The Path of Elemental Witchcraft: A Wyrd Woman's Book of Shadows

by Salicrow

Overview

A comprehensive guide to connecting with the magic of each of the four elements: Water, Earth, Air, and Fire

• Details hands-on techniques, spells, and rituals paired with personal stories from the author’s decades of magical practice

• Presents teachings on working with each element in different ways—such as divination, communication, healing, protection, manifestation, and enchantment

• Explores elemental altars, scrying and reading the bones, undines and fairies, working with runes and crystals, ancestral healing, weather sensing, fire gazing, candle magic, sex magic, and communicating with the Otherworld

A Book of Shadows is a witch’s sacred journal, filled with personal experiences and the intimate working of spells. In this practical guide to elemental witchcraft, Salicrow invites you into her personal Book of Shadows, detailing hands-on techniques, spells, and rituals to work with the magic of the four elements—Water, Earth, Air, and Fire. She presents teachings on each element through the lens of different schools of magic, such as divination, healing, protection, manifestation, and enchantment. Within each of these elemental teachings is a series of progressive lessons, including a personal story from the author’s lifetime of magical practice paired with a technique for you to explore.

For the Water witch, she explores scrying, engaging with undines, weather protection, fairy glamour, and healing with kitchen spells. For the Earth witch, she describes reading the bones, animal messengers, listening to plants, crystal grids, and shadow work. For the Air witch, she looks at communicating with sylphs and crows, divination through clouds and wind, sonic magic and healing, spell accelerants, and smudging. For the Fire witch, she examines the Djinn, the magical hearth, fire divination, candle work, and sex magic. For all the elements, she explores how to build elemental altars and customize the ceremonies and rituals.

Sharing intimate examples and practices to help you progressively develop the skills of witchcraft, Salicrow invites you to create your own personal Book of Shadows as you forge a magical relationship with the natural world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781644113363
Publisher:	Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
Publication date:	05/31/2022
Pages:	576
Sales rank:	165,300
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Salicrow is a witch, Druid, and natural psychic medium who weaves the traditions of her Irish Traveler and Blackfoot heritage with modern magical techniques. With more than 30 years of professional experience in the psychic arts as a spirit channel and seer, she offers readings for individual groups and teaches workshops throughout the United States and internationally. She lives in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.

Read an Excerpt

PREFACE

Welcome, Seeker

The book you are about to read is filled with magical divinations, rituals, and communications with the elemental world. I have personally experienced them or observed them in my professional role as a psychic medium and intuitive healer. While some of the stories you will read may appear fictional to your current awareness, they are indeed real in my world. Being born into a family with spiritual gifts, my introduction to spirit world began at birth. My grandmother was my first teacher. Her ways were simple and straightforward. She spoke of magic in the same way she spoke of making dinner or working in the garden; magic was simply real!

The stories I share are meant to aid the expansion of your awareness, triggering your personal memories of the unseen world. The techniques in the book are designed to be read two ways. First, it should be read from start to finish, as you will find the magical exercises at the end of each chapter work progressively. The skills learned in the beginning of the book prepare you for more advanced teachings as you proceed. Secondly, this is a reference book. It is my desire that this book become marked up and tagged, dog-eared and coffee-stained from the sheer amount of use it gets!

I invite you to begin your journey through these pages with the creation of a Book of Shadows of your own. A Book of Shadows is a magical journal in which we keep track of our experiences in the unseen world. It also is a place to track our personal growth, by reviewing our entries periodically and making note of how our workings turned out. We are living in a time of great expansion, in which we are evolving psychically as a people. There will be much for you to keep track of!

Spreading love,
Salicrow

FROM WATER WITCH:
Communication

Sea of becoming, ocean of healing,
Dreams help me see what my soul is revealing.
Water of life, essence of Love,
Rain down upon us from above
Jewels Aradia

UNDINES
Water Elementals

Undines, or Ondines as they are sometimes called, are elemental spirits of Water, often associated with rivers, streams, wells, and woodland ponds. While mythology depicts them in human form, my experience has been less fanciful and more approachable.

It is human nature to want to put intelligence into a form that resembles our own, expecting spirit to conform to our view of reality in order to communicate. This is one of the reasons so many people struggle with viewing the otherworld. This expectation limits our mind’s ability to comprehend, as we constantly tell ourselves that if something does not fit into our carefully designed blueprint of reality, then it must be imaginary.

In some ways this is true, as it is through our imagination—that fluid, ever-possible consciousness—that we enter the liminal. When we begin to see our imagination as a tool for accessing consciousness, the other world becomes a lot more real. This is clear to anyone who has begun the practice of magic, as we are often required to first imagine ourselves surrounded by the white light of protection before we can energetically sense it. It is as if the key to experiencing alternate realms lies in the ability to accept them as different from ours, yet just as real.

One of the most profound experiences I have had with an undine took place at the beginning of my Druid training with Ivan McBeth of the Green Druid School in Worcester, Vermont in 2008. It was early in the training and we, the new Bards (first-year students), were still becoming familiar with the land known as Dreamland. We were practicing “wide-angle vision,” expanding our perception by focusing on the use of our peripheral vision. It was a beautiful spring day at the convergence of two streams, and my senses were on overload as I bathed in the green light filtering through the trees and listened to the sound of the brook babbling beside me.

Getting there required scrambling down a steep bank; as many sacred places are, this one was well hidden and not easily accessed. Seclusion is often a key ingredient to sacred locations connected to Nature spirits, because they are not fond of the ways in which most humans live and treat the land. The presence of otherworldly beings was tangible within moments of climbing down the hill. The energy of the place carried a pulse of spirit that tingled in the air. As with the aftereffects of a lightning storm, the energy was palpable. (The sensation of static electricity, as well as cold, heat, or a feeling of sleepiness or “mind fog,” are commonly experienced where the veil between the worlds is thin.)

As we settled down in our individual places, I tucked myself into a little alcove where I could sit close to a small pool of flowing water. I felt a bit dizzy. I often experience a feeling of wooziness upon entering liminal space. This was something I was familiar with through my work as a spirit speaker.

Remembering the teachings of my childhood, I sang a little song, offering up my voice to the genii loci (spirits of place). I gently spit into the stream, as I remembered my grandmother’s words: “The water of our body is sacred.” Within moments I noticed the swirling pattern of the water was changing its direction, and that there was a slightly gelatinous form—a thickness in the water that seemed to move with purpose toward me. It was sinuous in its movement, undulating as it made its way in my direction (hence the name “Undines”). In this moment time was still; the world around me seemed to slide out of focus, and all that was important was the connection between the water and me. It was an introduction, for I could recognize that the structured water before me held a sentient being—or beings, for it felt as if there were more than one.

In my conceptualization of them I would consider them female, for water is inherently receptive, imprinted by whatever it comes in contact with. In truth, I believe our desire to describe an elemental being in a gendered way comes from our need to make the “wyrd” normal, and the non-human human.

As I sat entranced by the Undines, for I immediately recognized them as such, I felt a deep sleepiness come over me, while at the same time I felt a tremendous amount of love directed at me from the Water spirits. Having had experience with the spirit world in my professional career as a psychic medium, I knew that communication of this sort required an energy source (a medium), and that they were tapping into my energy in order to communicate. As this was a new experience for me, the amount of energy required was a bit exhausting. (This is why some people fall asleep when entering a “Fae’” spot in Nature.)

Communication of this kind is not always a straightforward conversation. In fact, the majority of the time information is transmitted through imagery, deep knowing, and a feeling of “download.” Just as when we’re waiting for a computer to download new programs or files, we only have knowledge of a fraction of the information being delivered. The majority of understanding will be received over a much longer period of time through a form of knowing. Just as when we open a computer file, we have what we need when we need it. With this in mind, I always recommend that people carry a journal with them when they head out on sacred travel, whether it be near or far. In a pinch, remember that most phones have a place for notes, as well as cameras to take photos that can jar our memory later.

SAMPLE TECHNIQUE FROM
"WATER WITCH: HEALING"

Activating the Water of the Body for Healing

I found myself in apprenticeship to Water shortly after returning to my home in Vermont, where I have a private practice as a Psychic Medium and Healer—working with people in person and distantly, all over the world. The teachings I received with Ae-Ah immediately began enhancing the energetic healing work I did for my clients.

The first time I placed my hands on a client after returning from my travels, I knew that I needed to activate the water in their body—as water of any kind can be “programmed” by words and intention. This thought, coming directly from spirit, was in alignment with the observations of Dr. Masuru Emoto. He performed experiments on water, examining ice crystals exposed to different words and emotions, and shared his findings with the worl, in his book Messages from the Water. I also knew how to do so, the simple directions being relayed to me directly from Ae-Ah, through the water of my own body.

I began toning the name “Ae-Ah,” over and over again, as I sent energy from my hands and vocalizations into my client’s body, my intent set on speaking directly to the waters of their body. I recognized their internal water to be crystalline, and that it was currently holding a programmed pattern of illness and trauma. I telepathically asked the water to carry a different program, to remember that it was sacred and part of the greater being that was Ae-Ah. Over the last few years, this has become an integral part of my healing practice, one that I will share with you now for use on yourself and others.

You Will Need

A chalice or wine glass, water from a sacred spring or waterway, and an altar created with items you hold sacred that are associated with water.

Like most things magical, it is essential to hold the intent you wish to achieve; in the case of balancing and reprogramming the body’s water, our intent is for optimal health and well-being. It is also important to continue your toning long enough to achieve the deeply relaxed state of light trance, for both you and your recipient. In most cases, this means staying with it for at least fifteen minutes. When you have completed your working, remember to give a bit of thanks back to the spirit of Water, acknowledging how intimately involved it is in the workings of our life.

1. Fill the chalice on your altar with sacred water you have collected. Placing your index finger and middle finger from your dominant hand in the water, anoint your heart, third eye, and crown. If working on another, anoint them in a similar fashion, having them lie on a massage table or sit comfortably in a chair. If you are attuned to Reiki or another energetic healing modality, activate your hands, recognizing that this is a compatible healing technique that can be used simultaneously with others.

2. Placing one hand on the crown of the head, and the other on the high center of the chest (above the breast), take a few deep breaths, connecting yourself to source, and the essence of water. Closing your eyes, begin to tone “Ae-Ah,” allowing yourself to be carried into a light trance state by the vibrations of your vocalization. Here especially, vocal toning is the act of energetically harmonizing the emotional, physical, and spiritual body through sounding. In vocal toning, one tone is held steady for each exhalation. In this case the name “Ae-Ah” would break down into two exhalations: “Ae” and “Ah.”

3. Work on yourself or other in this manner for at least twenty minutes. Make sure to thank the water when you are done, and record your experience in your Book of Shadows.

This technique can be used at waterways as well, by toning “Ae-Ah” while performing Water blessings such as the one mentioned in the last chapter. Remember, this book has been designed to teach you techniques that can be stacked upon each other, allowing you to develop naturally into the Elemental Witch that you are.

Table of Contents

Foreword The Elements of Magic Anne-Marie Keppel ix

Preface Welcome, Seeker xiii

Water Witch

Communication 2

Undines 2

Water Altars 8

Sacred Water from the Earth 11

The Purple Mist 16

Connecting with Willoughby 21

Transmission through Seclusion 25

Divination 30

Mirrors and Teacups 30

Bath Bombs 35

Ripples in the Water 40

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall 44

Moonlit Reflection 49

The Drowning Pool 53

Healing 59

Healing in the Soup Pot 59

Awakening 65

Water Blessing 73

Sonic Waves 78

Healing Community and Country 82

Protection 86

Reflective Magic 86

Anointed Protection 90

Hall of Mirrors 94

Irish Piss Pot 98

Protective Spray 101

Weather Protection 106

Glamour 111

Fairy Glamour 111

Accentuating the Positive 115

Misty Camouflage 119

Love Come to Me 122

Becoming the Priestess 127

Laps of Manifestation 133

Jump Girl 138

Earth Witch

Communication 144

Gnomes and Trolls 144

Earth Altars 150

The Art of Listening 154

Entering the Fairy Wood 159

The Troll Cave 165

Devas in the Garden 171

Divination 178

The Wisdom of Trees 178

Roots and Bones 183

Working with Runes 186

Animal Messengers 192

Everyday Divination 197

Geomancy 202

Connected Lines 202

Stonehenge 208

Needle 213

Balancing Energy 218

Green Heart Farm 224

Nagini, the Stone Snake 229

Attuned to the Earth 236

Healing 241

Entering the Cave 241

Verdant Gnosis 247

The Nest 250

Graveyard Dirt 254

The Wisdom of Trees 259

Slieve Gullion 263

Protection 268

Sacred Groves 268

Magical Permaculture 271

Fairy Mounds 277

Boobie-Stones 282

Stone Guardians 285

Earth in My Pocket 288

Air Witch

Communication 294

Sylphs 294

Air Altars 299

Take Caution 303

Spirit Chimes In 309

Fae Contact 313

Crow's Calling 317

Divination 323

Weather Sensing 323

Cloud Augury 328

The Voice of Remembrance 331

Voices on the Wind 336

Smoke on the Breeze 340

The Way of Birds 344

Astral Navigation 348

The Astral Plane 348

Journeying through Voice 355

I Am Awake, 359

Storm Weaving 363

As the Crow Flies 368

A Voice for the Otherworld 372

Healing 377

Purification through Smoke 377

Activating the Olfactory 381

Whistling and Blowing 385

A Healing Voice 389

Echoes in the Mountain 392

Attuned to Air 395

Enchantment 399

Bubbles to the Moon 399

Catching the Wind 402

The Wyrding Way 406

Voices on the Wind 410

Echolocation 413

Time Traveling in the Tor 417

Fire Witch

Communication 424

Salamanders 424

Fire Altars 428

The Cleverness of Jinn 431

Honoring Fire in the Home 438

Faces in the Fire 441

Fire-Breathing Dragons 446

Divination 450

Visions in Flames 450

Ashes to Ashes 453

Melted Wax 457

Flaming Runes 460

Samhain Fires 464

Campfire Divination 468

Healing 471

Light a Candle 471

Bonfire of the Vanities 475

Burning Bridges and Cutting Cords 479

Attuned to Fire 483

Internal Flame 486

Localizing Trauma with Fire 489

Transformation 494

Fire Containment 494

Change from the Hearth 498

Coaxing Embers 502

Phoenix from the Fire 505

Bonfire and Bees 509

I Have Walked on Fire, Ho! 513

Sex Magic 517

Sacred Sexuality 517

Steamy Offerings 522

Object of Desire 525

Awakening the Snake 528

Fantasy Lover 531

Desired by the Gods 535

Afterword Continuing the Journey 539

Index 545

Editorial Reviews

03/14/2022

Witch Salicrow (Jump Girl) delivers a meandering handbook for practicing witchcraft with the four elements: water, earth, fire, and air. The author discusses her personal experiences with each element and covers the basics of engaging them with magic, including how to communicate safely with “elemental beings,” make offerings to spirits and places, and build altars outdoors and at home. For instance, Salicrow describes when she encountered water spirits known as undines in a stream, and provides instructions for receiving supernatural messages by dripping food dye into a bowl filled with water as one gazes at it and asks questions of the “spirit of Water.” Other rituals teach how to cleanse one’s “energetic body” by burning herbs, create a “magical hearth” by requesting protection from the “spirit of Fire,” and welcome land spirits known as devas by praising plants in one’s garden. While Salicrow’s exploration of the temperaments of the elements enlightens, the surfeit of superfluous personal anecdotes tends to distract, and cursory explanations of magical concepts, often relegated to footnotes, will leave novices in the cold. Seasoned practitioners will find this fitfully illuminating. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"The Path of Elemental Witchcraft is part memoir and travelogue, part ritual handbook, part metaphysical ethnography of the many types of elemental spirit beings Salicrow meets in the hidden realms. This book strikes me as a generous gift, like a gigantic buffet table onto which Salicrow has piled as many of her observations and insights as the table will hold. Reading The Path of Elemental Witchcraft feels like it might feel sitting with Salicrow over a cup of tea or a bowl of soup.This book is a magnum opus. It is a trip around the worlds."

FacingNorth.net Sara R. Diamond

In The Path of Elemental Witchcraft, Salicrow takes readers into her cave of interconnectedness and sacred communication with a wealth of information and offerings that enable practitioners of any level to develop a richer relationship with the elements and elemental beings from many different origins. Salicrow does not simply tell you how to walk through the shadow, she teaches you how to see within the veil of its profuse darkness.

elemental enchantress Jenn LeBlanc

The Path of Elemental Witchcraft is much more than a book, it is an intimate invitation into the sacred workings of the world. Through personal stories and guided practice you can’t help but be enveloped in the unique vision of Salicrow, whose writing crystallizes the precious usefulness of elemental magic. This Book of Shadows makes a tantalizing subject accessible and beneficial to all.

Stephanie Rose Bird

The Path of Elemental Witchcraft is abundantly filled with wisdom, heart, and deep teachings. Salicrow’s writing is authentic, passionate, and inspiring. In this wonder-full book she shares stories of her personal journey that illustrate who and what the elementals are, and she teaches us how to engage and relate with the elementals in safe and respectful ways. Each section is filled with a rich mix of practices, rituals, suggestions, and guidance for deepening our understanding and our relationship with Nature and the visible and invisible worlds around us. Each elemental section explores communication, divination, healing, protection, and magic with the beings of water, fire, air, and earth. Doing the practices will take you deep into your own experience of knowing. This book is a treasure trove that you’ll want to delve into over and over again.

Kathy Warner