EXTRACT FROM TRADITIONAL WITCHCRAFT FOR THE SEASHORE

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY

Colour correspondences

The colour of the sea varies from a dull leaden grey in gloomy weather, or from the yellow or brown of a muddy river mouth, to a startling blue or green. Off parts of the coast, it may have a milky appearance from clay deposits and yet seen on a bright summer’s day from the cliff top it may almost be a rich purple – the ‘wine-coloured sea’ of the Greek poets. The colour, however, is controlled by:

• the particles that float in it;

• the angle from which it is viewed;

• the brightness of the day;

• the reflection of clouds or adjacent cliffs;

• and, in the shallows, by the colour of the sea-floor.

Here, light shining through a wave crest gives a momentary glimpse of translucent green, while the billows that break on a reef are coloured by the reflection of the marine life that lives on the rocks. From Sea & Seashore we learn that water has a slightly bluish tint, which intercepts the reds and yellows of daylight much more quickly than the other colours, so that only the blues and greens can penetrate to any depth below the surface; a white object sinking into the water turns blue before passing out of sight. Finely divided drops of water always look intensely white, so that the spray from a breaking wave is literally whiter than snow; compared with the spray, indeed, snow seems almost drab. In the wake left by a moving vessel the white foam contrasts with the colours of the undisturbed water, and still more strikingly with the emerald green or azure blue of the water churned up from below.

So, sea-witches working with the Element of Water can choose whichever colour s/he feels most appropriate for the beach on which they work. The colour correspondences for water can therefore range from pure white to muddy brown, with every shade of blue in between. And if we turn to the Table of Magical Correspondences given in Liber 777 – we find that the colours for Water are also far ranging – from deep blue to white, flecked purple, like mother of pearl; deep olive green and sea green.

Similarly, here at the water’s edge the Element of Earth also runs the whole gamut of colour combinations and textures, depending on the type of beach and its location. All around the coastline there are sands and shingle of every imaginable hue – purple jasper, green schist and serpentine, red and gold sand, red sandstone, yellow limestone, rock crystal, agate and carnelian – far more in fact, than the unadventurous indigo; black rayed with blue, blue-black and black as given in the Table of Correspondences.

To represent the Elemental of Air, what could be more fitting than a sea gull in flight, its white and blue-grey plumage contrasting with the yellow of its bill and legs, against the clear blue of the sky.  Not surprising that the Table of Correspondences gives us bright pale yellow; emerald, flecked with gold; blue, emerald green; and sky blue!

And finally, what can we find on the beach to represent the Elemental of Fire? The Table of Correspondences gives us glowing orange-scarlet; vermilion, flecked crimson and emerald; scarlet flecked with gold, so what else can there be except the fiery sunset that reflects all these colours as the sun sinks down into the sea on the distant horizon.

A single, or combination of any of these colours, can be plaited or woven together to create the only shop-bought ‘tool’ (with the except of a pen-knife) in the sea-witch’s armoury – the Girdle or Cord.

This extract is taken from Traditional Witchcraft for the Seashore – published by Moon Books and available from www.moon-books.net or from Amazon in paperback or e-book format.