002 | The Water Ritual

The seed has been with me for weeks now, resting quietly in a small pouch at my side as I navigate this new chapter of my life. It’s strange to think that something so small could hold such vast potential, and yet I feel its weight constantly, both physically and magically. It hums with energy, as if waiting for me to unlock its secrets. But until now, I’ve had little success in understanding its origin—or its purpose.

That changed last night.

I had been feeling restless, the pull of the unknown gnawing at the edges of my thoughts. So, I turned to the tools that have always helped me see through the veil of uncertainty: my tarot cards and a scrying mirror. With the new moon approaching, it felt like the perfect time to seek answers from the magic that flows through the dark spaces between the stars.

I set up my small altar, lighting candles to clear the space and steady my mind. The scrying mirror lay before me, its surface dark and reflective, a portal waiting to be opened. Beside it, I spread my tarot cards, shuffling them slowly as I focused on the seed in my hand.

“What are you?” I whispered to the seed, holding it above the mirror. “Where do you come from? And what is your purpose?”

The cards answered first.

One by one, I laid them out before me—The Empress, The Tower, The Ace of Cups, and The Moon. Each card seemed to speak to the power of creation and destruction, of potential and chaos. The Empress, with her nurturing energy, whispered of life, while The Tower warned of upheaval and transformation. The Ace of Cups hinted at the deep well of emotions connected to this seed, while The Moon hinted at hidden truths, waiting to be revealed under the cover of darkness.

Then, I turned my attention to the mirror. As I gazed into its depths, my reflection blurred, and slowly, an image began to form in the glass. A tree—tall and ancient, its branches reaching toward the heavens while its roots burrowed deep into the earth. The leaves shimmered with light, and as I looked closer, I realized the tree was not just any tree—it was the Tree of Life.

The seed, now resting in the palm of my hand, had come from this tree. It was a Seed of Life itself, holding within it the potential for growth, transformation, and rebirth. But there was more. I saw a flash of something else in the mirror—an image of flowers blooming from the tree’s branches, their petals glowing with a radiant light. And then, a sigil—one I did not yet recognize but knew instinctively was tied to this seed. The sigil would reveal itself when the tree first bloomed, and only then would its full purpose be understood.

I came out of the trance with a feeling of clarity, though many questions remained. I now knew what the seed was, but it was clear that I had a long journey ahead to bring it to fruition.

The first step was to make the seed sprout.

For that, I would need to harness the power of Water.

The Ritual of Water

Water is the element of emotion, the force that shapes and flows through our lives, connecting us to the deeper currents of our being. To invoke its power, I knew I had to tap into my strongest emotions, to call forth the full spectrum of feeling that lives within me.

It began under the new moon, when the sky was dark and still. But on this particular night, there was something more—a rare annular eclipse, a ring of fire encircling the shadow of the moon. It was a night of chaos, of powerful, unpredictable magic. It was the perfect night to begin.

I submerged the seed in a small bowl of water and placed it outside under the eclipse, allowing the chaotic energies of the night to charge the water with power. As the shadow passed over the moon, I began to meditate, focusing on my memories and emotions.

First came grief. I let the sorrow wash over me as I recalled the loved ones I had lost—friends, family, mentors who had passed from this world into the next. The weight of that loss filled me with a deep sadness, and I let it flow through me, pouring into the water and the seed.

Next came anger. I summoned all the injustices I had witnessed, the wrongs committed not just against me but against others—against the innocent, the vulnerable, the powerless. My blood boiled with the fury of it all, and I let that anger seethe through my veins, feeling its heat as it radiated out toward the seed.

Then came fear. My imagination conjured up the darkest creatures that had ever haunted my nightmares—the monsters that lurked in the shadows of my mind. I shuddered as they appeared before me in my mind’s eye, their cold claws brushing against my skin, and I let that fear pulse through me, acknowledging its presence, but refusing to let it control me.

And finally, came joy. It bubbled up from deep within me as I remembered the many delights I had experienced in my life—the laughter of friends, the beauty of a sunrise, the warmth of love. I cackled with joy, letting it burst forth from my heart like a spring of light, overflowing into the water.

Each day of the new moon cycle, I returned to the seed, calling forth these emotions again and again. I let them swell and recede, like the tides, each wave filling the seed with more power, more potential. And on the seventh night, as the moon’s light returned as a sharp crescent of silver in the sky, I saw it—the seed cracked open, and the tip of a small bud emerged from its shell.

The spell had worked.

The seed had been successfully imbued with the power of Water. It had sprouted, a sign that it was ready to continue its journey toward full growth. But there was much more work to be done. The next step would be to call upon the element of Air, to give the seed breath and life.

For now, though, I rest. The work ahead is vast, and I must be ready.

–Jozwah