- 1). The area in which you perform your ritual should be private and quiet. Ideally, it should be outdoors. This approximation to nature is conducive to meditation. Stand facing north. Take a few deep, cleansing breaths and rest your mind.
- 2). Still facing north, raise your hands to waist level. Keep your palms facing downward and keep your fingers together. Your elbows should be bent with your arms close to your body.With this gesture, you are drawing on the power of earth. You will sense its solidity, its fertility and its ability to sustain life. The power of earth will provide you with a foundation on which to build and grow.
- 3). Slowly turn to the east. Raise your hands to chest level. Turn your hands upward so the palms face east, away from you. Your arms should be stretched outward, but keep your elbows bent slightly. Spread your fingers. Allow the power of wind and air to flow through your fingers, over your hands and arms. Feel the air as it courses over and around you. Your open and exposed palms are drawing in the power of the element of air. Breath deeply to draw the cleansing air into your body.
- 4). Turn to the south. This direction will give you the power of fire. Raise your hands above your head, straightening your arms and curling your hands into fists. With your fists raised, turn your face upward and feel the power of the sun. Even if you perform this ritual at night, you will sense the force of fire the sun creates. Feel it being drawn into your fists.Fire is a powerful and often destructive element. But in its wake it will leave that which the earth needs for renewal. The element of fire is at once destructive and cleansing.
- 5). Now turn to the west, to the element of water. Slowly bring your arms down, letting your hands open, until your hands are just above your head. Stretch your arms outward, keeping your elbows slightly bent. Cup your hands, palms upward, and press the thumb and forefinger on each hand together. This allows you to receive the power of water, to feel its currents as it flows into and around you. The power of water lies in its ability to yield and command, and to nurture. Water will seek its own level, as should you.
- 6). Turn again now to the north. Raise your hands, palms upward and fingers spread, to the sky. Turn your face to the sky. Imagine the vastness of the universe and its power, its glory, its secrets. Allow yourself to fall into that vastness, and then return.
- 7). Lower your right hand, if you are right handed, your left if you are left handed. This is your projective hand. Keep your other hand above your head. This is your receptive hand. Press the third, fourth and fifth fingers of your raised, receptive hand against the palm. Touch the tips of your thumb and forefinger together, forming a crescent shape. This gesture calls upon the Goddess. With this gesture, you will draw on the powers of the moon. You will understand love and compassion, fertility and nurturing. You will feel the power of night, its coolness and secrecy.
- 8). Lower your receptive hand and raise your projective hand. Using your thumb, trap the third and fourth fingers to your palm, allowing your second and fifth finger to form the shape of horns. This gesture calls upon the God.The God is not, contrary to Hollywood hype, the devil. There is no such deity in the Wicca belief system. The horned image is one of male power; it is the counterpart to the female power of the Goddess, drawn down through the gesture of the crescent.With the gesture of the horned image you will feel the power of woodlands and mountains, of the sun and its heat.
- 9). Lower your hand and then lower your body to the earth. Lie flat, face up, and spread your arms and legs, forming a pentagon with your body. The elements will be drawn to you, and you to them. With your body open to the elements and to the deities, you are able to meditate, looking inward and outward simultaneously.
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After some time, you will feel a shift. This is you leaving your meditative state. Stand up slowly. Thank the deities and the elements. Go about your day and be blessed.
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