The basis and foundation of all the elements is the Earth. The Earth is the object; subject and receptacle of all celestial rays and influences and in it are the seeds of all things. It is made fruitful by the other elements and the heavens, and brings forth all things of itself. It is the first fountain from whence all things spring; it is the centre, foundation and mother of all things.
Earth is the element of stability, foundations and of the body. The Earth is the realm of wisdom, knowledge, strength, growth and prosperity. It is also the physical Earth on which we live and the very heart of life. It is essential in spells and rituals of prosperity, business, fertility and stability. Earth is a feminine element and governs stone and knot magic.
The Earth can be viewed as our mother, with its fertile and nurturing farmland, providing all Earth’s creatures with nourishment and shelter. The earth takes on qualities of the other elements, whether it is the dry, dusty and hot aspects of Fire and Air, as is found in deserts. Or the moist and fluid aspects of Water, in swamps, marshlands and fens. In its physical manifestations, such as stones, rocks, crystals and gems, the element of Earth represents the densest of the elements.
The Earth is the womb from which all things spring, pressing your hand against fresh soil, you can feel its vitality, stability and earthiness. In its fertile soil, we’ve grown the food that provides life, on its surface we live out our lives, and when the time to return to the Goddess and God comes, we are interred in the earth.
We couldn’t exist in this form without the Earth. But our planet is simply a manifestation of this element on the physical plane, each of the elements exist in the astral planes as pure energy. This Earth energy not only exists within ourselves but also throughout the universe at large.
The Element Earth and its Natural Qualities
The Element of Earth is a heavy, passive element and is contrary to air. It is associated with the qualities of darkness, thickness and quietness.
Correspondences
DIRECTION: North – the place of greatest darkness.
TYPE OF ENERGY: Receptive.
BASIC NATURE: Fertile, moist, nurturing, stabilizing, grounding. Gravity is a manifestation of this element.
COLOUR: Green – from the colour of living plants
PLACES: Caves, canyons, forests, groves, valleys, fields, farms, gardens, parks, plant nurseries, farmer’s markets, kitchens, baby nurseries, basements, mines, holes.
RITUALS: Money, prosperity, fertility, stability, grounding, employment.
RITUAL FORMS: Burying, planting, making images in soil or sand.
HERBS: Earth-smelling plants, such as patchouli and vetivert; mosses and lichens; nuts; dry and stiff plants; heavy, low-growing plants; generally roots.
STONES: Heavy or opaque, as in coal; green, as in emerald and peridot.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT: Drum, all percussion instruments.
CREATURES: Dogs, horse, earthworm, gopher, ant, cow, burrowing animals.
SEASON: Winter – the time of darkness.
TIME: Night.
MAGICKAL TOOL: Pentacle.
SENSE: Touch.
NATURAL SYMBOLS: Salt, clay dish of fresh soil, rocks, sheaves of wheat, acorns.
TYPES OF MAGICK RULES: Gardening, magnet, image, stone, tree, knot, binding.
GODDESSES: Ceres, Demeter, Gaea, Mah, Nephthys, Persephone, Prithivi, Rhea, Rhiannon.
GODS: Adonis, Athos, Arawn, Cernunnos, Dionysus, Marduk, Pan, Tammuz.
