Connecting with the Four Elements for Prosperity

When you dream of prosperity, what do you see? Do you see ever-present, long lines in your store? Perhaps you see abundance by way of a full house of family and friends. Perhaps prosperity to you is the ability to decorate your store or home as you like, regardless of cost. Prosperity, and it's companion abundance, mean so many different things to each of us, and can even mean different things to us at different times of our lives. Fortunately, we can work with the four elements (Earth, Fire, Water, and Air) to invite prosperity and abundance—however we visualize it—into our lives.

1. Water: Practical Prosperity Magick, the new release from perennial favorite Ellen Dugan, contains (as the name states) a plethora of easy and effective ways to draw prosperity, success, and abundance into your life. She separates her prosperity work into sections based on each element, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. To work with the Water element, which invites abundance and prosperity to continue its liquid flow, try her "Nine of Cups Tarot Spell."

Timing:
Work this spell in a waxing moon phase. As the moon grows, so will your dreams. The most opportune time to work this spell would be on a Friday—a Venus day. This is a happy day filled with loving emotions and is just the ticket for this particular work.

Supplies: For this simple elemental spell, you will only need a few items: a blue floating candle, a lighter, a glass bowl filled with clean water, the Nine of Cups card from your tarot deck, and a safe, flat surface.

Directions: Place the water-filled bowl and the tarot card upon the altar. Light the floating candle and focus on that tarot card. Visualize the goals that you have for yourself. See yourself as happy and prosperous—your dreams and wishes are coming true. Then repeat the spell verse three times:

The Nine of Cups card will now be for me
A lovely symbol for prosperity.
My dreams and wishes will be granted, this much is true
This magick begins with a floating candle of blue. 

Close up the spell with these lines:

For the good of all, with harm to none
By tarot’s magick, this spell is done!

Allow the floating candle to burn out in a safe place. When it is finished, pour the water from the bowl out on the earth and clean up. Place the Nine of Cups card under your pillow. More information about the spellwork may be revealed in your dreams. You may also choose to keep the Nine of Cups card out for a few days to look at and remind you of your magick, or you may return it to the tarot deck. The choice is yours.

2. Earth: The new Plant and Fungus Totems contains a number of ways to incorporate plants and fungus into your spirituality, connecting with these energies as totems and in your daily life. To connect with the energy of the White Matsutake mushroom for prosperity, for example, you can try the following:

Create devotional art using the relevant sticks, leaves, stems, spore prints, etc. These may be purely decorative, or they might have specific meanings to you. For example, let’s say you were fortunate enough to find a few white matsutake mushrooms, an unusual prize in the Pacific Northwest. Before preparing them for a special meal, you decide to take a spore print of one of the caps. You then use this print in a collage centered on bringing good luck and prosperity into your life, asking the totem White Matsutake to add its energy to your creation and your intent. Other options include making incense out of fragrant leaves and flower petals, adding dried fungus and plant parts to the wax when making candles or to the pulp when making paper, a necklace of seeds, and so forth.

3. Fire: Many of us have long neglected the archetype of the solar feminine, traditionally attributing masculine qualities to the sun instead of feminine qualities. Stephanie Woodfield, in her new book Drawing Down the Sun, presents fourteen different solar goddesses from different pantheons with whom you can work. As you begin, create some Prosperity Sun Tea:

Creating Sun Water and Sun Tea
Sun water and sun tea can be used in healing and during rituals and spells. To create sun water, fill a glass bowl with filtered water and place it in a sunny spot where the light of the sun can shine on it. If it is winter, you can place the bowl near a sunny window. Hold your hands over the water and visualize the light and energy of the sun filling the water until it shines with a golden light. Allow the water to remain in the light of the sun until you feel it is fully charged with the sun’s energy. You can use this water to sprinkle around an area to cleanse it, to wash ritual items, or to make healing teas and infusions. Creating sun tea is very similar to making sun water, with the addition of soaking herbs in the water. Like sun water, you can use sun tea to bless a particular area or for spell and ritual work.

You could also follow the same process to bless and steep a cup of tea with the sun’s healing energy. Choose herbs connected to the work you are planning on doing. Place the herbs in a large bowl, then pour in six cups of water (you may choose to add more or less water as needed). Place the bowl in a sunny window or outside in direct sunlight and allow it to steep for thirty minutes to an hour. If you choose to make your tea outside, place plastic wrap over it so nothing blows into the bowl.

Prosperity Sun Tea
2 parts ginseng
1 part orange peel
½ part cinnamon

4. Air: Enjoy this simple spell from Silver's Spells for Abundance by Silver RavenWolf. Using nothing more than a bell and the power of the air, draw abundance in all its forms into your business, home, and daily life.

Abundance from the Air
From the strong winds of change, to the gentle breezes of movement, to the use of holy breath, air magick can clean out those dusty cobwebs of procrastination, reverse a negative aspect or influence, or push along a project in the right direction. Like a small breeze that can coalesce into a mighty front, we are going to use an ancient technique called the cumulative spell that employs repetition, a basic characteristic of many folk enchantments. In the cumulative spell, a new element is added to the original simple statement, and the growing list is recited after each addition (much like the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”). Done preferably at the new moon, you are free to choose which day or planetary hour you desire. The only supply you will need is a bell.

The bell has served various religious functions all over the world, including Assyrian practices in 600 b.c.e., Chinese temple bells, Babylonian worship, Egyptian feasts, aboriginal invocations, Hindu rites, and invocations by Haitian vou- duns. To date, no one can pinpoint exactly when the bell entered human culture. Bells have been used for a variety of purposes, including amulets, fertility charms, a summons to deity, prophecy, curative agents, and, of course, as a musical instrument. Europeans rang bells to thwart the power of a thunderstorm and break the oncoming storm front.

In this spell we use the bell to summon Divinity and the elements as well as to ward off negativity.

Instructions: Hold your hands over the bell and ask Divinity for prosperity and protection. You can choose a favorite deity if you like. I simply used the word “Divinity” to keep the spell simple. This spell is to be done facing east (the position of air) at dawn (or when you arise from a night’s sleep—I realize we’ve got second and third shifters these days). Begin by saying: “I call forth Divinity.” Ring the bell, and say:

“I call forth the prosperity and protection of the element of earth. I magnetize the positive things I need and want to come to me. Now!” Ring the bell. Now say:

This is the spell
that works so well
that starts with a bell (ring the bell)
that brings a smile
that breaks the trial
that sweeps the room
and clears out doom.
That creates abundance
powered by redundancy
that brings prosperity. 

Note: At the end of the spell you can say specifically what it is that you want, then ring the bell.

To enhance this spell:
• Perform at dawn.
• Perform when the moon is in Gemini if you desire dramatic change.
• Perform on Friday in the hour of Venus.
• Perform on a cliff, bluff, or other high place where the wind is always present.
• Perform at Ostara (Spring Equinox).

Re-Imagining the Holidays: 6 Ways to Resist Overabundance and Create Gratitude

From Thanksgiving to New Year's, many of us get trapped in a cycle of overabundance—the state of having too much. As in: more than we can use or process. Sara Wiseman, author of Becoming Your Best Self and the new Living a Life of Gratitude, shows us how we can release these worn-out traditions and create new holiday experiences that fill us with simple abundance and gratitude.

The following entry was originally posted by Sara Wiseman in the Llewellyn Journal on September 23, 2013.

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Are you dreading it, already?

You know…the whole shopping-gifting-cooking-cleaning-eating-drinking socializing-relatives-traveling season just ahead?

From Thanksgiving to New Year's, many of us get trapped in a cycle of overabundance—the state of having too much. As in: more than we can use. More than we can process. The cup not just full, but overflowing.

It's gotten worse in recent years, starting with Christmas decorations that go on display at Halloween to the frenzy of Black Friday. We've become a culture of excess and a society of waste, moving from the next new thing to the next…without ever taking the time to enjoy any of it. We have so much, and it's arriving so fast that we can't use or even experience it all.

This overabundance—having more than we really need—creates stress, lowers vibration, and zaps energy from mind, body and spirit.

Now, I'm all for abundance! I'm certainly not one to pass up on anything that brings pleasure or beauty or connection to my life. But when we become trapped in the cycle of overabundance—the endless circle of want, get, want, get—our lives fall out of balance.

Six Ways Overabundance Causes Holiday Stress
During the holidays, overabundance shows up in different forms. It's not just eating rich foods or excessive gifts, as you'd expect, but less obvious ways as well, including: too much socializing, complex family relationships, rigid tradition, and low vibration group thought.
Here are six areas where overabundance can create stress in your life:

1. Overabundance of Food
   Rich, sweet, fatty holiday food lowers your physical vibration, which affects mind and spirit, too. If you work in an office or with a group of people, it's hard to escape the sweets in the break room! Alcohol from frequent social events adds to this mix. Don't worry about weight gain—instead, be focused on the energetic signature of the food you eat. Is it processed? Will it make you feel good? Does your body really want it? Pay attention, and don't let the season of indulgence lower your vibration.


2. Overabundance of Gifts
   The cycle of shopping, buying, wrapping, giving, and receiving can be very stressful, even if budget is not a concern. The sheer energetic reality of involving ourselves with objects, or "stuff," can be overwhelming, especially when we understand that every object has its own frequency, vibration, or energetic signature depending on where it came from, how it was made, who made it, and so forth…this is a lot of new energy to add to your reality!

Consider your energy as you decide how or if you will give and receive gifts this year. Consider your energy if you decide to do without, do less, or give experiences or to charity instead. Once you break the gift cycle, you will be surprised how free you feel.

Overabundance of Socializing
Office parties, school events, the annual party you've gone to every year for ten years…All of this has a certain clamor of "must attend" attached to it, when in reality, you can change plans, opt out, or do something different. Don't rely on what you've always done—you're a new person now, and you may want to try something different. Reassess every year.

Introverts especially may need a lot of private time during this season; give yourself the gift of quiet and solitude.

Overabundance of Family Relationships
There's that saying: you can't go home again. And yet every holiday season, most of us continue to swim up river to our birthing place. Many times, the wounds, past hurts, and misunderstandings are still there. And because we're so busy during the holidays, we don't have time to work on our relationships with our family members. Understand that family karma is complex, and the stress of the holidays makes it more so. Be gentle with yourself and others. Have an exit strategy if things go awry. If it's just too much, opt out and try again another time.

Overabundance of Tradition
Just because you've always done it a certain way doesn't mean you have to do it that way now. This might include: going to a certain event, party, gathering, or church service; wearing certain clothes; decorating a certain way; eating certain foods; being with certain people; and so on. Break free from the rigid traditions your family has "always done" and see what else the Universe might have up its sleeve for you and yours!

Overabundance of Group Thought
Understand the power of group thought or collective soul to affect your mood. We've all seen what fear-based beliefs can do to collective thought: hate, violence, financial ruin, and war are all products of low-vibration thinking. During the holidays, mindless consumption is the culprit: everyone is stressing out on want, get, want, get. This creates enormous stress, and when this is done in the collective, everyone feels it. During this time, connect to your own higher self, God/One/All/Divine/Source, frequently and deeply. Use Thanksgiving and Solstice as markers for the season—times when you can easily dip into gratitude and joy.

The Joy of Doing it Differently: Releasing Worn Out Traditions, Creating New Experiences
For years, I traveled north for Christmas—packed up my partner, kids, dog, and a car full of gift-wrapped presents and hustled the I-5 corridor from Portland to Seattle.

The trip was no over-the-river-and-through-the-woods…everything about it was stressful! Traffic on Christmas Eve was difficult, at best. We were cooped up and restless in my mom's tiny one-bedroom condo. And we were stuck in the city, instead of out in the nature we loved. And yet, I gritted my teeth and did this trip for twenty-nine years because it was my family tradition.

Until last year, the Universe stepped in and simply said, "no."

Early that fall, I'd had two (successful) surgeries for cancer. But I was still in recovery, and by the time the holidays rolled around, the Universe started informing me, at first gently and then persistently, that I wasn't up for the trip.

What? Not go to Seattle? Not do the family trip? Really? Yet every time I asked for guidance, the answer came back loud and clear: No. Not this time. And so, after a very long family discussion, we opted out.

For the first time ever, we stayed home in Oregon for the holidays. We cooked a little food, and opened a few of gifts—inexpensive, silly things. We decorated our tree. We slept in late, and took long winter walks in the woods, and at night we bundled up in blankets on the porch and watched the winter stars move across the sky.

It was low-key, it was real, it was absolutely us…and it was one of the best Christmases ever.

Since then, I've let go of all the old ideas about how the holidays "should" be, and begun to recreate them as truly authentic celebrations—genuine expressions of gratitude for this amazing human journey. I've recognized the holidays for what they really are: holy days, outside of any religion, that ask us to go quiet and still as we give thanks for our lives. A beautiful time, filled with deep appreciation and joy.

I'll admit, it wasn't easy. It took a very active releasing of the cycle of overabundance in all its forms—food, gifts, socializing, family, tradition, and group thought—to allow this lovely clarity to shine forth.

In fact, stepping into this way of living authentically can be quite difficult at first—it may require letting go of tradition, from what the mainstream dictates. It might mean something as big as deciding not to visit home during the busy season. Or, it could be as simple as choosing to not indulge in holiday foods, so your body—and you—feel better. Or maybe giving only a few, inexpensive gifts.
These decisions are yours to make.

When you allow yourself the freedom to create your holiday your way—not the one dictated by mainstream society, or handed down from your ancestors, but yours alone—everything about the season shifts.

Gratitude, which might have seemed the furthest thing from your mind in that cycle of "must dos" and mainstream stress, becomes alive in you again.

Most importantly, you begin to understand that overabundance isn't actually what you need—after all, you don't really require a cup that's overflowing. You just need a cup that's full.

Ten Ways to Jump-Start a Holiday Filled with Gratitude

1. Travel outside of peak season, if you travel at all. Booking a flight Christmas Day instead of Christmas Eve is an entirely different experience.
2. Limit gifts to small, inexpensive tokens. Or gift "experiences" instead.
3. Make a bucket list of what you really love about the holidays: walking in the snow, sleeping in, watching Frosty the Snowman. Do these, and let the rest go.
4. Graciously decline invites that no longer fit. A simple, "I'm sorry, we can't make it" is all you need.
5. Sleep, rest, be still. It is winter, after all.
6. Play cards, catch, dolls…connect with younger ones and your younger self.
7. Sing.
8. Revisit the holidays as holy days. Go to church, if that feels right, or a spiritual service in your community. Celebrate the Winter Solstice as an end of darkness and arrival of light.
9. Give hugs, the best gift of all!
10. Get emotional, feel it all, and celebrate, in your heart. Life is a miracle.