Magic Circle: To Outsiders, a Comedy; to Insiders, a Tragedy; to Onlookers, a Drama

Written by Kerem Muldur

The Middle East has always been a hymn for historians chasing after rich cultures, unheard rituals, or mysterious religions—countless kings, kingdoms, and chaotic incidents have covered the desolations of the Middle East throughout millennia. The desire to have the power and maintain the authority resulted in the emergence of numerous religions still possessing devotees worldwide. Aside from the major religions that originated in the Middle East, like Abrahamic religions, there is also a quantitatively small but culturally rich tradition influenced by autochthonous beliefs and practices of Islam, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and many other beliefs from the Sumerians, Assyrians, and Acadians, called Yezidism.

Yezidism evolved under the influence of Islam, Zoroastrianism, and other religions in the Middle East as a syncretic religion [1]. After its establishment in the 12th century by Sheikh Adi bin Musafir, his successors took charge in religious leadership and guided Kurdish tribes into the Yezidi fold. By the 13th century, numerous Kurdish tribes and even Kurdish emirates such as Bohtan and Mahmudi had adopted Yazidism as their official religion.

Yezidism has relied on the spiritual journey of humans in the reincarnational life cycle through sanctification. This journey of existential steps, such as being born, growing up, and adapting to society, sits on the cycle metaphor of a circle in the cognitive memory. This identification tackles not only the life cycle but also wholeness, holy order, being protected, and even the ego of the self.

At primitive times, humans were performing motivational dance movements in the shape of a circle. Shamans in the Middle East also drew circles at the entrances of pavilions, so that demons and other evil creatures could not enter. The so-called protective effect of the circle was also acknowledged in Abrahamic religions: Certain rituals are performed in a circle, also stating that Joshua consisting of a character in the Old Testament, circled the city walls of Jericho 7 times to take over the city according to the Old Testament [3]. Other than the historical evolution and social changes in Yezidism, our focus is on one of the most mysterious practices of Yezidism, called the magic circle.

There is no doubt that Yezidism is a completely different religion from Islam in its current form; however, as we stated earlier, Yezidism is a syncretic religion and nurtured a cultural scale through the ancient Middle East religions to Islam. The magic circle is exactly the point where we can observe this similarity. The connections between Yezidi cosmology and Mesopotamian cosmology, or parallels between Meleki Tawus and Sumer God Nergal, are some of the similar phenomena [4].

Most of the beliefs originated from pagan Middle East culture, rituals, and magical applications have undergone a nearly extinction after the spread of Christianity and Islam, or have been conserved in secret. That is why the Yezidi religion and practices remained intact only in small Kurdish tribes and communities as a minor subculture.

This fact leads us to the fact that we don’t have any written instructional document about the practice; most of the information regarding the magic circle is based on the itinerary of pilgrims and adventurers of the 19th century.

One of the references regarding the magic circle comes from a famous adventurer, G.I. Gurdjieff’s observations. According to Gurdjieff, a child is unable to escape from a large circle drawn around them unless the one who drew the circle undoes it. Gurdfieff also states that the other ones stood aghast while watching the child [5].

According to these observations, the patient is laid down on the soil, and a circle is drawn around him. Unless the one who drew the circle doesn’t erase the circle, the person inside the circle can not erase the circle himself/herself. If the person inside the circle attempts to delete the circle, it is believed that this person dies. The purpose of the magic circle is to protect the person inside the circle from demonic creatures’ attacks, and this is why this ritual was able to make its way from the Middle Ages to this day: Yezidis protected this talisman for its protective side.

In exploring the enigmatic practice of the magic circle, we have seen that Yezidism, as a syncretic religion shaped by influences from Islam, Zoroastrianism, and the ancient Mesopotamian traditions, embodies a deep symbolic relationship with the circle — a metaphor for life, protection, and cosmic order. Today, the number of reliable sources documenting Yezidi beliefs and rituals, especially the magic circle, remains extremely limited. This scarcity stems from the Yezidis’ historical isolation, their tendency to preserve their traditions within tightly closed communities, and their reluctance to share sacred knowledge with outsiders. In many ways, the Yezidis themselves live within an invisible magic circle: a cultural boundary drawn long ago to protect their identity and beliefs from external threats. Just as in the ritual, where only the one who draws the circle has the power to break it, so too can the Yezidis step beyond their own circle only if they choose to erase the line themselves.

References:

1. Demirci, K., & Demir, K. AZ BİLİNEN BİR YEZİDİ RİTÜELİ 'SİHİRLİ ÇEMBER' ÜZERİNE KÜÇÜK BİR NOT.

2. W.F.Ainsworth ‘ The Assyrian Origin of Izedis’, Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London, London, 1861, cilt,1, 11-

3. Ainsworth, W. F. (1861). The Assyrian Origin of the Izedis or Yezidis--the So-Called “Devil Worshippers.” Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London, 1, 11–44. https://doi.org/10.2307/3014180

4. Tamdgidi, M.H. (2009). Conclusion Gurdjieff’s Roundabout Yezidi Circle. In: Gurdjieff and Hypnosis. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230102026_10