Days 211–240

Magical Items to Gather

Here are the items you will need for the next month of your training.

Day 211

• A 5–6 inch purple taper candle

Day 214

• Your wand

• Two yellow candles

Day 218

• An athame (a black-handled knife with sharpened double edges; for further explanation, see Day 207 and Day 217)

Day 219

• Two red candles

• Fire oil

• Fire incense

Day 223

• Two blue taper candles, any length

• Water incense

• Water oil

Day 226

(optional activity)

• Craft paper

• Clay

• Large empty coffee can

• Rolling pin

Day 227

• Two green taper candles, any length

• Earth incense

• Earth oil

• Ceramic paint or enamel paint (black is traditional)

Day 233

• Fire oil

• A 5–6 inch red candle

Day 234

• Air incense, or

• Dried white sage ( also called desert sage), or

• Loose, dried sandalwood powder

• Air oil

• A 5–6 inch red taper candle

Day 235

• Four candles; one yellow, one red, one blue and one green.

• Self-igniting charcoal

• A 5–6 inch red taper candle

• Air incense

Note: you will need these basic items for the next several days.

Day 236

• A thurible (a container in which you burn the incense or other magical objects)

A Word to the Wise: By the end of this month’s practice, it will be necessary for you to gather the four Witches’ tools: the athame, the wand, the chalice, and the pentacle. For descriptions of these items please see the appropriately marked days. You can potentially make two of the four magical tools; however, if you would like to purchase these items well ahead of time, please check the Resources Guide in the back of the book.

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Day 211

Contemplative Day:
The Power of Magic

Meditative Question: What is the power that drives magic?

Symbolic Color: Purple

Symbolic Direction: Southwest

Contemplating the power that is behind magic is the same as becoming one with this mysterious source. In our year’s training we have not yet discussed magic indepth. Because of this, you might wonder how to contemplate magic without prior knowledge of the subject matter. It is important to keep in mind that knowledge appeals only to the linear, unidirectional mind. Magic (and contemplation) begins with letting go of what we know, getting into our bodies, becoming acquainted with our emotions, our physical energy patterns, and the world around us in an experiential way. Academic knowledge of magic is as useful to a spiritual practice as is academic knowledge of the color red, or of a symphony. You can’t adequately explain these things in words; they are experiences that transcend verbal explanation. Today’s contemplation should take you to the bottom of any assumptions, ideas, or information you have.

To begin, find a comfortable meditative sitting position in a quiet space while facing the southwest. Light a purple candle and sit approximately two feet away from the flame. Next cast your gaze upon the flickering candle and hold the question firmly for 20 to 30 minutes.

You may not arrive at a magically satisfactory conclusion in one sitting alone, so to manifest a greater depth of answer, it will be important to see this question as it actualizes in each of your activities. Become one with it in each of your tasks. Allow your body, mind, and spirit to become this question as you eat, sleep, work, and play. Over time, a shift in your perception will take place and you will realize your own answer.

Day 212

Devotional Day: Honoring Hecate

Table of Correspondences: Hecate

Symbols: Nighttime sky, crossroads, the broom, and the cauldron

Tools: The cauldron, the magic mirror, divination tools

Magical Essences/Herbs: Camphor, water lily, and jasmine

Direction: Inward

She Rules: Hidden mysteries, old age, wisdom, secrets, death, the underworld, birth, midwifery, herbalism, divination

Animal Symbols: Owl, horse, boar, and dog

Sacred Foods: Pomegranate and apple

Magical Stones: Mother of pearl, amethyst

Who is Hecate? Hecate is the Greek goddess of crossroads, of the underworld, of magic and the moon. Wiccans most associate her with the dark aspect of the feminine divine, although she is historically a triple goddess of birth, fertility, and maturity. As an underworld figure, Hecate rules the mysteries that dwell in our minds and hearts just beneath the surface of our immediate knowing and feeling. In myth, Hecate was said to take her place in the underworld next to Thanatos (a deity of death), Hypnos (a deity of sleep), and Morpheus (a deity of dreams). Hecate’s sphere of influence was the nighttime sky. She was well regarded by the ancient world as a patroness of Witches, and her reputation as such continues today.

When you tap into the archetypal energies of Hecate, you evoke your own ability to create magic, and to reverse the “evil eye.” Hecate reminds us that we are all multifaceted beings, and that we should honor each of our “faces,” both the strong and the less-than-stalwart. Her sacred symbols are crossroads, the broom, and the cauldron. Her totem spirits are the owl, horse, boar, and dog. Her magical essences and herbs are camphor, water lily, and jasmine. Hecate is aligned with the north, with silence, and with midnight. Her sacred colors are black, midnight blue, and white (to symbolize the moon). Hecate’s sacred foods include pomegranate and apple.

Hecate Practice

In honoring Hecate today, honor an old Roman custom by going to a crossroads at midnight and leaving an offering of a single apple and a black candle. Walk away from the offering without looking back. As you walk, intone her sacred name one syllable at a time (pronounced Heh-KAH-tay) until you feel her presence surrounding you. Once she has arrived, spend time contemplating how you might serve this deity. Take time to ask Hecate what it would mean to live life through her energy, and listen for her answer.

Spend the day honoring this goddess by considering the mystery behind each aspect of your daily routine and every person you encounter.

A Word to the Wise: You cannot know it all, so why misplace your efforts? There is an old story of a Native American medicine man who was sworn in to testify in a court of law. “Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?” he was asked by the bailiff. “No,” said the medicine man, “I do not know the whole truth.”

Day 213

Day of Silence and Review

Today, as you observe silence, focus your attention on your sense of touch. Throughout your day, perhaps in intervals, direct your attention on what it is you physically feel. What is the sensation of clothing on your body? How does it feel to have someone touch you? Do you feel the wind on your face or in your hair? How does it feel to stand or sit? When the day is complete, answer these questions:

• What was it like to focus my attention on my sense of touch?

• Am I a person who reacts strongly to physical touch?

• In what way did my sense of touch impact my thoughts, emotions, or spirit?

• How does what I touch affect my physical energy?

• Did my capacity to touch meaningfully either increase or decrease with my focused attention? Why might that be?

Review

Take time to ask yourself the following:

• Of the information I have learned up to now, what stands out most as vital?

• What information seems least relevant to my spiritual development?

• Which of the practices seemed to move me spiritually, and which had little impact?

• Of the information I have learned so far, what would be best to review? (Take time to review it now.)

Day 214

The Wand: Inscriptions

What You’ll Need:

• Your wand

• Two yellow candles

• Air oil

• Air incense

There are two kinds of magical markings you will want to inscribe upon your wand. The first are the traditional Witch markings (also called sigils). The supposedly traditional sigils first appeared on the Witch scene in the 1930s through Gerald Gardner. Gardner maintained that his initiators revealed to him the sigils and implied that they were of ancient “witch” origins. Curiously enough, the sigils appear to be derived from a variety of occult sources, not the least of which is Francis Barrett’s occult classic The Magus. In this work, originally published in 1801, Barrett pieced together never-before translated Kabalistic occult manuscripts from the sixteenth century.78 Another source for the sigils may be The Key of Solomon, another Kabalistic manuscript based on sixteenth-century occult knowledge.

The second kind of marking for your wand is the personal power symbol. This symbol represents your personal link to the divine as it manifests in the element of air.

In today’s working you will inscribe the wand with the traditional markings found below:

Wand Sigils

Begin by inscribing each of the yellow candles lengthwise with the wand sigils. Set the candles in holders on either side of you and light them. Ignite air incense and dab yourself with air oil at the center of your brow. Begin the wand-inscribing process. You can either inscribe the wand by painting the sigils on the surface of the branch with yellow paint, by carving them into the wood or by magical infusion. As you inscribe the sigils, follow your breath and try not to allow the mind to wander away from the task at hand. Note: if you don’t want to mar the natural beauty of the wood by carving it or painting on it, you can magically infuse the wand with your power symbols.

Magical Infusion for the Wand

What You’ll Need:

• Self-igniting charcoal

• A 7–10 inch circle of yellow paper

• A black pen

• Air incense

Inscribe the wand sigils in black ink, bisecting the center of the yellow circle. Sprinkle air incense into the center of this yellow circle on which you have drawn your sigils. Twist the paper closed with the incense inside of it. Light a charcoal and set the incense bundle on the hot coal. Place your hands just above the bundle and imagine that the incense becomes infused with the sigils. Hold the wand above the bundle as it smolders and smokes. While you do this, chant:

By the blessed thirteen moons
Sealed are ye by sacred runes!

When this is completed, lay the wand between the two inscribed yellow candles and allow it to remain there until each of the wand sigils has melted away.

Day 215

The Wand: Personal
Symbol of Power

When you inscribe the wand with your personal symbol of power, it is like placing your spiritual signature on it. It is a way of linking your individual energies with the grand archetypal flow of the element.

In today’s magical working, you will first discover your personal symbol of power for the element of air and then inscribe it on your wand. You can also use the air personal-power symbol for any later magical workings that involve the element of air, so be sure to not only inscribe it upon your wand, but to mark it in a journal or some other special place for later reference.

In order to find the power symbol, you will first engage in a guided imagery meditation. As you have already learned, you may read this and memorize the imagery, have a friend read it to you while you meditate, or record it for later playback. To begin, hold the wand in your hands and assume a comfortably seated meditation position.

Reader:

Close your eyes and take several deep breaths. Scan your body from head to toe and note wherever it is you seem to hold physical tension. As you note tension, breathe through the body part and release the tension. Continue relaxing each part of your body until you feel wholly still and internally silent.

(Reader: pause for a moment.)

Although your eyes are closed, imagine that you can see the wand you hold in your hands. Imagine now that you hold the wand up to the eastern sky and say: “I summon thee, O symbol of power!” Suddenly, a warm breeze blows and it carries a multitude of tiny glowing golden symbols—all of them are alike. The symbols float and dance like fairies in the air around the wand. Within moments, the wand blazes with a golden energy. You peer at it and discover that it is engraved with the power symbol you saw floating nearby just moments ago. Remember the symbol that you see, as well as where it is engraved upon the wand.

Once you have seen your air power symbol, allow the vision of the magical meadow to fade and then open your eyes when you feel you are ready. Record the symbol on a blank piece of paper and transfer this to the wand by painting it, engraving it, or magically infusing it (see Day 214 for details).

When you have finished setting the personal power symbols on the wand, place it in a visually prominent location for the remainder of the day.

Day 216

Storing Magical Tools

You might be wondering by now how and where to store the wand and your other magical tools. In magical lore, the tools should be hidden from view when not in ritual use, especially from the view of non-Witches. Many practitioners dedicate a special storage case, chest, or closet to hold their magical tools. Occultists from days gone by recommended wrapping each tool in silk after use in order to preserve the tool’s magical power. Here are the traditional silk colors for the various tools:

Air tools: Yellow silk

Fire tools: Red silk

Water tools: Blue silk

Earth tools: Green or black silk

Please note that you can use black silk to wrap all magical tools, since this earth color contains all colors. Finding and procuring enough various colored silks is a costly venture. Not only that, but its value may be overrated since one should always bear in mind that it is the Witch and not the tools that generates magical power. Wrapping tools is really a method that assures cleanliness and avoids accidental damage to the tools. With this in mind, wrap your tools in any cloth you would like prior to storing them. Decorate your storage cloths with your personal power symbol or the traditional Witch sigils of each tool if you’d like. Be creative!

A Word to the Wise: Non-witches are called cowens by Witches.

Wrapping and storing tools can be a ritual unto itself. Because silk easily slips off tools, many practitioners use lengths of appropriately colored cords to bind the silk around the tool. As you wrap each tool in cloth, say this simple incantation, either aloud or to yourself:

Power be bound,
Truth be found!
Now I wrap thee
Thrice around!

Take the length of cord, if you are using it, and wrap it three times around the cloth-bound tool.

Day 217

The Athame

The Athame (pronounced: ah-THAW-may) is a double-edged dagger with a black hilt. The oldest of the Wiccan traditions link the athame with the element of fire for the simple reason that it is forged in extreme heat and it is phallic in shape. Some pagan paths assert that the athame symbolizes air because of the way one typically brandishes the tool, as though slicing through the air, during spell-casting and other magical activities.

The athame represents the Witch’s individual will and Witches use it to direct the flow of magical energy in their rituals and spellwork. In some traditions, the athame is considered to be the only tool essential for Witchcraft, in order to create magic and to direct energy.

The athame is, without a doubt, the most aggressive looking of the magical tools. Because of its visibly warlike associations, the athame has a strong affinity with the energies of Mars, the Roman god of battles, and of all generally pointy male things.

The athame is typically 10 to 12 inches in length from base to tip, and it is made of any type of metal (although Witches prefer high grades of steel). Upon occasion, one might stumble across a blade that is solid silver or silver-plated. Silver blades hold additional value, since this metal links symbolically to the moon and the goddess. A silver blade has a dual-polar quality, since it simultaneously represents both the goddess and god energies.

Practitioners who are averse to using this tool for political or personal reasons find suitable athame alternatives. Some of the substitutes that I have seen include:

Quartz crystal	Feather
Letter opener	Butter knife
Outstretched hand	Wand
Red dowel	Lighted candle

Wicca is not a system that relies on standard forms, central authority, or doctrine. It encourages a do-it-yourself sensibility that allows for a certain amount of mix and match within a specific ritual framework. Keeping this in mind, it is important to know that some students and practitioners believe that the athame is a symbol of male dominance, warfare, and aggression (as are all weapons). They further assert that such a symbol may not be a useful representation in a matrifocal spiritual discipline. Wiccans who have a feminist focus might not appreciate the athame’s overt male symbolism and these individuals might choose an alternative tool that holds less of a negative psychological charge for them. While there is nothing wrong per se with using an athame alternative, the reader should be advised that using such a replacement is not customary to Wiccan practice.

Contemplate the benefits and the drawbacks of using either an athame or an alternative tool, then answer the following questions:

• Why might the athame be difficult for some magical practitioners to use in a ritual setting?

• What are my own feelings about using a knife in a spiritual tradition?

• What might be the benefits of using the athame in ritual? What might be the drawbacks?

Day 218

Obtaining an Athame

Do you have a hammer and an anvil handy? Making an athame is an art in itself that requires knowledge of metallurgy, blacksmithery, and even astrology. The athame aligns with the element of fire, which is also closely associated with the planet Mars and all of its martial vibrations. Ideally, a pagan who has blacksmith experience will forge an athame during a full moon. Also, it is magically desirable to forge an athame on a day and an hour that spiritually aligns with the energies of Mars.79 Even more ideally, one should forge the athame at a full moon closest to either the Summer or Winter Solstice, at an hour that spiritually aligns with Mars.

Here is a listing of various magical metals that might be included in your athame. Each metal has its own planetary and spiritual associations:

Silver—Moon: Psychic forces, intuition, flow, women’s mysteries, the goddess, the collective will

Copper—Venus: Peace, tranquility, harmony, happiness, material world, beauty, opulence

Tin—Jupiter: Prosperity, expansion, growth, fruition, success, development

Iron—Mars: Energy, movement, change, direction, the individual will, force, power, men’s mysteries, the god

Gold—Sun: Success, achievement, ultimate attainment, unity, the divine, universal mysteries

Lead —Saturn: Karma, destiny, wisdom, reality, knowledge, final outcome, realization, work, practicality, weight (as in either physical or mental weight); note: lead is not an ideal metal for the athame because of its toxicity and malle-ability; it is listed here for your reference only

Most contemporary Witches purchase an athame, since making one is often impractical. Most professional metalsmiths blend several of the sacred metals listed here when they make an athame. It is useful if you can find out which of the magical metals went into making a blade before you purchase it.

Take time today to review the list of metals and their magical associations. Commit them to memory and then decide which metals you would like to have in your own athame blade. Take a field trip to a knife shop, a sports-equipment store or go online to explore your athame options.

Today is the day! In order to proceed with our further magical lessons, it is important for you to obtain an athame (or an alternative). Before you purchase your athame, become acquainted with the following traditional Wiccan athame lore:

• Haggling over the price of the athame—or any other magical tool for that matter—reputedly taints the efficacy and quality of your magic; never haggle over the price of your athame

• The athame should be new; the blade should never before have been used for any purpose; avoid searching for an athame in antique or secondhand stores since it is important to know the history of your blade

• Your athame should never have drawn blood; Witches say that once an athame draws blood (even accidentally) it is rendered magically useless

• It is customary for the athame blade to have both of its edges and its point sharp at all times; this means that letter openers and butter knives are not traditionally appropriate choices for the athame

• The athame handle does not have to be perfect-ly black; it can be any dark color: dark brown, blue, or green

• The length or shape of your athame has no effect on its potency; my athame is a criss blade, meaning its edges curve from side to side before they conjoin at the knife’s point

• Witches advise that one should never use the athame outside of Wiccan ritual

• Use the athame for only these purposes: to bless elements, to consecrate other magical tools, to create ritual sacred space, to direct magical energy, and to invoke spiritual forces during a ritual.

• If a Witch needs a utensil for any other cutting purpose, she or he should use the white-handled knife. A Witch can also use the boline as another cutting option. I will explain both of these ritual blades and their purposes at a later time.

Day 219

Athame: Lore & Inscriptions

What You’ll Need:

• Your new athame

• Two red candles

• Fire oil

• Fire incense

Today, inscribe the athame on only one side of its blade with the traditional markings shown here:

Traditional Athame Sigils.

Begin by inscribing each of the red candles with the athame sigils. Set the candles in holders on either side of you and light them. Light the fire incense and then dab yourself with fire oil at the center of your solar plexus. Begin the athame-inscribing process. You can either inscribe the athame by painting the sigils on the blade with red paint, by etching them with an electric carving tool, or by using the magical infusion method.

While inscribing, split the focus of your attention between your work at hand and the energy of your solar plexus region. Sense the feeling of energy that runs through your body at that chakra point. If you notice that your mind drifts from the shared focus of inscribing and sensing the energy, discontinue inscribing the athame. Take three deep breaths and realign your awareness.

Finally, remember that you can use the magical infusion method for setting the runes upon the athame.

Magical Infusion for the Athame

What You’ll Need:

• Another red candle

• A red piece of paper cut into an equilateral triangle

• A black ink pen

• A deep pot or cauldron

Inscribe the central red candle lengthwise with the athame sigils and then light it. As the wax burns through each inscribed sigil, pass the blade briefly through the candle flame. Each time you pass the athame through the fire, chant:

By the blessed thirteen moons
Sealed are ye by sacred runes!

Continue with this until all the sigils on the candle have been melted. When this is completed, use the black ink pen to inscribe the red triangular paper with the same sigils and then set it aflame. While it burns, drop it into a deep pot or cauldron. Take the cooled ashes into your stronger hand and rub these ashes along the athame blade.

A Word to the Wise: When painting on metal consider the paint you plan to use. The best option is metal paint that you can buy at any arts and crafts supply store. Metal paint is waterproof and nontoxic—both of which are features that make this paint ideal for ritual work. Another option you can try is acrylic paint. Acrylic works well in the short run, but over time it might chip away from the blade. One online distributor of metal paint is Cupboard Distributing at cdwood.com.

Day 220

The Athame: Personal
Power Symbol

To magically empower your athame, it is a good practice to inscribe it with your personal magical symbol. As you learned with the wand, your personal magical symbols come from trance and inner visionary work. Your personal power symbol of fire represents your psychic link to this element.

In order to find the power symbol, you will first engage in a guided imagery meditation. As you have already learned, you may read this and memorize the imagery, have a friend read it to you while you meditate, or record it for later playback. To begin, hold the athame in your hands and assume a comfortable seated meditation position.

Reader:

Close your eyes and take several deep breaths. Scan your body from head to toe and note wherever it is you seem to hold physical tension. As you note tension, breathe through the body part and release the tension. Continue relaxing each body part until you feel wholly still and internally silent.

(Reader: pause for a moment.)

Once you are fully relaxed, imagine that you stand facing south, before a small bonfire, while holding your athame. The midday sun blazes down upon your shoulders as you stand close to the fire. Warmth radiates from both the sun and the small fire before you. Imagine now that you hold the athame over the fire and say: “I summon thee, O symbol of power!” Release the athame to the fire and you will see it slowly descend into the flames. Soon the fire takes on a bright red aura and the athame then rises from the fire. You grasp the hilt of the knife only to find that it is cool to the touch. Examine the blade and you will notice a power symbol engraved and glowing there. Remember this glowing symbol for later.

Once you have seen your fiery symbol of power, allow the vision of the bonfire to fade and then open your eyes when you feel you are ready. Record the symbol on a blank piece of paper and transfer this to the athame by either painting it, engraving it with a carving tool, or magically infusing it (see Day 219 for details).

When you have finished setting the personal power symbols on the athame, set it in a place of visual prominence for the remainder of the day. Before going to bed, wrap the athame in a special cloth, such as a red silk, and store it until it is time for the athame consecration. (For tool-wrapping guidance, see Day 216.)

Day 221

The Chalice

The cup or chalice is the magical tool that represents the element of water. It symbolizes the energetic water associations such as receptivity, intuition, flow, love, emotions, and the female principle. The chalice also symbolizes the womb principle, which is regeneration, and spiritual rebirth. In Wiccan ritual, the chalice is the receptacle for wine that is consecrated and consumed during the circle-closing ceremony of “cakes and wine” (you will learn more about this ceremony in coming days). The chalice is also a focal point in some Wiccan initiatory rites, as well as in the formulation and blessing of brews and magical elixirs.

Chalice Practice

Each time you use any type of cup today, focus your awareness on what the cup symbolizes. As you drink from any cup, imagine that you infuse your body with the chalice’s receptive, flowing energies. To help you focus awareness, say this couplet whenever you drink:

Flowing, churning, waters divine,
To my lips like sacred wine.

A Word to the Wise: Cakes and wine is the name of a closing portion of a traditional ceremonial circle. During cakes and wine, participants consecrate wine and sweet cakes. Offerings of thanks to deity and the communal sharing of food concludes the rite. Eating food and drinking wine grounds one’s experience in the physical body. Therefore, cakes and wine is one practical Witchcraft method for transitioning from the magical world of the ritual circle back to ordinary consciousness.

Day 222

Searching for Your Grail

When you meet other Witches in a ritual context, you will notice that the chalice is often a personal “magical signature.” The chalice is a highly individualized tool, and it is the only one that you use practically. Since the chalice is so personal, and because it does not require any specific traditional characteristics, Witches exercise a great deal of imagination when it comes time to select one.

Pewter and silver goblets are favorites among Witches, but chalices made of blue glass or glazed porcelain are sometimes better, cleaner, safer choices. Further along the alternative continuum are the chalices formed of large seashells (perhaps aba-lone), crystal bowls, hollowed-out bulls’ horns, lava rock, or coconut shells. The following are important chalice selection considerations:

• You can typically find a variety of chalices in any well-stocked magical supply shop; less expensive resources include a variety of nonmagical retail sources, such as Pier 1 Imports, Cost Plus, Pottery Barn, and Crate and Barrel

• Always consider safety when selecting a chalice; understand that you will often drink the chalice contents, so be sure to select a vessel that can be thoroughly cleaned with warm water and soap

• Stay away from brass and certain pewter chalices, since they can leach traces of carcinogens into wine

• Glass and earthenware chalices are the safest, cleanest choices, but remain aware of potential breakage, especially during ritual

• If you choose a glass or earthenware chalice, consider selecting one with a blue glaze in order to evoke the elemental force behind this tool

A Word to the Wise: One old Witch custom is that of adopting ordinary household objects as ritual tools. In Wiccan lore, Witches had to practice their arts secretly during the Witch hunts in Europe’s late Medieval and Renaissance periods. Ordinary household objects could thus disguise a ritual use. The lore holds some truth; many reputed witches were burned or drowned simply because they possessed some object that witch-hunters construed as blasphemous. In light of this lore, perhaps you might select a special cup from your own home to serve as your chalice. Remember that Witches use ritual tools only for spiritual purposes. If you select a chalice from among your own treasures, set it in a special place to avoid using it for nonritual purposes.

Chalice Meditation

Before you select a chalice, practice the following guided imagery meditation. Read it and then follow along by yourself, record and play it back, or have a friend read it to you as you visualize.

Reader:

Close your eyes and take several deep breaths. Fo-cus on your breathing for the next minute.

(Reader: pause for several moments.)

Imagine that you stand at the edge of a vast ocean at dusk. Direct your attention to the waves as they crash and foam on the shore. Take a deep breath, inhaling the salty sea spray.

As you stand there, a glowing object with a blue aura emerges from the waters. The object rises and hovers above the surf. It then moves toward you and settles into your hands. When it touches your hands, the blue aura fades and you can clearly see a magical chalice. How does it look? How does it feel? What are its dimensions?

When you are done observing the chalice, it will rise from your hands and descend back to the waters. When you are ready, open your eyes.

Take time to journal about what you saw. Allow this vision to influence your selection of a chalice.

Please note: It is important that you obtain a chalice today in order to continue with tomorrow’s lesson.

Day 223

Chalice: Magical Inscriptions

What You’ll Need:

• Two blue taper candles, any length

• Water incense

• Water oil

Today you will inscribe the chalice with the traditional markings.

To begin, inscribe the chalice sigils into the two blue candles, set them on either side of you and light them. Then light some water incense. Anoint yourself at the heart chakra with water oil. Then begin the inscription process. You can either inscribe the chalice by painting the sigils on its surface with blue or black paint, by inscribing the sigils (on metal chalices) using an electric carving tool or with the magical infusion method. When you inscribe the chalice, allow your internal focus to settle on your heart energy center, your emotions, in-tuitions, and sensations. If, during the inscribing process, you notice that your attention drifts from the task at hand, stop until you are able to refocus. When finished, extinguish the candles.

Magical Infusion for the Chalice

What You’ll Need:

• A deep pot filled with water

• A 10–12 inch strip of aluminum foil

• A blue indelible marker

• Water oil

Fill the pot with water and on the strip of aluminum foil write the sigils for the chalice. Submerge the sigil-inscribed foil (hold it down to the bottom of the pot with stones if necessary). Next, place a few drops of water oil into the pot. Submerge the chalice and chant:

By the blessed thirteen moons
Sealed are ye by sacred runes!

Keep the chalice submerged until the blue candles on either side have burned down past the engraved sigils.

Day 224

Chalice: Symbol of Power

As you learned with the wand and athame, it is important to inscribe the chalice with your personal magical symbols. The personal symbol for the chalice represents your psychic link to the element of water.

In order to find the power symbol, you will first engage in a guided imagery meditation. As you have already learned, you may read this and memorize the imagery, have a friend read it to you while you meditate, or record it for later playback. To begin, hold the chalice in your hands and assume a comfortably seated meditation position.

Reader:

Close your eyes and take several deep breaths. Scan your body from head to toe and note wherever it is you hold tension. As you note tension, breathe through that body part and release the tension. Continue relaxing each body part until you feel wholly still and internally silent.

(Reader: pause for a moment.)

Once you are fully relaxed, close your eyes and evoke the image of the ocean from yesterday’s working. Imagine that it is dusk and you stand at the seashore, facing west. Imagine that you wade in up to your knees in the warm, inviting sea. You carry the chalice with you and ritually submerge it into the brine, saying: “I summon thee, O symbol of power!” Soon you will notice that the chalice glows with a bright blue aura. Lift it from the water, examine it, and you will see your power symbol inscribed and glowing upon the cup. Look at this symbol closely and remember it.

Once you have seen your power symbol, allow the vision of the ocean to fade. Open your eyes when you are ready. Record the symbol on a blank piece of paper and transfer this to the chalice, either painting it, engraving it (metal chalices only—try using a carving tool), or magically infusing it (see Day 223 for details).

When you have finished setting the personal power symbols on the chalice, set it in a place of visual prominence for the remainder of the day. Before going to bed, wrap the chalice in a special cloth, such as a blue silk, and store it until it is time for the chalice consecration. (For tool-wrapping guidance, see Day 216.)

Day 225

The Pentacle

Representative of the earth, the pentacle is a disk—usually made of ceramic, stone, wood, or metal—that has been engraved with a five-pointed star formed from interconnecting, bisecting lines. Each point of the pentagram represents one of the four elements; the fifth point represents the fifth element, which is akasha or spirit. With the pentacle upright—that is, with a single point at its top—each of the pentacle points represents in turn: akasha (top), water (right), fire (bottom right), earth (bottom left) and air (left).

The pentacle serves a great many uses in magical practice. It functions as a platform for the consecration of other magical tools, for fashioning spells, and, in some traditions of Wicca, for invoking the gods. During the ceremony of cakes and wine the pentacle is a platter upon which celebrants bless sweet cakes.

The pentagram is the name of the five-pointed star inscribed upon the pentacle. The name is derived from the Latin root penta, indicating the number five. The pentagram is loaded with symbolism, which probably explains Wiccans’ penchant for wearing it (usually as a pendant). The five points of the pentagram not only represent elemental forces, but also the human body (the topmost point is the head, the side points are arms, and the bottom points are legs) and the five senses. A ring often girds the pentagram. This circle represents the eternal principle, binding together all elements, the Witch’s ritual space, and the sixth sense, of psychic ability.

Word to the Wise: In magical practice, each of the five senses aligns with the elements: Air = hearing; Fire = sight; Water = taste; Earth = touch; Akasha = smell.

Pentacle Practice

Take time to consider your body as the living symbol of the pentacle and know that you are a manifestation of all elements. The following pentagram exercise helps connect you to the earth, provides grounding and centering of your energy, and provides magical protection.

Get a container of salt (preferably kosher or sea salt) and take it outside with you. Use the salt to form a 6–7 foot pentagram on the ground. As you create this pentagram, chant these words of power:

Five-fold forms the sacred birth,
Of air, fire, water, and earth.

Lie down in the center of the pentagram with your head at the top point, your arms within the side points and your legs inside of the bottom points. Close your eyes and take several deep breaths. Now imagine that a golden glow begins to form in your left hand. In your right hand, a blue glow begins to form. In the sole of your left foot you can see a red glow forming, and in your right foot a green glow takes form. Focus now on your breath. As you inhale, draw each of these glowing colors toward your chest. Once the colors meet at the center of your chest they explode into rays of blinding white. Imagine that this energy travels up your spine and out through the top of your head. This energy then links you to the universe. When you are done, open your eyes, stand up, and scatter the salt pentagram on the ground with your left foot.

Day 226

The Pentacle: Crafting Your Own

What You’ll Need:

• Craft paper

• Clay

• Rolling pin

• Access to a kiln

• Empty large coffee can

A Word to the Wise: If you do not have access to a local kiln for firing (hardening) the ceramic pentacle, you can use Sculpey® brand fast-drying modeling clay, or purchase a suitable manufactured pentacle.

Contemporary Witches often consider making the pentacle because it’s a fun and relatively simple project. To begin, lay out some craft paper about 12 x 12 inches square. Use a rolling pin to flatten out a lump of clay so that it is approximately 1/2 inch thick and 10 inches in any direction. Find a large empty coffee can that is 7–10 inches in diameter. Press the coffee can, open top down, into the clay, and clear away the rest around the can. Gently shake the can so that a perfectly cut circle drops out.

Using a ruler, knife-edge, or other long, fine-edged tool, gently impress the clay’s surface to form the five intersecting lines of the pentagram. Here is one way to get a perfectly formed pentagram. Use the craft paper to draw the outline of the coffee can, so that you have a circle that matches the size of your clay pentacle. Use a pencil to draw a pentagram inside of the circle. Cut the paper circle with the pentagram out and place it on top of your clay circle. Make small markings along the edge of the clay disk to mark the points of the pentagram. Now get out your ruler or sharp-edged tool. Using the markings on the sides of the clay disk as a guide, you can now form the intersecting lines of the pentagram.

As a last step, fire and glaze your pentacle in a kiln. If you are like most people and don’t own a kiln, check with colleges, schools, or local potters to see if they can fire the pentacle for you.

If you plan to purchase a pentacle, here is a guided imagery meditation to help you in your selection process. Read it and then follow along by yourself, record and play it back, or have a partner read it to you as you visualize.

Pentacle Meditation

Reader:

Close your eyes and take several deep breaths. Focus on your breathing for the next minute.

(Reader: pause for a while.)

Imagine that you stand at midnight in the center of a stone circle. A canopy of stars shimmers overhead. As you watch the sky, you notice the stars beginning to move, slowly, almost imperceptibly at first. Then they take on a life of their own and form a shining pentacle in the black sky. The pentacle then takes on more substance and form, and it glows brightly with a green aura. It drifts down from the nighttime sky into your hands.

You reach out for the pentacle and the green aura fades. You can clearly see the pentacle in your hands. From what is it made? What is its size? What colors are prominent?

When you are done observing the pentacle, it will rise from your hands and ascend back to the heavens, where it dissolves into the black of the nighttime sky. When you are ready, open your eyes.

Take time to journal about and even sketch what you saw. Allow your vision to influence you as you select a pentacle. Note: you will need a pentacle in order to continue with tomorrow’s lesson.

Word to the Wise: Medieval and Renaissance period Witches reputedly constructed pentacles from beeswax. The tool could easily be destroyed in a fireplace should someone dangerous—like Witch hunters—pay an unexpected visit. This is interesting lore, but using a wax pentacle would have disadvantages, posing some sticky ritual prospects.

Day 227

Pentacle: Magical Inscriptions

What You’ll Need:

• Two green taper candles, any length

• Earth incense

• Earth oil

• Ceramic paint or enamel paint (black is traditional)

Today you will paint the pentacle with the traditional markings.

To begin, inscribe the pentacle sigils lengthwise into the two green candles, set them on either side of you, and light them. Then light some earth incense. Anoint yourself at the base chakra (at the base of your spine) with earth oil. Then begin the inscription process. You can either inscribe the pentacle by painting the sigils on its surface with black enamel paint, or with the magical infusion method.

As you inscribe the pentacle, focus on the feeling of your body weight, your center of gravity. If you note that your mind wanders from the inscribing process, take three deep breaths, refocus your intent and continue inscribing. When finished, extinguish the candles.

Magical Infusion for the Pentacle

What You’ll Need:

• A patch of bare earth (or, if indoors, use a large, deep baking pan filled with potting soil)

• A knife

• Salt (fine sea salt or kosher salt is recommended, but ordinary table salt is fine)

It is best to magically infuse the pentacle out of doors in the earth herself, but if this is not possible, fill a large, deep baking pan (or any other large container) with potting soil. Create a hole in the soil large enough to accommodate your pentacle. Set the pentacle in the earth and bury it. With a knife, draw a circle in the soil that girds the buried disk. Carefully pinch some salt between your fingers and sprinkle this (as one might create a sand painting) to form the pentacle sigils within the earth circle. Set the two green inscribed candles on either side of the buried pentacle and chant:

By the blessed thirteen moons
Sealed are ye by sacred runes!

Keep the pentacle buried until the green candles on either side have burned down past the engraved sigils.

Day 228

Pentacle: Symbol of Power

As with the other tools, it is important to inscribe the pentacle with your personal, magical symbols. The personal symbol for the pentacle represents your psychic link to the element of earth. In order to find the power symbol, you will first engage in a guided imagery meditation. As you have already learned, you may read this and memorize the imagery, have a friend read it to you while you meditate, or record it for later playback. To begin, hold the pentacle in your hands and assume a comfortable seated meditation position.

Reader:

Close your eyes and take several deep breaths. Scan your body from head to toe and note wherever it is you hold tension. As you note the tension, breathe through that body part and release the tension. Stay with relaxing each part of your body until you feel wholly still and internally silent.

(Reader: pause for a moment.)

Once you are fully relaxed, imagine that you are standing once again at the Witching hour within the great stone circle. You carry the pentacle with you and you hold it out to the silence, saying, “I summon thee, O symbol of power!” Soon you will notice that the pentacle glows in your hands with a bright green aura. Examine the pentacle now, and you will see your power symbol inscribed there in glowing script. Look at this symbol closely and remember it.

Once you have seen your personal power symbol, allow the vision of the stone circle to fade. Open your eyes when you are ready. Record the symbol on a blank piece of paper and transfer this to the pentacle, either painting it or magically infusing it (see Day 227 for details).

When you have finished setting the personal power symbols on the pentacle, set it in a place of visual prominence for the remainder of the day. Before going to bed, wrap the pentacle in a special cloth, such as a green silk, and store it until it is time for the pentacle consecration. (For tool-wrapping guidance, see Day 216.)

Day 229

Casting the Circle:
Myths and Realities

Witches practice their spiritual activities within the sacred space of the magic circle. In pagan practice, the magic circle is a platform for the gods. It is space set aside specifically for pagan religious and magical practices such as raising and directing spiritual energy, celebrating seasonal festivals, practicing divination, invoking the gods, and engaging in rites of passage. Witches have a name for the practice of formally setting up the magic circle—it is called casting the circle.

Film, television, and other popular media often sensationalize the magic circle and contribute to public confusion and misinformation. In order to gain some clarity about the Witches’ magic circle, let’s look closely at some of the most common misunderstandings:

Circle Myth: The circle is a container for the spiritual energies that Witches raise

Circle Reality: The circle may be a focal point for your spiritual work—much like a magnifying glass, but it does not contain or hold power in and of itself; in fact, the circle must be spiritually “por-ous” for magical energies to enter and to exit

Circle Myth: The circle is a barrier that keeps out unwanted spirits

Circle Reality: The circle is a permeable environment that does not avert unwanted spiritual forces

Circle Myth: Being within the circle makes you more vulnerable to negative spirits and psychic energies

Circle Reality: The circle is a platform for your spiritual work, so in that sense it can heighten spiritual sensitivity; however, it does not cause vulnerability to any form of energy or spirit

Circle Myth: The perimeter of the circle can never (and should never) be crossed

Circle Reality: The perimeter of the circle may be crossed and some rituals and magical work necessitate individuals crossing the perimeter

Circle Myth: Only a very powerful person can correctly cast a magic circle

Circle Reality: Anyone, no matter the level of ability or spiritual advancement, can cast a circle

Circle Myth: Only an initiated Witch can cast a circle

Circle Reality: Casting a magic circle is technology and anyone can do it

Circle Myth: The dimensions of the magic circle must be perfectly circular

Circle Reality: No; magic circles come in all sorts of odd shapes; most commonly, Witches need to adapt the shape of the circle to the space in which they practice their rituals; life occurs in many shapes, and in this way the magic circle reflects life in all of its complexity

Circle Myth: The magic circle must be nine feet in diameter

Circle Reality: This is a British traditional practice that is not a requirement; nine is a magical num-ber that represents spiritual attainment; it is the sum of three multiplied by itself (the number three is sacred because of the triple goddess); incorporating numerology into your sacred space is fine, as long as it does not become a point of obsession or a requirement; remember not to get sidetracked into minutiae that will only distract you from genuine spiritual work

Circle Myth: The circle is the only place where one practices Wicca

Circle Reality: Hopefully not; Wicca is a way of life, a philosophical construct, and a spiritual practice that should inform each moment of your life both within and outside of the magic circle

Practice: Looking at Beliefs

Today, ask yourself the following questions:

• What expectations or ideas do I have about the magic circle?

• What do I know about it from books, movies or television?

• What expectations do I have for myself regarding my ability to cast a circle?

• How might my expectations and beliefs impact my approach to the practice of circle casting?

Day 230

Casting the Circle: The Order

Casting the circle has its own order and rhythm. Many new Craft practitioners (and even seasoned practitioners) wrestle with the question of why a circle casting should have any particular sequence. Who determined the order of the circle anyway? And why should we believe that the order of the circle casting is useful or effective for Witchcraft, or any form of spiritual development? The debate over circle casting divides Witches down sharp lines.

In one camp are the free-spirited, unstructured types. For these Wiccans, ritual is an individual (or collective) expression of the divine. Unstructured Wiccans typically stress the older, shamanic qualities of the Craft. In their view, the spontaneity that emerges from a direct connection to the divine will likely result in a transcendence of rules and strictures imposed by limited, ordinary human consciousness. Pagan ritual is all about personal expression and individual exploration of the mysteries of the gods for these magical folk. In this view, ritual and magic can occur any time, anywhere, with or without a recognizable form.

Then there are the structured types. These folks assert that ritual has a distinct order that reflects an archetypal mythological pattern. In this perspective, the components and the order of Wiccan rituals, while not direct descendants of ancient rites, are based on the insights and practices of millennia of custom and magical observation. The order of the circle casting, as it exists today, evolved from a mystic understanding of the spiritual order of nature. In this view, each component of circle casting contains symbolic meaning that forms a direct link between the individual human consciousness and universal or nature-consciousness.

There is also a third perspective on ritual and order. It is not a truly unique perspective, but rather a combination of the first and second views. For the moderate magical folk who follow this third path, the circle has a recognizable order, but this order may take on innovative expressions and dimensions. It can be expanded or contracted according to a Witch’s or a coven’s magical needs.

Whichever approach toward circle casting you might eventually adopt, it is a good magical practice and a solid discipline to learn the basics of traditional circle casting and the customary pattern of Wiccan ritual. But from where does this order derive?

Most pagans agree that Gerald Gardner and his Book of Shadows heavily influenced the form of many Wiccan practices—including the magic circle. However, some research suggests that Gardner’s association with Freemansonry and ceremonial magic was the prime inspiration for the magic circle format. Based on Gardner’s ritual formula, here are the basic circle-casting components and their suggested order:

• Blessing of the elements

• Cleansing of the ritual space with elements

• Cleansing of participants with elements

• Formally casting the circle

• Calling the quarters (which means summoning the elemental energies of each compass direction)

• Summoning deity

• The ritual core celebration (which could be a sabbat, esbat, magical working, or divination)

• Cakes and wine

• Dismissing deity and dismissing the quarters

• Formally banishing the circle

Practice: What Type Am I?

Explore the type of ritual format for which you might best be suited:

You might prefer the nonstructured circle casting if:

• You are generally easy-going

• You prefer relaxation to activity

• Spontaneity does not cause you anxiety

• You believe that life has no pattern or design

• You believe that people create their own meanings

• You prefer to cook by making things up as you go along

• You believe that rules are constricting

• You like a level of unpredictability in your life

• You like to allow spirit to speak through you spontaneously

• You are highly creative

• You worry that other people are putting words into your mouth

You might prefer the structured circle casting if:

• You are generally structured in your life

• You prefer planned activities during relaxation time

• You prefer routine in your daily life

• You can see a distinct pattern or design to life

• You believe in destiny

• You believe in a grand design

• You can see how archetypes are meaningful to your life

• You prefer predictability

• You prefer to cook using recipes

• You like to read the words of other people and draw insight from them

• You feel that making things up is just plain wrong

Questions for the Practitioner

• Which type of ritual practitioner do you think you might be: a spontaneous one or a structured one? Or are you a blend of the two?

• Why do you think your choice of ritual style may be useful to you?

• Do you believe that there might be correct and incorrect ways to cast a circle? Why?

• What do you believe could happen if you cast a circle incorrectly?

Day 231

Starting the Circle:
Water Blessings

Water is the first element that a priestess or priest blesses in a traditional circle casting. Water is an archetypal symbol of chaos; it represents the unformed, the potential, and the shifting, fluctuating nature of reality. Nothing is ever set in stone as a permanent condition, and even if it is, stone wears away. All things are tidal—they come and they go, they rise and they fall. Many world myths express this theme of existence emerging from water. To mirror this mythic archetype, one of the first tasks of circle casting is introducing the element of water to the sacred space. In the magic circle, your first task is to bless the water. In blessing water, you are beginning the process of focusing the fluid energies of the life force into a structured space.

What You’ll Need:

• A small bowl

• Water

Fill a bowl halfway with water. Hold your hands over the water bowl and focus on your breathing. Imagine you draw in a blue light of energy with each inhalation. With each exhalation, you send that blue energy into the water. Once you visualize the water filled with this energy, say the following words:

I consecrate thee, O creature of water,
In the names of the Great Mother and the Horned Lord.

Dab your forefinger and middle finger together into the water bowl and then touch water droplets to your heart (and to any other body part that could benefit from blessing by water). While doing so, say:

I am consecrated with the element of water.

Imagine that you internally fill with a blue radiance. If you want to bless someone within your circle, dab some of your blessed water onto his or her heart, saying:

I consecrate thee with the element of water.

When you have completed this exercise, you must properly dispose of the consecrated water. Wiccan lore says that you should release it into some form of running water. For those of us living in cities, this usually means a sink or toilet. If you live in a rural area, dispose of the blessed water in a stream or river. If you live near the ocean, dispose of the blessed water there.

Day 232

Elemental Consecrations: Earth

Earth is the second element blessed in the circle casting. In hermetic lore, earth is the first concretization of the chaotic matter of water. Hermetics say that when the etheric, chaotic matter of water becomes dense, it transforms into earth. Earth is the first manifestation of the unformed energies of the universe.80 In blessing earth, you are symbolically solidifying unformed energies into the form of the magic circle.

What You’ll Need:

• A bowl

• Salt

Fill the bottom of a small bowl with salt. Although any salt will suffice, I prefer Kosher salt because it has an artful, aesthetic appeal. Hold your hands over the bowl and focus on your breathing. Imagine you draw in a green light of energy with each inhalation. With each exhalation, you send that green energy into the salt. Once you visualize the salt filled with this energy, say the following words:

I consecrate thee, O creature of earth,
In the names of the Great Mother and the Horned Lord.

Dab your forefinger and middle finger together into the salt. Touch the salt to your root chakra center at the base of the spine. Also sprinkle salt on the crown of your head, and then apply it to any other body part that you sense might benefit from blessing by earth. While doing so, say:

I am consecrated with the element of earth.

Imagine that a green radiance fills you. If you want to bless someone within your circle, dab some of your blessed salt onto the appropriate energy centers, saying:

I consecrate thee with the element of earth.

When you have completed this exercise, you must properly dispose of the consecrated salt. Wiccan lore says that you should release it into running water. Again, city Witches call a sink or toilet “running water,” and so can you.

Day 233

Elemental Consecrations: Fire

Fire is the third element that a priestess or priest blesses in the cycle of casting the magic circle. In hermetic mysticism, the element of earth needs the life spark of fire in order to move it into action. Fire is energy (both physical and spiritual), without which earth would be barren and immobile. Keep in mind that as you bless fire, you are symbolically enlivening the solid earth energies of your circle.

What You’ll Need:

• A 5–6 inch red candle (when used in a ritual context and placed on your altar, this object is known as the fire candle)

• Fire oil

Anoint the candle shaft with fire oil, light it, and set it firmly in a holder. Carefully cup the flame with your hands (without burning yourself or catching your sleeve in the flame), holding them about 3–5 inches from the fire. Focus on your breathing. Imagine you draw in a red light of energy with each inhalation. With each exhalation, you send that red energy into the flame. Once you visualize the flame filled with this energy, say the following words:

I consecrate thee, O creature of fire,
In the names of the Great Mother and the Horned Lord.

Next, bless yourself with the fire by holding the candle’s flame 3–5 inches away from your forehead. Pass it vertically down along the center line of your body—all the way down to your genitals. For additional blessing of specific body areas, you may also hold the candle flame 3–5 inches near the body part that could benefit from fire energy. While doing so, say:

I am consecrated with the element of fire.

Imagine that you are filled with a red radiance. If you want to bless someone within your circle, hold the candle 3–5 inches from his or her forehead and pass it vertically down along the center line of the body, saying:

I consecrate thee with the element of fire.

Extinguish the candle with your fingertips and set it aside for tomorrow’s practice.

A Word to the Wise: In traditional Wiccan practice, one does not blow out candles. Some magical practitioners believe that blowing the candle out is pitting one element against another. Pinching out the candle flame denies the flame of oxygen, which is different from using one element to finish off another.

Day 234

Elemental Consecrations: Air

Air is the fourth element that a priestess or priest blesses in the magic circle. It is the finest and least dense of the four elements. Hermetics assert that air spiritually encourages the life spark of fire. In blessing air, you are symbolically fanning the flames, feeding the fires of life that you have invited into your magic circle.

What You’ll Need:

• Air incense, or

• Dried white sage ( also called desert sage), or

• Loose, dried sandalwood powder

• Air oil

• Your Fire candle

• Self-igniting charcoal

If you are using dried white sage or sandalwood blend it with a few drops of air oil. Light your fire candle (from yesterday) and use this flame to ignite the charcoal for your incense. Once the coal is hot enough, sprinkle it with incense. As the incense smolders, cup your hands around the smoke. Inhale deeply and imagine that with each inhalation, you draw in a yellow light of energy. With each exhalation, you send that yellow energy into the smoke that fills your sacred space. Once you imagine that the incense is filled with the spiritual energy of air, say the following words:

I consecrate thee, O creature of air,
In the names of the Great Mother and the Horned Lord.

Bless yourself with air by gently fanning the smoke toward your body. Draw the smoke first toward your forehead and then continue fanning downward along the vertical center line of your body, down to your genitals. You may also hold the incense anywhere near to a body part that could benefit from additional blessing by air. While doing so, say:

I am consecrated with the element of air.

If you want to bless someone within your circle, hold the incense toward his or her forehead and use your hand to fan it along the center line of the body, down to the genital area, saying:

I consecrate thee with the element of air.

Allow the incense to extinguish on its own. Once it stops smoking, you can dispose of this in running water.

A Word to the Wise: Use a sturdy 10–12 inch feather (or a group of them bound together with a leather cord) to ritually fan the incense toward yourself and others. For added ritual interest, dress the feather’s stem with beads, leather, bells, or charms.

Day 235

Casting the Circle: The First Layer

Casting the circle means setting up the energetic, spiritual essence of the ritual space. When you demarcate the ritual space’s perimeter, you have cast the circle. It involves energetically sealing the perimeter of your sacred space with the five elements. (Yes, I did say five. Don’t forget that the fifth element is spirit.) The energies of water and earth combine to form the circle’s first layer.

What You’ll Need:

• Your dish of salt

• Your bowl of water

• Fire candle

• Air incense

• Four “quarter candles” (these can be any variety or shape of candle, but one must be yellow, one red, one blue, and one green)

• Your unconsecrated athame, wand, chalice, and pentacle

To Begin:

• Set up a table that will serve as an altar that you will place at the center of your ritual space

• Set out all of your unconsecrated magical tools in ritual positions: wand in the east of the altar, athame in the south, cup in the west, and pentacle in the north of the altar

• Set the bowl of water and the dish of salt on your altar

Use a compass to accurately locate the four directions and then lay out your four quarter candles at the proposed edges of your ritual space. In the east of your space place a yellow candle; in the south place a red candle; in the west place a blue candle; in the north place a green candle. Light each of the candles, saying:

Fire, flame in the Old One’s name

A Word to the Wise: You might use colored votive candles for the four quarters. Votive candles usually come in a glass jar. The glass is a safety feature that comes in handy should your quarter candles tip over. Cleaning wax off the floor or carpet is another story altogether.

Next, complete the circle-casting steps you’ve learned so far:

• Consecrate each of the four elements (water, earth, fire and air) on your central altar (see Day 231–234)

• Consecrate yourself and anyone else present with each of the elements

Once you have completed these steps, you are ready to cast the first layer of the circle. Begin by using your index and middle finger to brush three “scoops” of the salt into your bowl of water. Hold your hands over the bowl of water and salt and say:

Water and earth I cast thee ’round,
By thy essence, life be bound.
Flowing vision, holy birth,
Blessed be by water and earth.

Stir the water and salt together. Take the salt-water mixture to the eastern quarter of your sacred space. Dip your fingers into the saltwater and sprinkle this along the edge of your sacred space. Do this while silently walking clockwise around the inside perimeter of your circle. Imagine that you seal the sacred space with a blue and green light. Continue with this silently until you walk the entirety of the circle, returning to the east where you began.

A Word to the Wise: Clockwise in magical parlance is deosil. Sometimes Witches call this clockwise movement sunwise. A counterclockwise movement is called moonwise or widdershins.

Avoid obsessing on technical perfection and minutiae such as size of your circle, or where the water and salt drops are falling as you cast them. Precision is not mandatory, but your intent, your focus and clarity, are.

When you are finished, sit within the sacred space you have created so far. How does it feel?

Closing Your Space

To close this layer of the circle, stand again in the east and face the outer edge. Hold your hands outward toward the east. Silently circumambulate the space in a counterclockwise direction. Continue to hold your hands out toward the edge of the circle as you walk. Imagine that the energies you’ve raised begin to subside and sink into the earth where they are reabsorbed and neutralized. Once you reach the easternmost point again, pause to sense the difference in energy now that you have banished the circle.

It is always a good magical practice to store away all of your ritual items immediately following your rites. Be sure to flush the ritual water, salt, and burned incense into running water.

Day 236

Casting the Circle:
The Second Layer

Fire and air compose the second layer of your magic circle. One point to bear in mind while casting the fire/air layer is that a burning piece of charcoal represents the element of fire. When you place incense upon the burning coals, it symbolizes the synthesis of both fire and air. You could, if you prefer, cast each of these elements separately. That is to say, you could first circumambulate the perimeter of the magic circle with incense and then with your fire candle (instead of the lighted charcoal). For that matter, you could do the same with water and earth. However, the most traditional practice is that of combining the two elements and then casting the perimeter with the elemental combination.

What You’ll Need:

• Your dish of salt

• Your bowl of water

• Fire candle

• Air incense

• Four quarter candles

• Self-lighting charcoal

• A thurible (a container in which you burn the incense or other magical objects)

• Your unconsecrated athame, wand, chalice, and pentacle

To Begin:

• Complete the circle-casting steps you’ve learned so far:

• Set up your main altar at the center of your ritual space and arrange your magical tools on it in their ritual positions (see Day 235)

• Set out the four quarter candles and light them, saying,

Fire flame in the Old One’s name.

• Light your charcoal and set it in the thurible

• Consecrate each of the four elements (water, earth, fire, and air) on your central altar (see Day 231, 232, 233, and 234)

• Consecrate yourself and anyone else present with each of the elements

• Cast the first layer of the circle with water and earth, as you learned yesterday (see Day 235)

Once you have completed these steps, sprinkle some of the air incense on the charcoal and allow it to smolder. While it does, hold your hands over the smoke and say aloud:

Fire and air I cast thee ’round,
By thy essence, life be bound.
Knowledge of thy true desire,
Blessed be by air and fire.

Carry the incense in the burner to the eastern quarter of your sacred space and begin to walk deosil along the perimeter. As you walk, silently hold out the incense so that it imparts its magical essence. Imagine that you seal the sacred space with a red and yellow aura as you cast this layer of your circle. Continue until you return to the east where you began.

When you are finished, sit within the sacred space you have developed so far. How does it feel?

Closing Your Space

To close the first two layers of the circle, stand again in the east and face the outer edge. Hold your hands outward toward the east. Silently circumambulate the space, going widdershins. Continue to hold your hands out toward the edge of the circle as you walk. Imagine that the energies you’ve raised begin to subside and sink into the earth where they are reabsorbed and neutralized. Once you reach the easternmost point again, pause to sense the difference in energy now that you have banished the circle.

Store all ritual items immediately following your rites. Flush the water, incense, and salt in running water.

A Word to the Wise: Witches always use their ritual tools during any ceremony. By simply having them present on the altar, the tools are the magical representatives of each element. No matter what ritual you perform, it is important to set out all of your ritual tools.

Day 237

Casting the Circle:
The Third Layer

Spirit is the third layer of your magic circle. In this layer, you formally seal the circle with divine energies, the energies of the goddess and god. Sealing the final circle layer requires use of the athame. When two or more Witches gather, the final layer of the circle is cast with the sword.

So now we come to the Witches’ paradox. Wiccans believe that unconsecrated magical tools are ineffective in ritual use. Tools can only be consecrated within the magic circle. So how can you cast a circle without consecrated tools? Many Witches consecrate their tools in a magic circle that was cast for them by an initiated and properly prepared (meaning formally initiated) Witch.

When this is not possible, or when formal tools are unavailable you can use the natural tools. Since your body comprises these tools, they are always consecrated. Here they are:

Wand—Extended arm; index and middle fingers (only) extended to the first knuckle

Cup—Both hands cupped together

Athame—Extended arm; index and middle fingers (only) extended

Pentacle—The entire body, standing in the “pentacle position,” which is arms outstretched to the sides and legs spread to shoulder width; in this position your head, arms, and legs form the five points of the pentacle

What You’ll Need:

• Your dish of salt

• Your bowl of water

• Fire candle

• Air incense

• Four quarter candles

• Self-lighting charcoal

• A thurible

• Your unconsecrated athame, wand, chalice, and pentacle

To Begin:

Complete the circle-casting steps you’ve learned so far:

• Set up your altar at the center of your ritual space

• Set out all of your magical tools in their compass positions upon the central altar

• Set out the four quarter candles and light them, saying,

Fire flame in the Old One’s name.

• Light your charcoal and set it in the thurible

• Consecrate each of the four elements (water, earth, fire, and air) on your central altar

• Consecrate yourself and anyone else present with each of the elements (see Day 231, 232, 233 and 234)

• Cast the first layer of the circle with water and earth (see Day 235)

• Cast the second layer with fire and air, as you learned yesterday (see Day 236)

Once you have completed these steps, return to the east of your circle. Extend your right arm, pointing only your index and middle fingers. Plant your feet solidly beneath your body and feel your weight. Close your eyes. Take several deep breaths. Imagine that a magical root extends from the base of your spine into the ground. Allow the psychic taproot to continue to plunge deeper into the earth until it meets with the planet’s white-hot core. Once you envision it there, imagine that you draw up this core energy through the root. Draw up energy with each inhalation. As you draw it up, feel the energy fill your body. Once the energy reaches the top of your head, imagine that you send the energy through your arms and out through the tip of the extended two fingers.

Circumambulate the perimeter of the circle, moving deosil, casting out this energy and saying:

I summon the Circle, the Circle I summon.
Power, peace, and protection will come in
And bind to the womb of our spiritual birth,
Through Air, Fire, Water, and Earth!

If you finish the words before you have completed walking the perimeter of the circle, simply walk the remainder in silence.

When you are finished, sit within the sacred space you have developed so far. How does it feel?

Closing Your Space

To close the three layers of the circle you have cast today, stand again in the east and face the outer edge. Hold your hands outward toward the east. Silently circumambulate the space going widdershins. Continue to hold your hands out toward the edge of the circle as you walk. Imagine that the energies you’ve raised begin to subside and sink into the earth where they are reabsorbed and neutralized. This time (and every time hereafter), as you walk, say:

Earth will crumble my circle,
Water will cause it to fall,
Fire will burn what’s left in the urn,
And the winds will scatter them all!

If you finish the words before you walk the entirety of the circle, simply continue walking in silence until you reach the east once more.

When you arrive in the east, face outward toward the eastern quarter, and say:

The circle is open, but unbroken!
Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again!

Once you reach the easternmost point again, pause to sense the difference in energy now that you have banished the circle.

Store your ritual items and flush water, salt, and incense in running water.

Day 238

Calling the Quarters: East

Calling the quarters involves ritually gesturing with your arms or magical tools at each of the four compass directions in order to summon the elemental forces. The elemental spirits are summoned to witness your rites, to guard, and to energize your magical space. You will typically use your athame for calling the quarters and forming the ritual gestures that summon the elemental forces. Today, however, you will use your natural athame.

A Word to the Wise: There are variations to using the athame for quarter-calling. Some Wiccans use the tool that represents the specific element they are summoning. For example, when calling the western quarter, a Witch might use her chalice to invoke the undines and the powers of water—or when invoking the gnomes of the north, the Witch might use her pentacle.

To begin calling the quarters, you will first need to practice drawing what are known as the invoking and banishing pentagrams.

Invoking Air / Banishing Air

Each element has a specific pentagram that invokes and banishes its elemental energy. There are a couple of rules about invoking and banishing elemental pentagrams with which you should become acquainted prior to beginning this practice.

Traditionally, Witches only use invoking pentagrams while they are standing within the magic circle. This is an important point to consider. The elemental forces that you summon during calling the quarters are high-voltage energies. The circle itself, once cast, acts as a buffer to these raw, wild energies. It is never a good practice to call quarters when you do not have all three layers of your circle cast.

Banishing pentagrams can be done at any time. In fact, Witches often use banishing pentagrams to dismiss imbalanced energies that they sense in their immediate vicinity.

Folks who are new to either banishing or invoking pentagrams should practice within the magic circle until they become familiar with the process.

Here are the invoking and banishing pentagrams for air.

What You’ll Need:

• Your dish of salt

• Your bowl of water

• Fire candle

• Air incense

• Four quarter candles

• Self-lighting charcoal

• A thurible (container in which you safely burn items)

• Your unconsecrated athame, wand, chalice, and pentacle

To Begin:

Complete the circle-casting steps you’ve learned so far:

• Set up your main altar at the center of your ritual space

• Set all of your magical tools on the altar

• Set out the four quarter candles and light them saying,

Fire flame in the Old One’s name.

• Light your charcoal and set it in the thurible

• Consecrate each of the four elements (water, earth, fire, and air) on your central altar

• Consecrate yourself and anyone else present with each of the elements

• Cast the first layer of the circle with water and earth

• Cast the second layer with fire and air

• Cast the circle with your natural athame, drawing the final spiritual perimeter of the circle

A Word to the Wise: Remember, the natural athame is your right arm extended, along with only your index and middle finger. The blade of the athame is your outstretched index and middle fingers.

Once you have completed these steps, walk to the east of your circle and face outward. With your right arm outstretched in the natural athame position, draw the invoking-air pentagram in the air.

Start at the farthest right point and draw the blade horizontally to the left. Draw the blade down to the bottommost right point. Then draw the blade up toward the topmost point. Draw the blade to the bottommost left point and then draw it back to the point where you began.

As you draw the pentagram, imagine that you leave a golden yellow aura suspended in midair. As you draw the pentagram, say:

I summon, stir and call thee up,
Mighty Ones of the East, Powers of Air,
To witness my (our) rites and to seal this
circle!

After you have summoned the powers of the east, sense the elemental energies you have summoned. Imagine them sealing the eastern quarter of your magical space. After you have sensed how this feels, banish the elemental forces of air. Again, face the east. This time, draw the banishing-air pentagram with your natural athame.

Start at the leftmost horizontal point of the pentagram and draw the blade horizontally to the right. Then draw the blade down to the bottommost left point. Draw the blade upward to the topmost point, then draw it down to the bottommost right point. Then draw the blade back to the point where you began.

As you banish, imagine the golden aura fading away. As you banish the eastern powers, say:

Hail ye mighty ones of the East,
We thank thee for attending.
Before ye depart for your lovely realms,
We say hail and farewell!

Kiss the athame blade (in this case, your index and middle fingers), and point once again toward the east.

Steps to Banish the Circle You Have So Far:

Close the three layers of the circle you have cast. Stand in the east and hold your hands outward. Walk widdershins around the perimeter of the circle, imagining the energies subsiding. As you walk, say:

Earth will crumble my circle,
Water will cause it to fall,
Fire will burn what’s left in the urn,
And the winds will scatter them all!

When you arrive in the east, face outward, toward the eastern quarter, and say:

The circle is open, but unbroken!
Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet
again!

Day 239

Calling the Quarters: South

As we continue with our practice of building the magic circle, we call the southern quarter, the dwelling place of the salamanders and the element of fire.

First take time to practice drawing the invoking and banishing pentagrams for fire:

Invoking Fire / Banishing Fire

What You’ll Need:

• Your dish of salt

• Your bowl of water

• Fire candle

• Air incense

• Four quarter candles

• Self-lighting charcoal

• A thurible

• Your unconsecrated athame, wand, chalice and pentacle

To Begin:

• Complete the circle-casting steps you’ve learned so far:

• Set up your altar at the center of your ritual space

• Set all of your magical tools in their ritual positions on the altar

• Set out the four quarter candles and light them, saying,

Fire flame in the Old One’s name

• Light your charcoal and set it in the thurible

• Consecrate each of the four elements (water, earth, fire, and air) on your central altar

• Consecrate yourself and anyone else present with each of the elements

• Cast the first layer of the circle with water and earth

• Cast the second layer with fire and air

• Cast the circle with your natural athame, drawing the final perimeter of the circle

• Draw the invoking pentagram for air

Once you have completed these steps, walk to the southern edge of your circle. Outstretch your natural athame and draw the invoking Fire pentagram in the air before you.

Start at the topmost right point and draw the blade downward and to the bottommost right point. Draw the blade up to the left horizontal point. Then draw across the horizontal line to the right horizontal point. Continue drawing the blade back toward the bottommost left point. Finish the pentagram by drawing the line back up to the topmost point, where you began.

As you draw the pentagram, imagine that you leave a fiery red aura suspended in midair. While invoking, say:

I summon, stir, and call thee up,
Mighty Ones of the South, Powers of Fire,
To witness my (our) rites and to seal this
circle!

Stand and sense the fiery energies you have summoned. Close your eyes and imagine this fire energy sealing the southern quarter of your magical space and simultaneously linking with the elemental energies of the eastern quarter.

After a few moments, banish the elemental forces of fire. Again, face the south and draw the banishing pentagram in the air with your natural athame. This time, start at the bottommost right point and draw the blade up to the top. Draw the blade down to the bottommost left point. Then draw the blade up toward the right horizontal point. Draw the blade across the horizontal line to the left horizontal point. Then continue drawing the blade back to the bottommost right point, where you began.

As you banish, imagine the fiery aura fading away. As you banish the southern powers, say:

Hail, ye mighty ones of the South,
We thank thee for attending.
Before ye depart for your lovely realms,
We say hail and farewell!

Now, kiss the athame blade (your index and middle fingers) and point it toward the south.

Steps to Banish the Circle You Have So Far:

• Stand in the east and draw the banishing pentagram for the powers of air.

• Close the three layers of the circle you have cast. Stand in the east, hold your hands outward. Walk widdershins around the perimeter of the circle, imagining the energies subsiding. As you walk, say:

Earth will crumble my circle,
Water will cause it to fall,
Fire will burn what’s left in the urn,
And the winds will scatter them all!

When you arrive in the east, face outward, toward the eastern quarter, and say:

The circle is open, but unbroken!
Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet
again!

Day 240

Calling the Quarters: West

As you continue with building the magic circle, you will call the western quarter, the dwelling place of the undines and the element of water.

First, practice drawing the invoking and banishing pentagrams for water:

Invoking Water / Banishing Water

What You’ll Need:

• Your dish of salt

• Your bowl of water

• Fire candle

• Air incense

• Four quarter candles

• Self-lighting charcoal

• A thurible

• Your unconsecrated athame, wand, chalice, and pentacle

To Begin:

Complete the circle-casting steps you’ve learned so far:

• Set up your main altar at the center of your ritual space

• Set all of your magical tools in their ritual positions on the altar

• Set out the four quarter candles and light them, saying,

Fire flame in the Old One’s name

• Light your charcoal and set it within the thurible

• Consecrate each of the four elements (water, earth, fire, and air) on your central altar

• Consecrate yourself and anyone else present with each of the elements

• Cast the first layer of the circle with water and earth

• Cast the second layer with fire and air

• Cast the circle with your natural athame, drawing the final perimeter of the circle

• Draw the invoking pentagram for the powers of air

• Draw the invoking pentagram for the powers of fire

Once you have completed these steps, walk to the western edge of your circle. Outstretch your natural athame and draw the invoking water pentagram before you. Start at the leftmost horizontal point of your pentagram and draw the blade across the horizontal line to the right. Draw the blade down to the bottommost left point. Then draw it upward to the topmost point. Continue drawing the blade back down toward the bottommost right point. Finish the pentagram by drawing the line back up to the leftmost horizontal point, where you began.

As you draw the pentagram, imagine that you leave a shimmering blue aura suspended in midair. As you invoke the element of water, say:

I summon, stir, and call thee up,
Mighty Ones of the West, Powers of Water,
To witness my (our) rites and to seal this circle!

Stand and sense the watery energies you have summoned. Close your eyes and imagine this water energy sealing the western quarter of your magical space and simultaneously linking with the elemental energies of the southern quarter. Imagine too, the southern energies linking with the eastern energies.

After a few moments, banish the elemental forces of water. Again, face the west and draw the banishing pentagram in the air with your natural athame. This time, start at the rightmost horizontal point and draw the blade across to the left. Draw the blade down to the bottommost right point. Then draw the blade up toward the top. Draw the blade back down to the bottom left point. Then continue drawing the blade back to the right horizontal point, where you began.

As you banish, imagine the shimmering blue aura fading away. As you banish the western powers, say:

Hail ye mighty ones of the West,
We thank thee for attending.
Before ye depart for your lovely realms,
We say hail and farewell!

Now, kiss the athame blade (your index and middle fingers) and point it toward the west.

Steps to Banish the Circle You Have So Far:

• Stand in the south and draw the banishing pentagram for the powers of fire

• Stand in the east and draw the banishing pentagram for the powers of air

• Close the three layers of the circle you have cast. stand in the east, hold your hands outward; walk widdershins around the perimeter of the circle, imagining the energies subsiding; as you walk, say:

Earth will crumble my circle,
Water will cause it to fall,
Fire will burn what’s left in the urn,
And the winds will scatter them all!

When you arrive in the east, face outward toward the eastern quarter, and say:

The circle is open, but unbroken!
Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet
again!

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