For this exercise you will need: Fifteen to thirty minutes, ideally early in the morning when there are few people around

In this exercise, you will learn to recognize the energy of the earth itself. To do so, you must get outside. Your backyard will do, if you have one. Urban witches may need to visit a local park or hiking trail. Take five to ten minutes and simply walk around the area. Listen to the birdsong; look for small animals darting along. See the trees around you, so firmly rooted into the ground. Feel the sun on your face and the breeze caressing your hair. Feel your breath as you exhale; if it is cold enough, you can see it meld with the universe. This place is serene and every step brings you closer to the same serenity you feel surrounding you. Enjoy that feeling. Nature is all around; you are surrounded by its energy. You can feel it seeping in through your pores, coming in with the air you inhale. To me, this feeling is bliss. Can you sense the energy? How does it feel to you?

When you're ready, find a secluded, comfortable place to sit down. Sit on the earth, in the grass, in the sand on the beach, with your back against a tree—anywhere you like, as long as you are on the ground rather than a bench or other structure. If you can, sit cross-legged with your hands resting palms up on your thighs. Keep your back erect, so that you are sitting as closely as possible to the lotus position. This aligns your major chakras.

Close your eyes and focus for a moment on relaxing your body, releasing any accumulated tension. Breathe deeply, inhaling relaxation and exhaling the tension from your body until you feel completely relaxed. At that point, start opening your chakras. Start with the crown and move down to the root chakra.

When all seven of your energy centers are open and connected, focus again on your root chakra. In the cross-legged position, this chakra is closest to the earth. From it, visualize tendrils of your energy extending like roots into the earth below you. These roots go down into the ground seeking the energy core of the earth, which supplies infinite energy to all those able to connect to it. Visualize your roots going down through the bedrock, deep into the center of the earth, until they connect to the energy source there. Feel this energy as your roots connect to it; see it as a river of pure white light in your mind's eye. This river flows beneath the solid surface of the earth and can be accessed at any time. Plunge your roots into the flowing energy river; feel the energy swirling around them. Notice that your roots, though separate from the energy river, are made from the same substance. As you realize this, your roots begin to merge with the earth energy until they are one, and you can no longer tell where your roots end and the earth energy begins.

Now take a moment and focus on how that feels. Sense the infinite nature of the energy you are connected to and how it is identical in many ways to your own personal energy. This is the eternal earth; it will be here long after the body you occupy has turned to dust. The perceived separation between you and the earth is artificial, finite, and temporary, because you and it are made of the same essence. Take several minutes to enjoy the connection between yourself and the earth.

When you are ready, say goodbye to Mother Earth and feel your roots slowly separate themselves from the energy river. Feel them re-form, whole and complete, still submerged in the energy river. Then begin slowly to pull them back through the earth. Feel them retract until they reconnect with the chakra at the base of your spine and merge again with your personal energy. Focus now on each of your chakras, starting with the root and moving upward to the crown. Return them to their natural dormant condition. As you do so, you realize that you feel energized, like you've had eight restful hours of sleep. When you are ready, open your eyes.

This is one of my favorite exercises. Afterward, I always feel refreshed and connected to the earth and the world around me. The purpose of the exercise is to introduce you to the energy of the earth, and to instruct you in how to connect with it.

Excerpted from Energy Essentials for Witches and Spellcasters,by Mya Om