Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

MERMAID WATER MAGICK

Whispers come upon the breeze, through pretty shells and open seas. But do you listen true and well? Stop your rushing, heed the spell. Pay attention, words await. Mermaids now denote your fate.

* * *

Did you know that it is the wild and alluring call of the mermaids that has enticed you to open up the pages of this book? Your thirst to connect with the oceanic kingdom and desire to bring a little elemental magick into your life is surging through you in response to the subtle messages the mermaids have been giving you lately. All the signs have been there, but did you take heed when a flash of turquoise caught your eye? Or how about when you were craving a bath or found yourself humming a simple lullaby? Perhaps you've been ignoring a desire to visit the ocean or have felt an anger rise within when you heard of another sea pollution news story. Chances are that your idea of heaven is to dive into deep clear waters of turquoise, to swim, float and splash around, because that's where you feel most at home.

Instead of getting caught up in the drama of life's challenges, the mermaids urge you to be still as stormy waves crash all around you and to simply listen. For in among the quietness you will find time for reflection and feel the pull of the ocean as the mermaids lure you back into their deep and uncharted territories, hook, line and sinker.

It's been a while since you swam with them, my friend. It is time to embrace the mermaid within and acknowledge your magickal powers; that is your birthright as a mermaid mystic.

The mermaids are calling you through the conch shell, the mobile phone of the seas. Did you ever visit the beach as a child and take home with you a seashell so that you could hear the sounds of the ocean whenever you held it to your ear? The shell was a direct line to the ocean itself that enabled you to listen to the echo of the waves crashing against the shore. No matter how far away from the sea you were it always worked, right? And you felt connected to the sea, to its interchangeable energy. But how did it work; how was it possible?

Well, you may not have realised at the time, but you were working with a supernatural and ancient source known as water magick.

As you swim through these pages you will discover how to harness your innate mermaid powers through the magick of water. Other mermaid secrets will be uncovered along the way. But first, let's look at some mermaids who might have inspired you to swim like a fish, pretend to sit on a rock and brush your long hair with a coral comb or to tie your feet together while in the bath and swish that tail.

• The Little Mermaid: probably the most famous and saddest mermaid tale of all was written by Hans Christian Andersen. How can we forget how she gave up everything for the love of a mortal man? So romantic, but at what cost? She could no longer speak let alone sing – her favourite pastime – and when her legs appeared in trade for her tongue it felt as though she was walking on razor blades. That would make any mermaid mystic wince! When she is rejected by her lover for another, the little mermaid is unable to return to the ocean and so she evaporates into sea foam. A lesson for us all!

• Madison: literally a fish out of water. When she decides to find the man she once saved from drowning as a little boy, she finds herself in the human world. Her curiosity and innate innocence lead to her arrest for nudity and to her falling in love with the man she once saved. Splash is a beautiful film starring the gorgeous Daryl Hannah, who is responsible for mermaid hair envy!

• Miranda: long before Madison swam across our screens, Hollywood featured Glynis Johns as a smart sea witch who charmed a man into taking her to see the sights of London and the human world. True to form, as an enchantress of the seas she seduced as many men as she could wrap her tail around!

• Ariel: bright red hair, fearless and headstrong can only mean one mermaid – and that's Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid turned Disney. Ariel is one sassy princess who knows her own mind, rocks a bikini top perfectly and has a fab wardrobe of stunning mer-gowns to boot! Her story is more than falling in love with Prince Eric, for she's an inspiration to the thousands who feel they don't fit in and teaches us to never back down and to keep smiling even in the face of fear.

• The Starbucks mermaid: this mermaid waves at each and every one of us from her shop front as an invitation to taste her wares. This is one mermaid who many have enjoyed wetting their whistle with, so to speak. The two-tailed mermaid is based on Melusine, a freshwater nymph and ancestor of the mediaeval French Lusignan royal family who was known to draw people to her – which has certainly worked well for Starbucks!

• Real-life mermaids: mermaiding is a growing trend for wannabe mermaids. Inspired by the little mermaid, Ariel, Madison and the others, there are mermaid fans all over the world who gather in oceans and swimming pools to dress up as mermaids in costumes with very beautiful, unique and realistic handcrafted tails. They dive, swim and play together and some help out in the ocean itself, looking after marine life as a real mermaid would. There are even mermaid holidays where you get given a tail, are taught how to swim like a mermaid underwater and receive a certificate at the end to say you are officially a mermaid. Fins up who wants one!

Mermaid memories

If you feel a deep connection with the ancient water-based civilisations of Atlantis or Lemuria, as well as being drawn to the magickal stars in the sky, there's a distinct possibility you have spent previous lifetimes in the water kingdom and as a mermaid. We have all had countless lifetimes, and not all in human form. For your soul's learning you can choose to incarnate wherever and into whomever you need to. Often a soul will feel most at home in a particular realm or frequency, and if you feel that you could originally hail from the magickal realms then that's where you will most likely have spent many lifetimes.

The energies in this earthly dimension are harsher than those in the magickal realms, which is why being here, on this planet, may seem quite hard for you now in this lifetime. If you feel that you have been a mermaid, then being on dry land may have caused you physical problems.

Perhaps you've experienced skin disorders such as eczema or psoriasis, or you've had walking difficulties in the past. Those who have had lifetimes as a mermaid are constantly thirsty and tend to drink a lot of water. They often suffer from extremely cold hands and feet no matter how warm the weather is, and yearn to be in or around the sea. Maybe you have a tattoo of a mermaid or another oceanic representation etched onto your body as a sub-conscious reminder of from where you came. You may have an enchanting singing voice or a natural allurement to seduce a potential lover at the beckon of a perfectly painted shellac fingernail!

Incarnated mermaids are easy to spot, for they often have hourglass figures, wear their hair long and sometimes wavy, and suit the colours of blue, green, turquoise, silver and gold. Let's not forget the mermen, for they are the consort to the mermaid. Those mermen who have had previous lifetimes accompanying a merlicious sea maiden are usually of a naturally athletic build and also sport long locks. Mermen do not have quite as much gravitas as mermaids, for it is the feminine who is and always has been the magickal personification of Mother Nature herself. However, mermen are great protectors of their consorts and of the oceanic kingdom. As a mermaid mystic you too are under the merman's protection; he will swim alongside you through any personal dark and deep waters to reveal the shining sunlight on the other side.

Mermaids were once respected and honoured by humankind. They were birthed from the water deities, the goddesses of the seas who ruled over and had the power to control the element of water, until they were forced into a retirement of myth and legend. But no matter how far they are pushed back into history these magickal beauties are still the sovereigns of the seas, tending to the aquatic inhabitants as well as our emotional subconsciousness.

Our ancestors worshipped the goddesses, the divine feminine. The mermaids call to us to remember, to remind us of where we are from, and they will always offer us a queenly reward when we focus reverent attention towards their existence. The energy we bestow upon them, through focus, invocation and honouring, will enforce their powers and enable them to return to the hearts and minds of humankind. For it was she who gave birth to the universe, the stars, the sun and the moon, the earth and the oceans, and it was from these primaeval waters that we emerged.

From the seas we are birthed, and to her we shall return ...

Goddesses of the seas

Below is a list of a favourite few who are too powerful to be ignored and deserve to spring back to life through the foaming seas, swimming through our consciousness once more.

• Tiamat: this ocean goddess revered by the Sumerians, Assyrians, Akkadians and Babylonians predates all other deities. Through a sacred marriage between salt and fresh water, she gave birth to the first generation of creation beings: dragons, serpents and merpeople. Upon her death her body was used to form the land and sky, ensuring her influence over all beings that inhabit earth, including the seas.

• Aphrodite (Greek): Aphrodite was born out of sea foam when Kronos castrated his father Uranus and cast his member into the sea. Uranus' blood began to foam as it hit the water and transformed into the mermaid goddess of love, desire and beauty.

• Amphitrite (Greek): goddess of the ocean, queen of the sea and consort to the sea god himself, Poseidon. Known as the loud-moaning mother of fish, seals and dolphins, she has the power to still the winds and calm the seas.

• Yemanjá (Brazil): maternal goddess of the ocean who is the source of all waters. She protects boats travelling on the sea and grants safe passage; her colours are blue, silver and white. She assists with fertility, pregnancy and childbirth, and also heals mother issues and emotional wounds.

• Sedna (Inuit): Sedna was a beautiful maiden who was ostracised when she was impregnated by a wild animal. Her father took her out on the water to throw her overboard, but she clung to the side of the kayak so tight that he cut off her fingers. The fingers became sea creatures, and Sedna was immortalised as the goddess of the sea.

Through the erotic power of water rose the goddess, the giver of life. It is she who nurtured you within the warm waters of her womb, and it she who holds you afloat as you journey down the river of life back to the sea.

Ocean goddess love invocation

Tiamat, mother of mer Allow the love within me to stir

Goddess of all beings of sea Banish my fears, so I can be free My heart has been broken, I suffered deep pain I ask for your healing, for love I'll regain.

Aphrodite, divine feminine Guide me to celebrate love from within Of ocean born, you arose from foam And love poured out from your very breastbone To share of the essence of the divine To bring about passion for all our kind Amphitrite, mother of fish Guide me to love and grant me my wish

Oh, to awaken the goddess within To embrace my gifts of deep feminine In your honour I sing and I dance As I feel my heart open to love and romance

Yemanjá, mother of sea Guide me to share the love within me

And now I see that the love within me Reflects the pure divinity Within my heart it doth reside And shines forth, sparkling from my eyes

Sedna, goddess of the sea Guide me to honour the love within me

As I grow stronger I am able to see That it matters not that 'I' becomes 'we'
I focus on wisdom, on kindness to all And the Inuit goddess ensures I am whole.

Ocean goddess of waters and sea Thank you for the divine love within me.

Atargatis

There is one goddess out of all the rightfully crowned goddesses of the seas who is believed to be the inspiration to all the mermaid stories that have ever been told. She is the Assyrian goddess Atargatis.

Atargatis was the goddess of feminine powers, the moon and water. She was worshipped in ancient Assyria as an aspect of the universal mother, and her life-giving waters take us to the roots of mermaid stories and legends. Atargatis possessed the same elements as the mermaids have to this day, such as a beauty that cannot be hidden and the strong intuition of womanhood. Her story speaks of a broken heart and how her transition and transformation was supported by her connection with the element of emotions, that is, water.

Atargatis drowned herself in a lake after accidentally causing the death of her husband, Hadad. However, the waters could not hide her beauty and she was transformed into the first mermaid. Hers was the first mermaid story ever told and dates back over 4000 years. She guides all those who call out her name and are blinded by the fears of the deep, dark places within their selves.

Those deep-within places are but a reflection of the mysteries that are hidden in the depths of the ocean. We fear the unknown, and yet are fascinated by it. From the very first stories mankind has searched for the mythical mermaid, desiring to feel the pull of her allurement, to be enchanted in some way. While mermaids are said to cause the destruction of ships and the drowning of seafarers, there are also tales about mermaids rescuing sailors and taking them safely to shore. These tales represent the unpredictable ways of the oceans, which of course the mermaids are part of as the spirits of water.

Undines

Water cannot exist without its spirits; their energy is present within every drop of water on and within this planet. The spirits of water are called undines, which is the Latin word for wave. They refresh, clean and replenish your energy and can even be called upon to assist with working a little water magick. From lakes, rivers, streams, oceans and wells to the rain and puddles, each time you bathe or drink a glass of water you are communing with the undines on a subconscious level. Once you recognise this you can consciously work with them to utilise their magickal powers.

The spirits of the water come in various forms as guardians of lakes, rivers, pools, wells, oceans and seas. For instance:

• Merfairies are guardians of smaller bodies of water, such as lakes, pools, streams and rivers, as well as the plants and animals within the waters, which they tend to and nurture.

• Water sprites are guardians who play in the surf of fast-flowing rivers and play a vital purifying, healing role in the waters' ecosystems.

• Delphinions are guardians of sacred pools and wells who add healing frequencies to the waters.

• Water nymphs, also known as naiades, preside over bodies of fresh water such as fountains, brooks, waterfalls and wells.

• Selkies (meaning 'seal folk') are of Scottish origin; they shed their seal skin to take the form of a beautiful woman in order to lure young men into marriage. Some stories tell of their seal skin being stolen and the selkie being forced to marry. Often a selkie will miss the ocean so much she will eventually leave her husband to return to her natural habitat.

• Sirens are unbelievably beautiful women with wings and either a bird's body or a fish tail for their bottom half. They use their hypnotic singing voices and mystical beauty to lure ships towards dangerous rocks. They'd feast on the bodies of the dead sailors and were known to be bringers of death and destruction.

• Nereids are beautiful sea nymphs. Poseidon had 50 nereid daughters with his consort, Amphitrite; they were known to help sailors when they were in trouble.

• Merrows (of Irish origin) are half woman and half fish. They have thin webbing between their fingers and wear cloaks of seal skin and magickal red caps to assist their breathing under the water. To come ashore they abandon their clothing so as to appear mortal. They are forced to marry if their cloak and cap are stolen by the man who wishes to wed them. Like the selkies, merrows will eventually leave the land to return to the ocean.

• Mermaids are magickal guardians of the seas who nurture all that is alive and growing within bodies of water, which cover at least two-thirds of our planet.

Like all spirits of water mermaids reside on the astral plane, which is a magickal energetic frequency that you can connect with through your imagination, making wishes and opening your heart chakra, and through focused invocation and spellwork. Mermaid mystics find that the mermaids' magick is deep and nurturing because of their natural links with the goddess, the mother of the ocean, and the healing properties of water.

Mermaids remind you to follow the truth of your inner self, to awaken your deepest emotions and stimulate your compassion. This is because the etheric substance, that is, the spirit of water, is closely related to your feelings. Undines are in charge of the physical outpouring of the collective consciousness of human emotion. In other words, the element of water is a representation of our emotions. If it has been raining a lot, this is the undines mimicking the tears, grief and sadness of humankind. Whatever you give out and feel emotionally is replicated by the undines and given back to the world in physical form. Likewise, droughts and rainless periods reflect feelings and emotions that have been stuffed down and not allowed to come up to the surface.

---

Excerpted from "Magickal Mermaids"
by .
Copyright © 2019 Flavia Kate Peters.
Excerpted by permission of Rockpool Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---