A Witches Bible - Janet Farrar, Stewar Farrar 1981

The Closing Ritual
The Frame
The Sabbats and Rites for Birth, Marriage and Death

A Magic Circle, once cast, must always and without exception be banished when the occasion or purpose for which it was cast is finished.¹ It would be bad manners not to thank, and bid farewell to, the entities you had invoked to guard it; bad magic to create a barrier on the astral plane and then to leave it undismantled, a stray obstacle like an upturned rake on a garden path; and bad psychology to have so little belief in its reality and effectiveness that you assume it will go away the moment you stop thinking about it.

The Preparation

Strictly speaking, no preparation is needed for the ritual of banishing the Circle; but two provisions should be borne in mind, during your activities in the Circle, in anticipation of it.

First, if any objects have been consecrated in the Circle, they should be kept together — or at least each of them remembered — so that they can be picked up and carried by someone placed at the back of the coven during the banishing. To make the gestures of a Banishing Pentagram towards a newly consecrated object would have a neutralizing effect.

Second, you should see that at least one cake, or biscuit, and a little of the wine are left, so that these can be taken outside afterwards and scattered or poured as an offering to the Earth. (Living in Ireland, we follow local tradition by making this offering in a slightly different way; we leave it overnight in two little bowls, outside on a west-facing window-sill, for the sidhe (pronounced ’shee’), or fairy-folk. The sidhe, incidentally, are reputed to like a pat of butter on the cake or biscuit.)

The Ritual

The High Priestess faces the East with her athame in her hand. The High Priest stands to her right, and the rest of the coven stand behind them. All carry their athames, if they have them, except for the person carrying the newly-consecrated objects (if any) who stands right at the back. The Maiden (or someone detailed by the High Priestess for the purpose) stands near to the front, ready to blow out each candle in turn.

The High Priestess says:

“Ye Lords of the Watchtowers of the East, ye Lords of Air; we do thank you for attending our rites; and ere ye depart to your pleasant and lovely realms, we bid you hail and farewell…. Hail and farewell.”

As she speaks, she draws the Banishing Pentagram of Earth with her athame in the air in front of her, thus:

Banishing

After drawing the Pentagram, she kisses her athame blade and lays it on her heart for a second or two.

The High Priest and the rest of the coven copy all these gestures with their own athames; any who are without athames use their right forefingers. (The bearer of the consecrated objects makes no gestures.) All say the second “Hail and farewell” with her.

The Maiden steps forward and blows out the East candle.

The whole procedure is repeated facing South, the High Priestess saying:

“Ye Lords of the Watchtowers of the South, ye Lords of Fire; we do thank you …” etc.

Then to the West, the High Priestess saying:

“Ye Lords of the Watchtowers of the West, ye Lords of Water; ye Lords of Death and of Initiation; we do thank you …” etc.

Then to the North, the High Priestess saying:

“Ye Lords of the Watchtowers of the North, ye Lords of Earth; Boreas, thou guardian of the Northern portals; thou powerful God, thou gentle Goddess; we do thank you …” etc.

At the North, the Maiden merely blows out the Earth candle; for purely practical reasons, she leaves the two altar candles burning until the room lights are turned on.

The Sabbat is over.