Extract from our 2022 Moon Diary

Since time began, we have been aware that the weather affects our very existence. Our understanding of the seasons was a major leap.

However, we simply cannot imagine what our ancestors would have thought about a thunder and lightning storm, or a powerful windstorm or maybe a hale storm followed by a rainbow, all of which would have been bewildering to them.

The Ancient Egyptians are the first civilisation that we are aware of to attempt storm magic, which then over the millennia was much misunderstood, and led to the frequently grizzly deaths of practitioners when they were held to be responsible for creating extreme and or rare weather phenomena.

The problems started and probably still exist because of the misconception of the term 'Storm Magic'. It suggests that Witches can conjure up severe weather conditions and aim them at who or where they wish. The Egyptians, on the other hand, were not attempting to control or create storms (that would require God type status) but to harness the power and thus the energies of a storm. 

It's powerful stuff and can be directed to charge your tools or crystals, but more often it's used to give a ritual or a spell a supercharge.

It all sounds good, right? However, before you put on your 'Storm Chaser' tee shirt and set off in your Land Rover, let's be clear on a few things. Whilst its undeniably powerful, storm magic is associated with the air element which, at the best of times, is very unpredictable.

It's essential that you are well prepared. You need to be emotionally well balanced and mentally strong. If you successfully tap into storm magic, it's powerful stuff.

As you would when performing any other ritual, give thanks to mother Earth and to the storm itself.

Focus on the energy of the storm. You cannot control it.  (unless you are one of the Gods of the weather and are reading this).

Any storm, be it rain, snow, sand, wind or thunder and lightning, can give you the boost you may want, but nature's totally unpredictable and may give you more than you can handle.

Under no circumstances should you expose yourself directly to extreme weather conditions.  Having the urge to jump into puddles or dance in the rain is one thing, (we all do that) but standing outside holding a metal rod in a lightning storm is another.

If you are going to try to tap into the power of a storm, always do so from a safe place.

So which storms are best suited for your spells?

As you can imagine, each type of storm brings with it a distinct form of energy. To outline the basics, we'll summarise just three types of storms and no prizes will be given for guessing that the three we have chosen all occur regularly here at Flickering HQ.   

Firstly, our favourite...

Snowstorms!

Use every bit of your concentration to draw on the energy of a snowstorm to use in conjunction with rituals and spells for:-

Regeneration
Harmony
Creative magic
Re-balancing
Purifying

Whilst it's not our favourite, we have to admit there's something wonderfully exhilarating about a really strong Wind Storm.

Draw on its energy to use with rituals and spells for:-

Change
Moving
New starts
Lifestyle adjustments
Breaking repressive bonds

Last but not really least is a good old heavy Rainstorm. 

It's a pain if your laundry is on the washing line, but it's often what the good earth needs, and the air feels so much fresher and cleaner when it's over. 

Draw on its energy to use with rituals and spells for:-

Personal grounding
Communication
Relationships
Cleansing
Romance

So someone is going to ask why we haven"t mentioned the Gods of storms, so we will, but we're only featuring the famous!

Like Thor - The Norse God of Thunder, or Jupiter who was the Roman God of Thunder and Lightning, and his counterpart in Greek mythology, Zeus.

Freyr deserves a mention as he was the Norse God of both sunshine and rain, whilst often overlooked is the Roman Goddess Tempestas, from whom we have the word 'tempest' meaning a violent storm.

Of course, there's a lot, lot more about storm magic than we have detailed here, and it's well worth researching.