Energy and the Elements, Part 1: Fire and Earth

I have noticed, writing this blog, that the energy of each element has the potential to be creative.  However, they are creative in different ways. I've been wanting to post about how each element manifests the creative force, and when to focus on a specific elemental energy. Also, I wanted to write about how to neutralize out of control elements.  Part 1 will discuss Fire and Earth.

Fire

Fire is masculine and rules EXTERNAL action. It can be driving and burning. You want fire energy to help you take that first step to making your dream real. It is also indispensable when courage is needed. In love, fire is the element that brings passion--this applies not just to romantic love, but to any pursuit that gives you intense feeling.

The elemental for Fire is the salamander, a dragon-like creature which is sometimes depicted as being aflame, but unharmed. More recently, salamanders have been depicted as being made out of flames. The salamander can be large, or very tiny.  An interesting origin story for the legend of salamanders is that real salamanders like to live inside logs.  When the logs are tossed on the fire, the salamanders, naturally, run out of the flames. (source)  Salamanders symbolize grace under fire (literally, in the salamander's case) and faith that cannot be extinguished (source).  You might like to visualize a salamander as a companion during your meditations.



Fire is also cleansing. It can burn away sickness and negative energy.

To bring this courage, passion, and driving force to your endeavors, sit or lie down, and focus on your breath.  Just relax and notice it.

Imagine a small fire kindling inside you. This fire starts right in the middle of the area where you sit (your root chakra) and flames through your lower spine (the sacral chakra) and into your belly (the solar plexus chakra).  The color of these chakras are red, orange, and yellow, respectively.  The red root chakra concerns sexuality (making this exercise excellent before a big date) as well as security, which is necessary for courage and moving outward.  The orange sacral chakra is about enthusiasm, creativity, and joy.  The yellow solar plexus chakra (so called because it is the center of the body, like the sun) governs personal power, expansiveness, courage, and growth.  Visualize these chakras igniting, and the flame moving up the spinal column.

Imagine the fire burning away all negative emotion, all pain, and changing anything that torments you into heat and light.  Imagine this heat and light filling every single cell of your body.

Stay in this warmth and light and flame until you feel cleansed and energized.


Fire is useful for healing if channeled as a gentle heat. This is especially nice for sore muscles or frost bite, or just when you're feeling chilly.  A good visualization for this is to imagine red, orange, and yellow liquid energy, or light energy, flowing into the effective area.

If fire gets out of control, it manifests as anger and manic behavior.  There is intense activity, followed by a crashing burn-out.  Physically, this shows up as infections.  It is helpful, then, to imagine cooling energy of a green or blue color--either as light or as liquid--and picture it "washing out" and cooling the affected area. If the excess fire is emotional, imagine the entire body filling with this blue/green liquid light.

Earth

Earth lends practicality and patience. It brings abundance and fertility. It moves slower than fire or air energy, with a great payoff.  Soil is not the only component of Earth--flowers and trees are also part of the Earth, and so are useful to meditate on.

Earth is a feminine element, and is very nurturing and calm.  However, this is deceiving. There is a lot of activity in the Earth and its flora.  Think of sap rising, or flowers stretching toward the sun. It takes time, but it is steady, constant change, not the flaring of fire or quicksilver air.  It is associated with the Mother goddess, who gave unconditionally.

Earth energy is helpful is you feel adrift and insecure. It is an energy that gives a feeling of safety, so it is also good for anxiety or any other type of nervous energy. It helps you stand tall.

Earth is also very good for transforming painful memories or thoughts into something healing and valuable.

If you're feeling anxious, sit or lie down, and just breathe for a few moments. Simply notice your breath, and how it feels going in and out.

Imagine energy in the form of roots growing down out of your body, and up out of the earth. Imagine these two energies meeting. These roots may be dark green, gold, or pink. You are now connected to the Earth element.

Imagine this energy gently supporting you and enveloping you.  It can feel warm, or cool, whatever you need. It wraps you like a blanket or a mother's arms. The energy is also flowing into your body, strengthening you, and giving you power and endurance, like sap in a mighty oak tree.  Imagine it fortifying your root chakra, located by your tailbone. Feel your spine lengthen and grow tall.

When you need endurance, visualize this energy traveling up your spine into the top of your head.  Imagine yourself growing, growing, growing toward your goal. When the energy reaches the top of your head, visualize yourself having reached your goal. Imagine how wonderful it feels.

Sit in this visualization until you feel warm and secure, or until you have a boost of confidence.

To cleanse and transform negativity, sit and breath as before.  Relax.  Imagine the negative emotion as something you can see--you may choose to make it a monster, or sludge clogging you.  If it is a negative experience, imagine the experience being played on a big movie theater screen. Imagine it shrinking down until it is tiny.

Get the Earth energy flowing through you again.  Then, imagine the Earth's roots sucking away the negativity, the tiny screen, the monster, the sludge. Imagine it getting sucked down out of your feet, or out of your back, if you are lying down, and into the Earth.  Visualize the healing energy, in the color you chose, being taken into your body through your energy roots.

Now imagine the Earth turning this negativity into soil. This soil is nutrient rich. This soil can now produce positive, healing energy. It has been transmuted.

The shadow side of Earth energy, or a sign of having too much, is sluggishness, lethargy, and depression. Things are stagnant, and there is no motivation. The best way to counter this is to look to the fire and air elements, which are more kinetic.  I highly recommend doing the kindling visualization, described in the fire description, or this air visualization.

Lie down or sit with your feet flat on the floor.  Pay attention to your breath. Don't force it, just notice it.

This is the element of air. This is what keeps you alive.

Visualize it filling every nook and cranny of your body, every cell.  Imagine it filling all the deflated parts of you.  Imagine it lifting your chest, your shoulders, and your heart. Imagine it surrounding your brain through your nostrils.  Visualize your brain waking up in every cell.

Now, we will go further.  Imagine flying on a stream of air. This air supports you and propels you, just like water. Feel it rushing into your face, into your lungs, refreshing you.  This air is taking you places.  Give yourself the wings of your dreams, if you'd like.  Look down.  What beautiful scene do you spy rushing underneath you? You have an eagle eye view of it.  There are opportunities as far as the eye can see.

Look around you. If you see clouds, or things look murky, imagine a gentle but strong breeze blowing them away.

Tell yourself, I have the energy and foresight to achieve what I want to achieve.  

Stay in this space until you feel clear, refreshed, and energetic.

This visualization will be reprinted in Part 2, when I discuss Air and Water.

I highly recommend Caroline Myss's Anatomy of the Spirit for further discussion of the chakras.  It is fantastic.  It is in-depth, and accessible without being condescending. It's also a fascinating read. It not only discusses the chakras, but the Kabbalah Tree of Life and the Christian Sacraments.

Moon signs

When people think of astrology and personality, they most often think of the Sun sign.  This is the sign people mean when they ask "What's your sign?"  However, a person has a Sun sign, a Moon sign, a Rising sign, a Venus sign, a Mercury sign,  a Mars sign, a Jupiter sign,  a Saturn sign,  a Uranus sign, a Neptune sign, and a Pluto sign. My hope is we will talk about all of these.

The Sun sign is the sign of the outward personality.  Jung called it the "persona." It is the personality traits that people see, and that we are most comfortable showing to the world. That is not to say that this personality is fake. It is a part of us; its energy is the energy that most of the time feels most natural to us. It is also the most "social" energy of ourselves.

However, we have other types of energy that we are born with, and other energies that we can develop.    This energy is closely related to the archetypes that Caroline Myss speaks of in her book Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential. Caroline Myss takes Jung's work with archetypes and expands upon it, but keeps many of the original archetypes Jung worked with.  One of these archetypes is that of the Shadow.

The Shadow can be seen as being an opposite of the persona.  It is the part of ourselves that we may not be very comfortable with, energy we are not sure what to do with, or energy we are not even consciously aware of possessing. Just as the persona is associated with the Sun and the energy of that sign, the Shadow can be associated with the Sun's opposite--the Moon.

The Moon has long been associated, in astrology, with emotions and the subconscious. The Moon sign, or the sign the Moon was in when you were born,  thus tells how you handle your emotions. It tells about the personality that you may not show outwardly, and that you yourself may not be very familiar with, as the Moon, in traditional astrology, rules that particular realm.  The Moon is also the ruler of the five senses, and your instincts. The energy with which you react to your environment is ruled by your Moon sign, according to astrology.

I myself am a Moon in Aries, which is interesting, since here a physical, fiery sign is in the watery realm of emotions and the subconscious.  My sun is in a sign aligned with water--Luna (the sign formally known as Cancer and also known as Fegerri or Selene. We're still working this out. At least here at Turtlephoenix).

First, let's discuss the Shadow as I feel it, in my Moon placement. As a Moon in Aries, I am ashamed of my anger, which sometimes feels consuming.  I am also very competitive, but, because I am insecure and frightened of displeasing others (a common complaint of people in my Sun sign), it tends to show up in self-destructive tendencies when I am feeling off balance--I constantly compare myself to others and never quite measure up.

As a Moon in Aries, however, I feel I have a certain passion for pursuing matters relating to the subconscious, the emotions, and the instinctual.  When I am balanced, this competitive spirit helps me push myself. Also, when I am emotionally committed, I am in it for the long haul. This can be a double edged sword, as I don't take rejection easily. Going into the more personal realm, I see my exes, both erotic and platonic, as competition in the imaginary contest for whoever is more lovable, desirable, successful, etc.  They usually have no idea they're running against me. Sometimes, I'm not even aware I'm in the race until my emotional legs give out.

Raven Kaldera chose Macha, an Irish goddess who was faster than anything on earth, including the King's horses. Her mortal husband bet she could outrun the King's horses, and the heavily pregnant Macha won the race. When she reached the finish line, she gave birth to twins, and then cursed all the men of Ulster.  This is the Arien anger magnified by the intensity of the Moon.

Arien Moons are always quite open in the expression of their emotions, even if they try to hide them. As a weepy Luna, I have many a time bruised my Arien Moon pride by sobbing in front of people. That is the peril of this fire sign in the Moon, though. It's too strong to stifle.

Currently, the Moon is in Libra, and tomorrow it will enter Scorpio.  Libra, being an air sign, is an uncomfortable place for the emotional moon, and the Shadow side is charm, flattery, and manipulation--as well as a tendency to play favorites--but it lends a romanticism, and an instinct for harmony and peacemaking that can't be beat. Raven Kaldera chose Isis for this placement, a goddess whose love and devotion brought her husband back from the dead, but marked her son as a tool for vengeance.

The Moon in Scorpio is powerful, indeed. The emotions here tend to be taboo--the sign of Scorpio rules sex, death, and rebirth--and the subconscious mind can be full of disturbing images that can peek out as disquieting thoughts. On the other hand, a placement here leads to a richness in imagination, fertile dreams, and a deep compassion.  Raven Kaldera chose Hecate for Moon in Scorpio, the Greek goddess of death, crossroads, and the underworld, but also the goddess of midwives. As matriarchal medicine fell out of favor, the midwife became synonymous with witchcraft.  This misunderstanding is very familiar to anyone with a lot of Scorpio energy, who understands that decay brings fertilization.

You can find your Moon sign here, at the Lunarium. Knowing the time of your birth is important, as the moon can stay in a sign for only a day.

Your Moon sign is not alone. All the archetypal energies of the signs and the planets interact with one another, and manifest in similar, but not identical, ways with each person. The fact that watery Luna is my sun affects how my firey moon expresses itself.

I want to take a moment here before we close to remind us that these signs are energy that is accessible by anyone. For example, if you are having relationship difficulties, call on Libra energies to help you balance your emotions.  If you are preparing to do psychological work, either for yourself or for another, bring in Scorpio energy. Here is a quick visualization to help you.

Imagine that you are lying on your back in water of a comfortable temperature. You are completely safe in this water. Breathe smoothly and naturally. As you lie on your back, you are gazing up at the moon.  This moon is a new moon, just a thin slice of silver in the sky.

As you gaze at it, the moon begins to swell into a full moon. As if swells, it fills with the color associated with the energy you want to access--if you need the strength and power of Aries, it shines red and orange.  For Libra's peace, harmony, and charm, soft pink and blue, and for Scorpio's courage and insight, scarlet and black.

This light flows down on you, and pours into every cell. It lights up the chakras, the energy centers that form a path from the coccyx to the top of the head.  Absorb this light. You may want to chant a mantra, repeating the quality you most want to draw into yourself--such as "peace," "courage," or "strength."

Soak in this power as long as you need. When the moon is full, bask in it, and feel the water supporting you. Then, let the moon wane until it is again a simple crescent in the sky. Afterwards, say thank you, and go about your day.

Archetypes associated with the Moon:
Virgin/Mother/Crone
The Heart
The Inner Child
The Moody One
Kindness
The Inner Parent

Luna

I think it's time to change Cancer's name.  Please don't take this to mean I'm arrogant enough to suppose a name thousands of years old can be changed because I want it to. It's more that I personally feel uncomfortable referring to myself and my brethren as a disease. Let's face it, we don't think of the constellation; we think of the illness.  I don't know about you, but that makes me feel kind of shitty.

Just for fun, what could Moon Children call themselves? Here are some ideas:

1) Selene. Selene is the goddess of the Moon in Greek mythology. This name is easy to remember, and sounds as lovely as the goddess herself.

2) Fegarri. Fegarri is the Greek word for moon. I think it sounds harmonious with Sagittarius and Virgo. The bad part is that it sounds like an alien race from Star Trek. 


3) Huitaco (pronounced we-tah-co) (thanks to my awesome soul sister and colleague, Whitney. Check out her blog: wheresmytower.wordpress.com). Huitaco is the Columbian goddess of the Moon and protector of women. She was also the goddess of pleasure and happiness. The frequently tangled with her consort, Bochica, the god of hard work and sorrow. Bochica reminds me of Saturn, the planet that rules Capricorn, the sign of hard work and hard lessons. Moon Children oppose Capricorn (not OPPOSE oppose, but are opposite each other on the zodiac wheel).  There's some nice synchronicity there, but the name sounds like "Wheat Taco" which is what we will forever be known as to people who don't know about the myth.

4) Luna. Italian for Moon, and the Roman parallel to Selene.  Yes, it's a Harry Potter character (and a character with very Piscean energy, at that, but Leo is a DiCaprio).

I think, for this article, I will refer to this energy as Luna/Lunar. It is the name of our Moon.

I myself am a Luna, and far from perfectly balanced.  I tend to focus on what is difficult about this energy. Luna is a water sign, and Lunar energy is highly emotional. I mean, EXTREMELY so.  It is difficult to separate this energy from these emotions and look at things rationally and impersonally. Also, this is an intense energy. Irritation quickly becomes raging frustration.  The blues and everyday disappointments can lead to sogginess from copious weeping.  On the other hand, contentment becomes joy, happiness is euphoria, and love turns into rapture. We are also literally quite watery; we tend to weep a lot.

The stomach and the breasts are the organs ruled by Luna.  It's fitting that the breasts would be the organ for Luna--these are the mothers of the zodiac, after all, and the stomach keeps us alive through nourishment, another forte of Lunar energy. The stomach is also full of associations of being loved and mothered with food.

Lunar energy also helps you think with your gut, and aligns you with the third chakra, the bright, sunshine yellow spot of energy located behind your navel.  This spot in your body corresponds to your personal power.  While Capricorn's lesson is that of mastering perfectionism, and to release the need for external validation, and Scorpio's lesson is to learn to accept the dark parts of the Self, identify the dark parts that are useful, transmute the useful and let go of what's not, and eventually rise above the dark parts as a new Self-creation, the energy of Luna is to discover power.  Notoriously timid, this energy's lesson is to develop a belief in one's Self, and in the Self's worthiness.

Luna rules the stomach, just as Capricorn rules the knees (the work horses of the body) and Scorpio rules the genitals (the seat of birth and death--"Le Petit Mort").  This is the location of the third chakra. The third chakra is the seat of self-esteem, responsibility, and courage.  Out of balance, this is the seat of low self-esteem and fear, especially fear of rejection and failure (Myss 167-168).

The dark side of Lunar energy is a mess of insecurity. Luna energy that is out of balance give themselves impossible standards, standards so high the person becomes frozen out of fear of failure. It is the same kind of fear that keeps people lonely, because they aren't willing to approach others.  Lunas are extremely hard on themselves, and tend to say "I'm sorry" a lot.

Lunar love is intense and maternal. It is so intense, in fact, that it hurts. The goddess Raven Kaldera associates with the sun in Luna is Demeter.  Demeter, the goddess of the grain, deeply loves her daughter, Persephone, and when Persephone is taken away by Hades, it sends her into a tailspin, a tailspin that takes the whole world down with it. Crops stop growing, and the earth becomes a cold wasteland. When a Luna feels hurt or abandoned, the psyche becomes a wasteland. A Luna attaches herself to a loved one, not in a creepy stalker way, but a Luna opens her heart to any one she loves, and  gives freely of it.  When the person they love goes away, there is a definite ripping sensation in the heart.

Perhaps this is because Luna is self-protective. When they do trust and love someone, they have to remove layers of their hard, protective shields, the "shell" of the crab. When that trust feels violated, Luna rebuilds the shell again, and reinforces it.

This metaphorical shell is also like a turtle's shell.  If a Luna is in balance, he can feel at home anywhere  he goes. He will be grounded and secure, and he will help others feel secure as well.

Lunas are all about the love. A Luna will give her all to her loved ones, and will feel guilty if she feels she comes up short.  They are warm, comforting, and sensitive, when in balance. However, when out of balance, Luna becomes clingy and possessive. Unable to express "negative" emotions (and thus possibly anger a loved one) Luna becomes passive-aggressive and as brackish and bitter as a polluted ocean. Alternately, if the Luna is not secure enough to set boundaries, the roiling anger builds up until the dam breaks, and the Luna drowns the world in her rage.

Like the Moon, and the tides the Moon makes, Lunar emotions ebb and flow. This is very feminine; the word "month" comes from the same root as Moon, as do the words menses and menstruation.  I have found that my physical energy, creativity, and motivation also ebb and flow, and I wonder if perhaps other Lunas feel like this. I actually find it rather comforting--I know that when I feel low or dry, the tide will rise and I will be nourished again. Meanwhile, I have spare energies that I can tap.

The Moon is a symbol of illusion. Lunas must be careful to see past illusion. They must be especially careful not to fall into the all-or-nothing thinking common with the shadow aspect of this energy.  When they feel unloved, they must ask themselves if it is really true. They must exercise their minds to see the opposites of their negative thoughts. Can a Luna think of three people that like her? Then, the negative thought is not true. If you feel abandoned by a friend, is it true? Did this friend abandon you? Or are you abandoning yourself by letting this event change how you perceive yourself and your own innate goodness? Did this friend really abandon you? Did a friend abandon you, or just an acquaintance? Or, worse yet, someone who was using you?

Lunas are blessed with great intuition and imagination. Even an out-of-sorts Luna can intuit for her loved ones, even if she can't intuit for herself. Even if the Luna is suffering from depression or garden variety writer's block, they have a rich inner life. Sometimes, they must sit down and let the ink flow freely, like water, without any censorship. This helps them access that powerful Moon energy. Since the tummy is the provence of the Lunas, many would do nicely to just think with their "guts" and not overanalyze a decision.

It must be remembered that the energy of the signs is not just for the people born in the sign alone. You may feel you have more energy associated with one zodiac archetype than another, but you can access the archetypal energy of any sign.

Questions for Reflection, and Tips to Bring Lunar Energy in:
1) When making a decision, pay attention to how your body feels, instead of endlessly reasoning yourself through it.
2) Keep a dream journal. Lunar energy, like the other watery energies of Pisces and Scorpio, works with the subconscious.
3) When you nurture others, do you also nurture yourself?
4) What illusions do you maintain? How do they benefit you? How would your life be without these illusions? How can you let go of them?

Archetypes, People, and Animals for Luna
1) Mothers
2) Nurses
3) Family Historians/Museum Keepers
4) Demeter
5) Kwan Yin, the Chinese Goddess of Compassion
6) Turtles and Crabs
7) Wolves and Dogs,, symbols of loyalty, family, and friendship

Book recommendations:
MythAstrology: Exploring Planets and Pantheons by Raven Kaldera (You still haven't bought it yet? It's awesome!)
Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing by Caroline Myss (I cannot recommend her books highly enough. Expect more discussion of the chakras!)
Loving What Is, by Byron Katie (This is what inspired the suggestions for working with illusions. I've worked with Byron Katie not only through her books but on a stage in front of hundreds of people. It changed my life!)

Archetypes

Before I get into any in-depth discussion about the cards or astrological signs, I want to talk a little bit about archetypes.

Carl Jung, a contemporary of Freud, was the psychiatrist who first explained archetypes. Archetypes are manifestations of the collective unconscious, or, they are certain tropes (metaphoric symbols) we, as human beings, all can identify and share in.

Because that explanation was a tad convoluted, let me use examples.  Let's say you're reading a book of fairy tales (and you should!) and you notice that the Wicked Stepmother is a popular villain. In fact, you take for granted that if a stepmother appears in a fairy tale, she is wicked. All your friends do, as well. That is because the Wicked Stepmother is an archetype. We have subconsciously agreed, as a culture, that the Wicked Stepmother can reappear in various forms in our literature, and we have integrated her into our psychology.

On the other hand, let's think about the Wise Grandmother. What does the Wise Grandmother look like? What does she do? Ask your friends about this. Chances are, there may be slight variations, but your Wise Grandmothers will be very similar.

There's also the Evil Sorcerer, the Wicked Witch, the Good Witch, the Vagabond, the Thief with a Heart of Gold, the Trickster, and the Big Bad Wolf. We could brainstorm for a long time.

A good writer is able to take archetypes and make them fresh, and yet still identifiable to our psyches. One of reasons fairy tales, myths, and legends are so popular and enduring is because of these archetypes. They are such a part of us and our personalities, yet they are flexible enough to be reinterpreted. They are very adaptable to different cultures and epochs.

The reason I bring this up is because Tarot cards, as well as the astrological signs, are shaped, I believe, from these archetypes. These archetypes are a part of us. We know them. For example, one Wicked Stepmother in my life is a former co-worker who was a bully. My Knight is my fiance, J.

Taking over from Jung's legacy are two very cool women, Clarissa Pinkola Estes and Caroline Myss. Caroline Myss has greatly shaped my world view. Here is a brief rundown of some of her concepts, from Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential, published in 2002 by Three Rivers Press.
Caroline Myss postulated that our personalities are composed of archetypes such as the Knight in Shining Armor, the Damsel in Distress, etc. In fact, we all have the archetypes of the Child (and it's various forms), the Prostitute, the Victim, and the Saboteur.  All of these archetypes seem quite negative, but we all have them. Think of the times you may have been a Prostitute. Did you have sex to feel better about yourself? Did you stay in a job you hated because of the money? The Prostitute governs our physical security (Myss 118). As for the Victim, have you ever used any personal pain, knowingly, to get people to react a certain way? Have you held on to anger you feel toward people who hurt you, even though the slight took place years ago? The Victim has an important role. It is a protector. It also measures how much you are willing to give up personal responsibility and independence, which are scary things (116).

The Saboteur is evident when you turn down an opportunity out of fear of loss of security (Myss 122). I myself had my Saboteur step in recently. It is quite frustrating.

We all have heard the term "Inner Child," the reflection of our pasts and our attitudes about love and safety (Myss 112).  The Child has several manifestations: the Wounded Child, the Abandoned/Orphan Child, the Nature Child, the Innocent Child, and the Divine Child (112).

There is one last archetype we should discuss: The Shadow. The Shadow came about with Jung. It is the "negative," dark side of all the Archetypes. It is the reversed, or upside down, Tarot card, and the astrological sign out of balance.
As we go through the cards, the astrological signs, and our dreams, we will be confronting archetypes and identifying them.

Recommended Resources:
Jung, Carl Gustav. The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious 
---Symbols of Transformation 
---Man and his Symbols 
Jung is where it all began. He is the king.

Myss, Caroline.  Anatomy of the Spirit.
---Sacred Contracts 
---Why People Don't Heal and How They Can 
All of Myss' books are absolutely incredible. They are fascinating reads and anyone interested in archetypes, as well as healing through the chakras, the Catholic Sacraments, and the Jewish Tree of Life, should definitely read them. I've used her work as resources in my paper about the archetypes in Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis.

Pinkola-Estes, Clarissa. Women Who Run with the Wolves.
Oh, this book rocks. It's all about fairy tales and how women can use them to heal. Pinkola-Estes is a top Jungian analyst, but her work is extremely accessible.

See you soon! Next time we will begin our journey, and learn about Virgo, the sign we are in now :)