The Everyday Lore Project

22 April 2020 – Earth Day

22 April 2020 – Earth Day

Today I torched some tissue paper to the strains of Gloria Estafan singing Dr Beat on Radio 2. Coincidence or cosmic convergence? You be the judge. It’s the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, a movement devoted to championing the environment. Starting as a protest in the United States in 1970, it is now recognised throughout the world as a day to reflect, plan, celebrate and take action. So I did a spell.

The spell was called Renewing the Earth, which is a pretty straightforward explanation of intent, which if performed today, will not only combine the energy of Earth Day but also of tonight’s New Moon, helping to strengthen it.

First I needed some orange tissue paper. The spell calls for orange as it symbolises change and in some parts of the world, Wednesdays (like today). However in The Secret Life of Colour, the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky is quoted as saying that orange is ‘red brought nearer to humanity by yellow’ which I think sounds appropriate too. Then I found a marble. Given my earlier adventures in crazing, I had a bag handy. I chose my blue crazed marble as it looked the most globe-like, albeit one that has succumbed to climate change and is now underwater. And also because blue is opposite orange on the colour wheel. 

I then had to cover the marble in the tissue paper, hold it in my hands and do some visualisation. The spell didn’t call for any kind of grounding, but I did it anyway. Because that’s the way I roll now. The visualisation was of a prospering, clean and abundant planet. I found this quite difficult. Memories of what I used to swim in the sea with back in the 80s floated by. Then there was a moment when my brain played back that bit in Superman where he whizzes round the planet to turn back time because Lois Lane had bitten it. I changed tack. I tried to visualise scoops and nets taking plastic out of the sea. And lassoes. It took a while, but after a bit, I tuned in, and as soon as that happened, only one thought presented itself: What can I do? Literally. It was like someone shouting in bold at me. I stopped then.

As I uncovered the marble, I visualised all the crap leaving my blue planet and saturating the tissue paper instead. Then I took the tissue paper to the bathroom and burnt it in the sink. I absolutely promise you that the audio in the video below has not been tampered with in any way. It’s just how it happened. And that’s how the spell finished. Although in hindsight, rinsing the ash down the drain might not have been in the spirit of things.

Sound up! 🔊

As for the question the spell threw up, I’ll have to have a think. And maybe practise some of my lasso moves.


Resources

St Clair, K. (2016) The Secret Lives of Colour, London, John Murray (Publishers)

https://www.llewellyn.com/spell.php

Published by Liza Frank

Author of My Celebrity Boyfriend. Obsessed with hula hooping, sons of preachermen and fresh dates, sometimes all at the same time. Curator of Folklore Agony and The Everyday Lore Project.

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