Earth Magic

When I say we are Making Magic, I don’t mean that we are creating something outside of ourselves that will claim power from anyone else. Instead, think of Magic as a light that exists within ourselves, within the Divine Source and within all things. We are enhancing that light in order to illuminate our journeys and in order to feel more connected to the world we live in, those who share it, and our own most powerful selves.

We are energy, and we were sent here in order to share energy. The world we live in isn’t what we are fighting against although sometimes it feels that way. Instead, the world is our partner in this experience and we have to work with the elements around us in order to thrive.

So, let’s talk about the Elements:

Earth Air Fire Water And Spirit

Each of these elements may be called in when doing ritual or light work. It’s a question of understanding what each of them does, what they serve, and how they can best support your efforts.

Let’s talk about the element of EARTH:

Obviously, Earth is the planet we live upon. She is our mother, she is our home, she sustains us – or she does when we take good care of her.

There are many rituals and ways to honor the Earth and bring her energy into your practice including gardening, using crystals and other natural elements, constructing an altar, movement – even walking, burying a time capsule, gardening, etc.

The astrological signs of Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn are Earth signs.

Taurus: Venusian (Venus) energy: practical, patient but a little lazy

Virgo: Mercurial (Mercury) energy: dedicated, resourceful, yet often preachy

Capricorn: Saturnian (Saturn) energy: loyal, fearless, but maybe materialistic

The Earth grounds us, so this is energy you want to call upon when you are feeling rootless, restless, untethered, disconnected, motherless or adrift.

Earth energy is associated with the Autumn Equinox because it is literally when we reap our harvest and remove our plants from the ground. It reflects the natural cycles of life, of agriculture, of weather and reminds us to slow down as we approach the colder months but to collect the bounty and use it in its wisest ways.

Earth and humans have a symbiotic relationship – she sustains us and we sustain her – so we may use earth elements in rituals designed to create balance and foster relationships, as well as to nourish our souls.

Let’s talk about some specific Earth rituals:

Hiking. This may not be an inherently magical ritual but it can feel spiritual and even sacred. When you walk, do you really look around and pay attention to your environment? Do you stop along your path – hiking or walking – and just breathe in oxygen for a few moments or smell the greenery growing around you. Have you ever stopped in the middle of a nature walk to remove your shoes and dig your feet into the dirt or grass? Do you stop to collect leaves or flowers on your walks? Anytime you can simply be in nature and appreciate the value of the seasons and the life around you will help you reconnect your spirit to the physical place where you live and where your acts of magic occur.

I love using found objects in my ritual work. During lockdown in the early months of COVID I lived along a nature trail. I found seed pods that looked just like the coronavirus and I gathered several and used them in banishing rituals. I can never say for certain if that had an impact or if it was just handwashing, masking and being cautious but neither I nor the people I was staying with got COVID.

Gardening:  Again, while not specifically magic, growing, tending and harvesting plants are excellent ways to reconnect with Mother Earth, to contribute to the cycle of life, and to receive healing blessings in return. Put your hands in soil. Water and nourish your plants. Watch the insects attempt to claim them. Pull the dying leaves away. Start over when a plant cannot sustain. But use what you can from your plants in ritual ways.

Infusions: Did you know you can create your own essential oils with an inexpensive distiller? There are many ways to use the bounty of your garden in magic, the kitchen, the home and elsewhere. Brew a tea by moonlight using herbs from your garden. Drink the tea and then scry the grounds that remain. You can also infuse herbs and botanicals into oils and solutions to use to clean your home and to cleanse your altar.

Altars: Creating an altar is one of the most important ways that we make magic (and by the way I never use the term ‘practice magic’ because we are never practicing – we are always magical and on our way to becoming more magical). Although all elements including Air, Fire, Water and Spirit will be reflected in your altar and the objects you place on and in it, start with the element of Earth to create a grounded and sacred space that will be the home for your daily ritual working.

Tools: This is an important part of any magical working – finding the right tools and objects to consecrate your work. You will have Tools that are more Air in element or more Fire, but many of your tools will be Earth centric such as the altar itself and many of the items you place upon it. That includes crystals, wooden boxes or bowls, shells, flowers and herbs (dried or fresh), and found objects. It also includes candles, books, bones, salt, and silk scarves.

Doing ritual work involving the request for abundance or wealth? Earth rituals can be particularly powerful when trying to achieve financial success for the greater good. Place the symbol of the pentacle upon your altar, or use actual coins or currency. I use these money tree leaves in some of my gridwork when I’m trying to secure prosperity for my clients or to release myself from unhealthy attachments to wealth.

A word of caution about Tools: The first and most important thing to understand about the objects you use in your magical workings is that not one of them is magic. None of them have any supernatural powers, none of them are divine or holy. Nothing you hold or use is going to heal your wounds, none of them hold the secrets to life.

You are the one who is magic, you are powerful, you are divine and holy, you heal your own wounds and you discover the secrets. The tools are simply that – objects that can support your goals and efforts, because with use, they refine and improve the magic that you are. Once you understand that, you can use and possess these objects in a practical way, a way that feels realistic but still sacred, a way that you will literally witness changing you not just year by year, but month by month by week by day by the hour. I have profound realizations on the daily, especially when I track my progress by journaling.

Your tools, while not magical themselves, should be treated in a very respectful manner. Do not reveal your most powerful tools to the uninitiated and guard them from those who will judge you and really, anyone who hasn’t earned the right to see them. I hate it when I see practitioners sharing photos of their altars at Instagram. I’m like, bitch you just diminished its power and yours!

Your ritual work, your altar, your tools, and your practices will all be personal to you – treat them with respect and some privacy.

I want to talk briefly about Theurgy, in tandem with Earth energy.

Theurgy is an ancient Greek concept – specifically a Neoplatonic practice of rituals, many of which are magical in nature. It is the connection of the human self with the divine source, it is an initiation into the journey to ones highest self, it is sometimes a rigorous course of prayer, fasting and devotional preparation to ascend from this earthly life, and it is sometimes used to evoke beneficent spirits in order to disclose the mysteries that will allow us to rise. It is contemplative, ritualized, and transcendent. It connects with the Christian and ancient Egyptian beliefs about life after death, and parts of theurgy are still used in Esoteric Christianity.

Theurgy is specifically linked with the mystical tradition of Kabbalah – the medieval Jewish tree of life – and the Qabalah, its mystical counterpart which looks identical, bears all the same names but has a much more complex pathway to understanding.

I wanted to mention Theurgy since it connects with all of the elements and because many of the tools that I personally use in ritual work are part of my specific theurgic practice. For me, most importantly, I use crystals as part of my workings and specifically, usually in the form of grids.

Crystal grids use not only individual crystals but groupings of them and in the form of geometric patterns – sacred geometry, to be specific. Sacred geometry is the mystical study of spatial relationships and grids build energy both in the objects used and the spaces between them. I will be sharing more about crystal grids in future videos here.

Before we end tonight, I’d like you to think of three ways that you already use Earth energy in your own life and workings and three ways that you’d like to more deeply connect with the element of Earth. Maybe you want to create powerful plant medicine, or spend time connecting with the animals that share our world. Perhaps you love to drink herbal tea in a meditative way, and just maybe you have the perfect hand-carved wooden box to keep your most magical tools.

Honor the Earth not just as the ground beneath our feet, but our partner in this journey toward Making everything Magic.

Be sure to follow Divinely Designed at Facebook and Instagram – our website and natal chart coursework will both be launching soon.

Thank you everyone.