Elemental Magict Part 4 - EARTH

What an awesome element; solid, grounding, nurturing, the Great Mother. Earth is the hard work, earth is the harvest, earth is nature. I have been spending alot of time over the past 6 months getting in touch with the power of this element; I have begun gardening and in doing so I've started growing my own fruits and veggies. We were lucky enough, when we moved in, to have a vegetable garden set up at the back of our property but there was nothing growing in it at the time. It was a well designed plot and ready to be planted out.

With the help of a few friends and family I soon established a spring garden. I also started a potted herb garden as well, I am a witch after all. We have eaten lettuce, tomatoes, silverbeet, cucumber, spring onions, carrots, zucchini and strawberries as a result of our hard work and I hope to soon enjoy the watermelon and the corn that we planted as well.

Already, in this first season, I have learnt many valuable lessons from the earth and the act of providing myself and my family with sustenance. When I had first planted my tomato seedlings I dilligently tended to my babies everyday, sometimes twice a day. I was always in the vegie patch inspecting and meddling. When the first flowers appeared I was so excited, only to watch helplessly as the blossoms dropped off the plant before having any chance to create fruit. After talking to an expert at Bunnings I discovered I was overwatering them. A few days later I dreamt of an amazing patch of tomatoes that had grown without my knowledge and every bush was laden with beautiful ripe fruit, I had my answer. When preparing the soil and sowing the seeds hard work and attenton is required, however, when the plants are established and growing, a step back is needed to let them do their own thing. Nature, it seems, has a way of sorting things out for itself. It was a great lesson for me to learn, one that is very clearly also a methaphore for life.

Traditionally earth is the element of the south. It's tarot symbol is the pentacle and it's dedicated colour is green. Earth is a strong, grounding, nourishing and practical element. It is our physical presence and the hard work we put into everything we do. My earth magic is about abundance, security and nurture.