Drumming Rite

This “drumming chant” is a rhythmic invocation of movement and power, designed to stir and raise magical force through sound and motion. It may be performed with drums, clapping, stomping, rattles, bells, or even the steady beat of a metronome. The chant begins at a slow, measured pace and gradually intensifies as the rite unfolds.[¹]

Chant:

Beat the hoof, turn the wheel,
Flesh to fire, hand to steel.
Beat the hoof, turn the wheel,
Wake the path and make the seal.

Wind in the trees, tide in the sand,
Storm on the hill, fire in the hand.
Wind in the trees, tide in the sand,
Round we go at the witches’ command.

Faster, faster, ‘round we tread,
Tongue of the fire, crown of the dead!
Faster, faster, stir the deep,
Wake the road where the wild gods leap!

This power raising method is designed to guide increase the power/energy as the drumming and chanting progresses. At the final line, stop suddenly and completely, pausing for a moment before loudly releasing the power toward your working by saying:

Now is the hour, the fire is fed,
Power is waking, the charm is said!

[¹] In some instances (such as when working with recorded music or a metronome) the pace of the chant may be fixed. However, you can still increase the intensity of the chant by raising your voice, increasing the strength of your movements, or deepening your focus.

Witches’ Dance Rite

This is a power-raising rite that used rhythmic movement and sound to build and release magical power for magical and ritual workings. Beginning in a whisper, the chant starts slowly, growing louder and faster as the chant progresses. Any form of movement may be used to stir the current. Dancing, swaying, hand and arm gestures, or even the nodding of the head will suffice.

Chant:

Round and round the Devil goes,
Hoof and heel on the hollow road.
Round and round the witches fly,
Smoke in the air and fire in the sky.

Spirits gather, shadows call,
Through the gate, beyond the wall!
Cunning ones and creeping things,
Come to dance where the dark bell rings!

Round and round the Devil goes,
Hoof and heel on the hollow road!
Round and round the witches tread,
Charmed by the quick and led by the dead!

Now is the hour, now is the way!
Night is awake and the wind will obey!

At the final line, stop suddenly, focusing on directing and casting the raised power. I find it is helpful to symbolically direct the raised energy by pointing or fling your arms toward the focus of the working (as if throwing a ball). Or, if the chat is to be used for trance purposes, I sometimes like to punctuate the end of the chat by falling to the ground as a gesture of releasing the raised energy from the body.

Undoing the Witches’ Compass

This rite is used to dismantle the Witch’s Compass and return the ritual space to a neutral state. It symbolizes the reverse of the journey taken when laying the compass, moving out of the Spirit Realm and closing the way between worlds.

Begin at the Center

To begin, stand quietly at the heart of the Compass area. Bring your awareness fully into your body; shake off any post-ritual haze and ground yourself. One oft-suggested method of doing this is thinking of your feet, focusing all of your attention on the sensory experience of your feet planted firmly on the ground.

Retrace the Three Rings in Reverse

Move anticlockwise as you undo the rings, beginning at the innermost circle and working outward. As each ring is unmade, its associated element or material may be swept aside, gathered up, or symbolically dissolved (e.g., pressing earth over water lines, covering ash with soil, breaking the lines with your fingers, or brushing away chalk). As you work, focus on making the symbolic journey back from the Spirit Realm, experiencing a journey of rebirth, and rooting yourself back in the mundane.

Release the Cardinal Points

Turn counterclockwise around the Compass and extinguish or remove each quarter marker as you go. Speak (or think) a dismissal appropriate to each direction. For example:

• To the West:
  By the setting mist and the quiet sky,
  I bid farewell; the spirits must fly.

• To the East:
  By the waning light and the stilling breath,
  I close the gate where I passed to death.

• To the South:
  By the fire’s dimming and the fading flame,
  I release the path, no spirit to claim.

• To the North:
  By frost’s retreat and the fading wind,
  I thank the spirits, and the journey ends.

Final Severing Gesture

At the center, use your fingers to make a final counterclockwise sweep, as though slashing with a blade.

Speak:

The crossroads fade, the thread unspun,
By wit and will, the work is done.
With ash and breath, the spirits fly,
The path is shut, the night drifts by.

Grounding and Return

Close with a symbolic grounding act. Touch the earth, place your hands on the floor, pick up your tools, or extinguish the final candle. You may choose to speak a final simple phrase such as:

So I stand, in flesh and bone.
This work is done. I part alone.

Unmaking the Hedge

This rite can be used to close a ritual boundary created for hedge-crossing or spirit work, returning the space to a neutral state and releasing any lingering energies or spirits that may have gathered during your working.

Stand at the edge of your working space with both feet firmly placed on the ground. Take a breath to center yourself and say:

The hedge is high, the path is wide,
But now I bid the thorns subside.
By branch and root, by blood and bone,
I send the wandering spirits home.

Extend the index and pointer finger of the dominant hand. With deliberate, steady motions, trace the boundary of the hedge in reverse. As you do, imagine the thorns withdrawing, the vines uncoiling, and the boundary you have conjured here dissolving.

Once the boundary has been ritually unmade, walk the space anticlockwise, saying aloud:

I walk the path, I turn the key,
By will and word, set spirits free.
Where once stood root, now empty ground,
Where once was gate, now none be found.

Pause at the center of the space. Ground yourself as much as possible. You may wish to stamp your foot, press your palm to the earth, or make another physical gesture to signal completion. When you feel ready, finish by saying:

The way is shut, the path unwound,
By thorn and shadow, by root and sound.
Go now in peace, go now unseen.
The hedge is gone, the road is clean.

Undoing a Circle for Spirit-Summoning

This rite can be used to dissolve a Circle conjured for spirit summoning and release any entities or spirits that were present for your ritual. It unbinds the space and returns it to ordinary, sealing the work that has been done. *This is not intended to be used to close a Wiccan Circle; it is specifically intended as the counterpart to this Circle Conjuring rite.

Stand just outside the conjured Circle with your feet planted firmly on the ground. Take a grounding breath and say:

By pact and prayer, by bond and breath,
The road now fades, the way is set.
No oath remains, no word untold.
Depart in peace, be free, be whole.

Extend the index and middle fingers of your dominant hand. Begin to trace the Circle’s triple boundary in reverse. Move anticlockwise first to loosen the bonds, then clockwise to begin dissolving the space, and finally anticlockwise once more to fully unmake the seal. As you trace the boundary, recite:

This line is dust, this mark undone,
The veil is drawn, the thread unspun.
By root and flame, by blood and stone,
Go now, unseen; return to your own.

When the final tracing is complete, scatter earth, sprinkle water, or your blast your breath over the space where the Circle once stood. Finish by saying:

The wind forgets, the stars bear witness.
The Circle is closed, the rite is finished.

Closing the Threshold

This rite is used to unmake a liminal space and close the passage opened for ritual. Stand at the heart of the space, where the threshold was opened. Remove the crossed items from the ground or retrace the cross you made when opening the threshold, this time with the intention to unmake.  Speak clearly:

Upon the line where worlds divide,
Where whispers passed and will did guide,
I shut the gate, I close the seam.
Let waking wake, let dreaming dream.

Lower your hands, pressing them to the earth or bringing them to your chest. Breathe deeply to ground your energy and finish saying:

Threshold closed, the veil withdrawn,
What once was laid is now forgone.
By stone and tree, by root and tide,
The way is shut, the doors denied.

Step backward, away from the center. Scatter earth, breathe out over the space, or snap your fingers as gesture to banish the threshold.

Dismissing the Spirits

In many paths of spirit-based magic (and in my own practice), spirits are not seen as tools or servants, but as beings in their own right, in possession of their own autonomy. Within my framework, when we summon spirits through ritual, we do not bind or banish them against their will. Instead, we extend hospitality, engage in respectful exchange, and when the work is done, we let them know the space is closed and the rite complete and allow them to stay or leave as they desire.

The following spoken charm is used to thank and dismiss the spirits after ritual. It can be paired with an offering if you desire, or with the blowing out of candles/removal of any items used to represent the summoned spirits.

Spirits called from hill and hollow,
Wraith and wight who dared to follow,
By charm and chant, by spoken spell,
I bid thee now a fond farewell.

 Through ash and thorn, by briar and bramble,
Slip like dusk where spirits ramble.
Wind and shadow, dust and bone,
Go ye back to the lands unknown.

No bond unbroken, no tether stays,
Part in peace by rightful ways.
By track and tide, by root and tree,
To Land of Spirit, I return thee.

Paying the Place Spirits

Once all is done and the supplies are cleaned up, I find it helpful and respectful to make a final payment to the place spirits before leaving. This is entirely optional, but it is something I have worked into my own practice over much trial and error. To do so, stand at the heart of the place where your work was performed and make a final payment as a gesture of thanks. Press a final offering into the earth, a crack in stone, the hollow of a tree, or the dark mouth of water. Remember to ensure that all offerings or items left behind are suitable and safe for the wildlife and ecosystem there. Consider offerings of honey, water, berries, biodegradable effigies, seeds, etc. As you do, say:

Spirits who watched, spirits who heard,
Spirits who stirred at whispered word,
By root and rock, by leaf and flame,
I leave this gift in honored name.

Not for debt and not for due,
But for the paths I’ve walked with you.
Gift for shadow, gift for kin,
A witch’s toll for where I’ve been.

Take this token, fair and free,
And let no ill remain with me.
No chain to pull, no thread to bind.
What was given, now is thine.