Elemental Initiation at Samhain – A Story of the Village

Peace! Oh, glorious peace! In the quiet I lay for what seemed like an eternity, until I saw through the darkness around me a circle descend. It floated like a bubble over my head and still down, down, until it surrounded me. “Am I returned to the village, then?” I thought.

And a chorus of voices came from all around me, “No, we have come to hear your vows.”

“A marriage at this late stage?” I nearly laughed. “A bit cold and pointless, wouldn’t you say?”

A single voice spoke then, like a spark leaping through dry grass. “Ah, she has some fire still…” A murmur of amused assent moved around me. “Rise then” the voices commanded, “you will want to stand for this.” And suddenly I could feel my body again, though when I looked down at myself, nothing but a shimmer could be seen.

A voice spoke on my left, and long years of training led me to turn a full circle deosil toward it. A point of light appeared before me and began to grow like a window opening in the sphere. Through that window I could see…nothingness. Then my vision expanded and I could see two entities, balls of light moving around each other. My vision expanded further and I could see how these entities were the building blocks of all of everything everywhere, in rocks and trees and all god’s creatures.

The voice spoke, hissingly, “You have felt the absence of air, and the death it brings. Do you now pledge yourself to the space between? Between moments, between raindrops, between people…the distance you breathe, that fills your lungs and gives you life? Will you wield the Sword of Truth in the service of thought, clarity, and truth telling? Do you pledge yourself, in mutual love and respect, to the Kingdom of Air?”

“I do so pledge”, I spoke in a whisper.

“And we to you” and I was surrounded by gentle breezes and whispered promises and whirlwinds. My body took a breath.

The winds subsided and I turned, still sunwise, to the next quarter of the circle. Before me, flames arose: huge hungry heat that I felt would burn me alive. Then the flames died down to a gentle warmth, the crackling resolved itself into a voice and spoke: “you have felt the absence of Fire and the death it brings. Do you pledge yourself now to the spark of life? All consuming, all destroying, all transforming, that excites and causes movement? Will you wield the wand of power in the service of passion, fierce action, and ruthlessness? Do you pledge yourself in mutual love and respect to the Kingdom of Fire?”

“I do so pledge” this time my voice was louder.

“And we to you” Flames licked around me teasingly and I was filled with desire and longing.

Turning again I saw a dark rush of movement, a rhythmic pulsing of liquid life. Darkness lightened and I could feel the push and pull of a voice like the tide. “You have felt the absence of water and the death it brings. Do you now pledge yourself to the Ocean of dreams, the river of life that flows in the veins of all creatures? Will you hold the cauldron of changes and use it in the service of healing compassion and unconditional love? Do you pledge yourself in mutual love and respect to the Kingdom of Water?”

“I do so pledge!” I sang.

“And we to you” The warm waters enveloped me and I felt as safe as an unborn babe. My body’s blood began to flow again.

To the right, silence and darkness. No movement. No call. I turned anyway, and saw nothing. Then a tiny spot of green; a gentle unfolding in the quiet. A voice like the echo from a barrow spoke, “You have felt the absence of Earth and the death it brings. Do you pledge yourself to the weight of manifestation, the heaviness of the human body as it moves through the physical world? Will you keep sacred the pentacle that symbolizes all gathered wisdom in silence, the quiet of the tomb, the dark hidden places and the growth that is brought into being there? Do you pledge yourself in mutual love and respect to the Kingdom of Earth?”

“I do so pledge”, I growled.

“And we to you”. I felt the movement of fur and warm breath and I became conscious once gain of my poor body’s position in that snow bank.

Now that I knew of my body again, I felt drawn to it, stronger and more full of life. Just as I was about to trade this sacred space of comfort for this harsh cold world, I was surrounded by a sound, a song, a speaking to me above and below and all around me. It was the voice of She who made us all, Queen of all worlds, my beloved Holy Mother. “My child. You have done well! Death is the greatest of the mysteries and you have met yours tonight. You are young yet [and here she seemed to laugh] and full of the impatience of youth. Perhaps you will always be so rash. Perhaps not. But know this: today you have faced that which will make you a priestess. Now go forth into your body, into your world, which is Me, and know that I am always with you.

It was still dark all around me. I lay for a few moments, wondering if I was truly dead. “But in death I would not feel!” I thought and with this I lifted my hand (my hand!) and brushed snow from my face.       I sat up, feeling chill in my bones. I looked around me and the beauty of the dawn was overwhelming. The snow caught the first pink of the sky and echoed it back with crystalline clarity. Bare tree branches were encased in ice, tips trickling water, creating icicles. All shone with magnificence, originality, as though this was the first morning of the world. A bird cried out and I heard the far-off howl of a wolf.  Ah, yes!

In the days that followed, I remembered my vows to the Elemental Kingdoms, brought them into my heart as I struggled to survive each day. Like an animal I learned to know Air, scenting the wind for predators or prey. Fire answered my call and kept me warm through the long nights. I marveled at Water’s moving from solid to liquid to vapor. And the sweet Earth provided my food.

At night I lay and watched the moon move across the sky, feeling the strength of the ties that bound me to my beloved mother goddess. I was, for perhaps for the first time in my young life, most wildly alive.