Nine Steps to Taking Back the Earth (for Pagans)

Pemberton Hills at Dawn by Jack Wolf

Nine Steps to Taking Back the Earth (for Pagans)

by Cassandra Wolf  © 2011

Reclaim Your Power – By finding, recognizing, and reclaiming the personal power that is your birthright from the Elder Kin, you become strong enough to become a weapon, a tool for the Re-Awakening and the Balance.

Befriend the Wights – By making yourself known to the local land spirits you confirm your intention to learn and work with the powers of the Earth.

Become a Warder of the Land – By warding and protecting the land, we create larger and larger oases of reawakened power. We begin with the wild lands near us, whether public or private. We realize that land is never owned by an individual for it has its own spirit. It should be the goal of all to eventually hold claim to a portion of land where you can work your deep magic and honor the Elder Kin.

Weave the Silver Strands – By creating oases of reawakened and power-full land we create links in the chain of Earth power…eventually reconnecting them at the power points.

Connect with the Elder Kin – By connecting with the Elder Kin we learn what they have to teach us and honor our ancestors as well as furthering the Re-Awakening.

Explore the Otherworlds – With the help of the Elder Kin and our personal

Vörd we learn to see and interact with the worlds beyond ours and their inhabitants.

Awaken the Earth – The industrial and agricultural revolutions have done their best to destroy the deep power latent within the Earth and its inhabitants. By working in conjunction with the land spirits and our animal brothers, we can reawaken the powers of the Earth and help the Earth to heal herself…and open the gates to the Elder Kin.

Build the Fires – By connecting with the Black Root and re-discovering the ancient knowledge and the deep magic we empower ourselves to empower the Earth.

Forge Tribal Bonds – By forging bonds with like-minded people we spread our influence and create more power to reawaken the Earth.

Dreaming the Nine Steps to Take Back the Earth

I am a dreamwalker, a Walker-Between-Worlds. Often, in the dreamtime, I receive messages or have contact with the Shaeda (spirit-people.) Sometimes the dreams are very clear and I remember them for decades, and other times I remember only the message I was given, as if it was "downloaded" while I slept.

Such was the dream, five years ago, wherin I was given the Nine Steps. I remember nothing of the dream, but I awoke and immediately scribbled down the Nine Steps. There they were, simple and complete, a gift from the Otherworlds.

Ever since then I have tried to write about the Nine Steps. Although the terminology will be familiar to those who follow the Thornish Pagan tradition, some concepts require explanation for a more general pagan audience.

More than that, the steps seem to beg for exercises...a plan, if you will, to help you complete them. And every time I try to write these exercises, I become hopelessly bogged down and frustrated.

You see, I am not one of those pagans who follows elaborate written rituals and repeats someone else's badly rhymed and metered poetry masquerading as spells. I believe that most of the "witchcraft 101" books are written to make money and gather followers, not with a genuine desire to teach people what it is to be pagan--to interact with the Shaeda and the otherworlds in the way that is most comfortable for them.

I can go on about that topic for a long time--but not right now. The problem is, every time I try writing about the Nine Steps, it feels like I am writing one of those "wicca for beginners" books that have glutted the market in the last few decades, and I quit in disgust.

The Nine Steps, however, will not rest. They demand to be written, shared, and performed. And now is the time, if any, for pagans to learn the Nine Steps...and take back the Earth.

So I have decided to share them here on the blog, and elsewhere, despite my inner objections. If I can, I will write guidelines to describe some ways the Nine Steps can be achieved. Perhaps I may, in the future, lead a series of online workshops where we can work on the Nine Steps together and share the ways we make them work.