Day: June 13, 2016
Summer Solstice Ritual Potpourri
Various Correspondences for Midsummer/Litha
Prayer to the Summer Goddess
Litha Magick
Summer Solstice Prayer
Magick Tip for Litha (Never too early to get ready for a Sabbat)
The Elements & The Pentacle
The Elements & The Pentacle
The elements are what makes up the universe, without them there would be no form; we are made up from them. So the five points represent the five elements known as Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Space.
Earth represents our bodies and the material world, the Earth the stars and all the contents of the universe. Air is what we breathe and animates life, Water is the our life blood and the oceans, rivers and watercourses that are so abundant on the planet. Fire is what gives us heat, it burns in our bodies allowing us to digest the food we eat and it warms our bodies in the life giving properties of the sun. It gives us the beauty of the heavens at night when we look up at the stars, each one a mighty fireball of energy and without fire we would not have the most precious substance of them all, light! Without light the universe we live in would be devoid of any sentient life because it’s light that gives rise to all creation.
The fifth element is the most mis-‐understood and that is Space, people have called it “Ether” or “Spirit” and those words do descried some of its properties, but space sums it up best. Empty space the stuff between the stars, the stuff that hold and supports all creation. The formless void we come to know as the cauldron of the Goddess.
The Experience of Life:
On a more basic level of life the pentacle comes to represent our journey through life and the Give points can be attributed to the lessons we learn through life such as;
✴ To Love,
✴ To Create,
✴ To Experience,
✴ To Learn
✴ To Grow.
The pentacle opens up a gateway into the mysteries that allow us to have devotion to the forces of nature and this encourages us to open our hearts giving rise to an unconditional love. When we start to work with these forces we learn to create with them and this gives rise to experiences. When we have experience we learn and in turn we grow, this is called wisdom.
The Basic Emotions of Life
The pentacle can also come to present the Give basic emotions that often cloud our mind because they cause so much havoc. These are;
✴ Anger,
✴ Jealousy,
✴ Envy,
✴ Attachment
✴ Greed.
These things arise in each and every one of us and when they become extreme they cause us to experience all the difficulties of life. The aim of any spiritual path is to transform these basic emotions into Give wisdoms so that they don’t affect us as much. We need to turn;
✴ Anger into Love,
✴ Attachment into Generosity,
✴ Jealousy & Envy into Forgiveness
✴ Greed into a Freedom that allows us to let go.
It’s not easy but it can be done if we have patience and are prepared to put in some work. That’s the journey, the path or training that is needed to allow the individual to experience the deep mysteries and then in turn actualize them into their lives.
We are all looking for a happy and fulfilled life and it’s through the spiritual path we aim to try to find ways of helping us achieve these goals.
Offerings to the Fire Element
Offerings to the Fire Element
Without a beating heart we have no Gire within us, it is the blood that pumps around our bodies that generates heat and gives us the power to illuminate. Deep within our heart is a place that is eternal, an inner sun that burns with a light so bright it connects us to the very core of infinity. It is our innate nature that burns with wisdom and allows us to embrace life. When we align ourselves with the gods and with the path of The Craft we burn with fire, we burn with a yearning to know our soul’s destiny. That is what drives us on towards the source of all knowledge, it allows us to heal bits of ourselves and others because when we get just one single glimpse of the fire within the heart it is enough to illuminate the entire universe.
Although we have an inner fire there is nothing more beautiful to be sat round a camp fire, how many times have you looked deep into the flames and let them speak to you, they lull you to a place which allows visions to arise, transporting us inwards to the deep seat of knowing. The Craft has always been the place where those who follow it’s path burn with the passions of nature. To be alive with the fire of wisdom means that you have opened yourself up to the face of creation and allowed yourself to become enfolded in the arms of the Gods. They burn with the same fire, which is in your heart, they are made from the same seed fire that you have within. The Gods burn with the same eternal flame that illuminates our own being and to know the flame within means you come to know the face of the Gods. Fire burns away ignorance just like it clears the dead wood of the forest allowing new shoots to germinate bringing forth new growth. We all have dead wood within, our internal struggles and our ever-‐conflicting emotions are what keep the fire from burning bright. But when we get a glimpse of the fire we fan the f flames and they start to burn, they burn so bight that they produce a source of all light, without fire there would only be darkness and with total darkness no life would exist. Fire is the source of all life, without our sun this earth we live on would be a dead rock floating around a burnt out sun. Devoid of any life there would be no consciousness to illuminate itself. We are the universes knowing itself, and it’s through this element we come to understand these wisdoms.
Offering to fire can be anything that can be consumed by flames or even a simple votive candle.
Offerings to the Water Element
Offerings to the Water Element
Water is a vital element for our survival, we are within water while we are in the womb of our mother and we die very quickly without it. Because water is in such abundance on our planet we have little attachment to it. Water is fluid and free and over time it can reduce the hardest material into dust. It cuts through valleys like a knife through butter and bursts forth from the ground in healing springs. It is the lifeblood within our bodies and upon the earth it is abundant and Glowing, unfortunately we pollute it with toxins that are now bringing us close to poisoning all life.
We should always try to keep our waters pure, they are what carry the trace nutrients that our body needs for survival. There is nothing more stirring that to sit next to crashing waves on beach or more restful than laying next to a babbling brook. Water out of all the elements has the most power to heal. Our ancestors knew this knowledge and dedicated many springs to cures. Even in our modern world we prefer bottled water to that from the tap thinking it has a purer quality to it. It’s our internal emotions that draw us close to water as a source of all healing and I often wonder if it’s because we floated for nine months in the waters of our mothers womb. There we felt safe and secure, it was a primordial state before they burst issuing us into the world of duality we know as life. How many of us enjoy the relaxing comfort of a bath or the invigorating power of a shower. Both these daily functions connect us deeply to the element of water and draw us close to its energetic qualities. I love nothing better than swimming outdoors in the summer in open pools and rivers, feeling the power of nature enfold me in the waters of life.
A daily offering of water can be made on your own personal shrine; it is something very easy to do and connects us to a source of connection many take for granted. Water is the best substance as a daily offering because it’s one of the things we have no attachment to, we don’t in any way covet it because it seems to be around us in abundance. That way we give it freely and that’s the spirit which should be nurtured when making any offering. To be able to give without any attachment at all allows the offering to have the purest quality within it and becomes a great source of connecting us to the source of creation. Items you can offer include water, milk and wine.
You could even collect different waters to offer such as Sea Water, Lake Water, Spring Water, Rain Water, Snow Water and Dew, be guided by your intuition and may the hand of the gods always lead you towards your souls purpose.
Offerings to the Earth Element
Offerings to the Earth Element
When we make offerings to the earth element we are honouring our body, without this vehicle we would not be able to experience the world in all its beauty. It gives us the chance to find happiness and joy. It is the very vessel that is filled with the light of creation and inhabiting it for a lifetime means we have a chance to awake to that inner light. It’s incredible when you stop to think about it, but that’s the problem, few do. When we walk a spiritual path it allows us to move forward on a journey upon the earth, this planet is a living body like our own. But how many people actually treat it as such?
Because we have disconnected from the earth we have become disconnected from our bodies and look at the amount of self-‐loathing we see in western cultures. The Craft has always told us to love our bodies, they are sacred and that’s why from time to time we take off our clothes and walk into nature. When we meet nature naked, we are free, we are totally beyond the trappings of culture because, once again, we have entered paradise. The Craft has always held ritual nudity to be a profound act, unfortunately because of our modern culture few these days feel comfortable disrobing. This is because we live in a highly sexualized society that has used sex and sexual images to sell almost everything, the images which have been used have been very limiting and exaggerated leaving many with a sense of inferiority about their own bodies. Remember we are born into this world naked and when we are free from the trappings of clothes we also have the opportunity to free ourselves from our ridged identities.
Offerings to the earth can include stones, salt, soil and food, go into nature, take your clothes off in the warmer months and feel the sun on your body, feel the wind caress you like a lover and embrace the natural world. Make your offerings to this element and thank it for giving you such a beautiful gift, your body the vehicle of your awakening.
Offerings to the Air Element
Offerings to the Air Element
When we make offerings to the air we are thanking the universe for our breath. Each moment we are held by this element and at the moment of death it’s our last breath, which heralds our departure from the mortal body.
The air is also our First breath when we are born so honour this element by getting outdoors and spending time in high places, feel the wind on your body and rejoice with song, laughter and dance, which are all part of this element. The air is what carries sound, music is what nurtures our soul and we can see that the two combined into one exceptional union. Music has the power to heal and transform us. Think about how many times you have put on your favourite tracks to change your mood. Mellow music chills us out and reduces our stress and more uplifting music gets us into a place when we want to move and express ourselves. All this is the expression of the air element and by being aware of such things brings a greater clarity to our daily activities.
Simple offerings can be thrown into the air or left tied to trees so that they Flutter in the winds. But make sure whatever you leave in nature can be broken down easily such a paper, incense, cotton or silk cloth, food and liquids, things found such as feathers and rocks. Never leave anything that will affect the flow of the natural world, to do that will only create blocks and hinder your path towards growth.
You must be logged in to post a comment.