Faeries & Elementals for Beginners: Learn About & Communicate With Nature Spirits (18 page)

and family, especially when a fireplace is not present. In times past, the hearth was not only the center of the family living space, heating the home and providing leaping flames for entertainment, but it also served as the focal point for cooking, making it the center of the kitchen as well.

One tradition is to gather nine different pieces of wood

for a need-fire. The belief is that nine sacred pieces of

wood from nine different types of tree will make a suitable offering to the salamanders when you have a need. Curiously enough, the selection of the nine sacred trees differ in various sources of lore. The different woody trees recommended are interchangeable, most likely due to varying

plant distribution in different climate zones. So, rather than give you a list of obscure plants to hunt down, I’d like to suggest that you go for a walk and select your own familiar woody trees, the ones to which you feel drawn. The only

inadvisable wood to burn is the elder tree, since it is sacred to the goddess of the witches, and out of respect it is never burned. You don’t need a large log from each tree you end

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up choosing. A tiny stick will suffice, preferably collected from the base of the tree without cutting it.

If you do need to cut a small stick from a tree, find one

that points downward, and tie a black ribbon around the

tree branch, closer to the trunk of the tree than you intend to cut. Ask the tree for a gift of its wood, and then pause to allow any signs or feelings to come that will tell you

whether to choose a different tree instead. Before cutting, knock on the branch three times to tell the spirit of the

tree and/or wood nymphs or elementals that dwell there,

to scurry to the base of the tree and stay clear of the area of the cut. Some people choose to cut with a special white handled knife or curved blade called a boline. It is used to cut wood for ritual use and never for mundane purposes.

Acquire the largest cauldron you can afford, as it will be useful for all manner of salamander rituals. Traditionally, the cauldron is made of iron, which wards off faeries. However, you can choose a cauldron of a different material if you wish, especially if you desire to work more with faeries.

Select a material with a surface that is safe to be exposed to fire and water. The cauldron should be stable and raised on at least three legs, so that when you burn things you won’t have to worry about the bottom heating up and damaging

the surface underneath.

Cast your magic circle around anyone or anything that

is to be protected. You can even cast a magic circle around an entire building or a large property. To perform the ritual for protection, you can either burn the sticks in the cauldron or you can offer them in token by placing them in

the cauldron next to a burning black candle. If your need

Salamanders—Elementals of Fire • 145

for protection is great, I suggest giving the salamanders the real offering, but if you want to perform the ritual many

nights in a row, you can reuse the sticks by offering the candle instead. Dress the candle by anointing it with cinnamon oil for the salamanders, or a protective herb such as garlic, and by writing the word “protect” upon it. In the southern quarter of your circle, give your offering to the salamanders and chant while dancing in a clockwise direction around

the circle to raise energy toward your protective goal. Below is an example chant for protection.

Salamanders of power’s seat,

Protect and ward with fire’s heat!

With harm to none but evil, spurned,

Where no respect for flames is burned.

If you are burning the nine sticks in their entirety, wait until they are consumed before closing the circle and scattering their ashes to the south with thanks. If you are burning a candle in token, you can close the circle and continue burning the candle, snuffing it respectfully with thanks

if you intend to burn it several nights in succession. The cauldron can be kept on an elemental altar, in your kitchen, or near a fireplace if you have one. If you used a candle, you can burn a little of it each night that you are home, for ongoing protection, renewing the salamander energy with

a new candle when it runs out. Or, you can burn the can-

dle or the sticks only when you feel threatened. Remember

to never let a candle burn unattended, even if it is for protection. Salamanders, like all elementals, are tricksters, and
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they can play with candles in ways that you do not intend.

You don’t want to allow them to choose to protect your

property by making sure that it is unobtainable by thieves since it has been turned to ash. Always be careful when you invite salamanders into your home. Thank them, and allow

them to leave by snuffing candles and making sure that

offering fires have died out, cooled, and their ashes have been scattered.

five

Undines—

Elementals of Water

Water has always been a vital part of all life, and even

now is amazing and magical. Much of our cells’

structures are made up of water, which we must continue to consume frequently in order to continue even basic function. In ancient times, the necessity of water had to have been known. Its beauty was observed and recorded for pos-terity. The concept of water elementals may have been born from curious people watching choppy waves, and wonder-ing what creatures must have been magically moving the

water from below. Even today, when you hear the sound of

the spray of the ocean, or when a babbling brook carries

lilting voices to your ears, you are hearing the chatting and songs of the undines.

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Mythology

Undine
is a Greek word meaning sea sprite. More than the other elementals, undines, also called ondines, take on the classic imagery of faeries. Though rarely pictured with

wings, as they are light colored water-nymph-like beings,

undines often grace mythology in the forms of beauti-

ful women. Myths and legends seem to spill forth from

undines into other stories of fantastical creatures. Like mermaids and sirens, undines are said to sing hauntingly beautiful songs that can attract wanderers. However, undines are not limited to the sea, but are found in any natural body of water such as a lake, river, stream, or even a natural pool of collected water.

The element of water is associated with strong emo-

tions and life phases, such as love and death. As a result, undines are thought to be wraiths or ghosts in some cultures, lacking the sort of soul that a living creature might have. In many tragic legends, undines seek to marry a

human man and to have a child with him in order to earn

their own soul. Although undines have strong psychic

power within them, their energies should be used in con-

junction with the mental clarity of the sylphs. Otherwise, the strong emotions of the undines may cause you to come

to the wrong conclusions when you have a flash of psychic

intuition. Undines are moody, mysterious, and are to be

treated with respect—their capricious nature can lead them to curse as quickly as to bless.

Undines—Elementals of Water • 149

Invocation for Purposes

Since so many people are drawn to working magic because

they feel helpless about some topic about which they feel

strongly, undines may seem to be very useful creatures,

indeed. Water is the element of emotions, which includes

all of them, whether negative or positive. Water can be

poured to wash away fear or anger and it can be imbibed to bring joy and happiness. Since water is associated with the west, the place where the sun sets, it is also the element of death and dying. If somebody in your life is sailing off into the sunset of death, water is in the tears that you cry. As much as it is the element of death, water is also the source of life and healing, and can be a helpful element to honor, whether you are battling chronic disease or you are preg-nant with new life.

Meditation for Divination

Water aids meditation, both when drinking it, sitting in a warm bath, or gazing into a reflecting pool. I highly recommend quiet contemplation in front of a natural body of

water when you want to both relax and gain gentle insight

into your feelings and the nature of your heart. Water is

also the element of psychic power and understanding. So,

for this meditation, I would like you to try scrying, which is a form of divination by which one gazes into something, in this case water, in order to search for imagery that can appear in the water or in your mind’s eye.

For this meditation you’ll need a black bowl filled

with water. I also highly recommend a journal and writ-

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ing implement. Sometimes, in the course of meditating

until deep in a trance, I later forget what I have experienced during the meditation. It is similar to the experience of for-getting a dream upon waking. When water scrying, forget-

fulness is especially common.

This meditation is best performed during a full moon,

when psychic abilities are aided. Take yourself to some place where you will be completely undisturbed, since sometimes

the mind can block the ability to scry when you are expecting to be interrupted at any minute. Of course, it would be best if you could meditate by a natural body of water, but it will work just as well with a black bowl of water in any home. Seat yourself comfortably, shoes and socks removed

to aid grounding to the earth below you, and take some

time to relax and allow distracting thoughts to float away from your mind.

Listen for your heartbeat. You can place your fingers on

your wrist or neck to feel your pulse, if you like, and feel the waters of your blood pulsing through your system. Calm

your breathing and allow it to slow down and become in

sync with your heart rate, perhaps allowing four heartbeats to pass with each breath in or out. You should notice your heart rate slowing as you relax. When you can force yourself to think of nothing but your heart, you are of a clear mind that is ready to meditate upon the water.

Open your eyes and gaze into the black bowl of water.

Soften the focus of your eyes, as if you were looking

through the bowl of water, past it, and deep into the floor or earth below. Keep steady breathing and focus on your

heartbeat whenever you find yourself being distracted, and
Undines—Elementals of Water • 151

wait in quiet reflection for imagery to come. You may see

pictures forming on the surface of the water or within it, or you may simply catch a glimpse of images in your mind’s

eye. You can close your eyes if you wish, or keep your eyes open if you are experiencing perceptions in the water. You might even be able to see the undines themselves. Allow

the images to show you whatever message you need to see

at this time. Don’t be alarmed if you hear the melodious

voices of the undines. You are not going crazy. When the

mind relaxes into the alpha wave state of meditation, the

same state that you experience before going to sleep and

dreaming, as well as upon waking, it can be normal and

natural to perceive voices.

After the images in the water have faded, unless you’re

feeling jittery from being ungrounded, try to write about

what you saw before you get up or ground yourself. The

fleeting images will flee from your memory quickly, even

if they seem to be startling revelations that you think you would never forget. Writing them down not only preserves

the content of messages you receive, but helps you to recall the actual memory of what you saw. Elementals can be mischievous creatures with riddle-like communiqués, so don’t

be frustrated if you can’t seem to interpret what you saw.

Your understanding may grow over time as you get to know

your undine friends, or there may be some spiritual mys-

teries left for you to puzzle over for a lifetime. The same scrying technique detailed here may be used with the coals of a fire or a candle flame to connect with salamanders or with a crystal ball to connect with gnomes.

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Ritual for Death and Grief

In Irish mythology, the land to which the dead travel is

located across the sea in Tir na nÓg. In Greek and Roman

mythology, the dead cross two bodies of water, the river

Styx and the river Lethe. As a Wiccan, I believe in an afterlife called the Summerland, wherein my loved ones find rest and rejuvenation while they spend time as helpful ancestors before reincarnation. I visualize the Summerland across a

large and rough ocean, even though it does not exist on this terrestrial plane. The commonality in such myths and legends is that the water cannot be crossed unaided. When I