Elements and their Correspondence

The traditional western elemental correspondences are as such;

Earth: Relates to the North, the new moon, winter, the color green, life cycles, and midnight. It has power in grounding and that translates into the realms of protection, money, hearth, home, etc. In Tarot and various Pagan paths the element is represented by Pentacles. 

Air: Relates to the East, the waning moon, spring, the color yellow, and sunrise. It has power in communication, moving through unseen realms of thought, wisdom, intellect, etc. In Tarot and various Pagan paths the element is represented by Swords while others Wands.

Fire: Relates to the South, the full moon, summer, the color red, and noon. It has power in heat, purification, destruction, passion, creativity, etc. In the Tarot and various Pagan paths the element is represented by Wands while others Swords.

Water: Relates to the West, the waxing moon, autumn, the color blue, and sunset. It has power in emotion, intuition, change, adapting, blessings, overcoming obstacles, etc. In the Tarot and various Pagan paths the element is represented by cups. 

The Fifth Element: There are some more modern Pagan traditions that use and recognize a 5th element, the element of Spirit. This is also known as akasha or aether and is the bridge between the spiritual and the physical - part of the universal energy.

All of the information regarding the elements, their  Correspondences, and their uses in Alchemy makes sense to me and working with them has never been a problem. So, I have never really felt like I needed to explore the subject at different angles, look through the information with different lenses, or meditate deeply on the elements and their connections. 

It was not until coming across the Blacktree tradition that made me sit back and do a double take regarding the elements and their Correspondences. The Blacktree's interpretation (which was originally put forth by Robert Cochrane and is called The Northern Quarter System which is based out of the four winds of Celtic Tradition) is thus:

Earth: This is placed in the South becuase the Earth dwells beneath our feet. 

Air: This is placed in the North becuase air is above us.

Fire: This is placed in the East becuase the sun rises there.

Water: This is placed in the west because water can always be found in the west. In addition, it is where the sun sets and is the home of the West Gate, where the dead are said to enter the underworld (Hel). 

The elements, their powers, and other associations do not change or differ much other ways.

These correspondences also align with the four qualities given to them by the philosopher Aristotle - hot, cold, dry, and wet.

The Northern Quarter System is a more land based way of looking/interacting with the worlds and how the spiritual interacts with the physical and vice versa.

This system also gives us a variation on the traditional pentagram. It stays compass like and there is no discernible way to say there is a right side up or what have you. It also creates a need for different technique when using it to invoke or banish per the techniques put forth by The Golden Dawn in their Lesser Banishing Ritual and others. When invoking the person starts at the point of the element that is being used and traces clockwise and for banishing trace counter clockwise.  

Gods of the Norse

If one studies the lore and the history of the Norse it quickly becomes clear that their Gods are different then other Gods and Goddesses. These differences have been deduced by the lore, the Norse and their ancestors personally experiences, and all of the modern day personally experiences followers of the path have. The main reasons why the Norse Gods are different are thus:

1. They are not omnipotent 

There are multiple instances and examples in the lore where various Gods go searching for knowledge and wisdom. One such example is Odin plucking out his own eye to gain wisdom from the Well of Mimir.

2. They are not immortal

The Gods rely on the Golden Apples that are kept by the Goddess Idun to stay ageless. They can also be killed. Such examples are in the death of Baldr and Kvisar (in addition to all of the deaths and chaos in Ragnrok). 

3. They are fallible
There are numerous instances where they act out of emotion (Freyr giving up his powerful sword in his quest for love), are morally flexible (The gods made an oath if payment with a person to build a wall around Asgard but found a way to get out of holding up their end of the oath), and go to various lengths to get that they want (Freya slept with multiple dwarves to get the Necklace of the Brisings).

4. They don't necessarily have purviews 

In the lore and history it is rarely stated that the Gods control certain aspects of the realms or are in charge of various elements. The Gods depicted in the primary source materials are larger then life personalities. The Norse, their ancestors, and modern day interpretations/followers of the path have attached various purviews to the Gods based on their personality traits and the types of myths, situations in those myths that they are involved in, the emotions involved in those myths, and personal experiences of the spiritual. These associations have also been popularized by the media, Marvel, and Hollywood.

All of these aspects with the combined knowledge and belief of how the Gods expect their patrons and kin to have a plan B (this promotes self sufficiency and preperation) in life and dealings (they do not pick us up and carry us in the sand) with them makes the Gods very humanistic. This humanistic aspect makes the Gods extremely relatable which helps those on the path.

This is how I talk about the Gods/the divine and relate to the Gods personality. Though, I have been part witness to and part of multiple conversations where one side is describing them like I have and the other side says yes but that is only how they are perceived and experienced with our limited resources (this is meant to represent our five senses, the limitations of our perception by our brain, and other spiritual limitations our physical bodies) - this connects with the fact the existence, time, matter, energy, and space are completely different for the divine and other spiritual beings. This ongoing debate (for lack of a better term) has inspired me to do some research regarding the divine and have gone back to the Vedics. 

This has led to the conclusion that each God simultaneously exists in three different forms. The first form being the anthropomorphic one that the Norse, their ancestors, and the follows of the path experience and relate to. The second form being an celestial existence and this his how they interact on that level, and third being a cosmic intelligence. Cosmic Intelligence is the idea that the deities exist as a force the permeates and is a part of everything (including every person - the divine spark if you will) in the galaxy. It is described in the Srimad Bhagavatam 2.1.32-33:

“Oh King, the rivers are the veins of the Cosmic Person and the trees are the hairs of his body. The air is his breath, the ocean is his waist, the hills and mountains are the stacks of his bones and the passing ages are his movements"

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References

Dime Store Magick

In light of the Altars Four post I have decided now would be a good time to talk about something that I think is very important and more often then not misunderstood.

Modern society has commercialized Paganism. By this I mean that there is a general attitude that makes people feel like they need to have X, Y, Z to be considered faithful or a true walker of the path. This mentality directly feeds into the belief that for ritual work of any kind to be effective and to have an altar that won't be offensive to the spirits/Gods you need the X,Y,Z items and have to say things and move in an exact way. 

This mentality is mainly perpetuated by the literature and the general attitude of people already involved which creates a self sustaining cycle. This happens because the litature itself and the tone (of how it has to be done) of it describes what needs to be on an altar/how to set it up, what items/ingredients are needed for various workings, how you should commune with the spirits, etc. This said litature rarely explains that you can or should improvise, make your own ritual tools, use your own wording, and write your own rituals/spells. Then people armed with these references (or just how they were taught) preach these "necessities" and thus, the cycle continues to perpetuate. 

Do not get me wrong, I think it is great that we easily have access to Pagan litature and supplies. It is the "you need this" or "most do it this way" attitude that is intimidating and creates self doubt in the individual practitioner regarding their faith. I was a victim of this intimidation and self doubt for a very long time - this was what held me back from practicing for a very, very long time. It was not until a conversation with a High Priestess that cleared my beliefs of this need and made me realize that intent, faith, and effort are 90% of it. My first altar (I used it for years) was four different stones that represented the four elements in a little box and a tea candle. 

People need to remember/realize/be taught that ritual tools are metaphorical and help one focus the energy and their mind. In addition, altar items are considered the same as above. Even the Buddha said many time, "My teaching is like a finger pointing at the moon. Do not mistake the finger for the moon." This is something important and powerful to remember when studying Paganism/Spirituality in any shape or form and Manly P. Hall goes on to elaborate that;

...wisdom drapes her truth with symbolism, and covers her insight with allegory. Creeds, rituals, poems are parables and symbols. The ignorant take them literally and build for themselves prison houses of words and with bitter speech and bitterer taunt denounce those who will not join them in the dungeon. Before the rapt vision of the seer, dogma and ceremony, legend and trope dissolve and fade, and he sees behind the fact that truth, behind the symbol the Reality. Through the shadow shines ever the Perfect Light.

These items/tools do not need to be exact or bought and can be improvised. The people's Gods and the spirits will not be offended if you do not have that $300.00 dollar statue of them in the window or some fancy hand carved hammer. A hand crafted token of representation and/or a trip to a thrift/craft/hardware store or the woods (be respectful and thankful) will work just as well if not better becuase the person put in time and creative energy. 

Certain items or techniques may resonate with what or whoever the person is working with and those said items and techniques may make things easier when working with particular energy but it is not needed (remember to stay responsible and safe). Does a person need a green candle for a money spell to work? No. If the green candle will help the person focus their mind and energy for their desired intent then bring on the green candle.