The Elements

What are the elements? Why do we call upon them when working a ritual?  One of the most important energies you will call upon when doing ritual are the elements or elementals.  The elementals are the primal forces of nature that bring something into being.  Respectively they are Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and a fifth which is Spirit.  When we call upon the forces of an element, we call on the physical aspect of that element, but more importantly we call upon the spiritual aspect also.  In Christianity this would be like calling upon the Holy Spirit.  The elements (as we know them in Wicca or Paganism) are free radicals in the truest sense of the term.  It is important to respect the elementals and not to call upon them frivolously.  These forces will tend to do what they are asked but not always the way you may think.  If you are not wise in what you are asking, you may end up with completely wrong results.  The elementals have a will of their own, and a true magician never really masters the elementals, he or she learns to live in accordance with them, for they ARE the creative force.

     One of the first things to do when learning about the elements is to start classifying things in life by its respective element.  All things contain at least one element, and some things contain two, three, four, or all five.  The idea here is to try to learn which element is dominant in the object you are looking at.  A good example would be a tree or plant, it contains all five elements and uses them in just the right amount so that it can sustain life.  It uses Earth to gain nutrients, Air to aid in photosynthesis (turn CO2 into Oxygen), Water to grow and keep its leaves moist, and Fire (the Sun) which causes the actual reaction of photosynthesis.  The fifth element Spirit brings all the other elements together in order for the plant to live.  Plants and trees are mostly representative of the Earth element, they remind us that the physical (Earth) is absolutely necessary in order for something to grow.  Keep this in mind the next time you think that money or finance is a negative influence in life.  The sooner you come to terms with an element, the sooner the element will be more willing to help you.  Try to analyze your own life and see what element is dominant, and which could use a little work.  If you are having relationship problems, look at the truest meaning of the corresponding element (Water) and start from there.  A good example would be to note that "desire" is ruled by Fire, NOT Water.  Water represents love and relationships, and as with all things, you will need more then love (or Water) for a relationship to stay active.

     Note that we all are ruled by one element or another, this is determined by your astrological sign or the time you were born.  Keep in mind that there are positive and negative traits to the elements, which does imply that an element can go in either direction. For example, a  Sagittarius that has positive traits would be very interested in philosophy and the esoteric, where a negative Sag would be more interested in their more dominant sexual side.  They would tend to spread their love in a more physical sense rather then esoteric.  The idea is to try to look at yourself from an unbiased point of view (which is sometimes difficult) and decide what you are reflecting to the outside world.  If you don't like what you see, then try balancing yourself out by calling upon the opposing element.  If there is too much fire in your life, call upon water to calm it down.  If Air is overly dominant, then try calling on Fire, to use up some of that excess knowledge and bring some new passion or desire into creation.  Ultimately what you are striving for here is balance.  Balance of the elements inside and outside of your life because all of them are needed in order to live.

     The elements although not as easily controllable as some may think, are one of the cornerstones to a good life and good spiritual rituals.  Use them wisely and with proper respect and they will bless you and respect you as well.  For a little more in depth coverage of each individual element and their associations, check out the links under "Section Articles".  A good writing on working with the elements and natural magick is:

Earth, Air, Fire, and Water : More Techniques of Natural Magic by Scott Cunningham

     A truly good life reflects all the qualities of wisdom, passion, love, and strength