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Elements & Their Cardinal
Directions
- Correspondence
- Pagans have been making associations between all sorts of
things in life, in spirit, and in nature for thousands of years.
Partly because of the belief that all things are connected and
interconnected. Therefore it makes sense that some things work
together, in a similar manner, in a supportive direction, for
a common purpose.
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- We relate color to chakras, candles, stones, energy and elements.
But Pagans aren't the only ones who do this. We often think of
water as being associated with the color blue. Well that makes
sense, we're called the Blue Planet because of the amount of
water on the earth. But we humans have a need to make associations
of things in order to visualize them, to be creative and make
connections. Red is associated with love, black is often associated
with death and so on.
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- In the terms of energy and metaphysical principles, how you
feel connected to the energy around you helps you to join forces
within nature and spirit, and create what you need or desire.
The key to all this, is how YOU feel connected to the energy
and the associations you create. I strongly recommend you write
down your correspondences and keep them up to date. You want
to create a consistency with your workings and maintain a balance.
There will always be changes, but that's expected as you live,
grow and learn.
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- Elements
- The alchemical traditions associate certain elements of nature
to the life of the world or the Divine Universe. In order for
life to exist in any form, these four elements must exist. And
there are only four elements in life: Air, Fire, Water, and Earth.
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- Alchemy helps to explain the relationships between total
creation and the position of the parts which compose it. All
parts are created from each other part, without all parts, there
is nothingness. Without you, the Universe cannot exist. You,
and I and all things seen and unseen are needed to make up what
the Divine Universe is.
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- Another way to put it:
- Air feeds fire, fire dies by water, water is contained by
earth, and earth creates the air. The cycle is meant to show
the interconnection of all things, and the cycle of birth, life,
change and transition.
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- We use the elements in magik as the representations and components
of Divine Energy. In this form Magik becomes "the science
of energy manipulation" through an exercise to pull in energy
(the birth), merge it with our own higher energy (life), mold
it to our intent (change) and send it out to manifest as desired
(transition).
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- The
elements also have their own characteristics or correspondences.
- Air
- The first element of the alchemical tradition.
- Air is the essence of intuition and learning, the element
of the nature of the mind.
- Astrological Signs: Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius.
- Represented by: Feathers, Birds, incense, fans, flags, flowing
garments and sheer material.
- Season: Winter
- Color: White
- Chakra: Crown
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- Water
- The third element of the alchemical tradition.
- Water is the essence of love and fertility, the element of
the nature of emotions.
- Astrological Signs: Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces.
- Represented by: Water, lavender fragrance, Fish, coral and
sponges.
- Season: Summer
- Color: Blue
- Chakra: Thyroid
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- Fire
- The second element of the alchemical tradition.
- Fire is the essence of purification and change, the element
of the nature of the will.
- Astrological Signs: Aries, Leo and Sagittarius.
- Represented by: Fire, candles, lights, dragons and the sun.
- Season: Spring
- Color: Yellow and Green
- Chakra: Adrenals & Solar Plexus
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- Earth
- The fourth element of the alchemical tradition.
- Earth is the essence of grounding and stability, the element
of the nature of balance.
- Astrological Signs: Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn.
- Represented by: Dirt, sand, sage, Gnomes and goblins, a staff
or stake, trees and plants.
- Season: Autumn
- Color: Red
- Chakra: Root
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- Directions
- The Cardinal
Directions are another characteristic of the Divine Universe
that connects us all with nature and spirit. There are many people,
books and websites, that say the Directions are set in stone
and this is the way it is. If you deviate from that you're workings
are wrong. I really can't relate to this static, set in stone
kind of thinking. If one thing we have learned about life and
spirit is that it's always changing and moving.
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- Understanding Directional correspondences is similar to Astrological
correspondences. There are things in life that are fixed and
others that are malleable (can change). The Elements are some
what fixed, but the Directions are malleable. So let's discuss
that a little.
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- Where the elements help establish your connection to the
Divine Universe through spiritual energy; the Directions help
you establish and balance the connection to the Divine Universe
through physical energy. Where you are in the world does matter.
And that's what makes Directional correspondences malleable.
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- This principle allows for change and movement of an individual
upon the Earth. Keep in mind the Earth is a big magnetic field.
And just like the magnetic field around your physical body. But
unlike your body the Earth is really 2 mirrored halves of the
same field. What you see in the north hemisphere is a mirror
of what you see in the southern hemisphere. And it's that mirror
that we must keep in mind.
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- For instance, what the North means to someone who lives in
the Northern hemisphere isn't going to mean the same thing as
someone who lives in the Southern hemisphere. Here in the U.S.
the north can be associated with winter and cold. The farther
north you go, the colder it gets. But that's not true for someone
who may life in Australia.
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- Just as the change in hemisphere alters one's connection,
so does their location on a continent. Someone who lives on the
east coast of the U.S. may not see their connection to the world
in the same way as someone on the west coast. The land mass,
bodies of water, climate differences and so on all have an affect
on how you connect to and relate to the physical world around
you.
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- Corresponding The Elements
& Directions
- When you're establishing your connection between elements
and directions, you need to sit down and look at the world around
YOU and how you relate to it. Is the ocean to your east? Or North?
Does the land rise to your West or South? How you sit within
the work and it's directions is key to how you work with those
directions.
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- Forget
about what others tell you, or what lists you've found online
or in a book. For that matter, forget about the lists I have
here on Pagan's Path. What matters is what you feel within your
being. At some point in your spiritual and magikal life you're
going to have to sit down by yourself and decide what you think.
And here's your chance to do just that.
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- Write out what you think the elements are in a poetic verse.
For instance.
Air |
The cold wind blows |
Water |
The warm nurturing waters flow |
Fire |
The warm light of the fire rises |
Earth |
The Great Mother Earth rises |
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- For you, the wind might be warm instead of cold. The waters
might be cool instead of warm. What do you "feel" when
you think of each element? Does the fire rise or flicker? Does
the Earth rise or spread out upon a vast land? Make your own
saying and then think about where these elements fit within the
cardinal directions of your location.
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- Is it cold in the North or the South? Does the warm water
flow to the South or East? Does the sun represent your fire?
If so, when it rises in the East or sets in the West? Does the
Earth rise up to greet you in the mountains of the East, West,
or maybe some other direction?
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- These are the things that make you connected to the elements,
the directions and the Divine Energy around you. It's not how
your friend feels, or your partner thinks, or what your Teacher
says is right or wrong. None of those outside forces are going
to be there when YOU sit down to do a working or to commune with
the Divine world around you. So this is your time to think about
where you are, and what you believe. You have the answers within
yourself. Just sit down, meditate a little and ask your higher
self what goes where and why.
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- Additional Reading
- The Alchemy
Of Life
- The Wheel
Of Life
- The Elements
& Their Cardinal Directions
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- Source: 1, s1,
s2, s4,
s5, s6,
s7, s11,
s14
- Created: 10.14.2009 Updated:
10.14.2009
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