Original Magic: The Rituals and Initiations of the Persian Magi - Michael M. Hughes 2018

On the Casting of Circles
Preparation for Ritual

I’m going to say something that goes against the grain of many traditions, particularly witchcraft and Western ceremonial magic. It may be shocking and heretical to those of you who are long-time practitioners.

You don’t need to cast a circle to do magic.

Witches, please don’t throw the book across the room. Allow me to explain.

Magical circles are used for group workings in many traditions and, in fact, the idea of doing a group ritual without a circle would seem ludicrous. A primary reason is that the magic circle is used as a “container” to hold the rising group energy before it is released to do its work.

My philosophy differs. From my experience, group energy is just as effective when it remains contained within the individuals until it is consciously released. Instead of filling up the circle or sphere with the combined individual energy (and how does that happen anyway? Does it leak out during the ritual? Is it gradually released?), the participants build the energy up within themselves until the ritual’s climax or peak, when they discharge it to do its work.

Unless your system demands otherwise, there’s no need to “banish” negative energies or to work within a protected magical circle for your safety. You can work magic safely and effectively at your altar without going through a ritual to create a protective bubble. Nothing will hurt you, and your magic will be just as effective.

So why do so many traditions claim otherwise? While doing magic within a circle goes back to ancient Egypt (at least), the traditions that focus on banishing—and most of them fall broadly in the category of Western magic (traditional witchcraft, Wicca, and ceremonial magic that grew from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and Freemasonry)—emerged from a narrow set of historical European systems in which spirits or demons were evoked and the circle served as a barrier to protect the magician from them. Many of these traditions treated the evoked entities with arrogance and cruelty, binding, bribing, and coercing them to do the bidding of the magician. It’s no wonder those magicians needed magical protection! Unless you’re doing goetic magic or working in the classical grimoire traditions, that hierarchical, patriarchal model should be abandoned.

That sort of magic is beyond the scope of this book anyway. We won’t be doing necromancy (summoning the dead) or conjuring demons to cajole them into running our errands. When our magic calls upon spirits, it is in the context of respect and cooperation. Attuning yourself with the Centering Ritual and working in service for the highest good of all is protection enough.

And if you use incense with protective qualities, such as frankincense or copal, you’re further cleansing and protecting your environment.

Now, having said all that…

Although I part with many established traditions when it comes to the emphasis on circles, banishing, and protection, there are times when it is prudent to create a circle (actually, an enclosing sphere). Such occasions may include when you feel the need for protection, either physical or mental/magical, when you have the need or desire to close off the outside world and minimize its influences, and when you are doing group rituals and want to sanctify your working space.

Let’s face it—activism and resistance can be dangerous. Your opponents, whether they are corporations, politicians, or a group of reactionary individuals, can be actively aggressive against you. In my days as a peace activist during the first Gulf War, I was run off the road by other drivers (on multiple occasions), my car and property were vandalized, and one night after work I was followed home by a group of drunks and pepper sprayed as I got out of my car (they didn’t like my “No Blood for Oil” bumper sticker). I know many people who have been subjected to physical abuse by police or counterprotesters. So doing some protection magic when you may be facing aggressive opponents is prudent (and see Chapter Five for other methods).

Your opponents may also use magical techniques against you. This is extremely rare but not unheard of. Alt-right groups during the 2016 presidential campaign employed chaos magic techniques against Hillary Clinton and her supporters, for example (and for a fascinating history of the magical battles of that election, see Gary Lachman’s Dark Star Rising: Magick and Power in the Age of Trump). A number of right-wing Pagan groups and magicians actively sought to oppose those of us doing the Trump binding spell (though their results were far more comic than troubling).

Beginning magicians and witches, particularly those with strong natural abilities, can sometimes generate energetic weirdness in their environments. It’s not harmful, but can become bothersome and annoying. It tends to manifest as unusual visual phenomena (like creatures or shadows moving in one’s peripheral vision) and can, on rare occasions, cause physical manifestations (noises, movement of objects, and other poltergeist-type effects). When I first began practicing Kabbalistic magic, the overhead lights in my basement started turning on and off by themselves. It was maddening to be in the midst of a deeply meditative candlelit ritual only to have bright fluorescent lights pop on. Talk about killing the mood! When I stopped doing the heavy ceremonial workings, the lights returned to normal and never exhibited that odd behavior again.

These low-level phenomena can also manifest as unpleasant, bizarre dreams or nightmares. This is quite rare, but if you find it happening to you, the protection ritual below should calm things down energetically. If that fails, just stop your practice and engage in social and nonmagical, mundane activities for a while.

When it comes to group workings, circles are a natural, nonhierarchical formation for gatherings. Doing rituals within a circle allows everyone to take part, and ritually defining the boundaries of your operation facilitates the proper atmosphere and serves to sanctify group space. The Hermetic Seal is an all-purpose circle or sphere spell you can use whenever and however you wish.