As Above, So Below

@themahoganylibrary It’s just a pretty picture lol. Plant ID is important if you’re making the next Audobon book or posting on iNaturalist, not if you’re just sharing a photo on Tumblr. I never made any claims about edibility, no one is going to eat random berries because of a photo they saw online with nothing but a single name attached.

Sand is an abundant resource that can be found across the world including along the coasts, through deserts and even in many people’s yards and gardens. Sand is rather easy to obtain and natural making it ideal for witchcraft. Though some types of sand may be harder to obtain, and more costly, than others, let this post be a guide on how to utilize it for its magical properties.

Types of Sand & Their Correspondences

Beach/Coastal Sand: calming, grounding, cleansing, connecting to the sea, self-love, protection and warding, motivation, memory, spiritual clarity, purification of the heart, easing pain, physical and spiritual strength, can represent both the elements of earth and water

Ocean Sand (from the ocean floor/deep sea): primordial energy, banishing negative emotions and energy, grounding, mental clarity, psychic clarity and strengthening, divination, guidance, ancient wisdom and power, connections to the sea and primordial waters, birth, creation, can represent both the elements of earth and water

Desert Sand: curses and removing energy from others, weakening, draining, banishing, grounding, mental clarity, physical health, enduring hardships, “drying up” love and past emotions, healing heartbreak, burying the past, often related to burial ceremonies

Volcanic Sand: destruction, intense energy, strength, death, rebirth, banishing, secrets or hidden messages, warding, baneful magic, offensive magic, often represents both earth and fire at once

River Sand/Silt: fertility, procreation, movement, flowing energy, travels, change

Lake/Pond Sand: the present, calmness, serenity, inner focus, self-reflection and meditation

Swamp/Wetland Sand: mystery, secret keeping, silencing lies and rumors, binding, curses related to becoming lost or emotional heaviness, often represents both water and earth at once, often related to animal magic specifically those that live in swamp land

Unearthed/Buried Sand: grounding, hidden power, addressing past issues and mistakes, overcoming controversy, self-discovery, introspection, emotional healing, moving on from past scars

Biogenic Sand/Bone Sand/Shell Sand: healing, moving on emotionally, remembrance but letting go of the pain and loss, honoring those lost (often at or to the sea), close connections to necromancy

Black Sand: protection, warding, banishing, relates to necromancy and spirit work

Pink Sand: love, beauty, youth, harmony, adjusting to change, remembering the past and lost loved ones, rebirth, emotional and mental healing, forgiveness of self and others

Red Sand: strength, courage, valor, relates to fire rather than earth

Yellow Sand: divination, focus, improving memory and skills, mental health, grounding and centering, represents both earth and air elements sometimes both at once

White Sand: purity, cleansing, protection, wisdom, preparing for change, physical and emotional balance, harmonizes all aspects of oneself

Combinations of Sand and Other Ingredients

Sand and Soil: grounding, balance, cleansing, protection of loved ones and family

Sand and Salt: change, growing power, dreams, purification, warding, protection, longevity

Sand and Ash: remembrance, the past, divination

Sand and Clay: change, mental fortitude

Sand and Kelp/Seaweed: beauty, youth, birth, fertility, the ocean

The History

Not much history on the use of sand in magic from what I can find that is a reliable source, but I was able to find some bits about its use.

Sand has been used in connections to rituals for the dead and in burial practices in many different cultures to a varying degree. In some sand was used for burying the deceased such as very early Ancient Egypt for its mummification properties before better mummification methods were invented and utilized. Placing sand into graves or coffins of the deceased somethings as a means to connect them to their homelands if that person was traveling into foreign lands or countries. Some stories speak about mixing the ashes of the dead with sand to be kept in the home. Other stories tell of people mixes ashes from fires or the hearth with sand and casting it out into the sea for lost sailors who could not be brought home. 

Sand was also used historical in some types of spell jars and vessels. In some places sand was put into jars and bottles and given to sailors to keep them connected to home even when sailing. Others said carrying sand could protect one from being lost at sea or from disaster, likely where the history of sand being used for protection properties came from. It has also been used in witch’s bottles and for burying spells for varying purposes. Some cultures would bury offerings to deities into the sand of beaches or deserts.

Modern Use

Sand is still a common ingredient for many sea witches and worshipers of ocean related deities to utilize in their craft and in their altars. Deities commonly related to sand are Poseidon, Aphrodite, Psamathe, Thalassa, Aegir, Neptune and Veles. Sand is also often used in altars to represent either earth or water when representing the cardinal directions or the 4 elements. Some will use sand to represent both in cases of smaller altars.

Modernly, sand is often used in spell jars and bottles when used in spellwork or as a vessel to charge, cleanse and bury objects or tools such as crystals, poppets, amulets and trinkets. Sea witches or witches with accesses to large amount of sand will often use it for grounding and circle casting. Some will use it for runes and sigils as well.

Storing Sand

For those wishing to store and use collected sand ensure that there is nothing undesirable in it - garbage, sharp bits of glass, decomposing fish or animals, insects etc. Shift it thoroughly to ensure anything that could be potentially dangerous is removed and if needed properly disposed of. Once the sand has been shifted ensure it is dry before you seal it into anything.

Wet sand can house bacteria and mold - which can also smell quite foul when the container is opened again. You can use the sun to dry it or indoor heaters at a safe distance. Spread it out thin and flat to help ensure it is thoroughly dried if it is damp or wet.

Once dried the best way to store sand is inside of glass or ceramic vessels. Jars and bottles are the most ideal. Ensure that they are sealed tightly to ensure no spillage or condensation can get inside.

**this post was personally researched, compiled and directly from my personal grimoire. Please do not repost**

The Living Landscape;

“It is essentially the quality of the energy in the Land itself that determines the nature of the magic of a place. In East Anglia, this energy is known most often either as ‘Spirament,’ or simply as ‘Virtue.’ Necessarily, it will vary from place to place; the quality of the virtue in the wet, boggy lands of the west is not the same as that of the sandy heathlands of the eastern coastal regions. Nor is the energy of the rolling pastureland of the inland meadows and fields the same as that of the thick, clay soils of the central uplands. But, as they are all a part of the same geographical and energetic region, they all partake of the same essential quality of East Anglia, be it manifested in subtly different ways.”

—

The Devil’s Plantation:

East Anglian Lore, Witchcraft & Folk-Magic

Reading reversals is hard! Let’s make it less hard. Here’s ye olde methode for interpreting reversals, with the 5 of Cups as my assistant.

Step One: Read the card upright. Even if you pull reversed, flip it back over and interpret it upright.

Step Two: Got the upright card loosely interpreted? Take note of any significant parts of the card. In the 5 of Cups, we have a cloaked person grieving over 3 spilled cups on the left, while 2 cups that are potentially still-full sit ignored off to the right. The person is clearly distraught over the loss of the contents of the 3 spilled cups. The black cloak implies an emotional loss. The imagery in the upright card implies that the person is completely consumed with the loss and has forgotten that there is still something salvageable if you change your perspective. The body language suggests shrugging off the possibility of better things because they’re not done being upset. Putting the spilled cups to the left implies an event in the past, where the 2 upright cups to the right imply fruits of the future. There is also a building, what appears to me as a house, above the 3 spilled cups and a bridge above the 2 upright cups. This could mean that what was lost from the spilled cups was related to the home, or has caused you to distance yourself from your home. You can interpret this very literally and take it as meaning that one will have to cross or build a bridge over an obstacle, like a river, to reach the other side and move on to better things.

Step Three: Flip the card back to the reversed position and watch the artwork. What changes? Compare the reversed card to the upright card and make a mental venn diagram of their similarities and differences. Look at the 5 of Cups reversed. The 3 spilled cups and the 2 upright cups have changed sides. Now, the 2 upright cups are in the past and the 3 spilled cups are in the future. I get a different vibe from the body language of the person in this position, like they want to turn around and tend to the 2 cups on the left. But…are the upright cups even upright anymore? In this position, they’re upside-down! Anything you put in those cups is going to pour right out. Maybe the 3 cups on their sides are the most worth salvaging in this case, because something may have remained inside of them since they aren’t completely tipped over. There’s also a river above them, with gravity pulling that water down and into the cups. All the person needs to do is set the cups upright again to fill them, and it might even be less work to fix the 3 cups that are almost tipped over than to completely turn around the 2 cups on the left. There is a bridge blocking the flow of water into those 2 cups, even if they were upright. In this position, everything is pretty disheveled, but there is water flowing from the home and down into the 3 cups on the right while a bridge blocks water from ever filling the 2 cups on the left. The person is better off putting their energy into turning the 3 cups upright, even though on the surface it appears to be harder than only turning over 2 cups. Even if turning over those 2 cups is easier, due to the bridge blocking the water, they’ll never fill. The 5 of Cups reversed is suggesting that even though everything appears lost, you can still save the situation if you take the hard road and flip over the 3 cups. After you take the first step to making things better (flipping over the cups so they can fill again!) you should allow your family and those close to you to help you fill the cups again.

"Okay tarot, I have two questions tonight. I'll ask one at a time. First one,"

*deck flings King of Pentacles into my lap as soon as I try to shuffle*

"Hm alright. Well I'm going to do a traditional draw anyway to make myself feel better."

I shuffled for 5 minutes with two different methods, and pulled the King of Pentacles off the top.

So, because I like learning opportunities, here’s how to steward land.

Pick a spot. An abandoned lot, a road ditch, a cemetery, a creek, a path though the woods, a piece of timber bordering a park, whatever.

If it isn’t your land and you really don’t like doing illegal shit (smh), get permission to tend it.

If you’re magically inclined, get to know the spirits there, set up altar space with items that won’t be litter if they get loose, or that won’t make animals sick if they get into them. Only do this if appropriate. I have an altar beside the creek on a few big, flat stones, but this might be less appropriate in an often visited cemetery.

Start with what’s there. If it’s all grass, mow it higher. Pick up the trash. Prune the trees and large plants, learn to identify the plants that are there and if they’re native or not.

Next step up, destroy invasive species (if you’re certain they’re invasive.) Emerald ash borers are easy to identify. Kudzu is a little less so. Water what needs watering, weed what needs weeding.

Start planting, if you can. Learn from the native people on your land if you have access to them- otherwise, check an extension office or university. Plant native species in varieties that will coexist. Start removing grass, if appropriate. Probably shouldn’t remove grass in a cemetery, but if the ditch you’re tending is just regular bluegrass, smother that shit out and start planting better things.

Make certain the area is habitable for native species of animals and insects. I cannot STRESS ENOUGH how important it is to make sure your area is accessible and habitable for native species, especially native pollinators. I live in the prairie area, and if I see one more “native species haven” with no flowers or only red ones, I’m going to flip my shit.

Finally, LISTEN TO NATIVES. If it’s your land, consider participating in a land-back program. If you ask for advice, listen to it. Check the websites that most tribes have for this purpose. And BE RESPECTFUL.

“Dear, sweet Littlefoot… I’ll be with you, even if you can’t see me” “What do you you mean I can’t see you? I can always see you.”