Earth Witch Lore – Caves

Most caves have local folklore surrounding them, with one common theme; they are inhabited by spirits or dragons and are forbidding places, desolate and dank. So many legends tell of ghosts haunting caves. These legends were perpetuated by pirates and the like to scare people away from their hiding places and thereby keep their loot hidden. They also stem from ancient days when bears and lions might be found in the caves.

For ages, the members of ancient tribes lived their entire lives in caves. In Sweetwater, Tennessee, there is a cavern known as “the Lost Sea,” which features an underground lake with its own variety of plant life (which only grows underground). It is said to be the home of the white jaguar. This cavern is a world within the world. The hauntingly beautiful columns of stalagmite drip healing waters upon those who stand beneath it. Not surprisingly, this cave is also thought to be haunted. It was sacred to the Cherokee tribes.

The Earth Witch knows and understands that caves actually relate to the process of birth. Spirit haunts a cave as a “pregnancy,” or a continuation of life. Therefore, a cave is sacred ground. All that it holds within relates to life and death, as it all stems from the cave. The cave is the birth canal of Mother Earth.