1. Decide which ritual you want to hold. There are various common Wiccan rituals, a lot of which can be found in good books on Wicca. A well-known one is Drawing Down the Moon. Look up some more information about it.

2. Plan. Consider numbers, and if more than one person will be present, plan in advance who will be calling which quarters, who will be leading which parts of the ritual, and so on. This will prevent confusion later on, which could disrupt the atmosphere and the energy build-up.

3. Prepare the space.

• If you’ll be doing it indoors, give the room a good clean and a spiritual cleanse by smudging or sweeping.
• If it’s outdoors, clear the space of any rubbish or debris. Make sure that anyone going barefoot will be able to walk around if they need to. Prepare any practicalities such as a fire pit, etc. Appropriate any major props such as firewood, lanterns or an altar.

4. Cleanse yourself by taking a bath or a shower and using some bath oils that you only use for if you’re doing a ritual.

5. Begin by grounding yourself. Find your inner peace, and become good and relaxed. Shut out all the things from your mundane life that distract you.

6. Gather anyone performing with you and cast your circle.

7. Call the elements to be present in your space; Clockwise, starting at East:

1. East, Air
2. South, Fire
3. West, Water
4. North, Earth
5. All, Spirit

8. Take a moment to honour your deity/deities. A symbolic picture or sculpture helps to focus the mind, especially in group rituals where it helps to have everyone focused on the same thing.

9. Visualize your goal and meditate on it. Take some time to cast your spell.

10. Thank your God/Goddess.

11. Thank the elements and release them in reverse order.

12. Finally, open your circle. This will release any residual energy. Some like to do this as they release the elements.

13. Take some time to come back to the now by grounding yourself again. You can also do this by eating and drinking something, hugging a friend, patting yourself all over your body or visualizing roots growing into the ground to steady you.

• Both solitary and group workings benefit from the sharing of wine and cake for grounding and blessing at this point. Pass wine and then cake or bread clockwise, being blessed and blessing the next person in turn. When everyone feels settled, discussion and expression is a great idea.