When your Watchtower of the West is the Atlantic and mine is Mount Madia-as

The Cardinal Points of the Wiccan Circle, one of the most important part of casting a circle for magickal purposes either for protection or containment. This has been very puzzling to me since in the traditional sense, the summoning of the Guardians of the Watchtowers calls upon the elemental guardians of the directions.

As you’ve noticed the traditional elements that correspond to the directions are; Earth for North, Air for East, Fire for South and Water of the West. However, I am very confused about this since when I looked around our city the East is not the rice plains or the South are the mountains; we have the beach in the East, a volcano in the West, the North are the rice fields and the South and mountains in the South West. Does this mean that I need to call the elements in their “traditional” directions or will I work with my surroundings and the energies that they are emitting?

Wicca is and will be a Nature religion, and the Craft always coincides with the energies that the place is giving. The traditional Wiccan elemental directions were created due to the positioning of the elements in relation to their specific directions in the place where the Craft originated (Wicca for that matter). This does not always apply; see for example the elemental direction created by the Chinese, in which they have five elements- Earth, Wood, Metal, Water and Fire and its corresponding place in the directions. If you will observe, the elements correspond to the placement of an elemental source (mountain, seas, forest, etc.) in China.

Still I would suggest that as Wiccans we need to be a very keen observer of our surroundings and not just a follower of the books. The Goddess speaks to us in a language that we only understand, and sometimes She speaks to each one of us in different voices unique to each individual. Do not limit yourself, always believe your instincts. Remember that the Wiccan Path was created for the practitioners in the West, that is why some of the herbs and plants in recipes in the books are alien to us… (foxglove, henbane, belladonna, lavender anyone?). The Goddess always provide, ask Her what you need and look around, the herb that you need for casting your luck spell might just be around the corner. Be aware of the plants properties and energies. Trust the Goddess and believe.

-photos from the internet