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Author Topic: The Use of Rain and/or Thunderstorms i  (Read 1818 times)

wildwitchhazel

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The Use of Rain and/or Thunderstorms i
« on: August 16, 2018, 07:42:17 pm »
Hi folks,

I have been drawn to use rain, especially heavy rain or storms, as a part of my rituals. But I'm stuck as to figuring out what the purpose of doing this is and how to incorporate this energy appropriately.

Does anyone else use the energy of rain or thunderstorm?

What purpose does it serve?

Cleansing is an obvious use but are there others?

The rain and thunderstorm to me are powerful and empowering. How can i tailor this energy to a ritual? How can I use it to charge an object or even myself?

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Re: The Use of Rain and/or Thunderstorms i
« Reply #1 on: August 16, 2018, 10:58:19 pm »
Hi folks,

I have been drawn to use rain, especially heavy rain or storms, as a part of my rituals. But I'm stuck as to figuring out what the purpose of doing this is and how to incorporate this energy appropriately.

Does anyone else use the energy of rain or thunderstorm?

What purpose does it serve?

Cleansing is an obvious use but are there others?

The rain and thunderstorm to me are powerful and empowering. How can i tailor this energy to a ritual? How can I use it to charge an object or even myself?

Well, my perspective is probably not going to be particularly useful to you as I think we come from very different traditions, but as a Heathen, I strongly identify rain, lighting, thunder, and (summer) storms with Thor. When a thunderstorm is passing through, I invariably pray and make offerings to him.
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Re: The Use of Rain and/or Thunderstorms i
« Reply #2 on: August 17, 2018, 08:31:24 am »
Hi folks,

I have been drawn to use rain, especially heavy rain or storms, as a part of my rituals. But I'm stuck as to figuring out what the purpose of doing this is and how to incorporate this energy appropriately.

Does anyone else use the energy of rain or thunderstorm?

What purpose does it serve?

Cleansing is an obvious use but are there others?

The rain and thunderstorm to me are powerful and empowering. How can i tailor this energy to a ritual? How can I use it to charge an object or even myself?

I don't know if this help you, but from a plant's standpoint both the rain and the thunderstorms are important for growth. The rain obviously provides the water they need, but the lightning is a significant contributor to the production of nitrous oxides in the atmosphere, which then get carried down by the rain to fertilize the plants. https://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/1520-0469%281980%29037%3C0179%3AANFBL%3E2.0.CO%3B2

Jenett

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Re: The Use of Rain and/or Thunderstorms i
« Reply #3 on: August 17, 2018, 01:13:38 pm »
The rain and thunderstorm to me are powerful and empowering. How can i tailor this energy to a ritual? How can I use it to charge an object or even myself?

So, it's a hard thing to plan for, in my experience (unless you live one of those places where there's a thunderstorm every afternoon for fifteen minutes), which makes it a bit hard to structure a ritual around (you might not be home, you might be asleep, you might be in the middle of things that mean you can't just stop and do ritual, like cooking, whatever.)

Two things I do or have done:

1) I have a particular piece of jewelry (by a dear friend and jewellery maker, Elise Matthesen, who names her pieces) called Prairie Light, Storm Light. (1022169671053844481[/tweet]]It's the one hanging second from right in this photo: she made everything there except the two things hanging on the left side.) Which I got while I was living in Minnesota.

What is harder to see in that photo is that some of the beads - both stone and glass - have that flash in them that happens in Midwestern thunderstorms in particular. That particular necklace wants very much for me to take it out in the first thunderstorm we get in the summer that I'm around for, and get nicely soaked. So we do that thing, if irregularly. (I don't think I managed it this summer: the early storms this year were all at times I was asleep or not home, and there is apparently a window for when it should happen if it's going to.)

2) The other thing I've done intermittently in my practice is leaving a jar outside during a storm and collecting rainwater from a thunderstorm, and then using that for ritual water purposes

(I haven't done this for a while because my current apartment doesn't have a suitable location for it, and because I'm also in the middle of a fairly developed area, with a lot more immediate sources of pollution than some other places I've lived - I'm right off a major street, etc.)
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Re: The Use of Rain and/or Thunderstorms i
« Reply #4 on: August 17, 2018, 10:26:50 pm »
Does anyone else use the energy of rain or thunderstorm? What purpose does it serve?

Yep. I've always been drawn to thunderstorms. My christian grandfather used to stand outside and watch them when I was a child. He even stood outside and watched a tornado once. He said it brought him closer to God and reminded him of God's limitless power.

I generally share that sentiment. Whenever it storms, be it rain or snow, I always step outside and enjoy it. I feel the presence of the divine quite strongly during storms. In my worldview, storms are the domain of Indra, the Vedic deity of weather and king of the Gods. However, I also feel connections to the Goddess, whom is often associated with the physical world as a whole, and with the primal part of human nature. Kali, Tara, Mara, Durga, and other various Hindu goddesses all seem to speak to me more strongly during storms.

All of the beings that I've mentioned are associated with strength and vitality. Not healing, exactly, but a sort of  empowerment. Like a warrior getting ready for battle. That's what I get from storms; I feel the sheer power  of the divine, and I hope that perhaps, I might be granted a little bit of that power myself in my own endeavors.
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wildwitchhazel

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Re: The Use of Rain and/or Thunderstorms i
« Reply #5 on: August 17, 2018, 11:20:56 pm »
However, I also feel connections to the Goddess, whom is often associated with the physical world as a whole, and with the primal part of human nature. Kali, Tara, Mara, Durga, and other various Hindu goddesses all seem to speak to me more strongly during storms.

All of the beings that I've mentioned are associated with strength and vitality. Not healing, exactly, but a sort of  empowerment. Like a warrior getting ready for battle. That's what I get from storms; I feel the sheer power  of the divine, and I hope that perhaps, I might be granted a little bit of that power myself in my own endeavors.

This is exactly where I am. Its nice to read about someone sharing a similar experience to mine.




TheGreenWizard

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Re: The Use of Rain and/or Thunderstorms i
« Reply #6 on: August 18, 2018, 10:01:43 am »



Does anyone else use the energy of rain or thunderstorm?

What purpose does it serve?

Cleansing is an obvious use but are there others?

The rain and thunderstorm to me are powerful and empowering. How can i tailor this energy to a ritual? How can I use it to charge an object or even myself?

Hello there and welcome to the forums!

Growing up, I would always be attracted to the power of rain showers, thunderstorms, snow, and thundersnow! I'd either go outside and revel in the magnificence of it, dancing to the beat of the rainfall (or the thunder claps) or admire it from the inside. It also has quite the mesmerizing effect on me - in High school the teacher called my name many times but I was completely zoned out because of the thunderstorms outside. This isn't the only effect; I also go to sleep much easier when I can hear the rain or thunderstorms (which is why I'm grateful for my Google Home and it's ability to play thunderstorms as I sleep).

With ritual work, I don't have a ritual or spell that I use the energy for. I personally use it as a time of purification and renewal, and the storm's intensity dictates the level of purification. It really helps me wash away what's bothering me and see what blessings I have in my life and what I should be grateful for.

As for objects - be careful with which objects you put out. Make sure they aren't water soluble or easily damaged by water. Other than that, for when I want to charge an object, I leave it outside after putting my intent into it. Then once the storm is over, I retrieve it and think the elements for charging the object. And then use the object as needed.

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Re: The Use of Rain and/or Thunderstorms i
« Reply #7 on: August 18, 2018, 01:25:24 pm »

That link failed, and though I've scrutinized it closely, I can't see why unless it's that SMF or, more likely, Twitter insists on raw links so it can embed. If me putting it into the quote, above, doesn't affect it, try just posting the raw link; that should embed the tweet with image in the post.

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ETA: No, instead it turned everything after the open bracket incuding my post into more broken link. I'm going to remove everything from the quote except the raw URL, and see what happens - I'm hoping for an embed in the quote. (On preview, looks like not, but it does look like it forms a usable link.)

ETA #2: Oh, good, preview was wrong and my initial surmise/hope was right!
« Last Edit: August 18, 2018, 01:31:01 pm by SunflowerP »
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Re: The Use of Rain and/or Thunderstorms i
« Reply #8 on: August 18, 2018, 03:17:59 pm »
I have been drawn to use rain, especially heavy rain or storms, as a part of my rituals. But I'm stuck as to figuring out what the purpose of doing this is and how to incorporate this energy appropriately.

I would imagine this depends on how you practice and which Powers you honor. Getting some idea what connection your Powers have to water, rain, and storms would be a good start. Beyond that, it probably comes down to deciding which manner of ritual you feel comfortable with.

Quote
Does anyone else use the energy of rain or thunderstorm?

Not often, because we usually get constant light drizzle here rather than storms, but I try to take note of storms when they happen and go out into them if I can spare the time. I don't have a set ritual yet, partly because it hasn't happened often in the time I've been practicing, and partly because in my practice, the energy of a storm is too fickle and mutable to easily assign specific rituals to.

When I lived in the suburbs, I maintained a small secret shrine on the outskirts of my apartment complex, and I would go there and meditate on my gods when it stormed. That's about it.

Quote
What purpose does it serve?

Cleansing is an obvious use but are there others?

I'm sure there are plenty of uses. In my case, it mostly makes me feel closer to my gods--I can feel their energy in the power of the storm.

Quote
The rain and thunderstorm to me are powerful and empowering. How can i tailor this energy to a ritual? How can I use it to charge an object or even myself?

I would think less of tailoring the energy of the storm to a ritual and more of tailoring a ritual to the energy of the storm. Why do you feel called to engage with storms in your practice? What does it say about your Powers, and how do they relate to the storms? Thinking about these things might help you figure out what kind of rituals you want.
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Re: The Use of Rain and/or Thunderstorms i
« Reply #9 on: August 22, 2018, 07:47:20 pm »
Whenever it storms, be it rain or snow, I always step outside and enjoy it. I feel the presence of the divine quite strongly during storms.

Same here ... of course, my primary deity is a storm god, though I can't be sure which came first. I haven't ever "used" a storm for magic, though I have occasionally gone for a walk in one (intentionally or not).
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