Thunder Bay, Ontario
Looking Beyond The Traditional Compass
For over 20 years, I followed the familiar elemental directions found in many modern witchcraft traditions: Earth in the North, Air in the East, Fire in the South and Water in the West. But eventually, something about it stopped feeling like mine.
I began to wonder: What if I stopped looking at the correspondence charts and start looking at the local landscape around me?
I live in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The landscape around my area is Lake Superior, ancient rocks, northern winds, boreal forest, and Thunder Mountain, known now as Mount McKay. These are the elements and directions I see, hear, and experience every day.
The more I learned about traditional witchcraft the more I began to understand how important the landscape can be.
Books That Influenced My Thinking
Two books that notably helped me look at my practice differently: The Crooked Path by Kelden and Besom, Stang & Sword by Christopher Orapello and Tara-Love Maguire.
What aligned with me in The Crooked Path was the idea of evolving a practice that is connected to the natural landscape around me, to actually pay attention to the land where you live rather than simply taking on someone else's structure.
Besom, Stang & Sword further motivated me to think about traditional witchcraft through a local lens and what it means to develop a practice rooted in the land, culture, folklore of the place you actually live.
So I started looking around me.
I looked east.
I looked south.
I watched the sunset in the west.
I felt the northern winds.
My Northern Compass
This is simply my personal approach. It isn't ment to define the "correct" elemental directions or replace anyone else's practice. Do what works for you!
The come from my relationship with the landscape surrounding my home in Thunder Bay.
North-Air-The Northern Winds
The cold northern winds become my Air - They move across the land, carry weather, stir the trees and remind me that nothing remains completely still.
East-Water-The Great Lake
To the East lies Lake Superior, The Great Lake. It's immense size, depth, changing moods and powerful presence make it my Water.
South-Earth-Thunder Mountain
To the South stands Mount Mckay, Thunder Mountain. It's ancient stone and powerful existence make it my Earth, growing, enduring, protective and deeply connected to the land beneath my feet.
West-Fire-The Setting Sun
To the West, the sun sets beyond the horizon. That became my Fire, warmth, passion, transformation, endings and the promise of another beginning.
This Is The Compass of My Land
I didn't set out to create a new elemental system.
I simply wanted my rituals to make sense where I live.
My compass isn't something I found in a book. The books helped me learn to ask questions, but the answers came from looking out my own window.
From the Northern winds.
From the Great Lake.
From Thunder Mountain.
From the Setting Sun.
And perhaps that's one of the most beautiful things about developing a personal practice, to connect with the local landscape.
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