Touching the Earth

 

The moon glows mystically in the star-scattered sky as a lone figure moves down a deserted beach.

The figure stops, bends, and grasps a gray stick washed up on the shore by the restless sea. Pushing the stick’s blunt end into the wet sand, the figure sketches a symbol.

A wave crashes. The figure moves back, and just as the oncoming water sweeps over the symbol, a gust of wind rises, blowing back the tightly wrapped scarf. A woman’s face appears in the soft moonlight.

She smiles, confident that the spell has worked, and sits listening to the crashing music of the sea. Why did the woman go to the ocean that night? Why did she draw a symbol on the sand? And how did these simple acts constitute magic?

Natural magic— rather, the magic of nature— is an uncomplicated, direct branch of the magical arts, one derived from eons of experimentation by peoples scattered over the globe. It is perhaps a response to the limitless powers of nature, the power visible in the ever-changing seasons, the blossoming of a bud, the birth of young.

The ways of nature magic are almost universally intended to work with the forces and energies of nature to bring about necessary changes. Though the techniques may seem to be oversimplified, even juvenile, they are effective.

The woman described above performed an act of nature magic. She worked with the ocean, a timeless source of energy revered and worshipped for hundreds of thousands of years. To direct the energies of the sea, she used a symbol. Symbolism— the language of magic and the subconscious mind— is a sort of magical shorthand. Though the symbols and runes have powers in themselves, they also, in effect, direct energies to specific ends. In other words, they tell the magic what to do.

So this woman went to the ocean on a moonlit night to tap into oceanic energies and drew a symbol on the sand to focus powers. When the wave washed the symbol away, it released its own powers and, thusly, the magic had begun.

Though it may take several days for the fruits of the night’s work to appear, they will undoubtedly do so. Time and experience will have proved this.
Natural magic is direct and to the point. Despite what you may have heard, magic is nothing supernatural, unnatural, or even alien. It is in our own backyards, our homes; in the very essence of our beings. The forces of nature empower magic, not demons and imps, “Satan,” or fallen angels.

One of the greatest mysteries of magic is that there are no mysteries. Instead, the mysteries are constantly revealed around us. The study of a simple rose blossom, blade of grass, veined leaf, or whistle of wind through leafy trees will reveal as much, if not more, concerning the true nature of magic than will a hundred dusty Renaissance tomes.

Nature is the universe itself. Not only its powers but also its manifestations. Some of these manifestations, such as mirrors, are artificially produced, but they are linked with and tap into the powers of nature by their symbolism. In our increasingly mechanized age, many people are finding themselves isolated from the planet that sustains and supports their very lives.

Forgotten is the very real dependency we have on the earth. Many people unconsciously sever their natural connections with the earth. As a result, a time of great turmoil exists today on an individual and global level.

Earth magic can help to sort out, work through, and solve many of the minor crises and problems facing us as individuals today. True, earth magic is not a simple solution to the world’s problems, but it can bring order into our lives, and that’s a good start.
Earth Power: Techniques of Natural Magic
Scott Cunningham