Elements of Magic: Reclaiming Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit

Awaken the Elemental Magic Within Deeply poetic and rich with passion, this book helps you expand your relationship with earth, air, fire, water, and spirit through personal reflections and hands-on explorations. With brilliant contributions from members of the international Reclaiming community, this empowering book provides spells, exercises, practices, and perspectives that are taught in Reclaiming's foundational class, Elements of Magic. Discover techniques for grounding, casting a circle, trance, and visualization, as well as guidance for working with breath, raising energy, and charging an intention. If you long to experience the ecstatic practice of magic, Elements of Magic is for you. Foreword by Starhawk Praise: "Gede Parma and Jane Meredith have excelled themselves in putting together one of the most comprehensive compilations of practices found in the Reclaiming Tradition."—Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone, teachers and authors of The Inner Mysteries and Lifting the Veil "Elements of Magic is a soulful and grounded offering that honors the past while inviting the future."—Ivo Dominguez Jr., author and elder in the Assembly of the Sacred Wheel "In this approachable, engaging guide, Jane Meredith and Gede Parma seamlessly weave together an introduction to Reclaiming and a course in the foundations of natural magic."—Thorn Mooney, Gardnerian priestess and author of Traditional Wicca "Reclaiming has so much to offer with its insights into community work, activist magic, and bringing healing to this planet ... This book is like a dandelion seed-head, spreading wild wisdom and ecstatic practice."—Tony Rella, author of Circling the Star "Elements of Magic will be a valuable resource for those who seek a spiritual connection to our world, whatever their tradition."—Diana L. Paxson, author of Trance-Portation

Table of Contents:
CONTENTS Foreword by Starhawk…xv Reclaiming’s Principles of Unity…xix Introduction…1 How to Use This Book…9 Earth 15 Earth Is Sacred • Paul Eaves 18 Practice: Tree of Life Grounding—Heidi Marian 27 Ritual: Connecting with Spirits of the Land—Zay Eleanor Watersong 30 Practice: Casting the Circle—Gede Parma 32 The Web of Life • Fiona Mariposa 36 Exercise: Ecstatic Breath Work with Plants—Riyana Rose Sang and Chuck 44 Spell: Magical Herbal Sachet for Protection—Riyana Rose Sang and Chuck 46 Meditation: Rotting Body—SusanneRae 48 Earth Activism • Ruby Berry 51 Practice: Anchoring to Core Worth—Kellie Wilding 60 Air 63 Air Is Sacred • Gwydion Logan 66 Exercise: Exploring Your Relationship to the Principles of Unity—Preston Coyote Vargas 76 Practice: Creating Ritual Space withVisualization—Abel R. Gomez 79 Practice: Burning Herbs Purification—Seraphina Capranos 82 Practice: Boundaries and Borders with the Witch's Knife—Tarin Towers 85 Sacred Sound, Sacred Song • Suzanne Sterling 87 Exercise: Writing and Singing Chants—Irisanya Moon 98 Spell: Wish Birds—Phoenix LeFae 100 Communication and Conflict • Gerri Ravyn Stanfield 102 Exercise: Basic Interpretation of a Tarot Card—Tarin Towers 112 Fire 115 Fire Is Sacred • Raven Edgewalker 118 Ritual: Building a Fire with Magical Awareness—Catherine Gronlund 128 Practice: Wands and Energy—Tarin Towers 131 Practice: Playing with Your Energy Boundaries—Catherine Gronlund 133 Transformation By Fire • Pandora O’Mallory 136 Practice: Flame Gazing—Seraphina Capranos 145 Spell: Candle Spell—Thibaut Laure 147 Sharing Power • Copper Persephone 149 Ritual: Creating a Wand with the Spark of Life—Preston Coyote Vargas 157 Practice: Expanding Your Senses—Jennifer Byers 161 Water 165 Water Is Sacred • Rose May Dance 167 Trance: Place of Power—Thibaut Laure 179 Trance: The Barrier and the Well—Heidi Marian 181 Practice: In-Drinking—Irisanya Moon 184 Ocean of Emotion • Jane Meredith 186 Process: Deep Check-In—Jane Meredith 195 Trance: Water Cycles—Phoenix LeFae 198 Personal Healing • Willow Firefly Kelly 200 Ritual: Herbal Bath—Riyana Rose Sang and Chuck 209 Trance: Meeting Our Ancestors Through Our DNA—Lisa Lind 211 Spirit 213 Spirit Is Sacred • Dawn Isidora 216 Ritual: Creating an Altar for Spirit—SusanneRae 226 Practice: Aligning the Three Souls—Fortuna Sawahata 229 Practice: Dropped and Open Through Ritual Space—Lisa Lind 233 Divination • Flame 235 Exercise: Elemental Pentacle—Rae Eden 244 Spell: Creating a Sigil—Phoenix LeFae 246 Working with the Spirits • Gede Parma 248 Ritual: Calling an Ally—Gede Parma 258 Trance: Divine Purpose—Jane Meredith 260 Creating a Ritual 263 How to Create Your Ritual 265 Planning the Ritual 268 Structure of Ritual 272 Sample Rituals 273 The Ritual 274 Glossary 277 Resources and Recommended Reading 291 Contributors 297

About the Author :
Jane Meredith is an Australian writer and ritualist. Her books include Magic of the Iron Pentacle, Elements of Magic, Rituals of Celebration, Journey to the Dark Goddess, and Aspecting the Goddess. Jane is passionate about myths and magic, co-created ritual, trees, rivers, and dark chocolate. The Kabbalistic Tree of Life is one of her special loves. She teaches internationally and is a teacher within the Reclaiming Tradition. Fio Gede Parma is a Balinese-Australian non-binary witch, international teacher, and magical mentor. Fio is a cofounder of the Coven of the Wildwood and a midwife of the Wildwood Tradition. They have been initiated into four traditions of the Craft and serve and celebrate as priestex and lover with many Spirits and Gods. Fio has authored or coauthored six previous books, including Elements of Magic and Magic of the Iron Pentacle. Visit them at FioGedeParma.com. ~Starhawk is the author and coauthor of ten books, including The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess (Harper-Collins, 1979), long considered the essential text for the Neo-Pagan movement, and the now-classic ecotopian novel The Fifth Sacred Thing (Doubleday, 1993).  Her works have been translated into German, Danish, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French and Japanese.  She is also a veteran of progressive movements and deeply committed to bringing the techniques and creative power of spirituality to political activism.  She travels internationally teaching magic, the tools of ritual, and the skills of activism. ~

Review :
"Gede Parma and Jane Meredith have excelled themselves in putting together one of the most comprehensive compilations of practices found in the Reclaiming Tradition. This will not only be useful for anyone who is following the Reclaiming path, but also those who are solitary or want to build on their coven practices."—Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone, teachers and authors of The Inner Mysteries and Lifting the Veil "Elements of Magic is a soulful and grounded offering that honors the past while inviting the future."—Ivo Dominguez Jr., author and elder in the Assembly of the Sacred Wheel "In this approachable, engaging guide, Jane Meredith and Gede Parma seamlessly weave together an introduction to Reclaiming and a course in the foundations of natural magic. With brilliant contributions by more than a dozen witches, activists, priestesses, and storytellers, there is something here for you...You'll experience the Craft as practiced by one of its most longstanding and entrenched traditions."—Thorn Mooney, Gardnerian priestess and author of Traditional Wicca "Reclaiming has so much to offer with its insights into community work, activist magic, and bringing healing to this planet...This book is like a dandelion seed-head, spreading wild wisdom and ecstatic practice."—Tony Rella, author of Circling the Star "This array of essays, exercises, and rituals at once honors the practices from which our knowledge of the elements comes and explores the depth and richness that the Reclaiming movement has developed over the years. Elements of Magic will be a valuable resource for those who seek a spiritual connection to our world, whatever their tradition."—Diana L. Paxson, author of Trance-Portation