The Real Witches’ Book of Spells and Rituals

There are other objects, such as parchment, crystals, etc, into which the magic can be placed in specific spells, and these form charms, talismans, and so on. You may also wish to add to your Altar pictures of your ‘clients’, flowers to decorate, gifts for Coven members, and so on. There is more on these in Chapter 6, Magical Resources.

What you should not place on the Altar are things unconnected with the Craft and the Ritual: tea and coffee cups (although a glass of water might be placed there if you feel the need to sip during Ritual), ashtrays, cigarettes, and any other bits and pieces from daily life.

CREATING THE SACRED SPACE

Having tidied and cleaned your working space, set your Altar and checked that you have everything you need, you are now ready to create your Sacred Space. In a Coven, whilst one or two people will prepare the Altar, the others will be checking that they understand the Ritual and, where these are used, changing into their Ritual clothes.

The steps are as follows:

* Centring.

* Blessing the Elements on the Altar.

* Invoking each of the Elements – Air, Fire, Water, and lastly, Earth.

* Inviting the Goddess and the God.

* Casting the Circle.

If you are working in a group then you can have different people taking different roles and they can stand at the appropriate points of the Circle to do so, either staying in place or moving (Deosil) into place to perform their parts. Depending on numbers you may have enough individuals to cover all the parts or some may have to double up on roles. In group working it is important that everyone is focused on each action every time. So when one person is invoking Air, they will say the words and perform the actions whilst visualizing the element, and everyone else will turn to face the East and will also visualize that element. When working on your own you can remain in one place and either remain facing the Altar or turn to face the different directions.

CIRCLE ETIQUETTE

Before I move onto the actual method of Creating the Sacred Space, there are some rules which really must be followed in Circle:

* Move Deosil, clockwise, at all times. Walking Widdershins, anticlockwise, undoes things and is reserved for a very few occasions. If this means you have to walk the whole circumference to get to where you should be, that’s fine.

* Take your time. There is no hurry in Circle, so try to move sedately and carefully. Also give other people the time to return to their place or get to where they should be.

* Repeat the Blessed Be’s. Every time someone says ‘Blessed Be’, it should be echoed by everyone in Circle, preferably in unison, although that takes some practice.

* Remain focused. Even when it is not your turn, or someone seems to be unnecessarily long-winded, remain focused on what is happening and on the purpose of the Ritual. There should be no whispered comments, witty asides or small talk.

* Never, ever, touch another Witch’s Athame. The Athame is personal to each Witch, far more so than, say, a toothbrush. To touch another Witch’s Athame, unless they have specifically asked you to, is the height of bad manners.

HOLDING THE ATHAME

Your Athame is held in your strong hand (right if you are right-handed or vice versa), with your forefinger pointing along the flat edge of the blade towards the tip. You should hold it firmly, so that when moving around it is not likely to fly out of your hand and injure someone.

CENTRING

Everyone gathers and stands in a Circle facing inwards. In our Coven people will usually stand so that they are in place for whichever part of Creating the Sacred Space they will be performing. We also try to ensure that men and women alternate around the Circle to balance the energies. The High Priestess stands in front of the Altar with her High Priest on her right-hand side, and she goes through the outline of the Ritual to ensure everyone knows what they will be doing. Everyone holds hands. The High Priest then says:

‘Let us centre ourselves. Feel the earth beneath your feet that is as our flesh. Feel the air which passes in and out of your lungs, which is as our thoughts. Feel the fire that is around us and which is our passions. Feel the water which flows in our veins and is our emotions. Blessed Be.’

In my Coven and its Daughter Covens we then together recite The Witches’ Rune, originally written by Doreen Valiente:

Darksome night and shining moonEast then south then west and northHearken to the Witches’ RuneHere we come to call ye forth.

Earth and water, air and fireWand and pentacle and swordWork ye unto our desireHearken ye unto our word

Cords and censer, scourge and knifePowers of the Witches’ bladeWaken all ye unto lifeCome ye as the charm is made

Queen of Heaven, Queen of HelHorned Hunter of the NightLend your power unto our spellWork our will by magic rite

By all the power of land and seaBy all the might of Moon and SunAs we do will so mote it beChant the spell and be it done.

There are other versions of the Rune which differ somewhat, but this is the version we use.

BLESSING THE ELEMENTS ON THE ALTAR

Until you have Blessed the Elements they are still objects in the mundane world rather than representations of the Elemental energies. Note that Air, Fire and Water are Blessed and Consecrated, whereas Earth is simply Blessed. This is because salt is deemed to be pure in itself. It is usual for one person to do the whole of Blessing the Elements, otherwise you are going to have a crush at the Altar.

Firstly, light the Altar candle(s) and the incense.

Take a pinch of salt and place it on the Altar Pentacle. Inscribe an invoking Pentagram (see Appendix 2, Terms and Definitions) over it with your Athame and say,

‘I do bless thee O creature of Earth to make thee fit for these our Rites.’

Kiss your forefinger and say, ‘Blessed Be’.

In a group everyone will echo this and every other ‘Blessed Be’.

With your Athame, draw an invoking Pentagram in the smoke of the incense and say,

‘I do bless and consecrate thee O creature of Air to make thee pure and fit for these our Rites.’

Kiss your forefinger and say, ‘Blessed Be’.

With your Athame, draw an invoking Pentagram in the flame of the candle and say,

‘I do bless and consecrate thee, O creature of Fire to make thee pure and fit for these our Rites.’

Kiss your forefinger and say, ‘Blessed Be’.

With your Athame, draw an invoking Pentagram in the water and say,

‘I do bless and consecrate thee, O creature of Water to make thee pure and fit for these our Rites.’

Kiss your forefinger and say, ‘Blessed Be’. Then say,

I call on Earth to bind my spell,Air to speed its passage well,Bright as Fire shall it glow,And deep as ocean’s tides shall flow.Count the elements fourfold,For in the Fifth the Spell shall hold.Blessed Be.

This latter verse, derived from Alex Sanders, is used in our group of Covens and not necessarily by other Covens.

INVOKING THE ELEMENTS

This is also referred to as Calling the Quarters. Some groups will have Quarter lights denoting the places in the Circle. These are candles either on tall candleholders, or on convenient pieces of furniture, and are generally yellow for Air, red for Fire, blue for Water and green for Earth. Some groups will use different colour correspondences, such as blue for Air, green for Water and yellow (or brown) for Earth, although Fire tends to continue to be red. Quarter lights are frequently employed outdoors where the edge of the Circle may be less well defined and then these candles may be placed in glass jars to prevent them damaging the environment, or being extinguished by the wind or the movement of group members. Other groups may place different indicators at these points, perhaps a Thurible for Air, the Sword for Fire, the Cauldron for Water, and Besom for Earth.