Circle Casting 101

Circle casting is an important part of many different forms of magick, but it can seem intimidating to those who are new to the craft. The techniques to cast a circle are rather simple, but don’t let that fool you into thinking it is ineffective or simple magick. You may have been casting a circle for a long time and never realized the principles behind the ritual. So whether you’re a seasoned Witch or are just starting in the Craft, learning more about circle casting might change your approach to your practice.

What Is Circle Casting?

Circle casting is a form of ritual practice used to create a temporary sacred space for magick. The term “casting a circle” is most commonly used in Wicca, but the practice has been used for centuries across traditions. Some Witches use it every time they are doing spell work or rituals—others use it as a temporary temple when they are away from their usual sacred space. It is done before the spell or ritual begins. If the spell involves more than one person or a coven, generally, the high priest or priestess will be the one to cast it.

Why Cast a Circle?

When done correctly, casting a circle creates a powerful space for manifesting intentions and providing protection. You create a boundary that isn’t of this plane. It isn’t physical—you can’t observe it in a physical sense. It is psychic. A skilled clairvoyant would be able to sense it.

It can be used for a variety of intentions, from connecting with the Goddess and God or other deities to healing, honoring ancestors, divination, and more. Many pagans and witches opt to do rituals within a circle as it helps create an environment of protection and focus energies.

As noted in our article this month about ineffective spells, outside energy can impact the spell or ritual you are doing. Casting a circle can help keep out those negative influences that would disrupt or even ruin your spell. It also forms a barrier against psychic and astral attacks, so when working in a vulnerable state for divination, a circle offers protection.

Circles don’t just keep the bad energy out. They also help keep the energies you are working with in, further amplifying and empowering them and, therefore, your spell work. A circle keeps the energy from dissipating into the universe while you are still trying to work with it.

By keeping negative influences out and the energy you’re working with in, casting a circle is a method to strengthen your spell or ritual.

The question becomes, do I need to cast a circle? Nope! It truly comes down to personal preference. Some may prefer a connection to the space and energy around them without a circle, while others find that a circle intensifies the specific energies they are working with. Ultimately, it depends on what works best for you and the specific spell or ritual you are performing.

Casting a Circle

There are a few different ways to cast a circle. We’ll cover a few components of circle casting here. The most important thing to remember is that your intention must be focused—your belief that the circle is real is what manifests it into reality.

The traditional method involves calling on the Cardinal Directions and assigning them equidistant points from the center of the circle (north, east, south, west) as well as the Sacred Elements that correspond to the Directions (Earth, Air, Fire, Water). When you imagine a cone of protection that rises from the circle, think of sturdy rods emanating from those points that help stabilize the circle.

Here is a basic circle casting step-by-step:

Be sure everything you need for your spell or ritual is already inside the area you’ll cast your circle around.

Remove anything that isn’t part of the spell from the circle area.

Focus your intention on the circle casting and the goal of the spell/ritual.

Starting at the north, walk clockwise along the border of your circle, visualizing the energy creating a barrier.

Pause at each of the four points of the cardinal directions (if you started at the north, you’d next reach Air, then Fire, then Water), pulling their energy to yourself to help you create the barrier.

When you reach your starting point, symbolically close your hands together to close the circle and say aloud, “The circle is cast, and the barrier is complete.”

Go to the center to begin your spell work.

Many people go beyond the basics for casting their circles. Some use salt to create an actual circle on the ground. Others use stones or candles. Some only place candles or lanterns at strategic points. Some use their wand or athame to “draw” the circle and direct the energy to form the barrier. Some use cords to create the quarters for the cardinal directions/sacred elements. You should use what speaks most to you, your specific spell or ritual, and the area you are in (don’t use an open flame in a very dry area surrounded by twigs and leaves, for example). And don’t limit yourself! Crystals, herbs, incense, sticks, leaves… almost anything can be used to help you cast a circle.

Circle Size and Shape

Now that you know how to cast it, the most common next question is, “How big should I make it?” For Witches who practice any of the Wiccan traditions, a circle with a nine-foot diameter is traditional. The number three is powerful in Wicca, as is nine, because it is three times three. In many traditions of Wicca, a nine-foot cord is used for rituals. That cord is folded in half and then pinned at the center to use as a guide to drawing the circle at exactly nine feet in diameter.

Like all things in Witchcraft, though, this isn’t written in stone. It would be pretty hard to cast a 9-ft circle in the living room of an apartment! What’s important is that you have room to move without piercing the circle. If you move your wand hand and the wand extends beyond the barrier of the circle, it isn’t large enough. Make sure you, your altar (if you use one), the tools and ingredients for your ritual, and any movements you’ll make will be firmly within the bounds of the circle when determining size. It’s also important that nothing disrupts the barrier—the circle shouldn’t go through a wall, piece of furniture, etc.

That works the other way too. If you have a large coven participating in a ritual, a nine-foot circle may not be large enough. It is important to remember, though, that the larger the circle, the harder it is to maintain for the entirety of the spell or ritual. Keeping them just to the size needed is best. And if some of the coven won’t be active participants, they can often sit outside the circle (provided they won’t disturb it).

The shape would seem like it is self-explanatory—it’s a circle—but it’s more than that. Yes, what we cast is a circle (not a square or triangle), but what else is it? When you visualize your circle, is it just a ring of light on the ground emanating energy? Is it a cone that rises from the circle you cast into a point above the center, completely enclosing the space? Is it a dome? A cylinder? Each shape contributes something different energetically, but no shape is more “correct” than the others. You may find what you visualize and conjure changes depending on the size, the rite, and the participants.

Releasing the Circle

Now you’ve cast a circle, completed your spell, and need to know—am I stuck in this barrier forever? Don’t fret! As we said at the beginning, this is a temporary sacred space. You may hear this phrased in different ways. Some say they are opening the circle, some say closing, some say releasing, some say dissolving, and some say finishing… how you phrase it isn’t really important. It’s about what to do with the circle when you’ve completed what you cast it for.

The most common practice in Wicca is to remove the circle by repeating the process used to cast it. If you used the circle casting steps we bulleted earlier, you’d close that circle this way:

Complete your spell work.

Focus your intention on releasing the circle and the energies of the space.

Begin at the north, walking counter-clockwise.

Walk the border of your circle in reverse from how you cast it, visualizing the energy dissipating and the border dissolving.

Pause at each of the four points of the cardinal directions, returning the energy you borrowed (this time, after north, the order is Water, Fire, Air).

When you reach your starting point at the north, symbolically open your hands wide and say aloud, “The circle is released, and the space is returned.”

Collect your ingredients and tools.