Circle rune

The Clave's curse on the rune being triggered and hurting Hodge.

Cleo reactivating her dormant rune.

The Circle rune is a rune that all Shadowhunters who became members of the Circle possess, or once did. The rune is typically found on the left side of their necks.

History

Members of the Circle were all Marked with a round rune which has no known explicit purpose aside from their identification as Circle members.

After the Uprising and the Circle's subsequent fall, a member of the Circle Hodge Starkweather surrendered to the Clave and was spared. He was made to swear an oath to never speak about his days in the Circle; his Circle runes was enchanted, and violating this condition would cause the rune to react and would burn him, causing immense, searing pain. The Circle rune was also made detectable by the new wards around Idris, preventing entry into the country by anyone wearing it.

Valentine's being removed.

An exception to this are special cases, including Robert and Maryse Lightwood who were pardoned and simply had their Circle runes removed or deactivated. Cleophas Graymark who'd joined the Iron Sisters also had her rune deactivated, which she was easily able to reignite over a decade later when she heard about Valentine's return. Valentine's Circle rune was removed from his neck during his imprisonment in the New York Institute to prepare him for his transfer to Idris.