The other day someone asked me what would happen if you Cast a Circle, and then after your ritual, or magick spell you simply walked out of the Circle without opening it?

 What an interesting question! One assumes that if someone is going to go to the trouble to Cast a Magick Circle, they would automatically Open the Circle at the end of their rites.  It would be unimaginably disrespectful to simply walk out at the end.

 Let’s start with why a Circle is Cast before magick is performed.  When a magick spell is performed, metaphysical energy is created.  Metaphysical energy attracts spiritual beings, so if you are not within a sphere of protection you have left the door wide open for random spirits/energies to visit. The Magick Circle also contains the magick power that is raised so that it can be sent or directed to wherever it’s needed. Within the Circle the energy builds and condenses, somewhat like a pressure cooker.  Any energy that is raised within a Circle, if not properly directed, can and will attach itself to whoever is present.

 How does the Magick Circle prevent unwanted spirits and energies to enter?  A properly Cast Circle is not simply a sphere of light created by the practitioner; it also contains four “doorways” into the Astral realm.  The “doorways” are called by many people, the Elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water or the four directions of North, South, East and West, but that is not all that they are.  When you Cast a Circle and call the Quarters you are invoking much more powerful beings than Elementals or Directions.  You are invoking the Watchers.

 The Watchers are ancient beings who guard the dimensional planes, protect the Magick Circle and most importantly for your story, witness and record the rites and magick created within the Circle.  Each Watcher guards a portal called a Watchtower, that opens a door into the Astral plane.  Picture the Magick Circle as two rings, one within the other.  The inner ring has four portals guarded by the Elements/Directions that lead from the physical world to the Elemental World. The outer ring has four corresponding portals guarded by the Watchers that lead from the Elemental World to the Astral plane. The space between the two rings is the “world between the worlds”. The Watchers have the power to allow or disallow a magick spell into the Astral Plane, and they have the power to influence Karma.

 To show the Watchers total disregard by walking out of a Magick Circle, without thanking them, or even acknowledging their help, could bring consequences from Karmic retribution to the unleashing of an uncontrolled thought form.

 So now that we have established the fact that there are powerful beings involved in the Casting of a Circle, and that the Circle builds and condenses energy, we have the perfect scenario for an entity called a thought form to spontaneously occur.  A thought form can be created when a group of people concentrate of an idea, thought or goal. Generally, this type of thought form dissipates after a while, because for a thought form to continue to exist it must receive energy.  If a thought form was created within a magick Circle, and it was not properly directed, it may feed on the condensed energy contained in the Circle, and then it would be unleashed when the Circle was unceremoniously opened. A thought form needs energy to continue, so it would try to attach itself to someone/something and draw energy.

 Another scenario is that the Watchers will be angered by the disrespect and send the magick back in an unexpected way or that Karmic retribution will be experienced.

 It is entirely possible that the magick would not go any farther than the Elemental Plane.  At first this sounds as if it may not be a problem, but let’s look at the creatures called the Elementals. Elementals are creatures made purely of their Element.  They are neither good, nor bad, they simply exist and don’t really pay too much attention to the human world, until we call on them when we Cast a Circle.  We ask them to open the door to the “world between the worlds”.  We have their attention, and they “notice” us.   Normally they would notice us, and then pass us through to the Watchers, but if we are inexperienced and are not respectful, they may decide to pay us a visit.  Remember, these creatures are purely of their element. Do you really want a creature of fire hanging around?  Little spontaneous blazes and sparks would probably cause a lot of worry!  What about a water creature? Picture pipes busting, toilets overflowing, creeks overflowing.  You get the idea.

 So whenever we Cast a Circle let’s be very careful to open it when we are finished with our spiritual work!