Standing in the East, and facing that direction, call on the Element of Air saying:
‘I call upon the Element of Air, to join with me here in this Circle.’ When you can actually feel the presence of Air, say:
‘Blessed Be.’
Then call Fire in the South, Water in the West, and Earth in the North.
Next invite the Goddess and the God:
Still facing the North, close your eyes, visualize the Goddess and the God and say:
‘Gracious Goddess, Mighty God, I call upon you to guide me, guard me and protect me in these my Rites. Blessed Be.’
Then cast the Circle:
Lastly, move to the North-East of the Circle and with the forefinger of your strong hand draw a circle in the air around the outer boundary of the Circle. As you do so, visualize an electric blue light creating a circle which becomes a sphere containing the whole circle, and say:
‘I do cast this Circle as a place of containment and protection. A place between the worlds and a time outside of time.’
Make sure that you overlap the start and finish points of the circle and then say:
‘Blessed Be.’
Remember to move Deosil at all times.
Light the incense and candle if you choose to have them. Sit or kneel before the Elemental’s medium and gaze into it. Focus your mind on the Element and invite the appropriate Elemental to come to it, by reciting three times the appropriate invitation from the ones below:
‘Gracious Sylphs, beings of the Air, I call upon you. I freely give this offering of incense, that, if it please you, you will come forth and let me know of your presence. Blessed Be.’
‘Mighty Salamanders, beings of the flame, I call upon you. I freely give this offering of fire, that, if it please you, you will come forth and let me know of your presence. Blessed Be.’
‘Elegant Undines, beings of the Water, I call upon you. I freely give this offering of natural water, that, if it please you, you will come forth and let me know of your presence. Blessed Be.’
‘Noble Gnomes, beings of the Earth, I call upon you. I freely give this offering of living earth, that, if it please you, you will come forth and let me know of your presence. Blessed Be.’
Continue to look at and focus on the Element in question. With your mind, consider all its aspects – what it is like at its gentlest and fiercest, the effects it has on the land, plants, and in your life. Include all its associations or correspondences. Recall all of your experiences of working with it. Continue doing this until you perceive an Elemental is present. When this happens, try to clear your mind of all conscious thoughts and simply focus on the Elemental. Try not to force your thoughts, but rather relax and allow your senses to ‘observe’. You may find thoughts, sensations or even images coming to you; do not attempt to analyse these at the time, but try to remember them for later. When the Elemental departs, or you can no longer hold your attention, thank them. You should give your thanks whether you thought they were there or not, as they may be present without showing themselves.
‘Gracious Sylphs, beings of the Air, I thank you. May you depart in peace to your realm of the skies and the winds. Blessed Be.’
‘Mighty Salamanders, beings of the Fire, I thank you. May you depart in peace to your realm of Sun and flame. Blessed Be.’
‘Elegant Undines, beings of the Water, I thank you. May you depart in peace to your realm of water and the oceans. Blessed Be.’
‘Noble Gnomes, beings of the Earth, I thank you. May you depart in peace to your realm of the rocks and the soil. Blessed Be.’
Before removing the Sacred Space make notes on any thoughts, feelings or impressions you felt. Also include your thoughts on them.
Dismiss the Elements:
Standing in the East, and facing that direction, call on the Element of Air, saying:
‘I give thanks to the Element of Air, for joining with me here in the Circle. Hale and farewell. Blessed Be.’
Repeat in the South for Fire, West for Water and North for Earth.
Next thank the Goddess and the God:
Still facing the North, close your eyes, and say:
‘I give thanks to the Goddess and the God for being present here with me in these my Rites. Hale and farewell. Blessed Be.’
‘Then remove the Circle:
Move to the North-East of the Circle and with the forefinger of your strong hand draw a circle in the air around the outer boundary of the Circle. This time visualize the electric blue sphere fading and dissipating, and say:
‘I remove this Circle and return this place as it was before.’
Make sure that you overlap the start and finish points of the Circle and then say:
‘Blessed Be.’
Wait a further five minutes before extinguishing incense or flame, or before disposing of water or earth, so that the Elemental(s) may leave at their own pace. Water or earth should be returned to the land sensitively, not just dumped. During this time it is a good idea to have something to eat and drink, even if it is only a glass of water and a biscuit, to ground yourself. Magical work of any kind brings that part of you which operates on the psychic plane to the fore, and you need to redress this before returning to dealing with the material realm. After all, you wouldn’t want to be driving on the same road as someone who was partly in a trance!
When you feel you would like to repeat this Ritual for the other Elementals, remember to only try to contact one form in any one Ritual, and one Ritual in any one day. Remember, practice of the Craft should enhance your life, not take it over.
As I mentioned earlier, knowledge of the Elements is essential to the practice of the Craft and to making spells and magic work. Furthermore, the invocation of the Elements when making the Sacred Space is a key part of this, for it draws their energies from both within and without. With a little practice you will not need to do this in as formal a way as here, as you will be able to invoke and banish using visualization only. But it is a good idea to be able to use either technique. Having said that, there is no reason why you should need to speak the above invocations out loud, you can say the words in your head if you prefer.
THE ELEMENTS AND THE WEATHER
Whilst