Elements & Elementals Overview

 

 

 

Elements & Elementals Overview
"The four elements—earth, air, fire, water—are representations of life-force/universal/divine energy. The idea that everything, All That Is, breaks down to one or more of four elements comes from the belief that all things are connected."-Jennifer Masters

The Ancients, our ancestors, divided the world into four observable basic elements of earth, air, fire, and water. Although science has added other elements in our understanding of the universe, these four remain as our essential foundation. They are often referred to as “classical elements.”

Many philosophies and worldviews have a set of classical elements believed to reflect the simplest essential parts and principles of which anything consists or upon which the constitution and fundamental powers of anything are based. Most frequently, classical elements refer to ancient beliefs inspired by natural observation of the phases of matter; with the classical elements: earth is equivalent to solid, water is equivalent to liquid, air is equivalent to gas and fire is equivalent to plasma. Historians trace the evolution of modern theory pertaining to the chemical elements, as well as chemical compounds and mixtures of natural substances to medieval and Greek models.

In classical thought, the four elements Earth, Water, Air, and Fire frequently occur; sometimes including a fifth element or quintessence (after "quint" meaning "fifth") called Aether in ancient Greece and India. The concept of the five elements formed a basis of analysis in both Hinduism and Buddhism. In Hinduism, particularly in an esoteric context, the four states-of-matter describe matter, and a fifth element describes that which was beyond the material world. Similar lists existed in ancient China and Japan. In Buddhism the four great elements, to which two others are sometimes added, are not viewed as substances, but as categories of sensory experience.

The concept of the five classical elements in the Western tradition may originate from Babylonian mythology. The Enûma Eliš, a text written between the 18th and 16th centuries BC, describes five personified cosmic elements: the sea, earth, sky, fire, and wind.

Wiccan / Craft belief in the elements and their role, though, probably come more from the Greek classical elements (Earth, Water, Air, Fire) which date from pre-Socratic times (a time deeply influenced by goddess worship and polytheism instead of Judaism or Christianity), deeply influencing European thought and culture.

Plato characterizes the elements as being pre-Socratic in origin from a list created by the Sicilian philosopher Empedocles (ca. 450 BCE). Empedocles called these the four "roots" (ῥιζὤματα, rhizōmata). Plato seems to have been the first to use the term "element (στοιχεῖον, stoicheion)" in reference to air, fire, earth, and water. The ancient Greek word for element, stoicheion (from stoicheo, "to line up") meant "smallest division (of a sun-dial), a syllable," as the composing unit of an alphabet it could denote a letter and the smallest unit from which a word is formed.

According to Aristotle in his On Generation and Corruption:
• Air is primarily wet and secondarily hot.
• Fire is primarily hot and secondarily dry.
• Earth is primarily dry and secondarily cold.
• Water is primarily cold and secondarily wet.

Aristotle added Aether as the quintessence, a fifth element, reasoning that whereas fire, earth, air, and water were earthly and corruptible, since no changes had been perceived in the heavenly regions, the stars cannot be made out of any of the four elements but must be made of a different, unchangeable, heavenly substance. Contemporary writers and scholars most often just call this “spirit.”
From a Craft point of view, the four classical elements are not mere physical forms, however. Contained within each element is an energy that acts upon each person or situation with whom it comes into contact. That is, each element has a specific and distinct energy inherent within it. The fifth element is Spirit or Akasha, the energy that connects it all.
Every living thing in the world is saturated with different kind of energies which all have a strong connection to the nature. These energies are drawn into the different aspects of the nature and can be represented as solid elements such as fire, water, air, earth and as the actual energy, or spirit, the living force that binds us all. Natural elements can be both used in spellcrafting, binding, rituals and in several others magickal uses.

Elements are both used in the symbolic sense within rituals and spellcrafting as well as with the other kind crafting for creating a certain kind of binding with the nature. Natural elements can be used in several different kinds of situations: Using a fire when crafting a spell targeted with a passion or using water when crafting a spell targeted for calming specified things.
The five elements make up everything in the world around us. They are not merely earth, air, fire, water and spirit, but are concepts, energy states, states of being, philosophical concepts. It is important to realize how fundamental the elements are to our existence. Working with the elements enables us to balance ourselves and remain centered, and promotes growth through realization of imbalances in ourselves (be they qualities, emotions, habits, etc.) and the
means to change the qualities, through working with them and transmuting them. The aim of any Witch or Crafter regardless of tradition would include mastering the elements and bringing them into balance. This can take a lifetime to achieve, but is a goal worth pursuing. The elements make up everything and as such are part of the foundations of practical magick.
In magickal practice, according to Scott Cunningham, “directly after forming a magic circle, many Wiccans perform invocations to the four quarters—that is, the four directions. Watchtowers, or Kings or Queens of the Elements may be called to be in attendance during the ritual for protective purposes or to lend their special energies.”
The invoking pentagram is used when calling the Elements, and the banishing Pentagram is used when dismissing them.
The 5 elements (water, earth, fire, wind, spirit/akasha) are, in many ways, the core of ritualism. Many rituals require that you call the quarters for power and protection. Each tower (East,
South, West, and North) is ruled by the lords and ladies, different spirits, different seasons, and different elements. The pentagram itself is representative of not only the human body but the 5 elements. Most rituals require some physical use of an element. Because of the importance of these 5 forces, it's valuable to know their properties.

When you call to the watchtowers, this is how they correspond: The East is air. The South is fire. The West is water. The North is earth. The Center is akasha (spirit). These elements are used as symbols to represent things in spells, thereby causing different effects to be produced.
Each element is also associated with a mythological being, or an elemental, that can be called upon for help with spellcasting and rituals. An elemental is a mythological being first appearing in the alchemical works of Paracelsus in the 16th century. Traditionally, there are four types: gnomes, undines (also known as nymphs), sylphs, and salamanders. These correspond to the Classical elements of antiquity: earth (solid), water (liquid), wind (gas), and fire (heat). Aether (quintessence) / Spirit / Akasha was not assigned an elemental.
The exact term for each legendary creature varies somewhat from source to source, though these four are now the most usual. Paracelsus used the names of mythological creatures from earlier traditions; their names are often used interchangeably with similar beings from folklore. The sylph, however, is rarely encountered outside of alchemical contexts and fan media.
We will study each element and how to incorporate them into spells and rituals in detail over the course of July

Activity:

1. Copy the elements into your Book of Shadows or notebook. Write a short description of how you view eacAh of the 5 elements into your notebook and how they are present in the world around you in a practical sense (air / what we breathe or the wind, water to cleanse or in the sea, etc.)

2. Meditate on each element in turn. Visualize whatever feels right for you (e.g. rivers, rain, waterfalls, the sea, etc. for water) and see how it makes you feel. If you can, go and be near the element, e.g. by the sea or a river for water, or out in a storm. Consider the presence and action of the elements in our lives around us all the time, and add this to your notes. For example, consider when you have bath - you bathe in water, which cleanses you, then you use a towel (earth) to dry, you may use a dryer on your hair (air, powered by electricity = fire), etc. When you use this method of perception you will appreciate the elements and their qualities much more, and develop your relationship with them, and see how you can use them to balance yourself.

 

Credit: Stacy Hartlage Taylor