The Watchers are known as Lords, Elemental Rulers or Guardians of the Elements, Earth, Air, Fire and Water. These Elements are said to be populated by Elementals, a type of spiritual creature.
The Gnomes populate the Element of Earth and are seen as “Little People” or green light. They are the givers of stability and material gain. They also protect circles cast outdoors.
Sylphs are of the Air and are seen as fairies or white light. They hold the keys to knowledge, dreams and wishes, and are protectors of magickal applications.
The salamanders inhabit the Element of Fire and may be seen as dragons or lizards. They are protectors of the home or business. Undines, the Elementals of Water, may be “merpeople”, sirens, or pink light. Undines are protectors of the gates of death and karma.
It is taught in some systems of magick that there are two sets of portals in a magick circle. Picture a circle within a circle. The inner circle contains Portals of the Elementals at the East, South, West and North. The outer circle contains the Portals of the Watchers, also known as Astral Portals. The corridor between the circles is known as “The World Between the Worlds.”
Some are taught that this dimension must exist for ritual and/or magickal energies to flow between the Worlds. The Elemental Portals represent the point of access to the Elemental Plane which exists between the Physical and Non-Physical, or Astral, Dimensions. The Elemental Rulers guard the Portals between this World and the Astral.
Some consider it a circle within a square, with the Watchtowers at the outer corners.
The Watchers are said to guard the direct access to the Astral Plane. Each Watcher has its own Watchtower. It is taught they have the power to cancel your magick.
GreyWing does not agree with the above teaching. She does not use the Watchers, nor does she think they are necessary, but that is her opinion. She does call on the powers of the Directions. If a spell has not worked she feels it is not right to say “The Watchers were against my working.” It is more likely that you were unsure of what you were doing, and your subconscious overrode your intended outcome. The mind is a powerful thing, conscious and subconscious.
There are magickal gestures to announce that a magickal rite will be performed. Such a gesture is the drawing in the air of a Pentagram.
These gestures, along with tools and clothing such as robes, are to get you into the proper frame of mind for magickal work, a signal to let your subconscious mind that something special is about to happen.
The Watchers may be called upon to guard the Circle and witness the ritual to be performed. Every time you perform a spell you are sending out strong vibrations to the entire universe. No matter how good your intentions are, you may be at risk when you work a spell. For this reason some witches call upon the Watchers for protection. If in your self-initiation ritual you called on a Watcher to be with you, he/she will always watch and aid you in future magickal endeavors, if you so choose.
They may also assist in a Wiccan’s spiritual growth, but that too, in GreyWing’s opinion, is actually in your own hands. If you are not ready, your mind will drift, letting you know the time is not right for you.
Every time you perform a spell you use the essences of the four elements, earth, air, fire and water. For example, candle magick uses Fire and Air.
It is important to know what each element means when you call on them. What do you mean by Air? You have to know which manifestation of Air you need for your working. This needs to be decided before you begin your circle so that the aspect of the element you wish to call is correct for what you are doing.
Will you choose the Watchers or not? It is for you to decide.
“the Fathers of the beginning,…the Mothers, the Spirits who were before the first spirit…”
