Casting a Circle for Spirit-Summoning
While many practitioners may be familiar with the Wiccan Circle (cast to delineate a workspace and to contain raised energy), many traditional witches use a different form of Circle altogether. Here, the Circle is not cast around the practitioner, nor is it used to gather or hold magical power. Instead, it is drawn as a boundary for the temporary containment of a spirit being summoned for communication, divination or ritual work.
This practice is most often used when the practitioner wishes to interact directly with a specific spirit while maintaining a controlled and focused space for the interaction. Such a Circle would be most helpful for unfamiliar or unknown spirits; it would likely not be necessary for communion with guides, guardians, initiators, familiars or allies.
Casting the Circle
Stand just outside the space where you wish to draw the Circle. With the Witching Fingers (the index and middle fingers of your dominant hand), trace a circle on the ground or floor. You will draw the circle three times in succession, each tracing slightly larger than the one before it, giving the effect of three rings similar to the Witchβs Compass:
Clockwise β to claim and define the space.
Anticlockwise β to banish any unwanted influence or lingering spirits.
Clockwise again β to bind and seal the Circle and prepare it for use.
As you trace the final circle, speak the following:
I cast this circle on the ground,
A hallowed space where spirit is bound.
Only the one I call may tread,
To answer what Iβve sought and said.
Calling the Spirit
When the Circle is fully cast and sealed, stand before it. Raise your hand high in a gesture of power and focus your full intention on the spirit you wish to summon. Speak clearly and steadily.
If the name of the spirit is known, say:
Spirit of (name of the spirit or entity),
I call to you in the dark of night.
Enter this circle, come into sight,
Be with me now, on this sacred rite.
If the name of the spirit is unknown or intentionally withheld, you may instead say:
Spirit of the unseen, the silent and true,
I summon thee, come forth, I beseech you.
Since your name is not known to me,
I name you (name or title), by Rings of Three.
At the end of your working, the spirit called must be released and Circle dismantled.
