Pagan Paths

It’s a common thing to hear that there’s a difference between our magical lives and our mundane lives. In reality, we have the ability to step into ritual and devotion each and every day.

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Ritual Elements Water - Immersing Myself in Water

Over the past few weeks I've been examining my practice with the Elements. It is one of the core pieces of magic I teach in the Reclaiming Tradition.I revisit this work every so often as a teacher and as a student. In my last two post I talked about my explorations with Air and my connections with Fire. Now it's time to dive into some deep Water.

Immersing myself in Water -

I like water. I love swimming in it. I'm all about selfishly lingering in a steaming hot bath tub for as long as I can possibly get away with it. I find the sound of water babbling over stones and waves crashing onto beaches and rain hammering onto the roof of my car, to be some of the most erotic sounds I've ever heard. I cannot imagine not living near free running, wild water. However, my understanding of Water has been elusive. It's taken me years to understand that I don't understand Water at all. And I think I know why.

Some of my earliest memories are of the River Thames (pronounced "TEMS") in London. That's where I grew up. The River was everywhere. I could see it from the windows of the shabby council estate tower blocks I lived in. I could smell the salt air mixed with diesel and sweetness from the demerara sugar ships down at the docks. I'd sneak onto the free ferry in Woolwich, just to be part of the River. I would dangle my legs through iron railings, slip down onto disused docks and just sit with the River. In the midst of the overwhelming oppression of the concrete jungle, as my part of London was affectionately dubbed, there was always the voice of the River.

b2ap3_thumbnail_Woolwich-005-cropped.jpg

(Woolwich and the River Thames in the 1970s)

There were frequent boat rides to Westminster, what most people think of as London proper. Disembarking at the feet of Boudicca and her chariot always seemed deliciously subversive to me. (She, who marched into London and overthrew it, has always been a beacon.) There were school trips to the Cutty Sark and the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich. There were day trips to Gravesend, where the River Thames makes its way through Kent, finally emptying into the brutal, unforgiving blackness of the North Sea.

The River Thames is ancient. No part of London's more than two-thousand year old history is ever told without referencing the River. Sacred offerings are still being pulled out to this day - British torcs and Celtic shields and Saxon swords and Roman coins. For thousands of years the River has played a part in the rise and fall of queens and tyrants and every day people. Banking and finance might be what fills the coffers these days, but the River will always be the life-blood of London. 

The ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in
Meltdown expected, the wheat is growin' thin
Engines stop running, but I have no fear
'Cause London is drowning, and I, I live by the river

The Clash "London Calling"

And then suddenly, the River and London and everything I knew about Water was very, very far away and I found myself in California.The Water here is completely different. It comes from mountains, cuts through granite, swells in rushing rivers and fills local creeks. The Pacific Ocean, for all it's riptides and hidden dangers, is generally thought of as a welcoming place to play.The Water here still retains an element of the wild.

And so as I came to live near these waters on the West Coast and Sierras, I took on these tumbling, cascading, flowing, wild aspects. Water became an adventure rather than an escape. Water became about the "now" and not about the slow march of time. Water became an emblem of freedom compared to the river of obligation and industry. When I think of water here in Sonoma County and along the northern California coast, I think of possibility.

  b2ap3_thumbnail_319366_Oceans-Fury_Breanda-Lee_620x470.jpg

Water connects me to memories. Much of what I remember from my childhood is wrapped up in being alone and feeling scared. I was so clearly different and those differences made me a target. The River was a place of escape, a place to dream of being a pirate or sailing to far away lands on a tea clipper, or just floating, or even drowning. English water is full of deep, terrible emotions. It is full of sadness for me.

California water speaks to me of vastness, of change, of possibility of starting on a pristine mountainside and traveling through spectacular landscapes full of life and colour. Water here speaks of being naked and washing myself clean in deep, clear pools that are untouched and unspoiled.

In the song "Tales from the Riverbank" by The Jam, Paul Weller astutely writes of the River " It''s mixed with happiness, It's mixed with tears. Both life and death are carried in this stream." For me, that's what I don't want to own about Water. When I dip myself into that stream I never know which memories are going to come flooding back. And sometimes those painful, hidden, suppressed images come rushing in and I'm carried out to sea like a piece of flotsam on those dangerous currents.

Water is complex. Water doesn't ask if I want to go to the ocean. Water reminds me of where I've been and who I've been and what I've lost and what I've walked away from. Water lures me in with the promise of a nice, long soak in the hot tub and then smashes me on the jagged rocks at the seashore.

I love being in water. I hate being in the water. I crave being near water every day and I can't imagine not living near it. This is how Water shows up as part of my daily life and part of my daily practice. Water. I honour you.

Tell me your stories about Water...

Note: The picture of the man submerged in water is from ShutterStock. The picture of Woolwich is from the internet and was uncredited. The breaking waves picture is called "oceans Fury" and is by Breanda Lee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I've been a practicing witch and ritualist within the Reclaiming Tradition since 2003. I love being in service with this community of witches and world changers.   My own practice, my own way of changing the world is through devotional practice. It's my belief that we can re-enchant our lives by re-framing the so-called "mundane" as sacred and divine. By imbuing the familiar with a sense of wonder and infusing daily life with acts of magic, we choose to consciously make all of life devotion. Whether we engage in large, public rituals or sink sumptuously into the pure ecstasy of eating a delicious meal by ourselves or meditating at sunrise, our daily rituals can draw us back into harmony with the world and each other.  

Comments

  • HiC Luttmers
    HiC Luttmers Tuesday, 17 March 2015

    I'm curious whether you've experienced any sort of shift or change in your relationship, understanding and experience of Water from living in these drought conditions (something that I can't imagine would be an experience of a Londoner ... quite the opposite with so much water there with the ever-present rains) ?

  • Gwion Raven
    Gwion Raven Tuesday, 17 March 2015

    Hello HiC,

    It's next to impossible to live in California and not see the effects of the drought (unless you are my clueless neighbour with the perfectly green and lush lawn - Grrrr!).
    As far as my own experiences of Water I would say they continue to shift. Water plays an important part in my life. I notice it or the lack of it. When it's in abundance or when I sense that it's in abundance, I seem to have more access to my own emotions. When I'm not around water I feel stunted and cut off from my emotions. It's a tough place to be, you know? I want more access and more memories and more emotions and yet, they are the things that bring up so much that I don't want to look at. Which is why I do this work, of course!

    Thanks

    Gwion

  • Elizabeth Creely
    Elizabeth Creely Wednesday, 18 March 2015

    Gwion I have nothing concrete to say other than 1. I am so happy you quoted P. Weller and J. Strummer and that 2. you talked about the Thames.
    When I looked the Thames for the first time, I felt my heart rip out of my chest. I don't believe in past life experiences, except for the Thames and the way it made me feel. THAT I believe.
    This is a wonderful piece of writing.
    Oh, yeah- how I work with water? If it'll have me, i just get in it.

  • Lizann Bassham
    Lizann Bassham Wednesday, 18 March 2015

    As a child growing up in French Gulch, a tiny mountain community in the Trinity Mountains of California, the first voice of The Divine I was clearly aware of was Clear Creek which ran through the length of the town. At the top of town was The Falls a place carved out of dark stone by the creek. The second voice of The Divine was The Moon which rose over the mountain to the East and set not much over the mountain to the West (it was a narrow gulch that ran North/South). The interaction of The Moon and Water have been one of the most clear ways for me to understand most things on this Earth, including the tides inside my own body.

  • Crystal R. Martin
    Crystal R. Martin Wednesday, 18 March 2015

    Is earth by chance your element? I ask, because I too was scared by water as a child. I almost drowned, and it terrified me. I've outgrown the fear for the most part in some senses, but I'm drawn to water. Like you mentioned, especially baths and the like. I also am drawn to the Ocean intuitively. Water creates the balance I need. I am doubly doomed as a Taurus with earth as an element. I don't think my mother knew what she was doing. ;)

  • Gwion Raven
    Gwion Raven Wednesday, 18 March 2015

    Hello Crystal,

    thank you for commenting and sharing something of your story. I am a Fire sign actually, but I think your point still rings true :)

  • Annika Mongan
    Annika Mongan Thursday, 19 March 2015

    Oh, what a great exploration and complicated relationship to water. I didn't grow up near water, my refuge and place of exploration were the trees (and yes, I am an earth sign). But my family also called me a water rat because I jumped in every chance I got, mostly on our vacations in the US.
    One thing I love about water is the silencing of the world. When you float above colored fish and corals and all you hear is the slushing of the waves and your breathing through a snorkel, you are in a different world.

  • Gwion Raven
    Gwion Raven Thursday, 19 March 2015

    I love that too Annika - There's a scene in the movie "The Graduate" where the main character sits at the bottom of his parents swimming pool in scuba gear. He's there to drown out the noise of the party going on in his honour.

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