I want to talk about a ritual technique that can require a lot of effort - creating a magic circle.
Magic circle- this is space that is defined on the physical and astral planes. This protection is most often used to temporarily concentrate and store the energies that are generated during the casting of a spell, which allows it to enhance its effect while releasing all of these energies at the same time. When performing some rituals and spells, energy is concentrated, which is why I recommend using a magic circle as an additional component. I will now discuss the creation of a magic circle as a form of protective magic, as it is traditionally used to contain negative energies and entities that enter the physical plane from the astral plane.
For example, if you are tormented by bad dreams sent to you by an enemy or caused by a negative entity invading your space, you can create a magic circle around your bed before going to bed and then remove it after waking up. Such protection is the most effective measure against the influence of any otherworldly energies on a person during sleep.
The magic circle is your personal protective barrier between you and both worlds - the physical and the astral. If you are going to camp, bring everything you need with you. By surrounding yourself with a magic circle, you create your own little universe, so you will need to take some symbolic objects corresponding to the elements that make up ours big universe. Fortunately, in magical practice, all components of the Universe are reflected in four elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. All you need to create a magic circle is to visualize the four elements or take care of their material embodiment.
I recommend using salt as a material symbol for Earth, incense for Air, candles for Fire, and a cup of water for Water. Of course, if you don't want candles and incense burning when you sleep, you can use other symbols, for example: for Air - perfume, a feather or even a balloon, and Fire can be replaced with an electric lamp, preferably red, which will help you create this element in your imagination.
Determine the location for the magic circle. You can create it in your imagination or draw a line with chalk, salt, flour, or use a long rope. Your circle can be small and cover only your bed in the room or huge - to protect the entire house and property if you are performing a blessing ritual in an open area. Using a broom, sweep the ritual area three times counterclockwise. This way you expel negative energy from your personal space. You can also sweep the floor, then the area around you and above your head.
After sweeping, walk around the circle clockwise three times, visualizing the barrier along a real or imaginary line that you can draw in the air with the index finger of your dominant hand. Some people use a ritual knife for this purpose to “scare” the entities. If you choose to use a ritual knife, choose one that is double-edged and has a black handle. Remember that this knife should only be used for protective magic rituals and for no other purposes. Each person has their own way of visualization. You can visualize a protective circle in the form of a stone wall, a fire wall, even a barbed wire fence, etc.
You should then cleanse each elemental item of any negative energy and place it in your magic circle.
Turn towards the north, which is associated with the power of the Earth. Pointing to the container of salt with your index finger or ritual knife, say: “I expel all negative energies and black magic from this earth.” Raise the container of salt up and say: “Welcome, guardians of the north, powers of the Earth.” Visualize the power of earthquakes and the world's hardest rocks and metals to protect yourself. Repeat the entire ritual in the same sequence for each element as you walk around the circle clockwise.
Then turn towards the east. Over incense or another symbol of Air you can say, “From this air I banish all negative energies and black magic.” Visualizing the energy of a hurricane that can sweep away any of your enemies, say: “Welcome, guardians of the east, powers of the Air.” Walk in a circle three times clockwise with incense or another item to attract positive energy into your circle.
Turning to the south, purify the element of Fire: “From this fire I expel all negative energies and black magic.” Visualizing the energy of searing heat, such as a fire in the night that scares away predatory animals, say: “Welcome, guardians of the south, powers of Fire.” Walk around the circle three times clockwise with a lit candle or an object to attract positive energy into your circle.
Finally, facing west, say: “From this water I expel all negative energies and black magic.” Before lifting the vessel of water towards the west, add three pinches of salt from the north. Purified salt enriches water magical properties. This water can be used to protect yourself or other people/objects and expel negative energies. Raise the vessel of water and say: “Welcome, guardians of the west, powers of Water.” Imagine how a huge wave washes away all the anger of those who approach you. Walk around the magic circle three times clockwise with the vessel of water. Sprinkle water around the edges of the circle to cleanse the space and attract positive elemental energies.
By this point, you have already cleared the negativity and expelled all evil spirits from your personal space and attracted the protective forces of all four elements into it. Before going to bed or starting a magical ritual, seek help from the higher powers in which you believe. Use a simple prayer to call upon a power source of authority of your choice.
PRAYER CALL: I call upon You [God(s)/Goddess(s)/Archangel/Holy Spirit/Universe/Higher Self/etc].
PRAISE: You who are my love, protector and patron, I praise you!
REQUEST FOR HELP: Thank you for protecting me from curses and negative entities in my body, mind and spirit YOUR DURATION: Now and forever.
SAFETY IMPERATIVE: Without harm to any living being and only for the highest good of all. Let it be so!
ACKNOWLEDGMENT: In return, I offer you (the higher power) [gratitude/love and devotion/other offering].
BLESSING: Be blessed!
Take three deep breaths and listen to your feelings: you may receive a message or sign, which is especially important during the ritual, as this sign may be a warning of danger.
After creating a magic circle, you can completely safely cast any spells, cast enchantments, or perform other magical rituals. It is best not to go beyond the magic circle, which is created for the purpose of protection, but if you have an emergency, quickly “cut” a small hole in the circle with the index finger of your dominant hand, and after returning, “close the hole” in the same way. However, be aware that such a “hole” weakens the power of the magic circle, which is used to concentrate the energy needed for protective magic spells. Weakening the boundaries of the protective circle can also result in elementals entering it, attracted by the elemental elements you use in the ritual. Thus, if you want to use a protective circle, you must "remove" the circle completely and then install it again. Therefore, I offer you the simplest method of removing the magic circle of protection, so that if necessary, this can be done as quickly as possible.
After the complete completion of the ritual, the circle must be destroyed, and one should begin by expressing gratitude to the higher powers (deities). Of course, you need to ask them to continue to protect you. All other energies of the four elements must be allowed to leave the circle with respectful words. Walk each quarter circle counterclockwise, again starting at quarter north. Thank the Guardians of the Earth and ask them to return to their realms, but be always ready to continue to protect you. Repeat the same words of gratitude to the guardians of Air, Fire and Water. Walk the circle four times with the symbols of the elements in your hands respectively to receive blessings and release the energy of the elements.
Thank you, guardians of the Earth! I ask you to return to your world of the north and remain ready to protect me.
Thank you, guardians of water! I ask you to return to your western world and remain ready to protect me.
Thank you, Guardians of the Fire! I ask you to return to your world of the south and remain ready to protect me.
Thank you guardians of the Air! I ask you to return to your world of the east and remain ready to protect me. *
Now open the circle with the index finger of your dominant hand as if you were cutting it. You can imagine how the circle collapses or disappears gradually, turning into nothingness, leaving only the smell of incense or perfume. Your magic circle is open, but you can restore it at any time. Even if at this moment you do not have all the necessary items to create a magic circle, you can use your imagination and create the protective effects of the circle when it is really needed.
Research related to drawing circles has been going on for a long time.
Research related to drawing circles has been going on for a long time. For example, the President of the American Psychological Association Theodor Blau in 1977 he wrote that children who draw circles clockwise have problems with learning and may be prone to schizophrenia (this was later refuted by psychologists). Modern researchers are studying this topic based on big data, even the base of the Google game “Quick, Draw!” is used.
How do culture and writing influence our artistic habits?
New research shows that the way a person draws a circle depends on the culture in which he was raised and the language in which he writes.The researchers made these conclusions based on data obtained from the Google game “Quick, Draw!” (participants need to draw a given object in 20 seconds; the main goal of the game is not to entertain users, but to teach algorithms to recognize human drawings).
Researchers used the game's database (which had about 50 million unique images by May of this year) to compare how people different countries the world draw basic shapes.
There are only two ways to draw a circle: clockwise or counterclockwise.
Google's database contains 119 thousand unique circles drawn by people from 148 countries. In addition, it contains the coordinates of each user's finger or mouse movement. The researchers chose to consider 66 countries whose residents drew more than a hundred circles, and determined the directions that are preferred in these countries.
For example, Americans more often draw a circle counterclockwise: out of 50 thousand circles, 86% were drawn this way. The British, Czechs, Australians, and Finns also draw. In some countries, the unanimity is even higher: about 90% of Germans, French and Filipinos chose the counterclockwise direction, and in Vietnam 95%.
At the same time, 80% of “artists” from Japan and 56% from Taiwan draw circles in a clockwise direction.
What might be causing the differences? First of all, of course, writing.
US residents Western Europe and Latin America speak different languages, but their writing systems are similar. Asia and the Middle East have a very different set of rules.
For example, in both Japanese and Chinese writing, strokes follow a strictly defined order. In general, the rule is that hieroglyphs are drawn from the upper left to the lower right. If you need to draw a horizontal line and then a vertical one (like “7”), then it is preferable if these two lines are drawn with one stroke. Therefore, a Japanese or Chinese hand is more accustomed to moving clockwise.
One might assume that in South Korea the results would be the same as in Japan and Taiwan, but in fact they are not: 72% of circles here are drawn counterclockwise. The point is again in writing: in the Korean Hangul alphabet, circles are drawn counterclockwise.
There is another large group of countries (UAE, Kuwait, Algeria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Iraq and Egypt) where many users (up to 40%) draw circles in a clockwise direction. And here again it is interesting to pay attention to writing. For example, Arabic has quite a lot of rounded elements, and it is also read and written from right to left (a similar picture, for example, with Hebrew). Therefore, the letters are written clockwise in accordance with the direction of writing and to make it easier to connect them together.
In principle, research related to drawing circles has been carried out for a long time. For example, in the 1970s in the United States, children took the following test: they were given a piece of paper on which three Xs were depicted. The child was asked to draw circles around each of them, first with one hand, then with the other. If he drew them counterclockwise, then it was believed that he was most likely right-handed, and if he drew them counterclockwise, he was considered to be left-handed.
In a 1977 paper, Theodore Blau, then president of the American Psychological Association and creator of the test, argued that clockwise circles were a sign of academic and behavioral problems. He believed that children who drew clockwise might be predisposed to schizophrenia.
Psychologists later refuted this claim and focused on howCulture and education influence a child's drawings.
In 1997, a study was conducted in which American and Japanese schoolchildren participated. About half of the Japanese first-graders drew circles clockwise, a third - counterclockwise, and another fifth - both ways. But almost all sixth-grade students drew clockwise, leading the researchers to wonder if the more children wrote, the more likely they were to prefer one method. At the same time, 64% of American children drew circles counterclockwise, a percentage that changed little by sixth grade.published
Which direction do you run or walk - clockwise or counterclockwise?
In fact, 80% percent of people run counterclockwise, and my little survey confirms this.
So what does this mean and what does yoga have to do with it?
I will give the opinion of my yoga teacher.
The other day we were discussing sacred geometry after class. So, in our hemisphere the natural movement of energy is clockwise. This is how the Earth's magnetic field works. Please note - when a funnel forms in a sink or bathtub while draining water, the water moves clockwise.
Some famous symbols also have a directionality. For example, yin-yang. If the “fish” in this sign are directed clockwise, then the sign has a favorable meaning:
And this is unfavorable:
The same goes for the swastika. This is a very ancient symbol, and it can also be directed clockwise or counterclockwise, for example, the Nazis used a left-handed swastika - counterclockwise.
On a subtle level, running clockwise is aimed at expanding consciousness, at disidentifying oneself with the ego and realizing oneself as a soul.
Running counterclockwise, on the contrary, is aimed at strengthening and developing the ego, as well as working out the lower centers (and this is a positive thing).
In some way, the direction chosen shows inner intention.
It is logical that athletes run against the clock - they strive for personal victory of one over all.
In general, it is typical for our society to live exclusively for oneself and set one’s own success as the main goal.
For yogis running for the purpose of self-development, it seems more logical to run clockwise or at least change directions.
I myself was curious to answer this question. And I usually run like this: three or four laps counterclockwise and finish with one lap clockwise :)
