Advanced Magic: Circle Casting

A very wise teacher once told me, “First you learn every magical tool’s use, placement, and energy. You learn where to stand and what to say and how to move. You learn which herbs and oils and candles go with which spells. But ultimately, you learn that you never needed any of that.”

It’s like with writing. When you are first learning what letters make what sounds, you are not trying to describe the perfect sunset. When you are first learning how to put together a sentence, you are not composing epic poetry. At the beginning, you learn the basics. Master those basics, and you can soar.

The magic is you!

The truth of what natural magic is and how it works is very simple. Like attracts like. You attract what you are. So in order to have what you do not have, you must become the version of you who has it. You must become the version of yourself who has already achieved the magical goal, whatever it is. And here’s an even deeper secret. Every experienced magical practitioner knows that the goal is always the same. You want to feel better than you do now. “I’ll feel better when I have it. I’ll be happier when it happens. I’ll feel relief when it’s real.” It’s always about how you feel.

And for all magic the method is the same. Feel that way now. The entire spell, the ritual, the scents and colors and tools and words and music you use, all of it has one purpose. To help you vibrate with the goal. To help you tune it into existence. Every bit of it is about tuning your own vibration. Your own energy.

One definition of magic passed down from teacher to student is: “to create change in accordance with will.” The deeper mystery is that the change you are creating is within yourself.

Why we cast magic circles

When we learn the Craft of the Wise one of our first lessons is how to cast a magic circle. The purpose of the magic circle is the same as the purpose of a church or temple. It is sacred space. In fact, according to nature paths, the practitioner IS the temple. And so wherever she goes, she is capable of expanding that sacred space within her to create an area for work and worship.

I believe all of earth is sacred space. But you know, we get gum on our shoes and then leave bits of it wherever we go. Negative residue gets tracked all over the place. When we cleanse and consecrate sacred space, we are removing all of that by replacing it with a positive charge. With light.

The magic circle is considered to be a world between the worlds. A place where physical and non-physical meet and mingle (just like the human body.)

It’s said to protect the space from negativity, which is blocked from entering the circle. It is pure positive energy, so negativity cannot abide its power.

It’s also considered a container. It keeps our magic power contained until we are ready to release it out into the world. When I was first learning magic, I would compose my spell at the computer, just like creating a recipe. But often the goal would happen before I finished the writing. I consulted my teacher about this, and she suggested I cast a circle around my workspace, computer and all, to hold my magic in. At which point I replied, I really don’t mind it manifesting so fast.

Now, as an elder witch, I see a deeper point. If I create the spell in a circle and release its energy only when I perform it, it goes off with a bigger bang. You know, extra purple smoke and sparkles.

The magic circle is real

I have a pair of dousing rods that were made for me by one of my students many years ago. A group of us experimented by using the rods to sense the energy of our space before and after casting a circle. You hold the rods by the outer copper sleeves, so the rods themselves can move freely left and right. You have to keep them level or you can cause them to move. It takes a bit of practice. But you keep them level, your arms still and move slowly forward, just watching them move. They’ll be still and then suddenly just swoop outward as they encounter energy. Sometimes they only move a little, at smaller vibration. We just drip this stuff as we move through our lives. “Thoughts are things,” as teacher Mike Dooley keeps reminding us. Our rods consistently spread wide once the circle had been cast, and they had the same reaction no matter who held them. This experience demonstrated for me that the energy really does change when we focus our will upon it. And that’s all magic is. Focused will, supported by belief and a healthy and consistent state-of-being that’s more good than bad, more happy than sad, more calm than mad.

Circle Cast 101

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The teaching of natural magic is based on an equal exchange of energy.