I hate that feeling of disconnection, don’t you? So busy that you can’t find the time to stop and breathe? You feel as though you have too many things vying for your attention, yet at the same time, something is missing. Something fundamental to your well-being.
Perhaps the missing element is nearer than you think. It’s something called ‘earth magic’.
What on Earth is Earth Magic?
Earth magic isn’t magical in the accepted sense, but for someone like me, with so many commitments and a hectic family life, it feels like magic. We talked about making a healing connection in our previous article on ‘Earthing’ and wanted to delve into the topic a little more. Dig a little deeper, if you like. By the way, my name, ‘Troi’ is a Welsh word that means ‘turning the soil’. I’ve used it for my tarot readings for years and it always felt apt for what I do.
So, earth magic? It’s simple, it’s about making a connection with the planet we live on. To think about the ground beneath our feet. To appreciate our surroundings, whether man-made or natural. It’s thinking about the food we eat and how it was grown. It’s loving the sunshine, rain, frost, snow, and mist. It’s about feeling human on a human-friendly planet. It’s believing in the inherent goodness of the Earth. It’s about becoming aware of who you are and where you fit into the world.
That’s all very well, but thinking about stuff like that doesn’t improve my life, does it? Well, maybe not, but you could take it a stage further.
Element of Earth
Earth is one of the four cardinal elements – the others are air, water and fire. It is referred to a lot in tarot – the suit of Pentacles is connected to the earth element – and astrology – Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn are earth signs. Earth is feminine and associated with the direction of north.
The element of earth is nurturing and abundant – after all, it is where we come from and what feeds us. Even if you never give it another thought, you can’t separate yourself from it. You are already part of it, so why not celebrate it?
How to Bring Earth Magic into Daily Life
Create a sacred space. This is a fun thing to do and children love to be involved. All you need is a tiny surface area — could be an occasional table, top of a dresser or even a tray. Think about what items might represent earth for you and place them on your sacred surface. Crystals, pebbles, twigs, photos, even a small bowl of rock salt. You could also add in the other elements, say a feather for air, a pretty cup for water – it doesn’t have to contain water; it’s the symbolism that counts, and a picture of flames for fire. Many people light a candle or tea light, but be careful about leaving a naked flame burning. Perhaps one of those electronic candles would be better?
Sacred spaces are also lovely in a garden. Items can be changed and replaced as often as you like. You can hang up small earth tributes like twig garlands, and build cairns – flat stones balanced on top of each other – in your flower beds. If you have room, you could make a mini stone circle. Add a bench and you have a perfect outdoor meditation place. Of course, you could go all-out and turn your whole garden into an earth magic sacred space. Garden as Sacred Sanctuary.
Grow according to the lunar cycle. Growing a few herbs in pots is simple, and you could make the process more magical by planting in accordance with the moon phases.
Incorporate a tiny gratitude ritual when you cook and eat. Create your own personal prayer of thanks to the earth when preparing fresh ingredients. You can do this in your head or aloud, depending on your own preference.
Become aware of the seasons, the solstices and equinoxes. Following the seasons and making them into ‘special days’ is another nice way to acknowledge the power and nurturing of the earth. You can do this in any way that appeals to you. A meditation, a simple lighting of a candle or a seasonal meal are good ways to begin.
Go out into natural surroundings as often as possible. Instead of walking the dog or exercising, make your excursions into nature be more about your symbolic relationship with the earth. Of course take the dog and run, but remove your earphones and instead pay attention to the sounds, sights and smells of nature. A wonderful way to do this is to go Geocaching. If you haven't heard of it, then you must give it a try. Geocaching is a worldwide network of 'secret' caches. You search for them using an app on your phone – they are all given GPS coordinates. It's a little like hunt-the-thimble by tech. Most caches consist of a sealed container with a log book. Some contain tokens and knick-knacks. You swap an item with one of your own, sign the logbook, update your app and then on to the next one.
Earth Meditation
Meditating, indoors or out, is always a good way to reestablish your connecting to the earth. Just close your eyes, breathe and focus on the earth below you is often all you need to do. If you’d prefer something a little more structured here is a lovely guided breathing meditation based on connecting to the earth.
Earth Magic Topics
If you are keen to delve in deeper then there are many earth-related topics to explore, from magical to practical.
- Ley lines
- Dowsing
- Stone circles
- Labyrinths
- Druidry
- Folklore and legends
- Crystals
- Earthing
- Sacred Geometry
- Weather patterns
- Planting and harvesting
- Herbalism
- Earth religions (paganism, Wicca, pantheism)
- Eco-living
- Green woodworking
- Conservationism
- Geo-caching
Further Reading
Photos courtesy of Pixabay