© 1995 Rodney Cox
Have you ever been sick, or tired, or irritable, and didn't know what to do about it? You've been to the doctor, you've taken the medicine but never felt completely well. What can you do? By using the magical elements you can regain some control of your life. I'm not a doctor and will not tell you to stop seeing your doctor or tell you to cease taking any medications you need. You can, however, supplement safe medical practices with a system that has worked beautifully for me. I'm referring to the magic of the four elements.
What do you think of at the mention of the word elements? Do you picture the wild elements raging? Hurricanes, tornadoes, thunderstorms? Or perhaps you remember the periodic table of the elements? Elements are the basic building blocks of matter. For example, the atoms of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen make up all humans, animals and plants on our world.
The elements that I'm going to talk about - Air, Earth, Fire and Water - are the spiritual essence of specific forces around us. The ancient Greeks considered them the building blocks of the world. They noticed various properties of natural objects, such as differing degrees of heat, dryness, moisture, solidity, and fluidity.
Each magical element has a different property and function. I have come up with a way to use these magical elements to make positive changes in health. The idea for this technique came to me one day as I suffered with horrible acid indigestion. Seeing snow falling outside, I wished that it could snow inside me and quench the burning of my stomach.
Using visualization techniques, I imagined that it was snowing inside me, and saw the snow soothing the acid indigestion. To my utter astonishment, the pain soon began to fade, although not fast enough. So I switched to the image of being filled with water. That did the trick. Soon after I started using the water image the pain was completely gone.
It seemed that I had hit upon a very powerful technique. I had been a student of the esoteric arts for some time and knew about the properties of the different elements. I realized that I could use each element for a different purpose
The next time I used this technique was to repel cigarette smoke from me while I ate at a restaurant. I used the element of Air and visualized a wind moving outward, which kept most of the smoke away from me.
I began to work with other elements and refine the technique. It makes me feel more in control of my life and health. Here are some guidelines that I have come up with, for using these techniques.
The first step is to become one with the element you want to work with. Allow it to fill you completely and become a part of you. Remember you are working with an energy greater than yourself. You must be at one with the element before it can affect you. Feel that you are made of only the element you have chosen. Say to yourself, "I am one with Infinite (name of element)," until you feel as though you are that element. Feel the infinite energy of the element coursing through you, and know that it has the power to affect you. See yourself as taking on the characteristics that this larger power possesses.
A useful exercise is practicing becoming in tune with the different elements. For water, float in a pool or play in the bath; for earth, go lie down in a field or forest, or even in your own backyard; for air you can visit a windy hill or sit in front of a fan; for fire, sit in a desert or a dry sauna. If this is unavailable, you could turn up the heat in your home. Breathe in the element feeling its energy fill you, cleansing you, then breathe out letting the element take out any impurities with it. Spend at least a week on each element. Then practice becoming the element. With steady practice you will get results.
Now you can guide how this greater energy will specifically affect you. A good way to do this is to think about the area you are trying to heal (if you are interested in healing yourself, for example), and give yourself affirmations such as: My stomach is peaceful and tranquil. Or: The pain is gone. Or you can even just use one word affirmations like: Peace, tranquility, soothing, etc. You are in effect taking the broad characteristics of an element and trying to narrow it down to your specific problem.
Keep up your concentration until you have an effect, which is not always easy to do, especially if you are experiencing great pain. Feeling one with the element, focusing it on a particular problem, while saying your affirmations, all at the same time. It can get a bit difficult, but the rewards are worth the trouble. It may take several minutes to achieve results, depending upon the problem.
If after many minutes of concentration you have not received the full benefit, try letting go of the images and let the element follow through on its own. This is especially true in cases of diarrhea, which usually takes several hours. You may have to use several treatments until you achieve the desired effect.
After you know what each element can do, you can tailor your treatments to a specific purpose. Starting with earth, we will focus on the different elemental qualities.
What comes to mind when you think of earth? Traditionally, earth has stood for stability, for wealth, and for fertility. This element is cool and dry, and when you fill yourself with it, feel these attributes. Earth is materiality. Matter came from the word mater, meaning mother. You can see where we come up with the term Mother Earth. The earth is our mother and therefore is a very nurturing element. It also governs materialization and form. Esoterically it is considered a passive element. It is the shaper of energy into concrete forms. I use it to counter diarrhea. It usually works overnight, and you don't have to pay for over-the-counter supplies. Another way to use earth is to ground yourself if you are feeling spaced out or just silly and wish to come down to earth. Fill yourself with earth and use the affirmation: I am grounded. It will make a difference in how you feel.
When using earth try to become rock and soil and plant-life. Feel the stability and quiet strength fill you. Think about the fortitude of mountains and the life found in fields of crops. You can use earth anytime you need stability. Think of other uses for this element than I have listed.
The next element is water, which is also passive. Water is cool and wet and rules the emotions. Its chief characteristic is that of contraction. Look at how your hair looks wet compared to when it is dry and you will begin to understand this aspect of water. Notice how water flows and undulates. It is good to use water if you are feeling irritable or angry. Feel the soothing, comforting power of water as it fills you. As I mentioned above, water is great for the relief of acid indigestion. Become one with the element and concentrate on soothing the burning in your stomach. After a short while the pain will lessen and go away. It always has for me. When the pain goes, you are left with a pleasant refreshing feeling. You can also use this element for the elimination of other minor pain such as muscle soreness. Experiment more for yourself.
Next comes the element of air. Unlike earth and water, air is an active element and is connected with movement as well as the intellect. While earth is solid and stable, air is always active and always moving. They tend to cancel each other out. When you fill yourself with air, feel the constant motion. Traditionally, air is hot and moist and you can incorporate that in your imagery as well. You can think of it as a giant breath. A good image is to see yourself as a part of the sky, surrounded by clouds. If you are feeling clumsy and uncoordinated, air can be of use also. Try to think of other uses for this element.
This is the element to use for painful gas Since the pain is caused by a buildup of gas, use air to move it along. An affirmation you can use is: The gas has moved out of my body.
You may notice that all the affirmations suggested are in the past tense. This is because you are creating a condition. If you place this condition as already existing in the element you are working with, then the condition will be created in you. It is a standard magical principle. This is the way you create your desire in the element.
The last element is fire. Fire is, of course, active. It is full of energy and action its qualities are hot and dry. This element is the opposite of water for obvious reasons. Fire is an ideal element to use to fight laziness or tiredness. This doesn't mean that you can stay up forty hours using nothing but fire to keep yourself going, but it is a great supplement to healthy living and for those times that you just feel less energetic than usual.
A good time to use fire is when you exercise to excess and feel absolutely drained. This isn't healthy and can open one up to illnesses such as colds. Fire can give you a lift and help you fight off disease.
Now that we have knowledge of what each element is and how to use them, we can move on to some advanced techniques.
The following techniques from Donald Kraig's book, Modern Magick:
If you are feeling giddy, like an airhead, and want to come back to earth, you may need to increase your store of this element. To do this hold out your hands about eighteen inches or so apart and picture yourself holding a container to house the element. It doesn't matter what kind you use (I myself imagine a clear glass one) Picture earth flowing from all around you - not from you - into the container. Then breathe in the element from the container into yourself. You should feel more grounded after a few minutes.
Alternatively, you may conclude that you have too much air in you. Just do the reverse of the above instructions. Picture an empty container in your hands, and imagine the excess element inside you. Breath out the extra air, seeing it leave you and going into the container. Next, picture a black hole opening up in front of you and place the container in the hole, feeling it being sucked in. Then close the hole. In a few minutes you should feel less spaced. Use the black hole method for all the elements except earth. Here you may picture a hole in the earth opening up, and see yourself drop the earth laden container into the ground and see it close over it.
These techniques may seem simple, but are quite effective. To give you an example, while playing racquetball with a friend I noticed that I was missing the ball a lot and my energy was low. I took the time to visualize a container of air, that I breathed in, and then also visualized a container of fire which I breathed in. I chose air to help with my dexterity and fire to aid in my energy. Almost immediately I felt more energized.
Now we can get into some really interesting ground. While you are experimenting, you can look into the para-elements. Para-elements are combination of the regular four elements. Here is a list some possible combinations: Lightning, rain, mud, dust, and lava. These are not part of the traditional elements. But it seems that the elements can combine to make new, unique elements that can be as effective as any single element. It is for you to find out for yourself. The possibilities are endless. Find what works for you.
Lightning, which is the combination of air and fire, would be hot and somewhat moist. It is very active and energetic. This could, perhaps, be used for creativity, as in lightning flashes of insight.
Rain, or air and water would be wet and tepid, moving and soothing. It may be useful with long term emotional blocks.
Earth and water make mud. The qualities of this para-element are cold, damp and passivity. I've had some success using mud to ease migraine headaches.
Dust, the combination of air and earth, is warm and somewhat moist. It mixes solidity and inertia with movement and the intellect.
The combination of fire and earth is lava. This is formative energy. Its qualities would be very dry and somewhat warm. It might be used for gaining new ideas.
If you need the help of two elements try using the para-elements. If you need the energy of fire, yet also the stability of earth you can utilize lava. Take the example of my racquetball game. I could have used the para-element of lightning to achieve the same results of inhaling air and fire separately.
This system is safe, both for specific needs as well as experimentation. these techniques can be adapted and refined to suit individual needs. With practice and a pioneering spirit, you can use the four elements to help you in your life, as I have. Experiment with each element for different problems and see what happens.
ADDENDUM:
I have come up with a new way to access elemental as well as astrological energies. I call it the symbol absorption technique. This is done using symbols of the elements and astrology signs (or other symbols) as doorways. Each symbol is linked to specific energies and this link can be used to draw energy from the source. The method is quite simple. First picture the symbol in front of you and say its name three times. Example: see the Fire symbol (red triangle, point up) in front of you, or within you depending on where you want the energy to go. Say "Fire," three times either out loud or silently.
Next, know that the symbol connects to the energy you want to work with. Absorb energy out of the symbol and feel/visualize it filling you. This part is similar to using the jars full of each element. Each astrological sign is associated with a particular element. Fire: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius. Earth: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn. Air: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius. Water: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces. Each sign is also connected to a particular character traits. You can, for example, use the symbol absorption technique to pull in astrological energy to gain new character traits, or to strengthen what you have.
The symbol absorption technique is a way to quickly get in touch with an energy source of your choosing, whether it be elemental, astrological, planetary, or some other type.