The Cattail: Inner Alchemy Meditation and Exercise

Your interpretations of yourself interacting with your realm create your thoughts.

Your thoughts fuel your emotions.

Your emotions become your words and your actions.

Your actions create your realm.

You see clearly then the creative power you hold. You are magic.

Whether new to the integration path or a seasoned player, it is always beneficial to practice balancing emotional waters. The image I give you is a cattail, representing the alchemical elements of water, earth, air, and fire.

A cattail is an aquatic plant, representing water energy. It is grounded/rooted, representing earth energy. The pointed tip of the cattail extends into a sharp, gleaming sword, representing balanced thought or air energy (air is represented by swords in mythos and esoterica). And the cattail itself, while brown, glows with embers, representing controlled, focused firepower. Imagine a forest of these cattails; they are much taller than you, and you are looking up at them. They model inner energetic balance within you. Imagine yourself as containing the energetics of the cattail as described above.

Meditate on this image.

In addition to meditating on this image as I described it, here is another technique you can use to balance water/emotional energy:

Listen to a song that typically catalyzes within you a powerful emotion, whether grief, power, love, or joy. Anywhere on the spectrum of emotion. Then visualize the cattail as I described above, and practice balancing your intense emotions/waters with grounded, stable earth energy, empowered fire energy, and balanced thought/air energy. This will be a visceral experience, and it’s up to the reader to comprehend and envision what I am saying.

YOU are the cattail.

You know which songs work for you. There is no shortage of options, as music triggers emotions based on your own experiences, pain points, feelings of empowerment, and a sense of divine connection.

There is a time and place to feel and integrate your emotions, too, but cycling in “healing” narratives can also keep you stuck. How you see yourself fuels your realm. Integration is about diligence in balancing energies/e-motion in your body and mind (including your nervous system) as much as it is about shadow work, inner child work, and neuroplasticity.