Working with the Elements

by Donna M. Pinkston

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Air, Fire, Water, Earth.
East, South, West, North.

O great wind,
clouds and breath.
Wings fly high,
soaring in the sky.
White and blue,
full of you, we breathe.
Bring to us
pure thoughts, clarity and inspiration.

Wondrous light,
flame of passion
blood flowing
energy dancin'.
Feel the warmth
of fireplace and candlelight.
Sparkling stars
everywhere.
Souls flickering,
flames licking.
Bring to us
courage, innocence and power.

Great waves,
waters of the womb.
The ocean roars.
opening doors.
Salty air,
providing womb type care.
Raise from sleep,
rise from the deep.
Bring to us
intuition, love and harmony.

Solid beneath my feet
roots running deep.
Great provider
riches unknown.
Material grounded,
centered and well-rounded.
Pushing through soil,
fruits of the earth uncoil.
Bring to us
stability, productivity and abundance.

Why do you suppose we place the elements at the quarters we do? Do the elements even need to be placed at the quarters? Can they be summoned into the center of circle?

For years and years, I have heard many a debate on the quarter placement of the elements. The most obvious placement of the elements would be to place them according to one's environment. In the Northern Hemisphere, Fire would be placed in the South because of the Sun's close proximity to the equator. Water would be in the West, leaving Air and Earth open for discussion.

I have heard it argued that Air and Fire need to be polarized as Earth and Water are polarized. Air and Fire being masculine are placed in the North and South. Earth and Water being feminine are placed in the East and West.

The argument sounds good. I've experienced it, and I've seen it.

What I experienced with this elemental placement taught me a lot about the Cross. To polarize Air and Fire (both masculine elements) in the North and South quarters creates the vertical bar on the Cross. Air is associated with spirit or mind and Fire is associated with mind or will. To polarize Earth and Water (both feminine elements) in the East and West quarters creates the horizontal bar on the Cross. Earth and Water are associated with flesh and heart, respectively. When working in a circle created with this elemental placement, the energy created can be worked to bind or transcend, as the Cross does. The focus is at the point the two bars intersect, where the two polarized energies meet.

This placement (Earth-East, Fire-South, Water-West, Air-North) can be linked to astrology. In Wicca, we associate the four elemental cherubs with the elements: Earth-Bull, Fire-Lion, Water-Scorpion, and Air-Man. This comes from astrology's fixed signs: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. Fitting this to the natural wheel (which makes us one with the universe) puts Taurus on our East, Leo below us in the South, Scorpio on our West, and Aquarius above us in the North.

There's more. How about an individualized circle based on one person's natal chart? What rules your first (East), fourth (South), seventh (West), and tenth (North) house? To place the elements according to one's natal chart is good for tapping into the energies a person has available through his/her natal chart and/or how the current transits affect that particular chart.

It is also possible to erect a circle where the elemental placements are determined by a constructed astrology chart that brings in the desired energies. For example, someone wanting to become more psychic may look at the Ephemeris and determine when the planets are in a position that will bring that influence about. Sun in Pisces falling into the 12th house would be excellent for this. So the magician with a desire to obtain psychic abilities may construct a chart for March 5th 2000 because the Sun, Moon and Mercury will all be in Pisces. To erect the chart for 6 AM will create a Pisces rising and put the Sun, Moon, and Mercury in Pisces into the 12th house along with Venus and Uranus in Aquarius in the 12th house. Placing the elements according to the construction of this chart will put Pisces-Water in the first house-East, Gemini-Air in the fourth house--South, Virgo-Earth in the seventh house--West, and Sagittarius-Fire in the tenth house--North. With this elemental placement, the person would execute the ritual on this date (March 5, 2000), at 6 AM, to actually tap into psychic energies.

Then there is the Kabbalah.

The Kabbalah is the Hebrew mystical tradition. Within the Kabbalah is a glyph known as the Tree of Life. The Tree is the skeletal structure of the Universe. The sephirah (spheres) are the garments, the groupings are the various faces, the alphabet (and associated paths) is the flesh, of the divine.

The Tree of Life is a symbolic representation of the Universe, both internal and external. By studying the Kabbalah, the student learns much about him/herself, the universe and spirit. It provides one with a schema for which many things can be built on or filed in.

According to the Tree of Life, the bottom (south) end of the Tree is Malkuth (the Earth). That is where the Earth temple resides. Yesod (the Moon) is placed directly above Malkuth, making it North. The Air temple resides there. The Water temple resides in Hod (Mercury) which is on the left (west) side of the Tree. That leaves the Fire temple residing in Netzach (Venus) which is on the right (east) side of the Tree. A ritual using this placement: Earth-South, Air-North, Water-East, and Fire-West; would be good for aligning oneself to the Tree. You won't find a Kabbalist using this elemental placement, however.

The most common placement of the elements can be linked to Kundalini. Kundalini is the name of India's serpent goddess. She lives below the base chakra residing just beneath each individual's spine. Chakras are the nerve ganglia where the different nerve pathways unite to connect to make the nervous system. An analogy would be to make I-5 the central nervous system. The seven chakras that are stationed along the spine are like the exit and entrance ramps onto the interstate. Then there are smaller chakras or nerve ganglia that parallel our inner-city roadways. Chakras are Indian name for nerve ganglia. In China, they are called meridians. The purpose of Kundalini is to raise Her from below the base chakra to meet with Her consort Shiva at the crown chakra. The serpent goddess, Kundalini, in ordinary reality, is spinal fluid and Shiva is the cortex part of the brain. In raising Kundalini, we are bringing our spinal fluid up through the spinal cord, releasing it into the brain thereby elevating our consciousness.

The seven chakras are as follows:

oCrown chakra -- space oThird Eye chakra -- light oThroat chakra -- sound oHeart chakra -- air oSolar plexus chakra -- fire oSpleen chakra -- water oBase chakra -- earth

Kundalini spirals up the spine, penetrating each chakra as She ascends. On a magickal level, the chakras are patterned vortexes providing us with the conditions of living in ordinary reality. In mundane reality, the chakras are a part of the nervous system and function as nerve ganglia. This allows us to experience the world as we know it. By passing through the chakras, Kundalini breaks free of the illusions, repressions, and conditions of ordinary reality.

Using Kundalini as a foundation for the placement of the elements will begin with the Heart chakra and descend. Beginning with Air in the East, and move to Fire in the South, Water in the West and Earth in the North. If making connections to Kundalini, beginning in the East with invocations will be necessary. To start in the East, we are beginning with the lightest element and increasing in density as we go around. Air is the lightest and represents spirit or mind. Fire is the next in density and represents mind or will. (A comparison of the density between Air and Fire can be argued.) Water is starting to get pretty thick now and represents the heart. Earth, being the most dense, represents the flesh.

So really, the circle we create in the calling of the elements, is a spiral. Masculine is linear, feminine is circular, together, in their union the spiral is created. In this helix we can find the spiral of a rose, the spiral of our solar system, the spiral of our DNA, and the spiral of the vibration created by any musical note. Furthermore, we are bringing the spirit of our magick down into the Earth plane. This knowledge leads us into yet another discussion.

Clockwise or counterclockwise? Deosil or widdershins?

When making associations to Kundalini, the direction we choose to go, in casting the circle and calling in the elements, depends greatly on the purpose of the ritual. Do we want to bring something to the Earth plane? Or do we want to transcend the Earth plane? If we want to bring something to the Earth plane we will want to go deosil (clockwise) and spiral the energy down from the Heart-air chakra to the Base--earth chakra. If we want to transcend the Earth plane we want to go widdershins (counterclockwise) and spiral the energy up from the Base-earth chakra to the Heart-air chakra. If you are wondering what happens with the top three chakras (Throat-sound, Third Eye-light, Crown-space) in sacred space they become below, center, and above creating a sphere instead of a circle.

Some magicians argue to bring everything to the Earth plane: bringing everything to us, instead of us going to "it." However, there are times we are stuck in the muck of ordinary reality and feel the need to transcend that particular aspect of mundania. Then it's good to do a ritual going counterclockwise.

I have heard it said that the reason for going deosil (clockwise) is because the Sun travels across the sky clockwise--but this is not true. To look down upon the Earth and onto the Northern Hemisphere indicates the planet spins counterclockwise on her own axis giving the illusion of the Sun moving clockwise. However, planet Earth, along with all the other planets in our solar system, does travel clockwise around the Sun as we look upon the Northern Hemisphere. So astronomically, planet Earth spins counterclockwise on her own axis as she travels around the Sun clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. From the perspective of the Southern Hemisphere, the Earth would be spinning clockwise on her own axis and going counterclockwise around the Sun.

Elemental placements and the direction of circle casting are highly subjective and depend on the act of magick being performed. Purpose and clarity are of essential importance. If bringing something to the Earth plane is the purpose of the ritual, using Kundalini beginning in the East-Air and going clockwise to South-Fire, West-Water, and North-Earth works well. When transcending the Earth plane is the purpose of the ritual, using Kundalini and beginning in the North-Earth and going counterclockwise to West-Water, South-Fire, and East-Air works well. If the purpose of the ritual is to do some type of Earth magick, placing the elements according to where one finds them in his/her environment works well. If the focus of the ritual involves astrology and/or astronomy and the influence of the planets or any other universal bodies, there are many possibilities on what elements should be placed at which quarters. However, in the Northern Hemisphere one may want to go clockwise with casting and invocation beginning in the East-first house. If living in the Southern Hemisphere, one may want to go counterclockwise with casting and invocation beginning in the East-- first house, Sunrise.

So this Beltaine, as we go about creating the realities we so desire, let us construct the most conducive pathway for bringing those desires into our experience.

Donna M. Pinkston, MA, is a mental health counselor, freelance writer and editor. She also does Tarot readings and astrology charts. She can be reached at (360) 793-1869 or PinkstonDM@Juno.com