Simple Magick: How to Utilise a Special Connection with the Land

Further to my post “How to Connect to the Land or a Special Place” here are my suggestions for using the connection you have built with the land or a special place:

Spells and Workings 

You can use the land (provided its suitable) as an actual place in which to carry out your magick. But you can also use this connection from afar. You can recall the feelings you get, and create a mental picture of this place in your mind’s eye. For example, if you are creating a spell for safety, and you feel safe there, you can conjure those feelings and images for your working.

Meditation 

You can visit a special place on your meditative journeys. Maybe you feel relaxed in this special place, and so you meditate on it to enter a deep state of peace. Maybe your special place is at a distance, and this is one way to regularly visit, and to connect in.

Grounding Yourself 

Visiting your special place is a great way to ground yourself. Take your shoes and socks off and walk the Earth. You can also call upon the feeling of safety and security you feel at this special place to ground you, when you’re feeling stressed or scared.

Invoking the Elements When Casting a Circle 

You can use experiences of your special place(s) when casting a Circle. Recall how the wind feels stood atop a hillfort, “see” the image of water at a nearby lake, feel the warmth of a hot and sunny place. All are experiences you can use in your magick.

Using Items Found at Your Special Place 

You can forage items such as fallen leaves, acorns, berries, herbs etc. to use in your magick. This further establishes the connection you have. Don’t forget to ask permission, and to give thanks.

NEXT - Simple Magick: Spellcasting Ethics
NEXT - Simple Magick: The Witch's Stang
NEXT - Snowdrop Magick: 8 Correspondences For Strength & Hope

Fabulous Folklore: My Personal Story About Talking Trees

I thought I’d share a story I told back in 2020. It’s a very personal story about a tree.

It’s not the tree whose shadow is featured in the picture, but a beautiful Oak I met on a sacred site many moons ago. I say “met” because this is where it gets interesting. The tree spoke to me.

Before I go any further, I’d like to point out that I know this story will sound far-fetched to some, and that by omitting certain details detracts from its credibility; but I must recall the story in the way that feels right.

I was visiting a hill fort at a particularly difficult time in my life, but I was making the most of the beautiful day I had been gifted. The Sun was shining, the birds were singing, and despite things being tricky, I was otherwise enjoying life.

My then-partner wandered off to look at something, and I made my way over to the most beautiful of Oaks. I wanted to stand beneath it, touch its bark, and connect in with it; this majestic being.

I cuddled the tree with my arms, and said hello. In my mind I told the tree how beautiful it was, and I was relaying some one-sided chatter before asking the tree what I should about my current situation. I never expected an answer. It was at once the voice in my mind, but also the voice of something ~ someone ~ else, too.

I decided my imagination was playing tricks on me, but I was aware that there was no way I could think and talk inside my mind at the same time. I did what I think anyone else would do, and I asked their name, which the tree told me. Please do not ask me to repeat the name, because I have promised to keep it a secret.

We conversed a little longer, but not wanting to be greedy or “push my luck” I thanked the tree for its insight, and ended the conversation. I stayed a little longer under the tree, happy but stunned, before moving on. An experience I will never forget, but one I no longer find extraordinary - several plants have revealed information about themselves since.

When I got home I was shocked to discover that I could not find anything under that name on Google.

Has anything unexpected like that ever happened to you? Tell me your witchy stories.

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Fairy Rings

Simple Magick: Genius Loci

When we think of spirits what do we think of? The spirits of people, and perhaps animals, will most likely spring to mind, especially if you’re not a witch. But what about spirits of the land? The Genius Loci?

It was the Romans who brought the idea of genius loci into our minds and hearts, the idea that each place has a guardian spirit; an essence, almost tangible, that can be felt and understood.

Each home has a genius loci. I referred to ours earlier in my post about Copernicus, one of our House Guardians, but of course each place has one, too.

The depth of the connection to the genius loci of the land I live upon came something as a surprise to me this summer. I have only been here two years this month and yet the land wights - the unique spirits that reside in each plant, rock, stone, tree, animal, crystal and mineral - spoke to me by imparting some herbal and local knowledge to me, which upon later research turned out to be true. I can only describe this experience as a sudden and intense “knowing”, like someone had whispered this information in my ear, or the resurrection of information that had somehow been buried deep within me, many years ago, waiting for the right key to unlock it. That day I had definitely immersed myself in the energy and essence of the land, I felt connected to it even before these magical moments.

You can work with genius loci, as it’s a guardian spirit, however you must come to know it first. That means exploring and forming a connection with your local area, be it local or urban. Creating an altar in dedication to the genius loci is a great way to honour it. You can call upon the genius loci in your magical workings, and you can call upon the energy and feeling that the genius loci of a place gives you if you are away from that place.

I am still exploring this subject and look forward to learning more. Do you work with genius loci?

NEXT - Simple Magick: Our House Guardians 

Simple Magick: Our House Guardians

This is Copernicus. He is one of the six stone heads that are mounted on the exterior of our home, who I refer to as our House Guardians. (You can see the others on my “Welcome to our Cemetery Lodge - Part Two” Reel).

Copernicus is named after Nicolaus Copernicus, the Renaissance-era mathematician, astronomer and Catholic clergyman, who formulated the idea that the Sun was at the centre of the universe, rather than Earth (a Greek astronomer had actually come up with the same idea some eighteen centuries earlier).

He has been here since the house was built in 1860, “outliving” any of the humans that have stayed here, looking down on us as we enter and depart the building.

I feel the House Guardians - but especially Copernicus, who resides at the back of the house - watch over our home and keep us safe. Whenever we leave the house I petition Copernicus to look after our home, and when we return I thank him. I believe he helps me connect with the genius loci of our home.

We always intended to name the other Guardians, but so far they haven’t come forward with names. Although I don’t feel spirit in those as strongly, they definitely work alongside Copernicus to help keep us safe.

Do you have an animist view? Does the spirit of something other than an animal or human keep you safe? If so what is it? And do you think that modern homes are less protected by spirits than older ones? I’d love to hear your views.

NEXT - Simple Magick: Liminal Spaces