rest.
My cheap apartment had carpet, which is far from ideal when trying to delineate a magical space. It’s downright deadly when drawing a summoning circle meant to hold a demon. I couldn’t exactly do this out in the parking lot without drawing a crowd and possibly finding myself in the loony bin. That left my kitchen or bathroom vinyl, neither of which were large enough. Technically you could summon a demon into any size circle, but I didn’t want to risk trying it with one three feet in diameter.
So much for my security deposit. I dug through the junk drawer and grabbed up a utility knife that I used to cut up boxes for recycling. Then I proceeded to remove my carpet. Thankfully it wasn’t the glue-down type, and it came loose easily from the tack strip around the edges. I rolled it against a wall and surveyed the multi-colored padding that lay underneath. It was… disgusting, although at least it didn’t smell of anything beyond dust and old carpet glue. I was going to pretend those stains were from some long ago party where lots of beer had hit the floor. Yeah.
I removed a few sections of padding, prying the staples up with my utility knife. Luckily the subfloor underneath was plywood and not chipboard. I sat back and eyed the four-by-eight piece. I could do a four-foot diameter circle within one sheet of plywood, or deal with the joints and create a larger circle across two sheets. I ran a finger along the seam and grimaced. No one cared if one section was a bit higher than the others, or if there was a gap. The foam and the carpet evened it all out.
This was risky enough without trying to contain energy across two gaps. Four feet it was. Better than the three feet it would have been in my kitchen or bathroom, but I wasn’t sure the extra foot was worth all the demolition work I’d just done. Hopefully the demon would appreciate the extra space.
I cleaned my piece of plywood as best as I could, then got out my paint set. In a pinch, chalk worked, but it often left gaps and smudges that allowed energy leaks—or room for a demon to escape. I painted until my wrists ached. By the time I was done it was ten minutes until midnight. Perfect.
I had a four foot circle, binding runes on the inside reinforced by another circle. I’d thought about adding a triangle, just in case, but that would have made the summoning area really tiny. Besides, this was a low level demon, commonly summoned for information. I’d never seen him need more than one circle.
I double checked the sigil in the center, took another look at my incantation, and thought of what offering I could make to the demon as I lit the four black candles, and then the incense.
Yes, my landlord was gonna kill me. Whatever had caused those stains on the carpet padding probably wasn’t as bad as defacing the carpeting, having dangerous open flame, and bringing a being from hell into the apartment building. The last was probably an event worthy of immediate eviction, even if the lease didn’t specify any prohibition against demon summoning. I’d just need to be careful and make sure none of the other residents knew. Luckily this should be a fast ritual.
“I invoke, conjure, and command thee spirit to appear before me in this circle. Come into this circle and give answers, faithful and true, to all my questions. Come peaceably without delay into my presence.”
Kneeling, I drew the demon’s sigil on parchment and touched it to the flame of the candle in the southern quarter. It caught so fast I barely had time to toss the burning paper into the metal bowl.
“Vine, I request your presence. Appear before me and hear my appeal.”
I opened the bottle of wine, pouring some into a crystal glass and setting both bottle and glass at the edge of the circle. Then I sat down to meditate. Centering, balancing, I let go of this world and called out, “Vine, I respectfully ask you to appear. I need your knowledge, and would like to share an offering with
My cheap apartment had carpet, which is far from ideal when trying to delineate a magical space. It’s downright deadly when drawing a summoning circle meant to hold a demon. I couldn’t exactly do this out in the parking lot without drawing a crowd and possibly finding myself in the loony bin. That left my kitchen or bathroom vinyl, neither of which were large enough. Technically you could summon a demon into any size circle, but I didn’t want to risk trying it with one three feet in diameter.
So much for my security deposit. I dug through the junk drawer and grabbed up a utility knife that I used to cut up boxes for recycling. Then I proceeded to remove my carpet. Thankfully it wasn’t the glue-down type, and it came loose easily from the tack strip around the edges. I rolled it against a wall and surveyed the multi-colored padding that lay underneath. It was… disgusting, although at least it didn’t smell of anything beyond dust and old carpet glue. I was going to pretend those stains were from some long ago party where lots of beer had hit the floor. Yeah.
I removed a few sections of padding, prying the staples up with my utility knife. Luckily the subfloor underneath was plywood and not chipboard. I sat back and eyed the four-by-eight piece. I could do a four-foot diameter circle within one sheet of plywood, or deal with the joints and create a larger circle across two sheets. I ran a finger along the seam and grimaced. No one cared if one section was a bit higher than the others, or if there was a gap. The foam and the carpet evened it all out.
This was risky enough without trying to contain energy across two gaps. Four feet it was. Better than the three feet it would have been in my kitchen or bathroom, but I wasn’t sure the extra foot was worth all the demolition work I’d just done. Hopefully the demon would appreciate the extra space.
I cleaned my piece of plywood as best as I could, then got out my paint set. In a pinch, chalk worked, but it often left gaps and smudges that allowed energy leaks—or room for a demon to escape. I painted until my wrists ached. By the time I was done it was ten minutes until midnight. Perfect.
I had a four foot circle, binding runes on the inside reinforced by another circle. I’d thought about adding a triangle, just in case, but that would have made the summoning area really tiny. Besides, this was a low level demon, commonly summoned for information. I’d never seen him need more than one circle.
I double checked the sigil in the center, took another look at my incantation, and thought of what offering I could make to the demon as I lit the four black candles, and then the incense.
Yes, my landlord was gonna kill me. Whatever had caused those stains on the carpet padding probably wasn’t as bad as defacing the carpeting, having dangerous open flame, and bringing a being from hell into the apartment building. The last was probably an event worthy of immediate eviction, even if the lease didn’t specify any prohibition against demon summoning. I’d just need to be careful and make sure none of the other residents knew. Luckily this should be a fast ritual.
“I invoke, conjure, and command thee spirit to appear before me in this circle. Come into this circle and give answers, faithful and true, to all my questions. Come peaceably without delay into my presence.”
Kneeling, I drew the demon’s sigil on parchment and touched it to the flame of the candle in the southern quarter. It caught so fast I barely had time to toss the burning paper into the metal bowl.
“Vine, I request your presence. Appear before me and hear my appeal.”
I opened the bottle of wine, pouring some into a crystal glass and setting both bottle and glass at the edge of the circle. Then I sat down to meditate. Centering, balancing, I let go of this world and called out, “Vine, I respectfully ask you to appear. I need your knowledge, and would like to share an offering with
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