The Real Witches’ Craft: Magical Techniques and Guidance for a Full Year of Practising the Craft

Tidying up – which is simply putting things away.

This may all seem quite complex, but is in fact very straightforward. Whilst in a Coven the process may be quite formal, a person on their own can do most of this in their mind using the skills developed in this book. As this is the first Ritual in this book I am going to use the slightly more formal way of calling the Elements, but if you are practised you can do this in your mind.

THE ELEMENTAL RITUAL

First, select which of the four Elemental forms you would like to experience. Then get, or create, the medium which they inhabit; incense for Sylphs, flame for Salamanders, water for Undines and earth for Gnomes. If you wish you can also light incense of the scent they prefer and a candle of the appropriate colour; yellow for Sylphs, red for Salamanders, blue for Undines or green for Gnomes. Please ensure that any candles and incense are in secure fire-proof holders and cannot set anything alight. Have to hand your magical journal or Book of Shadows. You will also need some matches. Place these together on the surface you have designated as your Altar area. Spend a little time reviewing your experiences with this particular Element and its associations, and in considering what you hope to achieve with your Ritual. Also consider your personal state of mind: are you personally in balance, and if not where does the imbalance lie? Address this using the techniques above.

Select a time when you are not likely to be disturbed or interrupted. Turn off the ringer on the phone, or put it out of hearing. Ensure pets are settled, and so on. When you are sure you are ready to begin, start by creating the Sacred Space as mentioned earlier.

Invoke the Elements:

Standing in the East, and facing that direction, call on the Element of Air saying:

‘I call upon the Element of Air, to join with me here in this Circle.’When you can actually feel the presence of Air, say:

‘Blessed Be.’

Then call Fire in the South, Water in the West, and Earth in the North.

Next invite the Goddess and the God:

Still facing the North, close your eyes, visualize the Goddess and the God and say:

‘Gracious Goddess, Mighty God, I call upon you to guide me, guard me and protect me in these my Rites. Blessed Be.’

Then cast the Circle:

Lastly, move to the North-East of the Circle and with the forefinger of your strong hand draw a circle in the air around the outer boundary of the Circle. As you do so, visualize an electric blue light creating a circle which becomes a sphere containing the whole circle, and say:

‘I do cast this Circle as a place of containment and protection. A place between the worlds and a time outside of time.’

Make sure that you overlap the start and finish points of the circle and then say:

‘Blessed Be.’

Remember to move Deosil at all times.

Light the incense and candle if you choose to have them. Sit or kneel before the Elemental’s medium and gaze into it. Focus your mind on the Element and invite the appropriate Elemental to come to it, by reciting three times the appropriate invitation from the ones below:

‘Gracious Sylphs, beings of the Air, I call upon you. I freely give this offering of incense, that, if it please you, you will come forth and let me know of your presence. Blessed Be.’

‘Mighty Salamanders, beings of the flame, I call upon you. I freely give this offering of fire, that, if it please you, you will come forth and let me know of your presence. Blessed Be.’

‘Elegant Undines, beings of the Water, I call upon you. I freely give this offering of natural water, that, if it please you, you will come forth and let me know of your presence. Blessed Be.’

‘Noble Gnomes, beings of the Earth, I call upon you. I freely give this offering of living earth, that, if it please you, you will come forth and let me know of your presence. Blessed Be.’

Continue to look at and focus on the Element in question. With your mind, consider all its aspects – what it is like at its gentlest and fiercest, the effects it has on the land, plants, and in your life. Include all its associations or correspondences. Recall all of your experiences of working with it. Continue doing this until you perceive an Elemental is present. When this happens, try to clear your mind of all conscious thoughts and simply focus on the Elemental. Try not to force your thoughts, but rather relax and allow your senses to ‘observe’. You may find thoughts, sensations or even images coming to you; do not attempt to analyse these at the time, but try to remember them for later. When the Elemental departs, or you can no longer hold your attention, thank them. You should give your thanks whether you thought they were there or not, as they may be present without showing themselves.

‘Gracious Sylphs, beings of the Air, I thank you. May you depart in peace to your realm of the skies and the winds. Blessed Be.’

‘Mighty Salamanders, beings of the Fire, I thank you. May you depart in peace to your realm of Sun and flame. Blessed Be.’

‘Elegant Undines, beings of the Water, I thank you. May you depart in peace to your realm of water and the oceans. Blessed Be.’

‘Noble Gnomes, beings of the Earth, I thank you. May you depart in peace to your realm of the rocks and the soil. Blessed Be.’

Before removing the Sacred Space make notes on any thoughts, feelings or impressions you felt. Also include your thoughts on them.

Dismiss the Elements:

Standing in the East, and facing that direction, call on the Element of Air, saying:

‘I give thanks to the Element of Air, for joining with me here in the Circle. Hale and farewell. Blessed Be.’

Repeat in the South for Fire, West for Water and North for Earth.

Next thank the Goddess and the God:

Still facing the North, close your eyes, and say:

‘I give thanks to the Goddess and the God for being present here with me in these my Rites. Hale and farewell. Blessed Be.’

‘Then remove the Circle:

Move to the North-East of the Circle and with the forefinger of your strong hand draw a circle in the air around the outer boundary of the Circle. This time visualize the electric blue sphere fading and dissipating, and say:

‘I remove this Circle and return this place as it was before.’

Make sure that you overlap the start and finish points of the Circle and then say:

‘Blessed Be.’

Wait a further five minutes before extinguishing incense or flame, or before disposing of water or earth, so that the Elemental(s) may leave at their own pace. Water or earth should be returned to the land sensitively, not just dumped. During this time it is a good idea to have something to eat and drink, even if it is only a glass of water and a biscuit, to ground yourself. Magical work of any kind brings that part of you which operates on the psychic plane to the fore, and you need to redress this before returning to dealing with the material realm. After all, you wouldn’t want to be driving on the same road as someone who was partly in a trance!

When you feel you would like to repeat this Ritual for the other Elementals, remember to only try to contact one form in any one Ritual, and one Ritual in any one day. Remember, practice of the Craft should enhance your life, not take it over.

As I mentioned earlier, knowledge of the Elements is essential to the practice of the Craft and to making spells and magic work. Furthermore, the invocation of the Elements when making the Sacred Space is a key part of this, for it draws their energies from both within and without. With a little practice you will not need to do this in as formal a way as here, as you will be able to invoke and banish using visualization only. But it is a good idea to be able to use either technique. Having said that, there is no reason why you should need to speak the above invocations out loud, you can say the words in your head if you prefer.

THE ELEMENTS AND THE WEATHER

Whilst the Elements we refer to are not the same as the weather, they are associated with each other in many people’s minds. Sometimes the term ‘the Elements’ is used to mean or describe the weather. Certainly, one of the expected, and very useful, skills of the Witch is the ability to predict and even to change weather conditions. From the perspective of the Craft it is not necessary to do either of these on a large scale; we are usually only interested in what affects a small local area and for a short period. It is one thing to ensure you have a dry period for an outdoor event, but we do not want to intervene in the weather to the extent that we upset nature’s own balance. Like many other forms of magic, it is also as well to be aware that changes are possible, but not miracles. Whilst you may be able to achieve a warmish day in winter, there is no point in seeking a heatwave!

The first step towards working with the weather lies in understanding it. To do this it is helpful to observe it carefully. Not just whether it is raining or not, but by looking at the direction and strength of the wind, and the shapes of the clouds. Use your other senses too; quite often you will find that there is a smell similar to moist earth just before rain comes, or that the air tastes different before snow, and so on. Personally, I also find that my nose becomes very cold when rain is on the way! Look, too, at other indicators: quite often animals and small children behave in different ways before a change of weather. If you live in the country you will probably be aware that livestock tend to lie down before rain, and huddle together when it is going to get colder. Certainly, children become more excitable and restless before the wind picks up, as any observant parent or teacher can tell you. Practise looking at the sky and the signs regularly and you may save yourself getting caught out by sudden changes in weather.

Once you are attuned to the weather and the seasons then you can consider working magic to make change when you truly need to.

Weather Workings