Writing Rituals
your energies to my ritual. Hail and Welcome!" will suffice. The intent and visualization behind the words is the important thing, and it's just as easy for me to envision the Powers of Air saying a simple invocation as it is with a complex one. In fact, sometimes it's easier with the simple one!
In the same vein, Calling the Gods can be as simple or elaborate as you wish it to be. When I first started out, I just asked for the Lord and Lady to be present at my working. Now that I work with specific deities, I ask them to be present using a longer invocation that lists some of their attributes. Again, I tend to do this off the top of my head when I'm working at home, though I'm not afraid to read more elaborate stuff off my ritual script. Better to read it with feeling than to attempt to memorize it, stumble through it, and lose the effect.
There are lots of sources you can turn to for inspiration in your invocations. You can copy them out of books (Starhawk's "Spiral Dance" has some lovely elaborate Quarter Calls that I used when I was starting out), search the Internet, or look at poetry books. Just be sure to note where the stuff comes from in your outline notes or Book of Shadows. There's nothing wrong with borrowing from other sources, but you definitely want to make sure you can tell others where you borrowed from, should you share these rituals with others.
Casting Circle is my last step. I bless the elemental representations on my altar (sometimes in my head, or sometimes I say it out loud... and it's usually just "Blessed be the salt, the pure representation of Earth" or something else very simple.) I mix salt into the water in my chalice, and I light the incense, mixing the elements. And then I take my athame or my finger and trace a circle of energy around my working area clockwise (East to South to West to North). There are tons of methods and visualizations folks use to cast circles, and again, don't be afraid to borrow from books or the 'net. Experiment and find the methods that work best for your needs.
The heart of the ritual is performing your working. For a Sabbat celebration this may be some sort of activity that celebrates the season, such as
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