The children of the earth tend to see their religious practices in terms of symbols and metaphors that instruct people in life lessons. When we ask an element to join us in ritual we are, therefore, not asking a giant mound of intelligent dirt to appear and start a conversation. What we are asking is that the symbolic energy of that element fill us. To do that we identify the manifestations of that element in the outer world—say, the smell of fresh-mowed grass, for earth—and use that imagery to find the power of that element within ourselves. If done correctly you will feel the power, emotions, and energy of that element surround you, well within you, and flow to your extremities, filling you.
We also view religious stories as mythology, which does not mean we think they are untrue. Our Goddess, Nyx, is very real and tangible. Rather, mythology refers to sacred stories intended to instruct and guide people to a spiritual truth through the use of metaphor. Outsiders who read our stories often make the mistake of interpreting them as historical facts, which they are not. Interpreting myths as facts reduces them to something that happened long ago to people who are long dead, and this makes applying their lessons to our own lives much more difficult. Rather, we interpret the stories as myths, where we are intended to find the strength of the hero within ourselves and to see within our own lives the flaws of the villain and take heed that those flaws don’t contribute to our own downfall. If we read the myths and apply the lessons to ourselves, learning from the virtues of the teachers and heroes while taking warnings from the tragic flaws of the doomed, then the stories become living traditions and are renewed in every age. Learning from the actions of mythic figures gives us wisdom, for while intelligence is learning from your own mistakes, wisdom is learning from the triumphs and failures of others.
Greek philosophers believed that all things were formed from the elements—earth, air, fire, and water. Add spirit to that and they weren’t too far off the mark. Ah . . . I can hear many of you out there protesting, “What about iron and helium, gold and mercury, what about all the elements on the periodic table from hydrogen to unuoctium, should we just chuck all of those and replace them with only five?” While I’m sure many chemistry students would welcome the change wholeheartedly and do a gleeful little dance around the bonfire they created from their partially memorized periodic tables, that is not what I’m suggesting at all. So just wipe that manic grin from your faces and put down the matches.
Remember symbols and metaphors and not taking everything so literally? Well, this is one of those times. The five elements of earth, air, fire, water, and spirit are concepts, categories into which everything can be placed if you look at things symbolically and metaphorically rather than concretely. There are many ways to arrange things. Just as you might arrange the clothes in your closet by color or season, or fat clothes and skinny clothes, all of life can be placed into categories. The periodic table arranges all the elements by their number of protons, their valence electrons, and whether they are metals or non-metals. The children of the earth arrange the elements by their characteristics. Is it rigid and solid? Then it’s earth. Wet and flowing? Then it’s water. Heat or light equal fire, and abstract or etheric things are air. Iron is a form of earth, while helium, being a gas, is a form of air. Who hasn’t seen gold and thought it burned with its own inner fire? And mercury is a form of water; it’s the only element that is liquid at room temperature. The characteristics we use in this categorization can be literal, symbolic, or emotional, so the heat of sudden emotional attraction is just as much fire as a pyre and the chilly wash of humiliation as much water as a winter rainstorm.
Elements can also be mutable in almost miraculous ways. An explosive metal, sodium, will combine with the poisonous gas chlorine to make the very earthy salt, and two airs in the form of hydrogen and oxygen gas combine to form the very watery . . . well, water. These transformations are almost magical, but people either don’t know about them or don’t think about them, so their composition becomes just mundane background information. Think about the magic in your own body, which is a combination of the earth in your bones; muscle and skin kept alive with the air that flows into and out of your lungs; the chemical reactions that provide the fire to warm your blood; the water of life, which flows like a river throughout your being; and lastly the spirit, that spark of deity providing an indefinable power that gives you consciousness and makes you more than just the sum of your parts. The children of earth both see the elements as part of all nature, where everything is a combination of earth, air, fire, and water, and everything from the stones and the trees to the streams and the bunnies has a bit of the divine flowing through it.
In ritual, the children of the earth honor the elements as the primal forces of the universe and as the building blocks of life. Each element is oriented toward a compass point. The pairings of element with direction comes from a time so far back that even the vampyres have no record of their origins, but we believe the associations originated very long ago in the area now known as Great Britain. The east side of what is now England has intense winds that blow in off the channel, so the ancients believed the winds were born in the east. To the south, the further one sails the warmer it gets, so the ancients felt the birthplace of fire was to the south. To the west of England there is the vast expanse of water that is the Atlantic Ocean, which until relatively recently humans believed took you to the very edge of the world, so the ancients felt the west was the home of all water. As one moves north onto the mainland the landscape transforms into mountains so foreboding that few would attempt to pass, so the ancients felt this direction was the very origin of earth. Now, saving the best for last, we have spirit, which is born from within and flows out from the center of our being. Therefore, the center of the Circle is reserved for spirit.
The elements are also represented by the points of the pentagram, which is a five-pointed star. Leonardo da Vinci used the pentagram to represent the head, arms, and legs of his Vitruvian man, and the children of the earth use it to represent the elements—however, while spirit is almost universally associated with the top point, there is a bit of disagreement among the various human groups as to which point represents which of the other elements.
I’ll tell you one possibility that I especially like, as its order mirrors the creation of the planet. The spirit point is of course at the top, because everything begins and ends with spirit. Now, when the earth was formed it would have first been a glowing ball churning in a massive inferno of molten elements; therefore, as you trace the pentagram from the top point down and to the right, the first point you encounter is fire. As the inferno began to cool the planet would have begun to take shape, forming a congealed scab over the otherwise blazing interior and giving the first inklings of what this churning sphere was to become, so as the pentagram is traced from the bottom right to the top left the next point that is reached is earth. As the planet cooled, gasses would have been expelled from the heaver elements in a hissing rush of nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen, which, along with other gasses, formed the first atmosphere. Therefore, as we trace the pentagram from the upper left to the upper right we next arrive at air. As the planet continued to cool to a point below the boiling point of most liquids, the vapor that had formed from the hydrogen and oxygen mixing in the atmosphere would have started to condense and the first rain would have begun to fall in a torrential downpour, filling the first oceans and creating the primordial soup from which all life arose. Therefore, as the pentagram is traced from the upper right to the lower left, we encounter the point of water. All things in life are a circle, or at least a cycle, so we finish our pentagram where we began. As our line ascends to the top we again encounter spirit because, of course, everything begins and ends with the spirit.
In addition to being associated with a compass point, each element also has a color that represents it, and in Circle an appropriately colored candle is often used to represent the element. However, before I begin talking about elements and ritual I think I should pause
a moment to discuss what Circle is. Circle, for the children of the earth, is a religious service, but not one like many of you will be familiar with. Circles are held for the same reasons all religions hold services and perform rituals. They are held to celebrate sacred times of the year, honor Deity, mark passages (births, weddings, funerals), ask for boons from the Divine (healing, money, or love), and any other reason one might wish to work in conjunction with the Divine. In Circle people stand facing each other, and every person fully participates in the ritual as everyone dances, sings, chants, and experiences the closeness to the Divine that Circle brings. Circles may be performed for a variety of reasons, but each begins by honoring the primal forces of creation—the elements.
For vampyres, Circle begins in the direction of the rising moon, although Wiccans would say it begins with the rising sun, so Wiccans and others associate the eastern quadrant and the element of air with the yellow of that orb. Fire burns with a red/orange flame and embers glow crimson, so the southern quadrant and the element of fire is associated with the color red. Water is blue, and green is the color of the living earth, the grass and trees covering the planet; therefore both the colors for the western and northern quadrants are pretty much self-explanatory. This only leaves spirit as the final element, and what is the color of spirit? There is some debate on this amongst the different groups that comprise the children of the earth. Vampyres and many others use purple as the color of the final element, as it’s the highest frequency of light people can discern with their unaided eyes and it’s the color of the highest chakra, or energy center, of the body in Hinduism. However, others say spirit is the purity of white absent of all color, or black, since all colors are present within it, or even a blend of the two representing the yin and yang of the soul. Possibly spirit should be the silver and gold of the moon and sun, which many use to represent the Goddess and God. Or perhaps the color of spirit is the palest green of a shaft of light, a bit of fire from the sun after it travels through the air and reflects off a pond covered in water lilies. The experience of spirit is different for every individual and the colors used to represent it can be just as varied and unique.
In ritual, when asking an element to join the Circle, vampyres prefer the person asking to have a special affinity for an element, but such an affinity is not necessary. Wiccans, being human, have less sensitivity for the elemental forces, but with training, even they may be able to call the elements by focusing on the feelings and images associated with each one. When calling the element of air everyone faces east toward the rising moon and, just as Damien does, takes up the yellow candle, lights it, and focuses on everything that exemplifies air. Then Air—the archetypal force that encompasses not only the element but everything that is associated with that element—is invited to join the Circle.
Guardian of the east, spirit of air, we ask that you bring into our Circle the breath of harmony with all things. Spirit of the air who gives us the breath of life we ask that you come hear us use that breath in song this night.
The early Greeks considered air to be the first principle of the world, and the Latin word Spirare, meaning breath, became the root of our words aspire, inspiration, and even spirit. Air is not simply that which blows; it is the inhalation that infuses our bodies with oxygen down to our tiniest cells. Air is the breath of the Muse that brings inspiration and mental activity. Air is the winds of change, the spoken word, the voice lifted in song or in praise of our Goddess. Air is the arrow that flies, the precise and planned movements of a sword master or a martial artist. It is the breath of a lover on your skin, it is the lips millimeters apart, hovering just beyond each other as your breath mingles and you breathe in the essence of each other in anticipation of a kiss. Birds represent air, as can be seen in the heightened vision of a hawk and in the owl, which represents the wisdom of the goddess Athena, who is still worshipped by Wiccans to this day. Air is represented in a Wiccan Circle by the athame (ceremonial knife), the sword, the pure tones of a bell, and the smoke from incense or a smudge stick, wrapping everyone in its cleansing ethereal tendrils. In fact, a smudge stick or a bell is often carried around the Circle during casting. Air is associated with the zodiac signs of Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius, which are known for their talkative natures and clarity of thought. Look at those who have an affinity for air and you will find that like Damien they will have an agile mind and a quick wit. I have never understood why humans refer to the unintelligent as “air heads,” because the domain of the mind is air.
Guardian of the south, spirit of fire, we ask that you bring the light to our steps. Spirit who kindles the fires of chance we ask that you give us power, exuberance, and dance.
Fire warms your homes and cooks your food, but it represents so much more in your life. Many consider fire the first tool and the harnessing of fire the turning point between primitive and modern man. The Greeks believed Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. Something so powerful being stolen from the heavens so enraged Zeus that he chained Prometheus to a rock and had a vulture rip out and consume his liver daily. Then it would grow back overnight so the process could continue.
The Greeks also divided fire into two kinds of flame—the helpful and the harmful. The helpful kind of fire was that of Hephaestus, god of the smiths, and of Hestia, goddess of the hearth and home fires. The second type of fire was the destructive fire associated with Hades, god of the Underworld. Fires could shift and change from one to the other in an instant, and this same division runs through the fires in our lives, as they can both warm and consume. Passion can become jealousy, caring can become obsession, righteous indignation can transform to blind fury. The warmth of the sun on your body can become painful blisters, and the heat of the body can become a fever that burns the mind. In a Wiccan Circle fire may be represented by a candle, a wand, a staff, or the flame on the smudge stick that transforms the dried herbs into cleansing smoke. A candle is often carried around the Circle to represent the element of fire during casting. In the zodiac the signs Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius, with their energy and enthusiasm, are associated with fire.
Fire is the forceful action that brings victory or defeat, the adrenaline that pushes us to our limits and can drive us over a cliff. Fire fueled Pheidippides’ run from Marathon to Athens and melted the wings of Icarus, causing him to plummet into the sea. The goddess Hecate, who is worshipped by many Wiccans today, personifies fire in all its forms: she is known as Pyrphoros (fire bearing), Pyripnon (fire breather), Daidoukhos (torch bearer), and Phosphoros (light bearer).
Fire in any of its forms, whether the warming fire of the hearth, the working fires of the forge, or the fire of passion that ignites the soul, can be a force for creation or destruction. This can be seen in Zoey’s Circle, where Shaunee has an affinity for fire. Shaunee is passionate and protective but can get herself into trouble when her passion overrides her reason.
Fire is an element that is invaluable in our lives, but it must be respected, because if you begin to think it’s tame, it will bite you just to remind you of its power.
Guardian of the west, spirit of water, we ask that you allow love to flow into our Circle. Water, the womb that bore all life, we ask that you wash over us cleansing our spirit of toil and strife.
Water is the waves lapping onto the shore, the soothing beauty of a stream, and the thunder of a waterfall. Water is the dew on the grass, a gentle summer rain, and a snowy winter’s day. It is the blood in your veins, the tears you weep, and the sweat on your brow. Water is associated with your emotional nature, your hopes, and your fears. From water we learn to yield and flow, we learn patience and persistence. There is nothing more yielding than water and yet nothing is stronger.
Warriors often revere water. If you strike at it, it’s not there—it flows around obstacles and appears behind you. But this ability of water to yield belies its true power, for it can strip a mountain down to a plain, carve giant canyons, and hew a cavern from living rock. Water has the patience to w
ear away at its opponent little by little; it is called the universal solvent because it will eat away more things than any acid. Water will erode the earth, extinguish fire, and dissolve air dragging it down to the depths of the oceans. In the end water will always win. In a Wiccan Circle, water is often represented by a bowl of water (sometimes salted to purify it and combine it with earth), anything blue, seashells, and the chalice, and water is often sprinkled around the Circle while asking water to join the ritual. The astrological signs of Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces, with their caring and emotional nature, are associated with water.
The goddess Aphrodite was born from the sea, as indeed all life had its origins in there. Vampyres, Wiccans, and many other religions view water as a cleansing agent and ceremonially immerse, sprinkle, or wash people to cleanse their body, mind, and spirit. The traits associated with water are compassion, caring, wisdom, creativity, compromise, and forgiveness. You can see this in Erin, who has an affinity for water. Erin is very like her “twin” Shaunee, but her personality is not as fiery. She often just flows along with her friend, and is also more willing to compromise and forgive.
Guardian of the north, spirit of earth, we ask that you bring to our Circle the peace and security of the earth. Spirit of the earth, from which our very flesh is formed, bring us grounding and stability as our rite is performed.
From dust we came and to dust we shall return. This concept sounds a bit morbid, but in essence it is correct. We are formed from the earth—well, mainly we are formed from carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen with a few trace elements like calcium to toughen up the bones and iron to give us a bit of color, but when you get right down to it all that is just part of the earth. But what an amazing piece of earth we are, even the humans. (No offense!) We walk, talk, live, and love, all because the spirit moves the earth. But wait, I’m getting a bit ahead of myself; let’s jump back to earth.
Nyx in the House of Night Page 14
