This morning I meditated on the earthen bowl and flame mentioned yesterday. The meditation involved the image of bowl and flame as well as the names of the angels of the elements.
When I mentioned the name of the angel of fire a couple of curious things happened. One was that I found myself in ring of fire. This was obviously a defensive barrier. The second was much more important. The flame in the bowl went out of control. I would calm it down by asking the angel of air to withdrawal. This always worked beautifully but any time the angel of fire was thought of, the flame expanded. Eventually, I wondered why.
Fire only has one action. It expands. As long as there is fuel it will consume it while continually jumping to the next available source. There is no part of fire that enjoys the scenery. Everything is fuel. Man grows when he harnesses the power of fire while controlling its destructive aspects. This has great implications for magick and spirituality.
The point of that is that Fire expands. All it can do is expand.
Please pardon the qabalistic detour but this explains why the first of the four qabalistic worlds is the fiery Atziluth. This creates an ever unfolding and expanding universe. From here, I could say that Briah (water) cools or slows down the rate of the fire. Otherwise too much energy would exist. This, of course, brings up the Lurianic idea of the shattered spheres. Air on the other hand is the meditating force between the violent mixture of fire and water which either slows down or balances the energy before it manifests on earth. I could say all that and I just did but it isn't fully correct. Maybe as I learn more about Water and Air this can get flushed out more.
In alchemy the worlds are not viewed in the same order but as Fire, Air, Water and Earth. This brings up other analogies about its working that I should look into someday. Using multiple symbol sets can be fruitful.
This I do now know. All fire can do is expand. You must bring in other mediating forces to use it properly.
The practical application for me is this.
As a Leo, I am full of fire. I don't need any more. However, I do need to control it. There are several projects I have started but never finished. Getting determined even momentarily to finish those may be all I need, if I remember to fan the flames and keep them focused on the project. I have no doubt when working on such things I will be a bit irritable as that is a trait of fire. I can accept that, if it means getting some things done. If I can remember to starve the flames during the difficult times, I will be able to control my speech even more.
Spiritually, there is another issue. It doesn't take long to see the rabid evangelist as someone that has taken spiritual fire but not yet harnessed its destructive edge. So, they create anger, distrust and an insular belief system. These are negative aspects of fire. I can think of three bloggers that have the same problem though they manifest it differently, myself included. The accomplished magicians that I do know that do not have this problem, feel very watery to me. Therein, lay another clue. If I can calm down the fire, so it heats the emotional water just enough to express loving warm compassion, I just may learn something.
There is much to explore here. This should be interesting.
2 comments:
It occurs to me that along with mediation, division is also primary property of Air. A haphazard mixture of Fire and Water will result only in an explosive mess; carefully divided measures of each, however, meeting only on a defined plane, results in the useful work of heating the emotional waters you mentioned.
As per your last post, it is also this divisive property that allows the disintegration of Earth into Fire and Water, and which must be actively removed to anneal Fire and Water into Earth. This bears a great resemblance to the anabolic and catabolic processes in the body, the dynamic interplay between stored energy and useful energy (physical or otherwise), and the way thoughts are formed on the Yetziratic level.
Much to explore, indeed.
Have you ever taken a look at the Greek esoteric doctrine of the elements and powers? A good overview can be found here.
It sounds like you might be able to apply some of these ideas to your current situation in terms of balancing and working with the elements.
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