Creating Sacred Space for Casting Magical Spells

“Sacred space” is another way of saying “with intention.”
-S. Kelley Harrell

There are times in our magical adventures that we feel the need for a safe haven. Perhaps your world is upside down and backward; perhaps you feel as if negative energies are hurting your ability to manifest. Whatever the cause, please know that you do not need a “special” time, place or even a reason for setting up sacred space. The idea is that of creating a region in which you build your energy without external interference. That means greater focus which is always a GOOD thing. So let’s look at the specifics of creating your sacred space.

Settling in for Magic

From the perspective of clean, controlled energy, developing an enhanced region for spell casting makes perfect sense. The magical circle acts as a barrier between external influences and the vibrations you are building. Like placing a plug in a sink full of water, this sphere contains the magic until properly devised and directed toward your goal.

Having said that, many simple enchantments that deal with common needs do not demand extensive preparations. A great example is parking magic. Go into a filled parking lot, and repeatedly whisper the phrase, “Great squat, I need a spot” as a verbal component. Nothing else is added except intense observation. While humorous in construction, its hard to forget this ditty and the spell always seems to work. Almost everyone who drives uses this type of magic, but I doubt sincerely that they stop to set up a formal circle first.

So, let your inner voice guide you. If you are not in a position where a circle is plausible, then envision yourself surrounded by a white-light sphere instead. This takes very little time, and encloses your magic until you’re ready to release it.

When time and circumstances allow you to create a sacred space, do so! The more often you make a haven in your magical niche, the more it will be permeated with shielding energy. Two techniques for circle casting, one casual and one formal, follow.

Informal Circles

The busy nature of our lives does not always afford the time to create a full, formal circle. Fortunately, there are easy ways of making a fast, functional sacred space. To begin,
clear away anything that distracts you even innocently. Put the pets in another room, tum off the phone, play some favorite music, and remove any clutter that generates thoughts of the mundane. If it is impossible to eliminate distracting influences (such as permanent fixtures), tum your back to that region before beginning your spell.

For a casual circle, a time-saving technique is finding objects associated with the four elements (Earth, Air, Fire, Water) that adorn your working area. Each item should be blessed with a brief prayer indicating its purpose in your sacred space. A potted plant for Earth could be sanctified by saying something like, “Great Spirit, bless this living bit of the world to represent the element of earth in my sanctuary.”

Other good possibilities for elemental objects include:

• Air

  An open window in the east; a paper or electric fan; feathers; bells hung in the east; a leaf; pictures of clouds, birds, or windy places.

• Earth

  Salt, flour, a jar of corn or grain, Indian com, indoor grown herbs, a globe or ball, pictures of natural settings to be placed in the north.

• Fire

  Matches, incense burners, candles, fireplaces, stoves, anything red or orange, representations of the sun, dragons, or other fiery animals/ emblems to be placed in the south.

• Water

  Sink, cup, or bowl; bud vase; any items with blue or green hues; seashells, sand or coral; depictions of whales or fish to be placed in the west.

After blessing all four, place them in the appropriate location. Then, in a small way, you have set up a permanent, but inactive, sacred space. To mobilize the latent energy, add an invocation like:

“Air and Fire, Sea and Land
Before your presence, I/we would to stand!
Come, protect this sacred space
While I/we work magic in this place.”

An invocation like this allows the inherent magic of your blessed objects to be triggered. As you name the elements, point to them, and visualize a searing white light connecting each to each. Once completed, you should sense a sphere of energy around you, just on the edge of your awareness. It feels a bit like static electricity to some people. Others smell a change in the air or hear significantly less noise. Check all your senses to see which way you perceive spiritual changes best.

Finally, when you’ve completed your work, simply thank the elemental powers for their assistance and bid them farewell.

Formal Circles

In instances of greater need, or when time allows, Witches and Pagans (and other magical practitioners) may want the extra sanctity that a formal circle offers. Potency and atmosphere define the distinction between this and a more casual setting. Formal circles create a stronger division between the mundane world and space – they are “between the worlds.” There is a serious, reflective ambience to this setting, kind of like the tonal difference between a youth-group meeting and the old Latin Mass of Catholicism.

The change in the atmosphere creates a similar transition in the way you approach magic here. This doesn’t imply donning drab clothing or losing your joy, but a truly sacred space is holy. In it, you share your magical time with the great powers of the universe. Thus, a respectful demeanor is fitting.

To begin setting this tone, follow the first step in the informal circle; straighten and clean your working area if it needs it. A tidy region is less distracting, and removing dust or clutter also removes bits of stray energy deposited with daily tensions.

Formal Invocations

Next, invoke each elemental point around the circle. As you do this move clockwise, beginning in the east with the rising sun and ending in the north. You may wish to light a candle at every point while speaking the invocation. The candle is a visible, active emblem of the Elemental presence. Choose its color according to what it represents:

• Green, brown, and black are best for Earth
• Red, yellow, and orange for Fire
• Blue and sea-green for Water
• Pale yellow or white for Air.

Here is a sample invocation:

East/Air

“Hail Guardians of the East,
Dancing spirits of the Air and
Protectors of the rising sun and the setting moon.
We(I) call and welcome you.
Let fresh winds blow to inspire creativity
in this sacred space.
Keep us (me) safe from negativity coming from the east
And abide with us(me) here until the circle closes.”

South/Fire

“Hail Guardians of the South,
Joyous salamanders of fire,
Sparks of light that banish all shadows.
We(I) call and welcome you.
Let your fires burn evenly in our(my) hearts to empower our(my) magic.
Keep us (me) safe from negativity coming from the south
And abide with us (me) here until the circle closes.”
[wisew_rectangle_large align=”right”]

West/Water:

“Hail Guardians of the West,
Flowing waters of intuition and healing
Waves that roll from the beginning of time.
We(I) call and welcome you.
Let your rich drops fall upon this sacred space to fill the well of our(my) soul(s)
Keep us (me) safe from negativity coming from the west
And abide with us (me) here until the circle closes.”

North/Earth:

“Hail Guardians of the North,
Soil of foundations, rich with nourishment
Earth within which the roots of our(my) magic grow.
We(I) call and welcome you.
Let your fertile loam produce flourishing power balanced with perfect love.
Keep us(me) safe from negativity coming from the north
And abide with us(me) here until the circle closes.”

Center/ Ether:

“Hail Lord and Lady of Light,
Goddess of the Moon, God of the Sun;
Grandfather of Time, Grandmother of Fate.
Join with the elements, waltz in their sphere,
and bless our(my) time=not=time.
We(I) open this sacred space to your presence. So be it.”

As with the casual circle, remember to envision rays of light connecting each part of the circle until they encase your entire working area with a glowing ball of protective energy. Once the circle is completed, a small libation and an offering to the God/dess may follow. This is one way to thank the Great Spirit for aid and providence before enacting your spell.

Libations may take the form of wine, juice, or water, poured to the Earth (or if indoors, another bowl left on the altar). Make offerings in whatever form with which you’re comfortable. Good quality incense, grains, fruits, and coin are all options. Share left-over grain and fruit with the birds after your ritual. Coins should be donated to a charitable cause. This way, nothing offered to the Divine goes to waste but continues to bless others.

The next step is enacting your spell. Once finished, you can remain in this sacred space to study, meditate, pray, or commune as desired. When you are ready to depart, reverse the order of your invocation to release the sacred sphere, blowing out the candles as you go. Some practitioners follow the order below, and others first say goodbye to the Center.
North:

“Guardians of the North, thank you for your foundation and protection. We (I) release you now with grateful heart(s).”
West:
“Guardians of the West, thank you for your inspiration and protection. We (I) release you now with peaceful heart(s).”
South:
“Guardians of the South, thank you for your energy and protection. We (I) release you now with renewed heart(s).”
East:
[wisew_rectangle_large align=”left”]“Guardians of the East, thank you for your fresh perspectives and protection. We (I) release you now with transformed heart(s).”
Center
(for groups): “May the Lady and Lord watch between me and thee while we are apart from each other. Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again.”
Center
(for solitary): “Lady and Lord, thank you for your presence here. Watch over me daily and speak to my heart until I can share this space with you again. So mote it be.”

Cast The Spell

Linguistically, the word “cast” is an interesting term. For metals it means to shape or mold. It also can mean to emit or direct, such as a vote, to assign or allocate as occurs when casting a play, or to hurl outward as in fishing. Putting all this into magical vernacular, to cast a spell means shaping our thoughts to transmit and direct energy toward a specific assignment, then releasing the energy to that goal. Each of these steps is vital to the attainment of your goals.

Shaping Thoughts

Shaping your thoughts means training your mind on one thing for the duration of the spell, namely your purpose. Your verbal components, along with any chosen props and focals, help with this. Make sure the image kept at the forefront of your thoughts is clear and as multidimensional as possible.

Suppose you feel the need to bring fruitfulness into your life. Some of your well-loved projects are going nowhere and your job isn’t as fulfilling as it might be. You hope to settle these problems by drawing in more constructive energy. If you assemble a chanted jingle like“Goddess, hear my words and bless, bring to me lush fruitfulness,”. Without any other components to guide it, you might end up with a thriving garden instead of professional productivity and success. Why? Because the particulars of your spell were indefinite. Be as specific as possible by adding imagery, wording, and other components.

Projecting the Spell

In our next step, we must consider projection and guidance. Visualization helps tremendously with these. By using our imagination, we can depict the purpose of the spell clearly in our mind’s eye. This shows our superconscious exactly what we hope to attain.

To understand this interaction, think of listening to a conversation without any frame of reference. It is easy to misinterpret the context when you don’t see the whole picture. When a context (secondary perception) is added the picture becomes clearer and this enhances the minute features of your magical goal.

Therefore, if you can incorporate all your senses into the act of spell casting, your magic should respond with greater detail.

Assigning the Spell’s Energy

Assignment works hand in hand with direction, which releases the spell and gives it a designation in which to lodge itself. We once knew a woman who wove a fertility spell with the help of a friend. She later wrote to say her companion got pregnant at an inopportune time, and that she herself was having no luck. Apparently, the magical energy housed itself in the wrong participant. Sure enough, a few months later the same woman wrote back. She said that she reworked the formulation to be very personal, enacted alone, and directed inward. The difference in the approach manifested itself in conception.

The basic considerations for the assignment of energy are who, what, where, when, and how. When we cast spells for a job, for example, the questions need to be answered promptly to assure financial well-being. In this case, who is ourselves. Where becomes important because a job offer halfway across the country probably won’t help unless relocation is an option. What is the employment itself, but you should delineate the types of jobs you will enjoy?
While exactly how you find a job isn’t critical in this spell, there are situations where that question needs to be answered. You would not want to get someone fired unfairly, for example.

Build the Energy Through Word and Deed

This works hand in hand with casting. If you have ever been in a circle where the dancing starts out slowly, then grows faster, you have probably experienced the feeling of cresting energy. Basically, we use media such as rhythm, music, or chanting to fashion, guide, and increase magical power. These actions either coincide with the casting of our spell or follow it, depending on your components.

Obviously, it is difficult to sing and dance while writing on paper, lighting candles, etc. In instances like these, cast the spell and hold it securely in your sacred space like a bubble of energy. Then, move clockwise around your space with rattles, repeated incantations, drumming, or other props to build the energy until you feel ready to burst. At this point, that inner well of focused power should be directed into the spell sphere before taking the final step.

Release the Magic

Magic will do little good if you don’t release it. You have to let the energy disengage for anything to happen. For this, the visualization of cutting a line of energy from yourself works very well.

This line of energy can appear like an umbilical cord emanating from your center of gravity (near the navel) connecting to your spell bubble like the string on a balloon. Visualize an opening in your magical sphere that is shaped like a megaphone with the pointed end directed toward your goal. Then, untie or cut the cord and channel the balloon through the opening so the energy can leave the sacred space.

Dramatic movements or loud words also can release spells. That is why you sometimes see the priest/ess of a circle shout ” while raising their hands upward.This sudden change in vocal tone acts like scissors on the energy. Then the physical motion speeds it on its way.

If this imagery doesn’t work well for you, try others. Try visualizing an arrow finding its mark, for example, or imagining your magic as a key that first unlocks a door in the sacred space, then moves outward.

Don’t be afraid to experiment and try new approaches. Generally, you will know whether you have chosen all aspects of a spell correctly. You might find that certain words stick in your mouth, or that the choreographed motions feel awkward. Such occurrences mean you need to refine the spell a little more, then try it again.

The most potent enchantments roll almost effortlessly from your heart and leave a subtle tingle in the room.

Ground Yourself
Grounding is a final step in spell casting that brings you back to Earth. Magic can leave you light-headed and weary. You need time after spell casting to recover your mundane thought patterns and a normal level of awareness.

Sit on the floor and take a few cleansing breaths. Have some raw vegetables handy and nibble a bit. Hard candy also works. Visualize small roots growing out of your feet and legs to anchor you to the Earth. Stay put until you feel completely back to your old self. Then, leave that space with the assurance that your magic has begun its, well, MAGIC!

Repeat the Spell

Repeat a spell any time you feel the need until it manifests. Each time you focus your mind toward that goal, you reinforce the original working. Executing the spell again also gives you greater peace of mind. Generally, humans are an impatient lot, and waiting for results can be nerve-wracking. Repeating our spells provides us with an opportunity to do something constructive while we wait: empower our magic.

Similarly, don’t forget to do everything you can to support your magic on a mundane level. If you’re looking for a job, get those blessed resumes in the mail and scan the paper faithfully. If you’re trying to return to health, make sure to get plenty of rest and follow your physician’s advice. Trusting in our magic doesn’t mean relinquishing common sense. Instead, blend your best sensibilities with spiritual techniques for balanced, bountiful results.

Adapted from Spinning Spells Weaving Wonders by Patricia Telesco all Rights Reserved.