Faith in the Rain

Summer is a time of heat and a time of growth, but when the heat begins to bake the earth, and the land dies, the residents of the area can feel the heat wilting their souls. The earth was struck by heat in my area, and for two weeks we went without rain and the temperature soared into the triple digits. Farmers grew worried about the drought that was beating down, and I myself, having to wear long pants to work and drive in a car without very good air conditioning, began to feel dread. Staying cool was the biggest battle I felt during those weeks, and I looked to the sky during those two weeks hoping to see a cloud or any tell tale sign of rain.

None seemed to appear. Not until I decided to do my research and try my hand at weather magick. Having never done this before, I tried my best to do my research, but like many magicks, it was just one I hadn’t tried yet. Finding the right spell proved a little difficult though. I was looking for a chant, and none of them seemed to hit home for my situation. We were in the middle of a drought, and many of the chants didn’t express the urgency I felt. So, I ended up modifying one instead.

Really worried about causing floods or unwanted weather results that could hurt someone, I said the following chant three times:

“May the spirit of water
Hear my cry.
May rain fall from the sky.
I cast this spell for the plants of Mother Earth,
May my cry be heard in death and birth.”

I then poured water on the ground by a tree in my backyard, imagining rain coming down. I also added this bit, which I got from one of Silver Ravenwolf’s books, though I’m not sure which, but all credit goes to that author for these words:

“With harm to none,

Including me,

I cast this spell,

So mote it be.”

And then, I waited. No rain came that night, or none that woke me up. The earth was still dry and hot, and I worried as I drove home from work that day that my spell hadn’t worked. I wondered if repeating it again would do the trick. Just as I was thinking this, a few rain drops hit my car. My faith was renewed instantly in spite of the doubt, but it did not rain then. Those water droplets were a reminder. They existed to lift me back up from the hole of self-doubt I was digging for myself. So, I went home and repeated the spell.

The next day, as I sat at work, I thought about how it had not rained yet. There were clouds collecting in the sky, but they refused to bring rain. I worried they might pass over my area, leaving no water once more. Just as these thoughts entered my mind, someone in my work area asked if I had my car windows up. They had just seen some rain. I did, fortunately, and was so glad to hear the rain was finally going to come down.

The rain did not come down. Just as some of my co-workers came back inside, worried the inside of their cars might get wet, they talked about how the rain had already stopped if there was any at all. I sat at my work station and listened to what sounded like thunder from above, but I was not near a window to see if it was actually thunder, or just a machine in the factory I was in. It gave me hope to hear the sound, despite the fact that it is a sound that scared me as a child. I knew what it could mean.

When I came home, my friend telephoned me. She worked in the next city over and told me it rained. I found out from my mom that it had not rained in our city, however. Then I realized what my spell was doing. I had asked to help cure the drought, and I was foolish enough to think that the drought only extended to my city alone. The spell was working, and I was thankful. Rain would come. For good measure though, I repeated the spell once more, since it would be the third day I’d said it and this repetition of three felt important to me at the time.

On the fourth day, I saw rain. It really rained, and I rejoiced. I danced in it when I could, thankful for each drop that replenished the earth and my soul. To think I had doubted myself, had doubted that my prayer had been heard by the Lord and Lady, and now here I was, dancing in the rain.

This experience taught me to have faith. Even when I feel small and as if I have done nothing to help, that is never the case. By trying and putting my best foot forward, I have done something to help. Even as we are crawling back up into triple digits again this week (as predicted by the weatherman), I was glad to help ease the drought. I’m alright with the warm weather coming back, as long as the earth doesn’t dry up again. It is summer, after all. I should enjoy the sun while I can. Being thankful for the rain that did come is what feels important at this time, and I’m very glad I found faith in the rain.

Blessed Be