Natural Witchery (8 page)

Work your loving magick in each aspect of my life.

Close up the spell with:

I thank the goddess Selene for her time and care,

As this blue moon gently hovers in the night air.

Ground and center yourself again. Allow the candles to burn until they go out on their own. Tidy up your workspace when the candles are finished. Keep the flower in the vase someplace where you will enjoy it—until it begins to fade, then dispose of the flower neatly by giving it back to nature. Add it to a compost pile or bury it in your garden.

May you have warm words on a cold evening,

A full moon on a dark night,

And the road downhill all the way to your door.

Familiar Saying

That Magickal Moon

I hope that you will enjoy experimenting with and trying out all of this chapter's various spells, charms, and rituals. Get out there under the nighttime sky and discover all of the lunar phases. Work magick under a blue moon and during a dramatic lunar eclipse. Keep in mind that the moon is an icon for magick, the divine feminine, and our intuition. I expect that you have learned a few new tricks and been reinspired to work magick with the psychic tides and enchanting energies of the moon. It's a perfect way to revitalize your witchery.

The psychic energy of the moon still holds sway over us, and it is an undeniable magickal force in our lives. The ever-changing moon is both a companion and a guide. Its radiance brings an incredible amount of illumination to our magickal journey. So tip up your face to its silver light and walk with confidence and wisdom while traveling along your own spiritual path.

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Chapter 3

Knowledge is power.

Francis Bacon

Personal Power

Now that your intuition is up and humming, we can turn our focus to personal power, the next step in natural witchery. Here is where we begin to make the magick more individual. I mean, honestly, don't you want your magick to have some character? Just a little something special that separates you from everyone else? Of course you do. By discovering your personal power, you'll crank up the level of your expertise and put the focus on your own individual style of magick.

We are going to accomplish this by taking a deeper look into the elements of earth, air, fire, and water, and how they play out and affect our magickal selves. Our personalities are a wonderful mixture of the qualities of the four elements. And while it is certainly true that we each feel an affinity to a certain natural element or elements from time to time, we need to be in balance to harmoniously employ all four. It is important to reflect on each of the elements and to consider how you individually experience magick through all four of them. Then allow those elements to flow into your life.

To boost your personal power and to have it up and running at top speed, you will need to get—well, for lack of a better word—“personal,” and do a little soul-searching. After all, the best individual to transform your life and help you reclaim your own powers is, of course, you.

The power of the elements and all of nature is deep and infinite, and the following elemental information is not a 101 rehash. Truthfully, this type of knowledge is vital for everyone; this includes the more experienced or advanced practitioners too. For years I always thought that to be an “advanced Witch” meant you had somehow discovered all these phenomenal mysteries of the cosmos—when in actuality what you begin to discover is that those basic lessons you first learned have many hidden layers. The longer you study and practice, the more of those levels you will begin to explore and uncover. There truly are worlds within worlds.

Study and take the time to search inside yourself and to uncover the hidden, layered powers of the natural elements. These lessons will be a bit different for everyone. That's what makes this type of magick so special, because you are adding dimension to your craft.

By using your intuition—and stretching out those psychic abilities that we worked on in the first section of this book—you will begin to see how each of the four natural elements play out within your magickal personality. Why is this so darn important, anyway? Because you will gain an understanding of your elemental strengths and your weaknesses. For your magickal power to be its most effective, you have to take a little private inventory and then remove any imbalances or blocks. This in turn allows you to focus and fine-tune your magick, and turn up the level of your personal power. To begin our lesson of self-discovery, look over the following elemental personality traits and see which ones you most closely identify with.

Elemental Personalities

I say the whole earth and all the stars in the sky
are for religion's sake.

Walt Whitman

Earth

Our first element, earth, is associated with the planet, fields of ripe grain, the forest, woodlands, and the garden; it also corresponds to the Witch's Pyramid adage “to be silent.” Earth magick is a feminine energy (think of Gaia, the earth mother), and its power can be accessed through herbs, plants, flowers, and crystals. To be an earth person is to be practical, realistic, and tactile. These grounded folks who are “down to earth” care about what is real, physical, and what they can do and experience for themselves. Earth people are methodical and patient as they work toward their goals. Tactile people, they enjoy working with their hands and may be into various arts and crafts like floral design, woodworking, painting, and knitting. They like to be able to touch what they create, and texture and beauty are important to them.

Earth people are homebodies and create beautiful, welcoming homes. They are marriage-minded and go for long-lasting, solid relationships. They are physical and unabashedly enjoy their sexuality and love to laugh. Earth people are the touchers of the world—a pat on the back, a welcoming hug. Negative earth qualities may result in their being called a “stick in the mud.” Other less-attractive traits include being very resistant to change, stubbornness, and being bullheaded.

Physically, earth people need to be careful, as they tend to have round body shapes. It's not that they are lazy, it's that there is a lot of fire energy in hard exercise—so an earth person would rather not exercise. An earth person's idea of exercise includes a nice leisurely stroll through the park or tending to their yards and gardens.

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Air

The air is associated with the sky, wind, clouds, mountaintops, and birds of all sorts. This element corresponds with the Witch's Pyramid adage “to know.” Air symbolizes freedom and spaciousness. It is light, expansive, and damn near impossible to truly measure or contain. Air is ever expanding, like breath. Ideas are said to come from the element of air, as does inspiration—a word that means “to breath in.” The element of air is one of intellect. It reflects the metaphysical principle of life. Air is associated with new life and beginnings—anything that “dawns,” whether that's the day that dawns or a thought that suddenly dawns on you. Through the magick of the element of air, you receive the inspiration for deciding which direction in life you wish to take.

People who have a lot of air qualities in their personality will think before they feel; they are rational and intelligent. Some folks who have strong links to this element can be the academic type. They are also fluently clever, witty, and express themselves clearly, whether it's through speaking or writing. Air is the element of communication, so these folks may be fabulous lecturers, entertaining teachers, and sharp and witty conversationalists. Air people like to have several things going at one time; they are the ultimate multitaskers.

However, too much air energy can make them seem like they are absent-minded, or that they appear to have their heads in the clouds or are airheads. Air people may be brilliant but out of step with the world around them. They may be incredibly smart but not be able to remember or complete the most mundane of tasks. These over-airy individuals may spend too much time in their own heads and simply ignore the physical world around them.

The fire upon the hearth is low,
And there is stillness everywhere,
And, like winged spirits, here and there
The firelight shadows fluttering go.

Eugene Field

Fire

Fire is associated with the sun, volcanoes, wildfires, deserts, tropical climates, and rock gardens. This blazing element corresponds with the Witch's Pyramid adage “to dare.” Traditionally, fire is the element of illumination and transformation. It is associated with the divine spark or the spark of the soul. Fire magick can be accessed through candle, color, and solar spells. People who have a lot of fire qualities in their personality will be warm, passionate, and courageous. Fire is sometimes linked to intuition, and it's definitely part of taking the initiative to bring about positive change.

Fire represents both the light of intelligence and the flash of courage that allows you to follow through with your dreams and ideas. Sunlight is also within the realm of the element of fire. The strength and power of the sun should not be overlooked in this element. After all, the sun does bring light and illumination to our days, does it not?

Individuals with plenty of fiery energy are often strongly intuitive. They believe in and fight for a worthy cause. Fire folks are natural leaders, the movers and shakers. Someone who has lots of fire energy will compel others to pay attention to them. Fire people are fascinating and sexual. These individuals make impassioned lovers and may be flamboyant and romantic.

If someone carries too much fire energy, they can be impulsive, quick-tempered, display violent tempers, or be prone to rage. They may also be the type who silently hold a grudge and carry around anger for a long time. They simmer, stew, and occasionally boil over. To carry too much fire energy is to run the risk of becoming obsessive.

Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep.

Shakespeare