Circle Of Three
Encyclopedia
Circle Of Three is a series of young adult
paperback novels by Michael Thomas Ford
under the pseudonym Isobel Bird. It follows the lives of three teenage girls from different social cliques, who come together over a mutual interest in Witchcraft
.
, popular basketball player, checks out a book of spells while doing research for her history paper on medieval witch trials
. She casts a love spell, which leads to disaster. She seeks the help of two girls who had previously checked out the spellbook, Annie Crandall, a nerd
, and Cooper Rivers, a riot grrrl
. After putting things to rights, the three decide to continue studying Wicca
together, which they do at a local New Age
store called Crones' Circle. Each of them face various conflicts on her path, both external and internal. Kate is torn between fitting in and embracing the Wiccan path; Annie tries to reconcile her scientific, rational thinking with her new-found intuitive, emotional faith, as well as coming to terms with her parents' deaths years before; the headstrong and independent Cooper has trouble adjusting to both the unpredictability of magic and the novelty of intense friendship.
The series takes place over a period of roughly one year and two months, during which Kate, Annie, and Cooper undergo the traditional year-and-a-day of Wiccan study before being initiated into a coven
.
Isobel Bird wrote the series to do what many non-fiction books about Wicca fail to do: show how Wiccans experience their religion. Thus, the books cover a wide range of topics related to Wiccan life beyond outright practice, including conflicts with mainstream society, the diversity of the Neo-Pagan community, and legal rights.
Originally released in mass market paperback, the series is currently out of print, though the books are still available used and as eBooks. The eBooks feature bonus material, such as interviews with Isobel Bird, crafts, and magical exercises. Chapter excerpts are available on the HarperCollins website.
The first nine books are available in Germany and France, where the series is known as Magic Circle. It is published in German by Schneiderbuch. The first four books have been published in Castilian Spanish
under the series name El Círculo de Fuego, by Editorial Diagonal (Grup 62). The first six books have been published in Italian as Il Cerchio delle Streghe by Gruppo Editorale Armenia.
In 2005, Michael Thomas Ford revealed that he had written the Circle of Three series, using the pen name, Isobel Bird. He also wrote a short story titled "Ever After" for the YA horror anthology 666: The Number of the Beast under that name.
When 15-year-old Kate Morgan decides to cast a love spell, the end results are catastrophic, and she cannot stop it by herself. But the book of spells she checked out from the school library tells her of two strangers who can help her-but only if she can find them.
A book of spells brought three unlikely friends; Kate, Annie and Cooper together. Now the three of them are compelled to learn more, and the door is opened with the stirring ritual of the Vernal Equinox.
Kate, Annie, and Cooper are Wiccans-joined together by magic, bound to nature. Their dreams have turned to visions of a missing girl who is presumed dead, and is now calling for their help. Can the three of them solve mystery surrounding her kidnapping.
When Annie discovers the ancient cards of Tarot, her fascination with them spirals beyond her control, when her readings become reality. As if cursed, Annie faces her two friends Kate and Cooper with this new-found power-a power that threatens the very strength of their Wiccan bond.
On the eve of Midsummer; one of the most magical nights of the year, finds Kate, Annie, and Cooper celebrating the most joyous sabbat with nature-and a few not unwelcome strangers. On a night when identities and emotions become tangled and confused under the strange solstice sky, one will be led astray.
Disillusioned from her time during the Midsummer festivities, Cooper abandons the Wiccan circle and Kate and Annie are left without her. But when an illness threatens someone close to one of them, Cooper returns. But can the circle, once broken, ever be restored?
The second full moon of the month-the blue moon-is a time when powers are heightened, with unpredictable results. However, when Annie attempts the channeling practice called aspecting, she changes into someone Kate and Cooper hardly recognize. Can their combined strength restore Annie's spirit?
The five-pointed star is the Wiccan symbol of the spirit, and that's how Cooper wears it. Those not versed in the ways of the Craft find it unsettling, however. Will Cooper, Annie, and Kate be able to withstand the tide of controversy bearing down upon them or will their circle break apart forever?
As Annie, Kate, and Cooper prepare for Samhain, they are filled with anticipation. It is a time when the veil between the worlds is thin, and those who have passed into spirit world may be more easily contacted. Those Annie hold dear dwell behind this veil already-will she find them on this eve of Wiccan celebration?
A mysterious stranger shows Kate, Annie and Cooper how to connect with the spirit world, but there are alarming effects, especially for Kate. Stepping outside the bounds of Wicca, Kate becomes entranced -- so much so her friends fear for her.
Cooper, Annie, and Kate celebrate the winter solstice in true Wiccan spirit. The threesome joins the practitioners of the Craft in a remote, haunted house in the wintry mountains. An unexpected blizzard strikes, and the girls cannot resist the lure of the dark house's shrouded mystery.
Astrology -- the study of the stars -- is said to reveal the truth of the universe. Cooper, Kate, and Annie find this to be alarmingly true, and their progress on the Wiccan path is nearly undone by what the stars tell them.
Annie, Kate, and Cooper uncover what looks like a crime. When they look more closely, it is not. Knowing the Law of Three -- that harm comes back to haunt -- can they still help a friend in need without paying for it themselves?
Of her circle, Kate has always struggled the most in learning the ways of the Craft. As her Wiccan initiation approaches, a final challenge threatens to overcome her at last.
The joyful culmination of a year and day's dedication -- Kate, Annie and Cooper's Wiccan initiation -- brings celebration, an exhilarating ritual, and unexpected choices for the new witches.
Young adult literature
Young-adult fiction or young adult literature , also juvenile fiction, is fiction written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents and young adults, roughly ages 14 to 21. The Young Adult Library Services of the American Library Association defines a young adult as "someone between the...
paperback novels by Michael Thomas Ford
Michael Thomas Ford
Michael Thomas Ford is an American author of primarily gay-themed literature. He is best known for his "My Queer Life" series of humorous essay collections and for his award-winning novels Last Summer, Looking for It, Full Circle, Changing Tides and What We Remember.-Career highlights:Michael...
under the pseudonym Isobel Bird. It follows the lives of three teenage girls from different social cliques, who come together over a mutual interest in Witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
.
About the Series
Kate Morgan, a preppyPreppy
Preppy, preppie, or prep refers to a modern, widespread United States clique, often considered a subculture...
, popular basketball player, checks out a book of spells while doing research for her history paper on medieval witch trials
Witch-hunt
A witch-hunt is a search for witches or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic, mass hysteria and lynching, but in historical instances also legally sanctioned and involving official witchcraft trials...
. She casts a love spell, which leads to disaster. She seeks the help of two girls who had previously checked out the spellbook, Annie Crandall, a nerd
Nerd
Nerd is a derogatory slang term for an intelligent but socially awkward and obsessive person who spends time on unpopular or obscure pursuits, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Nerds are considered to be awkward, shy, and unattractive...
, and Cooper Rivers, a riot grrrl
Riot grrrl
Riot grrrl was an underground feminist punk movement based in Washington, DC, Olympia, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and the greater Pacific Northwest which existed in the early to mid-1990s, and it is often associated with third-wave feminism...
. After putting things to rights, the three decide to continue studying Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
together, which they do at a local New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
store called Crones' Circle. Each of them face various conflicts on her path, both external and internal. Kate is torn between fitting in and embracing the Wiccan path; Annie tries to reconcile her scientific, rational thinking with her new-found intuitive, emotional faith, as well as coming to terms with her parents' deaths years before; the headstrong and independent Cooper has trouble adjusting to both the unpredictability of magic and the novelty of intense friendship.
The series takes place over a period of roughly one year and two months, during which Kate, Annie, and Cooper undergo the traditional year-and-a-day of Wiccan study before being initiated into a coven
Coven
A coven or covan is a name used to describe a gathering of witches or in some cases vampires. Due to the word's association with witches, a gathering of Wiccans, followers of the witchcraft-based neopagan religion of Wicca, is also described as a coven....
.
Isobel Bird wrote the series to do what many non-fiction books about Wicca fail to do: show how Wiccans experience their religion. Thus, the books cover a wide range of topics related to Wiccan life beyond outright practice, including conflicts with mainstream society, the diversity of the Neo-Pagan community, and legal rights.
Originally released in mass market paperback, the series is currently out of print, though the books are still available used and as eBooks. The eBooks feature bonus material, such as interviews with Isobel Bird, crafts, and magical exercises. Chapter excerpts are available on the HarperCollins website.
The first nine books are available in Germany and France, where the series is known as Magic Circle. It is published in German by Schneiderbuch. The first four books have been published in Castilian Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
under the series name El Círculo de Fuego, by Editorial Diagonal (Grup 62). The first six books have been published in Italian as Il Cerchio delle Streghe by Gruppo Editorale Armenia.
In 2005, Michael Thomas Ford revealed that he had written the Circle of Three series, using the pen name, Isobel Bird. He also wrote a short story titled "Ever After" for the YA horror anthology 666: The Number of the Beast under that name.
Books
The first four books are told from the point of view of only one girl each. Kate is the center of So Mote It Be and Merry Meet; Cooper is the center of Second Sight; Annie is the center of What the Cards Said. However, starting with Book 5: In the Dreaming, the point of view switches among the three girls, alternating chapters, for the rest of the series.Book 1: So Mote It Be
- With this ribbon I do bind
- my heart to yours and yours to mine.
- Love, I call you, come to me,
- As is my will, so mote it be.
When 15-year-old Kate Morgan decides to cast a love spell, the end results are catastrophic, and she cannot stop it by herself. But the book of spells she checked out from the school library tells her of two strangers who can help her-but only if she can find them.
Book 2: Merry Meet
- Joined together, hand in hand, our circle gathers round,
- to work our magic, weave the web, and dance on sacred ground.
- By the Goddess we are called, witch to witch and friend to friend,
- to merry meet, and merry part and merry meet again.
A book of spells brought three unlikely friends; Kate, Annie and Cooper together. Now the three of them are compelled to learn more, and the door is opened with the stirring ritual of the Vernal Equinox.
Book 3: Second Sight
- Show me places cloaked in secrets,
- pierce the gloom of darkest night.
- Reveal that which has been hidden,
- Let me see with second sight.
Kate, Annie, and Cooper are Wiccans-joined together by magic, bound to nature. Their dreams have turned to visions of a missing girl who is presumed dead, and is now calling for their help. Can the three of them solve mystery surrounding her kidnapping.
Book 4: What the Cards Said
- Cards of fortune, tell your story,
- Answer all I've come to ask.
- Let the draw set forth the course
- of what has been and yet may pass.
When Annie discovers the ancient cards of Tarot, her fascination with them spirals beyond her control, when her readings become reality. As if cursed, Annie faces her two friends Kate and Cooper with this new-found power-a power that threatens the very strength of their Wiccan bond.
Book 5: In the Dreaming
- On the eve of fair midsummer,
- Longest day and shortest night,
- Faerie magic, fill these woods
- with joyous song and laughter bright.
On the eve of Midsummer; one of the most magical nights of the year, finds Kate, Annie, and Cooper celebrating the most joyous sabbat with nature-and a few not unwelcome strangers. On a night when identities and emotions become tangled and confused under the strange solstice sky, one will be led astray.
Book 6: Ring of Light
- Here within the healing circle,
- Bathe in light and pain dispel.
- All that sickens, all that troubles,
- wash away and be made well.
Disillusioned from her time during the Midsummer festivities, Cooper abandons the Wiccan circle and Kate and Annie are left without her. But when an illness threatens someone close to one of them, Cooper returns. But can the circle, once broken, ever be restored?
Book 7: Blue Moon
- Ancient moon, o ageless traveler,
- sailing on the sea of stars,
- As once more you come to fullness,
- Turn your shining face to ours.
The second full moon of the month-the blue moon-is a time when powers are heightened, with unpredictable results. However, when Annie attempts the channeling practice called aspecting, she changes into someone Kate and Cooper hardly recognize. Can their combined strength restore Annie's spirit?
Book 8: The Five Paths
- North and South and East and West,
- Earth and Fire, Air and Water,
- And the fifth path, center's spirit,
- on it walk the search daughters.
The five-pointed star is the Wiccan symbol of the spirit, and that's how Cooper wears it. Those not versed in the ways of the Craft find it unsettling, however. Will Cooper, Annie, and Kate be able to withstand the tide of controversy bearing down upon them or will their circle break apart forever?
Book 9: Through the Veil
- As the year comes to an ending,
- In the hour 'tween old and new,
- part the veil and let pass
- the spirits who would travel through.
As Annie, Kate, and Cooper prepare for Samhain, they are filled with anticipation. It is a time when the veil between the worlds is thin, and those who have passed into spirit world may be more easily contacted. Those Annie hold dear dwell behind this veil already-will she find them on this eve of Wiccan celebration?
Book 10: Making the Saint
- In the circle ringed with fire,
- stand and meet your chosen one.
- Dance among the laughing spirits,
- and listen as their song is sung.
A mysterious stranger shows Kate, Annie and Cooper how to connect with the spirit world, but there are alarming effects, especially for Kate. Stepping outside the bounds of Wicca, Kate becomes entranced -- so much so her friends fear for her.
Book 11: The House of Winter
- Winter's cold and Winter's darkness,
- wraps us in these frozen hours.
- As the ceaseless wheel turns we call,
- the sun to warm us with it's power.
Cooper, Annie, and Kate celebrate the winter solstice in true Wiccan spirit. The threesome joins the practitioners of the Craft in a remote, haunted house in the wintry mountains. An unexpected blizzard strikes, and the girls cannot resist the lure of the dark house's shrouded mystery.
Book 12: Written in the Stars
- Ever moving, Ever changing,
- stars and planets come and go.
- Those who watch their movements say,
- As is above, so is below.
Astrology -- the study of the stars -- is said to reveal the truth of the universe. Cooper, Kate, and Annie find this to be alarmingly true, and their progress on the Wiccan path is nearly undone by what the stars tell them.
Book 13: And It Harm None
- "And it harm none, do as ye will,"
- so says the ancient wiccan rede.
- Those who do not heed its words will learn
- the Power of the Law of Three.
Annie, Kate, and Cooper uncover what looks like a crime. When they look more closely, it is not. Knowing the Law of Three -- that harm comes back to haunt -- can they still help a friend in need without paying for it themselves?
Book 14: The Challenge Box
- Reach inside and choose your challenge,
- Find the path that you must travel.
- What trials have you to over come?
- What mysteries shall you unravel?
Of her circle, Kate has always struggled the most in learning the ways of the Craft. As her Wiccan initiation approaches, a final challenge threatens to overcome her at last.
Book 15: Initiation
- Tonight you take the last step on
- of your journey of a year and a day.
- Welcome home o new-made witch,
- And in our circle rest and stay.
The joyful culmination of a year and day's dedication -- Kate, Annie and Cooper's Wiccan initiation -- brings celebration, an exhilarating ritual, and unexpected choices for the new witches.
See also
- Sweep (book series)Sweep (book series)Sweep is fictional novel series created by Cate Tiernan. The discovery that she is a descendant of a long and powerful line of witches, finds Morgan Rowland battling the forces of dark and sinister magick.-Book of Shadows, Volume 1:...
- Daughters of the MoonDaughters of the MoonDaughters of the Moon is a novel series by Lynne Ewing. It is about four fictional girls, later five, who are mortal goddesses and fight an ancient evil called The Atrox. They each have different powers, destinies, and dark sides. They all wear moon amulets. When they turn 17, they have to make a...
- Blue is for NightmaresBlue Is for NightmaresBlue Is for Nightmares is a young adult mystery novel and subsequent eponymous series by Laurie Faria Stolarz.-Blue Is for Nightmares:Stacey Brown, a 16 year old Junior at Hillcrest Boarding School, is a hereditary Wiccan through her grandmother...
External links
- HarperCollins page
- Teenreads.com series profile
- The Circle - Fansite with series wiki