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 Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 3:14 pm
FORE THE RECORD THIS INFORMATION WAS NOT THOUGHT OF ON MY OWN.
THIS INFORMATION IS TAKEN FROM THIS SITE IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BELIEVE ANY OF THIS ITS FINE. THIS SITE WAS RECOMMENDED TO BE USED SO I THINK THE INFORMATION ON THERE IS FAIRY CORRECT, FROM WHAT IVE READ ATLEAST.
::Index::
• Wiccan Rede - 1
• The Law of return - 2
• Magic and Spellcasting - 3
• Working tools - 4
• Book of shadows - 5
• The elements - 2
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Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 4:32 pm
The Wiccan Rede...
• The Rede consists of two simple lines:
An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will
The Rede is comprised of eight words, not two. This fact is lost on many, many Wiccans, and I confess I was once among their number. I had become so indoctrinated with the abbreviation "harm none" and was so defensive about criticisms that such a command is impossible to keep, that I missed the forest for the trees.
The Rede does not command us to "harm none". It tells us that any action that will harm none is acceptable.
And what about actions that do cause harm? I do believe "harm least" is generally implied by our desire to harm none. But we also believe in common sense. Consumption of food harms something, yet it is natural to eat. And self-defense, an oft-brought up issue by those arguing against the idea of "harm none," is certainly not banned by the Rede.
Witches do not believe that true morality consists of observing a list of thou-shalt-nots. Their morality can be summed up in one sentence, "Do what you will, so long as it harms none." This does not mean, however, that witches are pacifists. They say that to allow wrong to flourish unchecked is not 'harming none'. On the contrary, it is harming everybody.
The Rede is not a law. "Rede" means advice. I doubt human words will ever be able to express a truly perfect law of ethics. The Lycian Tradition attempts to clarify the matter with a slightly longer Rede:
• An it harm none, do as you will. An it cause harm, do as you must.
Gardner's Old Laws, also sometimes broken into the 161 Laws, calls for a limited version of "Harm none," stating you may bind or restrain, but never harm, with magic. Today most Wiccans don't even follow the Old Laws, finding them to be too much a throwback of a time when we still believed ourselves to be following the Old Religion.
Many, many people refer to the Wiccan Credo, or "Rede of the Wiccae", as the Wiccan Rede when it is in fact a separate document that just happens to state the Rede at its end.
• History of the Rede
In the Meaning of Witchcraft, published in 1959, Gardner first touches upon the ethics of Wicca. While the Rede as it is know today is not mentioned, Gardner states that
[Witches] are inclined to the morality of the legendary Good King Pausol, "Do what you like so long as you harm no one". But they believe a certain law to be important, "You must not use magic for anything which will cause harm to anyone, and if, to prevent a greater wrong being done, you must discommode someone, you must do it only in a way which will abate the harm.3
Good king Pausol, incidentally, happens to be a literary character in the story The Adventures of
King Pausole (1901) by Pierre Lou�s.4
Fluffy Bunny "Gardner got it wrong. The Rede reads 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.'"
Many suggest that Gardner borrowed and adapted the Law of Thelema from Aleister Crowley, which reads "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" in creating the rede. According to Crowley, if people knew their true wills and followed them, the would attune themselves to a harmony with the universe. Therefore spelling out the implications of doing harm was not necessary.5
Even if this is the case, this does NOT mean that the Rede and the Law of Thelema are the same thing or hold the same meaning. Gardner could have been inspired by the Law and then took it in his own direction, creating a new entity. Worse, I've seen the Law of Thelema labeled as the Witches Rede. Crowley was neither a witch nor a Wiccan, and I very much doubt he'd appreciate his Law being relabeled, regardless of who may or may not have borrowed it.
Lilith McLelland offers another interesting parallel to the Rede. "Dilige, et quod vis fac," or "Love, and do what you will." The author? Saint Augustine, writing in the 4th century C.E.6
Doreen Valiente is sometimes mistakenly credited with authoring the Rede and/or Credo. Valiente published The Witches Creed in 1978 in her book "Witchcraft for Tomorrow", which is a completely separate document. The earliest record of the Rede in its current form found by John J. Coughlin also comes from Valiente in 1964, in a speech she gave.
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Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 4:33 pm
The Law of Return...
Also known as the "Threefold Law" or the "Rule of Three"
There are many variations of the phrasing of the Threefold Law, but it generally goes something like:
Ever Mind The Rule Of Three
Three Times Your Acts Return To Thee
This Lesson Well, Thou Must Learn
Thou Only Gets What Thee Dost Earn
When you take a resource, even with good intentions, there will be repercussions. The petty cash box will soon be empty if one doesn't occasionally put money into it as well as take it out. Actions need to be balanced, or else things can get quite out of control to a degree many times over that of the original issue.
In other words, there's no such thing as a free lunch.
Other phrasings emphasize completely separate issues, which author Phyllis Curott has recently taken to calling the Boomerang Whammy Rule:
Mind the Threefold Law you should,
Three times bad and three times good.
The above version was taken directly from the Rede of the Wiccae, a piece of work that I do not believe is required reading for Wiccans but is interesting to investigate at the least. Or, for an even more extreme version:
Ensure that your actions are honorable,
for all that you do shall return to you, threefold, good or bane.
People attempt to pass this phrasing off as a moral code, which it is not. The Threefold Law is a statement of belief in the ways of the universe. It does not teach us what is "bad" or "good", only that we shall receive three times whatever we give. The only reason it offers for being good is to receive reward and to escape punishment. That is not morality.
The world does not work as simply as these phrases make it sound. If it did we'd all be donating to charity like mad and reaping the rewards by the handful. The idea of things returning threefold is unnatural. According to the Law of Ecology (from biology class - as Wiccans we should be taking lessons from nature):
1. Everything is connected to everything else
2. Everything must go somewhere
3. Nature knows best
4. There is no such thing as a free lunch
But it is true that harm tends to beget harm, and it is true that one good turns deserves another: people remember a person's charity and are more likely to aid them in return. Hence, why I prefer to use the term "Law of Return" over "Threefold Law".
Let's also remember one of Newton's laws as another lesson from nature: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. "Opposite" does not mean that you receive bad for every good. It means what gets put out comes back. For instance, if you push upon a wall, the wall is actually pushing back with an equal amount of force - if it did not, it would fall over. That's straight from physics class.
However, what counts as "equal" is not always obvious. Two people trying for identical outcomes might have to exert tremendously different amount of effort to achieve their goals, depending on other factors involved. For instance, a ritual asking for a healthy mother gives birth to a healthy child is fairly straightforward, while one asking for a cocaine-addicted mother to give birth to a healthy child is going to take considerably greater effort, even though the desired result (a healthy child) is the same. (See more in Magic) Putting out a little will gain you a little - which might be all that it needed in the first case, but is far less likely to be sufficient in the second case. You get what you give.
"The Threefold Rule follows the old laws of karma"
Ignoring the "threefold" bit, this statement is actually true. The problem is that most Westerners do not understand what karma actually is. The term karma is Sanskrit and the concept it represents has remained central to Hindus and Buddhists for thousands of years. Moreover, the common understanding of the Threefold Law - one of punishment and reward - likewise has nothing in common with Eastern karmic beliefs.
The Sanskrit word karma really refers to consequences of actions, and so in its proper context, it actually fits fairly well with the Law of Return. The confusion comes from the strong connections between concepts of karma and reincarnation within the Eastern caste system. Depending on one's karma, a person is reborn higher or lower within the hierarchy of castes. However, this is not a system of rewards and punishments. It is a system of lesson learning, preparation, and purity. Those who do not learn the lessons of this life return at the same level. Those who defile themselves will not rise and may return even lower, although there are a number of ways to defile oneself, such as eating impure foods and other actions that we would certainly not describe as evil. Such people's fate is not a punishment, however. Caste is what you are in essence. To be born into a lower or higher caste simply reflects what one has already done to oneself. All of this, however, is merely one expression of karma. The consequences of your actions are reflected in this life as much as in the next, and so it also is in the Law of Return.
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Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 4:34 pm
Magic and Spellcasting...
And yes, that's spelled correctly
There is an essence that runs though all things, a power that is part of the divine. It unites every thing with every other thing, and so we are all at some level connected. We tap into that essence when we attempt to get closer to our gods or when we work magic. This essence is frequently called magic, although there are a variety of terms employed. A belief in this essence is an intrinsic part of Wicca.
Many Wiccans describe all energy work as magic, whether it is a practical spell, the casting of a circle, or a religious ritual. Others consider the term magic to be equivalent to spellcasting. Most Wiccans do practice spellcasting, but it is not required. Some Wiccans do not cast spells at all, and many others do it only occasionally. This site originally used magic to refer to spellcasting, but I am attempting to clarify those passages.
Modern society frequently tries to tell us that the belief in magic is superstitious and silly, and some people's perceptions of it are. You're never going to shoot lighting from your fingertips, nor will you win the lottery because you lit a green candle. And you're certainly not going to become the Big Pooh-Bah of Magic because you picked up a copy of spells from some Big Name Pagan. The following quote sums it up better than I ever could:
Magick[sic] just does not work the way that people of today want it to. Magick has it's limitations and it's uses. It is not here to solve every aspect of life's problems and challenges and it is not a replacement for facing and accepting your responsibilites.[sic] Magick has it's place and the results do not come without hard work and extreme dedication to your respected traditions. The results of Magick are also not going to just present themselves to you [in] an extremely visual manner. 1
Magic (by whatever definition) requires dedication, concentration, and belief. If reading someone else's spells let's you better focus on other things, so be it, but there are just as many practitioners who write their own spells because it helps them focus on the task at hand. Moreover, a religious ritual will accomplish nothing if it means nothing to those performing it. It is not the gestures or the words that make magic effective, but the power and the will within us that these things help to evoke.
Magic works better on yourself than on other people. Some people write this off as psychological, and perhaps they are partially right. The effort you put into a spell makes you much more aware of the change you want in yourself. When the target is yourself, the target is generally more likely to also take other, non-magical actions to reach the intended goal, and this is crucial. Magic is a nudge. It is not going to find you a well-paying job if you haven't mailed out any resumes and spend all day on the couch. That is just as unreasonable an expectation as firing lighting from your fingertips is.
The relationship between prayer, miracles, and magic is complicated. They may all ultimately stem from the same font, but they are approached by vastly different avenues. Prayer is ultimately a request, magic is a command, and miracles are events out of our control entirely, performed directly by the will of the divine. (The concept of miracles is more clear in the context of religions like Christianity, which believes in a strong distinction between the divine and the mortal. Defining miracles in a Pagan context is more problematic, and one I generally avoid.)
Certainly there are actions within Wicca that straddle definitions. However, to entirely remove the division between prayer and magic is extremely problematic. Magic is an expression of will. It requires a commanding mind to work it. It has no room for "please" and "if the Goddess wills it", because such mentalities dilute the overall mental frame of mind. (Besides, if the Goddess wills your spell not to work, do you think she's going to be stopped because you didn't give her permission to interfere?) Prayers, on the other hand, require sincerity and a certain humility. It is intrinsically up to the deity addressed whether a prayer is answered. Ordering a goddess to manifest is absurd.
Some may cast a spell in the name of a certain deity, something like "In Hekate's name, I will that.." This still involves the willpower generally associated with magic - it needs to be approached as a command that you are giving, not with the expectation that Hekate will now take care of whatever it is that you want. Moreover, you had better be sure that your magical work is, in fact, in line with Hekate's interests. If you claim to act in the name of another, that should actually be what you're doing. Throwing in the name of a random deity is unuseful and disrespectful, at best. (I have this image of Jesus slapping his forehead and shaking his head when Christian fundamentalists shoot abortion doctors or cheer the deaths of soldiers "in Jesus's name." I also envision a thought bubble over his head saying something like "Keep me out of this. This is NOT what I taught!")
Now, as to that bizarre "k" in "magick":
"Including the "k" differentiates magick you do with directed thought, candles, herbs, oils, stones, and incense, from the magic with a "c" that a magician does on stage strictly for entertainment purposes...To be quite honest, the other reason I prefer to spell magick with a "k" is just because it looks neat, different, & unique."
I'm not astounded people do this. I'm just astounded people actually actually say it.
Aleister Crowley is the one responsible for adding the word "magick" to the occult vocabulary. He did express the wish to separate "real magic" from stage magic, although I see no reason why this is needed. The English language has tons of words with unrelated meanings. I've discussed magic in religion and history classes for years, and not once has anyone ever confused Celtic beliefs with David Copperfield. However, Crowley also wanted to separate himself from the magic (no "k") practiced by the Order of the Golden Dawn and others. Quite frankly, Crowley was an attention whore and loved drawing divisions between himself and others. It's a lousy reason to start spelling a word differently.
Conversely, Crowley also gave reasons why he changed the word by adding a "k", such as the mystical significance of the numbers 6 (the number of letters in "magick") and 11 (K is the 11th letter of the alphabet). He also gave a distinct definition of what "magick" meant: "the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will." Will here is True Will - basically your higher and ultimate purpose in life. Hence, casting a spell to get Bobby to date you or a higher allowance would not be magick. So, when people use magick in this capacity, it makes sense. Interchanging it indiscriminately with magic, however, is silly.
Unfortunately, the real reason most people speak of "magick" is that which the Bunny above confessed to. Likewise, that reason has generated such English language abominations as "majik", "majick", "magik", and "majic". It's an attempt to be "kewl". If the only way you can define yourself as unique is by abandoning basic grammar skills, you might want to reassess your life. I promise that there are better methods.
I use the five letter spelling throughout this site. However, when I am quoting someone (such as above) and they use the term magick, I keep their spelling, just as I keep any spelling errors.
"'Magick' is the correct, historical spelling."
Yes, "magick" was once considered an acceptable spelling of the word, just as "olde" was an acceptable spelling of "old". That doesn't make it any less pretentious now. About three hundred years ago all sorts of words ending in "ick" lost their "k". A couple hundred years before that English didn't even have standard spellings. Try reading the original Robin Hood stories or Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in their original English. The varying spellings make them almost unreadable.
And for the record, Gerald Gardner used the term "magic" in his books.
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Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 4:35 pm
Working Tools...
The following is not a shopping list. Collecting items does not make you a better or worse Wiccan. Shop with care, and don't be hasty. One really appropriate item is far more important than a boxful of trinkets. More expensive items are not necessarily better. I've found that, on average, people with very showy tools tend to know very little about their purpose or even wider Wiccan practices. You cannot buy knowledge or experience. You have to gain the hard way.
Also, don't be overwhelmed by advertisements for items that have been specially blessed or consecrated or that have been created by a High Priestess of the umpteenth Order - it'll have little or no bearing on its use in your hands. Quite the opposite, these items are your personal tools. Many Wiccans do not like other people handling their tools (particularly their athame), much less deliberately channeling energy into them. If you want them blessed or consecrated, do it yourself. The consecration of tools is a very basic ritual.
• Athame
Ritual knife, traditionally black or black-handled, and traditionally double-edged. Used in the directing of energy, commanding of spirits, and, most aptly, making symbolic divisions, the most common of which is the casting of a circle, a cutting out of sacred inner-space in which to work.
"The athame is never edged."
An unsharpened athame is a stick. It is perfectly appropriate to feel that a dagger simply shouldn't be used in ritual work. Wands and even hands are often presented as interchangeable with athames. But if you wish to incorporate an athame, you should be comfortable with it's nature. The athame is a blade. Blades by definition have edges. You may keep your particular athame dull for safety reasons, but don't think that dull is part of an athame's definition.
Many believe that an athame should never be used to cut physical objects. This injunction goes back at least as far as Janet and Stewart Farrar's The Witches' Way. It might be Traditional, but it's not mentioned in the published version of the Gardnerian Book of Shadows. In fact, there is a mention of cutting marks into other tools with the athame.1 The Farrars explain that the function of the athame is an entirely ritual one.2 Presumably the logic is that cutting with it profanes the item, in which case the objection is more to it being used for non-ritual purposes than specifically for cutting. That's a fair enough objection if you have a particular blade consecrated and dedicated for ritual use. However, the rule seems to be spouted most often today in white-lighter attempts to prove to the world that we're not sacrificing babies with our athames. It's a silly, overly defensive argument that no one who cares will believe anyway.
"...and I can stab someone with it for self defense!"
If you happen to be carrying your athame when someone attacks you, by all means use it to defend yourself along with any other object you can get your hands on. But carrying your athame for defense is like a Catholic priest taking the communion chalice down to the pub for a beer.
The bigger problem with this idea is that it's usually hugely illegal. Concealing an athame upon your person counts as a concealed weapon. States also have varying laws as to the legality of blades over certain lengths and some ban double-edged blades altogether. It's also, quite frankly, a poor choice of weapons, particularly if you're untrained. Mace is far easier to use, and if you feel the need to protect yourself with lethal force, for heaven's sake get a gun.
• Sword
Swords are commonly used in group work but are unwieldy for a solitary practitioner. It is used for all the same reasons as an athame. Often the coven as a whole owns one sword, while nearly every Wiccan, whether Traditional or Solitary Eclectic, owns his own athame.
• Boline
A knife, traditionally white-handled, used for ritual cutting, most often of herbs in preparation for ritual. They are most often employed by those who believe an athame should be never be physically used. It is included in the Gardnerian BoS.
• Wand
Used in directing energy and inviting spirits. Some view the athame and wand as interchangeable, but there is a significant difference. The athame commands while the wand welcomes. Choice of tool depends upon the power being approached and the relationship one wishes to enter in with it. One does not command a god to appear, for example.
Some people craft different wands for specific functions, or even for specific spells. The use dictates the type of wood used and any stones or markings applied to it.
Wands are probably the most marketed magical tool available today. Hugely ornate metal wands bearing great crystals are relatively easy to find. Purchasing a wand is acceptable, but find one that is appropriate for you and your work, and not just the one that looks the coolest. The ornamentation is largely superfluous.
• Cup or Chalice
The chalice's most obvious function is to hold a drink that is passed among the group. It can also be used to simply hold water as a representative of the element of water or as a libation. It is furthermore representative of the Goddess, particularly when used within a symbolic Great Rite.
Caution should be taken when purchasing a chalice. There are many places that sell decorative pewter goblets. Pewter was traditionally made with lead, although nowadays lead-free pewter can be found. Make sure any goblet you buy is meant to be drunk out of of - not all of them are. Lead is a poison that causes permanent brain damage.
• Pentacle
This is simply an object bearing a pentagram, generally put in a central location on the altar.
• Censer
Used to burn incense, which has a variety of purposes.
• Scourge
This item has mostly vanished from published books, probably because it sounds naughty. The scourge is still used by some Traditionalists during initiation or to help with trance. In both cases, the intent is to cause a tingling on the skin, NOT to break the skin or cause other significant damage. It is a purifier. The scourge also has significant symbolic value. It represents the pain and effort necessary to reach goals. Finally, coupled with the kiss, it represents the dichotomy of Mercy and Severity.
• Cords
Within a Tradition, these may be used to denote the degree of the wearer. Otherwise, they may simply be a part of your ritual garb, worn around the waist. They can be employed in cord magic or used to measure out or mark the boundaries of the circle. They are also used to bind an initiate during initiation.
• :: Other Items ::
The following are not working tools but nevertheless frequently show up in rituals, for better or worse.
• Broom
The use of the broom in Wicca probably derives from the mistaken belief of the Burning Times - if witches were accused of using brooms, then brooms must be part of the Old Religion. In fact, during the witch-craze witches were more often depicted riding sticks than brooms, but brooms are what have become popularly associated with witchcraft.
Brooms are generally used for purification, used to "sweep clean" an area. The bride and groom sometimes jump over one during handfastings.
• Candles
Candles are almost always placed at the four compass points of a circle. They may be colored in accordance to the corresponding elements of each point, or they may be a specific color dictated by the purpose of the circle. Two candles also also frequently lit on the altar to represent the God and Goddess.
• Cauldron
Cauldrons are often described as a larger version of the Cup. However, one cannot easily drink from a cauldron, and a cauldron full of water will more often than not simply be a large and cumbersome object that gets in the way. Like the broom, Wicca probably picked it up via popular witch imagery. The only practical use for a cauldron that I know of is to burn things inside it, and even then it's usually only appropriate for coven work.
• Robes
Whatever you wear for ritual should be comfortable. Avoid dressing for drama - the gods don't care. Choose a color you find appropriate - black is not a requirement. If you choose to apply symbols, be sure they are appropriate - don't feel like they're necessary and draw out the first handful you find. If you're considering letting your robe double as a Halloween costume, you should probably rethink its design.
• Staff
Some replace the wand with the staff in coven work. Like the cauldron, however, I suspect you'll find a staff overly cumbersome than not. Some witches employ a forked staff known as a stang.
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Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 4:37 pm
The Book of Shadows (BoS)...
Originally, the Book of Shadows was a collection of spells, rituals and beliefs unique to a Tradition, passed from teacher to student. These have frequently become highly codified practices, although Gardnerian author Frederic Lamond has recently suggested that this might not have been the original intention. Here he writes as if quoting Gardner, although I'm guessing it is, at best, paraphrasing:
The Book of Shadows is not a Bible or Quran. It is a personal cookbook of spells that have worked for the owner. I am giving you mine to copy to get you started: as you gain experience discard those spells that don't work for you and substitute those that you have thought of yourselves.
Lamond does admit, however, that this attitude is quite contradictory to Gardner's own attempts of attempting to pass off his Book of Shadows as being hundreds of years old, or his insistence to those who knew his BoS had been assembled by himself and high priestess Doreen Valiente that "Until recently witches were not allowed to write anything down, lest it incriminate them if their house was searched."2
Today, particularly among Solitaries and Eclectics, the BoS has become a personal book of rituals, private thoughts, meditations, spells, and anything else dealing with one's Wiccan experiences. Some compile their information is attractive, bound volumes, but others use spiral notebooks or even computer files. Some places will try and sell you special inks, saying it will make your works more effective or even that regular inks render your book useless! This is like telling a Christian only crosses made of gold are effective. No one has a right to your BoS but you. If you wish to share your personal BoS, that's fine (as long as it doesn't contain any oathbound information, if you are initiated), but it is your personal workbook and no one should ever demand that you reveal it. On the flipside, if you publicly wave your BoS around, people will presume it is fit for public consumption. You can't have it both ways.
• Because Wicca is such a personal religion, a BoS is vitally important. Setting down information allows you to more exactly review it later or compare it to information acquired at a later date. I personally have also found it helpful to write because ideas that look fine in the book of a Big Name Pagan sometimes read a lot sillier when I try to write it in my own hand. Writing helps me reconsider what I really believe, and what I'm blindly quoting.
Some authors include exercises in their books asking you to write down certain things in your BoS such as your beliefs on a variety of topics. These are important to consider and eventually write down, but I find these exercises put pressure on the reader to make such decisions on the spur of the moment. Take your time. You don't, and shouldn't, need all the answers on day one. I'm on year thirteen, and I still don't have all the answers.
"Someone I know says her family has been passing down a Book of Shadows for five-hundred years."
I hate to break it to you, but this "person you know" is lying. According to Valiente in The Rebirth of Witchcraft, Gardner first came across the term Book of Shadows in a magazine in 1949,3 where the term actually referred to a Sanskrit document regarding divination through the studying of shadows. Gardner seems to have simply taken a liking to the name, even though the two documents have nothing to do with each other.4 Therefore, in reference to Wicca or witchcraft, the term was effectively invented by Gardner.
It's technically possible that the family in question has a book of herbal or folk magic lore, although highly, highly unlikely. Peasants were almost entirely illiterate. Generally everything they taught to their children was oral, not written. Moreover, books were hideously expensive until the 20th century. Thirdly, five hundred years is a very long time for a book to last even in relatively well-protected libraries. The oldest books I have ever handled were a mere three-hundred fifty years old, formerly owned by the well-to-do, and even they were crumbling and decaying.
Historically, ceremonial magicians (who were generally very wealthy) created books known as grimoires (grim-WAARS). Some famous ones have been published, such as the Key of Solomon. Their nature was somewhat different than a Book of Shadows, however, frequently focusing upon the ability to call and bind spirits and/or strongly rooted in Judeo-Christian religion.
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Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 10:17 am
The Elements...
Our world is viewed of in terms of four physical elements - earth, water, air and fire (which roughly correspond to the four scientific forms of matter: solid, liquid, gas and plasma) - plus spirit. Together, these elements form a united whole, as is symbolized in the pentagram. All are necessary and should be in balance.
Circles are generally cast through the use of all elements. Incense (fire and air) and salt water (earth and water) is the simplest method, with yourself representing spirit. Candles (fire), incense (air), water (water), and (especially if you're outdoors) the ground beneath your feet (earth) also work. The compass points of a circle each represent an element as well, with the circle itself being spirit, uniting and binding all together.
Each of these elements correspond to certain aspects, and when attempting to do work concerning a certain aspect, we address the appropriate element. Ceremonial magic and alchemy have given us a great deal of other correspondences with the elements, everything from tools and colors to numbers and letters. Here I shall restrict myself to common Wiccan usage, what I find useful to religious ritual, and what helps illustrate the interconnections of various cycles. For instance, you will see similarities between the elemental aspects listed here and the aspects of the Triple Goddess listed elsewhere.
Air
Celtic name: Airt
Direction: East Time: Sunrise
Season: Spring Moon: Waxing
Goddess: Maiden
Tools: Incense, Wand
Major Aspect: Intelligence
Air is the element of intellect, study, and book-learning, and therefore of the sciences. It is also the element of youth, creativity, and spontaneity, and of communication and travel.
Fire
Celtic name: Deas
Direction: South Time: Noon
Season: Summer Moon: Full
Goddess: Motherhood
Tools: Candle, Athame
Major Aspect: Strength
Fire is the element of strength, especially physical strength but also strength of will, and energy. Fire is also the element of passion, courage, protection, purification, transformation, chaos, and sex. Fire is life and health as well as destruction.
Water
Celtic name: Iar
Direction: West Time: Sunset
Season: Autumn Moon: Waning
Goddess: Crone
Tools: Chalice, Cauldron
Major Aspect: Wisdom
Water is the element of wisdom, clarity, and common sense, especially that which comes from experience. It is also the element of emotion, intuition and divination. It is the major element of healing, and also contains aspects of transformation and purification, and can also represent death and rebirth.
Earth
Celtic name: Tuath
Direction: North Time: Midnight
Season: Winter Moon: New
Goddess: Dark
Tools: Salt, Pentacle
Major Aspect: Stability
Earth is the element of stability, order and grounding. It is also the element of fertility, both literal and figurative, and therefore of pregnancy, growth, birth, material gain, business, prosperity sustenance, and creativity. As the element from which came and to which we will return, earth is the element of death and rebirth, beginnings and endings, and silence.
Because earth symbolizes endings and beginnings, I cast my circles starting in the north.
Spirit
Also referred to as Ether or Aethyr.
Direction: Center and circumference
Tools: Circle, self
Major Aspect: Everything and nothing
Spirit is the element of transcendence, transformation, change, the void, everywhere and nowhere, all time and no time. It is the primal force that flows through all of us and all things. It is not often addressed directly in ritual, because it is the element of ourselves, our will, and the gods, all of which are already actively invoked.
The correspondences, combined with the Wheel of the Year.
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 12:55 pm
Mostly solid information, I would query the "Celtic name" bit of the elements. Firstly as to what is Celtic? My knowledge is of modern Gaeilge (Irish) only, but I would have listed them as follows:
Fire; Tine (pro: tin-a)
Water: Uisce (pro: ISH-ka)
Earth: Talamh (tol- uv)
Air: Aer (literal translation); Gaoth (closer to meaning) (pro: gwee)
To me, deas means nice or good, iar means west, and tuath means people or tribe. However, none of this makes any impact spiritually, it was just if people are interested.
I don't think those four celtic names are particularly true to the Wiccan religion either, though I could be wrong there
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