By Rain Stormsong  

The quarters reside in the cardinal points, East, South, West, and North. When you call the Quarters, you are doing more than simply circling the compass, however; you are inviting the symbolic energies for each of them to attend and guard over your working and to become part of your magick.  

The act of calling the Quarters is an integral part of casting a circle. The circle being the sacred space in which ritual and magick are performed. It is a safe space in which to work and worship, a portable temple if you like.  

When calling a Quarter, whether verbally, or in the case of those limited to silent casting, through visualization, you will want to use as many senses as possible to describe, qualify and thus call the essence of the Quarter to your working.  

Here is a list of some correspondences:

Direction          Element           Animal                         Quality

East                 Air                    Eagle                            thought, intellect, imagination

South                Fire                   Snake or Lizard             passion, determination

West                Water               Otter or Dolphin             emotion, love

North                Earth                Buffalo or Bear               stability, patience, nurturance

To call the Quarter, first face in the direction of the Quarter, holding your athame as an extension of your arm. Visualize what the Quarter means and draw that image to you. Draw an invoking pentagram. Recite (either aloud or clearly in your mind) words that address and invite the Quarter. Breathe in and feel yourself infused with the essence of the Quarter.  

Let’s look at each part of the above paragraph in a little more detail. Facing the direction of the Quarter is easy, but what does the Quarter mean to you? For East, the domain of the element Air, this could be a fresh breeze upon your face, or it could be memory of a hurricane force wind. For Fire, a crackling fireplace, or a blazing forest wildfire? There are varying degrees of intensity, and none of them are more wrong or right to use than another. Use what stirs your visualization and fills you with the sense of the Quarter being called. I personally use a mix of gentle and forceful, but not destructive images as they strike a balance for me.  

Draw your invoking pentagram with your athame in the air in the direction of the Quarter. There is a specific invoking and banishing pentagram for each quarter. If you wish to use them, please do so. In order to keep this from sounding like a “you must do this or your circle won’t work” article, we are not going to include them here. Rituals should first and foremost work for you, and what works for someone else, may not be right for you.  

A basic invoking pentagram starts at the bottom left hand point, moves to the top point, down to the bottom right hand point, to the left-hand point, to the right-hand point, and back to the bottom left hand point. A basic banishing pentagram begins at the top point and moves down to the bottom left point to the right point, to the left point, to the bottom right point, and back to the top.  

What words should you use? There are many books on this topic. Your call can be formal and start with “All Hail the Guardians of the Watchtowers of the (direction), we seek your presence here tonight. Or, your call can be friendly and something like, “Powers of (element), we invite you to be with us this eve.”  

A complete call denotes the element, animal and quality of each individual Quarter. For example:  

Guardians of the East, Powers of Air; you who are thought and the wind upon my face. Winged eagle of the skies who is the morning breeze and the wrath of storms, I call upon and invite your presence to witness this rite.

Guardians of the South, Powers of Fire, you who are passion and the hearth. Great Snake who lives within the coals of the home fires as well as wild fires, I call upon and invite your presence to witness this rite.

Guardians of the West, Powers of Water, you who are emotions and pure love. Gentle Dolphin of the waves who is the morning dew, and the torrential rains, I call upon and invite your presence to witness this rite.

Guardians of the North, Powers of Earth, you who are the stabilizer and nurturer. Powerful Buffalo who paws the ground and stands solid as the mountains, I call upon and invite your presence to witness this rite.  

After you have called the North, turn again to the East, and your circle has been cast. You may now proceed with your ritual, or spell.  

When you are ready to Dismiss the Quarters and Open the Circle, work backwards while facing each Quarter. Begin with North, then West, South, and East. Thank the Quarter and bid it farewell.  

For Example:  

Guardians of the North, of Earth, I thank you for your solid presence here tonight. Stay if you will, go if you must. Farewell and Blessed Be.

Guardians of the West, of Water, I thank you for your soothing presence here tonight. Stay if you will, go if you must. Farewell and Blessed Be.

Guardians of the South, of Fire, I thank you for your energetic presence here tonight. Stay if you will, go if you must. Farewell and Blessed Be.

Guardians of the East, of Air, I thank you for your whispered presence here tonight. Stay if you will, go if you must. Farewell and Blessed Be.  

Your circle has been opened, your Quarters dismissed. J  

Please have fun and get creative with your Quarter calls. Perhaps even spend some time meditating on the different Quarters to really get in touch with what they bring to your life and ritual. The above Quarter calls/dismissals are my personal ones; please feel free to use them as written or change them to suit you. If you publish them anywhere though, please give me credit.  

Bright Blessings!