Magick using earth?

[bloodstorm]

does anyone here use alot of natural sources in their craft? such as plants of a certain kind. or just any material you make sourcing the earth maybe an herb you could say what are you traditions/beliefs on this?

[thalassa]

Re: Magick using earth?

About 1/3 of what I use is foraged locally...including making my own ritual salt (take seawater, run it thru a coffee filter, boil the crap out of it til most of the water is evaporated and its sludgy, then put it in a shallow glass pan in the oven on warm til the water is gone, scrape the pan and break up the crystals...voila, local salt), foraging for some of my herbs (sassafras, bayberry, paw paw, sea lettuce, etc), gathering bits of things for my altar or for crafting (pine cones, live oak acorns, vines, sticks, sand, shells, etc). 1/3 is purchased via local vendors--the local Pagan shops, the local metaphysical shop/organic grocery, etc. The last 1/3 is stuff I buy or buy the parts for from chain stores--Michaels and the Dollar Store are the faves. Occasionally, I might buy something online.

For me, people are as much part of the natural landscape, the bioregion, as not...so I don't really make a big distinction between the two. Something is not inherently better because I picked it up off the beach or from the branch than because I picked it up off the store shelf.

[bloodstorm]

Re: Magick using earth?

thanks for the response i've been drawn towards using this more "natural type" of magick for my works just picking up certain crystals and rocks certain plants etc

[Briar]

Re: Magick using earth?

I teach foraging classes so a big part of everything I do comes from the world around me. I may have to buy the pot I cook in or the gas that runs the chainsaw that cuts the wood that I use for heating and cooking, but I find it to be healthier to live from my own hands and use what is around me. I also find that it helps my mind if I do things myself instead of just paying someone else to do something for me. I have to think about how something is done instead of just plunking money down and thinking that it is the store that is magical. Because I am out in the world I see more magic in it. I see what is around me and the magic in it instead of narrowly focusing on just what I want from that online catalog or store. And the last thing is I know ethics can be used if I do the gathering as apposed to having no idea (except taking another person's word) if what I buy from the store was made in a sweatshop by almost slave labor, or was torn from the earth in bad mining practices, or whole systems were destroyed so I could have my one thing, or was it was stolen from another people simply because I had money and they did not.

[monsno_leedra]

Re: Magick using earth?

does anyone here use alot of natural sources in their craft? such as plants of a certain kind. or just any material you make sourcing the earth maybe an herb you could say what are you traditions/beliefs on this?

When I read the title of this I though you were referring to the actual "Earth" whether it be a dirt, rock, stone, mineral, crystal or even lava / magma. Sort of erring on the side of believing you were speaking about the element of earth not the various terrestrial materials to be found upon it. For instance I find I like finding the fold lines of the earth as it gives me an indication whether the energy along a given area is upthrusting or folding downward or even a slip type pattern hence the energy flow would follow those same fold patterns. Given I live in a mountainous region I like looking at the cuts where new roads go in or along river and creek ravines. Heck even natural caverns and ravines where erosion has revealed many secrets.

I am an amatuer Geologist given that I have some college level instruction but never finished my BS in Geology. So I guess you could say I tend to use natural resources in my practices quite a bit whether it be geological or biological in nature. I hold a BA in history and sociology which ties into my interest in Geology. Fossils play a small part in my practice though more often than not I like rock and mineral materials more so than biological remains from animals or such. Not to say I do not collect the occasional skull, bone, horn or feathers and use them. Biological remains or parts from the Green people do play a large part in my practice. The occasional pine cone or hemlock cone, an occasional acorn or other nut. So you can imagine I have a number of various quartz items right up to a few large massive quartz pieces. However, while I like crystals they are not part of my practice as a norm.

Most of my tools are use and loose in that I find them as I walk along, use them for whatever ritual I am going to do then return them to nature as I walk back out. Occasionally i'll keep a staff and use it more as a walking stick after that. As best as I can I try to practice low impact usage of the woodlands.

[Rae'ya]

Re: Magick using earth?

does anyone here use alot of natural sources in their craft? such as plants of a certain kind. or just any material you make sourcing the earth maybe an herb you could say what are you traditions/beliefs on this?

I use stones and semi-precious gems a lot. I just resonate well with them, and use them both for subtle changes to personal energy but also in magick.

I use animal parts as part of my work with animal guides and spirits. I have collected feathers since I was like, four years old, but I also use hides and bones. The hides are connected with particular individual spirits that are a part of my team of helpers, in the form of both pelts and my hide drum. Other bits help connect me with the energy of the animal guide, or serve as ingredients, fetishes or representations.

Plants are something that I don't really use that much except in essential oil form. I use essential oils quite a bit, but I don't do much with incense or plants as ingredients. My staff is a locally sourced branch but other than that I don't really use plants much.

[Gardenia]

Re: Magick using earth?

does anyone here use alot of natural sources in their craft? such as plants of a certain kind. or just any material you make sourcing the earth maybe an herb you could say what are you traditions/beliefs on this?

A lot of what I use, I gather myself. I'm able to forage for the majority of the plants that I use... various herbs, berries, thorns, sticks, bark, and so on. While I'm out and about foraging for plants or just hiking, I also find a lot of other natural odds and ends like stones, feathers, bits of fur, dirt, sand, and other such things.

For me it's a pretty big part of my practice, because spending the time gathering these things also allows me to spend time out on the land, which is important to me. I also just find it enjoyable to make what I can... like making my own incense for example, it's fun, relaxing, but it can also be a devotional act to spend the time making a blend for a particular deity, spirit, or occasion. I'm certainly not against buying things, and there's still quite a few things I can't/make get on my own, but foraging for what I am able to, and focusing more on what I can find locally just works better for me, and makes more sense in the context of my personal tradition. (Also, honestly, it's been a real money saver as well. )

[Sonku]

Re: Magick using earth?

does anyone here use alot of natural sources in their craft? such as plants of a certain kind. or just any material you make sourcing the earth maybe an herb you could say what are you traditions/beliefs on this?

Yes in many of my spell work, I use herbs more frequently or some rocks according, earth is search a huge source to me.