To make the most out of working magical ritual in the wild, one should find power spots where nature spirits are receptive to the ritual planned and approach the spirits with respect, as equals. In my experience, the most effective power spots for working with the living intelligences of nature are located in wild areas with diverse active ecologies.
When entering a wild area to find a site for a ritual, find a place that feels good. Then do the following, either individually or, if in a group, as a guided meditation.
Relax while standing upright and focus on your breathing. Breathe deep breaths from the diaphragm. Breathe together if in a group. - Feel the wind and let it relax you and awaken your spirit within, as your deep breathing takes you into non-ordinary reality. - Picture in your mind's eye a light inside you. As you breathe, feel the light expand, purify and energize you - as it expands to fill your aura. - Feel yourself glowing, balanced, purified and full of power. - Connect with your inner self (your higher self) and feel your intuitive self operating.
Feel yourself as: - The wind, full of life and intelligence, communicating with all round. - The Sunlight, warm, alive, channeling the power to communicate with nature and energizing all around. - Water, emotional, intuitive, refreshing and connected with nature. - The Earth, and note how your physical body is able to wander while remaining part of Mother Earth.
Focus on your spiritual self, and - Note the light within and feel it as love, - Expand the light and love beyond the immediate aura of your body to the surrounding area - where you will go to find a power spot.
Telepathically (by thinking while channeling the love and light energy) send out signals to nature spirits to emerge and be aware of your presence. - Say why you have come and invite them to join in sharing, mutual celebration, and the work you intend. - Visualize the light and love energy you are channeling extending out and merging with the light from distant places. - Feel the power of the Earth flowing up through your body and feet. - Feel the power from the sky, and channel this power also to further energize the carrier signal of light and love for communicating with nature. - Visualize the light expanding and merging. - Continue to send out telepathic signals.
Now go deeper. - Close your eyes, sit on the Earth, and feel your connection while you channel more light and love. - Continue modulating the light and love with your thoughts - inviting receptive spirits to join with you and make themselves known. - If in a group, someone should start playing a drum at a rate of about one beat per second, and you should listen to the drum and let the drum take you deeper. - Affirm that you are a nature magician, a medicine person, who knows and communicates with nature. Let this part of yourself emerge to full consciousness. Let the drum and the connection to your inner self awaken that part of yourself that naturally communicates with other life forms. Let it awakn your telepathic sense. - Continue sending telepathic signals to nature. - When you feel ready and an inner urge to begin, open your eyes a crack and look around while continuing to channel love and light and telepathically calling for a response. - You may see light coming from certain areas that are receptive. You may get other signals, such as a feeling of power or love returning in a certain direction. Perhaps the type of response to this work will be unexpected; follow your intuition in interpreting it. - You may test your connection by communicating (mentally) instructions for signals for yes/no responses (such as light getting brighter for less and darker for no) and then mentally ask questions and observe the responses.
When you have found an areas that seems to be responsive and receptive, begin walking to the area, while beaming love energy. Extend your aura to the area and sense the energy.
When entering the power spot, look around. Perhaps the responsive energy will be concentrated around some singularity (a bush, a tree, a specific branch, a moss covered rock, or other entity that stands out). Perhaps the energy will be more general. Use your intuition and feedback from the spirits to guide your actions.
If it feels right, send out a signal that you would like to touch the singularity (or the ground) for better communication. If the response is good, approach beaming love energy, touch or hug the singularity (or the ground).
Treat the spirits as you would other Pagans you meet for the first time - be sensitive, open, and listen.
Notice how your branches intertwine with the branches and energy fields of your surroundings. - Notice how your roots also intertwine. - Feel the energy dancing between you and your surroundings. - Notice how you and the life around you are rooted in the same Earth, breathing the same air, receiving the same fire, drinking the same water, sharing the same underlying essence. You are one with the magical grove.
Telepathically mention the time in the past when nature spirits and people communicated regularly and the need to establish such communication now.
Test your connection by asking questions and observing the responses.
If the spirits you contacted are receptive: - Explain to them the details of the ritual and invite them to provide ideas. - Listen, you may receive suggestions on how to improve the ritual. Such suggestions may come in the form of hunches, visions, or answers to yes/no questions using pre arranged signals, or in other ways. - Ask what the best place to perform the ritual is. - You may see light or get other psychic signals leading you to other sites, or you may be at one of them. - Before you leave the power spot, tell the spirit you have contacted when you plan to return to do the ritual (visualizing the associated lunar and solar aspects can help with this communication). - Invite them to join in the ritual when you return and to bring their friends. - Ask if it would be best to return silently, with drums, with chanting, or with some other form of approach. - You can also ask the spirits to provide guidance for working in balance and to provide a teacher to provide further guidance.
Before you leave the power spot, - Thank the spirits, - Channel love energy, - Trigger your memory of the experience, and - If it feels right, leave an offering of tobacco, or beer and honey poured on the ground (or other suitable material).
Leave in peace and love.
Proceed to other sites that were indicated by the spirits, doing similar meditations at each site.
If you need something, like a staff, a Maypole, or a wand, you can also ask where you can find it and follow the guidance you receive (not slavishly, but as you would guidance from another Pagan).
Before leaving the general area in which you found power spots and contacted nature spirits, - Channel love energy towards the receptive sites you found, - Thank the spirits of the land, - Pull back your roots and branches, - Ground any excess energy into the Earth (placing ones hands on the Earth, breathing in any excess energy and channeling the energy down your arms, while visualizing and feeling the energy going into the Earth), and - Leave in peace and love.
Naturally, you should leave the area at least as clean, and preferably cleaner, than you found it.
If you work with techniques of Wicca or Ceremonial Magic, you may find that by casting a circle, calling the Elements, the Goddess, the Gods, and the local nature spirits while you are at receptive sites, you may be able to greatly increase communication.
Through the use of drums and other power raising techniques, it is even possible to energize receptive nature spirits. The results can be very interesting. If with a coven, such circles can be done as part of a group attunement to a power spot you have located.
If you do not get good feelings in response to your explanation of the ritual and are unable to come up with a ritual that gives good responses, do not try to force a good response. You would only be0 fooling yourself. - Thank the spirits for their attention. - Ask them why they are not receptive (if they are communicative). - Trigger your memory. - Pull back your "roots and branches," return any excess energy you feel into the Earth. - If it feels appropriate, leave an offering of tobacco or other appropriate material, out of respect for the spirits. - Move to a more receptive site.
If it is hard to find a site that is really receptive, you should also: - Consider any impressions you got of why the nature spirits weren't receptive in the area you were in, and re-think your plans for a ritual, as necessary and appropriate. - It may also be appropriate to look for another general area in which to find a suitable power site that is receptive to the work planned.
Then approach the site ritually using the previously arranged technique. You should have the details worked out with the Spirits of the land. A procession through or past receptive power spots, inviting nature spirits to join and proceeding to the central power spot for the main ritual, can be especially effective.
Be sure to invoke the nature spirits, to ask them for their help during the ritual, and to thank them at the end.
When consecrating space in the wild, or casting a circle, do not set up the perimeter as a barrier to all outside forces; it should be a beacon to attract friendly nature spirits, a container for holding magical power, and a barrier to spirits who it isn't right to be with.
One thing that is fun and worthwhile in nature is to bring instruments, such as a rattle, a flute and/or a drum, to tune in to nature's sounds, and to make music in time to nature's sounds. You may be able to get some very interesting back and fourth exchanges of music going with selected creatures of the wild, and get into an amazing jam session.
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