[Help] Elemental Balancing

[blepte]

Hello everyone,

I often read that early on in one’s magickal practice it is important to “balance the elements” within oneself to build a strong foundation. What exactly does this entail? Are we talking simply meditating on the idea of these elements or are there actual rituals involved?

Thanks

 

[Pyrokar]

It's Bardonian magickal philosophy.
He/they believe all the universe is elements in one way or another, so the same with the human body
it is divided into physical/emotional/spiritual aspects.
Someone who is overweight is of course having an imbalance with Earth and so on and so forth.

it's therapy. it's sitting down and being sincere with one's faults which is a lot more difficult than it seems.
ironically the supposed Bardon gang has been the most obviously out of sync of them all, but i keep hope against hope
that is only the rpers and edgelords who are louder than the rest.

Either way, you are looking for "Initiation into Hermetics" by Franz Bardon


seemingly unrelated but you might as well add Isreal Regardie - One year manual
since it's another great foundational text

 

[HoldAll]

Although I really hate Bardon's sanctimonious, didactic style of writing, the soul mirror exercise in "Initiation into Hermetics" (Step I, Magic Psychic Training) is well worth doing despite all that. It's a sort of personality test, a psychological assessment of oneself, and I must say the result really surprised me… it explained why I reacted like I did in crucial situations of my life, why I made certain mistakes or choices or why I always feel drawn to this or that extreme.

I'm not a huge fan of the idea of equilibrium or balance. Movement, after all, is the result of imbalance - I read somewhere that simple walking was just a controlled way of falling forward. Equilibrium, on the other hand, suggests something static to me that is vulnerable to the slightest impact of any external force. I just realized that this bold pronoucement may be the result of my elemental makeup, too.

Bardon's soul mirror showed me which elements (and thus qualities, types of behaviour or strategies, etc.) I lack, and boy, it was spot on. For me, it's not so much about balance, it's more about "I want some of that!", crudely put. You don't even have to do the soul mirror exercise, just look deep inside yourself and see what virtues, qualities, characterics, etc. you wish you possessed. Then see if you can attribute them to one or two (not more!) elements. As the four elements correspond to the four LBRP archangels, you are now presented with a living embodiment of that element and can begin working with it - by "working with it" I don't mean a formal invocation or evocation, just thinking about your (underrepresented) archangel, getting to know it, meditating on it, maybe write a little prayer or poem for it (I call it 'the romancing method' ), and that's what I'm currently trying to do with one of them.

Example: You have courage but often rush in recklessly and take unnecessary risks, so a little more circumspection and healthy caution (earth) wouldn't come amiss. So you begin contemplating Uriel/Auriel - or reflect upon earth in general, how it's firm, reliable, not easily moved, etc., in one word: boooriiing! . It can be a real eye-opener and even fun. A strong foundation for me means knowing myself thoroughly, warts and all, eliminating all my weakness and flaws would just take too long, I'd never get anything done if I patiently waited to attain that precious elemental equilibrium (which attituce is probably also indicative of a certain elemental imbalance ).

 

[Lemongrass00]

Hello everyone,

I often read that early on in one’s magickal practice it is important to “balance the elements” within oneself to build a strong foundation. What exactly does this entail? Are we talking simply meditating on the idea of these elements or are there actual rituals involved?

Thanks

Breaking up consciousness using the elemental symbols is foundational before moving on to more complex divisions (planetary, zodiacal, etc)

additionally, its symbolic of your subconscious state, which your conscious self comes out of. If you skip balancing your psyche before moving to more advanced rituals, it’s like the parable of building a house on a bad foundation.

As far as methods it’s whatever you are comfortable with, I used the greater ritual of the pentagram to banish and invoke a target element for some period of time, before moving on to the next. But this sort of thing is highly personal to the individual.

 

[blepte]

Breaking up consciousness using the elemental symbols is foundational before moving on to more complex divisions (planetary, zodiacal, etc)

additionally, its symbolic of your subconscious state, which your conscious self comes out of. If you skip balancing your psyche before moving to more advanced rituals, it’s like the parable of building a house on a bad foundation.

As far as methods it’s whatever you are comfortable with, I used the greater ritual of the pentagram to banish and invoke a target element for some period of time, before moving on to the next. But this sort of thing is highly personal to the individual.

Thank you! My current understanding/practice is very much from a GD/Ceremonial approach so I will try this method myself.

Post automatically merged: Jul 17, 2024

Although I really hate Bardon's sanctimonious, didactic style of writing, the soul mirror exercise in "Initiation into Hermetics" (Step I, Magic Psychic Training) is well worth doing despite all that. It's a sort of personality test, a psychological assessment of oneself, and I must say the result really surprised me… it explained why I reacted like I did in crucial situations of my life, why I made certain mistakes or choices or why I always feel drawn to this or that extreme.

I'm not a huge fan of the idea of equilibrium or balance. Movement, after all, is the result of imbalance - I read somewhere that simple walking was just a controlled way of falling forward. Equilibrium, on the other hand, suggests something static to me that is vulnerable to the slightest impact of any external force. I just realized that this bold pronoucement may be the result of my elemental makeup, too.

Bardon's soul mirror showed me which elements (and thus qualities, types of behaviour or strategies, etc.) I lack, and boy, it was spot on. For me, it's not so much about balance, it's more about "I want some of that!", crudely put. You don't even have to do the soul mirror exercise, just look deep inside yourself and see what virtues, qualities, characterics, etc. you wish you possessed. Then see if you can attribute them to one or two (not more!) elements. As the four elements correspond to the four LBRP archangels, you are now presented with a living embodiment of that element and can begin working with it - by "working with it" I don't mean a formal invocation or evocation, just thinking about your (underrepresented) archangel, getting to know it, meditating on it, maybe write a little prayer or poem for it (I call it 'the romancing method' ), and that's what I'm currently trying to do with one of them.

Example: You have courage but often rush in recklessly and take unnecessary risks, so a little more circumspection and healthy caution (earth) wouldn't come amiss. So you begin contemplating Uriel/Auriel - or reflect upon earth in general, how it's firm, reliable, not easily moved, etc., in one word: boooriiing! . It can be a real eye-opener and even fun. A strong foundation for me means knowing myself thoroughly, warts and all, eliminating all my weakness and flaws would just take too long, I'd never get anything done if I patiently waited to attain that precious elemental equilibrium (which attituce is probably also indicative of a certain elemental imbalance ).

Thank you. I've downloaded the book you mentioned and will check out the mentioned exercise.

 

[HoldAll]

To find out about a more sophisticated (and serious) approach to working with the elements, I'm planning to study this book by David Rankine & Sorita d' Este. From what I've read so far, it sums up nicely what the Western tradition has to say about the elements.

 

[Pyrokar]

i agree with everything in general just this

Movement, after all, is the result of imbalance - I read somewhere that simple walking was just a controlled way of falling forward. Equilibrium, on the other hand, suggests something static to me that is vulnerable to the slightest impact of any external force.

it's a highway towards off topic but i think the benefits of beating such a fallacy will be good for everyone involved.
we could say walking is just a controlled way of falling but it is far from that in the literal sense, do a handstand and see just how much work
goes into keeping you upright, how a cheetah uses it's tail to steer while at top speed, how a horse is always half an inch away from fatal injury.
Equilibrium is never static, it adapts to preserve its "level" it battles external conditions non stop.
that's just the judo talking but i too had low appreciation for equilibrium until it was used against me.
Balanced and proper gait is the staple of the healthy and noble. They don't just fall forward, nor let themselves be directed so easily.