folklore
Divination And The Element Of Air
Various ancient cultures, metaphysical traditions and mystical teachings identify five elements that constitute the world we live in. In Western occult traditions, these elements are typically arranged in the hierarchical order of spirit (aether), fire, air, water, and earth.
Spirit or aether is the nonphysical element (or ‘fifth element’) that serves as a bridge between the physical and the metaphysical realms. Spirit is the bridge between the body and soul.
Fire is the masculine element representing inner strength, transformative power, courage, protection, purification, and assertive action.
Air is the element associated with creativity, knowledge, learning, mental intention and the universal life force.
Water is the feminine element of emotion, intuition, inner reflection and the subconscious.
Earth represents grounding, stability, fertility, family roots, and the cycles of death and rebirth.
Air is my favorite element in spiritual practice, as is associated with ideas, concepts, inspiration, and innovative thinking. It is also the element of wisdom and divination.
Working with the air element sharpens ideas, enhances experiments, and paves the way for new inventions. Musicians and artists are typically inspired by the element of air. Air is however a fickle element as it can come as a gale-force hurricane, or a calm, soothing breeze…just like our thoughts.
Tea Leaf Reading
When I do a tea cup reading I allow my thoughts to run freely and my imagination becomes my intuition, as I interpret the symbols in those tea leaves for the client.
There are written guidelines as to what various shapes can symbolize, but I tend to let my imagination do the talking. Symbols can include animals, people, and all kinds of objects. Symbols grouped together create a theme, and of course the actual tea leaves often spell out letters of the alphabet and even omens.
Reading the pattern of used tea leaves is used mainly in the West now and became popular in Victorian times as a parlor game, although it is said to stem back to Ancient Greece, the Middle East and Asia, and not only with Gypsy fortune-tellers. Continue reading