Monthly Spell

June 2021

Circle Casting

Happy summertime! For those of us who delight in it, welcome to warmth! For those of us who don’t- just keep doing your thing. You'll get through it. 

I hope you like the recipe this month, I’m fond of curry and jesus christ the eggs are overrunning us. Also if you ever want a fertilized egg for a spell, hit me up! We may be able to work something out. I even have one black hen who lays a green egg, so if your spellwork specifically calls for one from a black hen and a black rooster, I gotchu.

Anyway, let’s get started with this month’s box. This is not technically a spell. I’ve been studying Traditional Witchcraft (I don’t know why they capitalize it but whatever), and this is one of the things that happens in it. We gon’ cast a circle, y’all.

Included in this month’s box:

Witch’s whisk, made of blackberry brambles cut under a full moon, dried, and tied with a red string. Used by witches on the British Isles for smoke cleansing and clearing, we will use this to smoke up our area. You can also use it as an actual whisk, and in this case it helps impart the protective qualities of the thorns. These (and the alder straws, I don’t remember if I linked you last month) are from artesandcraft.com. They’re super friendly people in Michigan. If you shop with them please tell them I sent you!)

So let’s talk about the circle. I actually don’t usually cast them. When I use this, though, I will, and with a new outlook. The circle we’re making isn’t so much for protection. If you don’t have the area where you work warded, you should do that first, though- I regularly ward my entire property so I feel protected when I do what I do.

We’re going to make a liminal place. This circle is a place that will allow us to leave the plane we’re currently on, where we (and any entity with whom we’re working) can “meet in the middle”.

I really suggest you do this outside as I have no idea how smoky these bramble things will be- I only had JUST enough for all of us to have one so I haven’t tested it.

Choose the spot where you will be making your circle. I recommend making it at least as wide across as you are tall, plus a foot or two. Use a broom (a tree branch makes a great one) to try to move random sticks and whatever out of the circle. This has a twofold purpose- one, there are fewer things for my clumsy ass to trip over. Two, it gives you a visual barrier so you know how far you can go before you leave the circle. Then locate north. You probably have some sort of map thing on your cellphone that will help you figure this out. Put a flat rock or your cauldron or something fireproof that will hold the whisk at this point. If you plan on asking anything to join you, bring something as offering. The mugwort would be nice as it’s good for spiritual work- either crumbled alone, or smoked on the charcoal disc.

Hold the tied end of your whisk, and light the other end (I recommend a butane micro torch- you can get them at Harbor Freight, Lowes, or Amazon for about fifteen to twenty bucks). (also you can use them to make crème brulee and to toast marshmallows indoors), then when it’s burning, blow it out. It should continue to smoke. Starting at the northernmost point, walk the circle deosil/clockwise (I pronounce this day-oh-seel but I say it fast with emphasis on the day part, so the seel comes out like an Ee-ish sill. Imagine the way an elf says Elendil). Be sure you stay INSIDE the circle and you hold the whisk in your left hand, though, so you’re not crossing over your body by holding it in your right, or locking yourself out.

Walk the circle with the smoking whisk, and imagine the smoke snaking down into the earth below and above to meet itself. You could even move it down to the ground and up over your head if it helps you “see” it better. You’re creating a sphere, or a bubble. If you like, stop at each cardinal point and ask any entity you associate with it to meet you inside and assist you in your work. If you’re just doing this to practice making a circle, as I will be, you can just tell them the equivalent of “hey, if you want to meet me down here that would be cool, I just want to hang out and appreciate you, we aren’t going to do anything.” But if you are gonna do something, tell them that, instead, probably. I personally don’t assign elements to named deities but I might ask elemental spirits to join me, a la The Craft, because well. That’s my jam.

As you walk, you should notice the world outside the circle getting…less. Less bright, less loud, less where you are. It should be separate from the space and feel inside your circle. You’re making a separate place that isn’t in that world or plane; you’re in between.

Once you reach your starting point, put the whisk into your cauldron (or on the rock). Hopefully you’ll have some sense of difference inside the circle, and if you’ve asked anything to join you, you’ll be able to sense that too. If you don’t, that’s OK. I honestly have trouble with this part too, so we’ll just see. If you can do this at twilight/dusk it will probably help out with getting in the mood, so to speak.

This would be a good time and place to meditate. When you’re finished, thank whatever you asked to join you, and leave the offering inside the circle. Walk widdershins/counterclockwise, blowing the smoke away (even if you can’t see it). Feel the sphere slowly break up and blow away, releasing the energy back to the Universe.

Go have a snack and something to drink. That was work!