Category: Elemental Witches

Water Elementals

Water Elementals

 

These are manifest in rough seas, flowing rivers, mill streams and fast-flowing watercourses, as will o’the wisps over marshland, in waterfalls, in bubbles and foam, in water spouts, geysers, hot streams and pools, near water holes and wells that are still used regularly, on busy inland waterways used for leisure or commerce and near estuaries especially at tide turn; in any water on the night of the Full Moon; also in Jacuzzis, whirlpool baths and flumes at swimming pools.

They appear in the animal kingdom as frogs, dolphins, whales, seals walruses, all fish – especially the salmon – as sea horses, crabs and all crustaceans.

Air Elementals

Air Elementals

 

At their most powerful, these are manifest as the sudden tossing of a pile of leaves, as high winds, storms, sand storms, dust clouds, whirlwinds, hurricanes, tornadoes, rainbows, comets and shooting stars. You can experience air elemental if you are standing on the deck of a ship in a high wind; see their patterns in the clouds outside the cabin of an aircraft during turbulence; and witness them on swinging bridges and in all high, open places, especially in unsettled weather.

They are also expressed through the power and flight of the eagle, hawk and birds of prey in swooping flocks of birds, as butterflies and as the mythical Native North American Thunderbird.

The Power of the Elementals

The Power of the Elementals

 

Elemental magick is the most dynamic and powerful of all, manifest in the everyday world through nature at her most magnificent and unpredictable. It can be experienced in storms and thunderbolts, waterfalls, rough seas, bonfires, wild craggy mountain sides with tiny pieces of stone slipping down the slopes, rocky shorelines, clay cliffs constantly eroding and shimmering deserts.

Practitioners especially in medieval times, worked a lot with elemental spirits, trying to bind them for their ritual purposes. Some got themselves into very bad situations by setting themselves above the elementals and ordering them around. They summoned elemental spirits as servants and in doing so made them into independent tulpas or thought forms, rather than working with them within nature itself.

You can imagine, a fire tulpa was very powerful in a spell, but however much protection you may use  psychically, such a concentrated form of energy is hard to banish or to bid farewell, especially since it cannot be destroyed and as a tulpa has its own free will.

There are a number of very old magick books and a few modern irresponsible ones that give such rituals. No matter how extensive your magickal development, you should never try creating elemental thought forms, especially collectively with coven members or friends, unless you are very careful. Then I wouldn’t.

What is more, elemental energies are neutral and can be used for good or bad. In nature herself, a forest fire can clear an area of dead woodland, but an out-of-control conflagration destroys homes, habitats, animals, birds and people. We should never deal with elementals lightly. Above all, it is really important not to work with the elementals when you are feeling angry or negative as your thoughts can be amplified by the elemental powers and you may unwillingly unleash powerful negative feelings.

Elemental Magick

Elemental Magick

Elementals are the forces behind each act of creation and destruction. They conduct the life force through nature. Each of the four elements (Earth, Air, Fire and Water) is manifest through the essences of the individual elements. They translate the blueprints of the nature devas into the actual flowers, trees or crystals. Elementals give the seeds the power to grow and the energy to flourish as mature trees. They continue to energize the cycle of growth, maturity and decay through the scattering of new seeds until the eventual bark decays, the tree dies and is replaced; in the case of a Yew tree this can take up to two thousand years.

Elementals don’t exist permanently as separate entities from their elements. Nor do they have distinct species or personal characteristics in the same way as for example a gnome, the archetypal earth nature spirit, does. However, they can appear as wavy, flickering, flame-like figures, as swirling shimmers of water rising from a waterfall, as darting flashes of light in the air or as a wispy mist rising over the land. People fleeing from forest fires have described how animated flames seem to curl like huge fingers to snatch at them.

When an elemental has finished its task, which could last from a few minutes to a thousand years or more, they return to their own element in  undifferentiated form. They can change size and appearance while they are animated, but remain as part of the same element. What is more they cannot after the first creation brought the elements into being, be created or destroyed.

The elemental beings are, therefore, the bridge of power between the material and spiritual plane.

INVOCATION OF THE ELEMENTS

INVOCATION OF THE ELEMENTS

Air, Fire, Water, Earth,

Elements of Astral birth,

I call you now; attend to me!

In the circle, rightly cast,

Safe from psychic curse or blast,

I call you now, attend to me!

From cave and desert, sea and hill,

By blade and wand, cup and pentacle,

I call you now; attend to me!

This is my will, so mote it be!

[This invocation may be chanted while moving or dancing around the altar to raise elemental energy for magickal workings.]

RHYMING INVOCATIONS TO THE ELEMENTS

RHYMING INVOCATIONS TO THE ELEMENTS

East

Soft scented stillness that warns of the storm

Whisper of wisdom full living and warm

Breathe into us wonder at all we may know

Welcome, wise wind, from wherever you blow.

 

South

Bright spark of courage, blaze of desire

The passion for change is a wild, raging fire

Kindled by will, it burns in our veins

Welcome within us, our hearts are your flames

 

West

Power of water, power to feel

Rising within us, ancient and real

Soothed into softness or tossed to extremes

Welcome, wild waves from the depths of our dreams

 

North

Mother in waiting, child in the womb

Newly strung thread waits the night on the loom

Earth that we come from, Earth where we go

Welcome, as you welcomed us long ago.

THE ELEMENTS

THE ELEMENTS

The Elements have been a part of man’s ancient and arcane lore since its

inception in  pre-historic times. Different traditions associate them with

various things. The following  list of correspondences comes from Starhawk’s

“The Spiral Dance.”

 

AIR:

Direction:  East.

Rules: The mind, all mental, intuitive and psychic work, knowledge, abstract

learning, theory, windswept hills, plains, windy beaches, high mountain peaks,

high towers, wind and breath.

Time: Dawn.

Season: Spring.

Colors: White, bright yellow, crimson, blue-white.

Signs of the Zodiac: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius.

Tools: Athame, sword, censer.

Spirits:  Sylphs, ruled by King Paralda.

Angel:  Michael.

Name of the East Wind:  Eurus.

Sense:  Smell.

Jewel:  Topaz.

Incense:  Galbanum.

Plants: Frankincense, myrrh, pansy, primrose, vervain, violet, yarrow.

Tree:  Aspen.

Animals:  Birds.

Goddesses:  Aradia, Arianrhod, Cardea, Nuit, Urania.

Gods:  Enlil, Khephera, Mercury, Shu, Thoth.

 

FIRE:

Direction:  South.

Rules: Energy, spirit, heat, flame, blood, sap, life, will, healing and

destroying, purification, bonfires, hearth fires, candle flames,

sun, deserts, volcanoes, eruptions, explosions.

Time:  Noon.

Season:  Summer.

Colors: Red, gold, crimson, orange, white (the sun’s noon light).

Signs of the Zodiac:  Aries, Leo, Saggitarius.

Tools:  Censer, wand.

Spirits:  Salamanders, ruled by King Djin.

Angel:  Ariel.

Name of the South Wind:  Notus.

Sense:  Sight.

Jewel:  Fire Opal.

Incense:  Olibanum.

Plants: Garlic, hibiscus, mustard, nettle, onion, red peppers, red poppies.

Tree:  Almond, in flower.

Animals:  Fire-breathing dragons, lions, horses (when their hooves strike

sparks).

Goddesses:  Brigit, Hestia, Pele, Vesta.

Gods:  Agni, Hephaestus, Horus, Vulcan.

 

WATER:

Direction:  West.

Rules:  Emotions, feelings, love, courage, daring, sorrow, the ocean, the tides,

lakes, pools, streams, and rivers, springs and wells, intuition, the unconscious

mind, the womb, generation, fertility.

Time:  Twilight.

Season:  Autumn.

Colors:  Blue, blue-green, green, gray, indigo, black.

Signs of the Zodiac: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces.

Tools:  Cup.

Spirits:  Undines, ruled by King Niksa.

Angel:  Raphael.

Name of the West Wind:  Zephyrus.

Sense:  Taste.

Jewel:  Aquamarine.

Incense:  Myrrh.

Plants: Ferns, lotus, mosses, rushes, seaweed, water lillies, and all water

plants.

Tree:  Willow.

Animals: Dragons (as serpents), dolphins and porpoises, fish, seals and sea

mammals, water-dwelling snakes, all water creatures and sea birds.

Goddesses:  Aphrodite, Isis, Mariamne, Mari, Tiamat.

Gods:  Dylan, Ea, Llyr, Manannan, Osiris, Neptune, Poseidon.

 

EARTH:

Direction:  North.

Rules: The body, growth, nature, sustenance, material gain, money, creativity,

birth, death, silence, chasms, caves, caverns, groves, fields, rocks, standing

stones, mountains, crystal, jewels, metal.

Time:  Midnight.

Season: Winter.

Colors:  Black, brown, green, white.

Signs of the Zodiac: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn.

Tools:  Pentacle.

Spirits:  Gnomes, ruled by King Ghob.

Angel:  Gabriel.

Name of the North Wind:  Boreas, Ophion.

Sense:  Touch.

Jewel:  Rock crystal, salt.

Incense:  Storax.

Plants: Comfrey, ivy, grains:barley, oats, corn, rice, rye, wheat.

Tree:  Oak.

Animals: Coworbull, bison, snakes (earth-dwelling), stag.

Goddesses:  Ceres, Demeter, Geae, Mah, Nephthys, Persephone, Prithivi, Rhea,

Rhiannon.

Gods:  Adonis, Athos, Arawn, Cernunnos, Dionysus, Marduk, Pan, Tammuz.SPIRIT /

 

ETHER:

Direction:  Center and circumference, throughout and about.

Rules:  Transcendence, tranformation, change, everywhere and nowhere, within and

without, the void, immanence.

Time:  Beyond time, all time is one.

Season:  The turning wheel.

Colors:  Clear, white, black.

Tools:  Cauldron.

Sense:  Hearing.

Plant:  Mistletoe.

Tree:  The flowering almond.

Animal: Sphinx.

Goddesses:  Isis, the Secret Name of the Goddess, Shekinah.

Gods:  Akasha, IAO, JHVH.

What do the elements mean?

What do the elements mean?

 

The Guardians are the 4 corners Earth, Air, Fire, and Water

Air: Compass point: East. Number: 1.

Represents intellect, communication, knowledge, concentration; the ability

to “know” and to understand; to unlock secrets of the dead; to contact the

angels; telepathy, memory and wisdom; the hawk, the raven and the eagle;

prophecy; movement, Karma and speed

 

Fire: Compass point: South. Number 3 .

Stands for energy, purification, courage, the will to dare,creativity;

higher self; success and refinement; the arts and transformation; the lion,

the phoenix and the dragon; loyalty and force.

 

Water: Compass point: West. Number: 2 .

Associated with intuition, emotions, the inner self, flowing movement, the

power to dare and cleanse all things; sympathy and love; reflection;

currents and tides of life; the dolphin, the swan and the crab; dreams and

Dreamtime.

 

Earth: Compass point: North. Number: 4.

Mystery and growth, fertility, material abundance, the combined forces of

nature and its bounty; birth and healing; business, industry and

possessions; the bear, the stag and the wolf; conservation and nature.

If you call all four at once you always call East, South, West, North.

After you call them and do what you need with them, you must dismiss them

just the opposite as you call them.

Elemental Banishing

Elemental Banishing

 

Elemental banishing is a little more complex way to clean an area of the negative influences that reside there. It should only be done within a cast circle. This is an ideal way to prepare a new living space before you move in. It will take away any remnants of the old tenants that were there before you and let you move into a fresh, new space.

Cast a circle as you normally would. Before you call the elements to attend, take your athame to the west side of the circle and face outwards. Draw a banishing pentagram (point downward towards the earth) and then re-center the athame into the middle of it. Push the athame slowly outward while pushing outward with your own energy, ordering, “Go, or be cast into the depths of the flood!”

Move to the south and repeat your actions, saying, “Go, or be cast into the flames!”

Move to the east and pause to gather yourself and close the circle before drawing the final pentagram and saying, “Go, or be rent by the grinding earthquakes!”

Move to the north and repeat your actions, saying, “Go, or be torn apart by the whirlwind!”

Turn back into the center and yell, “I (we) banish you! I banish you! I banish you! BEGONE!” while clapping and clattering and making a great deal of noise.

At this point, you can proceed with the rest of the ritual that has been planned, starting with invoking the elements to bless the circle

Elemental Balancing

Elemental Balancing

 

Take a bell and ring it three times saying, “Hear the Air.” Allow the sound to permeate through your body.

Hold your hand above the flame of a candle, close enough to feel the warmth and say, “Feel the Fire.” Allow that energy to penetrate throughout your body.

Sip from a bowl of water and absorb the cooling and refreshing feeling through your body before saying, “Taste the Water.”

Take a large stone and cup it in your hands. Hold it against the center of your chest and let it help ground you saying, “Feel the Earth.”

Place a drop of essential oil on your finger and then trace a circle on your forehead saying, “Blessed be, <NAME>, Child of the Gods.”

Elemental Correspondence

Elemental Correspondence

Traditional Witches do not have set correspondences as Wiccans do, and often the element that is resident in a directional spot in ritual will change based on where the Witch is holding their ritual. Traditional Witches take this practice from that of their Ancestors. Early Europeans believed that the Gods and spirits inhabited the land itself rather than being part of a separate world. When people in older times traveled they would take the spirits of their Gods and Ancestors with them. When they would do any sort of magickal work or pray to their Gods they would align themselves according the relation of where they were to their Homeland or Homeland of their Gods since this is where they felt that they truly resided. In order to do this, the Witch would look upon the North Star, the traveler’s star, and use that as their point of reference. If the Witch happens to be in the Homeland, then the correspondences are no longer needed. This is still done today, where as in Wicca the directions are often predetermined based on the Wiccan tradition one is practicing with.

An Air Ritual for Calling the Wind

An Air Ritual for Calling the Wind

The first step to working with the Elements is remembering what it felt like in the past when you encountered that Element. Remember and focus on as many details as you can. What did the wind feel like on your skin? Was your hair tousled? What smell was in the air? Did the wind whistle or howl? As much as you can, relive the experience in your mind. This puts out to the Cosmos that you are ready for this experience. You are open.

Practice going through your day noticing what the wind and the air around you feel like. In the evening, try to recall as much of the experience as you can. This is like an ongoing meditation. The more you do this, the easier it will become to call up the wind. You are focused.

The first few times you call up the wind, do it alone. Company can distract you from your magick. Also, these things take practice, and your first few attempts might not put you in the wizard’s hall of fame; it’s between you and the wind.

Go to an open place outdoors. Higher ground is better. Use an athame, if you have one–or your extended arms, if you don’t–and draw a magick circle around yourself to make your sacred space. Open to the experience of the wind moving around you. Focus your mind and bring up images of more wind blowing all around you.

Try to incorporate as many sense as possible when you remember wind and visualize wind. Now reach down and pick up a handful of dust or grass. Holding your arm out to your side and slightly above eye level, slowly let your hand’s contents filter through your fingers. Watch the air between your hand and he earth catch the offering. You may want to quietly chant, “I call the wind. I call the air. I call the mother’s breath.” Concentrate hard on experiencing wind. Focus as hard as you can. Hold the feeling for several minutes, and then stop. Clear your mind of your wind images completely. Wait for the breeze to pick up and the wind to answer your call. Be confident.

Blowing in the Wind: The Element of Air

Blowing in the Wind

The Element of Air

In the Wiccan tradition, Air is the Element of the East and might be represented on an altar as incense, feathers, or an athame. It can be as soft as a whispered breath and as violent as a tornado, so it isn’t an Element to be taken lightly. It should come as no surprise that particularly persistent winds have even been given names–the Scirocco winds in the Mediterranean and the Santa Ana winds on the United States West Coast, for example. When these winds blow, they can literally change people’s temperaments and often fan wild fires. When mixed with another powerful Element, Water, Air can produce a fury we call hurricanes.

But Air is a necessary and benevolent Element, too. Without even thinking about it, we use our breath to blow out candles, sing songs of celebration and whisper secrets. How often have you “stepped out for a breath of fresh air”? Used during meditation and to alleviate the pains of childbirth, the Element of Air is healing and vital.

Air in Feng Shui

Air in Feng Shui

Feng Shui, means literally “the way of wind and water,” or symbolically, “the natural forces of the Universe.” These forces affect everything in our world. Europeans call the science of Feng Shui geomancy. Hawaiians and Native Americans practice their own form of Feng Shui, each seeking to live harmoniously with nature. The ancient Chinese believed in and lived their lives by these natural forces. One of the strongest and oldest natural forces is call “chi.”

Chi, also known as the breath of nature or as “the dragon’s celestial breath,” is everywhere and, many believe, represents the truest abstract energy in the Universe. Chi is an invisible energy that circulates everywhere but gathers in certain places, which are said to be good in Feng Shui. Chi enhances happiness, prosperity and longevity, and it is the life force inside all living things. Good relationships, a healthful lifestyle and meditation can increase levels of chi energy.

In Feng Shui, winds are sometimes thought of as bad because they scatter chi, rather than accumulate it. When selecting a place to build a home or to hold a ritual, avoid places that are windswept. This can be hard if you live on the prairie or beside the ocean, but in those cases, just try to schedule your rituals on days when the wind is calmer. If you have a home where it’s windy, you might want to perform a weekly ritual to encourage the sylphs to leave chi where they found it.

Element of Air: Symbols and Associations

Element of Air

Symbols and Associations

Air has the qualities of coolness and dryness and associations with breath, life and communication. In astrology, Air rules the Zodiac signs Aquarius, Gemini and Libra. People born under the Air signs think, communicate, analyze and theorize. They love freedom, truth and justice and have the ability to change circumstances with amazing speed. As thinkers, they rely on rationality rather than on intuition or emotions. Their philosophical approach to any situation allows them to endure harships. Air signs can tolerate almost any circumstance, as long as there is a rational explanation for it. They have great leadership capabilities, with a reputation of being fair. Interested in almost everything, they are lifelong students.

The Element of Air becomes a negative one when Air folks require family and friends to uphold the same standards they live by. Air people cannot understand why everyone does not think and act as they do. They they make a mistake, they tend to rationalize instead of using the situation as a learning experience. They are devoted to abstract idea and have difficulty making decisions, making them sometimes exasperating to work with . In addition, they tend to procrastinate.

Spirits of the Air

Spirits of the Air

The Elemental spirits associated with Air are called “sylphs,” and their ruler is name Peralda. The word “sylph” comes from the Greek word “sylpha,” which means “butterfly.” When you see butterflies fluttering on the wind, sylphs are inevitably nearby. Sylphs may be the easiest entities to invite to a ritual because air exists as easily in a tenth-floor apartment as it does in an outdoor circle. Sylphs especially tend to gravitate to creative endeavors, so they are most easily called by artists, writers, poets, and musicians. They inspire the creative spirit, much like muses, and aid in shaping clear communication. It isn’t unusual to feel a sylph touch your hand or toss your hair while you’re busy creating. Don’t be alarmed, they are just giving you some creative encouragement.

Sylphs stimulate mental balance, freedom and curiosity. They assist us in coordinating our perceptions and in verbalizing them. They enhance the power of speech, music and the written word, especially poetry. They teach us about the relationships between all things, which allow us to see and know the great web that connects all of life. This, in turn, brings about a desire for greater harmony. Sylphs stimulate creativity, intuitiveness, and inventiveness, and they awaken the intellect. They can open us to the realm of ideas and help us with mystical experiences and world views.

Like the wind, they dance on, sylphs are changeable, volatile, and occasionally flighty.

If you’ve ever experienced writer’s block, you know what it means to have the sylphs disappear and take their creative energy with them. But it’s easy to call them back.

Elemental Energies in Magick – Earth

Elemental Energies in Magick – Earth

Symbolizes and controls the forces of solidity and manifestation though healing, strength, and regeneration. Through the power of Earth, things    manifest in reality and become stable or “real” as some people like to call it. Attain financial rewards from this elements as well as any kind    of physical security. Earth can be represented by either green (plants and healing) or brown (fertile soil that all seeds need to grow strong). Either    color is appropriate or another if you find some connection between what you perceive the element of Earth to be and some other color. Nature Magick is    especially successful when performed under the supervision and assistance of Earth Elementals or Gnomes ruled by the spirit of the North Wind,     Gabriel.

Elemental Energies in Magick – Air

Elemental Energies in Magick – Air

Symbolizes and controls the forces of conscious mental processes, communication, ideas and all other non-physical forces that seem to have no    substance. Air does have substance, of course, it just operates in a way that is unlike the physical substances that we are so used to. Air can be    a very powerful force as the crushing winds of a hurricane or an idea that can change the entire world. The element of Air can be represented through the    color yellow or whatever other color suits you mental picture of this type of energy. Mental Magick is especially successful when performed under the    supervision and assistance of Air Elementals or Sylphs ruled by the spirit of the East Wind, Michael.

Elemental Energies in Magick – Fire

Elemental Energies in Magick – Fire

Symbolizes and controls the forces of fast kinetic energy (as opposed to the slow dormant energy of Earth) that activates quickly and with    little control over itself. Fire Elementals are best invoked to create fast or intense change that requires great (though not necessarily long lasting)    energy. For example, Fire is the best element to invoke for protection, purification and defense. These actions usually need high energy to be set in    motion, but once they are present they do not require additional energy to maintain themselves. Many colors can represent the element of Fire, but the    colors red, orange and yellow are the most common. Use what feels the most right for you. Spirit Magick though spirit calling, invocation, necromancy and    sorcery is especially successful when performed under the supervision and assistance of Fire Elementals or Salamanders ruled by the spirit of the South    Wind, Ariel.

Meditation to Meet Your Air Guide

Meditation to Meet Your Air Guide

Create a simple altar with a yellow cloth, a blue candle, and an air type of incense. (Lavender, or  mint work very well.) You may wish to place feathers or a bell on the altar. Cast your personal circle. Take several deep, cleansing breaths. Close your  eyes. Visualize the elemental gateway to the realm of air. Make the gate as elaborate as you wish. How does the gate open? Relax and focus on your breath.  See the gate open, and walk through it. Before you is a pathway woven together out of fluffy white clouds. Begin to walk down the path. Take a few moments to  observe the world around you. You can see clear skies to your right; they are a beautiful crystal blue. To your left you can see rumbling storm clouds in the  distance, and lightning flashes inside of them. Continue on your way. In the distance you see a figure inside of them. Continue on your way. In the distance  you see a figure. It is your guide for the elemental realm of air. Walk to him. Focus on your breath. Greet your guide and listen to what he has to say. When  you have heard all you wish, thank your guide. Begin to walk back to the gateway. Focus on your breath. Walk through the gateway and see it close. Take a few  deep breaths and then open your eyes. Write down what you learned in your journal, and close your personal circle.