Nature Spirits -an essay for the Dedicant's Program
by Jack Crowley
ADF Dedicant
I'm using Live Journal because it is such a simple tool for writing. Also
if any of my journal cohorts finds errors or has additional information, hopefully
they will throw it at me. After all, we Pagan folk are the most cooperative
of people, are we not?
I'm working on the ADF Dedicant's program. There are a zillion essays that
need to be written and the summer is such a wonderful time to catch up on
this work. One of the things we have to do is write on the trine of Deity
(Shining Ones), Ancestors (Mighty Ones), and Nature Spirits (Noble Ones).
Since last week, I spent the day entertaining some of the Noble Ones, I thought
that would be a good place to begin.
Live Journal is so easy to edit that I will do this incrementally. I'll write,
research a bit, write some more etc. etc.
Hopefully, I'll end up with a half decent essay on the Nature Spirits. If
you have any expertise on the subject, feel free to chime in. I'm learning
as I go. Hey, it's the journey not the destination anyway, right?
What is interesting about the Druidic Trine is that every culture has them.
Every culture has some form of honoring Ancestors, a belief in the Nature
Spirits, and of course a reverence for Deity in various forms. The Trine is
universal. Therefore talking about even one part of it is a massive undertaking.
To begin with, what do the Nature Spirits include? There are the elementals.
Beings that are linked with the four elements: water, fire, air, and earth.
Each of the elements have distinct elementals associated with it.
The earth elementals are the Gnomes. Gnomes can include Brownies, Dryads,
Elves, Dwarves, Satyrs, and Sylvestries.
The water elementals are the Undines. They may include Naiads, Oreads, Mermaids,
and Oceanids. Their ruler is a being called a Necksa.
The air elementals are the Sylphs. Their leader is called a Paralda. They
often have the appearance of Fairies.
Finally, the fire elementals are Salamanders. They are the strongest and more
powerful of the elementals. Their leader is the Djin.
The above information was gleaned from the following website:
http://www.crystalinks.com/nature_spirits.html
As people folliwng the Pagan path, whether Druidic, Wiccan, or other, honoring
the Nature Spirits is important. Why? Because we share the earth with them.
Deity often is transcendant, in worlds beyond. The Ancestors often are inbetween
worlds, across the rainbow bridge in Summerland. But the Nature Spirits share
this planet with us. They are hidden, but they most definitely are here.
Druids honor Spirit often in Groves where the Well, the Tree, and Fire come
together. For them this is a holy place, a sanctuary. They share this Grove
with the Nature Spirits. By honoring them as partners in the journey, by including
them in ritual, by giving them the due respect that most of the world has
forgotten to give, we increase the magical holiness, the sacredness of the
spot.
At a time when the international powers that be are set on bulldozing forests,
polluting the streams, and contaminating the air, we need a connection with
the Nature Spirits. In many respects, the Nature Spirits are our older siblings.
We've shared this planet with them for a hundred thousand years.
In the beginning we were much closer to them. They talked with us, shared
with us, taught us. Today most people don't even notice them. They've been
forgotten. It is one of the purposes of Paganism in the twenty-first century
to reconnect with our ancient family, the Nature Spirits, children of the
same Mother. We just need to learn, or maybe perhaps to remember how to listen
to the voice of the wind, to the singing of the birds, to watch the branches
of a tree, or the rippling dance of the creek, to reconnect with our ancient
family and to follow their guidance once again.
(The above article was copied and pasted from a Live Journal article written by Jack Crowley on July 9, 2005).