A magic ritual is a series of actions, through which the body and mind can be focused on manifesting the certain goal or desire. However, on a much deeper level it is about getting the energy of an individual or of a group of like-minded people for achieving certain goal, or, to merge together with the power of God or with cosmic consciousness.
There are two types of rituals – the first serves as a connection and worship of deities and with the second type, one follows fulfilment of the a specific desire or target. Rituals which worship deities are normally celebrated on the traditional religious
holidays. Magic rituals are used for many practical purposes such as healing, success, increasing personal power.
There is one more type of ritual to mention which falls exactly between both categories: the Pledge Ritual, in which you put yourself in the service of the Gods, but also at the same time working on yourself and your surrounding environment. Mage needs to work individually in order to create his/her own rituals and at a later stage to incorporate into the rituals also other beings that support the desired result.
In general, the most traditional orders of sorceresses follow these guidelines. But discrepancies do occur, because each magic circle develops its own ritual practices.
According to the order of sorceresses, the cardinal directions are represented by members, who sometimes have an officer’s title. Officers can fulfil different tasks in the hierarchy and in the different rituals. For example, the officer of the east is normally responsible for preparing the room and the utensils. He opens the circle, looks for the north on the compass and opens the gate between the worlds.
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.
