circle is necessary with the incense.
Place the censer on the altar and remember to continue to feed it pinches of powdered incense to keep the atmosphere balanced. Not too much, we don't need to fumigate your home, or do we? Well, that's for another time!! Now place the bowl of spring water on the altar pentacle and bring the salt near. Again with your tool of choice inscribe a pentacle in the water and say "Goddess bless this creature of water", and then the salt "Goddess bless this creature of Earth. Then place three pinches of salt into the water. Mix them together with a pentacle motion and say "Blessed be this most sacred of unions"
Follow the path you took with the incense, just once around, and nothing is said during this trip around the circle, but an intense visualization is conducted where you imagine a bright blue white circle of flames surrounding you. The flames of blue rising up and around the circle protecting you from any harmful outside influences. Then when back in the North, place the bowl of holy or scared water back on the altar.
Take your tool or finger and face the North. Raise high your hand holding your wand or athame, or if using your fingers point your index finger, allow your middle finger to point up also and your thumb to jut out, the other fingers should be closed against your palm. This is an ancient witches symbol or sign which signifies the holy trinity, yet again. Mr. Raven Grimassi and his lovely wife Stephanie Taylor-Grimassi during a lecture at Enchantments explained how this symbol is reminiscent of the ancient witches meeting place which would often be near a three branched tree that stood at the crossroads outside of town where the paganus or rural pagans would meet to worship the old ways. Mr Grimassi is another of the great masters I refer to in my lectures who has so much to offer. You can't help but benefit by reading any of his many, excellent publications, all of which we are proud to sell at Enchantments.
Hold your fingers up to the watchtowers of the North and say : Watchtowers of the North powers of Earth, I invite you to attend this ritual, welcome and be aware." Make the pentacle sign in the air with your tool or finger. Turn and face the East. Repeat as for North, but insert " East, powers of Air", make symbol then turn towards the South insert "South powers of Fire", make symbol and turn to the West, insert "West powers of Water" and make the symbol.
Then walk to the North and with your tool or finger, just the index finger this time, point to the floor towards the perimeter of the room and walk around the circle deosil around circle while reciting "Here is the boundary of the magick circle, naught but love shall enter in not but love shall emerge from within"
When in the North again, raise your hand and still pointing with finger or tool straight out from body at a middle height, walk around again and recite the same, and when again in the North rise hand up and outwards walk a third time around and say the incantation yet again. When you are finished you will end in the North, lower your arm and move back to the South where your work station is.
When in the South, raise both hands in Goddess pose (see figure below) and say: "Dark thoughts, ill will, negative emotions you cannot withstand in this sacred place, I command you to be gone, so mote it be!" You are doing a banishing spell, so say it with conviction. As you say "So Mote it be" take your dominant hand and sharply indicate towards the West, the gates of death and banishment. This is where the unwanted energies will go.
Keeping your hands in Goddess pose now recite this ancient incantation. ( I did not write this part, it comes from a wonderful book "Spiral Dance" written by Starhawk published first in 1979, this book is still an amazing read today and I highly recommend you read it.)
"Here we stand, between worlds,
beyond the bounds of time,
where night and day,
birth and death,
joy and sorrow meet as one."
(written by Starhawk - The Spiral Dance" 1979 HarperCollins Publishers New York, NY)
Then say "by the Goddess and God, the circle has been cast, let the ritual begin."
Well, you've cast a circle! Take a moment, do a little dance!! Now to the work at hand. If you have a potion or oil already formulated you may hold it now and close your eyes and imagine white light energy flowing from your body into the vial of oil. In your mind's eye see the vial start to glow and pulsate, you may even feel this phenomenon. If not charging an oil or potion or even if you are, you may choose to light the extra red candle you have and visualize for a moment love entering your life. How will it feel? How will you look and respond? Hold that visual for a moment.
After a few moments, take the oil, if you have one, and wave it through the incense smoke, touch it to the red candle flame, the mother candle in this case, then dip it gently in the sacred water. It is now charged and ready to work for you.
If you have just the red candle, hold the candle as it burns, close your eyes and see it glowing with a bright white energy and after a few moments put it back on the altar. Keep this candle burning for a while, if possible, even after the ritual has been concluded.
You may say anything you wish to the Goddess or God as they are there with you, before you close the ritual. You may meditate or just hang out for a while enjoying the peace and tranquility.
Now is time to open the circle and conclude the ritual.
Standing in the South facing the altar again, hold your hands out to the altar and say "Lovely Lady, with your gentle Lord, I thank you for your presence here within my magickal circle. Until we meet again, go in peace softly." Then make the sign of the pentacle again over the altar.
Then walk to the North and with your finger or tool, at the mid point level, starting in the North and moving widdershins, counterclockwise, move from the North, to the West, to the South and then the East to finish up again in the North, all the while holding your tool out and imagining the blue white flames of protection drawing back into the tool or your finger. Do not stop at each watchtower but continue in a flowing motion around the circle. You are absorbing the circle.
Then go to the North candle, hold your tool or finger(s) up as in the casting of the circle, and say "Watchtowers of the North, powers of Earth, I thank you for attending this sacred rite, until we meet again go in peace softly." Make the pentacle sign in farewell. Using the candle snuffer, gently out out the North candle. Do this again in the West, then in the South then in the East and return to your place. Then put out the altar candles, leaving the red one for love burning. Even if you make an oil you can still utilize the extra red candle. You may even choose at this time to anoint the candle with some of the oil you have crafted.
To finish up the ritual we say the following which I wrote almost twenty years ago
" The circle is open yet unbroken, around and through us flows its magickal powers. We came together in love and friendship, loyalty and trust, let us part the same way. May we each take a part of the circle's protection with us as we depart into the night. So Mote it be" You may now exit the ritual area.
It is important to ground after doing a ritual like this. Hold your hands out and place on the altar, or bend down to the ground and place palms flat on floor and breath in and out imagining the power flowing from your hands into the earth below. Also eating carbohydrates such as pastas, breads and other heavy foods help ground you.Just be wise about eating heavy foods late at night, no need to be an unhealthy witch!
If you leave the ritual room, bring the red candle, still burning with you and watch it burn throughout the evening. When you wish to put it out, make sure to snuff it out, never blow it out.
Keep the visual of you with your new love in your life, and by all means you must get out of the house. Maybe you need to take a chance, but know the energies are out there working for you and its up to you to do the final part. If someone asks you out, but you don't think they are the right person for you, go anyway (unless they are seriously creepy, might very well be stalker, serial killer material) go out and who knows. Maybe they aren't the right person for you, but you may run into his brother or best friend. Hmmmm. This is how magick works! Have fun.
Peace and Happiness
© 2010 Enchantments, LLC Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website.
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