Lords of the Watchtowers
The Cardinal Points
Calling Quarters and Casting Magic Circles
(From White Magic@1997-1998 Eileen Holland)

Lords of the Watchtowers

Who are these guys, anyway? And why do you need to call upon them when you cast a magic circle?

Magic relates to both time and space. Ancient peoples divided space into the four quarters: north, south, east and west. Sometimes they further subdivided it, but the four basic directions are the crucial ones. They assigned deities to guard each of these quarters, deities to whom the power of each quarter accrued.

The Lords of the Watchtower can be male or female. By invoking them we call upon their spatial powers to guard and inform our magic circles.

Cultures represented in the invocation lists range from Asia through Europe and Africa to the Americas, illustrating the universality of the division of space into the cardinal points. You can invoke any gods or goddesses who appeal to you, but these are examples of mythologically consistent invocations:

ANGELS

DRAGONS (thanks to: John, Draco)
  AZTEC BUDDHIST Buddhists count five directions, assigning each one to a member of the Buddha family:
North: color:  

green

 negative quality:  

envy and jealousy

 positive quality:  

all-accomplishing wisdom 

 sacred to:  

Amoghasiddhi 
South:  color:  

yellow 

 negative quality:  

pride

 positive quality:  

wisdom of equanimity

 sacred to:  

Ratnasambhava 
East:  color:  

blue

 negative quality:  

aggression

 positive quality:  

mirrorlike wisdom 

 sacred to:  

Akshobhya
West: color:  

red 

 negative quality:  

passion and longing

 positive quality:  

wisdom of discriminating awareness

 sacred to:  

Amitabha
Center: color:  

white

 negative quality:  

ignorance that causes the cycle of reincarnation 

 positive quality:  

wisdom of ultimate reality

 sacred to:  

Mahapratisara - Vairochana
EGYPTIAN
N Hapy Neith Osiris
S  Imset Isis Ra 
E Duamutef Nephthys Horus
W Qebehsenuf Sekhmet Thoth 
The first four listed are the sons of Horus, who appear on canopic jars.

HINDU
N  Soma 
S  Yama
E Indra
W Varuna 
The eight Lokapala, Hindu Lords of the Watchtowers, are each assisted by an elephant:

Each direction corresponds to a color in India:

The Cardinal Points

NORTH: INVOCATIONS: The North Wind:
"Awake, O north wind;
and come thou south,
blow upon my garden,
that the spices thereof may flow out."
- the Song of Solomon
NORTHWEST: NORTHEAST: From the Egyptian Book of the Dead :
"Thou Beautiful Power, thou Beautiful Rudder of the Northern Heaven, Power of Heaven, Opener of the Disk, thou Beautiful Rudder of the Northern Heaven"

SOUTH:

INVOCATIONS: The South Wind: SOUTHEAST: SOUTHWEST: From the Egyptian Book of the Dead:
"Dweller in the temple of the Red gods, Beautiful Rudder of the Southern Heaven, Dweller in the House of the Tesheru Gods, thou Beautiful Rudder of the Southern Heaven."

EAST:

INVOCATIONS: The East Wind: From the Egyptian Book of the Dead:
"Splendor, Dweller in the temple of the Ashemu gods, Beautiful Rudder of the Eastern Heaven, Khu, Dweller in the House of the Ashemu gods, thou Beautiful Rudder of the Eastern Heaven."

WEST:

INVOCATIONS: The West Wind: From the Egyptian Book of the Dead:
"Thou who circlest, Guide of the Two Lands, Beautiful Rudder of the Western Heaven, Ra, Guide of the Two Lands, thou Beautiful Rudder of the Western Heaven."

Mayans assigned these correspondences to the cardinal points:
North: color: red jewel: bloodstone
South:  color: white jewel: pearls - shells 
East: color: yellow  metal: gold
West:  color: black - blue jewel: jade - turquoise
The Celts had a Four-fold Cycle:
East:  

Life - beginning
  • Element: Air 
  • Season: Spring 
  • Time: Dawn 

    • Tool: the sword of Nuadha
    South:  

    Light - increasing
  • Element: Fire 
  • Season: Summer 
  • Time: Noon 

    • Tool: the spear of Lugh 
    West:  

    Love - maturing
  • Element: Water 
  • Season: Autumn 
  • Time: Evening 

    • Tool: the cauldron of the Daghda
    North:  

    Law - destroying
  • Element: Earth 
  • Season: Winter 
  • Time: Night 

    • Tool: the stone of Fal
    The ancient Irish divided their land into five directions, each with its own correspondences:
    East (Leinster):  Benefit - farmers/householders - prosperity and hospitality 
    South (Munster): Music - poets/minstrels - knowledge and fertility
    West (Connaught):  Learning - Druids - judgment, chronicles and storytelling
    North (Ulster):  Battle - warriors - conflict, struggle and pride
    Center (Meath): Kingship - king/stewards - stability, bounty and renown

    Magic Circles

    A magic circle is a sacred space that is prepared for rituals or magic. The sexual act is just the sexual act, until it takes place inside a magic circle. Then it becomes the Great Rite, a ritual of the Goddess.

    Witches make magic circles and invoke the Lords of the Watchtowers because it works, because this is the best way to make magic. We make magic in circles because circles contain and amplify the power that we raise. Magicians and other practitioners make circles to protect themselves from the forces that magic can unleash. Magic is serious business, not something to be fooled around with unless you know what you are doing.

    You make a magic circle by facing each of the cardinal points in turn and invoking a god or goddess of that direction. There is no right or wrong way to do this, just whatever feels proper to you. I usually place a candle to mark each of the quarters, and start with north because that is where the power is. I go N-E-S-W if my spell is one of invitation or increase, N-W-S-E if it is one of decrease or banishment. I describe a circle in the air with my sword, then salute each of the quarters with it.

    A magic circle can exist in your mind or have physical reality. It can be an actual circle of earth, candles, sand, shells, stones, bones, glitter, chalk marks or anything else that appeals to you. It could also, like mine, be a circle described in the air with incense, a sword or a wand. Circular clearings in forests or groves are excellent places for magic. If I lived in the country I would plant a circle of trees and add a slab of rock for an altar. A circle of standing stones, like a miniature Stonehenge, would also be great. Your circle is your own. Make it any way you like.

    You can create your own circle ritual, or use one found in a book or on the Web. The invocations should be made aloud. These can be very simple:

    "Hail to the Lord/Lady of the Watchtower of the _______."

    Or they can be quite elaborate, naming the deity and the powers he or she represents:

    "Hail Isis, Queen of the South, gentle Lady whose strength is love. Let your spirit inform this circle, add your will to mine."

    You can write your own prayer or invocation with the information given here. Prayers from The Book of the Dead included for each direction could serve as circle invocations.

    Have everything you need for the spell or ritual ready in the place where you will make a circle. No one should enter or leave a circle once it is cast, until the spell is finished and the power has been grounded. Again, there are many ways to do this. I usually open my palms, face down, and imagine the power flowing from me back into the Earth. I say:

    "Circle open / but unbroken.
     Power down / to the ground."

    Never forget this step, because omitting it can leave the Door open and cause strange things to happen. 

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