Basic Circle Casting

Light either the sage, rosemary, or dragon's blood incense, depending on what you have available to you. Wave the smoke over your person, envisioning all dark energy (anger, frustration, worry, sadness, etc.) leaving your body and dissolving into the air. Do this until you feel that all the negative energy is gone.

Wave the smoke over the area around you, imagining it wipe away all memory of negative energy and cleaning the space. Do this until you feel the energy is gone, and then move to the eastern most quarter of your work space. Cleanse this quarter in the same way and move to the southern, western, and northern corners of your space, removing all unclean energy.

When you have finished, place the yellow candle (or white tea light) in the easternmost part of your area. Place the red candle in the southern part, the blue candle in the western part, the green candle in the northern part, and the purple candle in the very center of your workspace. (If you don't have the colored candles available to you, use the white tea lights instead.)

Take your lighter and your wand, athame, or pointer finger, point to the east, light the candle, and recite the following: "I call upon the Guardian of the East, Element of Air, of knowledge, inspiration, and wit, to come forth and join me in this circle. All hail, Air, and blessed be." Draw a pentacle with your finger/wand/athame to salute the element. Envision it and its qualities joining your circle.

Now point to the south and light the candle, calling out: "I call upon the Guardian of the South, Element of Fire, of passion, enthusiasm, and boldness, to come forth and join me in this circle. All hail, Fire, and blessed be." Salute Fire with your wand/athame/index finger and envision it and its qualities joining your circle.

Point to the west of your area, ignite its candle, and recite: "I call upon the Guardian of the West, Element of Water, of healing, love, and kindness, to come forth and join me in this circle. All hail, Water, and blessed be." Salute Water and envision it and its qualities joining your circle.

Now aim your finger/wand/athame at the northern quarter of your workspace. Begin to recite the following: "I call upon the Guardian of the North, Element of Earth, of strength, perseverance, and prosperity, to come forth and join me in this circle. All hail, Earth, and blessed be." Salute the element and envision it coming to join you in the circle, granting you all of its qualities.

Now bring your attention to the center of your circle and light the candle. Recite:
"I call upon the Guardian of the Center, Element of Spirit, of the self, divination and the divine, to come forth and join me in this circle. All hail, Spirit, and blessed be." Salute the element Spirit and feel it coming from within you, further strengthening your circle.

It is optional to sprinkle salt around the borders of your circle for extra protection, purification, and grounding, but only do this if you are indoors. (Salt can kill plants.) Always be sure to sweep up afterwards.

Now, your circle is cast, and you are ready to work inside of it. Be sure not to leave the circle for any reason until you are finished and have taken it down.

Keep in mind that a lot of this is preference. Not all traditions use the Spirit element, some start the circle with Earth rather than Air, some change the placement of Spirit, some don't salute the elements, some use other objects rather than candles to represent the elements, and some use no objects at all. It is up to you. This is how I personally prefer to cast a circle and it is very Wiccan-based. This is only here to provide an example and to, hopefully, give you inspiration in your craft. Blessings on you, as always. :)