I know many of you are waiting for my series on making my garden more "witchy"- there has been a delay on it purely due to the fact that I have had a stinking cold for the last week or so, so I haven't been able to get myself to a garden centre. I know I need to get cracking before it starts getting cold. But the new lawn has settled now so we can make a start- our cat was so excited when she saw the lawn, she started rolling in it like it was pure catnip!
Anyway, moving onto today's post. Since the Gathering, I have been inspired by Flavia Kate Peter's talk on Mermaid Magic and how to tap into that power. I have always loved mermaids and lately I have been feeling drawn to the element of Water. Or, to be more accurate, I'm letting myself be drawn to Water. I am a typical Air element- very thought-and-logic based, especially when I was a teenager and decided that love was a waste of time (well, until I met Mr Shanti, who changed my mind quite quickly). I never realised how much my earlier tendancies to avoid the Water element had continued to leak into my adult life, despite still having a childlike joy at the opportunity to go to the beach and still loving mermaids. That side of me felt more or less shut down. It wasn't until I got to planning our new bathroom that I realised that part needed to be set free- I was choosing lots of sea-themed colours and had this vision of a bathroom that felt like an underwater grotto. That was a pretty big sign that I needed to get in touch with Water again, so Flavia's talk at the Gathering was on my list of ones to attend.
Going into the talk, I wondered whether I would get much use out of it. As much as I love the beach, I live quite far inland and don't really get the time to go. Then Flavia pointed out that we get water pumped into our houses- just because it's not lapping up on the coast doesn't mean it's not magical. We can tap into the magic of the Undine spirits when we use the shower.
I found this to be an absolutely fantastic idea that I was eager to try. In general, I do love my showers- if I'm feeling unwell or sad, a shower is usually what I need to help me feel somewhat better. Admittedly, I was a little uninspired as our bathroom is not yet finished (aside from the painting, the plumber decided it wasn't in his job description to put up the shower screen or bracket to hold the showerhead, so we've been having to shower sat down for the last month- that's getting sorted soon though!), but I decided to give it a go.
As I have said, I have been working at a holiday camp, which is a lot more stressful than it sounds. I was often coming home feeling dreadful, stressed or plain overworked. So I developed my evening shower into a ritual to cleanse the day's negativity from my body.
Firstly, I accumulated many sea-themed toiletries: again, this is something that happened a week before the Gathering on a trip to Lush- I suddenly needed all of the sea-related products. I shan't go into huge detail for fear of landing into the Beauty Blogger territory, but Lush do a fantastic range of sea salt and kelp products for hair and skin. And it's all cruelty free and either vegetarian or vegan, and some of it is paraben-free now too. This stuff obviously isn't necessary for the ritual, but it was something I kind of already had to hand... and even if I didn't, I can't resist an excuse to go to Lush!
So all of the stuff was set up and I got into the shower. The first thing I did was a full rinse and asking the Undines to wash away all the negative thoughts and feelings I had picked up during the day. I visualised myself being washed in a soft blue light, infusing my body with healing and calming energies. With every product I used, I visualised any residual psychic "muck" being lifted and washed away from that part of the body.
After my first ritual shower, I realised this added invocation of the Water Spirits made such a huge difference. I felt so much calmer and able to sleep, with the day's worries basically washed out of me.
The additional benefit was that I got to keep connected to my magical side even though my work hours had essentially prevented me from doing it elsewhere (both a lack of time and lack of energy).
When the bathroom is done, I have a ton of seashells from Brighton and Galway to display around the room to bring more of the ocean magic to me. We'll see if that adds an extra dimension to the rituals.
Another thing, not sea-related, that I have found makes a world of difference is being able to walk barefoot in my garden. Before the lawn was laid, we had stones. So I never got that connection with the earth. Now I can. It's incredible.
It's amazing how seemingly small things can make such a huge difference. Next time you hop in the shower or take a bath, take a minute to talk to the Water Spirits and ask them to help you cleanse the past 24 hours from you and give you a new start. Water is for new beginnings, after all!
Blessings,
Shanti
xxxx