The fifth element of Spirit is personified in the tales, legends and stories of the Goddess and the God, so many of whom are in turn linked to the fertility of the land, the crops, animals and people. From Amalthea, Goddess of plenty, to Zisa of the harvest, the Goddess is inextricably linked to fertility and growth. In her Lunar cycle of Maiden, Mother and Crone we think of her as planting, tending and reaping the life of the people, animals and the land. The God too holds these roles, the Horned God and the Corn King being probably the most obvious examples. There are Gods and Goddesses of sowing and planting, reaping and gathering, and of every kind of plant and animal, from belief systems of almost all times around the world (see here for some of these). Actually getting into contact with the elements and the soil brings special benefits in terms of direct contact with the Goddess and the God. Nowhere can you be closer to your Gods than when you are in touch with the life force that flows through the land than when you experience the elements in action, and when you can see the results of their magic which is the life of the land. And nowhere can you come to a greater understanding of the cycles of life, death and rebirth than when working with nature.
One of the other traditional key skills of the Witch is that of herbalist and healer. Witches have long been respected for their knowledge of healing plants and herbs, and many of these ancient remedies are being reintroduced into our daily lives now that the remedies of aromatherapy, homeopathy, etc, are becoming more readily available. Most practising Witches and other herbal therapists know, however, that these remedies are always better when they can be home-grown. And this is just another of the reasons why even the most urban of Witches feels the need to have some kind of practical connection with the earth.
There is another facet of the Craft which links practising Witches to the land and that is in the often forgotten relationship between the practise of magic and the payment for it. As the magic of Witches is worked in balance with the energies of the elements, as well as our personal energies, we must also look to returning something in kind. This is not just a question of repaying what we have been given, i.e. when the magic works, but should also take the form of pre-payment for what we might seek in the future. Whilst this can take the form of tending for the people in our lives and generally upholding the principles of the Craft, many Witches, myself among them, advocate actually working towards repaying nature itself. As I have mentioned in my other books, you could go to a local park or beauty spot and remove the debris and litter left by others, put food out for wild birds, or support an animal charity. But one of the most effective ways is to work the soil and to tend plants. Whilst you could do this in a local park or beauty spot, it is far more immediate and personally satisfying if you can do it in your own space, even if that space is restricted to a couple of pot plants on the windowsill.
But Witches do not just think of the tending of the garden in connection with the Craft. We use our gardens for the practice and enhancement of it. If we are fortunate and not too overlooked, we will be able to hold our Sabbat and Esbat (Full Moon) Rituals there. Casting the Circle outside, amongst the living reality of the Divine, adds a special dimension to our celebrations and workings. It enhances the magic. Even if we cannot practise obvious Rituals in the garden, we can still work our magic there; planting and growing spells, using the remedies that nature provides. We also use our gardens for contemplation, meditation and to grow closer to our Gods. And we find that, through being active and out there on the land we learn more about our Craft, and about healing not only the physical, but also the emotional and spiritual ills in our lives. Furthermore, being outside gives us the opportunity to get to know and understand more about the other living things we share our world with. Through observing the life around us, even if it’s only a few sparrows and pigeons, we get to appreciate the natural cycles and rhythms in our own lives.
The aspects of the Craft covered in this book are those which relate directly to the care and use of the garden. For those of you for whom this is your first book on Witchcraft there is a fuller introduction and a selection of recommended reading in the appendices at the back of this book. Otherwise, let us move on to see how your garden can enhance your Craft and how the Craft can enhance your garden.
TWO A SPACE FOR LIVING AND THE CRAFT
For many people the garden is the place where they go on the sunnier days of the year. It is a place for occasional barbecues, to have a drink with friends, perhaps to sunbathe or to banish the children when they get too noisy in the house. A few use it to grow herbs and perhaps vegetables for the kitchen. Many will use it to dry laundry, store bicycles and other outdoor equipment. For a Witch, the garden is all this and more. It is our piece of earth, our contact with nature, with the Goddess, the God and the Elements. It is where we grow healing herbs and plants to incorporate into our natural remedies and where we grow the sometimes quite toxic ingredients for inclusion in our incenses and magical spells. It is where we make payment for our magics and where we seek to do our part to enrich the cycle of life and living. It is where we honour the Goddess and the God in the most practical way we can, by tending their creation. It is where we work our Rituals to honour them and where we can work magics in their name, and also where we come to know and understand them through meditation and relaxation. It is where we can actually experience the cycles of the seasons and find the natural indicators for the Sabbats, where we can observe the phases of the Moon and where we can really get to know and understand the cycles of life, death and rebirth. In all of this it is also a place where we recharge our batteries, drawing energy from the earth itself and from our experience of the elements and their part in the rich pageant of growth. The Witches’ garden can also be where we seek to preserve endangered plants and provide a refuge for wildlife. To a Witch, the garden is more than an outdoor room, it is a permanent Sacred Space in its own right, even when being used to hang the washing or amuse the young.
The first thing you need to do is to work out what you really have, what you want and need from it, and what you actually can do. Yes, I currently have a reasonable-sized garden but this is a rented property and so, because it is not truly mine, there are limitations on what I can and cannot do to it. I cannot cut down any trees, move the drive, nor replace the gravelled surface with the thyme and chamomile lawn I would so dearly love to have. Furthermore, I have a young son, so anything I do has to respect his need for a play area, or accept the devastation that a