In The Right Circles:
Hosting a Ritual When You're Not a Member of a Group

by Columbine

Many of us like to celebrate and work magic in a group. But what do you do when you're sitting around having tea with friends and a Sabbat pokes its curious nose over the horizon: "Too bad there's no place we can go to celebrate." "Isn't there some group hosting an open Circle?" Nowadays, with almost nobody willing to commit even to returning a phone call, much less to participating in a group, it seems that the only available open Circles are huge, crowded affairs. And they always seem to be jam-packed with people who, while they're always glad to see new sisters and brothers in the Craft, are still too shy to make first contact. So, it's either practice Solitary, screw your courage to the sticking point and introduce yourself to new people in a big crowd, or consider starting your own group. Starting a group involves a commitment - not a popular set of circumstances - so groups don't form, and a lot of us end up Solitaries whether we like it or not.

Starhawk calls us a "religion of clergy," each of us a Priestess or Priest by Divine birthright. If you agree, then consider this: hosting a Circle for a specific occasion or purpose, recruiting a few friends to help, and working magic with whomever is interested - with no commitment beyond that specific ritual and its follow-up. Rather than joining a group, you'd be coordinating a single event, with people you trust, to be accomplished as you yourself see fit. Would you do it? Knowing that nothing would be expected of you afterward except that you keep your address and phone number up to date for an invitation list? Of course, someone might ask you to call East or bring cookies to another Circle later, but you can always say "no." Remember - this is not a group; a request is only a request!

If this idea seems exciting and worthwhile, take the plunge! Do you have a divination technique you'd like to share? A particular sort of spell you'd like to learn how to cast? A favorite myth with a powerful message? A Sabbat that means a lot to you? A passage that you want to celebrate? Well: Thou art God/dess! Phone some friends, scrounge up some advice, and do what thou wilt. It's not just a good idea - it's the Law!

SOME WAYS TO WORK MAGIC

• Re-sanctifying things taken for granted (i.e., cooking, gardening, listening)

• Making and charging tools
  • Poppets and talismans for individual spells

  • Ritual clothing, candles, incense, etc.

• Journeying
  • Guided meditation

  • Trance journeying with breathing, drumming, music

• Healing
  • Physical (broken bones, the flu, etc.)

  • Emotional (release, acceptance, conflict management)

  • Planetary/species

• Celebration
  • Sabbats

  • Life transitions

  • For the heck of it

• Spell-casting
  • For a specific person (employment, immunity from gossip, etc.)

  • For a specific purpose (to protect a place from violence, etc.)

• Worship
  • Seeking the Goddess & God within

  • Giving thanks/learning appreciation

  • Requesting help or knowledge

• Pick your objective. What are you trying to accomplish with the ritual?
  • Cast a specific spell

  • Celebrate a Sabbat

  • Learn something about working magic in a group

• Identify your advantages. Pick something you know you're good at or have the resources for and make it central to your ritual. For example:
  • Good storytelling skills - use a guided meditation

  • Big, private backyard - outdoor ritual

  • Familiarity with mythology - re-enact a specific story

  • Plenty of space & access to a stereo - dance

• Select co-conspirators. Who is interested in being a part of the ritual? How interested? Enough to:
  • Say for sure they'll show up

  • Bring something (i.e. juice & cookies)

  • Host the ritual or prepare the ritual site:
    • Cleaning, decorating, purifying

    • Breakdown & cleanup

  • Play a small impromptu part in the ritual

  • Play a prepared part in the ritual (learn lines or specific actions)

  • Help write/create the ritual itself

• Write the script. Make up your own, crib it from your favorite Pagan author(s), or mix 'n' match. Always include a grounding exercise at the end. If you've never led one, recruit someone experienced the first couple of times to help out. Choose helpers according to their own advantages, i.e.: Willing to sing / teach / do deep trance / wear a dress / etc. While writing the ritual, make lists:
  • What the creators of the ritual will need to bring/wear/know

  • What all participants will need to bring/wear/know

• Prepare for the ritual. Decide where to hold the circle and in what way the space needs to be prepared (e.g., rented, cleaned, rearranged). Determine how much extra preparation you and your helpers will need:
  • A phone call the week before to make sure they remember what they're supposed to do, have everything they need, and are still planning on doing it

  • To meet an hour or two ahead of time to do a quick "dry run" on the chosen site

  • One or more meetings/rehearsals to figure out who stands where, how long a song to tape, and whether the sequence works (as planned or otherwise)

• Invite people. Be sure to specify:
  • Should people RSVP? How far in advance? Include your phone number!

  • What to bring

  • OK to bring a friend? Is there a "rain date?"

  • Limitations (i.e. no smoking, allergenic pets on premises, how late at night is OK to call)

  • Mailed invitations - allow for postal chaos, send early

  • Phoned invitations - if you ask other people to do some of the phone calling, make sure that they get back to you re: whether they actually did or not and what their results were (e.g., left message for Ann, Paul is bringing his wife, etc.) unless it doesn't matter who/how many show up

• Go for it! Hold your ritual, and above all else, be flexible. Have a backup plan. Be ready in case...
  • Someone decides at the last minute that they want to change the ritual in the middle without telling anyone

  • Someone's car breaks down and they can't make it

  • Someone makes contact with a divinity or a buried memory and needs lots of attention

  • Someone unexpectedly tries to redirect the group's energy to their own purpose

• Talk. (Preferably while sharing food.) What worked? What didn't? What could have been clearer? What do people want to do again some time? Remember that people who pick your ritual apart to excess are probably doing it for reasons that have more to do with themselves than with the ritual. Trust your own judgment, and decide for yourself which advice you choose to heed and which is simply the expression of an opinion. And if someone has a lot of things they'd like to change, that might mean that they're interested in hosting a Circle - which is always good news!

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