_The Circle is not built by walls but by agreements—nine threads woven between us. Each is a promise to meet not as strangers, but as kin who choose to show up, fully and flawed, to the fire._ ![[wait.really_Rider-Waite-Smith_tarot_illustration_style_not_a__9808236d-051f-4b75-a211-2b9d947ca429_3.png]] # The Instruction Before we step into The Circle, we must first cast it. Not with salt or sage alone, but with intention made visible—spoken aloud, witnessed, and agreed upon. The Accord of Belonging is not a law handed down, but a vessel we choose to build together. These nine agreements are spells of mutual care, the threads that make The Circle strong. ## A witch agrees to... **I. SEAL THE CIRCLE**: What’s shared here, stays here. What’s learned here, leaves here. Stories and identities remain cloaked in shadow, while the wisdom flies free. **II. BALANCE THE FLAMES**: If your voice often rises, make space for the quiet. If you dwell in silence, risk being heard. The Circle thrives when every flame is given air. **III. MEND WHAT BREAKS**: If harm lands, name it ("ouch"). If named, receive it with grace ("oops") and adjust your spell. We repair together—not in shame, but in craft. **IV. WALK WITH THE SHADOW**: Discomfort is the threshold where transformation begins. Assume good intent, lean toward curiosity, and let defensiveness dissolve like morning mist. **V. HONOR CONSENT AS MAGIC**: Before offering touch, drink, or invitation—ask. "Want to?" and "I'm good, thank you" are spells of respect. We hold many edges here, and all are sacred. **VI. TREAT STILLNESS AS POWER**: Not every cauldron must bubble. Silence is not absence but presence. Show up as you are—raw, unpolished, real. Your being here is the magic. **VII. TEND THE HEARTH**: Care for this space as you would your altar. What you touch, honor. What you use, restore. Leave the ground blessed for those who come after. **VIII. KEEP TIME WITH THE CIRCLE**: When we gather, return promptly—the ritual requires all of us to hold its shape. When we release, follow your own rhythm. Both are sacred. **IX. LISTEN AS SPELLWORK**: Each word spoken is an incantation. Each story, a summoning. Listening is not passive—it is how we weave the web together. Your attention is offering. # The Intention The Accord names what is often left unspoken: that belonging requires both courage and tenderness, that we must hold space for each other’s shadows as fiercely as we celebrate each other’s light. To agree is not to be perfect—it is to commit to the ongoing work of tending what is sacred between us. When harm happens, we repair. When silence falls, we honor it. When the fire burns too hot or too dim, we adjust. This is the magic of gathering: not that we arrive already whole, but that we become whole together—in the witnessing and in the being witnessed.