How to Prepare to Receive Sacred Medicine Using Fire, Air, Earth, & Water

Sacred plant medicines offer us wonderful experiences that often guide us to grow and evolve. These medicines, such as psychedelic mushrooms or Ayahuasca, are powerful teachers. When receiving medicine, it is impossible to know exactly where these teachers will guide us. That said, preparing for your sacred healing journey is still possible.

The ancient elements - fire, air, earth, and water - are a simple yet profound medicine to work with. The elements offer you healing guidance about how to feel safe and balanced before, during, and after your plant medicine experiences. Learning the language of the elements can greatly enhance your healing journey with powerful plant teachers.

Six years ago, I took Ayahuasca for the first time in Costa Rica with a Peruvian shamanic group. It was a powerful turning point in my life that led me through a beautiful and challenging rebirth. I had been working with magic mushrooms for two years before meeting with Ayahuasca, which supported me in preparing for the deep transformation that the mother medicine created within me.

I have a profound respect for these plant medicine teachers and the abundance of blessings they have brought into my life. One of the gifts that has been shared with me during my years of training has been the ancient healing language of the elements. In Africa, I was initiated in a mystery school to understand and embody the powers of fire, air, earth, and water.

The universe guided me on my path to continue working with sacred plant medicines in various countries around the world. I learned of the synergy of working with the elemental language alongside sacred plant medicine ceremonies. Working with the elements resulted in me feeling more prepared for each experience, and in addition, I have been able to integrate the complex teachings with more ease.

How do the elements support you in having better experiences?

When taking plant medicines, it is often a time to go deep into the inner world. To prepare for this experience, the best thing you can do is build a strong connection with your body. These medicines go into the body and show us many things that we may not have been aware of. When you are connected with your body, it is easier to feel safe and centered in that experience.

Fire, air, earth, and water are the elements of which your body is made up of. By learning the characteristics of each of these energies it becomes possible to listen deeply to your body. The way I teach about this connection we have with the body is that it is a relationship. All relationships are easier to build when you can speak the same language.

The body does not speak English, Spanish, or Italian. It shares information through sensations and experiences. Those signals from the body can be interpreted through the four elements. By taking some time to understand the elements within your body, it can in turn become much easier to navigate the medicine experience when information is being shared with you from plant medicine.

Similarly, plants share insight through the elements because nature is made up of these energies. The elements within us are reflected all around us. By working with fire, air, earth, and water you can begin to feel at one with nature before having your journey. This is supportive because it can reduce the risk of getting caught in fear and separation during your journey.

Naturally, when you feel safe and centered within yourself, it is going to be possible to go deeper with your experience as well. The body is your anchor, and you can explore your inner world with confidence. In the most unstructured illogical journies, the elements are there to provide orientation and support. Therefore, especially with more experience with a medicine, you can feel comfortable diving deep.

How can you begin to work with the elements before your plant medicine experience?

The first step to accessing the gifts that the elements have to share with you is to begin to notice how fire, air, earth, and water are manifesting within your body. Each element can be noticed through the sensations that you feel. Here is a quick summary of where you can connect with each element in the body.

• Water - you can connect with your inner water at your sacral chakra in your abdomen. Parts of the body that strongly relate to this element are the intestines, bladder, and womb. Bodily experiences with water include connecting with your intuition, feeling emotional, or levels of hydration.
  

• Fire - fire sensations arise strongly within the area of the solar plexus, which is around your stomach. Here, we can be aware of the digestive fire to observe how our inner fire is feeling. Furthermore, fire in the body can be observed through body temperature and the speed of metabolism.

• Air - as you tune into your heart and lungs, you will be sensing your inner air medicine. There are two chakras you can work with for this element, the heart and throat chakras. You can observe air within your thoughts, breath, and how your heart is feeling.
  

• Earth - coming down into the base of the body is where you can connect with your inner earth. The root chakra, centered in the pelvis, is a focal point for this element. If you are feeling grounded and present, these are strong earth sensations.

These sensations in the body also mirror how we see the elements manifesting in the world around us. For example, we can observe that fire heats things up, and water cools things down. It is the same in the world around us as it is in the world within us. Breathing in air will make us feel lighter, while eating a big meal makes us feel heavier.

By observing the properties within each element in the world around you, it becomes more natural to be able to see what kind of messages the elements within your body are sharing. At times, there can be an abundance of one element and a scarcity of another.

How does this connect with your experience in a ceremony?

Leading up to your ceremony, it can be very beneficial to notice which element you may have a lot of and which one is feeling more scarce. It could even be multiple elements that there is an abundance or scarcity of. The more balanced you feel with these four energies before your experience, the more harmonious the journey will be.

For example, if you observe a lot of fire in the body through experiencing heat and hyperactivity, before your plant medicine experience, it can be beneficial to welcome more water into your body. This can be achieved through hydrating the body, getting more rest, and generally slowing down. When the time comes to work with the sacred teacher, you will feel more balanced and calm during your experience.

It is common to be attracted to one of the elements and have an aversion to another. This response to fire, air, earth, and water reveals what parts of your life you are feeling strong or weak in at this time. It is helpful to note your relationship to each element. There truly is no right or wrong answer. Everyone simply has a personal relationship with these elements in their life. No one interpretation or connection is better or worse.

This practice supports you in viewing yourself and your life with compassion, simply observing what is unfolding without judgment. If fire excites you and earth irritates you, that is perfect. These four energies have the power to support you in feeling safer and more confident in your plant medicine experience. At times, sacred medicines can share guidance or experiences that, from a logical point of view, are wildly confusing.

However, if you can observe which element the medicine is working with, it can help you to navigate the internal experience. Furthermore, you are then more capable of discerning what you may need from the world around you. Possibly, you are working on your confidence during your ceremony, and you may feel cold. A simple question of how I can support my inner fire could then inspire you to get a blanket to feel more comfortable.

A Final Note for Preparing for Your Journey

From the moment we decide to receive plant medicine, the process begins. Before ceremonies or retreats, significant shifts can begin to unfold. This is all a part of the preparation for what you are about to experience with the plant teacher. If imbalances are revealing themselves through body discomforts or relationship issues, you can begin to be aware of which element is speaking to you through the experience.

As I mentioned previously, it all comes back to noticing the sensations that you feel in the body. Simply ask yourself which element the sensations feel most connected to. There might be two or three elements mixed into the experience. For example, in disagreeing with your partner, you may notice your mind racing, showing an abundance of air, and at the same time, there could be water coming through in feelings of sadness.

Spending time in nature offers you the opportunity to observe fire, air, earth, and water in the world around you. In turn, this will guide you to be able to see more clearly the balance of the four elements within you. In the time leading up to your journey, notice where you are feeling drawn to be. Possibly, you enjoy spending time at a river, connecting with water, or hiking up a mountain to feel the expansiveness of air medicine.

The elements are always present to support you with your process before, during, and after your sacred medicine experiences. If you are curious to learn more about this medicine practice, you are welcome to explore my book ‘The Truth Within, ’ where I share the healing language of the elements to support people with their healing journeys. The healer in me sees the healer in you.