Ritual means different things to different people. The dictionary states ritual is:

“a set of fixed actions and sometimes words performed regularly, especially as a part of a ceremony.”

This blog post is about my own personal definition and thoughts around ritual and what it means to me.

Some people can see their routine as ritual. It depends on what part of your routine you are thinking about. When I brush my teeth before bed, that is a routine. When I light my candles and set up my protective circle before I read cards, that is ritual.

There are many kinds of ritual too. It can be a simple moment that is spent with deity through to a full ritual to invoke them. A lot of ritual is about intention. You are creating a space and a moment to perform an action away from the mundane, away from your “normal” life, and into a certain mindset. Much of ritual can be the repetition of certain acts that trigger this mindset away from your day to day life.

There are many ways in which that sacred space can be created. At the Occult Conference, we created a circle with vibrational noise – us all humming. (See our blog about it here.) It was an unlikely choice that the group made together, and it worked surprisingly well.

If you have created your sacred space, the next part of the magickal ritual should follow your intent. Why are you performing the ritual?

You can create energy by movement, chanting, a spell you want to perform, offering to a deity. It is worth either planning it well, or being very comfortable with your work, so you can really generate as much energy as possible. Once the appropriate time has been spent, then you need to remove the walls to your sacred space, the circle that you have cast for example, and allow the energy to dissipate. Repetitive actions, i.e. a simple ritual performed regularly, can help build up energy too.

This can be done on a personal level, or with a group of varying size. For me, I usually work my magical rituals as a solitary, but will work with groups for meditation practice, spiritual development or particular workshops. I don’t ever do this work without the various rituals beforehand. I create the space, ask for protection and hold the space for those present. The rituals create the ceremony in this case.

Ritual is a varying and vital part of my personal practice. From the candle I light to Hekate before work, to the Dark Moon ceremony that I perform for Her, rituals deepen my practice and connection. Energy is such an important part of the action, it is often why it is so important to make ritual at least partly personal. If something doesn’t resonate with you, you will find it harder to generate the impact that is desired. As long as the general structure is observed, and the appropriate reverence is displayed, ritual can be adapted and really enhance your life.

A very simple ritual for daily protection

In the morning, before you start your day, stop your routine for a moment and close your eyes. Take a deep breath in, all the way down to your tummy, and exhale. Do that again.

Then focus.

Visualise a ring of fire all around you

Call upon the angels to surround you*

Really visualise them there, just beyond the flames, flying so close to each other that they make a blurred ring of light

Say:

“Warrior Angels, surround me, protect me, and walk with me on this day.”

See the light of the flames fade, and the angels slip from view and as they do, see a violet light engulf you.

Say:

“Violet Flame, engulf me, and protect me from negativity on this day.”

And then see this light fade and disappear. Take another deep breath. Open your eyes, and know that this protection is with you all day**

*a lot of people don’t like working with Angels as they don’t feel they are “witchy” enough. I beg to differ and have had some incredible experiences working with them. They’ve often barged in too – whether invited or not!

**yeah, I know. I’m not closing this circle but leaving it there. This is to keep the protection for you there all day. (You can do this in the evening also.) The fading of the visualisation will allow your energy to move as it should. PLEASE don’t think this is appropriate for magickal practice. In those instances, that circle must be properly dismantled.