Energy and the Elements: Air

Air

Air is a masculine energy.  It is the energy that compels us to soar, to dream, and to see the big picture. In my mind, Air energy is exemplified by birds, particularly hawks, eagles, ravens, and crows, because these are birds, according to mythology, that have been credited with being messengers of the gods and escorts to the underworld.
It will behoove us to remember this.  Air is so often associated with the mental, with the objective, and the reasonable and the rational. Air is indeed the intellectual element, but these birds remind us that people with Air energy have a birthright to the subconscious and the spiritual.
The creatures associated with Air are the sylphs, tiny fairy creatures that ride the breezes.  They are  known for their slender figures and large eyes. Although they are associated with a masculine element, they are all female.

Air is the energy to harness when things are feeling obscured.  It blows away the fog. It is the energy that will help you find calm and objectivity in times of stress and sorrow.  It is the view from the mountaintop, with the breeze clean, and the view clear.
Air energy is also like a blade. It cuts away pain, and rents holes in obstacles. It is the knife that Kali, the Hindu goddess of destruction and rebirth, wields, uses to slice away Illusion.
Air is also the energy to use when you need a boost in communication. Mercury, that winged messenger of the Gods (as things with wings are wont to be, going back to the hawks and eagles) isn't associated with the Air sign Gemini for nothing. Air is energy that grants the gift of blarney.  People with Air energy are well-spoken and charismatic. They are consummate at the art of persuasion, and have a gift for wit and the turning of phrases.
I associate Air energy with the eyes.  Air energy can be used to see the big picture, and the little details. It is this gift for intense scrutiny that helps solve problems. The creativity of Air energy is that of inventiveness.
Air is also good to tap into with travel matters.  It will ensure swift, safe motion.  This travel can be literal or metaphorical, such as the movement through the five stages of grief.

Healing Visualizations

Air energy is good when you have an excess of Earth and Water energies--when you feel murky, weighted, and lachrymose. In Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of health, Air/Ether energy is called Vata, just as Fire/Water energy is Pitta, and Water/Earth is Kapha. Here are some visualizations to increase Vata.

To bring Air energy into your life, there are a couple visualizations. Before these visualizations, make sure you are in a place where you can be uninterrupted, a quiet place where you can feel safe. Spend a few minutes progressively relaxing your muscles, letting your breath slow and deepen.
Now, imagine you are in a wide open space. The air is clear and clean. Imagine you have wings. These wings can look however you want them to look--angelic, butterfly, raven, hawk--and these wings are strong.  These wings can carry you high and far.
Now imagine moving those wings. With each beat of these wings, energy and power builds, traveling all throughout your body, up your spine, lighting up your heart and third eye.  As this power rises, so do you, and soon you are soaring.
As you soar, you look ahead and you see your goal in front of you. As you fly closer to it, you can see the path to get there. It is clearing and opening for you.  You can see the steps to take.  You see where the shadow ends and the sunlight begins.
The sky opens to you, and it welcomes you. You feel expansive and light.  What does your sky look like?

In another visualization you can try, picture yourself standing on a mountain. You have a 360 degree view, an eagle's view. You have scaled this mountain. You have earned this vantage point. You are now above your pain and confusion. It is down in the foothills. Up here, you can see past the current difficulty, and over the fog that surrounds you.  Enjoy this moment. What does you see, down at the foot of the mountain and beyond? What is above you?

Excessive Air Energy

Excessive Air (or Vata) energy can make you feel anxious and jittery, and even give you insomnia.  It can also make you dead to your emotions, over-rational, and distant from others. Here are some meditations to help you balance this out. The best way to counteract Air is with Water and Earth.

Again, before any visualization, make sure you're in a quiet, safe place, with no interruptions. Center yourself first with progressive muscle relaxation and mindful breathing.

If you feel you need to connect with your empathy and your subconscious, you might want to try this Water visualization:

You are entering a moonlit glade. In this glade is a pool. The water is clear and clean, and the perfect temperature. You sink into it.  As you float, the moon and stars play on your face.
Or, perhaps it is a sunlit glade, and the shadows and sunshine flit across the surface of the pool like fish.
The silky water is soothing. You duck under the water, and swim through the grotto. What do you see below the surface? Are there fish? Anemones? Or perhaps just jewel toned sand? Feel the water slide and sinuate around you.

Also, on a more concrete plan, you can take a nice hot bath, or jump in a pool and do some laps.

If you need to be more grounded, try an Earth meditation:

After becoming centered, put yourself in a forest. The forest is made of trees that tower over you, forming a protective bower. They are ushering you, with a flourish, to your destination--the entrance to a cave. However, spend as much time with the trees as you'd like. Let your imagination pick whatever season it wants to settle into.  You may feel an incredible relief just being among the trees. Let it happen.

When you get to the cave entrance, you find that it is the perfect size for you to enter. The cave is cozy, warm, and sweet smelling, like a Narnian rabbit warren, or a Hobbit hole. Everywhere is a soft glow.
As you curl up, or stretch out, on the soft, comfortable bed of earth, you feel a gentle sound, infinitely familiar. It is the sound of a heart beating.

Spend as much time as you need to feel grounded and secure.

You can also increase this experience by making yourself a little hidey hole and curling up.

The Fiery Daredevil

The Knights (sometimes Princes) of the suits in Tarot most often represent an aspect of the questioner's personality, or a person in the questioner's life. They may also be symbolic of an event in the person's life.

Knights/Princes can sometimes symbolize male sexual potency and virility, or they may symbolize a young man, age 14-40 (hopefully, if your gut is saying both sexuality and a 14 year old in the questioner's life, it is because it is a mother concerned that her son is taking it too fast with his girlfriend, and not some Mary Kay LeTourneau).  The questioner himself (or herself!) may also be feeling rather sexy. If a Knight shows up in a reading, especially one about whether a seduction will be successful, you should probably stack up on the Trojans.

Which is a lovely segue into the Knights themselves! Most Knights are shown on horseback, and our Knight of Wands (or Staves, or Clubs) is no exception. The horse itself is a symbol of power, bravery, and virility, and, ridden by the Knight of Wands, there is a swiftness and energy that may be hard to contain. This could mean a very healthy libido, or a hot temper. Also, beware of those who start strong and then burn out, if you know what I'm saying.

Robin Wood's Knight of Wands has got it goin' on. 

But the Knight of Wands isn't just a flaming-hot sex monkey. He is also quite potent (there I go again!) in matters of business and creativity. He is the spark of an idea. He is the fire under your seat that motivates you to get up and go. If you've been having writer's block, and the Knight of Wands shows up, you can look forward to some inspiration and the courage to put that inspiration on paper.

Courage is another hallmark of the Knight of Wands. In a reading about a future significant other, he could be telling you to keep an eye out for paramedics or firefighters, or just one of those guys who isn't afraid to bungee jump, ATV, or cruise 90 miles per hour on a Harley. Just make sure the Knight is cooled with a little common sense, and you won't have to spend Valentine's Day holding your heartthrob's brain inside his skull.

The Knight of Wands may also be telling you that you are braver than you think. Probably sexier, too.

The Celtic deck has a Prince, illustrated by Mary Guinan. 

Let's get back on the horse, shall we? (sorry) The horse is also a messenger--think the Pony Express.  Because of this, Knights are associated with messages. The exact message depends on the suit and the surrounding cards. Let's say you pull the Knight of Wands when asking about whether or not you'll get a raise. A possible interpretation (and let's stress possible, as you must go with your gut on these things) is that you will get that raise, but you have to be brave, put yourself out there, and ask for it.  If asking about whether you'll get engaged, the Knight of Wands is a very good sign of your loved one's passion.

Kris Waldherr's Prince of Staves

As can be seen in Kris Waldherr's and Robin Wood's decks, Wands/Staves/Clubs are associated with fire colors--colors of passion, lust, rage, and vitality. Also, the Wands themselves are important, as they symbolize the phallus. Now, many people immediately jump to conclusions with that word, which is natural, but phallus is not necessarily always the male member.  It is masculinity in general, a driving force, an active, subjective energy.

This guy knows what I'm talking about.

Barbara G. Walker's Prince of Wands is Dagon, an ancient Babylonian god. I believe she made a good choice appointing him as the Prince of Wands because he is a bull (an animal associated with both young male masculinity and fire; remember The Last Unicorn?), but that is not the only reason. Dagon is both land and sea--he has a fish tail and a bull's head--and carries both the wand for fire and masculine energy and the cauldron of feminine energy. On his altar are both sun and moon. The combination of fish and bovine is irrational and illogical--just think of the Wuzzles from the '80s--and that, according to Barbara G. Walker, is another aspect of the Prince/Knight of Wands (Walker 30). Like the lightning bolt that cleaves a tree in two, or a ember popping from a bonfire into a puddle of gasoline, the Prince/Knight of wands is unpredictable and hard to pin down.  If it represents an aspect of the reader or questioner, it might signify those intense emotions that she is afraid of--the lust, rage, passion, love--that may very well consume her.

Source: Walker, Barbara G. Barbara Walker Tarot: Instructions. Stamford,CT: U.S. Game Systems, Inc. 1986. Print.