Ritual Circles

Ritual Circles
Dissertation
Victrienne Falconheart

(OOC Note: When thinking about how magic circles might be represented in game, I’ve looked at real world use of circles in occult, Wicca, and other such practices. The difficulty is combining those ideas with the fact that, in WoW’s universe, magic absolutely-definitely-visibly works. So it needs to be both a mysterious, esoteric practice, but also something with defined rules for making magic happen. I hope I’ve done that.)

Even the most accomplished of magi cannot hope to achieve the most powerful of spells unaided. The limits of mortal consciousness entail that he cannot grasp the vast number of concepts necessary to produce the spell all at once. For a simple fireball, the mage need only hold in his mind’s eye the idea of flame, quantity, heat, speed, and direction. To perform some exceptional feat – to transit between worlds, or through time, for instance – he must hold an impossible number of such concepts. To attempt such a thing would be to risk insanity or death.

To casts spells of impossible complexity, mages have long engaged in ritual casting. Indeed, the very first primitive magic was entirely ritualistic in nature precisely because ritualizing a spell makes what is difficult become relatively more simple. Rituals take on endless forms, as varied as the many races of Azeroth and beyond. Within the Eastern Kingdoms, and the Kirin Tor tradition in particular, rituals take on a nearly ubiquitous form: that of the magical circle.

At its core, a magical circle is a method for translating all of the many elements of the spell – too difficult to focus on at once – into geometry, runes, and arcane script. The circle is a technique for conceptualizing what is otherwise impossible for a mortal mind to grasp. Nevertheless, it should not be thought that such a practice makes casting easy. It merely makes it possible. Most circles require hours if not days of thought as the mage struggles to construct a diagram that will accurately portray the spell he wishes to create. In what follows, I will attempt to convey the essential rules for the creation of ritual circles.

I: The Creation of a Ritual Circle
  A basic ritual circle. However, note how the central triangle has been replaced by overlapping squares. This is a common practice with warding circles.

The Outer Circle
Naturally, the first shape that must be created is the circle itself. The size will vary according to the complexity of the circle: more complex spells will require more physical space on which they are transcribed. A normal circle will be nine feet in diameter, large enough for a single mage to stand comfortably within, or for a cabal of mages to stand around.

Simple circles can be traced on hard earth, wood, or rock with chalk. Chalk does not suffice, however, where the mage wishes to create a powerful effect. Rare and valuable inks or paints, arcane dusts, beasts’ blood, liquid amber, and powdered gemstones all see use in tracing the lines of the circle. A wise mage will prepare his circle from a material that obeys the law of sympathy – either representing the spell symbolically, or connecting resonantly with the spell’s subject.

Ancient elven tradition which has carried into human practice dictates that the circle be drawn sunwise, that is, turning from east to west in accordance with the passage of the sun – the prosperous course, as it is often called.

The outer circle is a symbol with intense magical significance. The circle represents the infinite nature of magic in the cosmos, endless and sublime. Encircling the spell’s geometry within this symbolic infinite loop places the spell properly within its universe.

The Central Triangle
In addition to the outer circle, all ritual circles contain a central triangle. Like the circle, to the law of forms, the triangle has a deep magical meaning. It connects the three realms: mental, astral, and physical. In doing so, it represents the manifestation of a spell, for the spell passed first through the mental realm when it is conceptualized by the mage, then through the astral as mana is drawn to conjure it, and finally into the physical realm when it comes to pass.

The central triangle is equilateral, its three points extending to touch the inner edges of the outer circle. The middle of the triangle is thus poised at the midpoint of the entire circle. It is drawn from the same materials as the circle itself.

The Cardinal Signs
Now that both the central triangle and the outer circle have been formed, the mage demarcates the cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west. This is typically done through the drawing of smaller circles at the edge of the central circle. These directions tie the spell to the physical world, extracting it from the realm of pure thought by providing reference points inherent to the circle itself. The circles that denote the directions will also be filled in with some of the key runic forms, as we will yet see.

Some mages choose to represent the cardinal signs as the four elemental planes rather than the directions. This has much the same effect, and so is left to the individual mage to decide.

The Subordinate Patterns
Within the central circle (or, for some complex spells, overlapping its bounds), other geometric patterns will be drawn to signify each component of the spell. These patterns must symbolically represent the concepts that they represent. This is commonly done through the use of runes to signify elements and variable widths, lengths, and features of shapes to signify such factors as duration, scale, area, and so forth.

Each subordinate pattern will be contained within a subordinate circle, that is, a small circle within or around the main circle. These subordinate circles demarcate the bounds of each conceptual component of the spell from each other, and failure to properly maintain these bounds could have dire ramifications. The position of these circles themselves are important. Concepts that are closely linked should be positioned together or even overlapping, while those that are distant should be positioned far apart. Concepts that exist outside the bounds of the world should be represented by circles positioned partially or wholly outside the bounds of the outer circle (teleportation effects, for example, or chronomancy).

The Script
Finally, incantations are inscribed across the circle. These, like all else, must represent the effect being produced. They are typically elaborate in nature, often written in verse or as an invocation to a personified Arcana. The incantation in its written form directs the circle on what spell to form when mana is channelled into it.

II: The Completed Circle
Crafting a ritual circle can be a work of countless hours. Once completed as detailed above, the circle is ready for use. Contrary to its construction, the use of a circle is simple. Because the entirety of the spell has been diagrammed and inscribed, it requires only a flow of raw mana in order to take effect. The mage will meditate within the circle to release his mana into it, thus releasing the spell contained within. Where the spell requires more mana than that mage possesses, multiple mages may do the same, or else he may seek a sacrifice to use in lieu of mana.

In conclusion, the ritual circle must not be viewed as an archaic relic of primitive magecraft. It is an elegant and sophisticated tool that, in the hands of a patient and clever sorcerer, can produce wondrous or devastating magic.
  An exceedingly complex ritual circle. The abundance of subordinate patterns outside the bounds of the outer circle signals that this design is used for something otherworldly in nature.