The Magic Circle and Triangle

The Circle

In ceremonial magic, the circle provides a defined space for the working of a ritual. It symbolizes the infinite and also the astral sphere or cosmos of the magician, outside of which nothing exists. The circle also corresponds to the Ain Soph of the kabbalistic Tree of Life. The center of the circle is the Self, and in the process of magical workings, the magician expands himself or herself to the circumference of the circle or to the Infinite.

The magician enters a magical circle in anticipation of uniting with God, the gods, ANGELS, and the forces of nature in a harmonious relationship of ecstatic union. If the magician performs a ritual calling for the CONJURATION of spirits which are dangerous and difficult to control, the circle provides protection against them. The magician must never leave the circle during a ritual nor even so much as swing his arm outside it, lest a conjured demon grab him and strike him down.

The circle is crucial to the magician’s wellbeing and protection and must be cast carefully.

GRIMOIRES and magical traditions give detailed instructions for casting the circle with a consecrated ritual TOOL such as a dagger, a sword, or a wand during certain astrological conditions and hours of the day or night.

The traditional magician’s circle is nine feet in diameter or may be a double circle of eight feet and 10 feet. The circle is inscribed with magical SYMBOLS and words and NAMES of power, which are appropriate to a particular ritual.

A geometric figure pertaining to the nature of the ritual—such as a square, a tau cross, or a MAGIC TRIANGLE—is inscribed within the circle.

In casting the circle, the magician moves deosil, or clockwise, to the motion of the Sun, the MOON, and the stars through the sky. He leaves a small opening and then steps inside, carefully closing the opening to prevent clever demons from slipping inside.

The magician consecrates the circle with the four ELEMENTS and invokes the guardian spirits who watch over the four quarters of the sky (the cardinal points) and the four elements.

Note – For black magic rituals, the magician moves widdershins, or counterclockwise.

The Triangle

In ceremonial MAGIC, an inscribed triangle into which a spirit or DEMON is evoked into physical appearance and is contained. The magic triangle, also called the Triangle of Art, is a symbol of manifestation of the invisible into the visible, or the powers of darkness and night into daylight. As long as a spirit is inside a magical triangle, it is subject to the commands of the magician, who remains protected inside a MAGIC CIRCLE.

The spirit must be discharged or dismissed from within the triangle. It is considered dangerous to allow a spirit to escape the triangle.

What happens when a spirit leaves the triangle?

ALEISTER CROWLEY and his assistant and lover, poet VICTOR NEUBERG, performed a RITUAL in 1909 in the desert south of Algiers, in which the demon CHORONZON escaped from the magic triangle and attacked Neuberg. Neuberg managed to magically quell the demon.