THE FOUR ELEMENTS (From "The Secrets of Witchcraft" by Jean De Blanchefort)

 Dear readers and friends,

Today I offer you an article on the 4 elements taken from Jean De Blanchefort's "The secrets of witchcraft", a fascinating point of view even if the title can arouse skepticism as always when it comes to magic and witchcraft. Before starting each article the article of this type, I always repeat the same sentences: 

Not believing in something does not mean that it does not exist and that you are not exposed, indeed the knowledge of such phenomena can help us not to be influenced by them. Believe everything but at the same time don't trust. Don't dismiss anything a priori, but at the same time don't assume that every piece of information is correct. 

The manifest energy of nature, in its four elements (air, water, earth and fire) is the basis of the witchcraft tradition and those who approach it must necessarily arrive at a complete knowledge of the principles that characterize it which are of fundamental importance in the Art. These four elements are forms of created matter: the fluid or Water; the gaseous or Air; the solid or Earth; the imponderable or Fire. All these agents were originally conceived as passages through which the primordial or raw energy is transformed and regenerated. Of these four elements all bodies are composed by union and transmutation. When these bodies are destroyed in death, they dissolve back into components and thus come back to life. But none of these substances is pure, all are more or less blended together and there are always two Elements opposed to each other according to their contrary properties such as Air-Earth and Fire-Water. Furthermore, two are heavy, Earth and Water, and the others light, Air and Fire. Ultimately, these metamorphoses bear witness to the awareness that the individual belongs to all kingdoms and, therefore, to all the Elements.

The Air

The first element, Air, is the unifying form in which the Elemental Beings of the Sylphs can manifest themselves. The "druidic wind" is one of the aspects of the magical action exercised on this element by the ancient druids. They state in no uncertain terms that they have the power to still the winds with their spells and to use them for their own purposes. It also seems that the Breath of the Witches is a derivation from that of the druids and this demonstrates the ability of these priests of antiquity to cast spells. Later, with the advent of Christianity, the Druidic wind became, as was the practice, an evil and demonic breath full of sinister omens and, perhaps, the belief that witches were capable with their powers of unleashing hurricanes and storms derives precisely from this ancient belief.

The earth

Earth is the second primordial element and is the realm of the gnomes. Unlike in other mythologies, among the Celts this element does not seem to have had a great importance in Druidic religious thought, so much so that in the Celtic Pantheon we do not even have an Earth Goddess. Tailtiu, Lug's mother, cannot in fact be considered a true telluric divinity like the Greek Demeter. It is highly probable that the concept of Goddess Earth belongs to pre-Celtic Neolithic populations, more or less tolerated by druidism. However the beings that populate the planet are forced to live on Earth and therefore it is necessary to have a good relationship with the Element that gives life and to which life returns. Today the Earth is exploited beyond all reasonable limits and our relationship with the Spirit of the Element is at least problematic. The gnomes, endowed by their nature with extraordinary wisdom, nurture an almost total distrust, if not a visceral hatred, towards mankind, and helplessly witness the destruction of forests and nature. The power of the Earth is exercised towards the North and, often, it is considered a negative power that it is better not to invoke or, at least, if one is forced to do so, to use great caution. This element expresses practicality, order, love for details, predisposition towards the exact sciences; it also symbolizes a firm and tenacious character, perseverance, the desire to accumulate wealth and economize, all the characteristics of the gnomes who live there. Remember that the Earth has been demonized in many mythologies and religions.

The water

The Water element has always been considered a magical agent of rather significant power in many pagan traditions. Enchanting waters was typical of the druids, as was performing rituals on, around and in the water itself. It is a symbol of

fecundity and purity that gives and maintains life, moreover it is a healer and not only because it heals, but also because it washes away the impurities of the body and soul. Water can be beneficial or malevolent, according to the will of the druid, but it is undoubtedly deified since many goddesses of the waters are associated with it. Its cardinal point is the west and its attributions are related to sentiment in all its manifestations, to the world of emotions and sensations. It also symbolizes the possibilities of fantasy, imagination and curiosity about the unknown. The Undines are the creatures that inhabit the Water Element and it is to them that we must turn if we want to obtain the Power of the Element.

Fire

The last element is Fire which, for the druids, was not an Element, but the transformation of the three elements for which, without Air, Water and Earth, not even Fire would exist. Given this premise, it can be understood that this is precisely the privileged Element among the ancient Celts, conceived as the real sign of the transformation of the energy that permeates all of creation. Fire is also a symbol of purification in many cultures, and it was customary to light huge fires or ritual bonfires during the annual festivals. This custom is referred to in the Cormac Glossary. Symbolically, the Fire Element is associated with vitality, ardor and physical strength, power and activity, but also impulsiveness, anger, contempt and danger. The Salamanders are the powers that give it life and the south is its cardinal point.