Crystal Cleansing

Over time, you will doubtless adorn your sacred altar space with many beautiful crystals. Whenever you acquire a new crystal, you need to cleanse it. A new or waning moon is the optimal time to perform this cleansing. Gather these elemental energies:

• A candle for fire
• A cup of water
• Incense for air
• A bowl of salt

Pass your crystal through the scented smoke of the incense and say:

    Inspired with the breath of air

Pass the crystal swiftly through the flame of the candle and say:

    Burnished by fire

Sprinkle the crystal with water and say:

    Purified by water

Dip the crystal into the bowl of salt and say:

    Empowered by the earth

Hold the crystal before you with both hands and imagine an enveloping, warm white light purifying the tool. Now say:

    Steeped in spirit and bright with light

Place the cleansed crystal upon your altar and say:

    By craft made and by craft charged and changed,

    This crystal I will use for the purpose of good in this world.

    In the realm of the gods and goddesses,

    I hereby consecrate this crystal.

    Blessings to all, blessed be.

Elemental Dragons and Spirits

Elemental Dragons 

Element	Manifestation	Cardinal Points	Dragon Name	Color
Earth	Land and Moonbeams	North	Grael	Clear Dark Green
Water	Oceans and Rivers	West	Naelyan	Blue
Air	Breezes and Wind	East	Sairys	Yellow
Fire	Sunbeams	South	Fafnir	Pure Red
Light Side of the Soul	Mother	N/A	N/A	White
Dark Side of the Soul	Father	N/A	N/A	Black

Elemental Spirits

Element	Spirit Name	Leader	Attracted By	Rulers Of
Earth	Gnomes or Trolls	Ghob	Salts and Powders	Riches and Treasure
Water	Nymphs or Undines	Neckna	Washes and Solutions	Plants and Healings
Air	Sylphs or Zephyrs	Paralda	Oils and Incense	Knowledge and Inspiration
Fire	Salamanders	Dijn	Fire and Incense	Freedom and Change

Magical Intentions

 

The following words correspond to various planets and elements. See below to learn more.

Banishing: Saturn, fire

Beauty: Venus, water

Courage: Mars, fire

Divination: Mercury, air

Employment: Sun, Jupiter

Energy: Sun, Mars, fire

Exorcism: Sun, fire

Fertility: Moon, planet Earth

Friendship: Venus, water

Happiness: Venus, Moon, water

Healing and Health: Moon, Mars (to burn away disease), fire (the same), water

Home: Saturn, Earth, water

Joy and Happiness: Venus, water 

Love: Venus, water

Money and Wealth: Jupiter, Earth 

Peace: Moon, Venus

Power: Sun, Mars, fire

Protection: Sun, Mars, fire

Psychism: Moon, water

Sex: Mars, Venus, fire

Sleep: Moon, water

Spirituality: Sun, Moon

Success: Sun, fire

Travel: Mercury

Wisdom and Intelligence: Mercury, air

Designing Your Own Air Rituals

Rituals using the element of air can be a daily energy cleansing such as smudging with a sage stick or incense. You can call forth the power of the four winds, invoke the spirits of the air to inspire you, to surround and support you, and to communicate your wishes to the world at large.

Air Deities

Invocation of the spirit of the air for ritual brings the powers of the heavens to aid your ceremonies and ritual work. Birds and insects as well as the four winds will abet your spells.

Winged Isis, the oldest of all Egyptian divinities, was believed to bear the souls of the dead to the place of eternal life.

Oya is the Yoruban orisha of the wind who gives us the breath of life.

Nut is the great sky goddess who covers and enwraps Geb, her younger brother the earth, with her body. She is the sky queen who is covered with stars, depicted as a lovely woman arched over the land in a constant posture of protection and service.

Norwan is a goddess of light and air of the Wintun Native American tribe who brought nourishment to the world. Known as “dancing porcupine woman,” she dances all day until sunset. 

Feather Messages: Symbols on the Wind

As you jog through the park or walk to work you might find a feather in your path. It could be a message. You might glean hidden meanings, for example, in the glistening iridescence of a raven’s feather. Native peoples believed feathers to be gifts of healing or “feather medicine” from the Great Spirit. The wind is a form of the change-bringing element of air.

Another type of daily exercise in mindfulness is to actively look for feathers. There is much magic that can lie within something as small and light as this.

Crow Feathers: These indicate loss and mourning. Try not to be frightened but look at them as indicators of the cycles of life, death, and rebirth. You may lose someone you know, but you will also most likely greet a new friend or baby to complete the circle.

Hummingbird Feathers: These bring joy, beauty, and bliss. Take time out to have a good time and to share time with the people you love in your life. Follow your bliss!

Swan Feathers: These are the sign of grace. As swans mate for life, a swan feather can also mean a soul mate or good relationship is on the horizon.

Duck and Crane Feathers: These serve as prayer feathers for Native American people. They come from waterfowl, which are perceived as sacred birds. Finding a duck feather may mean you need to seek advice from a Native American teacher or experience healing from a medicine wheel.

Yellowhammer Feathers: These are the symbol for hearth and home. Seeing a yellowhammer feather in your path means you will have a happy new home. Most importantly, you will feel secure and loved within your family.

Roadrunner Feathers: These are a sign of the trickster. Beware! Finding one in your path either means you have the potential to be a magician, or you need to watch out that you aren’t tricked, It is a symbol of duality.

Blue Jay Feathers: These are the bringers of light into darkness.

Robin Feathers: These are the sign of renewal and new personal growth, and are a good sign. Spring is coming both outside and inside you. It always means news is coming.

Magpie Feathers: These are just pain good medicine for any kind of illness. Magpies bring purification. If you find a magpie feather in your path, a friend who is sick will get better.

Scissortail Feathers: These represent the four directions. If you come across a scissortail flycatcher in your walk, you need to do a ritual invoking the four directions. It is a sign you are in need of grounding and should reconnect your spirit.

I suggest you keep a written record of your feather findings— where and when you find them. Secure a blank journal and a feather quill pen for your records. Meditate upon the meaning and the message the feather is bringing to you. Journal your thoughts and feelings. Years later, it will be fascinating to look back at the proof of divine providence in your life. 

Painting with Sand

With your intention set clearly in your mind and being, pour sand into a funnel (or a small bag with a tiny hole in the bottom) and let it fall gently upon the design you have drawn, one color at a time, allowing the divine to guide you. If you are creating a specific image, you can copy its color and design; otherwise, allow creation and inspiration to flow through you. Creating the design slowly and carefully is key, but in case of accident a damp sponge applied with care will remove any random sand. It is important to remember that there are no “mistakes” in this art; you are in the safety of the sacred space you create with the help of the celestial.

When you have finished your sand mandala, you will see it and feel it and know it in your heart. However, physical completion of the sand mandala is not the end.

Dismantling Your Mandala

While dismantling the sand mandala is counterintuitive to the Western mind, it is actually the next step in the ritual. When you are ready, take some time to look at your mandala and contemplate the image you have created. Look deeply and quietly and “receive” any insights or messages during meditation.

Offer thanks to the divine beings who helped you in this ritual and who help you in your daily life. Now take a small brush and move the sand to the center of the mandala.

Scattering the Sand

When I learned the art of creating a sand mandala, the monks who taught me carried their sand to the Pacific Ocean. It is in accordance with the Tibetan tradition that the scattering take place at the nearest body of water, accompanied by chanting and song. If you have no water nearby, but there is a garden or park near your home, you might feel like performing the scattering aspect of the ritual there to keep the blessing energy nearby.

Close the ritual by dedicating the blessing energy of the mandala to the greater good of the universe.

Meditation

Tibetan monks also suggest doing a meditative movement, such as tai chi or yoga, to stretch and relax both body and mind prior to entering the intense mental stillness and physicality demanded by the construction of the sand mandala. Essentially, you are bent over for quite a long time in deep concentration, and you need to prepare yourself physically and mentally for this direction of your energies. Movement is a way of centering yourself.

In addition to the movement, you should also meditate and surround yourself with the energy of light and love. Sit on the floor, lotus fashion, and in a whispered chant, repeat the Sanskrit word Om over and over again. Manage your breathing, slowly and deeply. You will soon feel your heart and mind surrounded by energy. Now, focus on your intention again and ponder any new clarity of thought.

Grains of Nirvana—a Sand Mandala Ritual

Mandalas are sacred symbolic images traditionally used in Buddhism and Hinduism as aids for meditation. Mandalas have come into wider use in the West for healing, for spirituality, for art.

When His Holiness the Dalai Lama was in San Francisco, to honor his esteemed presence, the Asian Art Museum had a Tibetan cultural exhibit that was truly wonderful. One of the most moving aspects of the exhibit was the creation of an intricate, mosaic-like sand mandala by two Tibetan monks over a period of several days. Most astonishingly, at the end of the exhibit, the monks took the gorgeous, multihued masterpiece and simply threw it into the wind at Ocean Beach. We Westerners were thunderstruck. How could they possibly destroy this beautiful, spiritual art piece that took so long to create? The monks were quite jolly about it, laughing a lot and seeming quite unconcerned. They explained to the confused onlookers that “all of life is ephemeral and this act emphasizes nonattachment.” While the sands are now mixed into the sands of the entire world, the wisdom associated with it has remained.

This six-step ritual taught by the Dalai Lama and his Tibetan monks has been handed down through centuries in the Himalayas. The process for making sand mandalas is a reflection of the concept of the “sacred circle.” These mandalas are actually a way of “initiating” large groups of people, as the monks believe that Buddha intended enlightenment for all beings. 

Murcha—The Euphoric Breath

Murcha in Sanskrit means “to retain,” so murcha is the “retaining breath.” Murcha will help you hold on to some of your natural energy that business drains away. Restore yourself through this ritual. Pranayama is the fine art of breathing and controlling the flow of oxygen in and out of the lungs. Conscious breathing can vastly improve your health and make you more alert. This is a yoga exercise for achieving a state of ecstasy through pranayama. Done properly, murcha will enhance your mental capacity, center you, and create a sense of euphoria.

Sit down on the floor or a mat and make yourself as comfortable as possible. Now close your eyes and calm yourself completely. Begin the process of murcha by taking a few mindful breaths. Breathe through your nose. Don’t hold your breath; just breathe in and out in a natural manner, but remain aware of your breathing.

When you are ready, take a deeper breath through your nose and visualize the new air and oxygen traveling throughout your body, cleansing and relaxing you. Hold that deeper breath, bend your neck, and bring your chin as close to your lungs and chest as possible. Keep this position as long as you can do so comfortably. When you need to, raise your head again and slowly exhale through your nose. When your lungs are empty, repeat the murcha breath. Repeat this cycle of breathing five times only. After the fifth breath, notice how you feel and be “in the moment.” Like most breathing meditations, you will experience a subtle sort of ecstasy with raised energy and a sense of bliss.

In pranayama, it is important to remember not to place any stress on your body. Don’t hold your breath beyond your comfort level. To do so would be to go against the grain of the technique and teachings of pranayama.

With practice, you will notice you can hold your breath naturally and comfortably just a little bit longer each time. As with all things, pranayama yoga breathing gets better with practice. The beginning breath cleanses the pulmonary system and raises your energy level. 

The Element of Air

Air possesses the power of transformation. We often refer to the “winds of change.” Air also uplifts the emotions and the spirit. Air is the sound of the song as it travels on the breeze. A breath of air refreshes and renews both body and soul. Air is the element associated with communication and the arts. Mastery of communication occurs through correct use of the power of air. Singing, talking, chanting, and conscious breathing are all invocations of air.

Designing Your Own Fire Rituals

Fire rituals are superb tools for personal transformation, but fire should be handled with great care and understanding of its volatility. Rituals for change, ceremonies invoking the warrior spirit, and rites for ardent passion all are rites associated with fire. Fire gives courage and sparks ideas. Rituals with candle magic are a daily fire ritual you can do to create positive changes in your life.

Rites using firepower could include those for creativity, love and lust, courage, ambition, mysticism, purgation and cleansing, and closure.

Fire Deities

Shiva is the Hindu lord of life. He performs a ritual dance within the circle of flames.

Brigid is an excellent example of how an old pagan goddess was adopted by Christianity. The Celtic tradition’s great triple goddess was known as Brigantia in England, Brigindu in southern France, and Bride in Scotland. According to legend, Saint Brigid was a druid’s daughter, and was baptized by Saint Patrick. Her name means “bright one” and she tended the undying fire of the sun. Her song of invocation, as befitting a fire goddess, is “Brigid, excellent woman, sudden flame, may the bright fiery sun take us to the lasting kingdom.”

Durga, the oldest and fiercest form of the Hindu goddess aspect Devi, sprang into being from the flames in the mouths of the gods. Even though born from them, she was stronger than them all and was given weapons and a lion with which to battle the demon Mahiso. Seizing the demon by the hair, she freed the world from his evil so others could live there. She also rules the intellectual realm.

Pele, daughter of the Haumea, is the volcano goddess of fire and earth in Hawaii who first learned how to make fire. Luisah Teish tells of a personal encounter with her at a volcano in Maui in her book Jump Up. Many Pele stories involve the goddess appearing as an old woman who asks for a cigarette, then lights it with her magic. 

Wishing Time: Brazilian Candomble Ritual

            

The Brazilian Candomble religion is now intertwined with Yoruban spirituality introduced to the New World via the slave trade. Yoruban spirituality offers many answers to personal problems and is a popular system of aid for people in trouble. The Yoruban entities are ready to lend a hand with broken hearts, illnesses, divorce, work woes, insomnia, betrayal, infertility, politics, luck—anything that concerns the human heart.

In Brazil, Candomble has adherents in every walk of life, not just the poor and downtrodden. Candomble is a “fiery” faith: candles and beach bonfires are very much a part of it. You will find shrines with brightly burning candles in the finest homes in Rio. Street shrines are a delightful aspect of the Brazilian culture. An extremely popular and powerful image is that of Xango, the storm god of lightning and thunder. Rich and poor alike have problems, and the spirits are there to help all. The beautiful beaches that run along the entire coast of Brazil are popular places for rituals and offerings. It is not uncommon to find candles glowing by the sea. This must be very pleasing indeed to their beloved mermaid goddess, Yemoja.

These accommodating spirits are called orixas. Whether public, as in the middle of a street, or privately in one’s home, these offerings are all designed to attract and please the orixas when you need a favor. These offerings to the spirits are called despachos.

We all have times in our lives when we need help. Are you having difficulty with a coworker or your boss? Do you keep getting the flu all the time? Are you trying to quit smoking and can’t seem to kick the habit? Do you need more money? Are you looking for love? Ask the orixas!

The following is a list of orixas and their correspondences:

• Esu’s color is black. Esu has the power to bring messages, likes offerings of candy and toys, and is associated with the number three
• Ogum’s color is green, and helps with getting jobs. Ogum’s number is seven and he has a preference for cigars
• and rum. 
• Oia-Iansa favors white, the number five, and is a protector. Eggplant is her preferred offering.
• Orunmila is in charge of all divination, prefers yellow and sweets, and favors the number sixteen. Offer yams and coca nuts.
• Oxala like white, the number eight, and brings peace. White cotton and white coconuts are the gifts to offer.
• Oxum favors yellow and is the divinity for love and marriage. Present Oxum with sweet honey and sweet cakes.
• Sonponno is the ruler of health and is connected with the color tan and the number seventeen. Corn and beans should be at Sonponno’s shrine.
• Yemoja is the divinity who aids with fertility issues. Lucky number seven and bright blue are Yemoja’s domain, and offerings should be sugar cane and the syrup made from it.
• Xando is the power and passion divinity and his color is bright red. With both four and six as totem numbers, he should be gifted with fruit. Bananas and red apples are best. 

Fire Making

Here is a ritual that requires diligence and patience. Fire making by rubbing sticks together is very difficult and time consuming, but the few folks I know who have accomplished it have certainly felt transformed.

I was inspired by the teachings of the incredible ritual designer, Luisah Teish, who told me she keeps a candle burning in her fireplace at all times to approach Maui’s Magic Fire in another way. On the next full moon, gather a group and build a bonfire on the beach or a beautiful fire in a safety-certified fire ring in a park. Ask everyone to bring a glass-encrusted votive candle, preferably one of the seven-day candles you find at grocery stores or metaphysical shops. Begin a round of storytelling with the tale of Maui stealing fire. After you have told the story, light your own candle from the bonfire and say:

Thank you for the fire, Mahuika.

Next, go around the fire and let each participant tell a “fire story.” This can be a personal story of fire, or another myth or legend. After each story, the storyteller lights a personal candle from the fire and gives thanks for the fire that warms us and keeps us alive. 

The Sacred Element of Fire

Fire inspires us as it seems to spring directly from the divine. Early people regarded fire as power, as a destroyer, and a regenerator. The sung invigorates us each day and we feed on his fire for passion, action, and zeal. Fire is the giver of light and warms us all, man, woman, child, and animal. Fire feeds the passions of the human soul. The fire of the sun warms our hearts and illuminates our imaginations.

Fire Rituals

Fire, giver of light, source of illumination and warmth, is a basis for the following rituals.

Maui Magic

Maui was the trickster god of Hawaii for whom the pacific island was named. Hawaiian peoples were given the gift of flame by the fire giantess herself, Mahuika. However, since it had been handed to them as a gift, the people did not know how to start a fire on their own. Maui visited in the night and stamped out all the fires because he was curious to see what would happen. All the islanders were scared to go to the cave and ask Mahuika for more fire, so the trickster took on the task. Once there, however, Maui made more mischief and swindled the not-so-gentle giantess into giving up nine of her ten fingers, the source of her sparks and flames. Once Mahuika figured out the ruse, Maui was incensed and Mahuika chased him with a wall of fire.

In order to escape the inferno of Mahuika’s fire, Maui transformed into a hawk and flew away, using his power as a god to bring on rain to dampen the goddess’s fire. Sadly, the storm brought on flooding and the giantess was drowned. Her last act of generosity to the people of Hawaii was turning her stack of firewood into a forest. Mollified, Maui taught the islanders how to spark fire from the wood.

Designing Your Own Earth Rituals

Drawing on the power of the earth, you can perform ceremonies of immense strength and richness to further your personal and spiritual goals. You can begin new projects, deepen your dreams, and ground yourself in nature. You can plant a magical garden with seeds of change. You can sculpt or carve a wooden or stone goddess for your altar. You can cook a sacred meal to serve after ritual work. You can perform rituals outdoors, celebrating the beauty of our planet, a gift we all share and must preserve.

Other earth elemental rites you can design on your own could include ceremonies for fertility, bodily health and strength, prosperity, property, success, and manifestation.

Earth Deities

In addition to Gaia, there are other gods and goddesses who can represent the element of earth. On your home altar or shrine, they can represent earth in your ritual work.

• The Green Man: the forest god who represents the power and divinity of nature.
• Buddha: He achieved enlightenment under the sacred Bodhi Tree.
• Venus of Willendorf: Her appealing and ample shape represents fertility and the feminine.
• Artemis: The huntress or woman warrior who travels with a pack of devoted dogs.

Walking Meditation

This is the simplest of rituals you can do every day of your life. As you walk, take the time to look and really see what is in your path. For example, my friend Eileen takes a bag with her and picks up every piece of garbage in her path. She does this as an act of love for the earth. During the ten years I have known her, she has probably turned a mountain of garbage into recycled glass, paper, and plastic. Goddess bless! This is one type of walking meditation. This very simple daily ritual honors the earth and helps preserve life for all beings.

Earth Day Ritual: The Sacred Grove

In much the same way that animals, stones, and stars were totemic to early peoples, so were trees. Greco-Roman spirituality had sacred groves, as did the Aborigines in Australia, Hindus in India, Germanic tribes, and the Celts of Europe. To the Celtic Druids, the oak was the major sacred totem tree.

Pliny the Elder pointed out that groves of trees were the first temples.

A wonderful way to celebrate our planet and engender the ideals of preservation and ecological sanctity of our precious resources is to return to the sacred grove. Essential elements necessary for the ritual are colored ribbons and colored markers.

Gather your friends on Earth Day, April 22, and go to a mutually agreed upon park, farm, or forest. Find the largest oak or largest tree with low-hanging branches and circle around it, holding hands while chanting:

We are the wisdom of the stars.
The beauty of this green Gaia.
To the planet that gives us life, we return the gift.
We are one
We are the stars and the stones and the sea.
We are one.

By casting the circle with voice and action, you create a boundary within which magic can take place. One by one, each member of the circle should speak a wish for universal healing, write the wish on a ribbon, and tie the ribbon on the tree. Each flutter of the breeze will speak of your hope and good wishes for our planet. If you are lucky enough to be on the property of a member of your circle, ask if you can leave the ribbons there as the mark of the sacred grove. 

Elemental Rituals: Water

 The human body is made mostly of water, and our connection to this sacred element is primal. People are especially drawn to the ocean, whose water is a blend of minerals and water similar to the chemical mix of our blood. Have you ever noticed how blissful you can feel when you’re at the beach? The negative ions produced by water are soothing and create an overwhelming sense of optimism. In the presence of water, we feel refreshed. The ocean tides are a rhythm of life and a regulating force of nature.

Water cleanses and restores us, determines our climate, enriches our crops and forests. Water has long been used in ritual and continues to this day to be employed by nearly every culture. In India, the sacred Ganges River cleanses the souls of Hindus from birth through death, when they often float off to eternity in a river burial. Christian baptisms are done with the sacrament of water. The Chinese deity Kuan Yin, goddess of compassion, offers spiritual seekers the comfort and solace of a holy lake. Aphrodite herself rose up from the ocean, and the Yoruban divinity, Ymoja (Yemaya in Brazil and Cuba), is believed to rule all the waters of the earth.

I was born with both my natal sun and moon in the astrological sign of Pisces. As a double Pisces, I receive much spiritual substance from water and turn to my element for succor. Water is the element that rules Pisces, Cancer, and Scorpio. It reconnects water folk with their native element and keeps them in tune with their true nature.

The Japanese have elevated water ritual to the level of an art form with baths, water meditations, water gardens, and tea ceremonies. Through the centuries, they have perfected the presentation of tea as an inventive and spiritual practice.