Introduction
Actually I find the following excerpt from the book “The Elements of Ritual” by Deborah Lipp, quite interesting,
especially since it ties in how water relates to the Moon as well as to our
emotions, our creativity, mystery, the subconscious, death and re-birth.
I find this quite interesting and perhaps you might too.
Excerpt
“The natural forms of
water are myriad. Not just the sea, but every body of water from a little creek
to the Great Lakes. 'Water is also found in our bodies; in the clichéd
"blood, sweat, and tears"; in mother's milk; and, perhaps most
importantly, in amniotic fluid. Just as life first evolved in the sea, the
fetus swims in salt water as it "evolves" and develops. Since all
bodies of water have tides, the moon is also associated with water, and many
lunar qualities are also water qualities.
Sea creatures-both
plant and animal are connected to Water: fish, eels, shells, coral, seaweed,
sponges, and driftwood all partake of this element. Dolphins and whales are
often the creatures most associated with water, although I suspect this has
more to do with our affection for them than with any natural or symbolic imperative.
The personal quality
of water is feeling. Emotion flows, following its own path, which may meander.
Emotion runs deep, with mysterious depths not visible on the surface. Emotions
bring forth secrets like sunken treasure. Emotionality and mood swings are, of
course, associated with the moon as well, as are secrets - things visible just
a little bit, lit by moonlight and not exposed in the Sun. In the Tarot, the
card The Moon is full of watery images; crustaceans crawl up from water, and
the card's meaning is rooted in secrets, mysteries, and hidden knowledge.
The Moon is the
menstrual cycle, and water is childbirth as well, making water perhaps the most
feminine of elements. Since moon phases are cyclic, ending where they began,
and beginning where they end, it makes sense that water is also associated with
death, and it’s not surprising that many people's folklore depicts death as a
passage over water. To make the cycle complete, Hindus refer to rebirth as an
ocean.
All of these things:
The moon, feeling, depth, birth-death-rebirth, and mystery, combine to
associate water with dreams and the subconscious, and from there to altered
states in general-trance, vision, and transformation coming from these things.
Transformation by water is visionary, and may take the quality of a
journey-which is probably why the Hero Journey generally begins with a passage
over water. Watery people are weepy and over-full of feeling. They are dramatic
and sensual and otherworldly. They can be draining to be around-wet rags. They
can also be the opposite: joyful and full of love - their cup runneth over. The
generosity of water flows forth abundantly, and people in love feel love
towards everyone.
Water's direction is
west. Sunset in the west is associated also with death, with the end of things,
and with transformation. Twilight is an in-between and mysterious time - so is
autumn. Neither seed nor sprout, Water is the sap-flowing through flora just as
blood flows through fauna.
In our
creative/becoming process, we used Air to get the inspiration, and Fire for the
get-up-and-go. Now we need to let creativity flow through us. If you've ever
written or played music or painted, you know where's a time to let go and let
it happen.
That's the water time.
Intuition has to play a part in any endeavour, and a "go with the
flow" attitude has to allow us to take advantage of opportunities we could
never have predicted in advance. Because this is daring, in the way that
closing your eyes and letting yourself fall is daring, water corresponds on the
Witches' Pyramid to ‘To Dare’.
For magical symbolism,
Water has ocean and lunar colors-deep blue, sea green, and silver. The magical
undine is water's entity. Water signs are Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces.
(Cancer's crab and Scorpio's scorpion both appear on The Moon in the Tarot).
The magical tool of
Water is the cup, which is the Holy Grail. On the altar, water is always
represented by a simple dish of water-some people add a seashell. I like the
seashells that double as water dishes, although they tend to be a little prone
to spillage.”
Summary
I think the practical essence that we can take from the
above passage is that water is emotion in our psychology and that as with
everything, if we align with its positive qualities draw benefit. The positive
qualities available to us according to the above passage are creativity,
adaptability and knowledge of some of the mystery hiding in our subconscious
that express through our emotion.
End (10).
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