A 6 foot Goetia circle, with snake: space set apart for the work

A circle is a space, not a decoration

A Goetia circle is a space set apart for the work, and that sentence is worth taking literally, because it is easy to treat a circle as decoration, or as a picture to look at, rather than as a place to stand, and to work in.

Six foot is a practical size, and it is worth understanding in practical terms first. Six foot across is room for a practitioner to stand, to move, to set out tools, and to work, without stepping outside the circle to reach something he forgot. It is also room that must be found, in a real room, with real furniture moved, real floor space cleared, and real light to work by. A circle that cannot be laid out, in the room you actually have, cannot be worked in, however well it is painted.

Hand painted matters, too, in a plain way. A hand painted circle is painted by a hand, line by line, and it will show the hand in it, in a way a printed circle does not. That is not a flaw. It is the nature of a painted tool, and it is part of why a painted circle is a working tool, rather than a reproduction. You can see where the painter's hand steadied, and where it moved, and that seeing is itself a reminder that the circle was made, by a person, for a purpose, and not produced in bulk.

What can be said, plainly, is that a circle with a named figure in its design is a specific circle, made for a specific kind of work, and it should be used as the specific circle it is, not as a generic circle for any working at all. If your practice calls for a circle of this design, use this design. If it calls for a different design, use that design, rather than substituting this one because it is the one you happen to have.

Why a circle at all

A circle, in Goetia work, serves several purposes at once, and they are all practical, before they are symbolic. First, it marks a space. Inside the circle is the working. Outside it is ordinary life, with its errands, its noise, and its interruptions. That marking helps the practitioner attend, because attention has a place to stand in, and a boundary to return to, when it wanders.

Second, it gives the working a beginning and an end. You step in, you work, you step out, and you close. A working without a circle, or without some equivalent marking, easily drifts: it begins vaguely, it continues in the head after the formal part is over, and it never quite closes. A circle, laid out, entered, and left properly, makes the beginning and the end visible, to yourself, as well as to anyone else present.

Third, it holds the tools. A circle of six foot gives a place for the tools of the working to be set out, in order, where they can be reached, seen, and put back, without scattering them across a room. That order is not decoration. It is how a practitioner knows, in the middle of a working, where everything is, without hunting, and without breaking attention to search.

Fourth, in the tradition, a circle is a place of protection, in the sense that matters most in practice: a bounded working, with a clear aim, a clear petition, and a clear closing, is a protected working. A working that drifts, that has no closing, and that is carried on in the head for days afterwards, is not protected, however many gestures were made at the start. Protection, in this practical sense, is mostly a matter of discipline: begin properly, state the aim, do the work, close properly, and then stop.

Measuring the room, before the circle

Before you order a six foot circle, measure the room you will use it in. That advice sounds obvious, and it is often skipped, to the practitioner's regret. Six foot across means six foot of clear floor, in both directions, with room to walk around it, to enter it, and to leave it, without climbing over furniture, and without stepping on the circle itself to get to a tool.

Measure the floor, not the room in the abstract. Note where doors open, where light falls, where a candle can be set safely, and where you can sit or stand without crowding the circle. Note, too, whether the circle will be laid out for a single working, and then put away, or whether it will stay laid out for a period. A circle that stays laid out must be in a place where it will not be walked on, sat on, or used as a table, between workings, because a working tool that is used as furniture between workings is no longer set apart.

If the room cannot hold six foot clear, do not force it. A smaller circle, in a room that can hold it, is a better working tool than a large circle, cramped into a room that cannot hold it, with the practitioner stepping outside it every time he moves. The size of the circle should fit the room, and the room should fit the working, or the working will be spent managing the room, rather than doing the work.

Preparation, and laying out

Preparation for circle work is preparation for a formal working, and it starts before the circle is ever laid out. Be clear about why you are working, what you are asking for, and what you are prepared to do yourself, in one clear sentence. If you cannot state the matter in one sentence, write it down, leave it overnight, and come back to see if it still reads true. That pause is part of the work, not a delay in it.

Clear the space you will use, and set it aside for this purpose. Clean the floor where the circle will lie, not only for tidiness, but because a circle laid on a dirty floor, in a cluttered room, is a circle whose marking is already compromised. Gather what you need before you begin, so you are not hunting for a tool halfway through a working. Bathe, or wash your hands and face, and change into clothes set aside for the work. That change marks, for yourself, that this time is set apart.

Lay the circle out deliberately, and check it, before you begin. Look at it whole, from above, if you can, and see whether it lies flat, whether it is clear of obstructions, and whether you can stand inside it, and move, without stepping outside it. Set out the tools you will use, inside the circle, in the order your practice teaches, and check that you can reach them, without leaving the circle to do so.

Know what you are going to say, in your own words, before you begin. A petition that tries to cover every possible outcome usually covers none of them well. Keep it direct, keep it honest, and keep it to the matter at hand.

Working inside the circle

Working inside a circle is working with attention to boundaries, and that attention should be kept through the whole working, not only at its start. Stay inside the circle, for the duration of the working, as your practice teaches. If you must leave it, do so as your practice teaches, and return as it teaches, rather than stepping in and out casually, as if the circle were a rug.

Set out the seal, tool, or candle you will use, inside the circle, and work with them there. Holding a seal, putting it under a candle, putting oil on it, carrying it, wearing it as a pendant, and showing it to a desired person, in Athena's seal-working guidance, are all acts that can be done inside a circle, in the course of a working, and the circle gives those acts a place to happen, in order, without scattering.

Speak your petition clearly and once, rather than repeating it until it loses its shape. Sit quietly for a time and listen, rather than filling every moment with more words. That listening is not passive. It is the part of the working where the practitioner notices what changes, in himself, in the room, and in the matter at hand, and writes it down afterwards, in plain language.

Do not begin a working inside a circle when you are exhausted, drunk, or already agitated, if you can avoid it. A clear head is a working tool, just as much as a circle, a seal, oil, or incense is, and a working done in the heat of a feeling often reads, afterwards, as something you wish you had phrased differently. Wait until you can state the matter calmly, even if the matter itself is serious.

Closing, and putting away

Closing a circle working is as important as opening it, and it is the part most often hurried. Close the working properly, in whatever way your practice requires. Thank, in whatever way your practice requires. Put the tools away in their proper place, in order, rather than leaving them scattered inside the circle, or across the room.

Then deal with the circle itself, as your practice, and its making, require. A hand painted circle is a tool, and tools are kept, not left lying where they will be walked on, folded carelessly, or used for other purposes. Keep it in a clean, dry place, where it will not be damaged, where it will lie flat or roll as its making allows, and where it will be set apart from ordinary household things.

That keeping is part of the working, not an afterthought to it. A circle that is kept properly, between workings, will be ready, whole, and clean, when it is next laid out. A circle that is left out, walked on, or stored carelessly will show that carelessness, the next time it is laid out, and the practitioner will spend the beginning of his next working managing damage, rather than doing the work.

Afterwards, write down what you did, when you did it, and what you noticed. Not what you hoped would happen, but what actually happened, in plain language. That record is what lets you tell, weeks later, whether anything changed, and whether that change had anything to do with the work. Note the circle itself in that record: how it lay, how it was entered and left, and whether its size and its space helped the working, or hindered it.

Ordinary work, alongside circle work

Sometimes the right answer is not a spirit working alone. If the matter is a legal matter, a safety matter, or a medical matter, deal with that matter in the ordinary world first, or at the same time. Ritual work is not a substitute for a lawyer, a doctor, or for leaving a dangerous situation. If you are unsure whether a working is appropriate, wait, ask a teacher you trust, or choose a simpler practice first and see how that sits.

That point applies to circle work as much as to any other kind. A circle, however well painted, and however carefully laid out, does not replace ordinary action. A petition spoken inside a circle, while the practitioner does nothing in the ordinary world about the matter, is working against itself, and a record that shows that contradiction, honestly, is a useful record, even if it is an uncomfortable one.

Fire safety, in particular, deserves a plain word here. A circle working that uses candles, incense, or other open flame must be done with candles and incense placed safely, away from the circle material itself, away from curtains, paper, and other flammable things, and never left burning unattended. A working that burns a house down has not protected anyone, and no tradition teaches otherwise. Plan the flame, as carefully as you plan the petition.

Keeping a record, and knowing when to stop

Keep a short record for each working: date, purpose in one sentence, circle used, what you did inside it, and what you noticed afterwards, over days and weeks, not just on the night itself. If nothing changes, that is also information. It may mean the petition was unclear, the timing was wrong, the work was not appropriate, or simply that the situation needs a different approach.

Do not repeat the same working endlessly in the hope that repetition alone will force a result. Do the work properly, once, inside the circle, observe, act in the ordinary world as the matter requires, and then decide, calmly, whether a second working, a different approach, or no further working is the right next step. Repetition without reflection is not persistence. It is noise.

A circle is meant to be laid out steadily, worked in steadily, and kept steadily, over time, and judged by a record kept steadily, over time. That steadiness, more than any single working, is what makes a circle into a working tool, and a practice into a practice.

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