Hello good morning!
I would like to ask a question to people who work in traditional witchcraft. How do you do the compass?
Honestly, I’ve seen various shapes, but they are generally very long … I protect myself in a very simple way and I want to start using it (although many times I don’t make any circle of protection) And I would like to know how to make a shorter or simpler version. Thank you very much for your help! 
Never heard of it , a google search turns up nothing about a witchcraft compass. Can you post a picture of what you mean ?
Do you mean a witch’s compass ?
The article above is a very good intro. Emphasis is to be placed on seeing the compass, not so much as a protective barrier, but rather as the demarcation of sacred space; a space between the worlds, a place of encounter where time is suspended and the sacredness of place emphasised; much like the Australian Aboriginal concept of “The Dreaming” which is an eternal reality of ancestors and creator spirits, always present and tied to places of importance in the the landscape.When the compass is laid properly, you access your own Dreaming.
Interesting… right about the time you posted this I heard a spirit say “compass” to me. Never heard about this before… I suppose i need to do some digging.
To be blunt this doesn’t look like a traditional witchcraft thing, it looks ceremonial with witchy trimmings qua Wicca or similar.
I can assure you that it has nothing to do with Wicca 
Other traditional styles may not use this method, but traditional European witchcraft, even in hedgewitchcraft, is widely used. What happens is that for the day to day it seems too much. I know of other shorter systems, but I was curious if anyone here knows of others. It may seem very ornate, but compared to wicca, it is nothing, really.
I recommend the books by Gemma Gary and Nigel G. Pearson, they talk a lot about this topic, for me they are more difficult and I have had to find them translated, but they helped me a lot.
What is the title of the book? And whats the original language? If you dont mind me asking.
My magick is getting more complex by the day and idk how much I like that lol
I have both the red and green book but they are in a storage unit. If I remember correctly, both books touch on the compass but I think the green one has a chapter on it. I could be wrong but I think it was broken down in the green one. I would get both books as they are good resources in traditional witchcraft.
There are Scots Irish family traditions in which the circle / compass has no emphasis. It is indeed a Cochranian thing. And Lord knows most historians of modern traditional witchcraft have their doubts about Cochrane’s claims to a family lineaged tradition, as did his own family!
That fascinates me as I have scottish heritage…
The thing is, most of what you’ll read on “Traditional Witchcraft” is directly influenced by Cochrane, who despised Gardner but whose system is almost identical to Gardner’s. Everything from Arddhu and Whitestone to Gemma Gary can be traced back to Cochrane.
I do not know anything about Cochrane, very interesting!
There are many sorcerers who do not use any protective circle, that is true.
I am interested in knowing a shorter version, if someone knows please tell me
I never used one as I don’t agree with the idea of a “compass” or “circle” and never felt the need for protection.
However if you want to use one they can be as simple as pointing your finger at the ground and imagine energy coming from your fingers creating a circle of energy around you as you move and then state what the intention of your circle is and say so it is done or whatever wording you want to use.
You could also face each direction and call on an element or spirit to watch over you and protect you during the rite. An example would be to face north and call the element or spirit of the north such as " I call upon the element of fire to join me and watch over this rite, burning all unwanted energies that enter" imagine a circle of fire around you. Continue with each element and their purpose and build the circle of fire around you with each element you call adding power to the circle. At the end of the circle when you have called on each direction, say something like " by my will and the power of the elements this compass is layed, so it is done"
Again I don’t use one as I don’t like them and prefer to use E.A.'s UC instead. I just don’t see the need do seperate and put a wall between me and a spirit.
Also don’t follow my words exact, this is just an example of how simple laying a compass can be.
Follow your intuition and use your own will and energy to lay a compass as you feel is right.
If anyone wants to correct me on anything, your input is welcome. As I said I don’t lay a compass and really have only called the elements once during a ritual before I broke away from structured systems.
I honestly think like you. I do not consider it necessary to protect myself from certain energies, but it is true that certain energies move through my home that are not well received and are often involved in rituals that I do. That without counting, that my boyfriend has a black magic job cast by his ex-mother-in-law, quite bad. Therefore, I see some protection as necessary at times, but I don’t want to waste time in long opening and closing ceremonies, really. I like how you have put it, I will try to do it like this, thanks! By the way, what do you mean by EA and UC? Thank you very much 
UC is Universal Circle. It was created by E.A. Koetting. It is an amazing tool to have. Have you tried wards? Setting up wards can help with the energies in your home. There is a thread with a good tutorial on how to create them, plus regular banishings could probably help you as well.
E.A. Koetting has a video teaching how to shield your temple or workspace to keep energy confined to one place so it doesn’t leak out and effect others. This along with banishing and wards will help greatly.
Sorry, long time no see the forum 
Thank u so much, is so interesting. I see the video and and try it
