There are Actually Five Elements
The true elemental doctrine handles five, not four elements. We'll come back to this in a moment.
The four classical elements of earth, water, fire, and air are the words mystics and magicians use to refer to four specific qualities of energy that occur in all things and can be used to describe, understand, and alter reality.
The four elements are also fundamental energies underpinning the manifest universe. Understand, however, the esoteric or magical elements are not the physical materials the words describe.
Elemental Earth
Elemental earth is not and does not refer to soil, rock, and firm ground we stand or walk upon. The elemental energy we call earth corresponds to the hard, stable, ancient ground we live and travel upon, hence the name. I mean to say material earth relates to or is the likeness of the earth element, but "earth" energy is not one and the same as a bucket full of earth.
Instead, elemental earth is:
- The quality of stability, ruggedness, strength, heaviness, reliability, support, safety, and longevity. Earth quality could also refer to protection, nourishment, fertility, growth, stamina, and wellbeing. Any of these traits, alone or in combination, represent the earth element as found in a person, place, thing, or idea whether animal, vegetable, or mineral. A stubborn idea emanates earth's heavy and immovable nature and so does a person you can always count on to be present, supportive, and consistent.
- A subtle or mystical energy that is the source of all the aforementioned qualities; the fundamental frequency or field from which all the traits we call "earthy" arise because it is the essence and substance of such expressions and natures.
It is the same for the other four elements as well.
Elemental Water
Water, in the context of elemental magic does not mean H²O, although the water in the stream or in your body does correspond to the magical element of water. The water element is the quality of rhythmic movement, receptivity and adaptability; it is soothing, healing, organizing, and creative.
Like the other elements water takes its name from a material that reflects its inherent nature. Physical water moves in tides, waves, and currents - rhythm; it easily mixes with other compounds and will take the form of its container. Water quenches thirst and cools us down and has the capacity to both reshape the land and nurture/influence the development of life itself.
Elemental Fire
The fire element is not the mixture of fuel-consuming, heat-releasing, glowing gases that dance along the surface of a burning log; its not even the chemical reaction of combustion. Both combustion and the subsequent flames definitely correspond to elemental fire, which is the fundamental quality of intensity, drive, speed, consumption, power, undeniability, explosiveness, and transformation among other things.
You can see the fire in a person who is hyper-focused or "on a mission" as the saying goes. You may have experienced elemental fire at a time when you felt unstoppable or were so determined to do something you felt your entire being committed to the cause and you moved forward with unwavering willpower.
Elemental Air
Elemental air, by now I'm sure you know, is not the collection of invisible gases we fill our lungs with nor the so-called empty space between you and nearby objects. That unoccupied space between you and the nearest thing in your vicinity does correspond to the air element, however, which is the essence of potential, expansion, the distance between points, the undefined, among other things.
Magic of the air involves travel, learning and knowledge, growth, authority, and communication.
How can the space between you and a chair, for example, relate to the traits of elemental air? This may be less obvious than some of the other elemental correspondences because the element of air is more subtle, requiring a more esoteric approach from the outset than earth or water.
Empty space is full of potential, such as growth. A vacuum in nature or politics is filled quickly with power or information. In these first two points we can find a place for power, authority, learning and knowledge. The distance between points is where the journey happens, hence air and its association with travel or again with the process/journey of learning or gaining "dignities", meaning power or any other kind of progression and advancement.
In this preliminary post we are just touching lightly or scratching the surface of elemental doctrine. The correspondences between each element and many other things will become obvious, easy, and even natural if you stick with me for the long haul.
Elemental Correspondence
This relationship between the energy of an element and its name is, as mentioned, an example of a magical correspondence. The mechanism of such correlation between energy or idea and a person, place, thing, or idea may be the principle of animism (see below).
In magical treatises, the elements and planets, as well as zodiac signs, spheres on the Tree of Life, gods and other spirits, and other important ideas are often linked to other things in the world by a common energy. The thing linked to can be animal, vegetable, mineral, or energetic and may be a person, place, item/object, or idea.
Both the link and the subject and object of the link are called correspondences. If you recognize "correspondence" as a word for communication you're circling the target. The interconnectedness of all objects and all points of time and space allows for spiritual, or energetic, communication between things that may exist distinctly from one another - in mundane terms we would say they are not physically connected.
More elemental correspondences can be seen in the Elemental Codex that underpins the elemental doctrine of magic.
Interesting Physical Correlation
While this site deals with magic and mysticism, decidedly unscientific topics, I do find it fascinating when physical science seems to reflect something from the lore of the ages. I always find it interesting when physicists discuss the Planck Scale which is sometimes described as a fundamental underpinning of physical reality that can be visualized as a field of pure energy.
I dare say when physicists suggest things like "underpinning" and "field of energy" they are not trying to support a magical paradigm. I am not misrepresenting the science nor pretending to be literate in that context; just making a simple observation that I think is pretty cool.
While the physicist looks down into the smallest possible units of measurement to find the field, the occultist looks within the self and into the world around him or her to find the spirit. Perhaps they both look at the same horizon from opposite directions.
The Fifth Element
Most elemental systems - the ones that offer a more complete perspective - implicitly or explicitly deal with five elements; the fifth element is called ether, void, or spirit.
I may interchange between these terms for the fifth element depending on context but usually I refer to it as spirit. The fifth is the source of the four manifest elements, also the animating principle that breathes life into them and the void to which they return.
The Animist Principle
Animism is the idea that everything in manifest reality is possessed of or possesses a living agent or a spiritual essence. In this the fifth element of spirit is the medium flowing through all things, in which all things have their being, and by which all is connected in the animated matrix.
Now that you have a conceptual base for the animist principle and the fifth element, and grasp the four elements as fundamental energetic qualities flowing through the manifest world I can tell you this:
The four elements are spirit moving into, through, and out of form.
Spirit becomes/creates [element].
[Element] has its life cycle.
[Element] transforms into another [element] or returns to spirit.
Path to Understanding
This is more than a poetic idea. If you can grasp the statement above and the three lines that support it, you will begin to truly understand elemental doctrine and the magic of the elements will become second nature to you.
Intellectual comprehension is important, therefore regular study of magical concepts is necessary. However great leaps in understanding often occur spontaneously and in ways that confound our intellectual expectations or how we believe learning should progress.
A spontaneous insight or holistic understanding of a topic without the accompanying facts and linear progression of knowledge is called gnosis. This is a "spiritual understanding" whereby you have a deep knowing that translates to actionable wisdom without knowing exactly how you got there or without knowing everything there is to know about the involved mechanics.
Vocabulary Terms from this Post
Words are an important part of magic and it is ideal that we should use the right words for the right situation so we can communicate accurately. Here are some vocabulary terms from this post.
Animism: The idea that everything has a living spirit and is connected through a web or matrix of spiritual energy.
Correspondence: A mystical link between one thing and another thing that have similar energetic signatures or spiritual natures. Focusing on thing #1 can produce the influence or effects of thing #2.
Ether: The fifth element that is the source and the animating life force of the other elements; sometimes called spirit.
Gnosis: Spiritual wisdom or mystical understanding, spontaneously occurring; a deep knowing without an ability to explain but that still translates to correct action.
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