I can find a lot of information on what the Elements mean/are represented by. I can't find any on actually working with the Elements the same way one would, say, work with Deity (calling for help in spell work, altars dedicated to them, stuff like that). I know it's out there, I've seen mention of it, but I can't actually find any information on it. Does anyone have any links they could share?
Is there a particular element you want to work with or all?
All. Sorry if its sort of a vague question but I've seen so little on this that I don't even know how to ask! Yes, I'd like to work with them all.
Hmm. I spend time bonding with them and ask them for their assistance. For me the elements are forces of energy avaliable for our aide if we ask them. Hopefully someone more practiced then I has more words of wisdom.
Thank you, I hope so too.
I dont know if these will be helpful or not these are google search results so take them with a grain of salt. Have you looked into shamanism before? Or druidry?
http://faerywolf.com/invoking-the-elements/
http://www.liminallandscapes.com/Elements.html
Whether or not you are interested in Hermeticism, Franz Bardon wrote a book about elements in our personalities that gives much food for thought. For him, of course, the goal is to balance the elements within the personality and, thereby, gain greater mastery. There is a logic to the approach, because how can a person who has not mastered the the elements as they are already within expect to master more?
As you go about connecting with elements, remember that they function on many levels. For example, suppose you choose to walk on dirt barefoot to connect with earth, at one level the dirt is literal earth, but the idea of earth connotes much more. Earth as a quality rather than a thing. Take your time, don't try to do it in a day. Take many days to return to the contemplation, like peeling a layer off of an onion each day. When you get to the center an remove the last layer you thoroughly know the onion even though nothing physical is left.
"No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical." -- Niels Bohr
Hi! I'm still learning, so I may not be correct in everything, but I tend to agree with seeing the elements as forces of energy available for use (like loststarshine said). I also use them as ways of balancing and centering myself. For instance, I'm a Sagittarius (a fire sign) and sometimes my fire is just a little bit too much for me. When I'm starting to overheat (literally), feel restless, temperamental, or even just get a headache from these things I turn to water to calm my fire side. Swimming is a hugely calming thing for me, but it can also be as simple as drinking a glass of water. (some of this is common sense, I know, like drinking water for a headache. But I'm just sharing). I try to focus on the energy of the water I'm consuming, letting it cool and settle me. Feeling it flow through me and "putting out the fires". Like I said, I'm a newbie, and while I read a lot, I tend to act mostly on instinct when it comes to my spirituality. So if this all sounds silly, I apologize, but hopefully it can help?
This all did help a lot, even if only to show me there are more than a few approaches. Ive mooooostly figured out what im aiming to do at this point, and thats to work with the elements the way other people work with their gods; building altars as a place for their energy to be, calling on them in times of need. ect. Thanks for the replies!
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