The Modern Guide to Witchcraft (8 page)

Practical, no-nonsense beings, they can seem a little gruff at times. However, they have a wonderful appreciation for material things and wealth—remember the leprechaun’s pot of gold? Ask the earth elementals to lend a hand with prosperity spells.

Most people think of fairies as small, flying creatures like Tinker Bell, but these are probably air elementals. Sylphs aren’t just cute and delicate winged beings, as contemporary films and children’s books portray them—they handle lots of things related to the air and sky. They have the power to manipulate the winds, influence air quality, and help earthlings breathe. They also assist birds and flying insects.

In magickal work, sylphs can help you with verbal spells such as incantations. If you want to ace a test, learn a new subject or skill, or communicate clearly with someone, ask a sylph for assistance. Air spirits also like to get involved with legal matters and contracts.

No, we’re not talking about a type of lizard. Salamanders, in the magickal sense, are the fire elementals. You may see these shining beings in a candle flame or the sun’s rays, and they abide in all types of fire. They stimulate inspiration—when you have an Aha! moment and suddenly “see the light” you may have connected with a fire elemental.

Salamanders like to work with people who have a spiritual bent and with those who exhibit initiative or daring. Invite them to join you when you do spells that involve passion, vitality, courage, or action.

These spirits splash about in the waters of the world. The Greeks’ water nymphs and mermaids fall into this category, too. Usually depicted as beautiful young females, undines perform a variety of tasks, from nourishing life on earth to regulating the tides to inspiring artists and poets. They also protect fish and aquatic creatures, and—if they choose—guide humans on sea voyages. In recent times, these elementals have been working hard to offset the effects of water pollution and the destruction of marine habitat.

Capricious creatures, they gravitate toward sensitive, artistic people and you can call upon them if you need help with a creative project. Want to get in touch with your psychic ability? Ask an undine for assistance. These elementals will also come to your aid when you’re doing love spells.

Always remember to thank the elementals that assist you in your spellworking. These beings enjoy receiving small gifts that express your appreciation:

• Gnomes adore jewelry and crystals. Bury a token in the ground as a way of saying “Thanks.”
  
• Sylphs enjoy flowers. Place fresh blossoms on your altar or lay them in a sacred spot outdoors as an offering.
  
• Salamanders like candles and incense. Burn these to honor your fiery helpers.
  
• Undines are fond of perfume. Pour some in a stream, lake, or other body of water.
  

If you behave disrespectfully toward the elementals, they may retaliate by playing nasty tricks on you. Be generous, however, and your elemental friends will continue to serve you faithfully.

How do you envision the Divine? How do you integrate sacred energy into your own life? Do you believe in many gods and goddesses, one deity with many faces, or a single Supreme Being?

Throughout history, virtually every culture has entertained visions of a divine realm populated by one or more beings with supernatural powers. Early people who lived close to nature often revered female creator/fertility figures. A great Mother Goddess shows up in many different civilizations as Mary, Demeter, Ceres, Isis, and various other deities. The ancient Greeks, Romans, and Norse worshipped numerous gods and goddesses. The Hindu pantheon includes many diverse spiritual beings, too.

Witches, Wiccans, and Neopagans—just like followers of other belief systems—often disagree about the nature of the Divine. Some follow a specific faith and worship one or more gods or goddesses; some aren’t religious at all. Wiccans honor a Goddess and a God as her consort; Neopagans often recognize a number of deities. Many witches consider all spiritual paths equally valid and that all lead to the same place. Who or what you believe in—if anything—is totally up to you.

Early people connected spirits with the wind, nature, the stars, and the forces behind phenomena they couldn’t explain in other ways. These divine beings were said to watch over creation and guide human destiny. As the earth’s population grew and cultures interacted with one another—through war, trade, and migration—our conceptions of the heavenly realm evolved.

Some spirits fell out of favor as our ancestors learned more about the actual workings of the physical world and the universe. In some instances, minor tribal gods and goddesses merged with or gave way to deities with greater powers. Some deities went by different names and faces in different countries—Venus in Rome, Aphrodite in Greece, Amaterasu in Japan—although their attributes were essentially the same.

A popular metaphor describes divine energy as a gemstone, and every facet on that gemstone as a different manifestation of the core energy. These manifestations present themselves differently, but they are all, in the end, from the same divine source.

Some witches naturally relate to the gods and goddesses that are part of their personal heritage. Scandinavians might gravitate to Freya, Greeks to Sophia, Irish to Brigid. Santeríans combine Catholicism with African Paganism, and honor deities from both traditions.

Wiccans believe that instead of one divine source or entity, there are two distinct deities—Goddess and God—and they in turn manifest as the gender-related god-forms. But the concept of dual forces operating in the universe isn’t limited to Wiccans. Many cultures speak of a feminine and a masculine principle that exist in and around us. The Chinese refer to these two energies as yin (feminine) and yang (masculine). Native Americans respect Mother Earth and Father Sky. These two polarities function in tandem to balance one another and create wholeness.

When we talk about feminine and masculine, we don’t mean woman and man. Think energies instead. Receptivity, emotion, passivity, and intuition are all expressions of feminine energy. You can see it operating in water, earth, the moon, darkness, night, silence, cool colors, and lots of other things. When you do magick, you use these ingredients in order to bring a specific energy into your spells and rituals. (In later chapters you’ll learn ways to combine certain ingredients to produce the outcome you seek.) The Goddess is merely a depiction of the feminine force—the face we put on the energy to personify it.

The feminine is not complete without the masculine; together, these energetic polarities form a whole. Go online and look at the yin-yang symbol. The white part represents the masculine force, the black side the feminine. Notice how, when joined, they form a circle, the symbol of wholeness. Masculine energy expresses itself outwardly as action and assertiveness. You can see this principle operating in fire, wind, the sun, light, daytime, noise, warm colors, and many other things—and you’ll use these in specific ways when you do magick. Gods such as Thor, god of thunder and lightning, and the war god Mars symbolize the qualities of the masculine force.

Sometimes the God and Goddess are shown as tripartite beings. This means that they are represented by three different images that signify the three stages of human life. The Goddess is frequently depicted in three aspects—maiden, mother, and crone—that signify the three phases of womanhood. Likewise, witches often see the God as having three faces, which represent the stages of a human’s life: youth, maturity, and old age.

Depending on the type of magick you’re doing, you might choose to call upon a certain aspect of the God or Goddess. For instance, if you need extra vitality to win a big ballgame, invite the youthful side of the Divine Masculine to assist you. If you’re trying to get pregnant, ask the mother aspect of the Divine Feminine to lend you her fertility.

Honoring the earth and being aware of the natural world are part of many modern alternative spiritualities. A person who honors the earth and considers the natural world her primary teacher is sometimes labeled a nature-worshipper or called a Pagan (see
Chapter 3
). In modern use, however, the terms are not generally pejorative. In New Age spiritual practice, the word “Pagan” is being reclaimed by people who resonate to the heartbeat of the earth itself. Green witches, for instance, see the Divine in all of nature. If you ask a green witch, “Is there a God or Goddess?” she’ll probably reply, “Of course.” If you inquire further, “Who is he or she?” the green witch might say, “God is everywhere in nature.”

Whatever she’s called, however her story is told, the characteristics of the Divine Feminine—fertility, creativity, compassion, wisdom, beauty, love, healing—can be seen in the goddesses of all cultures. Here are some of the world’s many goddesses and the attributes usually associated with them.

On days when a witch wishes to connect with certain qualities in herself or wants to strengthen abilities she feels are weak, she can ask for help from a goddess who embodies the qualities she seeks. Say you have an important business meeting coming up and you want to make a good impression. The Egyptian sun goddess Sekhmet, depicted as a lioness, symbolizes the attributes you need. Ask her to help you accomplish your aims.

Since the beginning of time, cultures around the world have honored a masculine force. The many faces of the God express qualities associated with the male archetype: strength, virility, daring, leadership skills, logic, protection, knowledge, and courage. Here are some of the gods found in various cultures around the world and the attributes connected with them.