_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 remain cloaked, while wisdom flies free. **II. SHOW UP FULLY**: Bring your whole self—the quiet parts and the wild parts. You don’t need to be the brightest flame, only the truest one—someone whose absence would be felt as loss, not relief. **III. WEAVE CONNECTIONS**: Stitch new threads, mingle, and mix—[[The Circle]] strengthens when its strands entwine. **IV. DANCE WITH SHADOW**: Revel in discomfort as the unknown holds both unease and liberation—treat each uncertain moment as a door, not a wall. **V. HONOR CONSENT AS MAGIC**: Every offering—touch, drink, or invitation—is a spell of care. To ask is sacred; to decline is holy. **VI. SURRENDER TO THE SPELL**: Silence your devices and release the world beyond these walls. Say yes before knowing where it leads, trusting the cauldron more than the recipe. **VII. CONJURE DELIGHT**: Seek joy like you're hunting treasure. Laugh until you're breathless, play without apology—pleasure is magic, not indulgence. **VIII. SAVOR THE FEAST**: What we conjure, we taste together. Eat, drink, and relish—shared pleasure is the oldest ritual of kinship. **IX. INVITE THE MUSE**: Stay open to wonder, silence, and accident, trusting that the [[Path of The Witch]] exists as a guest in and of itself. # The Intention The Accords of Belonging name what is often left unspoken: that community 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. This is the magic of gathering: not that we arrive already whole, but that we become whole together.