How can I tell if my circle is “working”?

I have heard people saying that they use a particular song when casting their circle or consecrating their altar and it worked perfectly. How do they know that? They feel it? They notice the effect? I’m from the southern hemisphere and casting a circle is different. Some told me to to do what feels right for me and that I should place my elements in the direction that feels right for me and see if it works. That’s what i don’t understand. what do you guys mean when you say “See if it works”??

Here are some simple “clues” to those new to casting circles. Assuming you have not become sensitive enough to see or feel the energy specifically (you probably are, you just don’t know what it looks/feels like), here are some ways to tell if your circle is “closed”:

• The air inside feels “heavier”. The practitioner may feel “lighter”.
• Static electricity inside may increase.
• Candle flames usually get about 20% bigger when the circles “closes”. It’s subtle, but if you are spotting for it, you’ll notice.
• It is more difficult to visually focus on areas outside the circle. (This actually goes away as you become more accustomed to circles.)
• Your companion animals pause before crossing the threshold of the circle or seem to “see” something where it is.
• When you open the circle, the air temperature seems to drop.

Partially open circles sometimes have:

• “Drafts” or “cold spots”. (same can be found when working with ancestral spirits, but I’m assuming a beginner is not doing that kind of work yet.)
• A sense of “suction” from above (failure to close the sunroof).
• A sense of greater gravity (failure to close the “below”.)

As for the directionality of the circle, I notice a subtle resistance if I attempt to cast a circle widdershins. When casting deosil, I do not notice this. I have not visited the Southern Hemisphere, so I cannot speak to which is beter for that part of the world, but as you become more aware of what the energy movement “feels like” (see above tips) you may beging to notice more resistance in one direction or the other.