The Irish Gaelic word Caim (pronounced Kime like Lime) means “Protection” or “Sanctuary”, a magical circle which guards one from harm. Each of the cardinal directions were understood to possess sacred associations relating to natural cycles such as the seasons, the four elements, the four quarters of the moon, the four ages of human life, and the four ways of being. The caim is cast before all other magical work to honor the beings associated with the directions and to ensure that no negative energies enter the circle. Movement within the circle is deosil, meaning clockwise or to move with the sun which rises in the east, appears to travel across the southern sky and sets in the west. There are ceremonies in which the celebrant moves widdershins or counterclockwise within the caim, but most ceremonies proceed deosil.
The Caim journey begins in the east, at the place of the rising sun. Heralded by a stunning display of light and color on the horizon, this daily miraculous event teaches us the gift of new beginnings. Every single day, the sun rises in the east, and we are reborn. Our journey around the Caim renews each day. On another level, it is a yearly passage as we move through the seasons, and on a higher level yet, we walk the circuit throughout our lifetimes as we pass through the four ages that define our life: infant, child, adult, and elder. We cannot change yesterday, but moving forward, we can embrace the possibility of the new day. Through therapy and personal medicine (those activities we undertake to facilitate our health and well-being), we may learn to cope with past traumas and live our lives one day at a time by embracing each new day with the sunrise. How we greet the day is very important. Many indigenous people pray early every morning as the sun rises. Invoking a sunrise blessing, singing a song, or performing the Light-Body meditation in the early morning sunlight casts a powerful positivity over the entire day, enhancing our mental, physical, and spiritual wellness. Experience the sunrise. Give thanks for being alive to witness its natural beauty. Sometimes, in the throes of a deep depression, recognizing beauty in anything is challenging. Despair robs us of the capacity to appreciate such blessings. If you find yourself at this point, seek professional help. Remember that the act of seeking help represents a new beginning. You are the sun rising. You are the new day.
The sun is reborn every spring after its long winter sojourn. Mother Earth appears reborn in the spring. The East is, therefore, the direction of birth and childhood, when all things are new, and we begin to learn about the world. It is also the direction of innocence, wonder, and playful joy, the emotional qualities inherent in early childhood. One of life’s most significant challenges is finding balance with our emotions, but by walking the caim, we come to understand that our feelings are one of the four ways of being. Balance is found when we can rationally consider a situation while also validating our feelings about that situation.
Air is the element of the East, for this is a symbol of the Breath of Life, which we draw into ourselves when we are first born and which sustains us throughout our lives. How often do we forget to breathe? We panic, tense up, and hold our breath. The simple act of breathing is at the center of many Eastern religious traditions and is at the heart of mindfulness practice. If we focus on our breath, we remain rooted in the present, not ruminating about past trauma or anxiously worrying about possible future obstacles. We are rooted here and now in the present moment. Mindfulness and deep breathing are the beginning of recovery.
After rising in the east, the sun proceeds across the southern sky and sets in the west. Following the path of the life sustainer, the giver of warmth, light, and energy, we travel deosil around the Caim, reaching the western place of sunset and continuing into the characteristically different north before completing our circuit in the east. During our lives, we will return many times to the East to enjoy the blessings of new beginnings, perhaps a new job, a new marriage, or a new place to live. Death is a new beginning. Analogous to the phases of the moon, we come into the fullness of our life on the earth and eventually wane, becoming new again in the east. One state passes away, and another begins. Life continues in harmony and balance.
The south is the place of the sun at high noon, its highest point in the sky, from which it provides light fostering the growth and development of all living beings. The warmth provided by the sun is analogous to the love and compassion we should show toward all our relations, including those of the mineral, plant, and animal orders, and all human beings regardless of race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, sexuality, or gender. The light provided by the sun in the southern sky is symbolic of the Light of Knowledge, which guides humanity toward peace, harmony, and sustainability upon Mother Earth. Thus, the human quality of the South is Thought / Intellect.
We are in the summer of our lives. Summer is the season of growth and plenty, as all life on the earth develops toward its full potential. We are adolescents developing into young adults, learning about life and what we must do to be healthy, functional adults. Though we are no longer new upon the earth, as we were in the east, we are like Grandmother Moon waxing toward fullness. Fire is the element of the south, for the same fire burning in the sun also burns in our hearths and ceremonial fires. The sun at high noon gives light and warmth, sustaining all life on earth, but if we are not careful, it will burn us. This is a metaphor for creating healthy relationships. When we engage in a new intimate relationship, the fire burns hot and bright, filled with intense passion, too hot to sustain the relationship for long. Many people strive to maintain this high energy level, and when it inevitably burns down, when the relationship loses intensity, they feel their intimacy diminish. To maintain a healthy relationship, we must allow our fire to burn down to cooking coals and then feed it from time to time through romantic interludes such as a weekly date night.
The West is the direction of Spirit, the domain of prayer, meditation, and spiritual pursuits. The sun sets in the west after its journey from the east. Beyond the ninth wave to the west is the Otherworld. Thunderstorms come from the west, bringing the purifying rain that sustains Mother Earth. Water is the life-giving and sustaining element that best reflects the nature of our spirit. There are many teachings concerning water and spirit. It is paramount to understand that as the body thirsts for water to sustain itself, so does the soul thirst for spiritual wisdom to achieve balance for the whole self. To deny the spiritual quality in yourself is to deny the needs and longings of your soul, which inevitably results in sickness. Western society is materially wealthy but spiritually bankrupt. The effects of this deficit are visible everywhere. “Spiritual” does not necessarily mean “religious.” For one who practices a specific religion, their religious tradition will likely meet their spiritual need, but there are also many atheistic or agnostic people who are profoundly spiritual without embracing religion. Each of us must seek and find spiritual truth according to our unique personality to bring balance and meaning to our lives. If we have meaning and purpose in our lives, we will seek it in the lives of others and will strive for balance and harmony in the world.
The journey to the West requires a great deal of discipline and maturity, and for these reasons, the West is the direction of adulthood. Erik Erikson, the psychologist who defined the stages of life and development, characterized this period as a time when we felt an urgent need to produce something of value. Like the full moon acting on the tides, we engage the world with purpose and activity. We work to achieve our full potential. As we age, we reach the autumn of our lives. Our jubilant youthful pursuits are behind us, and we must assume leadership in our family, community, nation, and world. Autumn also affords us our last chance to prepare for the winter months. We must work to secure our families before our twilight years, in part by “passing the torch,” allowing the next generation to assume more responsibilities in the family and community. Autumn is a magical time, a period of transition from the light half of the year, from Beltaine to Samhain, to the dark half, when we begin the journey full circle back to the east.
North is the midnight land. On its journey around the Caim, the sun delved below the horizon after setting in the west, and we felt the absence of light and warmth as winter came upon us. Earth is the element of the north, teaching the secret of life in death, the seasonal changes that transform living beings according to the yearly cycle. Yesterday’s decay becomes tomorrow’s life. It is a cosmic recycle, reuse, and repurpose program, ensuring that life continues. While trees and many animals lie dormant, winter’s pure white snow blankets Mother Earth as she rests and prepares for the birth of new life in the spring. Just as Mother Earth enters a period of introspection in the peaceful tranquility of winter, we, too, must look within ourselves and reflect on our lives. We must now ask the hard questions: What is the meaning of my life? Have I served my purpose? Have I provided for the generations who will follow me?
Here, we meet our elders, whose hair matches the snow and who are nearing the completion of their earthly journey, just as Grandmother Moon is waning and will soon become new. Our elders are sacred because they have walked the Path of Life and learned the wisdom of each direction, and they offer a lifetime of experience to the generations that follow them. Erik Erikson described the challenge of this period of life as integrity versus despair. Will we look back on our lives with gratitude and humble pride at our accomplishments, at peace with what is to come, or will we be filled with despair because we failed to live while we had the chance? Death is not the end of life, for the circle has no beginning and no ending. Death is the period of transition from one life to the next, from our present energy state to another. We go on.
The journey around the caim is a spiral describing the cyclical path of progression. Each time we pass around the caim to be reborn in the east, we gain knowledge and wisdom, which we pass on to the coming generations. It is an inward journey, a steady path delving toward the essential essence of our being, our “soul.” At certain significant moments, during what psychologist Abraham Maslow termed “peak experiences,” we glimpse the central truth of our nature. By learning to walk the Caim with mindful, intentional purpose, we increase the frequency of our peak experiences and draw closer to our true self.
Below are two caim prayers cited from the website, https://celticsoulgoddess.com:
“Circle of love
Open my heart
Circle of wisdom
Enlighten my mind
Circle of trust
Protect my path
Circle of healing
Grant me new life”
“My fortress
The sacred Three
My fortress be
Encircling me
Come and be round my hearth and my home”
Spirit of the Alleghenies 