This is a practical, accessible handbook for the beginner with cross appeal to seasoned practitioners of ritual magick. The use of casting as a means of establishing sacred space is a common practice in Wiccan and Neopagan traditions. In fact it is widely considered the most important step in spiritual and magickal work. And yet few really know how to do it or do it well. In Casting Sacred Space , Neopagan practitioner Ivo Dominguez, Jr., offers a comprehensive introduction to the techniques and rituals of casting, including: How to become grounded and centered before one begins - The Proper timing for casting and ritual work - How to open up one's psychic senses to work with subtle energies - How to set the stage for magickal work both internally and externally - Protection, symbols and meditations for maintaining sacred space. - The Circle, the Quarters, and other modes of casting sacred space - Quartering, energy work, and many cross-practice connections including Qabala and chakras. Ivo Domínguez, Jr.  is a visionary, and a practitioner of a variety of esoteric disciplines. He has been active in Wicca and the Pagan community since 1978, has been teaching since 1982. Ivo was a founding member, and a past High Priest, of Keepers of the Holly Chalice, the first coven of the Assembly of the Sacred Wheel a Wiccan Tradition. He currently serves as one of the Elders of the Assembly of the Sacred Wheel, a Wiccan syncretic tradition that draws inspiration from Astrology, Qabala, the Western Magickal Tradition and the folk religions of Europe. His techniques and insights are rooted in a synthesis of traditional metaphysical teachings, modern science, and memories from past lives. He has taught at many gatherings, conferences, and venues across the United States and abroad. Ivo is also a professional astrologer who has studied astrology since 1980 and has been offering consultations and readings since 1988. Ivo has been published in numerous periodicals and is the author of  Casting Sacred Space: The Core Of All Magickal Work ;  Spirit Speak: Knowing and Understanding Spirit Guides, Ancestors, Ghosts, Angels, and the Divine ; and  Beneath the Skins. He is also one of the creative forces behind  Awakening the Dream  and  A Dream Whose Time Is Coming , two chant CDs that are fundraisers for the New Alexandrian Library Project. He has written over seventy chants and maintains an online pagan chant resource at ivodominguezjr.com. He is one of the owners and stewards of Seelie Court, 102 acres of wooded land in Southern Delaware. The land at Seelie Court is filled with magick and has been consecrated to the purpose of deepening all pagan paths. CASTING SACRED SPACE The Core of All Magickal Work By Ivo Dominguez Jr. Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC Copyright © 2012 Ivo Dominguez Jr. All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-57863-499-6 Contents AcknowledgmentsForeword by T. Thorn CoyleIntroductionYour VisionInner PreparationsSensing and Making Sense of EnergyGrounding and CenteringImmanence, Transcendence, and Magickal RealityThe Quarters: Space, Time, and ElementsThe Modalities and the QuartersThe Sword and StaffThe Triangle of StillnessThe Square of AbeyanceThe Three PillarsThe Star of SightThe Four MindsThe Circle of SoundFour Simple Rituals for Personal GrowthPlanning for Public Rituals and Large RitualsClosing Thoughts on Sacred SpaceAppendix A: The Chakras—the Organs of the Subtle BodiesAppendix B: The Qabala—the Tree of LifeAppendix C: The Sword and Staff CastingAppendix D: The Triangle of StillnessAppendix E: The Square of AbeyanceAppendix F: The Three PillarsAppendix G: The Star of SightAppendix H: The Four MindsRecommended Reading CHAPTER 1 Your Vision Although many different methods will be presented in subsequent chapters, oftenwith somewhat technical explanations, I would like to underscore that magick andceremony are more arts than sciences. What you accomplish using the variouscastings is not only dependent upon your intellectual understanding, but uponyour passion, creativity, and vision. The whole of what you believe is thefoundation of all your castings and informs your actions and perceptions. In certain branches of the Western Magickal Tradition students are asked tocreate a pantacle, a disk marked with symbols to form a visual representation oftheir personal concept of the forces, forms, and essences that make up theuniverse. The pantacle is then used in ritual as a reminder or a focus of thatintegrated vision. (The pantacle is sometimes also referred to as a pentacle,but we will use the former spelling to differentiate this from the five-pointedstar common to many magickal systems.) The process of taking all they know orbelieve and concentrating it into an image is a powerful learning experience.You may wish to undertake the task of creating a pantacle or choose anothermethod for distilling your knowledge into an organic whole. Writing a poem or astory will accomplish