Using the Five Elements as a Creative Writing Prompt Pt. 4: Earth

***Earth Element***

The Energy of Earth

Earth is not just what we call the planet we live on but the soil under our feet, the birds and the trees, our stillness within, the place in which we can plant our seeds and from which we can watch them grow.  It is the Mother archtype connected with the Winter Solstice and the concept of incubation and rebirth, small seeds taking root in the darkness to emerge anew come Spring. 

As an element and an energy, it is our sense of stability, our physical, energetic and spiritual roots. It can be that by which we define ourselves; without earth, we cannot grow. It reminds us that everything has a cycle: birth, growth, death, rebirth...and so the cycle continues - in spirals, as with everything in nature. Nothing really begins and nothing really ends. Earth exists in the small actions and small pleasures that, when put together, amount to something much bigger.  

Connecting with the Earth Element

• Go for a walk into the woods or a local green space and spend time connecting with the earth in this place.

• If it feels ok to, go for a ‘grounding’ walk in your local green space, woodland or even your garden if you have one, by removing your shoes and either standing in one space or walking around barefoot. To go a little deeper, try the meditation below.

• Plant some seeds in pots in your house or outside if its the right time of year and watch them grow

• Do some gardening if you have a garden, allotment space or small outdoor space

• Grow your own food

• Look after the soles of your feet: give them a massage (or get someone else to give you one!) or a soothing foot bath with your favourite herbs and/or essential oils - lavender is wonderful for a calming bath, peppermint for enlivening, pine or cedar for grounding

• If you have caves near you, see if you can (safely with a group, if possible!) go exploring in them

• Practise seated meditation (see below)

• Learn about the festivals in the ‘Wheel of the Year’ and take note of how nature changes with each season

• Set an intention to follow a low-impact living path, for example reduce and reuse, make do and mend, if possible walk or cycle rather than driving, visit your local zero-waste shop, buy non-packaged fruits and vegetables and see if you can start to make small changes to the amount of waste you produce. These small changes will become bigger ones as each becomes a more established part of your life.

Meditation on Earth

You can do this meditation sitting or standing.  Go for a walk in a local natural green space or forest and find a space in which you feel comfortable and safe to stay for a while.  Remove your shoes and spend time first connecting in with the breath.  Drop the shoulders and release the jaw.  Allow the forehead to become smooth.  Bring all of your awareness to whatever is touching the earth.  If you are sitting, perhaps place your hands on the forest floor or ground beneath you.  Sit or stand in this space for as long as you wish, perhaps set a timer to help keep track of time if you are on a limit or just allow yourself to ‘be’ for as long as you need - longer if possible!  If you are standing, take a very slow, mindful walk around this space, not focusing on how far you go but how slow you go and how connected you can feel with everything beneath you.  With your hands or your feet, feel the temperature changes, the textures, the shapes and the sensations and notice how your mind and body responds to these.  When you are ready, if you are not already sitting, sit down and start writing.

Using the Earth Element as a Writing Prompt 

• Create a character who is the human manifestation of earth: grounded, stable and perhaps a little humble?

• Write a letter to Mother Earth. Then write one back from Mother Earth to you. What messages does she have for you?

• Track the journey of a leaf falling from treetop to the earth. This could be done in first-person narrative or as a third-person piece, perhaps a poem or just prose

• What is happening beneath the earth? Research the flora and fauna in your local area either on the internet or in the library and note down any changes that might be happening beneath the surface - the roots and mycelium, for example, how do these support what we see above ground?

• Create a piece inspired by the creatures that life underground - perhaps a conversation between a badger and a hedgehog, or a rabbit and an earthworm, for example.

• Write a nature or gardening diary; spend some time each week focusing on one specific tree, plant, area of your garden or local green space and just write about how it changes each week. Note down the colours, textures, how it moves and so on. Look back on the diary after a few months and see how it has changed. Have you changed too? In what way?

Please feel free to share your ideas or writing with me if you use this one.

Happy writing!

Helen x