The Elements

[amhranai]

Generally speaking, most Neo-Pagan practise has the Elements like so

Comments

[teamnoir]

Personally, watchtowers mean little to me. And I generally dislike the practice of associating anything with the directions.

You can call a circle with pretty much any N-who-are-one symbology. I've called circles with huey, duey, and louie, for instance.

About the only rule I use for color/direction association is that it shouldn't be done the same way twice in a row. :-).

Does it work as well?

[dolmena]

Do you find that your circles do everything they should, with those callings?

And, not incidentally, what do you expect from your circle?

I may call watchtowers, guardians, or spirits, but I have different expectations based on whom/what I call and what else I do to form the circle. Unless I'm just really off when I do it, there seem to be differences. So what do *you* get when you do something completely different?

Re: Does it work as well?

[teamnoir]

I get the power of repetition, without the vulnerability of inflexibility

Re: Does it work as well?

[teamnoir]

Oh, one more. My flexibility in approach means that I can pretty much work with anyone. I don't get into those piddling arguments about whether west = water = green or whether west = air = gold or whatever.

[arethinn]

My primary directional associations are not elements, but the major celestial bodies - east-sun, south-earth, west-moon and north-stars. If I use the standard elements they are east-fire, south-earth, west-water, north-air as someone else mentioned.

[gemmagic]

In the southern hemisphere north = fire and south = earth, because we are south of the equator (which represents fire). Sometimes east = water and west = air too (if you live on the east coast, because the pacific ocean is east) but I live on the east coast and I keep air in the east because that's where the sun rises, so it represents new beginnings (which is an air quality).

[elfwreck]

I've never worked with the five asian elements, but I have worked with the five Discordian ones: sweet, pungent, boom, prickle & orange.

Orange = east;
Prickle = south;
Pungent = west;
Sweet = north;
Boom = center.

I've known other Discordians who worked with many more elements than that, though. They put them in, ah, interesting places. When they associate them with places at all.

[dolmena]

For me, the most convincing reason to stick with the conventional Western Magical Tradition associations is because doing so hooks you in with the energy of everyone else who has done it that way. Correspondences are arbitrary and cultural-- so pick correspondences that go with the culture from which your practice arises.