Spring Equinox 2012

This year the Vernal Equinox or Spring Equinox as most of us know it is marked on most calendars for today (3/20/12). It happened to be at its apex in AZ (where I live) at 10:14pm yesterday (3/19/12) this year.

flurries

Because of the time difference caused by the time zones, I started my Spring celebrations yesterday and carried them over to today. Yesterday was an interesting start to Spring for us here in Southeastern AZ, we had a really good snow storm that lasted most of the day and into the evening, covering the local mountain ranges, (The Huachuca Mtns, The Mule Mtns, and the San Jose Mtns) it even flurried in the River valley (San Pedro) where I live.

on the way up the canyon

Normally we do not have snow this late in the year and this year is a surprise because it has been such an exceptionally mild winter. I’ve been out in the yard in my shorts and T-shirt a few days this month.

My nine year old daughter, Jolene, and I started our Spring celebrations by coloring eggs. By the time we had our eggs dyed, the snow was coming down pretty good and my oldest Son (Albert) showed up with my his daughter (Leilani), who is also my oldest grandchild. We watched the snow fall and talked about going to play in the snow in the mountains. When Chris (Fiancé) and Travis (youngest son) got home from work we did decide to head up to the Mtns to play in the snow. After bundling up and deciding on which canyon to go up, we headed out.

Can you feel the Magick?

As we got closer to the mountains I started to feel the Magick. I can’t describe it any other way. I know it is a local Mtn deity, and this deity is sometimes male and other times female. I am not sure if this is a pair or if this is one deity.

I hadn’t felt this particular entity in six years; I haven’t felt any divine energy in five. I’ve been plugging along and trying to get through my daily life knowing that at some point I will reconnect with some form of divinity.

Huachuca Mtns.

Yesterday marked the sixth year since I had felt the connection with the Mtn deity. Six years ago I was in some turmoil over a Magick Shop I owned. I had started this shop online and had built it up for several years. In 2004 I opened a physical location for the shop and in 2005 took on some business partners. A lot of things went on within the business until the spring of 2006. At this time it was clear to me the partnership needed to dissolve and that meant I would be handing over my business to my partner. It was a difficult decision, but one I finalized at the community Equinox Celebration in the Huachuca Mtns.

Sun, Moon, and  South marker

One of the local covens was conducting the ceremony and many others were in attendance for the ritual. A friend and I chose to support the ritual by climbing up the canyon wall and drumming for the duration of the ritual. The whole time we drummed the snow fell thicker and faster. This would be the last time I participated in the general pagan community in my area.

When we arrived in the canyon yesterday, I could feel the energy of the area, it was almost palatable.

Chris, Leilani, Travis, Jolene, and Albert

Right way I took Leilani and Jolene over to the circle. I was surprised and pleased to see that someone had been using the fire pit and I saw that two of the directional markers as well as the sun and moon rocks were still in place. I felt as if I had come home. After the guys all showed up in the ceremony area, they started snow ball fighting and just having a really good time.

Me, Jolene and Leilani near the circle

I didn’t cast the circle, nor did we have ritual there, but we did have great family time and I was so pleased to share this sacred place with Jolene and Leilani for the first time. I did leave a small offering of hair pulled from the nape of my neck in one of the trees.

Today I looked out at the mountains and could feel them again as I did yesterday. It’s like this separation from divinity has been ended. It ended at spring equinox six years ago during a snow storm and was renewed yesterday during a snow storm. I am looking forward to building my relationship with the Mtn. deity, whoever she/he/they may be.

Huachuca Mtns as seen from my yard this morning

Spring Equinox Altar

After Jolene hunted and found all our colored eggs, many of them with magickal symbols drawn on them, we used them in our Equinox ceremony. After smudging our altar and each other Jolene and I placed  Blue for water in the west, green for earth was in the north, yellow for air was in the east, and pink was in the south for fire. I know fire isn’t pink, but it is as close as we could get with spring colors. We also placed the green egg marked for the green man on the right and the pink egg marked for the goddess on the left.  I’ve never really included a male deity in my workings, and since this is a time of balance, I made this the first time to include him, with the intention to make a connection with the male aspects of deity.

Jolene being a friend of the Equinox Rabbit

We blessed her candy rabbit (white chocolate) and a glass of milk for the goddess and a cup of coffee for the Greenman. We chose coffee for the Greenman in honor of my fiancé, the green man of our family. He loves his coffee!

After this was done we took the drinks outside to our outdoor circle and sprinkled them all around the parameter. At each of the four directional markers we left an offering of a fresh egg, and in the center we left a huge carrot for the birds and animals who might want it... We also gave our horse Bubba carrots along with his breakfast. He was really surprised, but gladly ate them right up.

This year we baking sweet egg bread. I'll let you know how it turns out in another post. ;-)

I hope your celebration was as special as ours was.

Have a Wicked Good Day!
Molly

Elementals and Elements

 

So, what’s the difference? Aren’t they both the same thing? These are the questions I get from people who have not worked with Elementals, or just assumed Elemental means Elements.

I know… this will cause some people to get there hackles up. They might even actually believe the word Elemental is another word for the Elements. In MY understanding and my magickal work, they are NOT the same thing. They are associated with each other, but not interchangeable terms.

Let’s start with what the Elements are:

In my workings there are four earthly elements I work with. I say earthly elements, because these are the elements of Water, Fire, Air, and Earth. These are the basic building blocks of life on an energetic level.

Water is the element I associate with the West. When working with this element I am working with emotions, birth and death. This is also the element I associate feminine energy, and the moon.  I am also working with the actual element of water.  I also associate the mountains with the west. Two animal associations I work with in the West are Bear and Whale.  I associate the colors Black and Blue with this Element.

Fire is the element I associate with the south. When working with this element I am working with trickster energy. Here is where I find myself working with Coyote and sometimes raven and crow work with me from the south, I am also working with the element of fire. I also associate the fire and the desert with the south. The colors I associate with the south are Reds and red/oranges.  

Air is the element I associate with the East. When I’m working with this element, I am working with a masculine energy. Though this is a male energy,  I associate it with birth and rebirth.  I find myself working with eagle or hawk in the east as well as the actual element of air. I associate prairies with the East and Air.  I also associate the Sun and the color yellow with the East.

Earth is the element I associate with the north. When working with earth energy I am actually working with the earth itself. I do this through crystals, minerals, wood, and clays. Often I work with the energy of buffalo and this is where I most deeply connect with Horse energy. This is where I will make connections with ancestors and ancient knowledge.  I associate earth with the woods and forests of the north. The color I most often associate with earth is white or a clear crystalline color.

When working with others I sometimes find they may have different colors and energies associated with the elements. I’ve also encountered others who add a fifth element of spirit or ether to their workings. I am not going to expand on this element because I do not include it in my practices unless I am working with others who do.

Now on to my understanding of Elementals:

In my experience the elementals are spiritual or mythological entities that are associated with particular elements.  These tend to be lower in vibration and are often representations of the actual construct of the elements they are associated with. 

Water elementals I work with often take the form of mermaid like water spirits. These spirits are at home in the water and tend to take on forms that resemble our common idea of what a mermaid looks like, but only to the basic degrees. I have not encountered one who resembles the Little Mermaid.

Fire elementals I work with tend to be spirits who are built of the element fire. Unlike the mermaid like elementals who are most comfortable in the environment water, but are not constructed of water.

Air elementals I work with are fairy like spirits. They always have wings and are most comfortable flying, but they do not always look like the common depictions of fairies. These are not your Tinkerbell variety.

Earth elementals are my favorite, and they often appear as brownies, elves, trolls, and other small human like “little people”. I have encountered some who appear to be made from mud, rocks or other earth elements.

Offering of coffee for Household Brownies (Earth Elemental)

All of the elementals I have worked with and still working with have their own unique personalities and prefer to be interacted with as individuals.  Elementals can take many different forms and there are other traditions which work with specific types of elementals associated with the different elements.  My affinity with the elementals is one that is personal and I have learned a lot from these “little people”. The fact they are composed of natures basic constructs within the element they are from, gives them a closer or deeper perspective of the very nature of Nature. Take the time to get to know these folks. Don’t be surprised if they come in forms that may not be so nice, they are not always pleasant, but they are always there to show you the way, or teach you something new.

Have a Wicked Good Day!

Molly