| East | South | West | North | Below | Above | Within |
| Vision | Incarnation | Transformation | Transcendence | Gaia | All That Is | Stillness |
| Motivation | Actions | Lessons | Potential | Internal | External | Synthesis |
| intellect | will | emotion | strength | support | sky | spirit |
| Air | Fire | Water | Earth | The Earth | Great Spirit | Here And Now |
| yellow | red | blue | green | black | white | purple |
It is also understandable if you think of the individual as the center of their own world. The world and the self become interchangeable.
The word element is commonly used to mean a small part of a larger whole as in "Elements of style". When Paracelsus was trying to find the smallest parts that the physical world was made of he observed that everything he encountered was either hard like a rock, fluid like water, gaseous like air or was on fire which is none of the above. He called these the four Elements and he had a point, matter has four states: Solid, Fluid, Gaseous and Energy. Paracelsus did not limit his definition of fire to open flames he extended it to include any heat, from friction to the heat of a warm blooded animal. What he classified as Fire fits well under the modern name of Energy.
Einstein discovered that Energy is the fourth state of matter when he proved that E=mc2. (Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared.) The law of the conservation of matter and energy states that in a closed system matter can become energy and energy can become matter but neither can be destroyed.
But what about the periodic table of elements?
Long after Paracelsus rational people continued to try to divide the world into smaller and smaller parts. At one point the parts they found were atoms. At the time they thought of atoms as little solid balls and they thought that they had found the smallest elements of matter. Atom means indivisible. But the atom is divisible it isn't solid and it is made up of even smaller parts called electrons, protons, and neutrons. And even those tiny parts are made up of even smaller "elements".
But even so, not everything in the universe is made of atoms. The universe is full of subatomic particles and energy. The purpose of all this research was to find out what the universe is made out of. The periodic table of elements is still only a type of answer not the "one true answer" to that question. Now the scientists trying to answer that question are quantum physicists. And the answers they are getting are more metaphysical every day.
So although The Four Elements did not turn out to be the elementary particles of matter they are still a valid way to cut reality into four pieces. Everything is either solid, liquid, gaseous or energy regardless of what it is made of.
Each of the quarters have specific characteristics:
| Direction: | East | South | West | North |
| Element: | Air | Fire | Water | Earth |
| Color: | Yellow | Red | Blue | Green |
| Field: | Intellect | Will | Emotion | Strength |
| Manifestation: | Knowledge | Energy | Passion | Endurance |
| Body aspect: | Breath | Heat | Blood | Flesh |
| Use Aspect: | Scent | Sun | Rain | Soil |
| Material State | Gaseous | Energy | Fluid | Solid |
| World Aspect: | Wind | Earth's Core | Ocean | Rock |
| Tool: | Wand | Athame | Chalice | Pentacle |
| Symbol: | Incense | Candle | Bowl of Water | Caldron of Salt |
| Time of Day: | Dawn | Noon | Dusk | Midnight |
| Season: | Spring | Summer | Fall | Winter |
| Sabbat: | Eostar | Litha | Mabon | Yule |
| Time Of Life: | Childhood | Youth | Maturity | Old Age |
| Elemental: | Sprite | Imp | Undine | Gnomes |
| Paracelsusian: | Sylphs | Salamanders | Dryads | Elves |
| Fair folk: | Fairies, Pixie | Goblins | Nereids | Brownie, Kobold |
| Other: | Aerial | Mermaids, Selkie, nymph, nixie, Kelpie, Naiad, Limniad | dwarf, faun, Satyr | |
| Animals: | Eagle, dove, wren, raven, owl, cockerel | Dogs, Wolf, Coyote, Lion, cats, fox | Dolphins, Whales, frog, butterfly, snake, salmon | Bear, deer, Elk, Buffalo, turtle, bull, boar |
Quarter calls establish an inner rim within the Circle. When we cast the Circle, we built the temple for our rites. The quarter calls invite our guests. Each quarter call consists of a descriptive evocation of the forces associated with that quarter, a request for assistance, a welcoming, a signal of arrival, and a statement of completion. Quarter calls are Magical acts and require statements of completion.
When the quarters have all been called honor the East once more to complete circle. Honoring the east for completion can be as simple as blowing a kiss in that direction or rapping on the east wall.
These quarter calls are a variation on a set that were written by my Coven sister, Rainbow Darkly. They originally began "Hail, Guardians of the Watchtowers of the East, Powers of Air..." and continued on as I still have them. I changed the beginning because the Greeting "Hail Guardians of the Watchtowers" reflects a Ceremonial and Cabalistic influence that was never a strong part of my practice. If you are doing a ritual during the day substitute "At this Site" for "On this Night".
"Now let us invite our honored guests from the land of spirit."
| Living Spirit of the East, We call to You Airy Sylphs Powers of Intellect Strength of the whirlwind and pleasant scents of the Dawning Spring come join us on this night be witness to this Rite help our minds to think as one Welcome and Blessed Be
| Living Spirit of the South, We call to you Fiery Salamanders Powers of Will Wild beauty of lightning and gentle warmth of the Summer Sun come join us on this night be witness to this rite help our energy to burn as one Welcome and Blessed Be
|
| Living Spirit of the West We call to You Watery Selkies Powers of Emotion Majesty of a storm as sea and cooling patter of the Autumn Rain come join us on this night be witness to this Rite help our emotions flow a one Welcome and Blessed Be
| Living Spirit of the North We call to you Earthy Gnomes Powers of Incarnation Fertility of garden soil and endurance of cold ground in winter be witness to this rite come join us on this night help our bodies to work as one Welcome and Blessed Be
|
The following is a set of Quarter Calls I wrote. They are based on a breathing meditation from "Sister Light, Sister Dark" by Jane Yolen.
| Spirits of Air, We call to you. The Breath of life the Knowledge of life, the Wind of life, it blows from thee to me, Be with us now;
| Spirits of Fire, We call to you. The Heat of life, he Will of life, the Fire of life, it burns from thee to me, Be with us now;
|
| Spirits of Water We call to you. The Blood of life, the Passion of life, the Water of life, it flows from thee to me, Be with us now;
| Spirits of Earth, We call to you. The Flesh of life, the Strength of life, the Earth of life, it moves from thee to us, Be with us now |
This next series is based on a West call I was asked to write for the hand fasting of some friends, Jenny and Kassie, on May 15, 1994 in the waxing crescent.
Because this was a wedding I wrote this call as a spell to bless their union.
I wrote it under the influence of my fathers teachings on Old Norse magical systems. Each call contains three verses two naming verses and one commanding verse. The first verse contains three lines describing attributes, followed by a specific naming line. The second verse consists of three lines describing capabilities, followed by one welcoming line. The third verse consists of three lines requesting action and one closing line.
In old Norse, as in many magical systems, the law of names creates a bond between the caller and the called. Once you have called someone by their true name and reminded them of their obligations then you may ask them to do things.
| Weavers of the winds bringers of breezes The tossing of tempests. Living Spirits of the East, Airy sylphs
Teachers of reason.
Bless this union with your gifts
| Weavers of the fire bringers of warmth The heat of the sun. Living Spirits of the south, fiery salamanders.
Teachers of discipline.
Bless this union with your gifts
|
| Weavers of the mists bringers of rain The pull of the tides. Living Spirits of the west, watery selkies.
Teachers of joy.
Bless this union with your gifts
| Weavers of rock bringers of plenty The fertility of soil. Living Spirits of the north, earthy gnomes.
Teachers of patience.
Bless this union with your gifts |
In a topic the reason Stone Henge is closed to tourists is that people kept taking samples and the site was deteriorating. The tradition at sacred sites is to leave an offering not take one.* well meaning people are destroying famous sacred sites in their enthusiasm. My advice is "stay home". All Gods are local take care of the water spirit who bathes and nourishes you and you do not need any other.
* To this day it is almost impossible to restrain a person of european decent from throwing spare change in fountains.
That said, I do have a recipe for sacred water for special occasions. It is called "Three Light Thunder Water" for reasons that will rapidly become apparent.
Like all powerful spells this spell is also a sutra, a tool for meditation, as you consider the implications of the parts and their interactions you will be led to greater understanding
Now for the Three Light part. On a day predicted to be clear pour the water out into the bowl and let it sit in the sun from sunrise to sunset. Next on a clear night let it sit in the light of the full moon from moon rise to moon set. Finally on a dark night let it sit in the light of a bonfire for one night (for city dwellers a ring of candles will do).
Store in the stoppered bottle and use for special occasions.
It has been pointed out to me that it is actually four light if you count the lightning.
© 1998 Sheherazahde, Braided Wheel Tradition this page updated 12/28/01
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