Book Coven Gathering #15: Elemental Witchcraft Recap (Pages 195-202)
~ Inviting the Elements, Calling the Ancestors, and Closing the Temple ~
Hello, my enchanted souls 💜
Welcome back to another gathering of the Enchanted Book Coven!
This week, we continued our journey through Elemental Witchcraft by Heron Michelle, reading pages 195 through 202 and officially finishing Chapter Ten. Watch the Live replay HERE.
This was a shorter section, but apparently we decided to make up for that with accidental pirate witchcraft, ancestral discernment, a protective father lingering beyond the veil, ritual snacks, Polaroid spell photography, and an energetic basketball jump shot. (You know... the usual. 😂)
Our 15th gathering guided us through invoking the elements, welcoming divine and ancestral support, performing the main body of a ritual, and properly deconstructing the sacred space once the work is complete.
As always, you do not need to own the book or read along in order to join our conversations. The book may begin the discussion, but the magick we uncover together reaches far beyond its pages.
If you couldn’t make it for the live, no worries at all! you can watch the replay anytime. (This coven door doesn’t lock. We’re not like that.) If you’d like to get reminders for upcoming events, follow me on Instagram, subscribe to my YouTube channel, and link my events calendar with your Google Calendar.
~ Lines that Lingered ~
My favorite line from this section appears near the beginning of our reading:
“Allow the voice to vibrate through the atmosphere and rattle the timbers.”
I’m sorry, but how am I supposed to read “rattle the timbers” without immediately hearing “shiver me timbers” in my head? (Are pirate witches a thing? 🏴☠️)
Humor aside, the instruction carries an important message. When invoking the elements, Heron Michelle encourages us to stand with confidence, open our posture, and speak with volume and authority. Say the words as though you mean them.
That does not mean every witch must stand tall and shout dramatically into the night. Some practitioners cannot stand comfortably or safely. Some cannot speak aloud. Others live in homes where openly practicing witchcraft is not possible.
Sit if you need to sit. Whisper with authority if you need to whisper. If even that is not available to you, project the words clearly and confidently within your mind.
I spent years practicing in the broom closet. Privacy and accessibility may change the outer shape of a ritual, but they do not make the intention less real. (I have a video with tips for Broom Closet Witches HERE)
A gentle reminder. If you’re participating or thinking about it, there’s no rush and no pressure. Move at your own rhythm, catch replays when it suits you, and join the chat whenever you’re called. You don’t even need to read the book! Just bring your curiosity and cozy up. We have lots of magickal fun here.
~ Core Concepts & Magickal Musings ~
Speak With Authority and Shiver the Timbers!
The author describes standing with the feet around shoulder-width apart, the spine tall, the chin lifted, and the shoulders open. It resembles the confident posture people sometimes call a Superman or Superwoman pose.
Posture can influence us psychologically. Taking up space with intention may help the mind and body settle into confidence, focus, and presence before the invocation begins. The purpose is not to perform one “correct” pose. The purpose is to embody the meaning behind your words in whatever way is possible for your body.
If you cannot stand, sit. If you cannot speak loudly, whisper. If you cannot safely make a sound, speak within your mind and allow the intention to rattle the timbers in there.
The power is not hiding inside one specific posture or volume level. It is in the way your intention, attention, and energy align with what you are doing.
During the live, I shared a few ways these practices can be adapted to accommodate your needs. Accessibility does not make a ritual less powerful. Your practice should meet you where you are.
Invite, Rather Than Demand
One detail I appreciated throughout these instructions was the language of inviting the elements into the sacred space rather than demanding or commanding their presence.
That distinction matters in my practice. Whenever I work with energies, spirits, guides, ancestors, or other entities, I invite them to join me. I do not behave as though they are obligated to appear simply because I have called.
Respect does not disappear when we step into a ritual circle.
The invocations provided in the book are very structured and strongly influenced by Wiccan and ceremonial traditions. If that language resonates with you, it can offer a helpful framework. If it does not, you are allowed to adapt it.
I would suggest that you try the structure if you’re learning. Pay attention to how it feels. Then keep what supports your practice, alter what does not quite fit, and allow your ritual language to develop through experience.
Witches Can Forget Things Too…
Detailed rituals usually involve several invocations, gestures, visualizations, directional correspondences, and steps. You do not need to memorize every one of them before you are permitted to begin. Bring your Book of Shadows. Create a checklist or ritual script. Leave yourself prompts for what comes next.
Personally, I prefer physical notes to a phone, tablet, or laptop during ritual. Paper feels less disruptive and more connected to the sacred space I am creating. It also keeps notifications, glowing screens, and everyday distractions outside the circle.
But if a digital device is the only practical or accessible option available to you, use it. A handwritten grimoire is beautiful, (forgetting the next step while staring anxiously at a candle is not inherently more magickal… Spoken from experience 🙈)
Who Is Holding Up Your Temple?
Heron Michelle describes divine beings and spiritual forces as the central support columns of the ritual temple. This was one area where my own interpretation differed.
In my practice, the central support of the sacred space is me.
I am the one establishing the space, holding the intention, raising the energy, and deciding what the ritual is meant to accomplish. Deities, spirit guides, ancestors, and other allies may support the work, but I do not see them as structural necessities holding my temple upright.
I usually don’t work with deities directly, so a ritual system that requires their presence would not reflect the reality of my practice.
This does not make the author's interpretation wrong. For some witches, divine beings truly are the pillars of their sacred work. For others, the elements, directions, ancestors, or spirit guides may hold that role. For others still, there might be something else.
What actually supports your practice? Have you chosen that structure consciously, or are you repeating it because someone said it was “supposed to” be there? I’d love to know how other witches do their witching!
Don’t Invite the Land Spirits to a Slumber Party Yet
The book discusses welcoming ancestors of land, blood, and spirit. Each relationship carries its own history, boundaries, and responsibilities.
The spirits or energies native to a place can deepen our relationship with the land where we live and enhance the intentions we bring into our magick. However, I would not recommend invoking local spiritual entities into a ritual simply because a set of instructions tells you to, especially if you have never built a relationship with them.
Imagine meeting a coworker for the first time and immediately saying, “Hey, I am having a slumber party at my house. Come over.” They might be perfectly polite, but they would probably wonder why you skipped several important steps… (Imagine that interaction 😅)
The same principle applies here. Introduce yourself before asking for participation and nurture a bond with them. Spend time outside. Observe the seasons, plants, animals, waterways, weather, and history of the place. Meditate with the land. Offer appreciation without immediately requesting something in return.
This becomes especially important when you are not native to the land where you currently live. There is nothing inherently wrong with respectfully forming a relationship with the energies of a new home. I live in Germany now, and connecting with this land has been a meaningful part of my practice. But connection should be cultivated, not presumed or rushed…
An invocation should emerge from a relationship, not attempt to replace one.
IMPORTANT: This also applies to deities or any other energies you’re begining to work with.
No, You Do Not Need to Invite Aunt Karen
When calling upon blood ancestors, remember that they are not required to come. You are also not required to invite every person in your family line.
Death does not automatically erase personality, prejudice, conflict, or complicated family history. People may gain a broader perspective after passing, but we should not assume that every ancestor immediately becomes enlightened, agreeable, and eager to participate in witchcraft.
If a relative spent their life strongly opposing your spiritual practice, they may not wish to join your ritual. If someone was cruel, hostile, or unsafe while living, you do not need to invite them simply because they are an ancestor.
Do you really want one cranky ancestor sitting in the corner and glaring at you throughout the ritual? Discernment still matters across the veil.
I experienced this in a much more humorous way with my biological father, who passed away when I was around three months old. A few years ago, near Samhain, I invited him to join me for tea and meditation. It was emotional, beautiful, and deeply personal. When I said goodbye, however, he apparently decided to stay a little longer.
I had not told my husband everything that happened during the experience or even explained that I could still feel my father's presence. A few days later, my husband asked, “Does your dad have blue eyes?”
He did. My husband then very politely asked, “Can you ask him to go?”
Apparently, my father had been following him around with a rather intense blue-eyed glare. Even beyond the veil, he had still decided to be a protective dad to a daughter he never had the chance to know in life.
It was touching, validating, and, I am sorry, extremely funny. It also reinforced something important: Spiritual contact does not remove personality. Be specific about whom you invite, why you are inviting them, and when the visit is complete.
Build the Temple, Then Do the Work
Once the sacred space has been established, the practitioner moves into the reason it was created.
The body of a ritual might include meditation, journey work, prayer, healing, protection, balance, spellcraft, or symbolic actions involving plants, stones, crafted objects, and other correspondences.
Energy can be raised through breathwork, movement, dancing, chanting, drumming, sex, or other ecstatic practices, then directed toward the intention.
The circle, invocations, tools, and gestures are not simply decorative layers surrounding the “real” spell. They prepare the practitioner and the space for the work. They gather attention, establish boundaries, deepen connection, and focus the energy you’re raising.
At the same time, the structure should serve the intention. If you become so preoccupied with performing every step correctly that you lose your connection to the purpose, pause. Return to the reason you built the circle in the first place.
The circle, invocations, tools, and gestures are not simply decorative layers surrounding the “real” spell. They prepare the practitioner and the space for the work. They gather attention, establish boundaries, deepen connection, and focus the energy you’re raising.
At the same time, the structure should serve the intention. If you become so preoccupied with performing every step correctly that you lose your connection to the purpose, pause. Return to the reason you built the circle in the first place.
Feed the Witch
After the magickal working, the author recommends a simple feast. This is not merely a charming ceremonial addition. Ritual work can be physically and emotionally demanding.
Focused breath, movement, concentration, emotional processing, and energy work can leave you tired, thirsty, or ungrounded. Eating and drinking help bring your attention back into the body and create a gentler transition into ordinary life, a yummy way to ground yourself.
But please hydrate with something other than wine. (Water is a marvelous invention.) You can even charge the water during the ritual so that drinking it becomes part of embodying the energy or intention you raised.
The feast does not need to be an elaborate table filled with ceremonial cakes and expensive wine. It can be your favorite snack, chocolate, fruit, tea, or a comforting meal delivered to your door.
Heron Michelle says that whatever we feast upon should be “delicious, spiritually intoxicating, and emotionally satisfying.” (Amen. No notes. 🙌)
You Open? You Close…
One of the most important parts of this section was the deconstruction of the ritual temple. Practitioners sometimes put great care into opening a sacred space, then rush or forget to close it fully.
If you invited elements, ancestors, guides, deities, or spirits, thank them for their presence and participation. Release them respectfully. If you opened elemental gateways in a particular sequence, the book guides you through closing them in reverse order.
Closing is not an afterthought. It marks the boundary between the ritual and whatever comes next. It allows the energy to settle, the guests to depart, and the practitioner to return to ordinary awareness.
The author offers one method I had never encountered before. Envisioning the ritual sphere being thrown upward like a basketball jump shot, then clapping three times to break the temple completely.
It is not how I usually release a circle, but it is memorable, physical, and perfectly valid. If the magickal jump shot helps your mind and body recognize that the ritual is complete, shoot your energetic three-pointer. 🏀
My own method is quieter. I envision the accumulated energy becoming mist and dissipating toward wherever it is most needed, or where it wants to go. I thank it, release it, and observe what happens.
Sometimes the mist seems to gather around a specific object before disappearing. If it lingers around my journal, I take that as a cue that there is something I need to process or record. If it gathers around the spellwork and appears to be absorbed into it, I understand that as a sign that the intention has received the energy raised during the ritual.
To Blow or not to Blow? A Controversy Question
Some traditions insist that ritual candles must be snuffed rather than blown out because blowing supposedly disperses the energy that has been raised. I think blowing out the candle is perfectly fine.
If my intention is not to blow away the spell, then that is not what I am doing. I’m thanking the flame and extinguishing the candle. The physical action does not secretly overrule my intention simply because someone once assigned it a different meaning.
If snuffing candles feels important within your tradition, continue to do it. If blowing them out feels natural and complete within yours, you have not accidentally ruined your witchcraft.
Offerings Should Not Become Litter
The book suggests carrying ritual food or offerings to the edge of a natural place, the boundary of a property, a hedge, crossroads, or another liminal space. Threshold places can support the symbolism of an offering passing from one state or realm into another. But spiritual symbolism does not excuse environmental harm.
Do not leave paper plates, plastic, ribbon, glass, wrappers, candle remnants, or anything else that can become litter. Do not leave foods that may be toxic to wildlife or domestic animals. Chocolate is an obvious example, but every offering should be considered in relation to the actual ecosystem where it will be placed.
An offering should not create a hazard for an animal, burden the land, or become somebody else's rubbish to collect. If the food is not safe to leave outside, choose another method. Dispose of it respectfully, compost it when appropriate, place it on your altar for a limited time, or offer a safe alternative.
Write Down the Weird Stuff Too
After the ritual, note how the experience felt. Which visualizations came easily? Which words felt powerful, awkward, comforting, or disconnected? Did the energy shift when you invoked a particular element? Did anything unexpected appear in your thoughts, senses, emotions, or environment?
This kind of journaling allows a personal practice to evolve from lived experience rather than theory alone.
I also enjoy photographing spellwork and ritual arrangements with a Polaroid camera. I might photograph a crystal grid when I create it, then take another picture after the working is complete. This camera captures light differently from my phone, and I find it fascinating to compare the images and observe any changes in the atmosphere.
There is a small, delighted, science-loving part of me that enjoys having something physical to examine afterward. I already believe in the work, but when a photograph appears to reflect the change I felt, I still get to say, “Ha! I knew it.” 😂
Your ritual record can include words, sketches, photographs, pressed plants, candle wax, cards pulled, dreams, physical sensations, or anything else that helps you remember the full experience.
Witchcraft Is a Living Practice
The chapter ends by encouraging practitioners to customize these techniques until they feel natural. That emphasis matters. The author gives us a detailed and fairly rigid ritual structure, but the structure is a foundation, not a cage.
Your practice should respond to your body, beliefs, location, experience, relationships, and needs. You may follow these instructions exactly while learning, then gradually discover which movements, words, tools, and spiritual relationships genuinely belong to you.
Learn the framework. Explore it with sincerity. Question the parts that do not make sense. Adapt it with intention.
Most importantly, remain present enough to notice what the practice teaches you in return. Trust your intuition, and do not immediately filter or dismiss what you experienced.
Before you go…
I would love to hear how you invite and release energies within your own rituals. Do you speak invocations aloud, whisper them, or perform them silently? Have you built a relationship with the spirits of the land where you live? How do you decide which ancestors, guides, or entities are welcome within your sacred space?
And perhaps most importantly: What is your ideal post-ritual feast?
Share your thoughts, experiences, questions, or even a simple hello in the comments!
You never need to be caught up to join Book Coven. You don't even need the book.
Just bring your curiosity, your questions, and perhaps a cozy blanket.
You’re always welcome to join in and be part of my little online family.
Links to Our Books
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Elemental Witchcraft
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The Great Work
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(DE / EU)
Elemental Witchcraft
Paperback https://amzn.to/3UJeeqR
Kindle https://amzn.to/4lEHmKL
The Great Work
Paperback https://amzn.to/4lFOfeU
Kindle: https://amzn.to/3VdLG98
~ More Enchantment Awaits! ~
For our next gathering, we will read pages 203 through 212.
If your edition does not include the same page numbers, begin with Chapter Eleven and read through the end of the chart I showed at our gathering. We will continue with the section that follows it during the next gathering.
We are also right on schedule to begin Section Three alongside the Wheel of the Year as we approach Samhain, which feels beautifully appropriate.
Remember, you are always welcome in the Enchanted Book Coven whether you have read every page, are several chapters behind, have already finished the book, or do not own it at all. Come for the witchy discussion, add your perspective when you feel called, and simply listen when that is what you need.
Thank you for gathering with me for our fifteenth meeting and for continuing to make this little corner of the internet feel like a true coven of curious, thoughtful, beautifully individual witches.
I will see you at our next gathering.
Until then, wander wisely.
Elena Enchanted 💜
