
I wrote recently about the concept of “re-enchanting the Earth,” and what that means for many modern Pagans. But why is a relationship to your landbase important to Witches?
I think that one reason why it’s worth the time to cultivate a relationship with your landbase is that magic is stronger — and spiritual practice in general is stronger — when you involve the Earth in it.
Why do I often say “landbase” instead of “Earth”? You can see that picture from the Moon of the Earth and feel a lot of things about the whole Earth and realize that that is exceptional. But just as like when we say, “Oh I love humanity!” that’s fine — but how about the person who lives next door to you? How about the person who works in the cubicle next to you? We can say, “Oh, I love nature,” but what about the dandelions in your yard? What about the river that overflows its banks? Being aware of and having your magic strengthens by “the Earth” is, to me, hugely about, not 100%, but hugely about the Earth where you are.
So why is there a need for “re-enchanting,” for re-establishing a relationship with your local landbase?
We sometimes say, “Oh well people today move around a whole bunch and that’s one reason why it’s hard to be in relationship with a place because you might only be there for a little while,” and, yes, we do tend to move around — many of us –but so did a lot of our ancestors. Some of our ancestors were nomads. Some of our ancestor might have lived in the village during the Winter but moved up into the high meadows to herd the sheep in the Summer. Some of our ancestors did a lot of hunting or hunting/gathering. Some of our ancestors were merchants who got in their ships and sailed around the edges of Europe, or Africa, or South America. So the idea that we can’t be in relationship with our landbase because we move is false. We may have to work a little harder sometimes. We may have to learn a set of sills for how to move to a new place and introduce ourselves to the Earth. But its something we can do.
Do you ever introduce yourself to the land? If you travel and will be somewhere for a few days, do you ever bring an offering to the new land?
Picture of Earthrise found here.