Casting Circles, drawn, summon, cut Options

What kind of experiences do each of you have with circles. I have experimented with the three kinds of circles with different results. By far, I find cutting to be the most powerful technique and drawing to be the least effective, but that's just me. What is everyone else's opinion? Which works best for you? Have you tried combinations?

For those that don't know, there are three kinds of circles that can be made before a ritual. The most common is the drawn circle, which is where the circle is drawn or marked with something physical such as salt. The second and less commonly used is the summoned circle where you summon the circle out of the ground, or air, ect. The third is cutting where you take an athame and cut into an energy souce to place it around you. For example, you could use the current energies given off with the retrograde Mercury and it's recent transit across the face of the sun. By cutting into that energy, you bring it around you and therefore make the circle. Afterwards, the cut energy is cut back into its home.

So, any ideas, questions, comments? I'm wondering, because I'm intergrating the different kinds of circle casting into rituals and any stories about experiences in any of the three would be a tremendous help.

Cheers,

Ishkbal

I can think of a few more types, visualization circels where you just see it is there whit your mind`s eyes, or circles where you mark the bondry whit somthing for example a ring of tarot card or rocks or anything, one have room circles where the antire room become one and so on. I prefer a wery simple thecniuqe I dont remember where I learned. I will go around my altar and see a blue stream of light coming from the tip of my athame or finger, I will go around the altar three times and for eatch round I will say. 1 (this is for the Goddess) 2 (This is for the God) 3 (This is for the one allpowerful Source) I then see a sphere forming of the blue stuff whit me inside of it. When done I walk around conterclocwise and pull the blue stuff back into me or the knife while saying I thank (Goddess, God, Source just like when casting the circle but this time ehancing the words this is for whit I thank.) I use other circle casting to but this is my favorite.

My method is a 9'x9" square of black silk with a circle painted onto it. There are actually two circles, with a warding spell written in cypher between them, circumnavigating the whole thing. The same spell is repeated five times. I also walk my circle three times - once for the body, once for the mind, and once for the spirit.

"Aum, In this place I am the alpha and omega, my will is the light of the sun and the movement of the cosmos, no thing may be here that is not my will, and that which I will is formed herein. I Am."

When space has been limited I have worked purely with the visualisation of the protective circle. This may not be ideal but if you want to do something you have to make the most of the tools with which you have to work.

I like the physical method of salt and water mixture, or I like light incense and walk arid the circle 3 times and I say a little rhyme. Then I call the watchtowers invoke the goddess and god then I say this little rhyme my Mum taught me. I cast this circle of power to protect me in my darkest hour. To encircle the towers threefold within the power I do hold. Yea... I don't really know where that little rhyme came from, but it seems like a fortifing thing maybe?