Order The Circle, Cubed: Erecting the Temple in Four Dimensions
from Amazon.com
Excerpts:
Major life changes are often the catalyst for a change in religion, and it is therefore no surprise that people who are unable to create a large temple rite find themselves converting to Wicca without the benefit of tools, time, large collections of books or mentors. Most of these people are unable to practice large scale because of housing or time restrictions, such as those in most college dorms or military service. Others are paying for actions earlier in their lives with jail time, or even involuntary hospitalization. Regardless of the reason why a minimalist temple is called for, the fact remains that sometimes we can’t have knives, candles, incense and other ephemera.
As you may’ve guessed, I am of the opinion that the mental, energetic and spiritual aspects of the temple rite can be accomplished without a single tool other than a person’s will, although I concede that some deities may expect specific cleansing techniques and dress. Minimalist temples, then, focus upon the physical and the traditional without the use of many tools. It is possible to erect these temples without any tools, but unless it is unavoidable it is generally best to learn the use of each tool and remove those you do not need to use in your situation.
The elements, division of the universe into land, sea and air, the Compass Rose and other aspects of the traditional temple rites are as much tools as athamés, incense, goblets or ropes. Just as the skilled practitioner can do without the elemental quarters, despite what others claim, so too can the devoted Wiccan forgo all physical tools, despite what the self-same others claim.
The first set of minimalist temples we’ll cover require forethought and planning, and may not be appropriate for those who are limited in their movement in physical space. The first, which we’ll call the Sympathetic temple, is probably the easiest, although the materials may be difficult to acquire. While I have used the elemental tetragram for this example, it can also be used in other ways. To better acquaint you with other elemental arrangements, this circle uses air in the north, not the east. From north to west on the compass, the elements used herein air, fire, earth, water. The Size of the Circle: Gerald Gardner very clearly was basing his nine foot diameter on the (eighteen foot) diameter of the circle in the Clavicula Salomonis and his reasons for reducing the diameter by one half are unknown. Many attribute it to simple error, and while I lean that way myself, it’s hard to deny that a nine-foot circle fits neatly in most living rooms. It is difficult, however, to place thirteen people around this size circle with a great deal of space, and I recommend that such groups always default to the larger size. That being said, I sincerely believe that the actual size of the circle should be a matter of convenience, not tradition, even though the nine and eighteen feet circles reverberate through reality strongly because of tradition. I find circles of twelve feet in diameter to be particularly effective at a personal level, based on the size of the spaces I tend to use and the power of the number twelve. In my experience, many groups default to twelve foot diameter circles without even measuring one out, so it’s obviously something inside of humanity that makes that distance work. In short, I would not worry too much about the diameter of any circle used when erecting the temple unless you have a very strong reason for using a particular measurement. I prefer the measure gained by having all participants standing with their fingertips just touching, myself.
From Chapter Eight: Debates in Temple Construction: