How can you tell what element you are?

[jcrowfoot]

Elem: I think one of the reasons why people don't call on AEther directly is that it has very few attributions on it's own. One of the few I can think of is Ambergris, and how many people use THAT on a regular basis?? I've been known to use purple, black or silver to represent it, but it took me years to find those attributions. Maybe they are just easier to come up with these days.


One could make the argument that people use Spirit all the time, they just don't call it directly. After all, I have never worked with an elemental energy that didn't have a breath of Spirit in it, at least when I called it from the Quarters.

It is also my experience that in order to get the purest Spirit vibration you blend the others together in balance... But I thought that the elemental AEther was the magic. Does that make any sense?

[Elem]

Frankly.. I think I'm just confusing things. I've long used the name 'Elem' and called myself an 'Elementalist', saying I work with 'The Elements' and using their names to talk about discreet energies. What I should perhaps do.. Is stop doing this. Sure, when I 'started out', I'd say that I worked with The Elements in a traditional sense - Attributions, literally associating Fire with fire, Water with water, etc.. However, these days, I don't do that.

I'm more inclined now to say that I work with only one kind of energy, and that The Elements (as I call them) are simply separate parts of that same energy. Different 'wavelengths', like colours. Not separate energies, just separate 'sections' of one grand spectrum of energy. So please, forgive me for using the terms I do, given they aren't entirely appropriate to what I now believe.

Aether was also called 'Quintessence', which is pure energy. All the elements are made up of energy, so technically, it's aether that makes up the four elements and the universe at that.

Spirit to me, therefore, is where this energy becomes compacted so that you can no longer tell one part of it from another. It's all crushed down into one singularity, drawn to a point. This is the compact, highly-powerful energy I talk of when I say 'Spirit'. So, sure, it's made of exactly the same stuff as the other Elements I talk of.

I should point out that I only speak from my experience, and I can't claim to have read any of what I say in a book. Nor can I provide references to external theory. What you read is just a theory I've devised through my interactions and experiments into the nature of this energy.

But I thought that the elemental AEther was the magic. Does that make any sense?

I think I get you, but I'm sorry to say.. Could you elaborate? I want to make sure I understand, in case I've gotten the wrong end of what you're trying to say haha.

Elem

[Arcane]

Ah. Here's my two cents for what its worth anyway. I like the expression that brokenxdreams used from that mage game, spirit is like the 'quintessense' of the universe. Its the fabric that holds all the other elements in place and from which all the other elements are made. So when you use fire you are also using spirit and the same goes for the other three. Spirit is also your spirit or your higher self as we ourselves are also made of all the elements. Attuning your self to any particular element is purely a matter of practice and choice depending on the nature of the work. You may be predisposed to a particular element through your birth sign or some other personal attribute but we are free to work through the entire range of elements that exist within a chosen or created magickal system. The five elements can also represent the five states of physical matter; solid, liquid, gaseous, plasma and pure energy. So the effect that you achieve through magick is the condensation of pure and raw spiritual energy into a manifestation on the physical plane. However Magick, for the beginner, like karma, is more an exercise in self awareness rather than a process of direct cause and effect because you can't really expect to cause these kinds of changes without knowing and actualizing your true self and the utmost of your hidden potential.

[lucy_san_elfenlied]

Well for my Zodiac element I am Metal and I had my palm read and I'm apparently Air((I have a square palm and long fingers)).

[Ruthie443]

If you feel like you could be fire and water then i think i would be fine , i mean we are all our very own weakness i dont see why our elements wouldnt be a couldnt be. our element is connected to us so strongly, its just if you felt like you would be fire and earth there is still a conflict between the two or even Earth and water. When having more than one element in your life there will always be a conflict unless you are like some ppl and rather just stay balanced with in the elements.

[Shadow_Kitten]

I'm an Aquarius so according to that my element is Air but personally, I feel that Water fits me like a glove. Especially this description:

The Element of Water is associated with the Signs Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces, and it also rules the Fourth, Eighth and Twelfth Houses. The watery words flow with this Element: fluid, flowing, wavering. These terms can easily apply to an individual's emotions, which are exactly the realm in which Water exerts its influence.

Water Signs are intuitive, sensitive and feel more intensely than the rest. They are emotional and nurturing and, like a river, run deep. How things feel is what matters to these folks, and they base their actions on sense, rather than on logic or intellect. Water is also about compassion and understanding, since the receptive talents of these individuals are remarkably high. Water Sign people can take in the feelings of others, process them, and put forth a plan or solution that will be conscientious to all.

Those graced by Water love to take their sense of the world and translate it into the artistic. They desire aesthetic beauty -- and for everyone to be happy as a result of that beauty. Much like still water can become stagnant, however, an inactive Water Sign person is not a Water Sign person at their best. Water Signs feel most fulfilled when they are helping others, and they do so in an enchanting, considerate and even romantic way.

The flip side of this dreamy Water world is the tendency of these individuals to brood. Water Signs are susceptible to mood swings, and, at their worst, they could become self-indulgent, controlling and hostage to a fantasy world. This also brings up the ability of these folks to see things more clearly than others. Call it psychic, if you will.

Water Signs are emotional, empathetic, receptive and feel things deeply. Alternately calm like the sea or possessing the force of a torrential rain, the emotions brought forth by this Element are plentiful, indeed.

I'm REALLY emotional and empathic so this really is perfect for me. I feel very intense emotions. I've also read that Water is a very loving and feminine sign which also fits me perfectly.

I'm also fascinated with Fire and I feel that that fits me fairly well too, though not as much as Water does, lol.

[[SnowRaven]]

The four Zodiac Elements...Fire, Earth, Air and Water...are also known as the Triplicities since there are three signs belonging to each Elemental category. Thus, this trio of Signs share something of a similar basic character. These Elements are also known as the Four Humors, utilized in Astro-Meteorology to describe a type of wind and in other matters associated with the weather. Empedocles, a Fifth Century Greek philosopher, originated the terms "Fire," "Earth," "Air" and "Water," explaining the nature of the universe as an interaction of two opposing principles called "Love" and "Strife" who manipulated the four Elements. Empedocles also stated that these four Elements were all equal and of the same age, each ruling its own province and each possessing its own individual character. Thus, different mixtures of these Elements produced the different natures of things.

Many historic philosophers and alchemists also believed that the four Elements exhibited themeselves in humankind as four varying natures and that one would be more prevalent in each individual than the other three. Elemental signs are basic, being general or generic in nature. The related characteristics may be tempered by other factors, but the Elemental influence nonetheless refers to core human behavior and temperament. The Elemental quality associated with a Sign is dependent upon which of the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac the Sun was residing at the time of an individual's birth.

NOTE: In the Wiccan culture and some other Western traditions, there is also a Fifth Element known as Pure Spirit, "Quinta Essentia," or Akasha. Akasha is the life force...the basic substance of the Universe and the soul or spiritual being of an individual. It is the subtle spiritual essence that pervades all space...not precisely ether, but an ether-like substance of a spiritual rather than material nature which, in ancient writings, is said to operate by mean of sound or vibration. Thus, it is often identified with the Element of Air, but in a spiritual sense...the "Breath of God" concept. Essentially Akasha stands apart from the Four Elements of the Zodiac and is not depicted within an individual's horoscope. Akasha hints at the freedom of mankind and is a reminder of the "great mystery of the eternal."

[[SnowRaven]]

I'm mostly Earth with influences of Air - I was born on May 21, a 'cusp' day that often changes back and forth between signs or is shared by them.

Persons born "on the line" between two Zodiac Signs partake of qualities found in both Signs or, more strictly speaking, have a blend of traits that may compose an individual nature. Due to variations in astrological calendars, this may became apparent during the last few days of a departing Sign, but the "cusp" (as it is termed) pertains chiefly to the first week of the incoming Sign. While the new Sign is gaining its ascendancy, the influences of the old will persist but gradually loses its hold day-by-day until, by the seventh day, the new Sign is in complete control.

[Release.the.bats]

I feel the strongest associations with Air and Fire.
I'm trying to enhance my earth and water influence as well, could be why I have an awful time grounding.