Circle

n. 1. The energetic or astral construct created by Wiccans and various other practitioners before a ritual. Need not actually be circular; it often conforms to the shape of the room the ritual is in. 2. The group of people within the circle performing the ritual: “Tell the whole circle I’ll be there soon.” 3. A group of people that regularly perform circles or rituals together; a coven. v. 1. To perform a ritual with someone or with some group: “Yeah, I’ve circled with those folks from Coven Foobar”

While ceremonial magicians do tend to erect structures that would be recognized by Wiccans as circles, they don’t always call them circles. Other Neopagans may or may not erect circles of any type, depending on their tradition. But nearly everyone will at least recognize the usage of the term.

Ceremonial circles are generally erected with a combination of the LBRP, the BRH, and possibly other elements. A Wiccan circle is generally created by the following, fairly brief, ritual, which is also sometimes used by other Pagan-but-not-Wiccan groups:

1. Inscribe an astral or energetic line around the periphery of the space in which the ritual is held. This should be started in the East, and continued deosil. Then declare the circle to be closed, cast, or completed, while extending the energy upward and downward to form a closed three-dimensional shape. (If indoors, this will usually follow the walls of the room and hence be some form of rectangular solid; outdoors, it’s generally a sphere.)
2. Starting in the East and proceeding deosil, call in each of the four quarters/elements (Air, Fire, Water, Earth). This may be done by the person who performed Step 1, but is more usually done by four separate participants. Some groups include a call to the fifth element, usually called Spirit; most, however, work in a four-element system.
3. Invoke the Lord and Lady. This may be done as a single invocation to both Deities, or to one and then the other. Usually, the Goddess will be invoked first, often by using the Charge of the Goddess. Generally a woman will invoke the Goddess and a man, the God, but variations from this are not entirely uncommon, especially in Eclectic circles. In non-Wiccan groups, multiple deities may be invoked, in various ways.

In some groups, steps 1 and 2 are reversed. In such cases, the elements are considered to assist in the creation of the circle. In a highly natural area, the call to one or more of the elements may take more of a form of “acknowledgement” – simply recognizing and acknowledging that the element in question is already present. (For example, the calling of South/Fire on a hot, bright, sunny day.)