Editor’s Note: The following is an edited excerpt from Wonderment by Amber C. Snider, used with permission from Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd. The book is available for order here.

The ocean is the birthplace of all life on Earth. It is our primordial womb and although it makes up the majority of the planet, we know more about the vast expanse of outer space than we do the ocean. Like our human potential and spiritual gifts, we’ve yet to fully explore the mysterious magic and untapped potential within its depths, and like the grand cosmos around us, the ocean is a reflection—a vast mirror—of our nature. 

On one level, water reflects our life blood and first beginning, and makes up the majority of our physical bodies. On another level, it symbolizes our subconscious, our emotional and mental planes, our untapped depths. On yet another, water represents our evolution and survival. Without it, everything would cease.

The ocean teaches us that change is the only constant in this life. As fertile and full of life as the ocean may be, it has a twofold lesson for us. The ocean is both a life-giver and a life-destroyer: it creates life but it can also take it away. Consider the potential of the ocean’s salt water to cleanse our wounds, and simultaneously wipe out entire towns in a single wave. These opposing powers exist within us, too. Some moments in life call for calm and reflection, periods of peace and nurturing, while others call for surrendering to abrupt change, giving way to grief and relinquishing control; other times, these lessons require invoking our raw power, tearing down walls, raging against faulty foundations, and building anew. Learning what to let go of and what to hold sacred is a continuous, circular lesson, one that we will confront over and over throughout each of our lifetimes. 

The more we think of it as merely a resource to use up for our benefit, the more disconnected we’ll become with our higher essence, our spiritual power. Not only are we putting our physical existence and future livelihood in danger, but deep down, we’re unknowingly severing our connection with our First Mother. Consider water’s long, strange journey from space millions of years ago, crashing into our planet as cosmic ice chunks and burying itself in the earth, only to emerge much later as the ocean. We are no match for its fertile, forceful, awe-inspiring power, and like all life, water deserves the highest respect.

As I write in my book Wonderment, there are many ways we can tune into the power of water and work with it on a spiritual level. Since each body of water—whether it’s a freshwater stream, waterfall, lake, saltwater expanse, or even tap water—has its own distinct energy and presence, being in close proximity with this element brings us closer to our roots and helps us tap into our intuition, illuminate our spiritual purpose, and grants new insight and even prophecy. 

Technique: Get to Know the Spiritual History and Cultural Surroundings

Before starting any spiritual work with a body of water, find out the history of the land you’re standing on, including the names of rivers, local legends, and cultural traditions of the area. Be sure to pay homage to the Indigenous histories of the area, including the people and spirits of the land. Part of honoring the Divine within us is also honoring and learning from the Divine inherently present in nature, as well as respecting the land and people who’ve helped cultivate it. As I write throughout my book, magic should never recolonize sacred spaces, but rather decolonize them, and that includes not imposing our own traditions in places that have their own unique spiritual energy and history. 

Before petitioning spirits at a water site, psychically tap into the existing energies of that place first to get a sense of it. What are both the land and sea telling you at that moment? Pay attention to your feelings, thoughts, and emotions as you read the energy before you invoke anything.

Technique: Water as a Conduit for Insight and Awareness

One of the techniques I cover in my book is to simply take time to listen and stay open to spiritual and psychic messages whenever you go to the water’s edge or take a ritual bath. Sometimes these messages and callings from Spirit come in the form of a hushed whisper, a hum in your belly, a sudden flood of insight, or a quiet, slow unveiling of an internal knowing.

Technique: Water as Emotional Release

When you get into a bath or submerge yourself in the sea, focus on letting go and releasing that which no longer serves you. The Ocean Goddess can help us release unwanted emotions, pent-up rage, melancholia, and disappointment. Visualize these emotions (usually felt around your chest, neck, and hip areas) moving out through your limbs and flowing into the water to be cleansed and purified, or even letting your tears, like tiny particles of experience, hit the surface to be carried away.

Technique: Water as Physical Release

Sometimes we store our emotions in our bodies, which are approximately 60% water. In yoga, hip openers like happy baby pose, pigeon pose, and lizard pose help release physical tension, and you may also find yourself releasing intense emotion at the same time, especially unprocessed grief and sadness. You may be surprised to find yourself in tears after doing these poses for several minutes for this reason.

Technique: Pray Near a Natural Body of Water

As I write in my book, “A spell is a prayer, a prayer is a spell. A prayer is a petition to the universe. To pray is to seek the wisdom of the Creator and the Great Goddess, to start a conversation with the Divine. A prayer can also be a conversation with your higher self or a petition to the spirit world for assistance. Through prayer, we open up a channel, a direct current, to the higher energies around us.” And if you listen for a response, the answers will always come. Sometimes it’ll seem like they’re coming from deep inside you, from your higher self, or from the spirit world (your ancestors, deities, guides). But trust that they’ll always come.  

Technique: Practice Earth Stewardship

Don’t bring plastics or non-biodegradable products to sacred sites—everywhere on Earth is sacred—and leave them around as trash. It’s a sure way to anger the spirits, plus it’s outright bad kinship. We can and should all try to do better, in the little and big ways we can. As with any spiritual practice (and any other attempt at being a good citizen), if you bring objects to water sites, especially if they didn’t come from that specific place, take them back with you. While everyone’s spiritual practices are different, use your best judgment, trust your instinct and gut, and pay attention to the signs. You’ll know what’s right at the moment. Do what thou wilt, but harm none. 

Biome

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