of the elements and associated cardinal points: North (earth), West (water), South (fire) and East (air). The four elements are thought to represent every action and being on earth. The five points of the pentagram worn by those practicing Wicca stand for the elements and the presiding spirit.
After the circle is cast, prayers are made to the God and Goddess and spells may be cast. If it is at the time of a seasonal holiday, a special ritual may be performed. Tools a coven may have on hand for the ceremony include a book of spells (Book of Shadows), an altar cloth, cauldron, chalice, wand, broom, candles, crystals, athame (ritual knife) and incense. When the ceremony is finished, the God and Goddess are thanked for their participation and blessings and the coven closes the circle.
The Book of Shadows mentioned above is sort of a personalized religious text for either a single practitioner or- more commonly- a coven. The contents are kept secret but often contain such public domain works as the Wiccan Rede. What type of book is actually used varies between Wicca practitioners.
There are many “holidays” or seasonal observances in Wicca. Full moons (and sometimes new moons) bring about the ritual Esbat. There are also eight Sabbats- four of which, the cross-quarter days, are larger than the others and relate back to ancient fire festivals. These are named Samhain, Beltane, Lammas and Imbolc. The other, lesser celebrated festivals are the Summer and Winter solstices and Spring and Autumn Equinoxes.
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