The Thief by Todd Lockwood
When we look to the north, what do we think of? I think of earth, of darkness, midnight, mystery, silence, mother earth, stability, fertility, grounding, caves, green and brown things, vetivert, patchouli, coal, emeralds, winter, salt, the present. There are lots of things that I think of when the north is called to mind. Sit there and think a while. What come to your mind when you think of the Northern part of your sacred space and magic circle? Write then down and see what you come up with. Contrary to what some dragon magic authors will have you believe. You do not call upon an earth dragon when calling this quarter. You call upon a dragon, who is well versed in the practices of bending and manipulating earth energies and powers to their will. Initially you may notice different dragons with different ways of bending this magic answer your call to guard the quarter. As time goes by one of these dragons will keep coming back and answering your call more than the others. Get a feel for the energies they channel into your circle. Feel these stable grounding energies course through you as you call the northern quarter.
Earth energies are traditionally feminine or, if you prefer, receptive energy forces and are assigned to the north (this changes in five and three element systems). These energies lend us stability and grounding to our rituals. The earth itself is a manifestation of this elemental force. It nurtures our crops and us keeping us and those crops alive and when we pass on into the next world our mortal remains could well be buried within the earth depending upon what our final wishes are.
So let us have a look as what other items could be assigned to the element earth and its direction, north. Admittedly the list is potentially endless so I’ll only list a few. As a practitioner yourself you should have a good working knowledge of what the correspondences are. Firstly the colour green springs to mind, so does the pentacle on the altar along with the bowl of salt (or soil). Darkness and midnight are also associated with the north, along with old age and the winter months. Silence too may also be associated with the earth. Some places associated with earth energies include caves, canyons, forests, groves, valleys and mines to name but a few. Coal, peridots, emeralds, jets, cat’s eyes, malachites are a few mineral associations while vetivert, pine, patchouli and bistort, are a few examples of plant associations with the element earth. The sense of touch may also be associated with this element too but I’m not entirely sure. If any one can clarify this for me I would be most grateful.
Let us now turn to the eastern quadrant of our sacred spaces and circles. What do you call to mind when you think of the East? I think of strong winds, sunrises, birdsong, flying, clouds, intelligence, change, sound, the colours yellow and pale blue, travelling, freedom, mountain tops, windswept plains, libraries, flutes, springtime, dill, pumice, spiders, birds, wands, staves, feathers, incense, lambs. Now it’s your turn. What do you associate with the east? What do you think off when you think upon the eastern part of your sacred space or circle? Think long and think hard. Again when calling this quarter you call for a dragon who can manipulate and channel these energies not an elemental air dragon entity. As with the earth you will find that eventually the same dragon keeps answering your call and channels these energies into the circle. Feel these air energies bring the winds of change, transformation and intellect into your circle.
Air energies are traditionally assigned to the east and have masculine or if you prefer, projective qualities. These energies lend us intellect and transformation to our rituals. Think of the gentle breeze that dries your washing on the line and then think to the gales that batter ships out at sea. Both of these are manifestations of air energies, without the mixture of gasses that air is we would not be able to live. Watch how the wind carries fallen leaves in the wind or blows up dust devils on the pathway. These are the powers of movement and change, at work in the world around us.
What else from a near endless list can we associate with air and the east? Well the dawn and sunrises are just two to start with as the sun rises in the east. Birds, feathers and flying would be another three as birds fly in the air using winds and thermals to keep them going from place to place with minimal effort. The colours yellow (the dawn) and light blue (the sky) also spring to mind; along with the springtime and new life. On the altar the censer, incense and wand (or athame in some traditions) would be associated with the air. Knowledge, intellect and the future come to mind as well. So lets look at plants, what could we associate with air? Dill, lavender, anise, caraway and thyme as for minerals here are a few examples, adventurine, pumice, mica and sphene. In keeping with the senses the senses of hearing and smell would be associated with air.
Look now to the south of your circle or sacred space. When someone says the word south to you what do you think of? I call to mind fires, the noonday sun, oak trees, coyotes, swords, boldness, summertime, anger, lust, passion, smoke, ash, light, red and orange hues, volcanoes, saunas, strength, chillies, thistles, fire agate, red jasper, lava and obsidian. What do you think of? Go on sit back and let your mind wander; what do you associate with the south? These energies lend purifying, cleansing and a measure of forceful and destructive energies to our rituals to fuel the working and burn down barriers in our way, metaphorically speaking. Feel the heat of these energies rise within you and merge with the others within your circle, feel the heat of the energies transformative qualities. Of The four elements Fire is the only one that cannot exist on its own, a fire needs a fuel and oxygen to feed it and keep it going, without either of these a fire cannot form.
Fire energies are traditionally assigned to the south and also traditionally have masculine or projective qualities if you prefer. These energies are purifying cleansing and yet also destructive, forceful and quite sexual as well. Think of the erupting volcano, think of the forest fires think of the heat of passion between you and your partner. All of these things are manifestations of the element fire. Any heat at all is associated with the element of fire, from actual flames, to the fires of anger and flames of passion.
What else can we associate with fire and the south? Again the list is almost endless. Summer time when the days are at their warmest, noon when the sun is at its highest and the hottest part of the day are two obvious choices. The fire of youth in a young person’s body would be another. Red and orange colours would be another choice. Incense and censers on the altar along with the athame and/or sword (some traditions assign the wand to fire and the blade to air). Anger, passion, lust the sense of sight would be a few more from the list. As for plants we can look to oak, thistle, basil, cedar, dragon’s blood, juniper and ginger for examples and on the mineral side of things we see ruby, spinel, bloodstone, flint, topaz, tiger’s-eye, lava and haematite amongst a whole host of other minerals.
Now finally we look to the western sector of our spaces and circles. What do we see and associate with the west? I see sunsets, and vast oceans. The words to the song ‘Into The West’ bounce around my mind’s eye conjuring up images of tall ships sailing into sunsets flanked by a school of dolphins. I see someone crying, I see a wise woman, an owl too. I see deep shades of blue, salmon in mountain streams, lakes, wide rivers, unspoilt coral sand beaches. I see storms and vast waves breaking over ships. I see friendships, engagements and weddings. I see an autumnal landscape; I see water lilies, roses, gardenias and seaweeds. I see pearls, aquamarines and amethysts. I think of valour, wisdom, the past and the taste of salt on a sea breeze. What do you think of when you look to the west of your space or circle? Sit back and let your mind wander, note down what you see and what you feel.
Water like earth is traditionally a feminine or receptive energy; it is associated with the west. These energies are fluid and emotional, peaceful energies that seep into our dreams and aid our psychic awareness, they are purifying energies as well but not in the same way fire energies are. While fire is associated with lust water, its opposite, is on the other hand is associated with love of different forms in the form of bonds between friends, between family and the stuff marriages are made of. Most of our world is covered with waters which team with life of al forms from the smallest diatom to the largest blue whale so there are two sides to water as well as being destructive in the form of rolling swells and crashing waves it nurtures many different sea creatures and forms beaches to compensate for what it destroys. Water is vital to our survival as the human body contains a lot of water. Feel the gentle flow of these emotional, purifying and peaceful energies channel into your circle through the dragon that answered your call and seamlessly blend with the others in your circle to bring about equilibrium between the four elements.
What else do you think we can associate with water, and the west? I shall pick out a few prominent ones from and almost endless list. Sunsets and dusk come to mind because the sun sets in the west. Autumn also comes to mind, it’s the closing of the year before winter arrives. Just like dusk is the close of the day before the night sets in. In terms of the altar we can associate the chalice and cauldron with water. The sense of taste also comes to mind, if some one can clarify this I would be grateful. From the plant perspective we have roses, gardenias, catnip, chamomile, water lily, violet and yarrow. From the mineral side of things we have amethyst, aquamarine, lapis lazuli, moonstone, pearl and selenite as examples from a very long list.
So now I’ve explained a little about these energies and their associations you can go and find out more information on your own. Most of this you should already know anyway as dragon magic practices are not something for the faint hearted or for those who have no clue what they are doing and have only just started out on the pagan pathways. Also don’t forget you are calling a dragon with the ability to channel and manipulate an elemental energy force, and not summoning an elemental dragon as some will have you believe. If some one tells me otherwise I’ll probably scream and tread on their toes (only kidding about the toes bit). Whatever way you look at it, remember that these dragons should be treated with the respect they are due. They are your co magicians and maybe later could even become your friends. If you think you can control a dragon and make it do your bidding I recommend you stop reading here and go and find yourself your local role play gaming group, that and learn to separate the stuff of the role play world from the stuff of spell weaving.
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