THE ELEMENTS SERIES, WATER
Earth-based Spirituality is at the centre of my life, my work, my practice. Part of Earth-Based Spirituality is attuning ourselves to the cyclical nature of the year; to the patterns found in ourselves and in nature; to the energetic cycles within and around us.
Earth-based Spirituality honours all life and gives us insight on what the seasons of our lives are telling us to begin working with, rather than against these natural tides. It is my greatest pleasure to demystify the elements in this series and encourage you to take note of the magick that lives around you, because luxury is the abundance that we see and experience all around us.
Water
In this series, I outline the elements individually but one is never separate from the other - they live harmoniously with one another while holding true to their unique and individual qualities and energies.
“Meditating by a lake one day, I heard the water say to me, ‘All water is one - one whole, one awareness. All water is continuously aware of all the other water in the world.’ That insight profoundly changed my relationship to water. Instead of thinking of it as a physical substance, I began to perceive it as a flow of life-giving awareness, constantly cycling through the world.”
from The Earth Path, Starhawk
Water holds matter and moves with the Moon. Water also feeds, nourishes, and quenches. In this way, water holds universal wisdom and medicine that it has gathered from days passed, months elapsed, and years progressed. Connected to everything and nothing, water is the custodian of information that it has collected by washing over rocks, plants, animals, and moved by the satellites in the sky.
Water is a mystical and mythical source from which all life springs. Connecting with water can be a beautiful way to begin to awaken the wisdom and healing within. Taking a bath is my preferred way to connect with the water element. An evening soak under the moonlight is often the solace you need to wash away the muck and see clearly once more.
“Only through a balanced relationship with water can we have abundance and thriving life.” (The Earth Path, Starhawk)
When preparing your bath, infuse the water with elements that will support your restoration and calmness of mind (I am partial to my bathing salts and nectar but feel free to use any herbs and mixtures that speak to you). Be intentional with water: as you enter the bath speak words of affirmation or ask questions that need answers. As you allow the heat to calm, soothe, and soften, hear the messages she speaks and allow them to guide you. Take time and patience to attune yourself to this practice and develop a loving and trusting relationship with this element. Over time, gathering her wisdom will become easier, and less daunting.
Alternatively, if there is something you want to release, water is a beautiful element to work with as well. Think of that which you want to wash away and allow the water to make you pure and clean. Once again, be specific and use your words and submerge your entire being into the water to emerge purified and rebirthed with greater wisdom and clarity.
With water, we begin to open to the mysteries within. Connected to the Wise Woman Archetype, she is the abundance that harvest brings in the growing darker days of Autumn. We shift from doing to connect with the sacred and absorbing information through more psychic parts of ourselves. Cradled into darkness, we get to awaken and connect with something greater and find solace in that space of infinite wisdom.
Keywords: wisdom, magick, knowledge, clarity
The Earth has always been a point of connection for me and my practice of Earth-based Spirituality has deepened my reverence and admiration for what we can receive from the vast natural world, she who gives us so much. There is a purity and respect that comes from adorning your space with elemental magick and that awakens and reminds us of our connection to everything.-Brooke, Founder of The Ritual
* Adapted from The Earth Path by Starhawk