The reason you walk around the circle clockwise is because that's the path the sun appears to take throughout the year on the horizon. Clockwise motion in rituals is sometimes called sunwise because of this. This is a life-affirming movement, for want of a better phrase. The eastern quadrant is where the sun rises every day, bringing new light.
Anti-clockwise movement is sometimes called widdershins, I believe. I'm unsure if this is supposed to be in correspondence with the movement of the black sun through the sky during the year or not. The western quadrant is where the sun sets, bringing the night.
If you're elsewhere in the universe this may be reversed, it depends on local conditions!
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