I just finished reading through the small spaces for ritual thread and noticed the mentions of issues with casting circles. The thought that immediately jumped into my mind is "Why cast a big circle when a round personal shield does pretty much the same thing?" Protection, that is.
Specifics for a religious path aside, the general idea of a circle is to protect the working from outside influences not invited in (IIRC). A personal shield does pretty much the same thing, except it generally only shields the person. I've always viewed my own shield as a blue round bubble rather than a skin-tight force field, so it's been a natural enough thing to extend it as I need/wish. F'ex, if something odd is going on outside, I can extend the shield to include my bed or even my room if I'm so inclined (which isn't often, as it does take continual focus, or it simply shrinks back to normal size).
So, if people are having issues with casting circles, perhaps chaging the form of the circle (3D bubble) rather than the shape (oblong) would work. My shield goes through furniture without any issues - this could easily vary from person to person, as well as personal preference, but I thought I'd throw it out there. If/When I find a ritual I like and wish to perform, this is likely what I'd do, as my own altar space is maybe 3.5' across. So I'm curious, is there any reason why this wouldn't work? Also, does anyone else have a variation on the traditional circle?
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