What's your element?

[PerditaPickle]

I particularly identify with the element of water - it's the element that I 'crave' the most.

And I love the earth:  trees, green spaces, immersing myself in nature - so earth's probably my second 'favourite' element.

I like a fire just fine, meditating before a candle flame is good, woodsmoke's quite a nice smell and all (if not too full in the face, that is).

Air is obviously just as crucial to life as any element, but I don't feel a need to surround myself with it more than I automatically am surrounded by it (obviously) - I don't crave mountaintop views or love the wind or need an open window at all times, or whatever.

So water is top of my list of the elements - if I could swim daily I would, and the water is one of the most relaxing of sounds to me; whether it be a babbling stream, bubbling fountain, the ocean swell, or rainfall.  Petrichor is my all time favourite smell (thank you Ashmire et all, I believe, for assisting with putting a name to it in recent discussions).

Do you have a particular element that you'd identify as your element?  And if so, are you able to articulate why this is the case?

[EclecticWheel]

I particularly identify with the element of water - it's the element that I 'crave' the most.

And I love the earth:  trees, green spaces, immersing myself in nature - so earth's probably my second 'favourite' element.

I like a fire just fine, meditating before a candle flame is good, woodsmoke's quite a nice smell and all (if not too full in the face, that is).

Air is obviously just as crucial to life as any element, but I don't feel a need to surround myself with it more than I automatically am surrounded by it (obviously) - I don't crave mountaintop views or love the wind or need an open window at all times, or whatever.

So water is top of my list of the elements - if I could swim daily I would, and the water is one of the most relaxing of sounds to me; whether it be a babbling stream, bubbling fountain, the ocean swell, or rainfall.  Petrichor is my all time favourite smell (thank you Ashmire et all, I believe, for assisting with putting a name to it in recent discussions).

Do you have a particular element that you'd identify as your element?  And if so, are you able to articulate why this is the case?

I identify with different ones in different ways based on my personal associations and which facet of my personality is currently dominant.

Water is a big one for me because I am sensitive and easily become emotionally moved in prayer and religious practice, but there is also an element of air or intellect in my path that involves striving for consistency and pondering the implications of certain beliefs and stances.

I also strive for transformation which I associate with fire.

Like you I do like being in water physically.

The elements are not a big part of my path, but my spirits/alters/what-have-you correspond in some ways with them.  They are, however, too complicated to tie down to just one element I think.  They form a system.

How do the elements play a role in your path?  Do they mean anything special to you?  I believe you said you are Druid-ish.

[Klaw]

I particularly identify with the element of water - it's the element that I 'crave' the most.

Water all the way. It is healing. I really need to be near it in one way or another.

Earth is ok once in awhile. It is peaceful.

I like fire from the perspective of a bondfire or a good fire pit.

Air does nothing for me. It tends to aggravate me.

[Altair]

Do you have a particular element that you'd identify as your element?  And if so, are you able to articulate why this is the case?

YES!...

Air is obviously just as crucial to life as any element, but I don't feel a need to surround myself with it more than I automatically am surrounded by it (obviously) - I don't crave mountaintop views or love the wind or need an open window at all times, or whatever.

and

Air does nothing for me. It tends to aggravate me.

...are you guys on drugs?? Air all the way!

The elements have always been an important part of my pagan mental architecture, and within that framework, I seriously skew towards air. In fact, one of the things that helped me realize my paganism was wandering into the local witchcraft store out of idle curiosity (I had no idea what witchcraft was at the time), grabbing the first book I saw (as fate would have it, Starhawk's The Spiral Dance) from their bookselling shelves, and opening it at random to the page describing the element of air. I blinked as I read it; "Uh, that's me!" I mentally muttered.

I'm a birder. I prize rational thought above all else (I'm a wannabe Vulcan). I get antsy if I go more than a day without seeing the open sky. I've been obsessed with swords since I was a tot. (We'll bypass the whole swords/wands debate for now.) As a lifelong comic book devotee, I've idolized the X-Man Storm since my teenage days, with only one other superhero coming close to matching her hold on my imagination. The list goes on...

I'm good with earth and fire, weakest with water; I just don't trust emotions as a basis for action. And I can't swim!

The elements are so important to my paganism that, as longtime Cauldronites know, I organized a multiyear, worldwide pagan pilgrimage around them. Of course I saved air--trekking the Himalayan mountains to the base of Mt. Everest--for last.

[Failivrin]

I particularly identify with the element of water - it's the element that I 'crave' the most...

Do you have a particular element that you'd identify as your element?  And if so, are you able to articulate why this is the case?

I identify strongly with my Greek Zodiac sign, Pisces. With that comes a host of watery personality traits, like seeking the path of least resistance and being difficult to manipulate.
Sometimes, though, I prefer the Chinese elements over the Greek, because my favorite element to bask in is Wood/Tree. A forest always restores my balance and makes me feel at home. It only fails when the trees are extremely short or there is too much of another element (like in boreal forests). I would say that I've learned quite a few spiritual lessons from trees. I am also devoted to Asherah, an ancient Hebrew/Canaanite Goddess of trees.

"There is no kingdom like the forests," wrote Ursula Le Guin. "It is time I went there, went in silence, went alone. And maybe there I would learn at last what no act or art or power can teach me, what I have never learned."

[Uneryx]

Do you have a particular element that you'd identify as your element?  And if so, are you able to articulate why this is the case?

It's not a classical element (unless you think of it in terms of water and air), but I consider my element to be storms. A crack of lightning, a rumble of thunder, and a warm deluge bring me to life like little else.

I am a scorpio/gemini ascendant, so water and air fit me, but if I was going to choose a personal motif, it'd be storms.

[Jenett]

Do you have a particular element that you'd identify as your element?  And if so, are you able to articulate why this is the case?

My tradition is actually explicit about the idea that we should learn to work with and engage with all of them, which changes the framing for this for me

That said, my experience has been that most people have one or two elements they initially find much easier to engage with or work with or explore, one or two they find much harder, and one or two in the middle.

For me, the initially easy one was air, the hard one was fire, and the other two were in the middle. For a long time, I've described the essential dynamic tension in my life as being between air and water - the space between reason and intellect and information and intuition and internal processing and emotionally-anchored knowledge. (Astrologically speaking, water is also the element that most needs remediation in my chart, which I find intriguing.)

On a practical level, I adore being out in a strong wind, but I also know how important it is for me to go immerse myself in water regularly and deliberately. (One of my tradition's central pieces involves a phoenix, so metaphysical fire is a pretty constant thing, and I mostly deal with the earthy stuff via cooking.)

[Dynes Hysbys]

Do you have a particular element that you'd identify as your element?  And if so, are you able to articulate why this is the case?

I'm as earth as they come - with a side order of fire.

Air I find more difficult and I really have no natural affinity at all with water. However if I ever have to do elemental calls in group work I will usually choose to do water because I too was required to learn to work effectively with all of them and water was/is the one I find most challenging.

[Phouka]

Do you have a particular element that you'd identify as your element?  And if so, are you able to articulate why this is the case?

Yes. Water. And only water. My natal chart contains only one fire and one earth. No air at all. All the rest are water.

[TsundokuTeaTime]

Do you have a particular element that you'd identify as your element?  And if so, are you able to articulate why this is the case?

I'm this weird combo of heavily earthy with some water elements. However, fire also plays a large role in my life.
As an element, I feel like lava is probably a better representation for some reason. Despite the large water influence.

I usually take my time in getting where I need to, but when I get there I deliver the calculated result. Not to mention persistent(stubborn).

When I do a ritual or need to calm myself, I usually turn to a combo of fire and water. Candles/incense and a bit of water in some kind of basin or a purifying bath. Some of my meditations are elemental in nature. My rites/rituals I perform have a sort of elemental metamorphosis- so I can switch up things for different effects. Seems to be a standard, this whole working with all the elements thing. They certainly are powerful teachers.

[Beloved]

Do you have a particular element that you'd identify as your element?  And if so, are you able to articulate why this is the case?

This is fascinating to me, as a newbie to this type of stuff! I've enjoyed reading all of your answers and would love to learn more about the personality types associated with the elements. Can anyone recommend a good online source for that?

My initial reaction was earth. There is something innately calming to me about having my hands in the earth. I'm a gardener and would spend all my time in the forest if I could. I feel a deep connection to land and all that grows from it. This lifelong connection is actually what has led me to exploring paganism in general.

But reading through some things that have been mentioned here makes me think I have a connection to air as well. I am that person who has to have air blowing all the time. I almost panic in still air actually. While the earth calms and grounds me, breezes seem to fill me with energy. I love feeling the air moving over me. I love driving with windows down. So who knows. Interesting to think about. Can't wait to learn more.

[PerditaPickle]

How do the elements play a role in your path?  Do they mean anything special to you?  I believe you said you are Druid-ish.

Yep, I think of it as Druid-ish - well spotted.

The four elements are something I've had an awareness of for a long time - years ago in my teens I designed a symbol to represent them (I think I was composing a work of fiction which had to do with them and the symbol was to go on the front cover if I ever published it, but sadly I believe I lost my notes for this some years ago, even if I could ever find the time for serious fiction writing these days).

Latterly I try to incorporate them into my practice in little ways - the main ones are as follows.

I've a not-quite-altar (because I don't worship at it) which has items representing both the four elements and, simultaneously, some other concepts.  It currently has on it: nuts to represent the earth and nutrition; a soap nut shell to represent water and cleansing; a little pot of tiger balm to represent the air and healing & three candles to represent fire and light - the candles are also green, blue and white to represent earth, sea and sky (I think there's also a tiny bell, helping to represent the air and clearing negative energies, unless a cat has happened to it recently - and a few other items I've not mentioned here, including my prize chunk of quartz).

I also sometimes on the wheel of the year holidays will try to incorporate the four elements into my marking of the occasion - I usually do this by lighting a candle, opening the windows in the bathroom wide, watering my plants on my bathroom windowsill, and then sort of 'mindfully' taking a shower before I do whatever else it is I have planned for that occasion.

I don't really work with the elements any more directly than this, or do magical workings or anything at this point on my journey, so that's about all I can think of at the minute.  And I must confess that correspondences were not even something I was thinking of when I originally made this thread!

[PerditaPickle]

...are you guys on drugs??

 

As a lifelong comic book devotee, I've idolized the X-Man Storm since my teenage days, with only one other superhero coming close to matching her hold on my imagination. The list goes on...

Do tell regarding the other superhero (if comfortable doing so, that is)…

The elements are so important to my paganism that, as longtime Cauldronites know, I organized a multiyear, worldwide pagan pilgrimage around them. Of course I saved air--trekking the Himalayan mountains to the base of Mt. Everest--for last.

Before my time as a Cauldronite, but sounds amazing!  Is it safe to assume that it was?

[PerditaPickle]

Sometimes, though, I prefer the Chinese elements over the Greek, because my favorite element to bask in is Wood/Tree. A forest always restores my balance and makes me feel at home.

Sounds interesting, I might have to read up on the Chinese elements.

[PerditaPickle]

It's not a classical element (unless you think of it in terms of water and air), but I consider my element to be storms. A crack of lightning, a rumble of thunder, and a warm deluge bring me to life like little else.

An interesting perspective, thanks for posting it.