#the anuad paraphrased

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[abrigmorewitch]

A place set apart: being an essay on the casting of magical circles

A hound entered the kitchen and stole himself some stew, by this the cook was angered, he split the dog in two. Now other hounds and mongrels put the culprit to his rest, and errected him a tombstone upon which it reads impressed: A hound entered the kitchen ...

Magical circles can roughly be divided into two types: Circles keeping things out and circles keeping things inside. A meditation circle created to help the practitioner focus on his meditation would be of the former kind as it aims at keeping disruptive noises at bay. A magical ritual on the other hand might be held within a circle in order to contain possibly harmful energies. An example for a practical use of such harmful energies would be runes common to the School of Destruction, which contain large amounts of elemental energy which is released once the circle is disturbed.

While the notion does not properly reflect actual use, magical circles are most commonly associated with the School of Conjuration. When conjuring a spirit or daedric creature, the summoner is generally adviced to cast a protective circle around him- or herself. Alternatively the summoned creature might also be compelled to appear in a circle in which it subsequently will be trapped, giving it further incentive to colaborate with the summoner. - Generally it is adviceable to use a combination of both; that is to protect oneself while trapping the summoned creature.

While most magical circles posses elaborate layouts, adorned with scripture and other symbols to support the intend of the circle, the most basic design is a simple circle - usually drawn in chalk, salt or - as might be guessed - blood. Chalk while having no special beneficial properties is the most comfortable to use. Pressed into a stick it can be comfortably carried around and it will draw a good line on most floors. A chalk line is not suspectible to wind and will even withstand a few drops of rain. At the same time it can easily be removed once the circle is not needed any longer. Salt on the other hand, has prooven to be the most effective for the drawing of magical circles due to its cleansing and purifying properties. You cure your food with salt to prevent it from spoiling and you "burn and salt" the lands of an enemy to make it uinhabitable. Blood - of course - carries the essence of life and would lend vital energy to a circle drawn with it. Do however keep in mind the implication of its usage as killing even a pig for your own protection would be considered a first step down a dark road by some.

No matter the elaborateness or used materials, magical circles share the common concept of "a place set apart". You protect your garden with a wall of wood and stone, while a magical circle confides an area with a wall of words and will. As with every other wall, its effectiveness depends on its durability but also on its completness. In this context the circle itself represents a perfect round, an infinite line - and just here lies the problem of our magical circle: it might seem infinite, it is however far from being so.

Time is of the essence Just like the charming children's rhyme quoted above - or if you prefer a more sophisticated comparison: like the creation myth of the ancient Yokudans - a circle drawn has an end and a begining. It is in short a repetitive story without words.

Many instruction manuals for the construction of magical circles take the "gap" thus created into account. They seek to nullify it by drawing the circle "three times desoil" and "closing it widdershins" and whatnot. However, no matter how elaborately you try to conceal it, the breach remains. On the contrary, extensive drawing procedures only make matters worse by basically focusing on what causes the "gap" in the first place: the element of time.

Call it Auri-El, Akatosh of Satakal, the concept of time is essential to most tamrielic belief. In creating a basic order, time was vital for spirits to realize their purpose. It is a concept closely linked to all that which is mortal and which mortals generally find very hard to unthink; to die you first have to be born. Yet, what makes mundane life easier to grasp, essentially is the ruin of the magical circle, since it too becomes a sequence, a thing fixed in time and space instead of "a place set apart".

Those of my readers familiar with The Anuad Paraphrased might already be aware of what I am hinting at: As Anu did with Padomay a mage must cast their circle "outside of time". The essential word in this of course is "cast".

Casting a circle To defy the Dragon, we cannot but cast the circle. Shape it in your mind. Imagine it as infinite, as being without end but also without begining. Imagine it as devoid of all cause, effect and meaning, yet at the same time full of it. - Then take this circle, infinite, meaningless and yet meaningful and willfully cast it into the world. For casting a magical circle, casting any magic of any significance, can only be done under will. There is no other way.

This being the end of the words

Appendix Imagining the eternal is hard for mortals, destined to perrish one day. Even harder it is for them to imagine the concept of infinity - of being without death but also without birth. And by "imagine" I mean comprehend, by "imagine" i mean devoured and digested and having become part of oneself. So there is a good chance, your cast circles will not be any better than those drawn in chalk or salt. Yet despair not, as the Anuad tells us, not even Anu got it right the first time around.

First draft, fifth day of Last Seed 2E 585