Demonolatry Circles 101

On the casting of the ritual circle in Demonolatry Magic.

In Demonolatry, it is customary to construct a circle for any working calling upon the demonic divine, whether that be a quiet sitting in meditation, a focused ritual, or a full blown celebratory rite.  This is not done in the sense of protecting the magician from the demonic, isolating and binding the demonic, or any of the usual reasons you might think of when it comes to circles, demons, and magic.

Quite the contrary, the circle is in part to make the demonic more comfortable. When we move to the different quarters, raising our circle, we are creating the physical ritual space, as well as the energetic space which will function as the best conduit for our work and for the demonic to be present in our work. Within this circle, the all of the energy necessary for our working, for communication or manifestation, is gathered together, and the demonic divine is welcomed into this space with us. It acts as a buffer, to help filter the energy of the working to the practitioner and not overwhelm them with the presence of the demonic. And, it also acts as a barrier to keep out anything which might otherwise disrupt our work— lesser spirits, entities, tricksters who may just want to hop in and have a little fun. So it is protective, but not weaponized against the demonic we are working with.

Many larger workings call upon the Nine Demonic Divine, as they are written of by Dukante. The layout varies practitioner to practitioner, though I have seen it taught as three triangles, walking the circle three times. The way that I was taught, and continue to teach for those interested in working with the Nine Divine this way, is spaced somewhat differently, however, and I feel lends itself to a solidly balanced workspace and energetic buffer for the practitioner.

For this most basic of circles, I always start to the East, where I call to Lucifer to aid in raising that quadrant of my circle, raising the current of Air and all it symbolizes. For meditations or divination, this portion may be quick, a few epithets, a welcome invitation and concentration. For a larger ritual, or full temple service, it is more involved. Moving clockwise, to the South, we call on Flereous, Fire. And then to the West Leviathan, Water. Next Belial, Earth.

With the four major elements represented in the Dukante Nine Divine, I move back to the position of East. Next I call to Verrine, considered the positive polarity, healing, mending, growth, and I turn clockwise calling Verrine around me, or walk the perimeter clockwise, until I am back at East. Following Verrine, I call on Amducious, the negative polarity, destruction, moving counterclockwise, or walking the perimeter counterclockwise.

Lastly, moving to the middle, I call to above me, with Unsere, life and creation, and then below me, Eurynomous, death and decay. Traditionally, returning to center, for the All, many would then call upon Satan. I replace this step by calling upon my Patron to oversee the circle whole and the work I am doing.

After all of these steps, my circle is set, the space is primed and ready for whatever work I have in mind for the evening, and I am ready to invite in the divine I plan to commune with. After my working is complete, I then walk each part of the circle again, starting with Eurynomous, moving back to Unsere, going through in reverse to thank each of the divine and give words of departing, ending with my Patron.

A full circle with the Nine Divine is not necessary for every working, however, I highly recommend it starting out as it serves as the perfect balance of all energetic forces, has everything you could possibly need, and is a solid foundation to build your workings on. It also allows for a controlled environment to record your rituals, your sensations and experiences in them, and to track those over time for the development of your personal discernment in your practice.

An alternative to this full circle would be working with the main four elemental demons, one in each quarter, with either the All or a Patron for the central point of focus for the circle. This would look much the same as the full circle discussed above, however after Belial, you return to center, and call either Patron or Satan or the Universe, depending on where you place your All.

To anyone wishing to test the demonolatry magic waters, I would highly recommend starting with the circle. Call the full circle, with all Nine Divine, and then sit and meditate within it, quiet yourself and listen, take notes, feel it out. Even without calling a specific demon into the space with you, there is a lot to experience and learn.