A lot of my witchcraft is rooted in the land. I am not a native of these shores but something has drawn me here all my life and having lived here now for nearly two decades there is still more to explore, more connections to build.
If you want to understand the spirit of “your” place, I highly recommend getting to know where you live: peel back the layers of time and space. What is the history of your town? What exactly was on the plot of land where your house or room now is? 10 years ago? 100 years ago? 1000 years ago?
What is the soil like and the bedrock? Where does your drinking water come from? Who lived in the area throughout the ages? These kind of questions can lead you on a fascinating journey of discovery with many interesting rabbit holes to explore! For London dwellers a good starting point is Tom Chivers’ book London Clay, a poetic and compelling exploration of its urban landscape and what lies beneath.
Another great way to explore your locality is to look for elemental correspondences in each direction. You can make a start with Google maps or an Ordnance Survey map. If you trace a line due west from your dwelling, what is the first thing you can find that you would associate with water? This could be a pond, a river, a pump station or maybe even a sewer. Look around in a similar way for earth in the north, air in the east and fire in the south. Then go and visit these places you discovered on your map. What do they feel like?
The final idea I can share is to explore the boundaries of the property where you live and look for what grows or thrives there in terms of plant and animal life. Are there protective nettles, resilient dandelions, inquisitive foxes, filigree spiders? What do you associate with what you find? Do any of these speak to you? Maybe you can befriend these beings and work with them going forward.
Have fun exploring!