Proudly presenting our collection of guided musical meditations, now available for download. I teamed up with the incomparable, Pranavam Das, who studied sacred sound within the ashrams of India, and now offers his musical landscapes as an act of devotion. Together we are producing the guided meditations from my book “Elemental Witchcraft: A Guide to Living a Magickal Life Through the Elements,” set to his musical compositions. The first nine meditations are now available for purchase from my shop’s digital products website: here.
The Pentacle Path of Elemental Witchcraft by Heron Michelle now offering downloadable Guided Meditations to the Original Music of Pranavam Das (Click to download)
The Pentacle Path Framework for Magickal Meditation
All of the meditations and rituals provided in the book build upon each other, so I recommend taking these journeys in order. The purpose of these first four experiences is to introduce a framework for a regular meditation practice. Their goal is to center, balance, clear and energize your five-fold Self through the powers of earth, air, fire, water and Spirit. Each journey guides the listener deeper and further, expanding inward then outward. They start your mind, then down to your inner crossroads, then out to the astral realm to explore the Axis Mundi world tree.
Meditation 1: The Room Inside Your Mind
The first meditation along the Pentacle Path sets the inner stage.“The purpose of cultivating a daily meditation practice is to achieve a mind at rest. Then you are prepared to go about your regular day effectively. In every action, through every observation, you will be opened to the wonder of the revealed universe that was always right there surrounding you. The difference is that your eyes can now see, your mind can now comprehend, because it is properly prepared and opened to receive.” Page 56
Excerpt: “Inhale the light that flows into your emotional body, and your heart waters calm.
Exhale grief and heartbreak. Blow that pain away like smoke.”
Altar for Meditation 1: The Room Inside Your Mind (Click to download meditation)
Meditation 2: Pranic Breathing
The second meditation along the Pentacle Path returns to the Room Inside Your Mind, then deepens the practice through Pranic breathing techniques and spoken affirmations. This method of intentional breathing is inspired by practices from the east that focus on the relationship between the body and the breath. As a means to shift our thinking, we’ll integrate spoken magickal affirmations for the Two Keys to the temple of Witchcraft and Four Rules for Personal Sovereignty, introduced in chapter 3. Page 79
Excerpt: I am whole and complete within Divine Love.
I am trustworthy in thought and deed.
Pranic Breathing Meditation Altar (Click to Download Meditation)
Meditation 3: Elemental Tree Breathing
Meditation three continues the journey outward onto the astral plane. From there, merge with the World Tree that connects you within the three worlds: to the heavens and the Great God, throughout the middle world made of earth, water, air and fire, and to the underworld and the Great Goddess. Breathe through these connections for balance and wholeness on all levels. Page 132
Excerpt: “Feel the pulse of creation, like a heartbeat of the cosmos. Your heartbeat. You and the tree are one energy, so you push straight through the bark and merge with the tree. Feel your tree-ish connections through roots and branches.”
Meditation 4: Pentacle Chakra Balancing
Continuing down the Pentacle path, meditation four on page 152 balances the five elements flowing throughout the seven chakras of the energy body. Witchcraft charms are spoken aloud to blend the elemental powers from both east and west into new form. In addition to this guided visualization and energy working, we’ll affirm our balance by speaking aloud the lines of the charm… taking advice from the “Rede of the Wiccae”: “To bind the spell every time, let the spell be spake in rhyme.”
Excerpt: “By elemental powers five, I have all that I need to survive and thrive.”
Guided Journeys: From the Astral Temple Into the Elemental Realms
After the foundation stones from meditations one through four are well-laid, the listener is then prepared to journey further into the astral realms to establish their own energetic temple. This temple a safe place from which they may explore anywhere within the three worlds. The next five meditations explore connections throughout the middle world of earth, air, fire and water.
Meditation 5: Astral Temple Building
This in-depth meditation is held within Ritual 3: Dedication Rite to the Pentacle Path and Building an Astral Temple on page 222. It is “an interactive journey into the astral realm to build your temple and then dedicate to the Pentacle Path of Elemental Witchcraft as your Great Work of Magick this year. This ritual has parts that are done within the mind’s eye in a typical meditation. But when prompted, you will also complete ceremonial actions like lighting your dedication candle and reading your intention statement.”
Excerpt: “There is a sacred flame that you tend here. What does it look like? There is illumination
enough to easily see, and it warms you. You are reminded of your own fiery will
and that your sovereignty is sacred.”
Elemental Earth and the Path of Sovereignty (Click to Download Meditation)
Meditation 6: Earth Temple, The Path of Sovereignty
Journey down elemental Earth’s Path of Sovereignty for the meditation held within Ritual 4: Journey to the Realms of Earth on page 247. From your astral temple, take a guided tour to the plane of elemental earth to explore crystal caves, balancing the powers of silence and resonance. “The goal is to seek partnership with gnomes and Sovereign Ghob and receive insights about your magickal tool of earth, and which allies of stone, crystal, or metal may best aid your sovereignty.”
Excerpt: “The light of the temple deepens; shadows play against dappled light like a forest floor.
The very marrow of your bones awakens; your vision lengthens as you sense a shift; the
powers of the earth are rumbling nearby.”
Elemental Air and the Path of Truth (Click to Download Meditation)
Meditation 7: Air Temple, The Path of Truth
Journey down elemental Air’s Path of Truth for the meditation held within Ritual 5: Journey to the Realms of Air on page 280. From your astral temple, fly through the plane of elemental air, balancing the powers of knowing with wonderment. “The goal is to seek partnership with the sylphs and their sovereign, Paralda, receive insights about the magickal tools of air for you, and which plant allies may best aid your path of truth.”
Excerpt: “Golden energy pours through the gateway and fills your auric field. Feathered wisps
form around the edge; you are protected, like a flight suit. Your density lightens as it resonates
with the essence of air. Light as the breeze itself. With a thought, you can fly.”
Elemental Fire and the Path of Power (Click to download meditation)
Meditation 8: Fire Temple, The Path of Power
Journey down elemental fire’s Path of Power for the meditation within Ritual 6: Journey to the Realms of Fire on page 322. From your astral temple, dance through the desert plane of fire, balancing the mysteries of will and surrender. “The goal is to seek partnership with the salamanders and Sovereign Djin, receive insights about your magickal tool of fire, and which animal spirit allies may best aid your power and sacred mission.”
Excerpt: “These guardians of essential fire beckon you to join them in their leaping fire dance. You, too, are the heart of fire, and so you follow them. There is a pulse; you hear the drumbeat of your heart and the pounding of your blood. In the crackling fugue a chaotic rhythm syncopates.”
Elemental Water and Path of Love (Click to download meditation)
Meditation 9: Water Temple, The Path of Love
Journey down elemental water’s Path of Love for the meditation held within Ritual 7: Journey to the Realms of Water on page 358. From your astral temple, swim through the plane of elemental water, balancing the powers of daring and acceptance. “The goal is to seek partnership with undines and Sovereign Nicksa, asking to receive insights about your tool of water, and which ancestral spirit ally may best aid the balancing of your emotional body.”
Excerpt: “As you swim with the undines through the ocean, your emotional burdens wash away
until you are buoyant, lighter, and less substantial. Together you rise like water vapor into
the clouds, clean and unfettered. Together you condense and rain down to nourish
the plants … each drop of rain gathered in, no exceptions; all drops of rain find your
way into the creeks, into rivers.”
COMING SOON! Spirit Temple: The Path of Completion
The final meditation is now in production, and will be released soon! It is the culminating journey to weave the powers of all previous elemental connections together into the complete Witch’s temple.
Journey down the Path of Completion for the meditation held within Ritual 9: Spirit Temple of Goddess and God on page 399. The goal is to seek insights for your own wholeness within perfect love and trustworthiness.
Excerpt: “Inhale, and the Goddess nourishes you through her holy darkness. Exhale, and the God inspires you through his holy light. Their power of creation conjoins within your heart, darkness and light, yin and yang, the Two Who Move as One in perfect balance. You are whole and complete, a perfect child of the God/dess.”
My forthcoming book, Elemental Witchcraft, is a magickal map to balance and wholeness as a five-fold being here on planet earth. I call that balancing journey the Pentacle Path. This panentheistic tradition of Modern Witchcraft is based in Hermetic philosophy, whose magick attempts to reconcile the “divine paradox” created when God/dess emerged into the material world and their oneness was cast into the illusion of our separateness. The paradox lies between the absolute truth of the God/dess and the relative truth perceived by every iota of matter, organism and individual in the cosmos. Those seemingly opposing truths create a tension that Elemental Witchcraft may reconcile.
Elemental Witchcraft for Reconciling Divine Paradox
In the book, I present this thealogy of the Pentacle Paths to the witchery for your consideration. I organized the elemental lessons for earth, air, fire, water and spirit using the metaphor of the witch’s encircled five-pointed star, the pentacle. Then, like the five strokes drawn in that star, I named the mysteries of those paths for the qualities embodied by the Witch’s altar tools. I took inspiration for these path names from author Christopher Penczak on page 163 of his book Outer Temple of Witchcraft where he wrote: “The four tools of the elements symbolize the most important internal ingredients–will, truth, love, and sovereignty.” Spirit’s path of completion was inspired by Vivianne Crowley’s discussion in chapter 12 of her book Wicca: The Old Religion for the New Millennium.
Below you’ll find excerpts from my new book as a teaser to that release, now expected for late December 2021.
Pentacle Paths of Elemental Witchcraft by Heron Michelle
Earth’s Pentacle Path of Sovereignty
Elemental earth’s paradoxes are reconciled along the Path of Sovereignty. Practical magick of this path asserts our own authority over our lives and establishes our self-sufficiency. We take responsibility to become a beneficial steward of the earth throughout our sphere of influence. Earth’s projective lesson is one of silence and stillness.[10] Where we shut up, pay attention, and hold open space for the incoming bounties we’ve been manifesting. Earth’s receptive lesson is one of resonance. When we look to the future and ask what’s next through divination and prayer. We seek the next Great Work intention, then we strike the cosmic gong of possibility and tune into the new frequency.
The Sovereignty Paradox: Independence vs. Interdependence
“While sovereignty in that definition above may seem like a solitary, every-Witch-for-themselves pursuit, the mystery teaching cannot stop there. Such radical independence might isolate a Witch with the lonely assumption that we are separate, abandoned to fend for ourselves. The paradox is that witches also affirm our interdependence within God/dess, the matrix weaving us together. While manifested on earth, we are tasked to govern our personal patch of that matrix.
Yet, as the old adage reminds us all, “With great power comes great responsibility.” The key to the personal sovereignty paradox is that we are interconnected through Divine Love of the God/dess. This unconditional love is perfect and fulfills the nine Divine Love Conditions for everyone as our sacred rights. Through the Witchcraft praxis of union, we discover that separateness is the illusion. Me, my neighbor, that tree, the dirt, the ocean, the air, and all the creatures who dwell within the three worlds are all fundamentally interdependent aspects within the wholeness of God/dess. After that realization, sovereignty becomes the easy choice to fully participate in that wholeness as stewards of Divine Love; this is our God/dess’ commission.
Interdependent sovereignty means there are no excuses for harmful behavior, including self-harm, or by participating in the injustices of a dominator society. The paradigm of Divine Love has no scapegoats and no elite “chosen people.” Once you take possession of your rightful crown, you internalize your source of control and then put that control to beneficial use. Think about interdependent sovereignty like this: We are all here to make this bed we are sleeping in together. The more comfortable the bed we all make, the better we all sleep.” ~Chapter 12 of Elemental Witchcraft by Heron Michelle
Elemental Earth and Path of Sovereignty symbols on Heron’s Altar
Air’s Pentacle Path of Truth
Elemental Air’s paradoxes are reconciled along the Path of Truth. Air’s projective mysteries are of knowing, so practical magick of this path encourages research, academic learning, and personal exploration to both “know thyself” intuitively and well-educate yourself about the world in which you live. The receptive mysteries come from airy wonderment through questioning, experimentation, and discovery. The very definition of “occult” is that there are hidden meanings beneath the surface of the obvious. You are responsible for what you “believe” to be true. You can change your mind, evolve, differ from your family or neighbors, and all of you remain respectful and at peace, so long as there’s no harm being done.
The Truth Paradox: Absolute vs. Relative
“In The Kybalion: A Hermetic Philosophy, a teaching about truth emerges from the Hermetic Principle of Polarity, which states “all truths are but half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled.”[1] Hermeticists call this the “divine paradox” between the absolute and relative truths.[2] If everything in the universe is a dream within the Divine Mind and our material separateness is an illusion, then we arrive at an absolute truth: the only thing objectively “real” is the God/dess as a whole. Whatever God/dess knows would be an ineffable, absolute truth. However, there must be the polar opposite side of truth too. Everything humans understand to be “true” here in the Middleworld with our finite minds and our best attempts at reasoning with mortal senses is a relative truth. What we perceive to be relatively true is based on our point of perspective: what is obvious, touchable, provable, measurable?
For magick ever to become objectively “real,” the Witch is reminded in The Kybalion to “beware half-truths.”[3] An example of this paradox of truth is in the relative illusion of our material separateness, which is subject to time and impermanence, as opposed to the absolute reality of our spiritual oneness within God/dess, immortal and infinite. This may seem impossible to comprehend, but science presents us with a similar example in the structure of the atom. Matter, which humans perceive as being relatively solid and still, is scientifically affirmed to be mostly empty space, information, and forces that are in constant motion. Electrons are both particles and waves of potential.[4] Both are true at the same time in varying degrees. The paradox can be reconciled, but the mental flexibility we call wonderment allows us to consider more than one perspective at the same time. Embrace a subjective reality. Occult studies start with knowing the obvious, observable, scientifically describable relative truth of the Middleworld. Then they spiritually seek the hidden, opposite, absolute truth on the flip side of the obvious, or what I call the is-ness. From this balanced search for the whole truth, witches derive our own beliefs, as revealed through the course of our practices.” ~Chapter 13 Elemental Witchcraft by Heron Michelle
Elemental Air and Path of Truth Symbols on Heron’s Altar
Fire’s Pentacle Path of Power
Elemental Fire’s paradoxes are reconciled along the Path of Power. Fire’s projective mystery is about our will. Truly powerful people align their personal ego within the fires of Divine Will to achieve their sacred mission. We apply the fires of Will when we go and do things that further our witching sovereignty (earth) and strive toward our ideals (air), when we see an issue that needs improvement, take the lead, rally others to help, and work together to change it (fire).Fire’s receptive mystery is about surrender, feeding the forge fires of your will. We let go of the old forms, obsessions and addictions which hinder our progress, like the snake shedding a skin that is too small.
The Power Paradox: Domination vs. Cooperation
“The paradox of power that Elemental Witchcraft can help to reconcile lies on the range of polarity between the domination and cooperation models of “control” that we’ve been exploring throughout this work. The power of the God/dess in equal balance is distinguished by how all beings are interconnected within nature (earth), how the Divine Love of the God/dess drives diverse relationships (water), and how we can wondrously imagine new solutions to shared problems within Divine Mind (air). The path of power teaches that the most internally powerful people are most aligned within Divine Will (fire). This results in a sacred mission that tends to foster personal empowerment in others. In other words, the most spiritually powerful people have the most cooperative power-sharing partnerships and tend to be the most peaceful, which is the paradox! The mystery lies in the location from whence that person derives their power: internally or externally.
Sue Mehrtens of the Jungian Center writes about how similar this power sharing is to the sharing of love: “Our society regards power as a ‘zero-sum thing.’ That is, if I have power, then you don’t. If you have it, then I don’t. But in reality power is like love: the more we share it and empower others, the more power there is in the world.” [5] This describes the ultimate goal of the Hermetic Great Work of Magick. First, we empower ourselves from within, then we share that wisdom to jointly solve the big problems, helping others. Internalizing our power is a process of growing up.” ~ Chapter 14 Elemental Witchcraft by Heron Michelle
Elemental Fire and Path of Power symbols on Heron’s Altar
Water’s Pentacle Path of Love
Elemental Water’s paradox is reconciled along the Path of Love. Water’s projective mystery is one of daring, smashing through emotional barriers to make way for the fulfillment of your Great Work. Water’s receptive mysteries are of accepting emotional conditions that are beyond our control, and settling into the new mold that is coming into form around us. Water is about boundary definition and tending, and ensuring that our relationships are trustworthy, nurturing and reciprocal.
The Love Paradox: Love vs. Fear
What is Divine Love? Witches seek to reconcile the paradox between unconditional or perfect Divine Love of the God/dess and the necessary conditions of human relationships as we navigate the illusion of our separateness.
Going back to the God/dess’ Thealogy of Perfection in chapter three, the paradox resolved by the path of love is Perfect Love versus fear of a lack of love. It all comes down to how we experience the nine Divine Love Conditions and the fear that arises from not having them. When those fears come true, our hearts are wounded, which is why we call emotional pain being “heartbroken.” To be denied these basic human needs for too long is traumatizing. That trauma causes anxiety and anger. That anger twists and festers inside us until it emerges at paranoia and hatred.
Fear of a lack of love too often leads to abusive relationships where bigotry, hostility, and aggression dam up the waters of Divine Love. Like wounded animals, sometimes folks lash out and impose the same transgressions that they’ve suffered onto other people. This is their pitiable way of either getting what they need the hard way or exacting revenge as a means to lessen their pain. The deprivation of Divine Love is how bullies are made. Wounded people tend to wound other people…
Mahatma Gandhi is credited as saying, “The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but, it is fear.”[7] Folks hate what they fear, and that fear, on some level, comes from the wounds inflicted by a lack of Divine Love: resources, affection, free-will, acceptance, security, trustworthiness, expression, authenticity, reciprocity. The divine paradox holds in the balance two simultaneous truths: we are unified within one God/dess of unconditional Divine Love, and we are separate individuals upon the material plane, and healthy relationships must hold safe boundaries that do not transgress our diversity and individuality. A way to show unconditional love for anyone who violates your healthy boundaries is at a peaceful distance that you are allowed to define. In witching terms, through the promise of Perfect Love and Perfect Trustworthiness.
To realize this universal truth allows us to remain centered in compassion, thus reconciling the paradox. Elemental water grants us permission to fully accept ourselves and all others for exactly as we are, without judgment. Elemental water also grants us permission to redefine the societal landscape to be radically inclusive, ensuring that unconditional Divine Love…is accessible by all beings. We can include everyone without kill-or-be-killed ranking through a competition for resources. In this way, the paradox between unity within God/dess and diversity upon earth is also embraced. ~ Chapter 15 Elemental Witchcraft by Heron Michelle
Elemental Water and Path of Love symbols on Heron’s Altar
Spirit’s Pentacle Path of Completion
The paradox of spirit is a little different than the other elemental mysteries. Spirit in alchemical terms is often called “quintessence” or the fifth element which arises as the synergy of the other four. It is the balance of the Goddess and God within every being in a unique blending of projective (god) and receptive (goddess) attributes. The magick of completion is to realize that divine gender and human gender have always been a spectrum, not a toggle switch. We must integrate our primary gender identity with the rest of our range of gender identity, to discover the full rainbow of our potential. In completion we are fully empowered; Anima and animus, sexual and contra-sexual aspects of ourselves may be peacefully reconciled in wholeness.
The Completion Paradox: Unity vs. Diversity
“The paradox reconciled through Spirit’s completion resolves the polarity of unity and diversity. Once more, this mystery teaching goes back to the “divine paradox” between the absolute truth and the relative truth of God/dess; between the monolith oneness (Hermeticists call the One only One) and the simultaneous radical diversity of individuals incarnated into this apparent separateness. To reconcile this paradox, we must hold as equally evident that 1) every possible thing, seen and unseen, sentient and otherwise, is absolutely one being: Divine Love. Therefore, no kind of person is greater-than or lesser-than anyone else manifested on earth. There could be no superior race, no dominant sex, no “chosen people.” 2) The ultimate purpose is to parse God/dess into diverse individual forms to discover the relative truths in every nitty-gritty nook and cranny of possible make, model, identity, lifestyle, and demographic. Nature is compelled to seek further diversification!
The illusion of our separateness serves the very useful purpose of relationship. We create ripples of interference patterns as we interact with each other, whether that be love or tension, and God/dess learns from those interactions. As we awaken into the absolute truth of our unity, we naturally evolve into inclusivity of relative truths too. All bigotry and phobias about each other fall away. In this way, the paradox between unity within God/dess and diversity upon earth can be equally embraced. In Oneness we are a beautiful kaleidoscope of diversity.” ~ Chapter 16 Elemental Witchcraft by Heron Michelle
Heron’s Yule Altar with Goddess and God in Balance
The Path of Return
The path of return is symbolized as the circle around the pentacle and our wholeness within God/dess. In Hermetics, this is the long journey through all our many incarnation since the dawn of the cosmos, returning back to our source of Divine Love and bringing with us all that we’ve learned through incarnation.
“The path of return refers to the natural return of consciousness back to its Source, to eventually re-merge with the God/dess. Like a homing beacon, after our spirits incarnate here in the Middleworld, we instinctively seek reunion with the wholeness that our dreaming minds remember from before the womb. The work of the initiate of these mysteries is to awaken from spiritual slumber, to surrender attachment to our limited human egos, so that we may rediscover our divine nature and somehow ease the ache of separation we feel on earth…
It is said that due to the transient nature of the elements, the four major existential fears that humans face are these: a fear of death, a fear of responsibility for themselves and their own freedom, a fear of aloneness, and a fear of meaning.[8] The difference between the esoteric (inner) paths and exoteric (outer) paths is whether you’re seeking salvation from these fears from an outside source or from within yourself.
Characteristics of progress along this path of return would look like internalized loci of control, authority, and security. That internal power would be harmonious with nature, unassuming and humble, gentle but fierce. I think these qualities describe a witch who is “soft of eye an light of touch,” someone who speaks little and listens much.[9] Someone who
is fully present to win, doesn’t burn the Witch, is the solution to the problem, and is a strong link in the chainmail of our society.” ~Chapter 17 Elemental Witchcraft by Heron Michelle
Find Out More
For an in-depth exploration of the history, thealogy and elemental mysteries of The Pentacle Path described above, check out my book “Elemental Witchcraft: A Guide to Living a Magickal Life Through the Elements” from Llewellyn Worldwide Publishing (Due out late December 2021). In those pages you’ll find many illustrations and exercises, with formulary craftings, Hermetic witchcraft rituals with guided journeys, and planetary magick spells for balancing each element and the Goddess and God within. They are adaptable for witches at every level of attainment. Signed copies of my book, and the candle wrap stickers pictured above are available for purchase and shipping within the US on my website: www.thesojo.com/webshop
Cover of Elemental Witchcraft by Heron Michelle
Footnotes:
[1] Atkinson, William Walker (Three Initiates). The Kybalion: The Definitive Edition. Edited
by Philip Deslippe. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2008. Page 67.
[5] Mehrtens, Sue. “How to Internalize a Locus of Control, a Locus of Authority and a
Locus of Security: A Follow-Up Essay.” Jungian Center for the Spiritual Sciences.
Accessed April 30, 2020. https://jungiancenter.org/hot-to-internalize-a-locus-ofcontrol/.
[6] Shakespeare, William. Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 2.
[7] Attributed to Mahatma Gandhi.
[8]. Urvun D. Yalom, Existential Psychotherapy, cited by Mark Stavish, M.A. “Problems on the Path of
Return: Pathology in Kabbalistic and Alchemical Practices.” Accessed February, 12, 2020. https://hermetic.
com/stavish/essays/problems-return.
[9] Mathiesen, Robert, and Theitic. The Rede of the Wiccae: Adriana Porter, Gwen Thompson and the Birth of a Tradition of Witchcraft. Providence, RI: Olympian Press, 2005. Pages 52–53.
[10] The four projective lessons are traditionally called The Four Powers of the Sphinx and originated with Levi, Eliphas. Transcendental Magic: Its Doctrine and Ritual. Translated by A. E. Waite. York, ME: RedWheel/Weiser, 1972. Page 30. The four receptive lessons were originally presented as “Widdershins Spirals” by Roderick, Timothy. Dark Moon Mysteries: Wisdom, Power, and Magic of the Shadow World. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1996. Page 79.
Throughout my book on the Pentacle Path of Elemental Witchcraft, I explore the many ways that our patriarchal, dominator over-culture creates imbalance in the natural order of Divine Love as understood within a Hermetic paradigm of Modern Witchcraft. We fear the lack of Divine Love as experienced on earth. These fears and deprivations wound our fivefold self: in physical, mental, emotional, will, and spiritual ways. I dare say that everyone alive has been wounded at some point, on some level. Wounds left by a denial of the nine Divine Love Conditions promised by our God/dess are like a computer virus that creeps into our programming from the subliminal and overt abuses of an unnatural society. That rogue programing has been running in the background of our operating systems; they are systemic.
Unless the true source of those wounds is recognized, balanced and healed, you continue to vibrate from a wounded state of consciousness, which is detrimental to a practice of effective witchcraft. Attempt the high-octane magick before restoring your wholeness, and you’ll strike the match on the first Rule of Witchcraft for Personal Sovereignty: Don’t burn the witch.
Consider this: If Divine Love is everything, it is also the answer to every problem. Divine Love of the God/dess is the cure for every wound. Below, I define the nine Divine Love Conditions, map them to the fivefold self, and then propose the area of wounded consciousness caused by a fear of a lack of that form of Divine Love. Reflect on where and how you may be experiencing these wounds, either in your own life, or played out in the world through harmful actions and societal problems.
Fivefold Self Mapped to Divine Love Conditions and Wounded Consciousness ~image by Heron Michelle
Healing Physical Body Wounds
Divine Love Condition: Resources
I have what I need to ensure my physical survival in comfort; clean air and water, nourishing food, safe shelter, adequate clothing to protect me from the elements, and access to medical care. I have no fear of suffering.
If someone is wounded by a lack of physical resources, they vibrate with poverty consciousness. They project harm through greed, theft, hoarding, over-indulgence, etc. Think about the criminal level of greed it takes to become a multi-billionaire while your own employees need government assistance to barely survive.
Divine Love Condition: Affection
I have inclusion and access to the kind of desired physical intimacy that I prefer. I have no fear of abandonment.
If someone is wounded by a lack of the inclusion and affection they prefer, they vibrate with deprivation, or abandonment consciousness. They project harm through non-consensual violations, like sexual assault, rape, domestic violence against spouses and children, stalking, pedophilia, and violence toward anyone perceived as rejecting them, like the ravings of so-called INCELs (involuntary celibates.)
Healing our Mental Body Wounds
What rogue programing has been running in the background of your mental operating system?
What do I believe to be possible? Which programs are hindering my balance–are not for my highest good, and must be purged?
Divine Love Condition: Expression
My opinions are registered and I am treated as a valuable contributor. I have no fear of disenfranchisement.
If I am wounded by a lack of expression, when I’ve been convinced that I’m not important. I vibrate with impotency consciousness. I project that harm through silencing others, censorship, book burning, gerrymandering. Consider the efforts currently being made by Republican legislators to hinder the voting rights of minority populations in Georgia, and gerrymandering to divide the educated populations in NC, whom they know would vote against their discriminatory policies.
Divine Love Condition: Authenticity
The outward declaration of any circumstance is the actual truth, without deception. I have no fear of exploitation.
If I am wounded by a lack of authenticity, I vibrate with exploited consciousness. I project harm through lying, cheating, subversiveness, embezzlement, exploiting the trust of others for your own gain, etc. This lack is the breeding ground for con-artists and cult leaders. Consider the entirety of the Evangelical Christian establishment, and how many of it’s leaders eventually downfall into scandal and incarceration, like Jim Bakker of PTL Ministries back in the 1980’s. Consider the cult following which surrounds the #1 con-artist of our time, Donald Trump.
Healing Wounds to the Body of our Will
What monkey wrench is still stuck in the gears of your will’s engine?
Divine Love Condition: Free-Will
I have agency and Free Will to pursue happiness as I see fit, and am treated with dignity and respect. I have no fear of oppression.
If I am wounded by a lack of free-will, I vibrate with oppression consciousness. I project harm through unjustified internment, slavery, conservatism, restriction of immigrants, etc. Everything about the US Justice system is designed to disproportionately incarcerate minority populations for forced, mostly unpaid labor and removal of voting rights.
Divine Love Condition: Acceptance
I am accepted as my whole, authentic self. I have no fear of bigotry.
If I am wounded by fear of a lack of acceptance, I vibrate with bigotry consciousness. I project harm through self-denigration, racism, homophobia, transphobia, nationalism, xenophobia, etc. I gesture broadly at the America revealed by Trump’s cult, and the outrageous number of “conservative, family values” legislators working overtime to deny rights to LGBTQ+ people, who are eventually discovered be closeted homosexuals themselves. Or legislators caging immigrant children from Central America, who are themselves children of immigrants from Central America.
Healing our Emotional Body Wounds
What toxic heartbreak has been poisoning the waters of your emotional well?
Divine Love Condition: Security
I have safety on all levels, boundaries honored and privacy respected. I have no fear of violation.
If I am wounded by a lack of security, safety, or privacy, I vibrate with victim consciousness. I project harm through physical violence, invasion of privacy, imposition of power over others, treason, sedition, etc. Consider the many command-mode magi working curses to purposefully inflict harm on others. Consider the extremists who become domestic terrorists and mass shooters, or cult-like civilian “militias” hoarding military-grade armaments just sure that their second amendment rights will be taken away. But their threatening extremism may actually necessitate the very thing they fear the most, fulfilling their own prophecy.
Divine Love Condition: Trustworthiness
I can rest assured that those around me, and my environment, can be trusted not to harm me. I have no fear of duplicity and deception.
If I am wounded by a lack of trustworthiness, I vibrate with paranoid consciousness. I project that harm through betrayal, distrust, gossip, back-stabbing, espionage, and just plain assuming everything is out to get me. Consider the “conspiracy theories” that abound currently among conservative and liberal extremists alike, like QAnon and Covid-deniers, Anti-vaxxers, and Climate-Change-Deniers.
Healing our Spiritual Wounds
Divine Love Condition:Reciprocity
There is a two-way street of trustworthiness between myself and the world around me, with mutual care that all beings have these nine love conditions. I have no fear of betrayal.
If I am wounded by a lack of reciprocity, I vibrate with betrayal consciousness. The cosmos is a mirror that reflects above and below, but we also see the outer world as a mirror of inner selves. If we are spiritually betrayed by a world that does not fulfill its promise of Divine Love to us, the spiritual suffering is chaotic and excruciating. This is what I imagine Christian “hell” might feel like when one knows their god “cast them into the void.” That kind of pain blocks our link of spiritual interconnection with others, or an inability for empathy. I think this is the mental illness afflicting all of Evangelical Christianity.
This pervasive spiritual fear of betrayal could result in psychopathy, and mass violence done to inflict an outer pain. This is a desperate and despotic means to fulfill the reciprocity of the mirror. Only this time, mirroring the fear and the Lack of Divine Love, rather than the fulfillment of that Love. Doesn’t that sound like the plot to every evil super-villain comic book plot?
Moral of the Story:
Identifying how we are wounded by the lack of the nine Divine Love Conditions, and how those wounds of imbalance result in problematic behavior and societal ills, is just the first step in a process of a witch’s “shadow work” and healing. You have to know the source of the problem in order to properly diagnose and treat the disease. I think the source of our problems is the systemic domination and deprivation inherent in the Invasive Orthodoxies inflicted upon us. I also think the cure is a restoration of the cooperative culture possible within a Neopaganism of the God/dess. Once healed, the real magick of a Witch’s transformation into a fully empowered and beneficial being can begin.
It is my pleasure to announce that my first book, Elemental Witchcraft: A Guide to Living A Magickal Life through the Elements is due to be released Dec. 8, 2021 through Llewellyn Publishing. This is planned as the first of three books in The Pentacle Path series, which introduces my applied system of Hermetic Witchcraft, mapped to the Wheel of the Year. The Pre-order listing on Amazon is included below.
This moment is long overdue, so thank you for your patience with me. I first announced that I’d signed a contract (for an entirely different subject) back on summer solstice of 2018. I look back at the innocence and expectation of that former self the way I see the opening scenes of The Fellowship of the Ring. You remember back then, when our intrepid Hobbits had no idea where that journey would ultimately take then, nor what sacrifices would be required to “save the shire.”
Crafting a book manuscript has been the most challenging task yet asked of me in this lifetime. That would be why I haven’t been posting as many blogs this year. Or, I could blame the distractions from existential freak-outs, wicked imposter syndrome resulting in obsessive research down deep rabbit holes of occult weirdness, and the hermitage that required. It’s been trippy meta, y’all. My acquisitions editor at Llewellyn, Heather Greene, has been a gracious, and compassionate midwife through this troublesome birthing process.
Cover for Elemental Witchcraft by Heron Michelle, Llewellyn Publishing, Dec. 8, 2021
Witchcraft Author Goals
Authors I know advised me to write the book I wish I’d had when I started my own initiatory witchcraft journey. I started in the wayback times before the internet, when all I had were the books you could find at physical bookstores in town. In the American Bible Belt, those were limited. In a way, the writing process became a conversation with my younger self, as well as all the potential witches who may ever pick up an old copy of this book in the future. I feel like I’ve been time traveling, which is my clairvoyant specialty, after-all. By reaching out through the ether of imagination and time, the Word Document become a portal of connection. I tried to remain fully present, as though I’m riding shotgun with future seekers as they navigate their own Pentacle Path of Modern Witchcraft. Not the pilot, just a navigator presenting a map.
More than any other goal, I wanted to speak directly to these future witches in the same personal way I’d teach the seekers in my coven classroom over the last 11 years. I had to cover the “beginner” stuff, but then I wanted to dive deeply into the why and how of this practice, offering the Hermetic philosophy, Astrological mechanics and spell-casting applications of this magick.
I wanted my “author voice” to reinforce that we are all One within God/dess, perfectly whole and accepted in our kaleidoscope of individuality. All our experiences of enchantment are valid, no matter what meat-suit we’re wearing, how we love, where we originate, how divinity presents to us, or what new technologies the future world may employ. The message is that Divine Love of the God/dess is everything, and we are never forsaken. Once we remember this cosmic truth, we can live accordingly and enjoy a healthy life in balance and effectiveness.
This book, more than anything else, laid the cooperative tools of the Great God/dess upon the altar of the witchery, in hopes more of us will choose to use those ethical tools to better ourselves and the world. I have Wiccan author Timothy Roderick to thank for discovering those “widdershins” tools originally, and I’m thrilled that he’s agreed to write a forward to introduce my book.
The Crucible of Witchcraft Authorship
Writing an instruction manual for witchcraft is strange business. Using only the sigils of English letters, bound into words, conjured into incantations, sorted into tables and sketched in the margins. In this language cauldron we* boiled down the poison of the patriarchal, dominator society, until an antidote of witching cooperation coalesced. *Yes, we. Either I’ve gone lunatic, or it was actually Aphrodite, Hermes and my other guides with me in the ethers, sussing these mysteries out. It felt like a group collaboration, anyway.
To generate this magick, I had to experience each of the elemental paths again, fresh as a new babe, cast out into the dark wilds of this screwed up society. While I wrote, the world was burning, ravaged by illness, fear was rampant, mental health was crashing, conspiracy theories brainwashed our friends and even a few new age luminaries! The forces of fascism rose, and insurrections raged in the streets, at the capital… Meanwhile, I performed each elemental ritual, was guided through each meditative journey to realms of earth, air, fire and water to affirm my own connections there. I performed each spell anew as I wrote them. If not literally, always within the astral temple I’ve been building in welcome for future readers. This temple is conjured and awaiting, I tend the sacred fires to light your way there, should you choose to make the journey with me someday.
The magick of witchcraft authorship is a personal crucible, and I did not much enjoy it. Nope. Enjoy is not a word I’d use for this book-writing work. Edifying? Gratifying? Yes! But not fun. Forward escape was the only way for me to survive it! Through the forge fires of Spirit, my base form melted down to flow with raw emotion. My mind was blown by the divine bellows on the regular. Highest Divine Will had to deliver a few spankings to get me back onto the rails. As always, I am remolded into new form in the end. Such is the Great Work of Magick!
With any metaphysical book, I think it is fair to critically ask: Is this snake oil they’re selling? Or is this one author’s magickal greal? A potion of relative truths, offered honestly, hopefully, and left for the seeker of wisdom to stir on their own, and sip as they will? For my part, I put my whole squishy heart, and everything I think I know, and all my 20 years of witching experience into this brew. I admit it can be bitter, or salty, or spicy, but hopefully it is also balanced with sweetness, sustenance. On a good day, I hope it’s euphoric and intoxicating. May it be received with the same sincere love with which I offer it. The early reviews are encouraging!
Early reviews!
The Amazon listing gives this synopsis:
“Elemental Witchcraft shares a wholly unique esoteric approach to developing partnerships with elemental allies and deities and ultimately merging with the Divine Mind. Author Heron Michelle provides dozens of rituals, meditations, spells, and journal reflections as you explore the magick of the four classical elements―earth, air, fire, and water―as well as the principles of Hermeticism. On this journey, you will discover how the chakras and the magickal pentacle correspond to the five bodies: mental, emotional, will, physical, and spiritual. You will also explore how the astrological cycles and the wheel of the year relate to the elements and the witch’s tools as well as to the paths of power, truth, love, sovereignty, and completion. Opening the elemental gateways and developing relationship with the goddesses and gods can be profoundly transformative work―this book guides you through this subtle path as you learn to balance the magickal elements and construct your own astral temples at the crossroads of the Self.”
“Elemental Witchcraft goes way beyond the basics of ‘how to’ books on Witchcraft. It is an erudite book that provides for experienced practitioners new ideas and insights to deepen their practice and teaching and which for newcomers offers a vision of how contemporary witchcraft can provide a path to deep spiritual transformation.”
“‘The Pentacle Path of Elemental Witchcraft: Living a Magickal Life through the Elements’ is an incredible work dedicated to training new witches, but stands among those books who can deepen a spiritual practice for any practitioner regardless of their length of study. This examination of the full path of a witch is rooted in the rich history of our forebears, while being present in our current world. It presents the why associated with magical practices, and that is foundational for learning. Seeing the teachings as gender neutral is vital, and avoids the leaving anyone out. The information also expresses the need for modern tools. This year-long study can be repeated for years to come, creating a deeper connection with the God/dess and ourselves. Those longing for deeper experience than many 101 level books, will find it here. Heron’s background as a shop owner gives her an incredible gift of insight into the mind of the seeker and presents that information before the reader realizes they need it. Very intuitive. A gift of service to the community.”
Release date December 8, 2021. Pre-order now available!
Click the image below, or here, to see the listing on Amazon and pre-order your copy!
Elemental Witchcraft Screen Cap on Amazon, release date December 8, 2021.
For those who’ve asked, I will figure out a way to offer signed copies directly through my own shop, The Sojourner, and announce when that is available. Until then, thanks for all your support over the years! Please share the links on your social media, and leave reviews on bookselling sites, as this helps authors to promote their work. Hopefully, we’ll be able to gather for book signings, conferences and festivals again in 2022 and I’d be happy to speak on this subject in person!
~Heron Michelle
Beloved Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, passed through the veil on September 18th, 2020. Today, I joined mourners across the country as I watched the live video feed while she was brought to lie in state at the courthouse. The service was deeply moving to me, and as the Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt beautifully sang the Hebrew prayers and scriptures, I lit the RBG candle I’d made on the new moon in Scorpio, and joined the nation with my own witchy prayers.
May our notorious RBG’s memory be a blessing to us all, and inspire the revolution for gender equality that she championed. May we carry on her legacy of justice, compassion and equality for all Americans.
Days before her death she said: “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new President is installed.” To my mind, this is a magickal intention, and I will work with her spirit now to fulfill this wish.
Below you will find directions on how to make your own Ruth Bader Ginsburg sanctuary candle, and I invite you to join me in this magick as we mourn throughout the Samhain season.
Candle design and image by Heron Michelle
Mourning my S/hero
In the days since her passing, I’ve mourned the loss of this phenomenal American s/hero. She was an intellectual warrior: tough, fair, and centered in humility. For decades, she courageously defended the line between true equality and justice for everyone, and the evangelical, misogynist, racist, homophobic onslaught who were hellbent to tip the legal scales in their favor. RBG worked until her dying breath to hold the darkness in check. With her death, that line is also broken. I’m acutely aware of all the women in my life who are gripped by sudden panic from what her open seat on the court may mean, less than two months before the next election.
Since Trump/Pence came to office in 2016, they’ve been promising to regress women’s reproductive rights back to the dark ages, eagerly awaiting RBG’s demise. She knew how important it was for her to survive until after the Trump threat was removed. She doggedly attended her court duties despite pancreatic cancer treatment for years. I am so grateful to her for her diligence and personal sacrifice.
Our Concern is Justified
As we bid farewell to our beloved Ruth Bader Ginsburg, we also mourn the loss of our sense of security. While our fear is justified, we cannot allow ourselves to remain paralyzed by that fear. We must mobilize that emotion into constructive action to create real changes. That is what RBG taught us to do.
I’ve channeled my grief into the real-world actions of signing petitions and emailing my elected officials. I’m making financial contributions to the progressive candidates poised to evict the despots from the White house, and any of the hypocritical Senators pushing for a fast-tracked Trump appointment to her seat. Mitch McConnell, and the rest of Trump’s amoral cronies must be ousted come November. Voting is more important now than ever!
I also got down to the witching business of magick… I honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg as an Ancestor of Spirit this Samhain season, and will work magick to manifest her dying wish.
Candle wrap image for Ruth Bader Ginsburg Candle to fulfill her fervent wish, by Heron Michelle: print to a scale of 7″ wide and 6.75″ tall
Magickal Ruth Bader Ginsburg Sanctuary Candle
The magick of witchcraft keeps my hands busy, and gives constructive outlet to my thoughts, emotions and energies. So, I designed and charged thirteen RBG 7-day sanctuary candles, to be shared throughout my magickal community. This candle honors her memory during the witching period of mourning – a full moon cycle – like the Jewish Sheloshim, a 30 day mourning period following burial. I will continue this work throughout the rise of the autumn season until the Sabbat of Samhain, which roughly coincides with the November 2020 election.
I also designed my candles to inspire the continuation of her revolution for gender equality and protection under the law. It is also magickally charged to manifest her “fervent wish” to delay her replacement until after the presidential inauguration.
For this candle magick working, I called upon the powers of planetary Mars and elemental Fire to lend power, action and courage to the work. I called on planetary Venus and Libra for justice, compassion and humility, in the protection for women, LGBTQIA, BIPOC, and all humans at risk of discrimination by the encroaching theocracy.
Candle Preparations:
I began with a red (or white) 7-day sanctuary candle in glass. With my electric drill and a large drill bit, I burrowed out three holes in the top of the wax, about an inch deep. A flat head screwdriver and some elbow grease also do a great job. Dump out the wax shreds. See image above of finished loaded candle top.
#1: Fire
Into one hole, I packed my previously prepared Elemental Fire Incense. Directions and recipe can be found at this link, with a video on preparation included. Short of that, you can pick any one of those ingredients that you may have on hand. Cinnamon is an easy choice.
Awaken the elemental powers of fire to empower your work.
#2: Mars
Into the second hole, I packed my previously prepared Planetary Mars and Warrior God incense. Recipe below, or you may choose any one ingredient you may have on hand. Copal or a bit of long leaf pine needle are choices that are relatively easy to find.
Awaken the planetary power of Mars for courage and winning a just victory in this battle for protection of human rights.
Planetary Mars and Warrior God Incense Recipe
Effective for any spells where the planetary magick of Mars would help. Assertiveness, battle, courage, defense, desire, sexuality, virility, justice, lust, power, strength, willpower. There are also notes of earthiness in there, for the Wild God of Nature, which will bring growth and stability to the endeavor.
2 parts Base wood – Cinnamon Bark Powder (Fire, Mars)
2 parts Resin – Copal (Fire, Mars)
1 part Herb – Allspice Berries, ground (Fire, Mars)
1 part Herb – Long Leaf Pine Needle (or other evergreen) (Earth, Mars)
Essential oils – 10 drops each of Honeysuckle and Pine (Earth, Mars)
2 parts vegetable glycerin to bind.
Hematite, Pyrite or Red Jasper stone chips or Iron metal filings.
Grind all plant ingredients in your mortar and pestle, clockwise. Add the essential oil and glycerin, stir to combine and bind. Add stone chips or stone sand. Charge with the powers of fire, earth and Mars. Call Mars and the Wild Gods of nature to be present while burning.
#3: Venus
Into the third hole, I packed stone chips of Unakite Jasper, a stone of pink and green. Corresponds to planetary Venus, heart and third-eye chakra. Unakite resonates with the frequency of love and compassion, and balances the emotional body. Red Jasper, Green Feldspar and Epidote are bound beautifully together for strong, harmonious relationships, promoting patience and persistence. It is very earthy and grounding, and aids in both women’s reproductive health, and emotional health, bringing deeper insight.
Awaken the planetary power of Venus for compassionate manifestation of our emotions, into protection for women’s reproductive health rights, and equality for all people under the law.
Candle Wrap
Download and print the candle wrap image I’ve provided above, or create your own. Print to a scale of 7″ wide and 6.75″ tall, and trim the excess paper. Wrap around the jar and fix with a strip of clear tape. The image of my candle above is printed on transparency film, but white printer paper works just as well.
Charge the candle by tapping into the flow of nature’s power and imbuing that into the physical candle. Call upon the powers of Fire, Mars, and Venus to merge and anchor in the middle world through the vessel of this candle. Call upon the spirit of RBG and ask her aid and inspiration as you work to fulfill her dying wish, and carry on her legacy. Pray, cry, soak all your emotions and passions for this cause into the candle. Let it all flow…
Repeat her wish every time you light the candle and meditate on this intention throughout the next lunar cycle, and onto Samhain and the election. If the wax runs out before that time, add another red candle insert and reload, recharge, and keep going.
By Samhain night (whenever you celebrate), allow it to burn out completely. Chant it with me:
My most fervent wish is that Ruth Bader Ginsburg will not be replaced until a new President is installed. So mote it be!
I am a dreamer, literally. All my Piscean life I dream great epoch dreams of adventure and exploration, full-color, full-detail, full-emotion, sometimes lucid and prophetic. Way back on this day in 2014, I had a very different kind of dream. It was so disturbing that I spent that morning writing this piece, which I found today in my FaceBook memories…an excellent form of personal divination.
Imbolc 2014 was the first year I dedicated to the Goddess Aphrodite and the Great Work of understanding Perfect Divine Love. Beginning with the break-up of an engagement, my life was then torn to shreds as She demonstrated in excruciating detail all the ways in which Perfect Love was lacking. This dream forced me to remember and explore the emotions of terrible heartbreak.
This dream still clings in my memory like the greasy stink of burning pitch, heavy and acrid. On this sixth anniversary of that dream, and six years into my work with Aphrodite, I revisit the same lessons. I’m at a different octave for this lap of the magick-go-round. It still sucks just as hard, but for different reasons…
Dreams Not to be Forgotten
Originally Posted on May 23, 2014
The dream began as I am bursting with love and happiness, full of giddy excitement on my wedding day. Dressed in white and delicate laces, hair twisted gracefully with tiny white flowers, and cascading in wispy curls to the shoulders. I felt like a full-body smile, as though the flesh was simply not strong enough to contain all the feels and I might burst into a cascade of rainbows at any moment. I had all the emotions of the bride that cannot wait to get to the altar and claim her prize.
I am about to marry a “dream man,” a dashing, symbolic man that my subconscious supplied. For a shining few moments, in the dappled sunshine of a forest wedding, I was the happiest woman on earth and I felt beautiful. There are flowers in full bloom, in perfect weather, with gaily dressed friends and family gathered around, ribbons and twinkling and all the trappings of my “perfect” wedding day. I was playing the role of a stereotypical maiden, full of hope and life.
I explained to giggling, congratulatory women around me that this marriage was a dream come true; that I could hardly believe that *this* wonderful man was choosing *me* to spend his life with; I was so honored to become his wife. Just to look at this person was to swoon with bliss…let’s just say that when my subconscious creates a fantasy groom, it does a stellar job.
The moment of triumph; we are at the altar. We stand hand in hand, and the officiant asks if there is anyone there who objects to our union. Like the stab of a knife, a woman I don’t know breaks desperately into the scene, throws herself before us. She proclaims her undying devotion for my groom, and asks him to marry her instead because “he was the one that got away and she’s always regretted losing him.”
Without pause, he rushes to her, accepting her proposal in passionate embrace. Then turns to me and says he’s sorry but he just has to marry her instead because he’s always secretly loved her more than life itself. However, he wants me to stay and be their bridesmaid for the ceremony. You know…quietly take the consolation prize, and just step off to the side. Be a dear, and don’t bother me further…just shove over…
The scene shifts, and all of a sudden I am wearing a hideous moss-green bridesmaid’s dress with 1980’s Aquanet helmet hairdo. Captive, I am forced to stand witness as MY LOVER marries this other woman. At my altar stone, at my wedding, in front of my friends and family, and I stand there dying. Frozen solid in pain and horror, the maiden light within me turns to a crone’s darkness. Chilled despair and rage liquefies inside me, weeping my essence down into the earth. I bleed out until my body is a husk in moss green satin. The roses in my hands dry and crumble into dust.
The dream shifts such that I’m now viewing the joy of their wedding unfold through the husk of this dead body. I am now one of the hollow, moss-covered tree stumps standing on the distant sidelines of that forest clearing. I shrivel until I am a small, invisible consciousness peeking out from the waste, a ghost in the shadows.
That is when I was once again aware of my bed, and the cat beside me, and the dawning light through my bedroom window. But in that dreamy middle-realm before fully waking, the deep mourning and humiliation wrecked me. All the loss of my love and pride crashed down. The crush was paralyzing as I wept into the pillow, trying not to wake my sleeping children. The jealousy, the want, the horror of rejection and embarrassment. I wanted the emotional pain to stop….just to die completely from the incarnate torture chamber.
Gods, I remember that feeling. There was a distant time during my divorce that this is how I woke up every morning. This state of abject self-loathing, shunted to the side like last week’s garbage; this was my life. I barely survived my divorce. I’m a stress-starver; I lose my appetite when I’m upset and simply cannot eat. I almost willed myself to non-existence by physically wasting away. But that was many pounds regained, and a very long time ago.
Creative Commons – Pixabay
Healing the Witch’s Broken Heart
I know it was a dream, but I’m a witch, and the dream times are the message board, the chat-room of the Gods and guides who work with me. The subconscious knows, and through dreams, my conscious mind is given marching orders for what it needs to do. For me, there are rarely *just* dreams. This dream in 2014 was the shadow of the past, casting long and piercing claws into then. Six years later, and today it emerges again in a different way, to be reexamined within the pains of now.
There is no denying that I still have healing work to do on my tender Piscean heart. There are scars thickened by each of the subsequent relationships I’ve enjoyed, but then lost in the 10 years since then. Sometimes I think I’ve laid these fears of betrayal, disregard and abandonment to rest, but then they rise from the grave like zombies to eat my brains. This round, I’m forced to reconcile betrayals caused by those I considered my most beloved family, my dearest witching friends and my spiritual partner…
The divine works through me in such a way that I follow these bread crumbs through the dark forest of consciousness. This particular crumb is rotten every time. By following it, I once more feel lost in the woods, just a moss-covered husk of a long-dead tree, now covered in thorny brambles of my own arrangement – a defense mechanism behind which to hide from the chance of further woundings.
When a pattern like this repeats, it is a divine message that there is yet something that I must evolve and adapt about my own self, in my perspective, my actions, or my choices. I know that thorny, bitter isolation won’t actually help me, but these days that path of avoidance is too easy. Good thing I just found a new therapist, because Whooboy! …imma need the professional help! There is much work to be done, and I’m doing it; witching process never ends.
~Heron
For Witchcraft spell ideas for healing the heart after heartbreak, check out these links:
Witch on Fire is pleased to introduce a guest post today by my dear friend, Epona Petra, an extraordinary Witch, horsewoman, and High Priestess of our coven this year. For some stable magick, Epona offers this spell working for the dark moon, using naturally shed horsehair. This technique is a simple and effective means to release your worries while these pandemic times are so tough. ~Heron
Epona Petra with Goldie, eponapetra.com – Used with Permission
Shedding Your Cares with Horsehair
By Epona Petra
Are you a worrier? Have trouble just “letting go”, and end up lying awake for hours, ‘stewing’ over every little thing? There are little worries that are not worth obsessing over (or so you tell yourself), and there are big worries that carry real fear with them. The Covid-19 Pandemic has been one of those. And as if it is not serious enough a health concern of its own, it carries in its train a host of related worries about loved ones, jobs, money, security and more.
Here’s the thing, though: worry about that which you can do nothing accomplishes nothing beneficial and it’s destructive to self and others. And no, we can’t always avoid worry. But we can take breaks, so to speak, and put the burden of worry down for a time.
Animals live in the present. They are attuned to natural rhythms and the seasons, taking each in its time and adjusting accordingly. One of the signs of Spring, for horses, is the shedding of the winter coat. The hair comes off gradually at first, and then in great clumps; a “shedding blade” is standard equipment in horse barns for this purpose. The old hair falls away to the floor, revealing a shiny, darker coat of new hair underneath. My horse feels good about shedding, because he grunts with appreciation and leans into the brush as his old, dull winter coat, no longer wanted or needed, falls away.
Naturally shed horsehair – Image by Epona Petra, used with permission
Stable Magick Ritual for Banishing
To that end, I offer here one of my Stable Magick rituals, because this is the best time of year for folks to secure some of that unwanted winter coat for banishing purposes.
Take care, however, that you only use hair that is shed, or hair that has been released by the animal, and not some that was cut off. And it’s only polite to give a gift for a gift; an apple or carrot would be most appreciated.
I would recommend that this ritual be done on a windy day on or before the New Moon. Like all my stable magick, not much is required; you only need clear intention, and the hair itself. You can use as much or as little hair as you like.
If the horses you know happen to have shed most of their winter coat by now, check brushes or run your fingers through the coat to loosen enough to gather. The basic technique is to spin widdershins, like most tornadoes in the northern hemisphere, while releasing the hair, and your cares, to the winds.
You can use a simple rhyming chant like this:
This hair of horse, no longer needed, Like cares of mine, no longer heeded. I cast away, the winds to carry, My heart is light, and back to Merry!
You can bind the worries to the hair by holding it and reciting the first two lines repeatedly to build up energy.
Note: be sure to do this somewhere out of the wind, because this horsehair is very fine and can slip through your fingers in a hot minute.
Then, go outside where you won’t be disturbed and hold the hair close to your body, and recite the entire chant while turning widdershins, slowly at first and then with increasing speed. Turn and repeat, turn and repeat, until you become a whirlwind of your own making and release the hair when you feel about ready to burst.
The work is done! Be sure to ground afterwards by touching earth, and get something to eat or drink afterwards.
A further note: notice which way the wind is blowing, because you really don’t want the hair coming back on you!
Nothing like a new pandemic to bring out all the old plague lore. Legend has it that long ago, grave robbers once brokered their freedom in exchange for the secret to how they didn’t contract the deadly plague while pillaging their victims. Allegedly, they used aromatic herbs in their masks to neutralize the awful smell, and stumbled upon the anti-microbial effects of these plants. Those helpful healers came to be included in all kinds of “thieves” protection blends.
During the Witch on Fire-side chat video of April 10th, which can be viewed below, I demonstrated which five “thieves” I include in my essential oil blend. Then I use that blend in making a household cleaner spray, and hand-sanitizer. I diffuse the blend into the air to clear pathogens including mold spores. I even draw banishing pentagrams with the blend on my HVAC filter, so it runs through the ductwork. I use the blend in a technique for making a sigil paint for use on the doors of the house. Those recipes are included below in this article.
Also discussed in the video above are methods for a basic home purification with the four elements, and the black and white candle spell, which are discussed in depth already in my article Warding Ritual for Spiritual Protection of Your Home.
For that spell, I used the excellent magickally prepared oils, Jupiter’s Juju, by my friend and Sojourner Associate, Jupiter Melchizedek. All are made of top notch ingredients according the astrological timing, and traditional hoodoo and witchcraft techniques. They can be purchased from his etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/jupitersjuju
Five-Thieves Banishing Illness Oil
Cinnamon
Elemental: Fire
Planetary: Sun
Zodiac: Leo
Qualities: Health, Love, Prosperity, Consecration, Purification and Sanctification. A natural pesticide.
Qualities: Purification, Mental clarity, Confidence, Good Luck.
Lemon
Elemental: Water
Planetary: Moon
Zodiac: Cancer
Qualities: Calm, Love, Purification of baneful emotions.
Eucalyptus
Elemental: Water and Earth
Planetary: Moon
Zodiac: Cancer
Qualities: Protection, Banishing, Purifying, healing, mental and physical well-being, acts as a charm against disease. Reduces fatigue, aids respiratory system.
Ingredients for Five Thieves Preparations – Heron Michelle
Funk Fighting Household Cleaner Spray Recipe
In household sprayer bottle, blend:
2/3 bottle Rubbing Alcohol (I typically use white vinegar, but lately I’ve upped my game)
1/3 bottle Water
1 teaspoon dish washing liquid soap
1-2 droppers full of five thieves oil.
Add all ingredients to the sprayer bottle and charge to their purpose of hygiene and fighting the household funk, as if you’re killing all microbial harm with the fires of Ares himself. Label the bottle and add protective sigils.
Hand Sanitizer Recipe
2 cups Rubbing Alcohol
1 cup Aloe Vera liquid or gel
1 tablespoon of Florida Water Cologne
1 dropper full of Five Thieves Essential oil blend above.
Add all ingredients to a glass pump bottle and charge to their purpose of hygiene and good health, protecting from all baneful influence. Label the bottle and add protective sigils.
Protection from Illness Sigil Paint
Immunity Booster Sigil Painted on Window – Heron Michelle
1 Tablespoon Vegetable Glycerine
9 drops Five Thieves Essential oil blend
1 teaspoon Garnet Sand: Root Chakra, revitalizes, balancing, love, resources, libido, emotional harmony, survival instinct, courage, hope; thought to detoxify blood, heart and lungs.
1 teaspoon Fire Incense blend (recipe here) or powdered cinnamon, clove, and/or dragon’s blood resin.
Paintbrush to blend and apply
Awaken and charge each ingredient for the fiery protection from illness, or any harm, for all those who live in your home. Draw in the paint banishing pentacles while charging to it’s purpose of defense, balance, and purification. Then use that paint to draw any protection sigil, such as this immunity booster sigil promoting good health, by Laura Tempest Zakroff. Or, use a banishing pentacle. Apply to outside of the home’s doors and/or windows, or anywhere else that physical protection is needed.
This magickal paint will work for any intention where the Warrior Mars energy can aid in your defense. The glycerine will dry, leaving the faint outline of the herbs and stone, but the energetic imprint is now marked, even if the image wears away. A variation of this idea was originally found in Teaching Witchcraft by Miles Batty.
Note that any fiery oil such as cinnamon and clove can potentially irritate sensitive skin, especially if they are not sufficiently diluted. Use sparingly.
Be well!
~Heron Michelle
Witch on Fire-side chats will be held throughout the month of April 2020, on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday nights at 9:00 pm EST. This effort is in support of my shop, The Sojourner Whole Earth Provisions, while we are closed in accordance to the Covid-19 shelter-in-place mandates by the state. Donations are accepted via PayPal at orders@thesojo.com and go to cover our payroll and basic expenses.
Tune in to participate live on my Facebook Business Page: https://www.facebook.com/WitchonFire. I welcome you to like and follow that page, and to share and promote the videos through your own social media sites.
During the Witch on Fire-side chat video of April 7th, 2020, we shared a Full Moon Esbat as the Full moon peaked in Libra, with the sun in Aries. For that more ritualized working, the awakening of the altar salt bowl was demonstrated. Then I constructed a magickal poppet to bring motivation and balanced thinking to emotions while we shelter in place. I charged it with a reading of The Charge of the Goddess. Also included, blessing of the chalice and sharing the simple feast, otherwise known as the Great Rite in Token. Click the image below to watch the video.
In advance of the video, I prepared the materials of my poppet, using a cardboard template in the shape of a person. I cut it out from Red felt to represent the fiery Aries energies of the Sun, and from yellow felt to represent the airy Libra energies of the moon at that moment. The black embroidery thread was chosen to bind and encircle them, for protection and grounding. The candles were inscribed with sigils of elemental fire/aries and air/libra, and later in the video anointed and dressed with corresponding magickal oil and herb blends.
Cutting out the poppet from yellow and red felt, carving candles to represent Aries Sun and Libra Moon energies ~Heron Michelle
Poppet Spell
The materials I chose for my poppet were purposefully sourced from what I had in my kitchen cabinets and growing in my backyard, as a means to demonstrate that no matter where you live, you don’t necessarily need to make a trip to the metaphysical store to find plant and stone allies to begin a practice of witchcraft.
Begin by sewing most of the way around the figure, leaving the inner legs open. This makes a person-shaped bag ready for loading.
I chose 9 materials to reinforce the healing needs of this moment to my poppet, and I added them symbolically to corresponding areas of the body. 3×3=9 which is a magickal number of the moon. Awaken each as you add them. I blow over them, tap three times and ask them specifically for what qualities to bring to the working.
Materials:
Head: Dandelion Flower – Libra Balance of Mental body, cheer and happiness.
Throat: Basil – Libra Balance to thoughts, attitudes, speach.
Arms: Rosemary branch in each arm -Fiery, protective embrace of the current pandemic realities.
Belly/Solar Plexis: Hematite Anchor charm – Aries fires to bring motivation and courage as anchor in the emotional storm.
Lungs: Eucalyptus leaf -balance of emotional waters, and healing powers against respiratory illness.
Heart: Rose petals – bringing love and peace of Venus to emotional body.
Spine: Blue Kyanite blade – bringing clearance and balance to the entire energy body.
Root Chakra, Bottom: Oak tree Acorn – bringing earthy rootedness at home, and to plant a seed of potential which can grow to something great with the action and inspiration of the astrological moment, like the completion of my book project!
Legs: Tulip Poplar Branch from my shrine’s guardian tree in the back yard – the bones of my plant realm priest who aids my growth, and roots me to my home.
Every poppet needs a Taglock with the DNA or essence of the person with whom it will be in spiritual sympathy. I added a lock of my own hair, tagging this poppet with my own DNA up-link to human collective consciousness.
Sew up the legs.
On the face of the yellow side, with a black sharpie marker, I repeated the sigils of Libra and elemental air. On the solar plexis of the red side, I repeated the sigils of Aries and elemental fire. In the palms of each hand, I added the alchemical sigils of water and earth, so that what I produce and handle during this time be in rooted, emotional balance within the security of my home’s structures. On her chest, I added my own magickal signature bindrune, naming her as myself. You can decorate a poppet in anyway that makes it resemble yourself as the figure you mean to become.
After blowing my breath of resuscitation, and imprinting my energy to awaken and inspirit the poppet, I charged her with a reading of The Charge of the Goddess. This also reminds me of my sacred mission as a Witch. Then I fed her with a previously prepared peace water with a drop on each chakra, palms and feet. I will continue to feed her in this manner while she charges on my altar paten every day for the two week of waning moon until dark moon. On dark moon, I will open and release her and the ingredients from that work, and bury them on my property in a place I wouldn’t mind an oak tree growing.
As she rested on my altar paten (earth) I crossed over her chest my athame (fire) and wand (air). I added my large hematite (mars/fire/iron) to further charge her with courage and protection of Aries/Ares. I let the candles burn the rest of the evening while the moon peaked, and shifted into waning. When the time comes, I will bury the candle remains with the poppet materials.
Heron’s Poppet Pattern
Caveats:
This is just one witch’s example of how poppet magick may be personalized. As I said in the video, I’m very particular about NOT making poppets for anyone but myself, or perhaps with someone else’s explicit consent and participation in the working. Whatever you do to a magickal poppet, you do to the individual in sympathy with that form. That is a grave responsibility not to be taken lightly.
I personally swore to live by the Wiccan Rede, and so I work for the highest good of all involved, harming none. Violation of consent, free-will and personal sovereignty is an aberration of nature’s order of Divine Love, and therefore an “evil” act in my books. I wouldn’t recommend violating that divine order; karmic spankings are a bitch, but only if you’re one first. Just sayin’.
Charging Poppet on Altar Paten, crossed by Athame and Wand, hematite. Full Moon in Libra, April 7th, 2020 – Heron Michelle
Thanks for tuning in!
~Heron
Witch on Fire-side chats will be held throughout the month of April 2020, on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday nights at 9:00 pm EST. This effort is in support of my shop, The Sojourner Whole Earth Provisions, while we are closed in accordance to the Covid-19 shelter-in-place mandates by the state. Donations are accepted via PayPal at orders@thesojo.com and go to cover our payroll and basic expenses while we await SBA disaster relief loans to come through.
Find the previously recorded videos, and tune in to participate live on my Facebook Business Page: https://www.facebook.com/WitchonFire. I welcome you to like and follow that page, and to share and promote the videos through your own social media sites.
In this Witch on Fire-side chat video, I demonstrated the process of burning loose, magickal incense blends on charcoal tabs, using my own Elemental Fire Incense blend. That recipe and magickal process are shared in this article!
Elemental Fire Incense Recipe
For Planetary Mars and Sun Magick
This Fire incense recipe is effective for any journeys and spells where elemental powers of fire, or planetary Mars or Sun would aid in manifesting your intention.
Elemental Fire empowers our Will in the world, our actions, passions and motivations. Mars energy give the necessary bravery and courage to confront issues head-on, to do righteous battle, and to enact the changes required, in alignment with our Will. The Sun is a support for happiness, optimism, success, and accomplishment of all kinds.
Create your blend during favorable astrological timing: Tuesday or Sunday, when the sun is in a fire zodiac sign: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius. (We happen to be in Aries at the time of publication.) If that isn’t possible, create your blend during the first half hour or so after sunrise on a Tuesday or Sunday, and that will also be the hour of that ruling planet.
Ingredients:
Units of measurement can be anything you like. Scale it up to make a large quantity by making “1 part” be a Tablespoon. Scale it down to make a smaller quantity by making a “part” a teaspoon.
• 1 part base wood – Oak Wood powder (Earth, Sun)
• 1 part Cinnamon Bark Power (Fire, Sun)
• 2 parts Resin powder – Dragon’s Blood Resin (Fire, Mars)
• 1/2 part Herb – Ginger Root or Powder (Fire, Mars)
• 1/2 part Herb – Clove Powder (Fire, Sun)
• 1 part Herb – Powdered Peel of Orange or Tangerine (Fire, Sun)
• Essential oils – 10 drops each of Orange and Clove (optional)
• 2 parts vegetable glycerin to bind.
• Stone chips or granules: Hematite, Tiger Iron, or Red Aventurine
Instructions:
Grind all plant ingredients in your mortar and pestle, clockwise until relatively fine. Awaken and invite their plant spirits to aid you in your work, thank them for their aid. Transfer the mixture to a wide mouthed jar, like a canning jar
Add the essential oil and glycerin, stir, or fluff with a fork to combine and bind. The glycerine will lend a less-dusty, better incorporated texture to the blend.
Awaken, and add stone chips or stone granules (this is the gemstone ground into a fine grit and is available in many varieties.)
With your athame, draw the alchemical sigil of Fire in the incense. Charge with the powers of Fire by picturing a raging fire, the crackle of fuel and air consumed, and the light and heat released through the flickering flames. See the natural energy glowing of that fire glowing with a red-hot light. Directed through the mind and exhaled breath, transfer that red light into the incense.
Seal and label the blend, including the ingredients, the date of making, the sigils and planetary associations.
The blend can now be burned over charcoal as an incense to invoke the powers of fire, mars and sun in your rituals. Or, a pinch could be used to dress spell candles, added to charm-bags, poppets, spell-jars and other magickal preparations, where the fiery elemental plant allies are called into the working.
Hail powers of fire!
~Heron
Witch on Fire-side chats will be held throughout the month of April 2020, on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday nights at 9:00 pm EST. This effort is in support of my shop, The Sojourner Whole Earth Provisions, while we are closed in accordance to the Covid-19 shelter-in-place mandates by the state. Donations are accepted via paypal at orders@thesojo.com and go to cover our payroll and basic expenses while we await SBA disaster relief loans to come through.
Find the previously recorded videos, and tune in to participate live on my Facebook Business Page: https://www.facebook.com/WitchonFire. I welcome you to like and follow that page, and to share and promote the videos through your own social media sites.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In