This was my second most popular piece on my old site. Though it had barely more than half the views of Sex With Angels, which I think says a lot about the internet…
This is just an introduction to summoning circles in grimoiric magick, and an interpretation of them, rather than just “here draw this, it works.”
This article was originally written for a “flavour” article in a friend’s Dictionary of Demons book. The format of the book changed and my articles got cut, though some the information was still incorporated into the book. I’ve slightly edited it from the original format to be a bit more personal and experiential rather than just cold theory.
The Circle is probably one of the most important, and misunderstood tools in the arsenal of a magickian who works with Demons. Anyone who has flipped through a text on summoning Angels or Demons has come across a Summoning Circle, but probably with no more explanation than the method of drawing it, and that the circle is important to use.
Over the course of time the design of the circle has changed, and the importance of it has shifted. In modern magick, more than ever, the circle is being deemed unimportant, or simplistic. The Summoning Circle is being replaced by Psychic Shields, or ritual belts, or a simple visualized bubble. This shows, among other things, a tendency to interpret the Summoning Circle as merely a form of protection when dealing with Demons, when in fact it is far more than just that in some interpretations.
(Continued)