The Elements

Earth

Basic Nature: Fertile moist, nurturing; stabilizing, grounding. Gravity is a manifestation of this element.

Type of Energy:  Receptive

Color: Green

Places: Caves, Canyons, chasms, forests, valleys, fields, farms, gardens, arboretums, parks kitchens, baby nurseries, basements, and holes.

Rituals: Money, prosperity, fertility, stability, grounding, employment.

Ritual Forms: Burying, planting making images in soil or sand.

Herbs: Earth-smelling, such as patchouli and vetiver; mosses and lichens; nuts; dry and stiff plants; heavy, low-growing plants; generally, roots.

Stones: Heavy or opaque, as in coal; green, as in emerald and peridot.

Metals: iron and lead

Instruments: Drum or percussion instruments

Creatures: Dog, Horse, earthworm, gopher, ant, cow, burrowing animals.

Season: Winter

Direction: North

Time: Night

Magical Tool: Pentacle (wooden, metal, or clay disc)

Point In Life: Advanced age

Astrological Sign: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn

Sense: Touch

Natural Symbols: Salt, clay dish or fresh soil, rocks, sheaves of wheat, acorns

Symbols For:

Types of magic ruled: Gardening, magnet, image, stone, tree, knot, binding

 

Air

Basic Nature: Flying, Moving, fresh, intelligent, suspending. Sound is a manifestation of this element.

Type of Energy: Projective

Color: Yellow (yellow of the sun, the sky at dawn)

Places: Mountaintops, wind-swept plains, cloudy skies, airports, schools, libraries, offices, high towers.

Rituals: Travel, instruction, study, freedom, knowledge, recovering lost items.

Ritual Forms: Tossing objcts into the air, suspending tools in high places, fanning light objects, visualization.

Herbs: Fragrant, flowers, pungent, culinary herbs as dill; airy, finely veined, or wind swept, generally leaves.

Stones:  Light stones such as pumice; transparent stones such as mica

Metals: Tine, copper

Instruments: Flute, all wind instruments

Creatures: Spiders, most birds, winged insects

Season: Spring

Direction: East

Time: Dawn

Magical Tool: Wand

Point in Life: Infancy

Astrological Sign: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius

Sense: Hearing, smell

Natural Symbols: Feather, incense, smoke, fragrant flowers

Symbols For:

Types of magic ruled: Divination, concentration, visualization, wind magic

 

Fire

Basic Nature: Purifying, destructive, cleansing, energetic, sexual, forceful, Heat is a manifestation of this element

Type of Energy:   Projective

Color: Red

Places: Deserts, hot springs, volcanoes, ovens fireplaces, bedrooms (for sex), weight rooms, locker rooms saunas, athletic fields

Rituals: Protection, courage, sex, energy, strength, authority, banishing negativity.

Ritual Forms: Burning or smoldering, heating.

Herbs: Stinging, thorny, Chile peppers, bougainvillea, desert-dwelling, cacti, coffee beans

Stones: Red or fiery as in jasper, lava, or clear quartz

Metals: Gold, Brass

Instruments: Guitar, all stringed instruments

Creatures: snake, cricket, lizard, praying mantis, ladybug, bee, scorpion, and shark.

Season: Summer

Direction: South

Time: Noon

Magical Tool: Knife

Point in Life: Youth

Astrological Sign: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius

Sense: Sight

Natural Symbols: Flame, Lava, a heated object

Symbols For:

Types of magic ruled:

 

Water

Basic Nature: Flowing, purifying, healing, soothing, loving.

Type of Energy:  Receptive

Color: Blue

Places: Lakes, springs, streams, rivers, beaches, oceans, wells, swimming pools, bathtubs, showers, bedrooms (for sleep), showers, health spas. And fountains

Rituals: Purification, love, psychic awareness, dreams, sleep, peace, marriage, friendships

Ritual Forms: Dilution, placing into water, washing away, bathing

Herbs: Aquatic such as water lilies and seaweed, succulents, lettuce, rose gardenia.

Stones: Amethyst, aquamarine, blue tourmaline or Lapis Lazuli

Metals: Mercury (quicksilver), silver, copper

Instruments: Cymbal, bell, all resonant metals.

Creatures: cat, frog, turtle, dolphin, whale, otter, seal, dugong, most fish and shellfish.

Season: Autumn

Direction: West

Time: Dusk

Magical Tool: Cup, the cauldron.

Point in Life: Maturity

Astrological Sign: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

Sense: Taste

Natural Symbols: Shells, a cup of water

Symbols For:

Types of magic ruled: Sea, ice, snow, fog, mirror, magnet

 

The fifth element

This is called commonly as Akasha. This is the element from which all creation came, and which still exists in everything and in limitless capacities outside of what we perceive to be the material world.

In the fifth element the number 4 is particularly well-represented in Wiccan belief system. There are 4 Solar Holidays in the Wheel of the Year- the equinoxes and the solstices as well as 4 Earth festivals: Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasa, and Samhain. There are of course 4 main seasons, and four cardinal directions, from which four winds blow. There are also 4 suits, with their corresponding Elements, in the major and minor arcana of Tarot.

Elemental Beings or Elementals:

These are the spirits of each element Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and take many names and different forms.  Earth Elementals can take forms such as: gnomes, elves, trolls, and even faeries. Air Elementals can take the form of sylphs or winged faeries as well. Fire Elementals are known as salamanders because of there flaming tongues. Water Elementals are referred to as undines, but have been represented by water nymphs, and mermaids.