A knowledge and personal relationship to the elements is cruical when we walk the pagan path. The elements, air, fire, water and earth are all around us and within us.
In different traditions they are placed in different directions on the Wheel of the Year. On most wheels air is in the east, but for me, in my tradition it is in the north.

It is my belief that there is no right or wrong place for the elements. You will know which Wheel is the right one for you because it will feel natural. That is how I felt when I started learning about the Wheel of Ana when I trained as a Priestess of Avalon.
It just fit.

Air is the element that can not be seen, but is all around as. It is within us as our breath, and is what keeps us alive.

It is connected to the mind, communication, stillness, meditation, inner peace and wisdom.
It is the wind in the trees, and connected to the birds in the sky.

It can be gentle as a breeze or the healing breath in meditation. 
It can be as destructive as a hurricane.

And we can experience and call upon the energies of both of those.

Communicating with Air
When we allow ourselves the time to be still, to connect with our breath, and to find the peace within we can hear the whispers of Goddess.

To connect with air, burn incense, go outside and pay attention to what the wind is doing. Can you feel it against your skin? Can you see it playing with the trees?

Write down what thoughs come to you.

To learn more about the elements and to dive deeper into your connection to Goddess you may want to have a look at my online course Awakening to the elements.

And always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me via Facebook! 

With love and blessings. Elin xx

Wow, there´s so much involved in a ceremony, isn´t there! I have already written two blog posts about it and here is another one. 

I love sacred ceremonies and I love sitting in sacred circle. 

That is why I do the work I do. I don´t facilitate as many ceremonies as I used to, but I am starting to do more again. But I share the magic of ceremony and presence through my online courses a lot now. But more on that later...

In my last post I talked about the sharing circle and the magic of being able to be listened to without fear of judgment. I also spoke about the beauty of sisterhood that develops in such spaces.

​What is important in all ceremony and in meditation is being grounded. Being present and being grounded. 

There are many ways to ground. Some do it by moving. Some by breathing. Drumming is one way, singing another. 
I normally spend a few minutes breathing.  I focus my attention on the breath, and then after a while, on my body. What sensations are present in me right now?

If I was to describe the feeling of being grounded it would be like sensing the invisible energy field in my body and around my body. About listening to what is happening within me with a different kind of ear. Of being totally aware of myself. Present. Here and now.

If I am not present I can´t be present for the ceremony and then I can´t work the magic. I want to be present to call in Goddess. It is only polite, don´t you think?
I want to be present so that I can feel Her come closer. (Well, She is always here, but calling in is like amplifying it all!)
​I want to be present so that I can see Her with my inner eye, and feel the energies shift.
If I am not present I can´t be present with Her.

Then, as I have described earlier, in ceremony things happen. The presence I feel at the start shifts into something else. When the energy builds it can create a buzz. Sometimes hidden emotions come to the surface. 
But as the facilitator, even though I take part in what we do in the ceremony, I still have to be in control so that I can hold the energy. 
And that is an honour. And it takes a while to learn. But practice is beautiful! 
Surround yourself with people you trust and who support you and you will create the magic circle together.

In the meditations in my online courses I always guide you to presence before the visualisation starts, so that you will get used to how it feels. 
I write my courses for beginners and also for people who want to re-connect to Goddess, the elements and themselves. If you are curious you can find them by clicking here.

If you have any questions don´t hesitate to contact me via messenger!

Wishing you a magical day!

With love, 
​

Today is the autumn equinox. It is a time of balance. The day and night are equal. I like to think of it as pausing in a step....holding my breath, and then continuing. Landing. Walking on into the next part of the year.

It can be a time of anxiety and worry, and sadness, since the nights are getting longer again. We might grieve the light and the summer. We might worry if we will mentally survive the dark months ahead. This is when it is good to stop. Breathe and be in the moment. 
This is a time to slow down, if we want to follow the cycles of Mama Earth.

The equinox is a good time to reflect on the year that has gone by. Just as we can harvest fruit and mushrooms in nature, we can look at what we have grown in our own lives. What have we created? It can be physical things, or it can be attitudes we have developed. It can be experiences and emotions.

Take some time, perhaps at your altar, to light a candle, and give thanks for all the abundance in your life, and all that you have achieved. Write it down and read it out loud to yourself, and know that you are heard by Goddess, by the Universe. 
Give thanks. Try to really experience the feeling of gratitude within. Sit with that for a while. Just breathing.
You might want to think about some things you need to attend to in the coming months. Some things you want to continue growing. Write them down too.
When you feel ready, blow out your candle.

Enjoy this time, when the air changes. Observe nature. Listen to Her, and listen to your own soul. Sink your roots deep into the earth and absorb all the love.

With blessings, Elin xx
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If you are curious of the pagan path and walking with Goddess you might want to check out my 7 day introductory online course Re-ignite your soul with the Divine Feminine!

The first time I understood that nature could be used as an oracle was during the first year of my Priestess training in Glastonbury back in 2002. We spent the day walking the sacred land and ended up in a field where we spent some time in mindful presence.

I remember getting a very profound message while watching two bumble bees buzzing around two flowers. In one way, the message was something I knew, but the way the words came to me gave it a deeper understanding. I was blown away.

Using nature as an oracle is simple. 
All we have to do is go outside. 
Slow down. Breathe. Look around you.
What do you see.
Pick anything that your eye is drawn to.
Then wait and listen to what message your soul brings.

If you see a torn leaf, what does that mean for you?
If you see water drops hanging from a branch, what message do you get?
If you notice the wind shaking the high branches, what words come to you?

It  might be easy for you to hear your soul speak, or it may take some practice. Some days are easier than others and that is usually because we need to make sure we can be present. Stress is not very useful in these situations. When you are stressed you might listen more to your busy mind, and the mind can get confused.
So breathe. Walk slower. And open your eyes, heart and soul.

I love using nature as an oracle in the same way that I love art therapy. We get straight to the point. We don´t need to talk around it. The truth is just there.

Try it next time you go for a walk. 

Let me know how you get on.

​With love and blessings, Elin xx

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To learn more and re-connect to Goddess and the elements around you, have a look if any of my online courses speak to your soul! 
My aim is to create meditations, ceremonies and exercises that help you open up and re-align with all the beauty and power around you and within you. 
​

In a post a couple of weeks ago (September 8th, 2018) I started writing about my experience of holding sacred ceremonies and why I love it so much.

I wrote about the connection to Goddess and to the energies of the different elements, and how the thing that strengthens that connection is practice and presence.

I touched upon calling Goddess in but I want to share more about that and also the experience of being in sacred circle and sharing our true selves with eacher other.

Calling Goddess in
In every ceremony, as I open the circle, I call Goddess in. Goddess is One. She is One with 10,000 names. She has different faces, or aspects, like Kali, Freja, Domnu or Oshun. They are like our own different roles at home, at work, with our friends.

As I get to know the different Goddesses I can sense their energies. I know intimately how The Lady of Avalon feels. I know it in my very essence.

So when I call Goddess in I may call on specific aspects or the Great Goddess. It depends on what ceremony I am holding. And I think it is perfectly fine to call on a Goddess that you wish to know, but do not know yet. How else can you get to know Her?

You can call upon Her in meditation and see how it feels. Just breathe with it and let it be as it is. Just know She is there. There is no need to doubt.

The sharing circle
Another thing that I always include in ceremony with others is the sharing circle. Normally I ask everyone to share something about themselves and why they have decided to come.
Other times we may be focusing on gratitude, abundance or  love. I then invite the participants to share something around that. 

I love these spaces where we are held, heard and respected. When we share in sacred space there are no comments. No responses. Each person is allowed to speak without interruption. 
This so rare in our society, and it always moves me so much.

I always find that everyone brings so much magic to the space and to the circle when they share from their heart.

This is where we find sisterhood and brotherhood. In  accepting spaces where we really take the time to see other people.

I love it! I love ceremony and I LOVE guiding people into a closer connection to Goddess and the energies of nature! Interested in finding out how I can guide you on this journey? Click here or read below.

I will share more about ceremonies and my own Priestess journey in later posts.
(Part 3 is available by clicking here!)

Sending you all my love,