By the Earth that is Her Body

By the Earth that is Her Body

 

Earth holds and supports us like the arms of the great Goddess. It’s the
ground we stand on. Trees take root in it. Meadows rise from it. Crystals
grow within it. It grows our grain and gives us our green herbs. No other
element captures the Mystery of the Mother as well as the element that composes
Her body.

 

All the elements, earth, air, fire and water, have correspondences: magickal
tools and qualities that are associated with them, which can vary from
tradition to tradition. (Women’s traditions tend to be pretty flexible, so
don’t think of these as graven in stone.) The correspondences are part of the
symbolic richness of women’s rituals. What we know about Goddess can’t be
expressed in words, and rituals rife with symbolism lead us to that
inexpressible knowledge better than any speech could ever do. When we invoke
the qualities of the elements, we surround ourselves with the images of
Mystery.

 

The element of Earth corresponds to the direction North. Its season is winter,
and with winter comes quiet, thoughtfulness, and awareness without distraction.
Moving waters freeze. The riot of summer growth is dormant. With quiet comes
the ability to keep silent, to hold secrets, to listen, and to speak mindfully
and purposefully. Its magickal tool is the pentacle, the five-pointed star
inscribed in the circle, an ancient symbol of magick. Earth corresponds to
midnight, the witching hour, a time when truth is laid bare. Earth’s
corresponding colors are black, like night, and the colors of what it supports,
green and brown. It is also the element of metals, ores, crystals and
minerals. For this reason, the element of Earth corresponds to wealth and
material comfort, from gold and jewels to career and home. Earth and its
correspondences are heavily used in spellwork because material lack is a
problem for many women, maybe most of us. And, Earth is the final return of
energy when we ground. Earth is something we can readily touch and feel and
smell. It’s so prevalent that it only takes a little opening up to become
aware of the Mystery that continually surrounds us.

 

Earth is both a comfort and a source of disquiet, even fear. You can break
open a newly baked loaf and smell the Earth in its intoxicating scent. You can
also seek the unseen and find yourself in the dark. The Dark Goddess is
symbolized by Earth. The Old One knows and loves the Light. She has been a
Maiden and a Mother, and She knows what passion is. But She is also the
Destroyer, not just cleaning up after the party’s over, but a necessary part of
the Wheel of Life. In the end, the Dark Goddess will cradle us when the Crone
beckons us from across the Veil, kind and loving, but also inexorable.

 

Dark and Light are parts of the same weave. The element of Earth can teach us
to embrace them both.

– Silverskye