20 Magical Ways to Use and Honor the Element Water

In honor of World Water Day, today we’ll introduce you to some ways to respectfully interact with the Element of Water. These are also some principles of Blue Magic or blue witchcraft. Blue witchcraft is the spiritual practice of people who rely on the element of water to achieve their desired outcomes.

First of all, remember that, especially in the spirit world, actions speak louder than words. Donate some of your time or hard-earned money to the wellbeing of a natural body of water near you. If you have no clue where to start, charities like Water.org and The Water Project are great places to donate some money. They make sure that the less fortunate can have access to clean water.

1. Spend some time cleaning around your local river, lake, or ocean

Water suffers the effects of pollution more than you’d think. Because of this, there are few things that hold as much spiritual significance as helping to declutter the area around your local river, lake, or ocean. Removing trash if you see it from the shore is also a safe way to help keep your local body of water clean. Remember to stay safe and not go too far into the water. Do not go inside at all if the pollution is such that it’d be harmful to be in direct contact with it.

2. Go for a swim

Swimming is a great activity to help you interact with the element of water. It offers the opportunity to enter a meditative state in which you’ll be far more receptive to the wisdom from your spirit guides. Remember to stay safe while you swim. If you’re swimming in a pool, make sure there’s a lifeguard on duty. If you’re swimming in a natural body of water, make sure it’s safe to do so (and in what area).

3. Learn about different water sources and their symbolism

Storm, ocean, lake, and swamp water are all different energetically. Learn about different uses each type of water has in magic. For example, pond water can be used in spells to create opportunities and to soothe and relax your psyche. Rain water is used for blessings, cleansing, and spells that have to do with wealth or love. Storm water is used for protection, motivation, rebirth, and has potential for hexing. Swamp water is used in banishing rituals as well as binding spells and hexing. Well water has healing properties, it grants wishes and it can be used to connect to the Underworld. You can find out more about how to use different types of water in this book. Remember to always leave an offering (fresh flowers, for example) after collecting water.

Different bodies of water also hold different symbolism. Pay attention whenever you dream of water. You can also include pictures of different bodies of water/jars of water with different sources in your spells and Altar depending on your intention. The ocean usually represents the unknown. Swamps represent liminal spaces and stagnancy. With these kinds of symbols, it’s always important to see what they mean to you. Do not just look up the meaning you’d find in a dream dictionary. If you want to find out more about dream journaling, we have recently covered this topic.

4. Visit your closest source of water and honor it

Chances are you live near a body of water (a river, ocean, or lake), and that this body of water has some degree of pollution. Part of your practice to honor the Element of Water should be visiting this body of water every once in a while. It’s a good idea to acknowledge its pain and empathize with it. Speak this out loud. Potentially, do a healing spell on the water, either on site or at your home before visiting. Then, leave a few pennies on the shore to symbolically pay for all that this body of water does for you and your practice. Don’t leave more than a couple, though, and make sure they can’t actually go inside the water. As a libation, some appropriate offerings for the body of water that won’t pollute it further include:

• some mineral water
• flowers
• some food that will be eaten by either the fish or the birds that live near this body of water

After you’ve honored this body of water, you can optionally take some of the water with you in a glass jar or bottle. Remember to always ask for permission first. Label this water with the date, body of water it’s from, moon phase and moon sign. Remember that water can be kept for around a month if you don’t mix it with some alcoholic beverage like vodka or apple cider vinegar.

5. Leave a glass of Water for your ancestors and the Deities you work with

Water is a powerful offering that’s probably cheap and easy for you to give your ancestors and any Deities you’re working with. Always keep a dedicated vessel to offer water to the spirits that work with you on your Altar. Make sure it’s clean and purified before pouring some water on it. Water, especially well water, is said to make our contacts with the Otherworld easier, and it will make the Deities you work with stronger.

6. Collect seashells and use them in your practice

Shells are the materialized form of water and can have multiple uses in magic. Remember to always rinse them gently before giving them a magical use. You can use them to decorate your Altar, you can leave them as offerings, or use them as candle holders, incense holders, or make amulets out of them. They can also be used for Divination. Get a set of uniform ones. Then, grab some red nail polish and make a set of runes out of them. You can also simply get a lot of different ones in a bag and grab one at random when you’re doing Divination. You’ll have to tune in to the energy of each particular shell to interpret their meaning. Shells respond best to cleansing with ocean water.

7. Worship a Deity that has ties with Water

Of course, reaching out to Deities and working with them is a very personal process and it’s not to be taken lightly. However, if Water is important to you, worshiping a Deity that has a connection with water is of utmost importance. Here is a list of popular Deities connected with Water from open Pantheons. Remember to use your best judgment and Divination before reaching out to them:

• Aphrodite (Greek Pantheon)
• Brigid (Celtic Pantheon)
• Isis (Egyptian Pantheon)
• Keto, the Queen of Sea Monsters from the Greek Pantheon
• The Morrigan (Celtic Pantheon)
• Sarasvati (Indian Pantheon)
• Aegir (Norse Pantheon)
• Hydros (Greek Pantheon)
• Neptune (Roman Pantheon)
• Poseidon (Greek Pantheon)
• Tritons (Roman Pantheon)

8. Paint in watercolor

Watercolors are a great way to both express yourself artistically and honor the element of Water. The Sacral Chakra, responsible for creativity and artistic creation, is represented by the Element of Water. Painting, a creative activity by default that can be conducive to entering a meditative state, is a great way to engage and harmonize this chakra. Plus, the presence of water in this medium makes it especially effective when getting in touch with your emotions.

9. Write a poem, song, or story about water

If painting is not quite your thing (or if it is, but you also just love creative writing, too), a great way to interact with water is through words. Let creativity be your guide. Water to me is a lot like the stream of consciousness style of creative writing, but this is of course very subjective.

10. Make Crystal Water

You probably already know about Sun and Moon water, but did you know you can also make crystal water? To make it in a non-toxic way, you’ll need:

• a large glass bowl or container
• a small glass container like a glass or mason jar
• the crystal you’ll use (you can borrow it, cleanse it before)
• some plastic wrap. (I personally prefer some mosquito cloth, but it’s not necessary)
• some water that’s safe to drink
• another glass container to store the water
• if you want the Crystal water to last more than a month or so without getting moldy, you’ll need some vodka or apple cider vinegar
• a hardback book

Place your crystal within the (empty) smaller glass container. Then, place said container within the larger container and pour the water around it without reaching the rim of the smaller container (just as it is pictured). In this way, the water and the crystal will be in close contact without actually touching. This is important because some crystals such as Malachite become toxic when wet. Crystals such as Desert Rose and Selenite can disintegrate in water. Even Quartz, which is safe to be in contact with water, can be harmful for your health if consumed too frequently or in large amounts. Plus, you don’t know which chemicals come in contact with the crystal until it is finally ready for sale.

After that, cover these things with plastic wrap. We do this so outside pollutants like dust, leaves, insects, etc. don’t get into the water. Place in Sun or moonlight for at least three hours, more if possible. Don’t mix the Sun and Moon. Don’t know which one is preferable? Leave us a comment with the crystal and your intention for the crystal water and we’ll help you out.

Once this process is finished (you can use a pendulum to know when it has received enough light), pour the water in the bottle and seal it. If you’re using alcohol, you want to pour about 40% of water to 60% of alcohol. Label with moon phase if applicable and date in which you made it. Then, firmly but gently tap it against the hardback book a few times to activate it. Store it in a dark, dry place. You can combine with essential oils and herbs as long as they complement your intent for the crystal water and are safe to ingest.

11. Make Ostara (or Beltane, or Litha) Water

You can also make water in the different periods of the Wheel of the Year. This is a way to preserve this energy with alcohol so it’s ready whenever you need it. The time where the energy is most powerful is the day of each celebration. If you do it close to the date, it will also absorb this energy. Leave a glass bottle or jar (with the seal on) filled with water outside for between four and forty eight hours. Then, pour inside another glass container already filled with 60% of vodka or apple cider vinegar to preserve the water. Put the lid on and gently but firmly tap the bottle against a hardback book to activate it. Label the bottles with the name of the sabbat or festival and the date in which you made this water.

12. Dedicate an Altar to the Element of Water

You can dedicate an altar to the element of water either permanently or temporarily. West is the preferred direction for this element. If you already have an altar for your ancestors, you can combine it with your Altar for this element. This is so because it is believed Water helps us connect to the Underworld. If you already worship a Deity that has ties with water, you may also adapt their existing altar to become an Altar for the element of Water as well.

The base should be a piece of blue cloth or cloth featuring sea motifs. You can place here any crystals such as Chrysocolla or plants such as Aloe Vera that are very watery in nature. You can also keep your shell collection here. Of course, you should also keep a vessel for a permanent offering of water here. Represent the other three elements to keep the balance. Candles can be blue, white, green, or silver. Marine salt and sand are also great additions as they have ties to the sea but also represent the element of Earth. For Air, you can include a Tibetan bowl, bells, or incense.

13. Use Water for Divination

There are a lot of Divination methods that involve the use of water. We’ve already covered how to use shells for this purpose. You can also pour a couple of drops of wax inside a bowl of water and do some scrying from the shape the wax adopts. Some Italian folk traditions practice a similar form of scrying with olive oil and water. You can also simply look into a body of water to practice scrying. Scrying using tea leaves or coffee involves a combination of the Water and Earth elements. Dowsing rods, like the ones pictured above, were used for many years to find bodies of water (quite successfully).

If none of these methods sound appealing to you, you can simply keep a glass of water or another vessel with water while you read Tarot. You can also pay attention to the already existing symbolism of water when reading about a situation that involves this element.

14. Take a Ritual Bath

Taking a bath (or a shower) can be quite a magical act. Cleanse and purify your bathtub and include any herbs you aren’t allergic to and crystals that are safe to get wet. You may also include a few drops of essential oil. Then, soak in the bath while focusing on your intention. The goal of the ritual bath or shower is not necessarily to get clean, so do any motions that will help your intent or don’t do anything at all but soak and relax. Here are some instructions we have previously shared to have a bath for self-love.

15. Do a Sacred Floor Wash

These are a staple in traditional African religions. It’s recommended to first wash your floors as you’d normally do. Then, do the sacred floor wash with some water kept in a special bucket for this purpose. You can include a cleansing herb, spice, or liquid (some lavender or lemon essential oil is great for this purpose). While you do this floor wash, concentrate on the kind of vibe you want to attract for your home.

16. Bless the Water you and your pets drink

A simple and quick blessing over the water you drink, give to your pets or use to water the plants can go a long way. It is both an effective way to elevate the vibrations of this water and of getting some daily contact with the element.

17. Work with Animal Spirits

Working with animal spirits that dwell inside or near the water (such as fish, seahorses, dolphins, whales, sharks, seagulls, ducks, and such) is also a great way to interact with water. There are great meditations out there to meet a spirit like this one and start to get to know their energy. This is a great option if you don’t feel like working with Deities yet. It’s also great if you have your plate full with Deities that have nothing to do with water, but still want to work with a spirit related to the element.

18. Cast Cleansing Spells Using Glasses of Water

If you want to cleanse a space, leaving a glass of water out for a few hours is a great way. You’ll see how bubbles start to form. Then, pour that water down the toilet. You can add other cleansing liquids and ingredients such as apple cider vinegar, salt, and lemon to make this intent stronger. You can cleanse yourself in this way by placing a glass of water under your bed for the whole night (provided that your bed has enough space to do this). Cleanse a situation by writing it out in detail on a piece of paper and placing the glass of water over it. The water will get to know the energy of the situation and direct its energy there. If you’ve been initiated into Reiki, you can place the Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen symbol on the glass of water for good measure. Do NOT use symbols from Reiki without being initiated by a Reiki master first and given explicit permission to use them. People have been known to get sick from doing this.

19. Create a Water Sigil

If you like Chaos Magick, making a sigil is an effective way of having the energy of water at the ready without actually being close to the element. You can base yourself off of the word or try to draw a symbol inspired by a body of water. The possibilities are endless!

20. Make your own bath salt

Making your own bath salt is a way to prepare the energy you want for your ritual baths in advance while you are in a harmonious state. They have a base of marine salt. Some people combine this with essential oils, others with herbs that are safe to use in this way. You may even include crystals like Amethyst or Rose Quartz, and power them up by having them blessed by a water spirit or Deity.

Even though we’ve tried to be as comprehensive as possible, this isn’t even the tip of the iceberg! (Get it? Because icebergs are frozen water. I know, not funny). For example, we had to leave out water elementals and mythological creatures that have to do with water.

Did you know these ways to interact with water? Which one will you try next?

References

Dorsey, Lilith. Water Magic: Elements of Witchcraft.

Virginia Castiglione

Virginia Castiglione is the Founder and Content Marketing Lead at Aquamarine Content. She is a certified gemologist and Reiki practitioner. She’s also an astrologer. She’s working to get her Bachelor’s in English Language and Literature. She’s the emotional support human of a cat named Limón. She’s a Virgo Sun, Pisces Moon, and Taurus Rising.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/virginia-castiglione-7a385587/