If you are just working on your own, meditating or doing a simple candle spell I don’t believe casting a circle is always necessary. If you regularly smudge and protect your house and have your own shielding in place I wouldn’t bother, but the choice is yours. If you are going to be raising energy, especially if there is a group of you then I would recommend casting a circle. If you are gathered together to celebrate a Sabbat especially then it’s nice to ‘put on the full works’ too. Casting a circle puts up a protective barrier around you, it not only keeps out any unwanted negative energy but it also keeps the energy you are raising safely inside the circle until you release it. Casting a circle does however create a place ‘between the worlds’ it is grounded in the physical but also gives you a connection to the spiritual. It can also be a very safe, secure place especially if you need a bit of a spiritual hug, casting a circle and just ‘being’ inside it can be very uplifting.
Some witches will invoke the elements before casting the circle, others will cast the circle first it’s another one of those personal choice things.
Two words you will often hear when people refer to rituals the first is deosil which means clockwise or sun wise and then widdershins which means anti clockwise. Basic rule of thumb is when you want to bring good energy or protection in you go deosil (clockwise) then when you want to dismiss something or banish negative energies you work widdershins (anticlockwise). The circle is cast deosil and the quarters are called deosil, always move around the circle in a deosil motion. The circle and quarters are thens usually released widdershins.
To cast a circle you can use an athame, a sword, a wand, a staff or… Click here to read the rest of this article Source: collectiveinkbooks.com
Witches Of The Craft® 