The following ritual has been written for those wanting to acknowledge the bushfires burning in Australia, and to ask for quenching rain to extinguish them and bring healing to the land.
If you are in Australia, do adjust this to suit your needs. Acknowledging your local country or assigning the elements to make more sense to your local weather patterns would be very suitable.
In the elemental calling as I do it, I use elements which suit much of the East Coast of Australia. This may work for you too:
East/Water – for the humid winds from the ocean
South/Air – for the great southerly change
West/Earth – for the bulk of the continent
North/Fire – fire is all around, but I face the sun to represent the fires and heat.
If you are in another part of Australia, and want to call rain to where you are, consider the following for your associations:
– Where is the ocean? Where do humid winds come from? Place Water there.
– Where do the storm winds come from? The cold winds? The winds that make humidity turn into rain? Place Air there.
– Where is the bulk of the land? What direction is the dryness that needs quenching? Place Earth there.
– Are the fires in a particular direction from you? Place fire there, or, as the fires are all around, you could just place fire in the position which is left after considering the other three. Place fire where it feels right.
If you are not in Australia. Place the elements as you usually work with them. This will be fine as there are so many variables within Australia.
Set up:
Prepare space and ground yourself.
Alar in the center should have space enough to bring in items placed at the quarters. These should include large-ish stone (a palm sized rock would be perfect) in your Earth direction, a cup full of water in the Water direction, a feather or fan in the Air direction, an image or drawing of fire, the sun or a red spiral (please don’t use a candle to represent fire today) in the Fire direction.
The Ritual:
Enter the space and form a circle if in a group. Take a moment of quiet reflection and then touch the earth, thinking of the history of the land of Australia and connecting with its energy.
Acknowledgement of country:
I/We acknowledge the traditional custodians of Australia -the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have cared for these lands for millennia. I/We recognise that this land was never ceded and was brutally taken by force and is often mismanaged for the good of the Earth. We express gratitude for the survival and strength of the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander people; that despite their struggles their culture continues and their knowledge is passed on. We pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging, and honour their connection to the Earth and their knowledge of fire, water and the winds.
Stand and take three breaths, once with the Earth beneath you, once with the Sky above you, once with the Seas around you.
Prayer for Peace:
Deep, within the still center of my being, may I find peace
Silently, within the quiet of the grove, may I share peace
Gently, within the greater circle of human kind, may I radiate peace.
Call for peace (If in Australia, face each direction from you, imagining the places there and asking for peace, imagining the fires dying down and the gentle rains coming, the people hugging and laughing and resting. If overseas, imagine this happening in the different directional parts of Australia)
May there be peace in the East
May there be peace in the North
May there be peace in the West
May there be peace in the South
May there be peace throughout the whole world.
Cast the circle.
If you would like to cleanse and consectrate the space, consider doing this with gum leaves dipped in water, brushing the energy clear, rather than using incense.
Bringing in the elements:
Beginning in the east and moving sunwise, welcome the elements, holding up the elemental item and asking for its blessing. (These may be out of order for you. Make them sunwise for your elemental direction choices).
Water – (Holding up the cup of water) We welcome the element of water, the great waves of the oceans. We ask that you bring humid air and moisture to the land, taking water into the skies so that it might fall again on the earth and quench the parched land, putting out the fires.
Turn and bring the cup to the altar.
Fire – (Look at the image) We acknowledge fire and sincerely ask for balance. May the fires of the bush die down and be extinguished. May the fires that cannot be put out burn safely and regeneratively. May the fires be instead lit within us (hold the image to you), to face the threats, to stand up to our fears, to take on the challenge with determination and warrior spirit.
Turn and bring the image to the altar.
Earth – (Holding the stone) We welcome the element of Earth. The great land that suffers and burns yet gives us so much. We thank the Earth for her blessings and ask that the rain soaks in deeply and gently, quenching the soil and reaching the thirsty roots of the plants. May the dry land and burned forest meet the rain and be healed.
Turn and bring the stone to the altar.
Air – (hold the feather. You might like to move it to make wind). We welcome the element of air, asking the winds to blow cool, cold and gentle, turning humidity into rain. Bring the clouds, bring the quenching rain and winds of change. Blow the rain where it is needed to put out the fires and save lives and homes. Help us to think clearly in these times of trouble and see a way through to the healing of the land.
Turn and bring the feather to the altar.
Sit facing the center and reiterate what you brought to the center in intuitive action. Use the feather as though cleansing the other elements. Sprinkle some water over the stone. Place a hand over the fire image and imagine it dying down but being relit in your heart. Whisper spontaneous blessings and imagine rains coming to the land.
Meditation:
Take some time with this. You may like to stand and feel it with gestures and movement using music to help you visualise, or you might prefer to do it as a silent inner meditation.
Imagine the whole continent, dry and hot in the center, with the oceans surrounding it, the threads of rivers through the center, many dry. See the warmer air to the north and the cooler air to the south. See the waters of the oceans evaporating and moving over the land. See the cool winds turning the humidity into rain. See the rain falling. See the fires hissing and being put out, glowing red turning to ashen black. See the earth soaking up the water gently. See the rain gently coming down for many days and weeks and months. Gentle nourishing rain that sprouts new green growth from the black ashes and parched soil. See the air cleared of smoke and full of mist and moisture. See the fires declared contained and extinguished. See homes rebuilt, see change for the better being created and people rejoicing for the healing of the earth.
Rest if you have been dancing.
Take the cup of water from the altar and take a drink or sprinkle some on your head. Pour a few drops on the stone. And say “blessings of the healing rains. Water is sacred.”
Chant Awen three times, sending it out to the world as a blessing.
Druid’s Prayer:
Grant, oh Spirit, thy protection
And in protection strength
And in strength, understanding
And in understanding, knowledge
And in knowledge, the knowledge of justice
And in the knowledge of justice, the love of it
And in the love of it, the love of all existences
And in the love of all existences, the love of spirit and all goodness.
Give thank the elements at the quarters.
Uncast the circle.
Take a few moments of silence.
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Please also send donations to fire services and charity organisations, or offer your time and energy too if you can. Working on all levels of existence, not just in ritual, is incredibly important if we are to get through this. Here is a list of ways to make a donation: https://www.abc.net.au/classic/read-and-watch/news/bushfire-donations/11823676