Elemental Connection: Earth

It has taken waaay to long for me to post this. My last elemental posts were months ago. I don't have much an excuse either, only that, to me, this is the most important of the four and I have been feeling spiritually disconnected lately. It's been an up and down journey with my soul this year. I feel like I owe so much to Earth and I have been afraid of messing up my words about this sacred element. Which is completely ridiculous, but there it is.

Earth is the grounding element. It is beneath our feet and it springs up in the plants and animals around us. It is the home that supports all the other elements and gives us solace and comfort and the ever infinite Universe. My rising sign is Virgo, an earth sign. It's the only astrological connection I have to this element, and yet I feel the resonance of earth deep within my bones.

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Personally speaking...

I feel the most at home in the woods, my bare feet sunk into the dirt, collecting rocks and twigs and breathing in the rich forest air. I love to go camping simply for the chance to spend an extended time outside, sleeping close to the earth and listening to the sounds of the life that she supports. It's an incredible feeling.

There is something incredibly wild and primal about connecting with earth. It is a caregiver, of course, but it is so much more. When immersed in the sensations of earth I feel this incomparable sense of peace and fascination, as well as the welling desire to explore and discover. It's not the feather light feeling of moving on the wind that air provides, it's something deeper. It's the sense that I belong to the Earth, completely and wholly, and the Earth is so big that I must start moving now -to worship her with my curious feet.

Among dirt and rocks, trees and fern, is the true habitat of my soul. To be neighbours with the birds and squirrels, wolves and deer, is what my heart dreams about.

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Magickally speaking...

Earth is a very feminine energy, the mother to all life. It is associated with stability and being grounded, as well as the cycles of birth, death, and rebirth.

Colour: Green

Direction: North

Planet: Saturn, Earth 

Zodiac Signs: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn

Time of Day: Midnight

What is your connection to earth? How does is interact with your soul?

Manda Rave

Elemental Connection: Fire

Fire is something my Leo side connects with. Sometimes it is too fierce an element for me and I have to step back, but sometimes all I want to do is dance around a bonfire and let its flames warm my soul. I think sometimes my writing comes the fiery place in my spirit. Sometimes I just write words and I can see the flames licking around them, giving them a life all their own.

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Personally speaking...

I love bonfires. Once it warms up outside after the long New England winter I am content to sit by a fire just about every night, sometimes with a glass of wine, sometimes just with tea. I love smelling like a fire pit. I love letting the flames heat my face and make my skin flush. I love getting lost in my own world while watching the fire grow and fade.

It heats my bones and sets my soul alight. In the presence of fire I find a swelling of passion and creativity. It unleashes the tigress in my heart and sets her free into the world. My tiger relishes a good fire, especially under the light of the moon. I am overcome with hope and light. In the presence of the flames I look to the future and I hold strong to my faith and my hope. I am ready to fight for the love and passion I have within me. Fire makes me a warrior.

My warrior self does not come out to play often. Usually I am more subdued, letting things grow and die as they will, going with the flow of life and the Universe. But something about fire gets my blood pumping and I am ready to take on the world if I must. I am propelled forward.

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Magickally speaking...

Fire is a masculine energy. As an element it is associated with strength, passion, life-force, and purity. It is an element of pure light and energetic force.

Colour: Red

Direction: South

Planet(s): Mars, Sun

Zodiac Signs: Aries, Leo, Sagitarrius 

Time of Day: Midday

How do you connect with fire? What does it awaken in your soul?

Lady Unlaced

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Elemental Connection: Water

As a cancer, water does hold a special place in my heart. I was actually born on a cusp (cancer/leo) which leads to a weird duality on an emotional level and sometimes a bit too much moodiness for my liking. That's something I have gotten better at keeping in check though. My cancer-heart, however, is very much in tune with the rise and fall of the ocean waves, my emotions changing between serenely flowing and crashing against each other.

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Personally speaking...
Water gives me life, much like air does. Our bodies are made up of mostly water -it is so important to us. I gulp it down, thirsty for its essence and wisdom. I soak in it and let it seep into my pores. I stand under it as it falls from the sky, letting it wet my hair and make my clothes stick to my skin.

Water purifies my soul and cleanses me from the inside out. It sweeps me up in its tide of life and deposits me wherever I am meant to be. It is a source of rejuvenation and endless mystery. When fought against it is a fierce adversary, but when embraced it is a protective mother, surrounding me like a womb.

Days at the beach are some of my favourites. The salty ocean spray on my legs as I walk along the shore, scoping out the sand for seashells gives me such a deep feeling of peace. Watching the waves crash against the rocks and listening to the gulls overhead, jumping over slimy patches of seaweed -I used to want to be a mermaid. The idea of being able to swim and twirl through the water, racing the fish and leaping with the dolphins was so incredibly appealing to me. Part of it still is. In the water, there is so much to explore.

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Magickally speaking...

Water is a distinctly feminine element. It is the element of emotion and the subconscious. It is a life-giver and represents the constant ebb and flow of the Universe.

A few correspondences are...

Color: Blue

Direction: West

Planet(s): Venus, the Moon

Zodiac Signs: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

Time of Day: Sunset

A bowl of goblet of water is, of course, the most obvious choice of representation for this element on your altar, but things like seashells works very well too. I use an abalone shell filled with shells I've found on the beaches of Rhode Island on mine. Deities associated with water are Poseidon, Sobek, Ganga, and Chalchiuhtlicue. 

How do you connect with water? What does it provide for you?

Lady Unlaced

Elemental Connection: Air

I have been thinking a lot lately about the four elements and how I connect with each of them. We're all drawn to certain elements and we all have our own relationship with each. I wanted to take the time to explore each of them independently and how they resonate with me -what each contributes to my life and my soul.

To get the ball rolling I figured I would start with air. It is not one of the elements I feel the most connected to, but I recognize it's importance within my spirit. Reaching out to touch where air brushes against my heart and how it breaths life into me is not something I do often; I would like to give it some more dedication. Air does so much for me.

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Personally Speaking...

On a physical level it gives me life. I suck it into my lungs and exhale the excess, giving back to the earth and the plants that surround me. The human body isn't greedy with its needs. It is always thinking of the flowers and the trees, as they are always thinking of us. But I suppose that is another element.

What is more comforting than a cool breeze on a hot summer day? Who is the biggest friend to the birds that spread their wings and take to the sky everyday? Air is all-encompassing and it spreads out over everything that is. 

Air wraps itself around my body, breathing life into me and lifting my soul up out of the dark. It gusts under my metaphorical wings and raises me up into the sky, letting me look down on all that I am and all that is. It gives me the distance I need to see, to perceive. My intuition dances in the breeze it provides, strengthening its breath, peaking at a staggering height.

And there is a difference between the air inside and the heady stuff that you breath in on a nice spring day. After a long winter I am looking forward to throwing up all the windows and inhaling deeply as a breeze wafts through the house. It renews my spirit and cleanses my soul of dreariness. The wonders fresh air can do for the body amaze me -an instant pick me up and revitalization of the soul.

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Magically Speaking...

Air is one of the main four elements and is usually considered to have masculine energy. It is the element of intelligence, creativity, and intuition.

A few correspondences are...
Color: Yellow
Direction: East
Planet: Jupiter
Zodiac Signs: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius
Time of Day: Morning/Sunrise

Representation of this element on an altar are often incense and feathers. I like to keep a small brass bowl with feathers as my homage to air. Gods such as Zeus and Odin are also associated with this element.

How do you connect with air? How does it affect your being and soul?

Lady Unlaced