March 25, 2011

Elements of Tarot: Water


Water:
Tarot Symbols: Cups, Vessels, Cauldrons, Shells, Hearts
Rain, Wells, Rivers, Lakes, Dams, Oceans, Storms

Emotional plane:
Feelings, Intuition, Dreams, Childhood, Early memories
Subconscious messages, Nurturing, Relationships, 
The need to give and receive, Flow, Receptivity

Key Word:
I feel

Suggested Ritual:
Ice Cube Magic

Each of the elements may be expressed in one of three modalities: cardinal (starts things), fixed (stabilizes) or mutable (changes). Ice cubes are in essence fixed water (Scorpio in astrology) and represent fixed emotions. Whether you feel fixated on the past, obsessed with changing the present, or fully focused on the future, ice cube magic may ease your way.

Take an ice cube from the freezer. Grab a permanent marker: black, blue or red ink work best. Write on the ice cube anything you want to see dissolve, shift, or change: grief, jealousy, stress, debt, taxes, the name of an ex-lover, your boss, cancer, etc. If the tip freezes, it's okay, you can imagine invisible ink or switch to using your athame or a sharp knife to scratch in the word(s).

Put it on a small plate, preferably in the sun. You can sit and watch the ice cube dissolve, noticing all the emotions that well up in your being and dissolve through tears. Or you can go out and do something completely else - the spell will be working in your subconscious the whole time.

Now, what to do with your melted emotions. You can pour the water down the toilet, flushing it completely away. You can pour it on an outside plant, allowing new growth to emerge. Be creative, yet keep it simple; invite ease and flow into your life.

Blessed be.