Using Earth Magick to Defeat The Tower
If I had to pick a card to represent that time in my life it would undoubtedly be The Tower.
I had walked away from a failing marriage, left my career in long term care administration, gotten a prescription for antidepressants, stopped taking the antidepressants, went into therapy, couldn’t afford to keep going to therapy, moved back home, ended another relationship... It was upheaval after upheaval – everything that I had built up had been torn down in about two years’ time.
Eventually I stopped resisting it and allowed things to fall apart, which was terrifying at first but once I got over the fear it was a huge relief unlike any I’d ever experienced. Slowly, I started to rediscover who I was at my core. What’s more, I allowed myself to be that person without worrying about what other people thought of her.
So. After all of that devastation there was an incredible amount of spiritual and personal growth – great right?
Everything hunky dory?
No. Not so much.
There were still practical concerns such as paying for groceries and providing for my son who was entering preschool. I was working part time as a case manager for an organization that served homeless and runaway youth, and I wasn’t earning enough to make ends meet. The irony of this is not lost on me.
I had been scanning job postings daily, applying, and interviewing. I live in a rural community where opportunities outside of minimum wage entry-level positions are scarce. After going through the motions and putting forth the effort to find another position, something in my gut told me to turn to the Earth for assistance.
Earth energy is powerful – it is creative, fertile, healing, and strengthening. Being in direct contact with the Earth gives us a sense of connectedness to our core selves as well as all other beings on the planet, because we all depend upon it to subsist in one way or another. Since my need at the time was of a physical, material nature, I felt drawn to do a little Earth magick and direct that energy toward my goal.
Some witches like to use chants or pre-written charms during their spell work – and that’s perfectly fine, to each their own. I prefer to work without them, and simply set an intention and meditate on that instead. Occasionally I might verbalize aloud what that intention is, but more often than not I keep it in my thoughts. As my yoga instructor says, “energy flows where the intention goes!” So to me, words and spoken spells are optional, and they’re empty without the inner work that needs to be done first.
That being said, I do, however, value symbolism in magickal workings. Quite highly actually. To me, symbolism is a universal language, and any being can tap into their intuition and use it to communicate and understand others. Symbolism and the collective unconscious is part of what draws me to tarot, but that’s a story for another day. I digress. Back to the Earth magick.
It was quite simple really. I buried a quarter in the flowerbed in front of my house. That’s it. No ceremonial garb, no memorizing long incantations, no animal sacrifices (that last one is a joke, witches don’t actually do that). All I did was hold the coin and direct my energy into it, silently ask Mother Earth for her help, and place the coin into the ground.
Not one hour later my phone rang and I was offered a full time position (which I of course joyfully accepted). Seriously – that actually happened!
Now, if burying coins were all we had to do to alleviate our financial woes everyone would be planting their money all willy-nilly and everyone would be gainfully employed or winning the lottery. In this particular instance I had been putting a lot of energy toward improving my life. The Universe doesn’t just give you things without you putting any work towards your goals, whatever they are. Spells don’t work unless there is action behind them. Prayers don’t work unless there is action behind them. I see spell work as a way to direct energy toward your set intention, and as a way to connect with the divine, with the elements, and with nature.
Critics might say that my Earth magick had nothing to do with getting that job, and that the timing of that phone call was mere coincidence. And you know what? They’re welcome to that opinion. Doing spell work is one of the ways that I check in with my own personal spirituality and reflect upon the events occurring in my life, so it really doesn’t matter to me what the opinions of the naysayers are. Instead, I marvel at the magick peeking through in everyday life.
Recommended Reading:
Earth Power: Techniques of Natural Magic by Scott Cunningham
