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- ** MAGICK 4 -- ELEMENTS AND FORCES **
-
- The Ancients divided the world into four basic
- principles or *elements* -- earth, water, fire, and air.
- That viewpoint has mostly changed with advances of science,
- but the four elements are still accepted in magick, for they
- are more closely linked with the emotions than modern
- explanations of the world. Many occultists think of the magical
- elements as forces, or as *qualities* of energy; especially
- within the astral world. Each element has a symbol and color.
- (Common symbols are -- fire: a triangle pointing up; air:
- a triangle pointing up and with a horizontal line through the
- middle of it; water: a triangle pointing down; earth: a
- triangle pointing down and with a horizontal line through the
- middle of it.) Colors of the elements are -- earth: brown and
- green; water: blue; fire: red; air: yellow...The Eastern
- tattvic system uses different symbols and colors. The elements
- are often used in magick ritual.
- Magick sees relationships between things. These
- relationships are called 'correspondences'. Although magical
- correspondences are not literally equal to one another, you can
- think of them that way (such as gold equals sun). Tables of
- these relationships, called 'Correspondence Tables', are
- available (an important one is Crowley's '777'). Thus one thing
- or symbol can be used to suggest another. This is important in
- magick, for the magician may surround himself with as many
- appropriate correspondences as he can to vividly affect the
- senses; thus making his magical contact with the inner planes
- more lucid.
- The magical elements have correspondences with the
- tarrot cards as the four suits. The four quarters (directions
- of the universe as used in magick ritual) and the Archangels
- also correspond with these same elements --
-
- Element Suit Quarter Archangel
- ======= ==== ======= =========
-
- earth pentacles north Uriel
- water cups west Gabriel
- fire wands south Michael
- air swords east Raphael
-
-
- ELEMENTALS
-
- The magical elements are said to be peopled by spirits
- and mythological entities called elementals or nature spirits.
- These are grouped into four main categories --
-
- Gnome (earth) Undine (water) Salamander (fire) Sylph (air)
- ============= ============== ================= ===========
-
- dwarfs nymphs jin (genies) fairies
- elves tritons storm angels
- brownies mermaids
- hobgoblins mermen
- lepricauns sirens
- harpies
-
-
- Elementals are usually only visible to those with
- clairvoyant sight and are more likely to be seen at night in
- the mountains or country away from cities -- especially if you
- are tired or sleepy. Although elementals exist naturally, it is
- also possible to create one which will exist for a limited time
- -- no elemental has immortality. A created elemental is called
- an 'artificial elemental'.
- To the Ancients, elementals were the physical
- explanation of the universe. However, some contemporary
- occultists see them only as symbols for forces and otherwise
- not 'real' at all. Another word sometimes used for elemental is
- 'familiar' (usually in medieval witchcraft); the term is
- ambiguous, as it might merely be an ordinary household pet such
- as a dog or cat.
-
-
- YIN YANG
-
- Chinese philosophy and acupuncture talk of yin yang.
- This is the idea of polarity, or opposite pairs, as shown --
-
-
- YIN YANG
- === ====
-
- water fire
- contraction expansion
- cold hot
- feminine masculine
- moon sun
- negative positive
- passive active
- ebb flow
- wane wax
-
- The list could go on. In Chinese literature it is quite long.
- Some occultists suggest everything can be similarly arranged
- into related opposite pairs.
-
-
- SIMPLE MAGICK
-
- Here is a simple magical technique you may wish to
- try. It is a variation of affirmation, which was discussed
- in an earlier lesson...To help to you achieve your goal
- (magical or otherwise), find a word or short phase which sums
- up what it is that you want to accomplish. Write the word (or
- phrase) down 10 times each day until you achieve success.
-
-
- REVIEW QUESTIONS
-
- 1) List the four elements.
- 2) What is an elemental?
- 3) What are correspondences?
-
-
- BOOK LIST
-
- William Britten, Art Magic (long out of print, but in some
- libraries).
- Pete Carrol, Liber Null.
- Wing-Tsit Chan, A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy.
- Manly Hall, Unseen Forces.
-
-
- ========
- Phil Hansford, 11/86
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