By S. Reicher
Those who learn Ceremonial and Goetic magic are taught from the very beginning that our first line of defense is the magical circle. This is the circle of protection wherein the magician stands that is said to protect him or her from any threat. It’s considered essential for any magical working, the first tool in the tool box, the first weapon in a magician’s arsenal. I believe it is absolutely crucial, just not for the reasons generally given.
Too much import is invested in the physical, tangible circle, in the names and sigils and letters drawn around its borders. That is not where the protection comes from. Those things are a lens through which the magician can work, reflections of an understanding and a process of spiritual and magical connectivity that should have already happened. If it hasn’t, the best circle in the world won’t protect a one and if it has, then the physical accoutrements aren’t necessary. Given the way I was taught, I’m very much of the school of “if you can’t do it naked at 2am in an empty room you can’t do it” mentality. This doesn’t mean that i automatically dispensed with tools, rather it means i was forced to examine and study why we used them and what their real purpose was.
