From Earth I have come and to Earth I will return...

I have long thought that my element is earth. I began collecting rocks when I was about 2 years old. There is just something about holding a rock in my hand or viewing them in a collection (which I have all over my house). Also, a few years ago I had this unstoppable longing to get my hands (quite literally) dirty in clay or dirt or whatever I could "get my hands on." (This was part of why I ended up leaving social work in pursuit of yoga and massage therapy. I needed the "hands on" experience rather than working only with the head.) It was also around that time that I planted my first garden, and that I experienced my first recognizable image of the Goddess, which I later identified as Gaia, the Earth Goddess. And along the way, my spiritual journey has also led me to more earth-centered traditions.

I have long thought that my element is earth, but I never bothered to research to find out if I was correct in my assumption...until today. Today, I discovered that I am indeed connected with the Earth element.

What I also discovered from my research is that the earth element is associated with percussion instruments (like the heartbeat), with browns and greens (my favorite colors), and with feminine energy. In the past year, I have been drawn to chanting and drumming (although, I, myself have not learned to drum), and the sound of the heartbeat in the pounding of the drum...the connection with the Great Mother, Mama Gaia, as our heartbeats beat as one.

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of going to visit my in-laws in their home in Kentucky where they live on many many acres with fields and trees and mountains all around them. While I was there, I was, quite literally, in my element. One of my favorite experiences during this trip was sitting out on the front porch with my daughter and niece, looking at the full moon, and singing to Her..."Grandmother Moon shining in the night...shining in her fullness...Ancient mysteries of Mother, Maid, and Crone..." I like to think that my earth element niece and my water element daughter (no doubt moved by the moon more intensely than the other elements) will remember this experience, too, and will hold onto the knowledge that we have come from the Earth, that She holds us in her arms as we live and grow, and that we will return to Her.

"Mother I feel you under my feet. Mother I hear your heartbeat..." -- Alice Di Micele "Mother I Feel You" (from album "Circle of Women")

(On a side note, another interesting thing that I learned in my elemental research is that while I am earth, my daughter is water, my husband is air, and my son is fire. Together we make a complete circle of the elements. "May the circle be open, but unbroken. May the love of the Goddess be ever in your heart. Merry meet, and merry part, and merry meet again.")