spirits, Magic
Taylor Ellwood
The relationship between sacred kingship and ...

One of the books I’m reading lately is King, Warrior, Magician, Lover by Robert Moore and Doug Gillette. It’s a fascinating book that explores the archetypes of the mature and sacred masculine. This is currently part of the spiritual work that I’m engaged in as I explore my own relationship with masculinity and heal the ancestoral and contemporary wounds that I’m becoming aware of as it relates to how masculinity is treated and perceived in modern times.

One of the aspects I’m exploring in particular is related to sacred kingship and the land. I am in the process of exploring the new city and surrounding areas that I live in. While I’ve lived here for a year, I didn’t have much opportunity until recently to really begin exploring the area and developing a relationship with the land. I find it fitting and useful that part of the process has also involved cultivating a relationship with the land, particularly on the basis of the relationship has with their home and how that relationship plays out in sacromagical work one does in connecting with the land.

elemental work

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Walking with Elemental Spirits is now available!

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I started practicing magic when I was 16 and the very first magical discipline and practice I learned was elemental magic. Over the last 29 years I've continued to practice elemental magic and work with elemental spirits.

My latest book Walking with Elemental Spirits is a dissemination of my years of practice and all the experiences I've accumulated along the way.

But it's also more than that.

It's the evolution of elemental magic from the classic model of the 5 elements Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Quintessence into a modernized approach that explores and integrates other elements outside the classic Five elements.

Elements such as gravity, magnetism, time, and space and much, much more.

And I don't just stop there. Within this book you'll find a variety of elemental magic practices and ways to work with the elemental spirits.

The elemental spirits can be potent allies to work with and in this book you’ll learn how the practical magic skills that you can use to forge strong relationships with the elemental spirits that allow you to work with them as allies. In this book you will also learn the following:

  • The classic Hermetic and Taoist systems of the 5 elements, and my modernized system of elemental magic.

  • How to connect with elemental spirits using evocation portals and experiential embodiment

  • How to do internal work and health magic with the elemental spirits.

  • How to work with the elemental spirits to get practical results

  • and much more!


If you’re ready to learn a new approach to elemental magic, this book will teach you how to work with the elemental spirits and use elemental magic to get results that transform your life.

Walking with Elemental Spirits is available in E-book, paperback, and hardback.

This is a book I've waited a long time to write, but its time is finally here, and with it, the evolution of elemental magic as we know it.

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Magical Experiments Podcast: Elemental Magic and Troubleshooting your Magic with Frater Barrabbas

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In this episode Frater Barrabbas and I discuss elemental magic and talismans and how they work and also discuss how to troubleshoot your magic and work through your failures.

Get Elemental Power for Witches.

Frater Barrabbas (Richmond, VA) is a practicing ritual magician who has studied magick and the occult for over forty years. He is the founder of a magical order called the Order of the Gnostic Star and he is an elder and lineage holder in the Alexandrian tradition of Witchcraft. Visit and learn more at www.FraterBarrabbas.com and fraterbarrabbas.blogspot.com

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Breaking out of the 5 Element model: A different approach to elemental magic

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I’m currently writing Walking with Elemental Spirits, which is a book that explores my system for elemental magic. One of the central arguments of that book is that the 5 element model of earth, water, fire, air, and quintessence is a bit outdated. It has worked well as a model, but its evident that there are more elements than just the aforementioned elements. Why are we holding onto an outmoded model that was used to describe reality a long time ago, as a taxonomic means of categorizing the experiences of the world? I’ll be bold and just say we hold on to such models because we are taught that something which is old is typically considered better and if it works why change it.

I don’t agree with this sentiment. While I think the 5 element model is a great foundational tool, I also think that when we hold onto an old model and never question it we’re missing out on an opportunity to evolve magically, as well as to evolve the overall discipline of magic. I’ve been practicing elemental magic since I first started practicing magic, and for many years I did rely upon the 5 element model because it was what was available. Yet being the magical experimenter that I am, I inevitably ended up questioning it.

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Elemental Balancing Ritual Connection and Truth Month 12

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9-21-2021 Today I’ll be switching over to Ouranos (Uranus). This morning my magical partner and I collected dew from the bottles and afterwards we talked about partnerships and feasts and I note this only because it happened while we were collecting and distilling the dew for the archaeus work and since such conversations are happening its worth noting as a relevant and related to the energy and efforts of the work we are doing.

I meditated on plate 12 of The Mutus Liber. It’s almost the same as plate 9 though there are subtle differences. I didn’t get any specific insights beyond what I’ve already gotten, but I noticed the triangle shape again and the offering to Mercury.

Also I did switch over to Ouranos (Uranus)/Metatron and felt a sense of welcome. Last year, the creativity work was ended in such a weird way, because of events. It felt like this month is actually a redemption tour of sorts and I got the cover of my newest book today, so that felt significant as well.

Elemental Balancing Ritual Connection and Truth Month 11

8-22-2021 Last night I switched over to the Neptune current and worked with Ratziel, the archangel of the book and key. I did the ritual under the full moon, which is conjunct with Saturn and Jupiter. It felt appropriate because I had wrapped up the work with Saturn. What was nice is that I got to do the Sphere of Art in Eugene finally. I felt like doing that work, down here, really sealed me to this new space I am living in. I feel this deep sense of contentedness and peace, something I haven’t felt in a while, if ever. It surprises me to feel it, but I know I’m home. I know this is where I belong, at least for the forseeable future.

Today I’m continuing to unpack my home. It feels off to finally be putting art up that I haven’t seen in a year, and to be unpacking books, but mostly it makes me happy to be in an environment where I feel wanted and welcomed, even if its just by myself. I finally have a space of my own, and I didn’t realize how much I needed it. I feel welcomed in other ways as well and this has helped me feel at peace with my move, because I know I belong here.

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An Elemental Magic Exercise

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Note: this article is available in full on Patreon. Become my patron to access the article.

I'm getting ready to write my next magical book, which is going to be about my work with magical elementals. One of the ways I've taken to working with the classic elemental spirits has involved going for walks. When I go outside for a walk, it allows me to open myself to their energy and experiences, but its not simply a matter of going for a walk. There is a precise state of being that is involved, as well.

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Elemental Balancing Ritual Connection and Truth Month 10

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7-21-2021 today I switched over to Binah/Saturn. Given that I recently did a Saturnic ritual it felt appropriate. I had a continuing realization that it doesn’t matter what I do in the short term, because what I’m really dealing with is my own pain and suffering and I am the author of that, for the most part. It helped me come to an important realization and a sense of peace about the choices I need to make in order to move forward with a number of things. I think my time of chaos is coming to a close. I will still have some grieving to do and other processing, but I can do it and I can also commit to the path forward that will pay off down the line.

7-23-2021 The last couple of days have involved a number of job interviews. What’s been interesting for me is realizing that I’m juggling these different possibilities and trying to decide which ones I’ll explore and which to let go. I let go of one because it was clear I wasn’t the right fit. I feel this very Saturnic weaving coming into play which is actually helpful because I’m ruling out what doesn’t work for me, in favor of figuring out what could work as well as what I want to do with what I’m learning. And through it all I’m also recognizing I’m going to have to make short term sacrifices to get to where I want to go.

Elemental Balancing Ritual Connection and Truth Month 9

6-22-2021 I find it dryly ironic that as I switch over to Chesed today I recognize in full how much my situation has changed on the material front. When you live with someone else, you don’t always fully recognize how much that can shape your perception of the cost of living. Then if you become single or go out on your own you start to realize how much your situation has changed and how you have to plan accordingly. Today it really hit me how much my situation has changed and how this is one of the consequences of choosing to leave. It’s not a fun feeling to sit with, but I need to do it and accept the consequences of my choices. This is part of that path of finding my connection and truth and the cost that comes with it.

6-24-2021 Yesterday I got the divorce papers. It kind of brings home that we’re done, although I’ve been having that realization in other ways as I wrote above. In one sense I question whether I’ll really be able to figure out what’s next. My mom told me this kind of stuff is hard and I believe it, especially when you’re having to pick up all the pieces of your life and sort them out as best you can. I am trying my best and that’s all I’ve got…

Elemental Balancing Ritual Connection and Truth Month 8

5-22-2021 I posted a cartoon on Facebook that essentially had this person find this oracle, which told him that some of his problems were of his own causing and I wrote that the one thing all your problems have in common is you. My friend Colleen pointed something out that I felt was rather appropriate since I’m working with martian energy this month. She pointed out that all your problems having you in common is actually a form of abusive self-dialogue because sometimes other people are the cause of your problems and you aren’t the reason the problem is happening. Her response really got me thinking about how far too often I’ve blamed myself for problems that have happened and taken too much responsibility on when perhaps it really was someone else’s responsibility. It’s definitely something I am going to work with further this month.

I did some more of the wood element workshop. The main focus was on working with the ligaments and it was quite intense work. Naturally some internal stuff came up and I worked through it, releasing grief with each release of the ligaments. It did make me reflect on some realizations I’ve been having around my life and the way people have shown up in the past. Afterwards I meditated with the alchemical substances for Mars and Geburah and worked on releasing judgment of myself and others. Working with Geburah in that way is interesting, because typical it is a rather severe energy to work with, yet, I think sometimes people ignore the more subtle ways to work with a given Sephiroth. In this case, learning how to release judgments of yourself and other can be just as relevant as any other work you might do in that sephiroth.

Elemental Balancing Ritual Connection and Truth Month 7

4-22-2021 Today I moved into working with the alchemical aspects of the sun. I feel it’s appropriate because I’m at the dawn of my new life, with the sun beginning to show me the way forward. I don’t know how I’ll get where I’m going yet, but I see some possible ways forward. And I am focused on my connection and truth to lead the way forward.

4-25-2021 The last few days I’ve been doing a lot of door dash, but I’ve also had the opportunity to talk with a friend of mine, S. V.. We ended up talking for a few hours but our respective life changes and other such things and it was good to have such a discussion and also discuss possibilities. Today I took the day off from driving so I could work on some projects, but most importantly I made time to read and paint, and go for a walk. The relaxation is as important as the work, it fuels the work and makes for better manifestation.

I feel a sense of calm and peace pervading my being. Some of that has come from a session with Ingo Komenda, and some of it is my own continual internal work. I haven’t felt this free to just be in quite some time, and it makes me reflect and recognize that as sad as recent changes have been, I think they have been necessary changes. I move forward into the unknown, with anticipation and excitement for what possibilities I’ll discover, what experiences may be had, and enjoy the journey, letting the light of the Sun guide me.

Elemental Balancing Ritual Connection and Truth Month 6

3-23-2021 I switched over to working with the alchemical energies of Venus and I’m really glad I have because it is proving to be healing and helpful one day in. I think its interesting that on the Tree of Life, Venus comes after Mercury, emotion coming after thought. Thought allows us to dissect an experience and rationalize it, but the emotions are where we feel and embody what we go through. If you’re going up the tree the emotions come after, but if you’re going down the tree they come before and in either case it seems appropriate to recognize how one leads to the other and how they can temper each other, if worked with in the right way.

I got an order of books in today, including the Daily Stoic and I think I will read an entry a day out of this book and do so for the rest of my life. Today’s entry asks us to look at our greed and vices and reflect on how they may be causing lapses of judgment, as well as asking how we might regulate that greed and those vices. It’s this kind of tempering which is so important, and so often underutilized. Certainly I have sometimes allowed me weaknesses to get the better of me and the result has never been worth it.

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Elemental Balancing Ritual Connection and Truth Month 5

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2-23-2021 I switched over to the alchemical substances for mercury yesterday, which in relationship to connection and truth is all about communication. In the meditation work I’ve been doing lately, I’ve been focused on recognizing contractions, where a block forms because of one’s internal defenses. I think of it as a form of compartmentalization, because this sense of contraction seems brought on by a need to try and dissociate with an experience. Or maybe that’s just my experience with it.

I’ve also been continuing to read The Body keeps the Score which essentially discusses how the body internalized traumatic experiences. Reading the book has helped me more readily recognize my own trauma from past experiences, but also consider how trauma is created and what role you can play in the trauma another person has experienced because of your actions.

Elemental Balancing Ritual Connection and Truth Month 4

1-22-2021 I switched over to working with the alchemical substances for the moon. I’ve also figured out how to integrate Bua Gua into this work as well as some work with elemental spirits. I’m feeling rather excited at the possibilities of what could be done with this work and the evolution of my work with the sphere of art as well. I also ended up doing some dream work, which was appropriate with working with the moon. That dream work helped me have a pivotal realization around my own sense of worth and how I’ve let that be compromised sometimes. That realization will help me make better choices with how I take care of myself and with the people I allow into my life on a personal level.

1-25-2021 In the Happiness Trap the author makes an important point: We aren’t good or bad people and the arbitrary value judgments we place on ourselves creates a tension within ourselves when we feel a need to label ourselves as good or bad. This got me thinking about how I’ve labeled myself in the past, and how those labels have shaped my identity in ways that have ultimately been more harmful than helpful. So I’m giving myself space NOT to label myself as good or bad, but simply to be and to allow myself to let go of those values judgments of my identity and instead recognize that I’m simply a person who has made choices, and instead of even defining those choices as good or bad, I’ve simply acknowledged that those choices have had consequences and impacts that should be noted and considered carefully. It’ a different way of looking at things, but its helpful.

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Elemental Balancing Ritual Connection and Truth Month 3

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12-22-2020 Today I started integrating the Sphere of Art work with the Qi gong work I’m doing. I did the sphere of art ritual and then worked with the alchemical substances for the underworld. Then I did the qi gong work and followed up with meditation, where I also mediated the alchemical substances for the underworld. It was an interesting experience because this time I felt the underworld energies mesh with the qi I had cultivated during the qi gong work. There didn’t seem to be any conflict with the connection of the energies, but of course I’ll test this carefully.

I’ve been reading the 48 laws of Power and what strikes me about this book is that I learned these laws from my dad. I doubt he ever read the book, but so far the laws discussed fit his behavior. He knew how to create an air of mystery, when to keep his mouth shut, but also when to make a scene. He was a cypher and I learned a lot of this from observing him. Of course I’ve also learned some of these laws just from my own experiences, but its fascinating to read this book and recognize my missteps (where I didn’t execute the laws successfully) as well as my successes with those same laws. I’m only part way through the book but it is quite illuminating, especially when you are already putting some of those laws in to action.

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Elemental Balancing Ritual Connection and Truth Month 2

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11-23-2020 One of the skills I’m practicing now, from The Happiness Trap is recognized when I’m hooked on a story I’m telling myself. By recognizing that I’m caught in the story, I can then step back and unhook myself from it and refocus on what really matters. It’s proving helpful in terms of recognizing the internal stories I tell myself and diffusing them. It’s also helping me be more productive again, because I’m not letting those stories dictate my day and take over my energy.

11-25-2020 One of the realizations I’m continuing to work through is the realization around expectations that I impose on myself as well as the ones imposed on me in the fast. I tend to push myself very hard, because that was always the expectation put on me. Over the last few months I’ve been trying to work less and relax more. Today I talked with Kat about some of my fears around the expectations I’ve put on myself and it really helped to unpack those further and acknowledge those are really just stories I’m telling myself that don’t serve me. I can be more productive by actually doing less.

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Elemental Balancing Ritual Connection and Truth Month 1

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10-21-2020 Today I switched over to the elements of connection and truth. I don’t normally do two elements but these go hand in hand, because they are the forces that the archangel Suvuviel mediates and he’s one of the two spirits I’ll be working closely this year. The other spirit is She Who Watches. They both made themselves known to me in different ways, with some hard truths coming out, but later healing connection occurring. It’s not the way I imagined my birthday or the start of a new element going, but that’s kind of the point of this work. If you want balance, you necessarily have to open yourself to how that balance will show up in ways you don’t expect or plan for.

I’m glad for the switch though and I’m glad that I’m doing this work now, when I especially need to do it. It will continue to carry me forward on this journey of life and learning I’m on. I wouldn’t have it any other way, because this is the work I need to be doing that calls and speaks to and through me.

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Elemental Balancing Ritual Creativity Month 24

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9-22-2020 This is the last month I’m working with creativity as an element. When I look back over the last couple years, overall, I’m happy with the work I’ve done and how it changed my relationship with creativity. I think my biggest takeaway though was learned in the last couple months. I need to protect my creativity and I need to protect who and what helps protect my creativity. My creativity is what feeds my soul, but its also my livelihood and to let anything get in the way of that is to disrespect a fundamental part of myself that must be taken care of, so it can do the work its called to do.

9-23-2020 I’ve been processing some emotions the last couple days over recent events and how I feel toward certain people. And it’s helped re-reading The Slight Edge, where the author talks about the power of time and how the real power of time is the gradual changes that occur. They aren’t dramatic or loud, but they happen gradually, and if you apply the slight edge to time in a positive way, you make those changes work for you.

For me that slow gradual work is found in trying to find forgiveness in my heart for myself and other people as I slowly detangle and unwind from the recent drama of life. And its also found in coming to grips with my accountability for my actions and choices. The Slight Edge reminds me that it’s all a matter of time and that these moments will inevitably pass to new ones and what will be found in those moments will in part be informed by the work being done now.