Basics of Wiccan Ritual

Some Tools of The Craft

The basic tools of working Wicca are as follows:

Athame - ritual dagger associated with the element of air, traditionally double-edged. Representative of The Horned God. Used to command and conduct energy.

Chalice - ritual goblet associated with the element of water, associated with the goddess.

Mortar and Pestle - for blending herbs and resins, best to have at least two: one for herbs, and one for resins, as you do not want cross contamination if you are making something like a tea blend.

Wand - associated with the element of fire, often represents the Horned God. Used in a similar manner to the athame to direct and conduct energy.

Cauldron - fireproof vessel for workings. Symbolizes the Cauldron of Rebirth and The Goddess

Pentacle - associated with the element of earth, the holy symbol of the Wiccan faith & symbol of empowerment.

Scourge - a ritual flail, used to induce states of trance and ecstasy

Bell - used to hearken things in, for example, ringing a bell prior to speaking an invocation

Of course, not all traditions use these tools, some trads may use some but not all, others may use tools that are not listed here. For example, many traditions that fall under the TradCraft category utilize a tool called a Stang, which is a forked staff, often with a candle in the center, that serves as an emblem of the Horned One and as a portable altar. Some traditions may use alternate elemental correspondences, or switch correspondences pending one's experience level. In the book "Techniques of High Magic" by Stephen Skinner and Francis King, they discuss how the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn teaches to new initiates that the dagger is associated with air, and the wand with fire, however, upon reaching a more advanced degree, it would be revealed that the elemental correspondences are switched, thus making the dagger associated with fire, and the wand with air. In the book the reason for this is that it's an intentional mislead to keep those who have not earned the knowledge from knowing it. Whatever the case may be, when it comes to Witchcraft and it's relation to the witch and the land, utilize the associations given by your specific tradition, or the ones that resonate with you spiritually if you walk a solitary path, and it is ok if you have multiple elemental associations with your tools. I personally see the elements of air and fire in BOTH my wand and athame.

Casting The Circle

The act of Casting the Circle involves calling the quarters(the cardinal directions), the lords of the watchtowers(the guardians of the directions & elements), and the Gods to sanctify the space in which you are casting ritual. By doing this, you essentially are forming a spiritual portal, thus, your working translates over to the spirit realm with ease, as it is actively being overseen by a multitude of spiritual forces, and being done in a now-liminal space.

To cast a circle, I start facing east, and work my way around the compass clockwise, invoking the spirits as such:

"I call upon thee, O lords of the watchtowers of the (direction), O elemental lords of (corresponding element), come forth to cleanse, consecreate, bless, protect, and open this circle" As i do this, I draw invoking pentagrams with my wand or athame. The one I use generally depends on the specifics of the ritual, but I will say I mostly use my athame. Below will be a diagram of invoking vs banishing pentagrams:

The specific elemental correspondences you may have for the directions may vary based on your tradition, background, etc. I generally work within the following paradigm: East = Air, South = Fire, West = Water, North = Earth, though a friend of mine also localizes the elemental correspondences to our land to be as such: East = Earth, due to the array of mountain ranges eastward, and east generally being more inland. South = Fire due to that being the direction we in central california recieve the most prominent sunlight from, West = Water because the beach is literally right there and it's also the direction moist air tends to travel, and North = Air, as that is the direction our winds tend to blow from. I've seen other systems of elemental/directional correspondence, what matters is whether or not you resonate with it spiritually, and also if you feel it to be true to the land you live, as Wicca is, at it's core, a nature based path.

For invoking Deity to the circle, you can really use whichever invocations you'd like. Some may opt to use the Orphic hymns, some may use personal written invocations, and so on. I like the Invocations found in the Farrar's book "A Witches' Bible", as they can be easily modified and reworked to fit specific forms of the Goddess and God. They are follows.

Goddess Invocation

Hail, Aradia! From the Almathean Horn

Pour forth thy store of love; I lowly bend

Before thee, I adore thee to the end,

With loving sacrifice thy shrine adorned.

Thy foot is to my lip my prayer upborn

Upon the rising incense-smoke; then spend

Thine ancient love, O Mighty One, descend

To aid me, who without thee am forlorn.

This invocation is actually a rework of an invocation to Tyche/Fortuna, used in the tradition of Thelema. This rework is, I assume, due to the sheer amount of interwoveness between the figures of Aradia(Herodias/Erodiade), Diana, Abundia, Fortuna, and Tyche, with the names Herodias, Diana, and Abundia(and variants thereof) being names of the Goddess worshipped by the Witch-cult, as recorded by Christians who were alive at the time.

God Invocation

Great God Cernunnos, return to earth again!

Come at my call and show thyself to men.

Shepherd of Goats, upon the wild hill's way,

Lead thy lost flock from darkness into day.

Forgotten are the ways of sleep and night -

Men seek for them whose eyes have lost the light.

Open the door, the door which hath no key,

The door of dreams, whereby men come to thee.

O Mighty Stag, O answer to me !

This invocation, much like the one to Aradia, is a rework of another invocation. This one is modeled off of the Invocation to Pan found in Moon Magic by Occultist and Author Dion Fortune, who used the name Pan as the name for the ultimate divine masculine, with the name Isis being the name for her ultimate divine feminine. The way the goddess Isis is portrayed in the Sea Priestess, another one of Fortune's works, is a very good portrayal of the Goddess of the Witch Cult. A disclaimer though, Dion Fortune most certainly was a product of her time and society, with many of her takes being wildly racist and homophobic by today's standards. By acknowledging these, we as a society can grow beyond such thinking.

The Witches' Rune

The Witches' Rune is a chant that is often used during Circle Casting, or during spell work to raise the energy and power. Like The Charge of the Goddess, it is attributed to Dorren Valiente. It is as follows:

Darksome night and Shining Moon,

East, then South, then West, then North,

Harken to the Witches' Rune:

Here come I to call thee forth.

Earth and Water, Air and Fire,

Wand and Pentacle and Sword,

Work ye unto my desire,

Harken ye unto my word.

Cords and Censer, Scourge and Knife,

Powers of the Witches' blade,

Waken all ye into life,

Come ye as the charm is made:

Queen of Heaven, Queen of Hell,

Horned Hunter of the Night,

Lend your power unto the Spell,

Work my will by Magic Rite.

If the chant is used to reinforce a work already begun, end with this:

By all the power of land and sea,

by all the might of moon and sun,

What is my will, So mote it be,

What I do say, It shall be done.

From here, you can do the riual, spell, etc. that you please, and then close the circle at the end. When I close the circle, I do so by polietly dismissing the spirits and declaring the circle as closed. Of course, you can do a more complex rite, such as reworking the circle casting ritual to a circle banishing ritual, but in my experience, the simpler take works just fine.