THE EARTH ELEMENT IN WITCHCRAFT — ELEMENTAL MAGICK

Earth is our home. This is where we grow, where we plant and harvest our health, our emotions and efforts in life.

Earth is the third element in the 5 element theory. It is strongest in the morning, when our spleen is full of energy, it is connected to parenthood, late summer, but also the transition time between seasons. Earth is grounding, calm, it is where we turn to rest, replenish and heal. In the body it reigns the spleen and stomach. When our earth element is low, we feel shaken, we can’t stomach something, we’re so hungry that we can’t ever get full, we always take care of others but feel like nobody cares about us.

Our earth is the first line of defense. If it’s strong and nourished, we feel safe, grounded, we have roots and shelter, no hurricane can move us or hurt us. It is the connection with ourselves that plays an important role in this situation. Are we who we think we are? Do we feel loved and protected by our family or spouse? Are we an established personality or are we tossed around by the winds of life?

If the earth element is weak, we are unable to feel sympathy, or unable to receive a compliment. We feel detached from our family, especially our mothers, or if we’re parents, we can’t truly feel like we fully love our kids. There is always a distance and coldness there that doesn’t allow anyone to come close.

Earth element is the motherly love

The earth energy is visible on our lips. We can read the state of our digestive system there, and see where we stand with our emotions. If the lips are same size and relaxed, we’re feeling secure and have our place established. If one lip is thinner or in tension, this can be related to specific symptoms and behaviours.
If our lips are wider than our nose we lack the sense of belonging, we might try to calm ourselves with food. If the upper lip is thinner and tense, it can show the difficulty we have to connect to our parents. It can go so far that a person develops an ulcer from constant worry and arguments between their parents. If the lower lip is thinner, the person is incapable of keeping people at distance and it seems that everyone is trying to control their life or tell them what to do.

Lack of energy and blockages can cause any of the following: we’re seeking to satisfy our most inner needs with external stimulation, mommy or daddy complex, a capability to only attach to an older partners, incapability to receive compliments or gifts, incapability to settle while always looking to be somewhere else, distrust in other people’s motives, lack of thankfulness and a feeling that one just needs more things. On the physical plane weak earth causes digestive problems, sometimes bad skin, retention of bad matter and slow or blocked lymph, blood sugar disorders, low energy, constant hunger and even some disorders that might cause miscarriages, due to lack of energy the body isn’t capable of carrying out the pregnancy.

The earth can get too heavy

If we’re a child of a toxic parent, the knot in our stomach and constant disapproval from our parents and the traumas we had as children can block our earth element. Everyone needs to feel like they belong somewhere and like someone cares. Traumatic childhood experiences can lead to the other extreme, to the point when we’re unable to feel sympathy for others, we worry as a tool to pressure our family members and we turn selfish.

To balance our earth energy we want to keep it warm and cozy, avoid cold drinks and food and resolve our traumas. Earth needs us to be the good and responsible adult, a caring person, one that is capable of love and care and one that feels fulfilled and like we have a home.

What are the aspects of the earth element?

color: yellow
organ: spleen and stomach
sense: taste
daytime: morning
season: late summer and seasonal transitions
taste: sweet
smell: fragrant like honey, bread and butter, deep and wholesome smells
sound: singing
movement: toward center
direction: toward center/middle
time: breakfast time, parenthood age, established life, being at home
planet: Mercury
place: fertile soil, garden
time of the day: 5am-9am

Essential oils that balance earth element: cedarwood, geranium, rosewood, juniper, patchouli, mugworth, angelica root, bergamot, cinnamon, honeysuckle, sandalwood, spruce, turmeric, tea tree, vervain etc.

Foods and spices that tonify the earth element are: all sweet foods like root vegetables, sweet fruit, cinnamon, caraway, bay leaf, millet, dried fruits, nuts and seeds, cold pressed oils, rice, pumpkin, whole grain breads, warm foods, breakfast should not be skipped and should be warm and nutritionally rich.

Our intellect lives in our spleen

Our spleen houses the Yi, part of our soul that thinks and that controls our intellect. Yi creates intention, it uses intuition, it uses the energy of the mother: the matter, darkness, the yin spirit, the ancient female aspect. When our earth element is strong, our intentions can be easily set, we can manifest what we strive for and we can ground ourselves easily.

How to use earth element in witchcraft?

This one is easy! For grounding, stabilizing, finding ancestral connections and help, healing of the mother wound and the childhood traumas. Earth can slow down, transform, purify, take in the dark and heavy and grow it into something new. It uses transmutation in a gentle way so we can build ourselves anew.
This is where we go when we need something to watch our back or when we need courage and stability.

We can learn to let go of worries and find out who we want to be. “We should only think after we’ve eaten,” an old saying states. Worry blocks our intetions and can cause the opposite outcome.
Manifestation spells that deal with liberation, establishing one’s place in this world, material spells, ancestral workings, cord cutting and slow change through growth are best executed through earth element.

Where do you belong?

How is your earth doing? How is your relationship with your mother? How is it with your kids? Are you worry-free and smiling through the day? How do you handle money and pressure?
Do you feel like you’re alone in the world? Like you have no home, or like nobody cares?

When we balance our earth element, we do not need approval from the outside. We easily spot benevolent or malicious intent. We are the head and heart of our family, we’re someone’s rock and a person they can always count on. We feel like we have people who are there for us.
There is a lot to learn about the earth, and this is great. A healthy earth never stops learning. It grows, gets richer in knowledge6 and uses its sharp intellect to cut the wrong ties and establish new, beneficial ones.

Originally published at https://crescentchalice.com on January 17, 2021.