Aerik Arkadian

Quarter calls are part of many Wiccan rituals, usually somewhere between the actual circle casting and calling in a deity. They take so many different shapes and forms that it’s easy for a beginner to lose track of what’s going on or forget what direction to face.

What are quarter calls, exactly? Why do we do them? How can we do them better? Read on.

Origins

Do you ever wonder why we do stuff the way we do it? I mean, I certainly do. Depending on who you’re asking, the short answer sometimes can seem like “because people hundreds of years ago did it that way.” The long version of the answer, however, could fill an entire book, but let’s at least go over some of the highlights.

The Key of Solomon, which is usually thought to date back to the 14th or 15th century, contains several references to the quarters. There are many versions and translations of the manuscript, some which date to much later, but the one I have says:

There’s actually quite a few instructions like that — things that need to be done, said, or placed in each of the cardinal directions.

Flash forward to the 16th century where Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelley worked the Enochian system of magick, summoning angelic spirits into each of the four quarters. They called them “watchtowers.”

The Golden Dawn expanded upon this and attributed elements and colors to the directions. Finally, these ideas made their way into the beginnings of modern Wiccan practices, at least in part, thanks to Gerald Gardner, although most of the angelic names and complicated Enochian language was dropped.

Rather than specifically summoning an angel, today we generally invoke a “guardian” spirit, sometimes referred to as an elemental.

Not on the Periodic Table

Sometimes this terminology can be confusing. When we talk about elements and elementals, it’s easy to get mixed up. The word “element” itself can refer to many things, everything from a component to a chemical substance.

For sake of clarity, when I say element, I’m referring to one of the four fundamental currents of energy whose interactions cause our reality to manifest — earth, air, water, and fire. If you’d like to be able to have incredibly interesting conversations about the caveats between Physical Fire (the candle flame) and Spiritual Fire (the current of energy that the candle flame represents) then please take this moment to read The Four Elements of the Wise by Ivo Dominguez, Jr.

When I say elemental, I’m referring to a being from another realm. While our reality is made up of the four elements, a fire elemental, for instance, comes from a place that is made up of only the element of fire. Much could be said here, sure, but for the sake of brevity just understand that many of them are arguably older, wiser, and more powerful than us.

Some Disagreement

Not everyone agrees on the use of elementals. And to each their own. But I’ve always been puzzled by this paragraph from Raymond Buckland, which states that not only should you not do it, you should be scared if someone else does.

Should you ever be present at such a Circle - perhaps as a guest - then I would strongly urge you to mentally erect a protective barrier of white light around yourself... just to be on the safe side."

-Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft by Raymond Buckland

Really, Uncle Bucky?

There’s nothing wrong with focusing purely on deity for a particular ritual. Call a Goddess if you want. Or call a God. But there’s also nothing scary or wrong with solely invoking elemental energies. In fact, there’s a lot to be learned from doing a purely elemental ritual that focuses on one element.

As a witch, you have access to lots of different currents of energy — there’s elemental, planetary, zodiacal, and source. I mean, there might be more, but I think everything can be grouped into those four. Hey, there’s that number four again.

When we’re talking about the fundamental framework of our ritual space, it makes sense to me to erect the temple using the energies of the four elements. It’s about balance, and the elementals all seem to balance each other, don’t they? The number 4 itself inherently represents balance — 4 elements, 4 directions, 4 sides to a square, etc. What better place do we build our place of worship and magick?

Writing a Strong Call

In my time as a witch, I’ve heard a number of different quarter calls. Many of them start out with phrases like

• Hail to the (insert direction)…
• Guardians of the (insert direction)
• Guardians of the Watchtowers of the (insert direction)
• etc etc

And then there was that one time where someone simply said, “Hey South…”

In my opinion, a strong call usually includes a few things:

1. Who you are calling
2. What they represent
3. What you want them to do
4. When you want them to come
5. Why you’re calling them specifically

Pro Tip: It doesn’t have to be in this order.

And, although not explicitly stated in many calls, your visualization technique should give instructions for “where” your recipient will come. For us, this is to the edge of our ritual space.

Let’s examine an… example. Examine an example? Sure. Does that phrase sound strange? Maybe I’ve just been writing for too long today. What I mean to say is: let me show you one and break it down.

“Guardians of the East, Powers of Air, I evoke and conjure you. Come! Protect this circle and lend your energy to our workings! Bring your powers of clarity and communication. Be here now! So mote it be!”

• Who I’m Calling: Guardians of the East
• What They Represent: Powers of Air
• What I Want Them to Do: I evoke and conjure you. Come! Protect this circle and lend your energy to our workings!
• Why I’m Calling Them Specifically: Bring your powers of clarity and communication
• When I Want It: Be here now!
• Obligatory Witch Phrases: So mote it be!

If you can add flowery language and imagery that rhymes to this whole mix, then more power to you.

I’ve heard calls that feel way too short and calls that read like pages in a book. It’s best to keep it somewhere in the middle. State what you need and be done.

You will notice that there are no requests in my writing and there is also no ambiguity. I am being very direct and commanding. Let me say that again: I’m being commanding. I’m not asking. I’m telling. And it isn’t rude.

Performing a Strong Call

It’s not enough to write a strong quarter call — you have to deliver the message well.

That means you have to speak up. Project your voice! But unfortunately, I hear so many people who speak in a quiet, hushed voice, as if they’re shy or telling a secret.

The biggest tip I give to our outer court students is to pretend like I’m in another room and they need to call a message out to me. Oddly enough, this is usually the same type of volume when I call upstairs to the kids and tell them dinner is ready. Maybe you’ll call this “using your dad voice” — whatever metaphor helps you understand the need to speak up and project is fine by me.

If you can deliver the call this way, then you’ve done 90% of the work. Want to up the game a little further?

Intonation and Vibration

If you really want to perfect your quarter call deliveries, you’ll need to spend some time practicing intonation and vibration. These words are basically synonymous.

Your words become sound waves. Waves are vibration. Vibration is energy.

There is a particular pitch where your voice will resonate with the rest of your body. Yours will be slightly different from mine because our vocal cords are different — and so are our throats, skulls, nasal passages, etc… there are so many different things that play a part in how your voice resonates!

To the Edge and No Further

Elementals are mischievous creatures. In the wrong context, they can cause some damage, yes, but they’re not scary if you use them appropriately and treat them with respect. It’s kind of like a candle flame — not scary, but can burn your house if you’re irresponsible.

We typically summon elementals to the outside boundary of our sacred space. We don’t actually invite them inside with us.

What’s in a Name?

Monarchs? Guardians? Mighty ones? Salamanders? Watchtowers? Gnomes? Elements? Elementals? Undines? Dragons? Sylphs?

There are so many different ways to call an elemental spirit. You can choose to call a general “guardian” spirit or use one of the specific names for the elemental monarchs — and everything in between. My advice would be to start with more general names and then work your way to different specific ones later on.

Each name carries a different type of energy. I think everyone should experiment and see what works best for their personal practice. But it doesn’t have to be the same each time! If you need a specific type of energy on a given day, feel free to change up your quarter calls to reflect that. Heck, you can even summon archangels in the quarters one day and then demons the next. Who am I to judge? Just find what feels right to you.

Visualization

The name exact name you choose, however, is going to play a big role on what you see in your mind’s eye when you are performing your evocation. What spirit, being, or creature is coming to meet you?

If you’re a solo practitioner, it’s easy to kind of just go with the flow here. But if you’re part of a coven, the entire group really needs to get on the same page and decide who they’re calling and what they’re visualizing. If one person in the coven is picturing butterflies, another is picturing an elemental king, and another is picturing a gust of air, you might end up with a strange collection of spirits or nothing at all.

Banishing

A good quarter call needs to be matched with a good banishing. While there are multiple schools of thought on this, I’ll first give you my opinion. This is a situation where you do not ask — rather, you command. And when you do it, you use the same intonation and vibration style that you would in your initial call.

Over the years I’ve heard interesting stories such as “someone didn’t banish the west quarter properly (water), so then the pipes leaked and the house flooded.” I have never personally encountered something like that in our home, but we have had circles where aspiring students have delivered less than zealous banishings. Sometimes that can lead to a rather funky, lingering energy in our living room. In those circumstances, we usually run through the LBRP to clean things up a bit.

Would you invite a friend over, sit with them for a while, and then just go back to your regular activities without saying goodbye? Most people would consider that rude. Don’t be rude to the elementals. When you’ve concluded your business, command them to leave.

Some folks have a different style. They’re less commanding and might even include the word “please.” If that’s your bag, I’m not here to tell you that you’re wrong. It’s just worth noting that elemental spirits can be way older than us, exist in a different realm, and have a completely different set of objectives and motivations. Ascribing human emotions to them can be a mistake… because they’re not human. Your best bet in effective communication is to be clear, concise, and direct. And to me, that sounds a lot more like “depart now!” than “please go.”

Oh, but don’t forget to thank them.

Just like I will thank you for reading this post.

Conclusions

Thanks for reading. I hope this was as enlightening as it was long. I could have said way more, but I didn’t feel like splitting this up into a series.

What’s the weirdest quarter call you’ve ever heard? What’s the best? Tell me about about it.

If you’re not too busy summoning elemental spirits, perhaps you’ll take a moment to read the fine print. I always write it and it would just mean the world to me if someone enjoys reading it. Really, I try hard to keep switching it up and making it interesting. There are Amazon links within this post, so if you use one of them to make a purchase, Amazon will pay me a small commission. But don’t worry, it won’t stop you from delivering effective quarter calls in any way, shape, or form.