Retraitecentrum Bij de Rode Beuken – Schiphorsterstraat 16 – 7227 NG - ToldijkSummer Solstice Ceremony at the Seed of Life stone circle – NORTH
What does the Spirit of Earth want us to know?
Our beautiful group had listened and honoured the Air, Fire and Water element, and now we gathered in the North at Seed of Life stone circle’s outer marker stone. The direction of the North is related to the Earth element on the Celtic Wheel of the Year. We worked with the representations of Earth in its form of stone and soil. Stone is our first ancestor and without the skeleton of stone providing the strong scaffolding that is holding up the landscapes, there would be no place for precious soil to gather. Nor hold the seeds that will lead to new growth.
The soil that covers our landscapes is for the largest part composed of the debris of previous bloom. When life has bloomed and comes to the end of its cycle, then it will decay and its physical substance will return to and become part of the soil, taking with it also the metaphysical properties of all the memories and experiences of the blooming to give one more blessing to this world; that of NOURISHMENT. Soil is a mixture of dead and living energy, endlessly tumbled by time into compost and fertile lands. All the other elements help in the process of this transformation of life to death and resurrection. Maybe that is why we place the Earth element in the North, which in the Northern Hemisphere is the place of winter and of Rebirth of the Sun/Son. In addition, the stones and soil together are CARRYING us. There would be no place to walk on, to lie on, to dream on and build on, to cherish and to love, let alone of food to be produced, if it weren’t for stones and soil. In this vital role, we honoured the Spirit of Earth.
The element of Earth was invited to inhabit the mason jar filled with soil consisting of parts bloom and decay that could be inhabited as a temporary dwelling for the purpose of this ceremony. It serves as a ‘physical representation of a non-physical being’ in order to be able to ‘make visible’ how our group intent affects the energy field (aura) of the earth element. Nothing could have prepared us for the large size of the energy field that surrounded the Earth Element. Presuming I would be able to dowse its aura within the boundaries of the field that we were standing in, I started to dowse but only to find that the rod wasn’t showing any sign of movement. So I went back to the Earth Element jar and asked for one-third of the actual circumference, thinking that would do as previously Air and Fire element both were dowseable with that ratio. But again, the rod showed no sign of movement. I went back to the jar again, asking the Earth element for a dowseable ratio. The answer was one-fifteenth of the actual size! A guestimate would be that the energy field was approx. 450 meter in diameter. And that is before we honoured the Earth element! After we had gifted words, song, music and poem, it responded with a doubling of its energy field to 960-ish meters in diameter (its ratio was now 1/32nd). Almost 1 km. It was suggested that the energy field of the Earth Element maybe was this large because of all the ceremonies that had been conducted here, honouring the land and its stone circle. And that could very well be its message!
Is Earth Element emphasizing the importance of TAKING CARE of the land? She may be letting us know that when we make a habit of blessing and honouring the land that is within our reach (which could be your own backyard, a local park or your community garden etc), this will result in a mutually beneficial relationship. Everything within the energetic sphere of the piece of land you work with, is touched by its enhanced vibration. The food will flourish, animals will be healthier and the overall well-being of the people living on it or visiting it, will be lifted. Imagine the impact on the quality of life if all of us would take time to care for the gift of Earth. “Come, let us work together now”, Earth whispers.
