Water in Witchcraft

Through my spiritual journey, I've remained open-minded and accepting of a lot of things involved in spirituality. Some of the most difficult things for me to be accepting of, are those things that ask me to be accepting of myself as I am.

I have always thought of myself as having a stronger connection to the Earth element. Being out in nature has always given me clarity, grounding, and re-centered me. But over the past few years, I have had intense callings to water (some of which I have talked about here). These callings haven't always been in the form of dreams at night. Sometimes they're day dreams when I'm wide awake, or random flashes of visions. Sometimes it is just me standing in water, or near water. Sometimes instead of me, it's an unknown woman. On a few occasions, it has been me submerged in water; like what is depicted here. Water has been the common theme, and when I accepted Medusa and brought her into my pantheon, these water themed callings intensified and became much more frequent. It makes sense, given that she is associated with water. Now I find myself looking forward to planned trips to the beach (which isn't something I ever desire unless under very specific settings). Water seems to want a more active presence in my life.

The challenge for me, has been accepting that Earth and Water can both be my elements. That I can have a calling to both. Which all came to a big "aha" moment while leisurely reading Lore Olympus; a modernized telling of Persephone and Hades. It finally clicked; if Persephone could be both the goddess of the underworld and the goddess of spring - quite literally, life and death - then why couldn't I have connections with both Earth and Water? (By the way, if you haven't checked out Lore Olympus, I strongly urge you to do so, it's amazing.)

So with my newfound acceptance of Water, I started to pay attention to it more. I started letting it relax me; take my time in the shower instead of doing my thing and getting out. I got in a swimming pool without my witchlings begging me to do so. And then, ironically, I randomly came across a video on social media about different waters used in witchcraft. It sparked a desire to research further, and that's exactly what I did, logging my findings into my BOS. 

There are so many different uses and purposes for water, and more kinds of water than I think I ever paid attention to. I've decided I'd like to collect some of as many different kinds as I can, keeping them on hand to use whenever I may need.

Most people who practice the craft are very familiar with "full moon water." That's not a new concept. But there are also other types of moon water:

    

The two eclipse waters, it is important to note that they take on properties of two different kinds of waters, making them a bit stronger than either type by themselves. And yes, Solar Eclipse Water (if you were lucky enough to collect and set water out during that super awesome even in April, I envy you. I definitely did not remember to do so), means that there is also Sun Water. I remember listening to a podcast by Chaotic Witchy Mama, who said that when she collects moon water, she leaves it out in the sun to also utilize the sun's properties as well. That's something to think about and perhaps experiment with a bit. And yes, go check out her podcast on Spotify or Apple, she's got a lot of good tips and ideas for us witches with little ones, and for us in co-faith households.

Then there are waters from sources most people would think of when thinking of collecting water, like rain. One thing to consider though, is how rain water can have dual properties like eclipse water. Rain during a full moon would have the properties of rain water and full moon water. Rain during the sun would have the properties of both rain and sun. A few others to remember are Rainbow Water and Storm Water, because yes, you can have rain without a storm.

Other sources people tend to think of are large bodies of water; creeks/streams, rivers, waterfalls, lakes, swamps, and oceans. These all have their own properties as well. I suppose one could argue that you could collect these during a certain moon phase to give it dual properties of both types, but I couldn't find any information to support that concept. So take that as you will.

When it comes to Sea Water, the water is taken from out in the ocean, like you'd have to get out on a boat to collect it. Other types of waters from that area are Beach Water and Harbor Water.

And finally there are waters from sources most people don't (at least, I didn't) normally think of: Mountain Water, Fog Water, Dew Water, Well Water, Snow Water, and Cave Water. I'm sure some people think of these sources more than others; like if you live on a well, you're probably going to think of well water more than someone who's on city water. If you live up North, or it's during the winter season, you may think of snow more than when it's summer. And so on. 

I would like to add a disclaimer: please be aware of WHERE you're sourcing your water. A lake where many people have drowned may have negative properties that you may not be aware of. Please always remember to check your Wells for Samara, and please be respectful of areas that may have certain cultural practices that you should be mindful of (the Appalachian Mountains come to mind). And always be aware of your surroundings when collecting. You don't want bitten by a crocodile because you're trying to collect Swamp Water, nor do you want to slip to your death in underground caverns while trying to collect Cave Water. 

And as always, please be mindful of Mother Nature. Practice proper "leave no trace" practices. Don't desecrate our church with stupid decisions.