Immersion The Element of Water as a Tool for Growth

By Brennan “Riverfire”



“We had been drifting down the crystal clear river for the better part of the day, admiring the tall grey cliffs on our left side and the rich green woods on the right. We had decided to take a break from rowing and beached our canoes, enjoying the cool shade offered by the heavily forested shore. As my friends took advantage of the shelter provided by the trees, I decided to go wading in the shallow Arkansas river.

I floated on my back, enjoying the feeling of semi-weightlessness and the cool water coursing past my skin. I became more and more relaxed, exerting just enough energy to prevent myself from floating downstream. Time passed, I’m not sure how long, but I found myself slipping into that altered state of consciousness common with my magickal workings. As I drifted, I felt the presence of a pair of hands, no bigger that a dime, delicately touching and grasping at my flesh in an almost erotic way. Soon, I felt hundreds of hands, Undines, gently pulling and guiding me to the deeper, cooler part of the stream. I could sense that they felt this was the safest, most comfortable part of the river, where they felt at home. I gave in to their directions and let them guide me to that realm were they felt strongest.

As I floated there, in the deepest part of the river, surrounded and caressed by water sprites, I began to have another shift in consciousness. I began to have such an empathy with the water and Undines, that I began to feel as if I was an aquatic being, a magickal entity living in two worlds; the greater realm, the water beneath me, and a slighter realm, where water meets sky.

Every magickal work, every spell, involves embracing the five elements in varying degrees. Learning to utilize and mesh with these elements is an important component in every Witch’s-Shaman’s-Magician’s foundation of skills – And Water’s role is just as important as some of the flashier elements.

The element of Water has the qualities of being cool and damp. It is the grail, the chalice, and the cauldron, symbolized by the color blue. The gifts of healing, relaxing, rest, and recuperation all fall under this element. Water governs love, emotion, loyalty, trust, and compassion. It is the element of dreams, friendship, affection, childbirth, and the home. As you can see, the element of Water has a number of useful applications, and it is not that difficult to attune oneself to the energy that it embodies.


EXERCISE 1: FORGING the LINK

For this first exercise, you should try to wear as little clothing as the situation permits. Locate a body of water that is large enough to completely submerse yourself in -- a natural body of water is preferable. Enter the water and assume a position where you can float on your back. If you have a problem with floating on you back, find a spot that you can rest your head on while the rest of your body is afloat, or obtain a small flotation device that can be placed under your neck.

After you are comfortably floating begin a relaxation ritual or a meditation that you are familiar with. As you begin to relax, focus on your breathing. Feel the air entering your lungs as you inhale and notice how your body rises as it becomes more buoyant. As you exhale, notice the sensation as the air is expelled from your lungs, and your body sinks into the water. Focus on your breathing for 3-5 minutes. Now, while still aware of your breathing, began to notice the feel of the water against your body. Be aware of how the water is cool and damp. Focus on the currents, and how they move against your skin -- how the water pulls at your hair as it flows with the movement of the water. Let these sensations dominate your consciousness until you feel connected with the waters surrounding you. Next, draw you attention to your feet. Feel the water flowing against the soles of your feet. Then, as you inhale, mentally draw the water up through your body as if you were a fountain, beginning with your feet, up your legs, through your torso, through your neck, up out of the top of your head. On your out-breath, sense the water coming out of the top of your head, and then, flowing down the sides of your body back to your feet. Then, on your next in-breath, repeat the process. Continue this part of the exercise for seven cycles.

Once, you’ve completed seven cycles, take time to relax and enjoy the sensation of “being” in water. But, be sure to GROUND yourself immediately after leaving the water, as this exercise could have some extreme conscious-altering effects.

For best results, try to practice this exercise everyday for a week (minimum). If necessary you can use your tub, but try to have at least one session in a natural water source.


EXERCISE 2: VISUALIZING the ELEMENT

The next step requires you to draw upon the experiences in exercise 1 to create, or call forth, Water on the astral plane. If you lack experience in visualization techniques, it is suggested that you read a couple of books to familiarize yourself with this process.

This exercise can be done in any area that you normally practice magick. You should begin this exercise with any banishing ritual that you feel comfortable with. If you’re new to the path, I suggest learning the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, which can be found in several kabbalistic books available today.

Having completed the banishing ritual, move to the west quarter of the working area. Stand there facing center. Close your eyes and visualize yourself standing knee deep in a crystal clear pool. Feel the water flowing past your legs. Behind you, a small waterfall is cascading down a stone cliff, feeding the pool. The waterfall’s impact with the surface of the pool sends up a fine spray of mist floating on the breeze. You can feel the cool dampness on your back from all the moisture in the air. There is a scent in the air, like the smell of rain that precedes a thunderstorm. Even the breeze churned up by the waterfall is like a fine mist, cool and refreshing.

Let your senses expand outward. Everywhere your consciousness touches you can sense the element that nourishes life. You can see bright green leaves dripping droplets of crystal clear water -- you can feel the roots of plants drinking moisture from the dark rich soil. Now, bring your consciousness back closer to you. Focus on just the water. Hear it as the water cascades down the cliff. Smell it as it clings and floats through the air. Feel it as it surges around you legs. Hold on to the sensations as long as you feel comfortable (5-10 minutes), then let them fade. Become aware of the room in which you stand, and then take three deep breaths to center yourself. Once again, perform your banishing ritual, but keep in mind that the west area of the room still has a sacred tie to the element of water.

Practice this ritual once a day, four or more times a week, for up to a month before continuing to Exercise 3.


EXERCISE 3: The RITUAL of the CHALICE

You should begin the exercise by repeating Exercise 2. When you reach the last stage of the exercise, DO NOT let your connection with the element of water fade and DO NOT do a banishing ritual. Instead, continue with the Ritual of the Chalice.

As you stand in the pool, both physically and visually raise your arms in front of you. Hold your arms comfortably, at a little above waist level, with your hands facing each other and about 12 to 18 inches apart. Now, visualize a large chalice floating between you hands. The chalice is blue and semi-transparent, almost as if it were made of blue glass. Now, as you learned in Exercise 1, feel the water flowing up your feet into your body -- you may even feel the moisture in the air being absorbed through your skin and joining this flow of energy. Feel the cool, damp energy flow up into your body and down your arms and into the chalice. See the chalice fill up with the element of Water and feel even more water continue to flow in.

Remember, you are not working with material water but with elemental water, and it behaves slightly differently. Continue to feel the element flow into the chalice, and notice that even though it reaches the rim of the chalice it doesn’t flow over -- it just becomes more saturated, more intense, as if it is under pressure. Continue filling the chalice until you can sense that it can hold no more. After the chalice is completely filled, take the time to be aware of the concentrated container of the element of Water. Then, when you are finished, very slowly feel the chalice empty, absorbing the element back into yourself. Once the chalice is completely empty, let it fade from your consciousness. Finish with your banishing ritual.

Now that you’ve learned to work with elemental Water, you’re probably wondering, “So what can I do with this?” Well, let’s say you’re at Samhain and some friends are short a few bodies for a ritual, so they ask you to hold a station. Lucky you, it happens to be for water, which you learned how to invoke through Exercise 2. If you need to consecrate your magickal chalice or cauldron, use whatever consecration ritual you prefer, but at the appropriate point in the ritual, add Exercise 3 -- Except in this situation, when you’ve completely filled the chalice, do not absorb it into yourself. Instead, see the chalice absorbed into the magickal tool. Or, if you’ve been dealing with unruly children all day and you’ve reached the point where the concept of mass murder is becoming an option, then once again use Exercise 3. In this instance, when you are filling the chalice, think of Water’s embodiment of compassion. When your chalice is full, visualize it floating toward you and being absorbed into you chest, allowing you to fully take in that sense of compassion as embodied in Water’s elemental state.

As you can see, attuning yourself to the elements has wonderful and numerous benefits to the magician. The possibilities are limited only by the imagination and a little research. To carry these studies on to the next level requires a lot of reading and contemplation. To get the full benefit out of these exercises, your next step will be to start collecting a list of correspondences. Make a list of what skills, deities, gems, plants, etc. are related to water. It is a list that you will probably spend the rest of your life adding to, but it is an effort that will be well rewarded.



ISIS Foundation