Hello ladies, gentlemen, and those of you who know better! I am the enchanting Artemis, and this is the laughing craft. I’m going to be talking about the five elements today. Unless you’ve been living under a rock (in which the one element you know about is earth), the five “elements” are: Earth, Air, Water, Fire and Spirit. These are not atomic elements with atomic weights and electron clouds. They are metaphors both handy and dandy for describing levels of one being and categorizing large swaths of nature into manageable general chunks. This pentagonal paradigm can be applied to plant life, minerals, the temperament of the zodiac, and even your own self.
I’ll start at the bottom to get a solid foundation. Earth. The element of certainty, sensuality, prosperity, and luck. Earth is represented with the pentacle, an enclosed circle to distinguish reality. A coin also works. In a ritual context, it is the sacrament or base material that you work with. It’s earth. It isn’t that mentally taxing.
If you seek mental taxation, you’re in the minority these days but Air has what you’re after. The elemental force of focus and contemplation. The lofty position of sifting through what is and providing distinction. Air, making full use of its brainy aesthetic, is represented with a paradox. The sword. A sword is elegantly crafted, requires design and an intimate knowledge of the materials going into the blade. Swords are used for brutal purposes, none as noble as any of the contemplative aspects listed before. It is exceptionally fitting that the element used to separate this from that. In ritual context, after you draw the circle of earth, air is used to specify a work mode for magickal shenanigans. This can be done by waving lit incense around or by tracing the circle in the air with a blade of some kind. For the sake of safety and maintaining human compassion: a double bladed knife is only good for killing. Magick is arts and crafts but with meaning (and sometimes humor), you should get tools to craft not to kill.
Speaking of compassion, the element of water pertains to matters of emotions, intuition, and long term self care. Whether you cup (or any vessel capable of holding fluid) overruns with bloody tears or is as dry as my grandmother, this tool is good for slow cool ritual uses. If you’re the sort to hang out in graveyards, a glass of cool water might help you get them to whisper sweet nothings into your ears. If you need an object to hold your reflection as you induce a trance to divine the future, a cup is good for that. Do you have a spirit guide or friend? Cups also hold wine or perfumed water, or any sort of liquid offering they might like. There’s a time to take it slow. A time to look inward and think about what it is you truly want.
Then there’s a time to make action! The use of speed, power, and explosions to achieve your desire! Fire is the element of ambition, drive, and fuck-you-I’m-going-for-it. It is the elemental audacity that announces magick. Lit candles or incense imply the beginning of a spell or ritual, and their being extinguished signifies the end. Offerings or materials can be burned to achieve a direct spell, whether it is to invoke a spirit to a target or a specific material to specify your will. It is important that you practice fire safety. Being a witch doesn’t protect you from accidental burns. Keep flammable materials away from the candle or whatever it is that is being burnt, and make sure you have means of safely snuffing the fire out.
While witchcraft is the science and art of occurring change in reality according to the will, it’s usually more art than science. It is not a prerequisite that you have all four elements represented in any given spell, they are just abstract universal conditions that might be more applicable to what you want more than a vague ooga booga moment. When they are united in your work they bolster your working, in whatever manner one might think of it. These are thought exercises best used for arranging components of yourself, your workings, and the harmony between the two. If you’re trying to deduce why you feel sad when there’s a certain song, well you can imagine how hard carrying water on a knife can be.
A young man was once afflicted with terrible luck and horrific nightmares. He decided to visit his friend, a witch, to see if she could help. The witch listened to his woes, and gave him a six sided shape to dispel the bad vibes. To the young man’s surprise, the shape worked. The next morning he calls her to ask how it worked. She just says “it’s hex-a-gone”