Day 18: The Elements

When pagans talk about the “elements,” they don’t mean the wind and weather, and they definitely don’t mean those things listed on the Periodic Table that you probably had to memorize back in high school chemistry class. The pagan elements are a lot simpler than that.

According to pagan beliefs, there are four basic elements: earth, air, fire, and water (not to be confused with the 1970s band Earth, Wind, and Fire). Each element corresponds to one of the four directions (north, south, east, or west) and is supposed to possess very specific powers and characteristics.

The element of earth is related to the north and to the season of winter. Because it’s “earth,” it’s associated with the Goddess—i.e., Mother Earth. Often symbolized by salt or a pentacle, the element of earth represents stability, abundance, fertility, and growth. Although different pagans have their own color correspondences, earth is usually related to the color green—which makes sense, since it’s the element that deals with the plants, grass, trees, all that good green stuff in our world.

The element of air is associated with the east and the spring season. On an altar, it’s usually symbolized by incense, since the smoke floats and curls through the air. The air element is the intellectual element. It relates to mental clarity, communication, divination, and Spirit. The element of air usually corresponds to either the color yellow or blue, depending on which pagan tradition you’re using.

The next element, fire, is related to the south and the summer. (Wow—I wonder how they came up with that idea—to associate a hot season with fire? That’s a real stumper.) Fire is related to the color red (again, big surprise there). It’s probably my personal favorite of the elements because it is associated with the driving force of creativity, passion and change, personal transformation, success, and strength—all those things I’m working so hard at these days.

Finally, there’s water. This element is related to the west and to the autumn. It represents love, emotion, psychic processes, beauty, and healing. Surprise, surprise—its color is blue.

The idea is that you work with particular elements when you want to change certain things in your life. To experience more love, you’d call on the element of water. For better speaking skills, air is your element. For stability and protection, turn to earth. And for help on an ambitious creative project, fire is the natural choice.

Maybe I’m just an off-balance person in general (and I don’t mean off-balance as in “crazy,” although I’m sure plenty of people would argue that I am, indeed, a little bit of that). I mean, I don’t relate well to all the elements. I’m way tilted in favor of the air and the fire—the intellect and the passion for creativity. In fact, I almost shudder in disgust when I so much as think about the boring, hokey love and fertility stuff that goes with the elements of water and earth.

Here's something I thought was bizarre: The elements I like best—air and fire—are both related to the God, while the ones I don’t like (earth and water) are associated with the Goddess. The strange part is that the feminine aspects of paganism are a big part of the reason I’ve been enjoying this month so much. It seems odd that, despite my traditional distaste for the male version of God (like the God of Christianity), I still favor the masculine aspects when it comes to the four elements of paganism.

Oh, well. I guess this project really is exposing all my biases and weaknesses. I just hope I’ll find out that I also have a few strengths somewhere down the line.

I should also mention that this project is also exposing my dog's weaknesses, or at least the weakness of his bladder. Yes, he peed on my altar yet again. I didn't catch him in the act so I guess I'm going to have to rely on karma to handle the retribution on this. But really, he's a pug. Is it physically possible for him to come back in the next life as something lowlier?