For centuries peoples have thought of the wind as being of four basic types, corresponding to the four directions or quarters of the Earth. These are the North, East, South, and West winds. Each is possessed of its own magical virtues, and certain spells are best cast during certain winds.
This may seem to rather unnecessarily complicated but it needn’t be. Looking to the winds when performing magic is no more difficult than checking the phase of the Moon, although the “phase” of the wind doesn’t last as long.
At best, if you can rig up a weather vane or windsock to determine the winds, you can adjust your magical workings slightly by waiting for the right wind.
Naturally, if the wind has been blowing steadily from the North all morning, it won’t do to wait for a Westerly one. The system is here to guide and aid, not to control our actions. Check the winds or not as you wish.
What follows are links to posts on each of the four winds, their meanings, and magickal workings:
In looking over the above discussions of each of the winds, bear in mind that this is not an absolute system. Different parts of the world have different attributes to the winds. The qualities discussed are those in favor in North America and Europe. Changes may be necessary for your own area due to climate, location, and weather patterns. As always, follow your own intuitive guidance when it comes to deciphering what each wind brings you.
The four winds are at least superficially related to the elements, and this can be kept in mind, but each has its own powers particular to the winds themselves.
One important point: In speaking of, say, the North Wind, it is the wind which blows from that direction rather than to the direction that is in question.
From: Earth Power
The West Wind is that which blows cool and moist; it may carry a hint of rain or mist as it washes over the land. It is a fertile, loving force which is gentle and persuasive.
It symbolically rules twilight, when all is at a standstill; day and night merge into a magical landscape of muted colors and cool breezes. Sunset, like sunrise, is an excellent time to perform magic – more so if the correct Wind is blowing.
Water magic – love, healing, fertility and so on – is excellent for the West Wind, as it adds its own forces and energies from that quarter. Especially excellent for spells involving cleansing or purely religious rituals, the West Wind is welcome relief after the dry, hot breeze from the South.
The West Wind is the blue of the sky just before all light fades from the sky.
From: Earth Power
The further South you travel the hotter it gets – on this side of the Equator, at least. For this reason the Southern Wind is a hot, fiery one.
Symbolically it rules noon, when the Sun (or Moon) is highest in the sky, the time of the greatest light and heat. Because the South Wind is related to the element of Fire, its magic covers the same ground. The South Wind, however, can be used for any type of magic when it’s blowing. It’s a good time to cast spells.
Since this wind is strong and hot, spells performed with it are assured an extra jolt of power. It is always exciting and interesting working with the South Wind!
Be warned, however, that fire – even the diluted Fire of the Southern Wind – can be dangerous. As we know, Fire can burn.
The color of the South Wind is yellow – the yellow of the Sun at noon.
From: Earth Power
The wind blowing from the East is that of freshness, renewed life, strength, power and intellect. It is a warm, bracing wind that blows from the point at which the Sun, Moon, and Stars make their shining appearances.
Thus it is the wind involved with beginnings, the new phenomena that rises from the work of the North Wind. the heat is that of the Sun, and the spark of creation.
Spells best utilized when the wind is sweeping from the East are those concerning dramatic improvements, changes for the better, especially in behavior. Also East Wind spells are those involving the mind and all spells involving the element of Air, to which it is magically related.
Love spells are best not performed with an Easterly Wind unless you want a very intellectual love. But perhaps there’s nothing wrong with that!
Since East is the direction of sunrise and light, the color is white.
From: Earth Power
The North Wind is the wind of death – but not necessarily that of physical death. This is the realm of the one eternal universal law – change. “Death” here refers to the elimination of negativity.
The North Wind is cold (magically speaking), blowing in as it does from the direction of winter and of snows lying deep across the lands. It is “dry,” or barren, thus paving the way for spells of destruction.
How to use it? If you are depressed, anxious, envious, jealous, angry, and the wind is blowing from the north face full into it and it will free you of these things.
If you wish to break a bad habit, perform any spell of this nature while the North Wind is blowing for added power.
The North wind, while chilly with night and death and deep snows, is also the wind of the element Earth, and thus shares in some of its qualities. But the wind, being dry, is not favored for fertility and prosperity magic, although that involving healing can be greatly aided by the North Wind.
Its color is the black of midnight.
From: Earth Power
- Nature Spirits: gnomes, brownies
- Herbs: marjoram, holy thistle, nuts and cones
- Colors: brilliant white, blue-violet, black
- Flowers: snowdrop, crocus
- Scents: musk, mimosa
- Stones: garnet, onyx, jet, chrysoprase
- Trees: birch
- Animals: fox, coyote
- Birds: pheasant, blue jay
- Deities: Freyja, Inanna, Sarasvati, Hera, Ch’ang-O, Sinn
Power flow:
Sluggish; below the surface; A good time for spell work having to do with beginning and conceiving; protection; reversing spells; conserving energy by working on personal problems that involve no one else; getting your various bodies to work smoothly together for the same goals.
From: Moon Magic
Art by Jane Haworth
- Ruler: Apollo, Druids, Venus
- Type: Herb
- Magickal Form: Berries, Leaves, Wood
- Use for: Fertility, protection, love, healing, luck, and invisibility
Mistletoe is another important plant that is used in many holiday traditions surrounding the winter solstice. Druids believed that anything found growing on an oak tree had been sent from heaven and mistletoe found on oaks was especially sacred.
Said to lose its power once it touches the ground, mistletoe is a holy herb and sacred to many deities. Mistletoe was perceived as being in a category all its own. Although it lives on trees, it’s not a tree. Although it’s like a plant, it doesn’t grow in either Earth or Water.
In the Celtic language, mistletoe means “All heal” and it was thought to possess miraculous healing powers and hold the soul of the host tree. Mistletoe would be hung over the entry into peoples’ homes and atop doorways within their homes as a token of good will and peace to all comers.
It is said that when warring Viking armies met under a tree in which mistletoe occurred that they would cease battle for the remainder of that day. Today, many people still hang mistletoe in their homes and couples kiss when they meet under the mistletoe.
In some traditions each time a couple kiss under the mistletoe a single white berry is removed and the kissing ceases when the final berry is removed. Kissing a lover under the mistletoe will make this relationship last. There is a myth associated with this practice that stated if any unmarried women of the household went unkissed during the hanging of the mistletoe, they would not marry in the coming year.
As a matter of fact, you can tie mistletoe with a red ribbon and hang it in your home any time of the year for luck, protection and extra kissing.
- Adding mistletoe to other love potions increases their power.
- Place the leaves or berries high on a mantel in the home to protect its occupants.
- Leave a sprig of mistletoe in the home of someone you want to be remembered by.
- Twist marjoram and thyme around mistletoe and hang it in the corners of each room to attract luck and good fortune.
- Carve a ring from mistletoe wood and wear it for protection and to ward off illness.
Mistletoe is believed to possess a magical affinity for seizure disorders. To prevent seizures, carry a piece of mistletoe in your pocket or within a conjure bag. Jewelry and charms carved from mistletoe wood can also be worn or carried. The most potent mistletoe seizure charm is a magic knife with an iron blade and a handle carved from mistletoe wood.
Mistletoe berries resemble tiny golden moons enhancing the lunar and fertility symbolism. According to Pliny, a piece of mistletoe carried as an amulet helps a woman conceive. Fertility charms are carved from mistletoe wood, and then carried or attached to a pin and worn as a brooch. The most powerful mistletoe jewelry is embellished with pearls.
Mistletoe allegedly enhances the reproductive capacity of animals. Not only does it promote conception, it’s believed to also prevent miscarriage, particularly for sheep and goats.
Hang mistletoe in the barn, or place it on around the animal in question. Be aware that the amuletic part of mistletoe is usually the “wood” – and again, be cautious as mistletoe can be toxic, especially the berries.
In Sweden mistletoe is known as “thunderbroom.” Place it over thresholds, and hang it from the wall to protect a home from lightning. You can wear mistletoe around your neck to promote invisibility and hang it on a baby’s cradle to prevent fairies from stealing the youngster.
CAUTION: The leaves and berries of mistletoe are poisonous. Use caution when handling and keep away from small children and pets.
Sources:
- Nature Spirits: Snow faeries, Storm faeries, Winter Tree Faeries
- Herbs: Holly, English Ivy, Fir, Mistletoe
- Colors: Blood Red, White and Black
- Flowers: Holly, Poinsettia, Christmas Cactus
- Scents: Violet, Patchouli, Rose Geranium, Frankincense, Myrrh, Lilac
- Stones: Serpentine, Jacinth, Peridot
- Trees: Pine, Fir, Holly
- Animals: Mouse, Deer, Horse, Bear
- Birds: Rook, Robin, Snowy Owl
- Deities: Hathor, Hecate, Neith, Athena, Minerva, Ixchel, Osiris, Norns, Fates
Power Flow:
To endure, die and be reborn. Earth tides turning. Darkness. Personal alchemy. Spiritual paths, Reach out to friends and family, the lonely and needy.
From: Moon Magic
Art by Jane Haworth
- Latin name: Ulmus Campestris; Slippery Elm – ulmus fulva.
- Celtic name: Negetal (pronounced: nyettle).
- Folk or Common names: Elven, English Elm, European Elm, and sometimes Piss-Elm (due to the smell it makes while being burned as a green wood).
- Type: Tree
- Ruler: Orpheus, Odin, Hoenin, Lodr, Woden
- Planet: Mercury, Saturn
- Element: Water
- Symbolism: Communication and Relationships
- Color: Turquoise
- Birds: Lapwing, Ruffled Grouse
- Parts Used: Bark, leaves, wood.
- Basic Powers: Stability, Elves, Protection, Speech, Female Power, Fairies
Elm is the Arbitrator that listens without judgment
Magickal usage:
Using Elm in spellwork adds stability to the spell. Elm is sometimes said to symbolize the dark side of the psyche and so can be used in psychic workings. The Elm is commonly known as “the elf friend”. If you desire to have contact with wood elves, pick a grove of Elm trees and sit under them and sing. Around about dawn, the elves will have gotten over their initial shyness and come out to join in the singing.
Elm trees are also thought to provide a channel for the communication with divas. To get an Elm tree to help you in this quest, offerings can be brought to a favorite tree and left. The best offerings are wine, mead, tobacco, coins and sage.
The wood of the elm was used for coffins in England, and you could find it in graveyards in ancient Greece. It was found in the underworld and at the crossroads leading to the faery world. The tree essence energizes the mind and balances the heart. It attracts love, protects, and aids in sharpening psychic powers.
Tiny twigs of Elm can be worn in a bag around a child’s neck as a charm to produce eloquent speech in later life. Elm wood may be bound with a yellow cord and burned to prevent gossip. The Elm represents primordial female powers and therefore the Elm is a tree with great protective qualities. The wood from the Elm can be made into talismans and charms that can be worn for protection. The Elm also has the qualities of regeneration, boldness and fidelity, and so added to its protective qualities, it is excellent when given as a good luck token to departing friends.
Slippery Elm Bark is used in herbal medicine as a soothing demulcent; its reputation in Conjure work and Hoodoo is similar: it is said to make the bearer impervious to the slander, libel, malicious gossip, and lies spread by back-biting family members, jealous co-workers, and false friends who are trying to trouble your marriage or love-life.
Some folks place a small pinch of Slippery Elm in the corners of their rooms; they claim that this protects the home and rids the premises of evil. Others carry Slippery Elm in a pocket or conjure bag for immunity from the harmful tales told on them by covetous neighbors, back-biters, and hidden enemies posing as friends.
“Because of its rich foliage and sap, the Elm is sacred to Saturn, Roman god of agriculture. Representing fertility, it foretells that your wish will meet with success. Its other meaning is their need to give way and let nature run its course, to sacrifice what you have for what could be.
Elm wood is flexible and durable, and does not rot when wet. You probably know in your heart that your wish will be granted. A hopeful sign is that Elm twigs are used as divining rods. The Elm tree stands at the entrance to the underworld as a living connection between the living and the dead. What comes to you is blessed by heaven. It may be that all you need do is wait and have faith in nature.”
~Tree Magick by Gillian Kemp
More magickal uses:
- Carry a consecrated elm wand to see elves and fairies. It is best to choose a fallen branch but if you prune one, make sure the tree is not damaged and leave some coins as an offering under the tree.
- The branches are said to protect against lightning.
- Burn the leaves or bark to increase psychic vision and intuition.
- Carry Elm to attract love.
Herbal usage:
The Elm has many medicinal uses. In the past, Slippery Elm bark can was powdered and made into a milk for babies that couldn’t tolerate cow’s milk. In fact slippery Elm bark is good for many purposes. In tea it can ease insomnia and sooth an upset tummy. It is also useful for enemas and makes good poultice material. This type of poultice can be used on wounds, infections, ulcers, burns, and poison ivy.
More information on the medicinal and magickal uses of Slippery Elm can be found here:
- Encyclopedia of Herbology – Slippery Elm
- Folk Medicine Remedies and Cures – Slippery Elm
- Magickal Apothecary – Slippery Elm
- Nature Spirits: Subterranean faeries
- Herbs: Grains of Paradise, Verbena, Betony, Borage, Cinquefoil, Blessed Thistle
- Colors: Gray, Sea-Green
- Flowers: Blooming Cacti, Chrysanthemum
- Scents: Cedar, Cherry Blossoms, Hyacinth, Narcissus, Peppermint, Lemon
- Stones: Topaz, Hyacinth, Lapis Lazuli
- Trees: Alder, Cypress
- Animals: Unicorn, Scorpion, Crocodile, Jackal
- Birds: Owl, Goose, Sparrow
- Deities: Kali, Black Isis, Nicnevin, Hecate, Bast, Osiris, Sarasvati, Lakshmi, Skadi, Mawu
Power Flow:
Take root, prepare. Transformation. Strengthen communication with the God or Goddess who seems closest to you.
From: Moon Magic
Art by Jane Haworth
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