Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

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Lesson 2: The Magick Circle
The four-quartered Circle of Magick is a central
component in most rituals. It is called the
portal between the worlds, a means of connecting
with the deities, spirits, and Elemental powers
of a realm beyond the material Universe. It is
envisioned as a vortex within which we focus our
innate psychic powers, called forth by ritual actions
from the subliminal depths of the mind and
soul. It is a sacred space, a sanctuary for communion
with the Old Ones.
Many levels of symbolism are intrinsic to the
Circle: Images and truths of diverse colours and
textures speak in a language as old as human history.
Among these are metaphysical and mystical
concepts that describe the greater reality within
which our lives are experienced. The four “corners”
of the Circle of Magick correspond with
the compass directions and each is associated with
an Element: Earth, Air, Fire, or Water. A fifth Element,
Spirit, is often associated with the center
of the Circle or with the Circle as a whole. The
vertical axis (axis mundi or world axis) is an essential
part, sometimes seen as a tree connecting
the three worlds.
The realm of wind, water, stone, and flesh is
manifest Spirit; the realm of Earth, Moon, Sun,
and stars is manifest Spirit. Time and space, energy
and gravity, the realm of imagination,
memory, emotion, and desire, all are Spirit manifest:
that which can be named and known. Yet the
aspect of Spirit that transcends naming and knowledge,
incomprehensible in its mystery, is the
Source of Heaven and Earth.
—Bran th’ Blessed
All of the various magickal systems of correspondences
can be diagrammed on the Magick Circle,
which is read like a clock face. This is done by overlaying
a series of polygrams, with their points evenly
spaced around the Circle, as at the numbers on the
clock. Outer concentric circles are then divided into
the appropriate number of segments, just like the hours
and minutes on a clock face. And like the hands of a
clock, time as well as magickal work moves through
each of those segments sequentially (one after another)
in a Dance of the Hours.
It is important to understand, however, that all
these systems have just been made up. Their usefulness
comes not from them being the actual territory,
but from them being common symbolic maps that
many magickal people share and understand. Most of
these magickal systems were developed a long time
ago and were based on the limited scientific knowledge
of the people who created them (at that time, for
instance, people thought the Sun revolved around the
Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard
Earth…). These systems can still work for us today,
but their limits have to be recognized, and they often
have to be tweaked to adjust for the problems in their
original design.
But you don’t have to believe in everything that’s
in here in order to successfully become a Wizard. It’s
entirely possible to be an effective magician without
believing in astrology, for example. This is particularly
important to remember because you’re going to
have science teachers who will either react
dismissively or outright mock you if you raise topics
like astrology, chakras, and other magickal studies.
Back in 2.I.4, “The Circle of Life,” I explained
the difference between the mundane view of Time as
linear (going in a straight line in one direction, from
past to future), and the magickal view of Time as cyclical
(looping around and around again in an endless
circling spiral, like a spring). This same distinction
applies to these two systems of classification. Just
as the branching Tree is the key pattern for all linear
systems of vertical classification, the Magick Circle
is the key to the circular categories of all magickal
systems. After counting off 12 hours, the hands of the
clock come round again to the same point—but Time
itself has now moved forward half a day on the spiraling
cycle!
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
—T.S. Eliot in the last of his Four Quartets
On the next page is a mandala diagram I have
drawn of the Magick Circle. Correspondences of 2,
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, and 13 are shown. In addition, I
have divided the outermost rings into 52 “minutes”
for the weeks of the year, and 366 “seconds” for the
days (one extra for leap year). Different versions of
this design will be used throughout this class to illustrate
various sets of correspondences. If you want to
try something really cool, make a copy the same size
as the face of your wall clock, and color it in with
markers. Then open up the front of your clock and
glue it into place.
Lesson 3: Monads, Dyads,
and Triads
Monads and Unities
Monism (“oneness”) is the philosophy that there
is only one ultimate substance or principle, whether
mind/spirit (idealism) or matter/energy (materialism).
That is, all of reality is one organic whole, or unit.
This is expressed perfectly in our concept of the Universe
(“all together”)—which is also called Creation,
the Cosmos, and the World. In Taoism, this is known