Note on magical circles (maṇḍala)

Note: this text is extracted from Book III, chapter 20.

“One day that King Ādityaprabha returned from hunting in the forest, and quickly entered his harem; his suspicions were aroused by the confusion of the warders, and when he entered, he saw the queen named Kuvalayāvalī engaged in worshipping the gods (devārcana), stark naked with her hair standing on end, and her eyes half closed, with a large patch of red lead upon her forehead, with her lips trembling in muttering charms, in the midst of a great circle (mahā-maṇḍala) strewed with various coloured powders, after offering a horrible oblation of blood, spirits and human flesh. She for her part, when the king entered, in her confusion seized her garments, and when questioned by him immediately answered, after craving pardon for what she had done: ‘I have gone through this ceremony in order that you might obtain prosperity...’”.

For the circle see Henry VI, Part II, Act i, sc. 4, line 25, and Henry V, Act v, sc. 2, line 420: “If you would conjure... you must make a circle.” See also Ralston’s Russian Folk-Tales, p. 272; Veckenstedt’s Wendische Sagen, pp. 292, 302,303. See also Wirt Sikes, British Goblins, pp. 200, 201; Henderson’s Northern Folk-Lore, p. 19; Bartsch’s Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Meklen-burg, vol. i, pp. 128, 213. Prof. Jebb, in his notes on Theophrastus’ “Superstitious Man,” observes:

“The object of all those ceremonies, in which the offerings were carried round the person or place to be purified, was to trace a charmed circle within which the powers of evil should not  come.”

Cf. also Grössler’s Sagen aus der Grafschaft Mansfeld, p. 217; Brand’s Popular Antiquities, vol. iii, p. 56; Grohmann’s Sagen aus Böhmen, p. 226.—In his Popular Religion and Folk-Lore of Northern India (vol. i, pp. 103, 142; vol. ii, p. 41) W. Crooke gives details of the circle among the Hindus. For the magic circle in Babylonia, Assyria and adjacent countries see R. Campbell Thompson, Semitic Magic, 1908, pp. lx et. seq., 102, 123, 165, 204 and 207. The numerous mediæval references in the works of William of Auvergne, Roger Bacon, Raymond Lull, Peter of Abano, etc., are all to be found in Thorndike, A History of Magic and Experimental Science, 1923. (See the General Index in each volume under “Circle, magic.”) For a comprehensive article on the whole subject reference should be made to A. E. Crawley, “Magical Circle,” Hastings’ Ency. Rel. Eth., vol. viii, pp. 321-324. I would also draw the attention of readers to the exhaustive series of articles on “Magic” by a large number of eminent scholars in the same volume (pp. 245-321).

It appears that the use of the magical circle is really twofold. Firstly it serves as a protective barrier to the dead and dying, and also round a house, subsequently giving rise to the superstitions connected with wedding rings, bangles, etc. Secondly it appears in black magic as a kind of magical vantage ground in which the “ operator” is himself safe and to which he can compel the presence of evil spirits. The circle also denotes finality and continuity. It commands every point of the compass and can be regarded as an inner concentric circle of the horizon itself. All these points are made quite clear if we look through the voluminous literature on the subject. There is, however, one further point I would mention. The circle is not only a safe place to be in when “conjuring” but often acts as a prison from which escape is impossible. Thus in J. H. Bridges, Opus Maius of Roger Bacon, vol. ii, p. 208, we read:

“Moreover, there are numerous things which kill every venomous animal by the slightest contact; and if a circle is drawn about such animals with objects of this sort [herbs, stones, metals, etc.] they cannot get out, but die without having been touched.”

Cf with this the curious story of the magic circle made of dittany juice as told in Appendix III of this volume, p. 295. In Chapter XXXVII we shall come across a great circle made of ashes, where I shall add a further note. —n.m.p.