Terrestrial
Energy
Witches tend to be animists. The word “animist” refers to one who embraces the concept of animism. Animism is derived from the words anima and animus, the Latin words relating to the soul, intelligence, and having a living nature. In the eyes of the witch, everything is alive, and anything with physical matter contains life force and intelligence. For the witch, nature is alive. The rocks, the water, the wind, the animals, the plants, the stars, the planets, and all things that we can perceive as existing within the material Universe.
As all things come from and are imbued with the quintessence of Spirit, all things are holy and alive in their own right—and anything that has a physical existence contains within it a unique personality, energy, and expression of Spirit. In Sacred Fires, we call this Universal Spirit the Star Godd-ess, the spirit of the Universe itself, and will often use the terms Star Goddess and Universe interchangeably. The Star Goddess as a primary aspect of Spirit pervades everything that exists perceivably and unperceivably within the Universe.
Before we begin looking outward to the energies of different planets and stars, let’s start with our own planet that we’re living upon. Just as humans have individual expressions of identity yet are plugged into a Collective Unconscious of humanity that connects them as a species on a spiritual level, so too is nature. A plant carries the collective memory of its species, and each plant has its own individual spirit. The same is true for crystals, animals, and other expressions of nature.
Just as humans can access the Collective Unconscious and its wisdom and history, as well as the ancestral river of blood, so too do other forms of life. For example, an owl is an individual animal with its consciousness, but it’s also plugged in to the broader Collective Consciousness of all owls. A rosebush has its own individual personality and yet it is part of the larger memory and spirit of roses. Each piece of amethyst has its own identity and is also part of the larger amethyst memory.
The Earth Is Alive
Witches understand that the planet itself is alive. The idea that the earth is alive isn’t just a spiritual concept. Chemist James Lovelock and microbiologist Lynn Margulis proposed the idea that the earth is alive and called this the Gaia Theory.36 To avoid confusion with the element of Earth, I will refer to planet earth as a being as Gaia, derived from the name Gaea, the ancient Greek name for the spirit of our planet. The main idea behind the Gaia Theory is that our planet earth acts as a single intelligent self-regulating system, much like an organism, and in turn, all life on planet earth is just part of a more extensive network. This is something that witches have always known; Gaia is alive and we as humans, as well as the rest of nature, are just microcosmic parts that are co-dependent with the planet. This is similar to how we as humans have tons of micro-organisms and bacteria within us that allows us to live, digest, and heal ourselves. As such, witches are often reverent to Gaia and see themselves as having a divine mission to be caretakers, protectors, and stewards of our planet.
Raven Grimassi discusses a fascinating concept that he terms “The Organic Memory of the Earth,” in which all things decompose and become part of the land itself.37 As I previously discussed, our blood contains the genetic memories of our ancestors. The experience, memories, wisdom, and history of all biological matter are absorbed back into Gaia when we die and decompose within her or our ashes are scattered. Gaia holds all of this wisdom within her. Grimassi likens this to the Akashic Records of Eastern thought, but being independent of it and residing within Gaia.
Witches, shamans, and mystics have known for a long time that crystals are not only alive with specific energies but that they also record memory. In fact, we use crystals to operate most of our computer technology due to their ability to receive, hold, and project information. When we zoom in on dirt with powerful microscopes, what do we see? We see that it’s made up of tiny organisms, decomposing plant and animal matter, minerals, and crystals. These crystals are recording all the information of what is being devoured by Gaia, and the land contains the memories of all that have existed upon it, from dinosaurs to our ancestors.
Syncing to the Earth’s Imagination
But does Gaia have a consciousness? The surface of the planet earth and the ionosphere work together to create electromagnetic rhythmic pulses produced by lightning activity within a cavity. Our world gives off an electromagnetic pulse of 7.83 hertz cycles (though it can spike at times) and has been compared by many researchers to the brain activity of humans and all other animals with a brain. This mysterious electromagnetic pulsing cycle is referred to as the Schumann Resonance, named after physicist Winfried Otto Schumann, who was the first to predict this phenomenon mathematically.38
Independently, nuclear physicist Robert Beck examined the brainwave states of witches, psychics, Christian faith healers, shamans, and other healers, and discovered that the majority of them exhibit the brainwave pattern of 7.8–8 hertz cycles when healing or getting into an altered state of consciousness.39
We’ve already explored this brainwave state earlier; this is the alpha brainwave state (7.5–13 hertz) linked with psychic ability, meditation, daydreaming, and visualization. So if the Schumann Resonance is the mind of Gaia, this would lead one to conclude that the consciousness of Gaia is in alpha, and perhaps when we slip into alpha we are aligning ourselves to the consciousness, dreams, imagination, and memories of Gaia herself. This dream-altered state of consciousness is associated with the astral. As such, we are influenced by Gaia and Gaia is affected by us.
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Connecting to Gaia
Find somewhere in nature where you will be undisturbed. Begin by tuning in and invoking your Lower Self—as the Lower Self is the part of us that is connected with the earth. Sit in a comfortable position upon the ground and place your hands upon the earth. From a place deep within your heart and spirit call out to Gaia, seeing this call as an energetic impulse of waves moving through your body and down through your hands, reaching down to the heart of Gaia. Verbally or mentally affirm:
“Hand to land
Bone to stone
Blood to mud
To Gaia’s mind
I am aligned.
I am aligned
To Gaia’s mind
Mud to blood
Stone to bone
Land to hand.”
Wait for a response from Gaia. This will be different for every individual. Pay attention to all your inner clair-senses. I usually first begin receiving this as a clairtangent feeling before an image of her appears in my Witch Eye. When you get a response, feel free to start a conversation with Gaia, asking her questions, advice, or if there’s a message that she has for you. I recommend building a relationship with Gaia for many reasons, chief among them is that she is the queen and mother of the earthly realm. In this role, she can assist with work involving the Spirit of Place or nature spirits when the need arises, if you connect with her in this manner and ask for her assistance. When you are done, you may simply close down to return to Middle Self consciousness.
The Spirit of Place
While Gaia has a consciousness of her own, different locations, as well as buildings themselves also have their own forms of consciousness. This is usually referred to as the Spirit of Place. Within the Spirit of Place there may also be plants, animals, minerals, and other spirits that inhabit it, and have their own individual forms of consciousness—just as there are physical ecosystems of plants and animals co-existing and creating complex systems of community. A psychic witch should learn to connect with not only Gaia herself but also the Spirits of Place and the spirits within places.
Making friends with the Spirit of Place is important. By befriending the Spirit of Place any magickal endeavors that you perform in that location—be it a forest, a beach, a house, or a garden—will have the blessing of the Spirit of Place, ensuring greater results in your magick and providing protection and less resistance from spirits that may be dwelling there. Think about it. You wouldn’t want some stranger barging into your home and performing strange rituals, would you? Probably not.
When engaging a Spirit of Place there are a few important factors to keep in mind. You always want to ask for permission. Heed and respect the answer, especially if it’s a no. You always want to make an offering if you are a visitor. Offerings are going to vary based upon where you live and the customs of that place. Try to research different religious, indigenous, shamanic, and folklore customs when it comes to land offerings—that will give you a strong idea of what the land likes.
Here in New England where I live, it’s customary to offer cornmeal, tobacco, fresh water, or a strand of your hair—especially if you are foraging or harvesting things from that location. Never take from nature without giving something back. There’s an old saying that “a gift demands a gift.” This keeps equal exchange and reverence for nature so that you aren’t just taking and taking and upsetting the Spirit of Place. As you grow a bond with the Spirit of Place, you can ask it what sort of offerings it enjoys.
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Connecting to the Spirit of Place
At the threshold of the location you are looking to connect with, such as the edge of a forest or outside the door of a house, begin tuning in and invoking your Lower Self. Perform the last exercise (Connecting to Gaia), calling to Gaia and connecting with her with your hands on the ground of the barrier of whatever location you’re at.
Provide an offering while calling out either verbally or mentally. It can go something like this:
“I call to the Spirit of this Place, I [name] bring you an offering of [offering] to honor and connect with you. I ask for your permission and blessing to [explain what your purpose is for connecting to the place. Are you wanting to perform magick, meditate, or something else? Let the Spirit of Place know]. Do I have your permission and blessing to proceed?”
Wait for a response, similar to the last exercise (Connecting to Gaia). Does the Spirit of Place take a form in your Witch Eye? Check in with all of your clair-senses. Do they feel inviting and welcoming or do they feel hostile and unwelcoming? Sometimes the Spirit of Place will deny your request at that time without coming across as hostile. Respect whatever you receive. If you get the thumbs up from the Spirit of Place to proceed, you can engage in a psychic conversation with it, such as asking the Spirit of Place questions about it and its history.
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Scrying with Nature
A classic technique among many witches and Pagans is to scry with nature, and it’s one of the easiest techniques out there. Scrying is the act of gaining clairvoyant information through meditative observation of an object, but in this technique, scrying is performed with nature as a whole. Usually, this technique is performed while casually strolling through nature or while sitting in a specific spot in nature. Before you begin you will want to have a single question in mind—it’s okay if that question is simply “What do I need to know right now?”
Ensure that you’re in a relaxed and meditative state. You can either activate your psychic prompt or perform the full Tuning In exercise. You may also choose to perform the last two exercises if the place is new to you. Whether you are walking or sitting in one spot, take in your surroundings in a passive manner.
If Spirit were to be conveying an answer to your question through metaphoric imagery of nature, what is the message? What animals, insects, or plants do you see? What is their behavior? Do the bushes, tree canopies, or clouds bring forth images or faces? How would this relate to your question?
When you are home you may also want to look up what the spiritual significance is of any animal, insect, plant, or symbol that caught your attention for a deeper layer of understanding.
36. James Locklove, Gaia, a New Look at Life on Earth (Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press, 1995).
37. Raven Grimassi, Grimoire of the Thorn-Blooded Witch: Mastering the Five Arts of Old World Witchery (San Francisco, CA: Weiser, 2014) xvii–xix.
38. James L. Oschman, Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis (Dover, NH: Elsevier, 2016), 257–263.
39. Barbara Brennan, Light Emerging: The Journey of Personal Healing (Broadway, NY: Bantam, 1993), 17–18.