ꕤ❇Introduction to the Elements❇ꕤ
Elementary, my dear Watson!
Using an elemental system is one of the most foundational parts of witchcraft. This will likely be your starting point for nearly all spellwork. In some ways they can be considered a short hand for spell formation, but they can also be considered in a more literal way. They are the parts of a whole. Many different cultures have their own take on elements, but we are going to cover the Classical elements derived from the Greeks here. Similar to how we break the year down into four seasons, the Greek system breaks them down into four elements. This is the basis of understanding for things like western astrology and tarot as well.
How They Are Applied in a Spell Creation Context
Whether you stick closely to these ideas or branch off into other elemental systems, other concepts, decide some of these are less important than others, or develop your own takes on them: these stand as the four basic components of spellcrafting. Many of these concepts can become intuitive, and can make spellcraft more intuitive, as we break them down and think of things in this framework.
Air
Air is the element of beginnings. This is your legalese, your spell definition. The specificity of your wording is going to have an impact. This is the lens by which you view the spell. You are putting speech to it, a concept to it. You are giving it a task and it’s going to do its best to complete this. This is where you want to define your timeframes, your amounts, your defining factors.
Fire
Fire is the force of will. This is your intent. This is what you want to happen, your determination. This can also be where you find your kind of intent. The flavor of your intent, even without the exact wording, can also have an impact on a spell and how effective it ends up being. Water
Water will follow the path of least resistance. This is your energy. The standards you set between your air (wording) and your fire (intent) dictate the path, and water will follow. This is where things like batteries (objects that you charge and use later) come into play. This is what powers the spell. Water is also closely tied to emotions. Stronger emotions are associated with higher amounts of energy, but also with more volatility. Earth
This is your manifestation. Potentially also your anchor. Your physical tools and objects. Your grounding. For this you might have some physical representation of your spell. This is going to be where you find most of your correspondences (the associations of objects). This is thought to anchor the spell to the physical world. Some people do spellwork without this, but it can be hard to find your grounding and focus without it. In those cases you, yourself, are the grounding wire as it were.
Associations and Other Tie Ins
How one incorporates the elements into your practice beyond the basic components of spellwork varies depending on the person. However, the themes come up in many other areas. A few of them are listed below.
Zodiac and Personality Correspondences
The elemental correspondences include the above, but are not limited to it. The western astrology system is based on the classical elements, and applies these associations to the signs. The personality traits ascribed to the elements often run alongside the signs. Air is generally associated in this fashion with intelligence, speech, and communication. Fire is generally associated with vibrancy, excitability, and passion. Water is generally associated with emotion, empathy, and intuition. Earth is generally associated with groundedness, earthly pleasures, and hard work.
Libra, Aquarius, and Gemini are air.
Sagittarius, Aries, and Leo are fire.
Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces are water.
Capricorn, Taurus, and Virgo are earth.
Seasons and Stages of Life
The elements are noted to correspond to the passage of time as well as the seasons. Spring is air: the beginning of a cycle; summer is fire: hot hot burns me; autumn is water: changing, flowing, the world going to sleep; winter is earth: solid, unmoving, both the end, and what the beginning grows out of. They are also compared to the stages of life in a similar fashion. You are born in air (learning language, new concepts, getting started), your teens to early adulthood are fire (rapid moving forward, fast development, hot hot burns me), later adulthood circa midlife is water (creation, emotion, energy), and earth is old age (slowing down, calm times, grounding.)
Just as the stages of life are applied to times of the day by Jung, elements can also apply to the times of the day: dawn, midday, dusk, and night in an analogous fashion.
Associations, Correspondences, and Entities
Certain magical systems will ascribe magical associations to certain spirits or types of entities, objects, and even so far as cardinal directions. For the magical systems that use the cardinal directions, notably the Golden Dawn, this includes air in the east, fire in the south, water in the west, and earth is south. Others will ascribe elements to entities, for example the archangels: Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, and Uriel. More examples enumerated below:
Air: Speech, poetry, music, knowledge, inspiration, thought, birds, winged insects, wands, bells, thurables, and smoke in general. Fire: Strength, courage, s/xuality, regeneration, rebirth, athames, swords, spears, candles, candle holders, reptiles, fireflies, dragons, phoenixes, salamanders. Water: Emotions, deams, empathy, healing, magic, chalices, water dish, shells, brooms, mirrors, fish, dolphins, whales, mermaids. Earth: Health, wealth, prosperity, coins, pentacle, boline, dirt, rocks, herbs, salt, cornucopias, drum, worms, moles.
Tarot and Other Occurrences
Coins, Spades, Hearts, and Cups. The tarot is yet another place where the four element system surfaces. The meanings derived from this can both extrapolate on the meanings of the elements as well as represent them. In the tarot suit it is Wands = Air, Swords = Fire, Cups = Water, and Pentacles = Earth. In the same order the playing card suits follow a similar set, but they are Clubs = Air, Swords = Fire, Hearts = Water, and Diamonds = Earth. Tarot itself is very in depth, but is worth mentioning here.
The themes surrounding the four element system are found throughout many practices and forms thereof. It can be worth keeping an eye out.
