In the spirit of many Wiccan traditions, I associate air with the east, the spring, sunrise, the wand, incense, the color yellow, with the mind, the intellect, where ideas are born (later manifested with will, through fire), communication, new beginnings. In South Florida, the air is often hot and wet, like blood, and I associate air with the breath as well.
When I think about the elements, I think the associations are pretty obvious, but I'm always pleasantly surprised to think again about the lasting influence of ancient paganism, which seems to me is rooted in the daily experience and what makes sense. It's no wonder that similar associations pop up elsewhere like in India, where air is one of the great elements of Hinduism and China where it is associated with the breath and life force. In Christendom, Jesus comes by way of the east, like the rising sun pouring light.
Do you have any thoughts on the element of air?
Oddly enough, when I think of air the image of an old conifer forest comes to mind. There's nothing like the smell of pine being carried on a cool breeze. I also think of communication - Hermes especially. :)
ReplyDeleteFound your site while exploring the Blogger listings. Your 44 days of witchery is a great idea! Out of curiosity, why 44?
dancingspatulawand.blgospot.com
Aroma! That's a good association for air and hardly ever gets mentioned. As for the 44 days, I have no idea. I got the meme from the Domestic Pagan: http://thedomesticpagan.tumblr.com/post/8971788080/little-city-witch-44-days-of-witchery-my-pagan-witchy
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. I'll be sure to check out your blog.
For me, Air is in the West not the east. Water is east. The reason for this switch is because I live in New England. Most of our weather patterns come from the west-- rain from the Great Lakes, heat from the south.
ReplyDeleteWater is East for me because the Atlantic Ocean is east of where I live. It is the biggest body of water nearest to me.
There's a local coven who has different elemental associations for similar reasons. It always throws everyone off, but we always find it amusing and adapt. It makes a lot of sense to me to adapt your pagan practice to your local environment.
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