The Planet Earth: Pagan Traditions & Astrology

The planet Earth, also known by its Latin name Terra, is the only planet in our solar system known to support life. It is the third planet from the Sun and the fifth largest. It is also the densest of all of the planets in our solar system.

Back in the days, humans began to focus more on Earth and its rhythms because they understood that seeds or fruit falling from a tree gave rise to a similar plant at a certain time.

During their travels they likely observed that when the sun was warmer, vegetation grew and bore abundant fruit, allowing them to settle for periods and enjoy the Earth’s abundance.

Once the mechanism of sowing and the connection between the solar cycle and the ripening of fruit were understood, the scansion of time was divided into phases that repeated themselves cyclically, giving rise to the first solar calendars.

These, however, always took into account the lunar movement, a movement never forgotten by ancient man and maintained for a long time, as evidenced, for example, by the Coligny Calendar, from the 2nd century AD, defined precisely as luni-solar, meaning originally lunar and then adapted to the new discoveries of ancient man.

Furthermore, the influence of the Moon has always been considered important for the growth of plants and roots, and therefore for all life in Nature, thereby regulating the survival of herbivores and the animals that feed on them.

It is in this context that the rites and prayers addressed to the Sun and the Earth, and more generally to Nature as a whole, were born, close to the key periods of the year.

Today we call this set of rites the “Wheel of the Year,” which is part of the neo-pagan concept born in the 1950s thanks to Ross Nichols, founder of the OBOD (Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids), a close friend of Gerald Gardner, the founder of Wicca.

Nichols can be considered a progressive academic, as he took the teachings of Druidism and brought them into the modern age. He is credited with the creation of the Wheel of the Year, which brought together ancient festivals that had always been celebrated, and so-called “minor” festivals that not all cultures celebrated, but only considered for counting the passing of the seasons.

Nichols observed that the Wheel of the Year as he conceived it was a perfect union of past traditions and modern needs, and so he combined these eight days of power, which still today enable us to understand, feel, and experience the passage of time and the symbolism of each “gate.”

Gardner used the Wheel of the Year as the basis for the Wiccan cult, and it is likely thanks to him and the fame of this religion that we can still enjoy it today.

I also believe it was important, at a certain point, to bring together ancient knowledge with new rites, more relevant and understandable for modern man.

Modern Times

Today, almost 70 years after the birth of the Wheel of the Year, we find ourselves with many versions of it, adapted according to the cult, the Gods, and also the needs of a modern era, increasingly different from when the Wheel was born.

I too have adapted this path for the woodland witches of our time, while maintaining the basic structure of each rite. I chose the name “The Wheel of the Earth” because I wanted it to recall this modern, eight-step journey while retaining its ancient anthropological elements:

– the use of fire, in the form of a bonfire or a candle for home rituals (but even a fireplace lit in winter can become the center of the ritual). From the source of the main fire, torches or candles are lit, serving as a symbol of continuity.

After the discovery of fire, before understanding how this element could be recreated, the tribe took care to keep it burning, guarding it day and night.

Lighting a torch from that bonfire, considered a gift from the sky god, was a sacred act and part of the ritual itself. Rites involving a sacred fire are the memory of that ancient miracle that allowed humanity to continue its journey on Earth.

Offerings are another important point, as they are based on ancient sacrifices that over time have taken on more useful forms for the ritual. (In the past, animals were offered because they were an indispensable food source for the people, and to tell the truth, often only their bones were offered, as the meat was consumed as an extraordinary and rare meal after arduous and dangerous hunting trips.)

Today, we offer our commitment to honoring the requests made to the spirits, and we share bread, seeds, and water with them. I also often suggest attaching one’s requests and offerings to the branches of a tree.

This tradition has its origins in Northern Europe and is practiced especially when asking for healing, near water sources. The pieces of cloth, in fact, represent the cloak of the Goddess Brigid, linked to the waters of healing.

Offering is an act that balances energies and restores the equilibrium between giving and receiving.

Other basic elements such as dance, the sounds of the voice, singing, and music, as well as prayer, are part of our rituals and are shared.

Our ancestors used them as a form of respect for the spirits, but also as a means to reach altered states and thus enter their world. I find them moments of indescribable connection with Nature, especially when practiced outdoors, under the sky and with our feet touching the earth.

With these “traditional” acts, we can, in our time, feel the strong gratitude and involvement that our ancestors felt in their rites. I believe there’s no need to evoke ancient nature cults if we feel they aren’t rooted in our time, as this could lead us to a mental, rather than spiritual, act, thus limiting our experience to mere doing, losing the feeling.

The Earth Glyph

Each planet is symbolically represented by a glyph. In the case of the Earth, it is a circle divided into four equal parts by a cross. In its simplicity, the glyph could not be more full of meaning.

Yet throughout history it has often been confused, giving rise to misleading interpretations. The first, typically earthly, identified the four divisions within the sphere with the four cardinal points, with the four seasons or the four great tribes.

Starting approximately from the 16th century, the cross then took on a religious value. It was, after all, the period of evangelization, whose function was to spread (or more precisely, impose) Christianity throughout the Earth.

The symbol of the Earth is found throughout history in many portraits of sovereigns. The ruler was often depicted holding the globe surmounted by the cross in his left hand.

Even in this case there was no shortage of the most varied interpretations, which tended to attribute the aforementioned religious meaning to the cross.

The aim was to accentuate the greatness of the sovereign, considering him the custodian of a divine mission on earth. In short, a sort of fusion between spiritual and temporal power. Yet, beyond the meanings that have been attributed to the glyph, its interpretation acts in a deeper dimension.

The sphere is the symbol of space and at the same time of spirituality, which finds its maximum exaltation in the perfection of this geometric shape.

The cross that crosses it symbolizes the encounter between soul and matter, made possible by the work of the same spirit.

Earth as Mother

In Greek mythology, the goddess Earth, the immortal Gaia, arose after Chaos and gave rise to the Titans.

From her were born the Sky, the Ocean, the Mountains, the Nymphs, Time and all the deities of Olympus. Her role as progenitor, as a great mother, will remain a constant in all subsequent traditions.

In fact, the Earth embodies the meanings of life, fertility and femininity. The Earth is also a source of balance between the four elements that compose it.

This maternal image is reflected in the idea of ​​a Mother Nature who generously gives her children her fruits.

Ritual to honor Planet Earth

You need:

• Three types of soils gathered.
• The first can come from the place of one’s origins, where everything began.
• The second from a place of passage, of transformation, of change.
• The third from a space that represents the present: the current home, a beloved place, a journey undertaken, a turning point.
• Three lands. Three times. Three fragments of existence.

The ritual

During the ritual, these lands are united in a single sacred container.

The moment they mix, they are no longer separable.

There is no longer an earth “before” and an earth “after.”

There is only a single living matter, layered with memory.

Inside, you can insert a written intention, a prayer, a commitment to the Earth itself: to protect it, respect it, listen to it.

That combination becomes a symbol of continuity.

It becomes a testimony to the fact that everything is connected.

This ritual may recall, in form, the sand ritual, but here there is no artifice, no search for constructed aesthetics. This ritual becomes a gesture of remembrance and promise. An act of respect. A way of saying:

I acknoeldge my roots, I honor my path, I recognize that everything is one. I celebrate earth for being there for me. Always and forever.

Conclusion

Planet earth is more than a planet. It’s our home but it’s also a highly symbolic presence in our lives.

Celebrating it, honoring it with some easy to perform rituals it’s a must to establish a connection but even more, not to lose it in our frantic urban daily life and existence.