Circle Form and Etiquette

• A ritual is not a spectator sport
• A ritual is like a religious service
• A ritual need not be solemn
• The best rituals are those that seem spontaneous
• Ritual objects and tools are infused with power
• Once the circle is cast, enter or exit only at great need
• Arrive on time. 
• When invited to attend a private ritual, it is not OK to bring along an uninvited person
• Turn off your beeper and cell phone.
• Do not take pictures.
• There is usually open flame at a Circle. Be aware lest you set yourself on fire. If someone else sets themselves on fire, it is not part of the ritual. Put them out.
• Stay till the Circle is opened. Do not crash out early.
• Afterwards, ask questions about the meaning of what you saw and did.
• Later, do not tell outsiders who else was at the Circle. Do not greet publicly someone you see again with reference to the Circle gathering. Respect their privacy. Persecution really does happen.

Now if you’re working as a solitary, you could argue that it doesn't matter about manners because you’re the only one in the circle. Well, let’s blow that idea out of the water straight away. You’re not the only one in the circle at all. The elemental quarters are there with you and even more importantly, so is the Lord and Lady. Why else are you holding the circle? Would you be on your best behaviour if someone important came to share your home with you? Probably. Well that’s exactly what the Gods and Goddesses are doing. They’re sharing your circle with you and in fact the main reason you should have cast it in the first place was to honour them, and that means being on your best behaviour and minding your circle manners.

During ritual there are two vital components to making sure the rite accomplishes its purpose; maintaining the right atmosphere and properly completing any special actions, recitations or dialogue that has been planned. A person who doesn't know the basic rules can easily do something that breaks the concentration of others, or may themselves miss a cue or instruction. The consequences of hampering the work vary depending on the group involved. The offender will annoy others and impair the enjoyment, satisfaction and resolution they might have achieved. If the ritual is being conducted for a specific magical purpose, the work could be thoroughly derailed and the intentions completely or partially fail. In some of the more serious forms of ceremonial magic and shamanic work, disruption could be downright dangerous.

Hopefully, anyone who is attending a circle respects the people who are conducting it and has reverence for the deities involved. Failing to observe basic etiquette is disrespectful to both. Whatever you may think of the words, images and actions chosen by the organizers they have undoubtedly put a lot of time and effort into them and it is only proper to acknowledge that. As for being rude to deities... this is not recommended!

Once the circle is cast, the line of the circle must be regarded as a temple wall. You can't walk through the walls of a church, and you shouldn't walk through the circle. Exceptions can be made in special circumstances, in which case the officiating priestess cuts a 'door' for a person to exit and enter, then closes it when their task is completed. Walking through the circle without this preparation is not just rude, it can seriously disrupt the concentration and energies of the other participants. In some rites it would be downright dangerous. So, once the circle is cast around you, you are committed to remaining in it for the duration of the ritual. It is not possible to enter a circle, and then leave whenever you feel like it. Leaving the circle without the priestess' permission and co-operation is not like sneaking out of the church door during a boring sermon, it is more like taking a sledgehammer and banging a hole in the wall in order to leave.