"Intense love does not measure; it just gives."
Mother Teresa
The Four Elements
When we think of the four elements, we are actually thinking of the Hellenistic Greek concepts of the building blocks of life. Air, Earth, Fire and Water were argued by the Sophists over 3000 years ago, with any combination of the four being accepted. Some believed we all consisted of air. If you were to condense air we get wind, condensed more we get water, condensed even more gives earth, and heated gives fire. Some ancients argued only fire and air existed. These would explain the soul (and breathing!) and the heated aspects of debate (fire). It could be argued that with the advent of the Romans, these four elements were carried onto the farthest corners of the Roman Empire, even to the Celts. The Druids had their own elements, really minor variations of the Greek based more on trees, but with because their learnings were mostly oral so much has been lost and it is impossible to tell who incorporated whom. Now, if you follow a more Oriental aspect, there were five elements...fire, wood, metal, earth and water. These would combine in mutual generation or mutual conquest. They created and destroyed each other. The Chinese also tossed into the mix Yin and Yang. Yin is the dark, moist, feminine aspect and Yang is bright, dry, and masculine. Both co-exist and cannot exist alone. You might almost say that Yin and Yang are the elements and the other five are but aspects. The Yin and Yang could combine in up to 64 ways (the I Ching) and could be used to determine what to do in your daily life. Below are the most commonly used elements. They were taken from a public Book of Shadows, so I have no author to thank.
EARTH
Goddess Aspect: Crone
Astrological Rulers: Venus, Saturn
Keys: Law Principle, Solidity,Auriel ("Lord of Awe")
Rules: Birth & death, body, growth, nature, stones & metals, material things,
caves, chasms, silence, graves, fields, Sensation; Sanguine; calm, imperturbable
Virtues: Strength, endurance, commitment, responsibility, thoroughness, practicality, wisdom,
patience, sense of timing
Vices: Dullness, lack of conscience, melancholy,
boredom, inertia, stagnation, hoarding of resources (including information)
Season: Yule
Time of Day: Midnight
Direction: North
Wind: Boreas
Colour: Green
Symbols: Oak, rock crystal, salt, bull or cow, stag, grains, comfrey, ivy
Tools: Pentacle, altar stone (body of Anima Mundi)
Spirits: Gnomes under Gob
(friendly & easy to reach, teach access to own depths
& caverns & how to mine & work the vein of gold therein)
Shortage: Spaciness, hyper-activity, instability
Excess: Body heaviness, general lack of energy,
inertia, etc.
NOTES:
Various sources including June Johns' King of the Witches (appendix),
Starhawk's Spiral Dance,
Ellen Cannon Reed's Witches Qabala and a lovely pamphlet
on the elements put out by Church of the Seven Arrows.
Putting elemental notes into the BOS (instead of in a Grimoire or in a set of training notes)
also appears to be Khaled's idea.
WATER
Goddess Aspect: Mother
Astrological Rulers: Venus, Moon
Keys: Love Principle, Fertility, Gabriel (turns force into form)
Rules: Emotions, love, sorrow, courage, astral planes, clairvoyance, tides,
oceans, pools, streams, wells, womb
Feeling; Melancholic; strong, excitatory
Virtues: Compassion, tranquility, tenderness, forgiveness, modesty,
fluidity in creativity, receptivity, influence
Vices: Self-indulgence, negligence, cowardice, indifference, instability,
moodiness, infatuation, easily put upon,
delusions
Season: Autumn
Time of Day: Sunset
Direction: West
Wind: Zephyrus
Colour: Blue
Symbols: Willlow, dolphin, fish, water snakes, sea birds, myrrh, ferns, rushes
Tool: Cup
Spirits: Undines under Neksa (elusive at first,
flowing & difficult to understand, watch politely and learn)
Shortage: Deep body dryness, hotness, mind & body feel separated, no empathy
Excess: Body puffiness, sinus (etc.) flows, mood swings, "touchiness", apathy
NOTES:
Various sources including June Johns' King of the Witches (appendix),
Starhawk's Spiral Dance, Ellen Cannon Reed's Witches Qabala and
a lovely pamphlet on the elements put out by Church of the Seven Arrows.
Putting elemental notes into the BOS (instead of in a Grimoire or in a set of training notes)
also appears to be Khaled's idea.
FIRE
Goddess Aspect: Temptress
Astrological Rulers: Sun, Mars, Jupiter
Keys: Light Principle, Action, Michael (victor over ignorance)
Rules: Force, energy, spirit, heat, mental plane, blood, sap, life, will, surgery, destruction,
purification, hearth fires, volcanoes, explosions, Choleric; Intuitive; lively
Virtues: Courageous, self-assertive, chivalrous, enthusiastic, passionate, experienced, virile
Vices: Self-centred, ruthless, fanaticism, vindictiveness, anger, hatred
Season: Midsummer
Time of Day: Noon
Direction: South
Wind: Notus
Colour: Red
Symbols: Fire opal, almond (in flower), garlic, hibiscus, pepper, olibanum
Tools: Scourge, sword, athame
Spirits: Salamanders under Djinn (elusive & hostile, teach power over fire & energy)
Shortage: Body heavy or chilled, thoughts drag-gy, unenthusiastic
Excess: Hot, hyper, flitting thoughts, insomnia, anger, snappishness
NOTES:
Various sources including June Johns' King of the Witches (appendix),
Starhawk's Spiral Dance, Ellen Cannon Reed's Witches Qabala and a lovely pamphlet
on the elements put out by Church of the Seven Arrows.
Putting elemental notes into the BOS (instead of in a Grimoire or in a set of training notes)
also appears to be Khaled's idea.
AIR
Goddess Aspect: Maiden
Astrological Rulers: Jupiter, Mercury
Keys: Life Principle, Intellect, Raphael (instructor, traveller, healer)
Rules: Mind, essential qualities, spiritual plane, knowledge, abstract learning,
theories, windy or high places, breath, speech, Phlegmatic; Thinking; weak inhibitory
Virtues: Gregarious, diligent, optimistic, dexterity, joie-de-vivre, persuasive,
friendly, healthy, knowledgeable
Vices: Frivolity, boasting, absent mindedness, rootless,
easily distracted, loquacious, tends to intellectualize emotions (rather than experience them)
Season: Spring
Time of Day: Sunrise
Direction: East
Wind: Eurus
Colour: Yellow
Symbols: Topaz, galbanum, aspen, frankincense, vervain, birds, eagle & hawk
Tools: Wand, censer (arrow stabs air & conveys message Outer to Inner)
Spirits: Sylphs under Paralda (very hard to see & know, teach mind control and
how to level out your thinking processes)
Shortage: Mind blank, shortness of breath, non-comprehension of known data
Excess: "Gas bloat", inability to focus attention, "spacey" thoughts
NOTES:
Various sources including June Johns' King of the Witches (appendix),
Starhawk's Spiral Dance, Ellen Cannon Reed's Witches Qabala and a lovely pamphlet
on the elements put out by Church of the Seven Arrows.
Putting elemental notes into the BOS (instead of in a Grimoire or in a set of training notes)
also appears to be Khaled's idea.
To flip through the pages of my BOS faster...
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Brightest of Blessings