Another thing I want to say is that when you read about rituals in various books, they often say that you should do such and such, or use such and such things, but everything isn't equally necessary - it just reinforces the whole thing. If I had waited until I had all the "magic weapons" or paraphernalia listed, I would never have done a single ritual in this life (or at least not until I was quite old). But some things are still more essential. I always have salt and water on my altar, whenever possible.
The Athame (the witch's black-handled knife) is usually used to draw the circle, but you can also use a wand or staff, and a couple of fingers are fine!
When performing a ritual, the first thing to do is to create a "sacred place", a sacred and different space or place, a place that is purified and protected and suitable for meeting with the divine forces.
You can make this as simple or elaborate as you like - the intention is the most important thing!
But to optimise the effect, it's a good idea to do it in such a way that you really feel that this is something different from your daily activities. That's why many witches like to take a shower or bath first, to symbolically cleanse themselves, and then put on something other than what they wear on a daily basis, or be naked or "skyclad". You also leave your wristwatch and watches behind, because when you step into the circle, you also move into a different time dimension than the "normal" one.
We usually have an altar in the north (some have it in the centre) - that's the direction of the Goddess. On the altar you usually have a symbol for the Goddess and a symbol for the God (e.g. a couple of figures, or a shell and a stone or pine cone, or whatever you feel like.) It is also common to have symbols of the four elements: a bowl of water, incense, candles, a pentacle (disc) or a bowl of earth. Also salt.
We also tend to decorate the altar with flowers or leaves or sprigs of rowan berries etc. depending on the season. In our coven, most people also tend to put their athames on the altar when they're not using them, and often crystals or other objects that they want to charge or consecrate, so sometimes the altar is too small, no matter how big we make it (we're all stone-crazy)! On the altar or in the immediate vicinity, we also have a cup of wine and some cakes (if you don't have that, you use what you have on hand, e.g. water/tea and bread).
We also mark the spot, the circle, with a candle in each direction (at the outer edge of the circle).
Ideally, we have a fire in the centre, but just as often a pot of candles (when we do rituals indoors!) (When I work alone, I like to spread a small scarf in the centre, put a crystal there, a candle and/or some flowers and some incense, and then it's my altar. - I guess everyone finds their own personal twist).
We often start with a witch sweeping the circle with a broom to remove all negative influences and vibrations and to physically cleanse the area. We then clean the area with salt and water, thereby also marking the boundary of our circle.
This can be done in the following way:
Hold your athame over the water and say, for example:
"Great Mother, bless this water so that it may help to purify this circle in your service.
Then hold your athame over the salt and say:
Great Mother, bless this salt of the earth, so that in your service it may help to purify this circle.
Then mix some of the salt into the water and say:
Remember that as the salt purifies the water, so also the pain purifies the soul.
Hold the bowl of salt and water up in front of you and say:
I greet you with the power of this earth, salt and water united.
I call you forth in joy and respect to cleanse this circle.
Then go deosil (clockwise) and sprinkle the water along the outer edge of the circle (starting in the north). We also tend to cleanse the participants in the circle with the water (woman on man, man on woman, or if you are alone on yourself). You can do this by sprinkling a little water on them or stroking it over their foreheads.
Then walk around the circle with the incense (feel free to lift it slightly at the four corners), and then cleanse the participants or yourself in the same way as with the water. (Hold the incense in front of each participant and wave the smoke in front of them/on them.)
Then you draw the circle (i.e. you walk along the outer edge of the circle and "draw" the circle in the air with your athame, stick or hand). You start in the north, but don't start saying anything until you are in the east (Symbolic meaning: North/winter, the God and Goddess are invisible, both in the underworld). You may raise your hand or athame slightly where you will have an opening in the circle (i.e. where you will enter and exit the circle when you need to), in the north-east - or wherever it fits with the terrain.
For example, you say:
I call upon you, O Circle of Power, that you may become (a meeting place for love, peace and joy, a protection against all evil,) a borderland between the world of men and the domain of the Mighty Powers, a protected place for the power we will raise in your midst, whereupon I bless you and consecrate you in the names of ............ and ............
(God and Goddess.)
When the circle is cast, it forms a boundary, visible or invisible, like a wall, which one cannot easily step over or pass through. If you have to leave the circle after it has been drawn, you create a symbolic opening and seal it when you re-enter the circle!
This is followed by the invocation of the four elemental guardians. You start in the east and end in the north. You can summon the guardians without names, or you can personify them.
Stand at the outer edge of the circle by the candle that marks the eastern direction and say, for example
I (we) invoke you mighty guardian of the east (south, west, north), ruler of the element of air (fire, water, earth), and ask you to come here and guard this circle for us and witness our rituals. Greetings and welcome! (You do the same in the four directions.)
After this, we like to do the Witches' Rune. (See elsewhere on the page.) Then we dance around the circle hand in hand while chanting/singing and building up a "cone" of power.
We then evoke the Goddess and the God and ask them to come into our circle. Usually there will be a priestess who invokes the God and a priest who invokes the Goddess. (Different names may be used depending on which Sabbath it is and which aspects of the Divine we wish to evoke). Of course, you can also call upon the God and Goddess with joint singing/dancing/drumming etc.
A fixed and important ingredient in all Wicca meetings is the feast. We celebrate life and death and the gods and ourselves.
When the Sabbath ritual is finished, and/or you've done your work (e.g. healing), it's time for cake and wine. Of course, you can say whatever you want when blessing the cakes and wine. The wine should uplift the mind, and the food should strengthen the body.
The blessing of cake and wine symbolises the union of the masculine and feminine:
If you are a couple, the priest holds the cup of wine. The priestess holds her athame between her palms, sticks the tip into the cup and says:
May the God and Goddess bless this wine/drink so that it gives us joy and uplifts our souls!
Then the priest holds the platter of cakes before the priestess and says:
May the Goddess bless these cakes / this food so that it gives strength and health to our bodies!
The priestess touches each piece of cake with the tip of her athame.
The wine and cakes are passed around the circle and handed to the next person with a kiss. During the party, there is usually singing, drumming and dancing.
When it's time to end the circle, you go round again to the guards. For me, it's natural to go widdershins (anti-clockwise), (I start in the north), but many people do it deosil.
You then say the following:
Mighty guardian in the north (west, south, east), we thank you for coming here and guarding this circle for us. Thank you and goodbye.
And then we often say:
The circle is opened, but unbroken. Be wise and blessed and welcome again!
Of course, you can do everything alone.
If there are several people, there is usually a priestess who does the "water and salt" (the female elements), and a priest who walks around with the incense and possibly a candle (the male elements). Often it is also a priest who invokes the guardians, and sometimes a priestess stands with him and holds the symbol for the element in question. But it is always a priestess who draws the circle (when one is not a man alone). But still - I think - everyone should have tried everything, and everyone should also make a circle alone with themselves!!! And there are no rules that say it should be done as I have outlined! It's just a way of doing it.
We usually stand or sit together and meditate for a while before we start, holding hands. We open the chakras, and once that's done, we send energy from our heart chakra to the one on our left, and receive from the one on our right. It gives a nice sense of togetherness. Otherwise, I consider opening the chakras a prerequisite for successful working.
(PS: Remember: You can make a circle with your head anywhere and anytime!)
Good luck and be blessed!