Earth Magic

 

Earth is our only home. It is that from which mythologically we sprang, and in its moist soil we bury our deceased. From its surface we pull verdant vegetables and healing plants. Animals graze atop it, and within it lie riches of gold and silver, precious stones and oil. Until recently, no living thing save birds—left its surface for more than a few moments.

The ancient goddesses of the earth have survived to this day in the guise of Mother Nature, a deity being reclaimed by nature-conscious souls in the dawning of the twenty-first century. The earth was once worshipped for its own sake, and today it is newly revered as our home and our sustenance; without it we would perish.

Ecological movements have sprung up to fill the need of protecting our planet. Spaceship Earth, as it came to be called once we had succeeded in leaving its atmosphere and gazed at its bluish mass from space, is Gaia: our Mother, our home, our all. It always has been.

As such, it has entered into religious and magical thought and practice for thousands of years. Some of the spells and techniques presented in this chapter are as ageless as the thrust of a mountain. In these earthy spells lie the roots of all magic, for if all forms of magic are not of this element, they are certainly performed upon the earth.

Think of a freshly dug handful of earth. Smell the richness of the fertile soil. See the striking color, from whitest clay to volcanic red to blackest black. This is the fertilizing nature, the storehouse of vitamins and minerals essential to life. This is also an excellent arena in which (or with which) to practice magic.

Earth Power: Techniques of Natural Magic

Scott Cunningham