The Real Witches’ Craft: Magical Techniques and Guidance for a Full Year of Practising the Craft. Kate West

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       ‘Mighty Salamanders, beings of the Fire, I thank you. May you depart in peace to your realm of Sun and flame. Blessed Be.’

       ‘Elegant Undines, beings of the Water, I thank you. May you depart in peace to your realm of water and the oceans. Blessed Be.’

       ‘Noble Gnomes, beings of the Earth, I thank you. May you depart in peace to your realm of the rocks and the soil. Blessed Be.’

      Before removing the Sacred Space make notes on any thoughts, feelings or impressions you felt. Also include your thoughts on them.

      

      Dismiss the Elements:

      

      Standing in the East, and facing that direction, call on the Element of Air, saying:

      

       ‘I give thanks to the Element of Air, for joining with me here in the Circle. Hale and farewell. Blessed Be.’

      Repeat in the South for Fire, West for Water and North for Earth.

      

      Next thank the Goddess and the God:

      

      Still facing the North, close your eyes, and say:

      

       ‘I give thanks to the Goddess and the God for being present here with me in these my Rites. Hale and farewell. Blessed Be.’

      ‘Then remove the Circle:

      

      Move to the North-East of the Circle and with the forefinger of your strong hand draw a circle in the air around the outer boundary of the Circle. This time visualize the electric blue sphere fading and dissipating, and say:

      

       ‘I remove this Circle and return this place as it was before.’

      Make sure that you overlap the start and finish points of the Circle and then say:

      

       ‘Blessed Be.’

      Wait a further five minutes before extinguishing incense or flame, or before disposing of water or earth, so that the Elemental(s) may leave at their own pace. Water or earth should be returned to the land sensitively, not just dumped. During this time it is a good idea to have something to eat and drink, even if it is only a glass of water and a biscuit, to ground yourself. Magical work of any kind brings that part of you which operates on the psychic plane to the fore, and you need to redress this before returning to dealing with the material realm. After all, you wouldn’t want to be driving on the same road as someone who was partly in a trance!

      When you feel you would like to repeat this Ritual for the other Elementals, remember to only try to contact one form in any one Ritual, and one Ritual in any one day. Remember, practice of the Craft should enhance your life, not take it over.

      

      As I mentioned earlier, knowledge of the Elements is essential to the practice of the Craft and to making spells and magic work. Furthermore, the invocation of the Elements when making the Sacred Space is a key part of this, for it draws their energies from both within and without. With a little practice you will not need to do this in as formal a way as here, as you will be able to invoke and banish using visualization only. But it is a good idea to be able to use either technique. Having said that, there is no reason why you should need to speak the above invocations out loud, you can say the words in your head if you prefer.

      THE ELEMENTS AND THE WEATHER

      Whilst the Elements we refer to are not the same as the weather, they are associated with each other in many people’s minds. Sometimes the term ‘the Elements’ is used to mean or describe the weather. Certainly, one of the expected, and very useful, skills of the Witch is the ability to predict and even to change weather conditions. From the perspective of the Craft it is not necessary to do either of these on a large scale; we are usually only interested in what affects a small local area and for a short period. It is one thing to ensure you have a dry period for an outdoor event, but we do not want to intervene in the weather to the extent that we upset nature’s own balance. Like many other forms of magic, it is also as well to be aware that changes are possible, but not miracles. Whilst you may be able to achieve a warmish day in winter, there is no point in seeking a heatwave!

      

      The first step towards working with the weather lies in understanding it. To do this it is helpful to observe it carefully. Not just whether it is raining or not, but by looking at the direction and strength of the wind, and the shapes of the clouds. Use your other senses too; quite often you will find that there is a smell similar to moist earth just before rain comes, or that the air tastes different before snow, and so on. Personally, I also find that my nose becomes very cold when rain is on the way! Look, too, at other indicators: quite often animals and small children behave in different ways before a change of weather. If you live in the country you will probably be aware that livestock tend to lie down before rain, and huddle together when it is going to get colder. Certainly, children become more excitable and restless before the wind picks up, as any observant parent or teacher can tell you. Practise looking at the sky and the signs regularly and you may save yourself getting caught out by sudden changes in weather.

      

      Once you are attuned to the weather and the seasons then you can consider working magic to make change when you truly need to.

      Weather Workings

      Most people are familiar with the children’s chant ‘Rain, rain, go away, come again another day.’ Or its variant, ‘Rain, rain, go away, come again by night not day.’ Both of these can be worked as spells, so long as they are performed with balance, focus and intent.

      To perform them effectively, as with all spells, invoke the Elements and call upon the Goddess and the God. Say either of the spells three times, whilst actually being outdoors in the rain. Remember to dismiss the Elements and thank the Goddess and the God afterwards, and expect results to be soon but not necessarily immediate.

      

      A similar spell goes, ‘The clouds are sheep, the wind their shepherd. Shepherd, take your sheep away.’ This is intended to remove both clouds and rain.

      To raise a wind, perhaps to dry washing, stand with your back to whatever air movement there is, and blow three times whilst focusing on a gentle increase in wind.

      ‘Delayed magic’ can also be worked. It used to be common, but is now much less so, for sailors to ‘buy the wind’ from a Witch. The Witch would tie three knots in a cord, which the sailor could untie at need. The first is for a breeze, the second for a wind and the third for a strong wind. In this case, the Witch would have used magic to visualize and tie each form of wind into the cord, so that it could be later released.

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