This is my diagram of the "wheel of the year" based on the data for my location. This is something I recommend everyone does - find out the meteorological data for where you live. I have written down the average temperature, rainfall, and sunshine for each month of the year.This has me thinking about the wheel of the year in Elemental terms. It was Aristotle that proposed that each of the Elements has two qualities each. Earth is cold and dry, because it represents molecules moving at their slowest, locked into a solid position. As the molecules warm up, they become more fluid. Water is cold and wet because it represents the liquid state. Air is hot and wet because it represents the water molecules evaporating upwards as they are heated. Fire is hot and dry because it represents the molecules in their ionised state. So, looking at the wheel of the year we can see the hot, cold, dry and wet quarters, which can indicate the Elemental symbolism of the seasons. We are current...

I have been working on this little painting, it's not finished yet, because I'm not sure how it's going to develop, but my thinking behind it is a diagram of Aristotle's classical elements. This photo isn't brilliant, so what what looks like a black area is actually blue and purple. I am trying to combine the idea of the classical elements, with the scientific states of matter, and the spectrum of visible light. Aristotle  was one of the first to publicly hypothesize about the nature of light, proposing that light is a disturbance in the element  air  (that is, it is a wave-like phenomenon). On the other hand,  Democritus  argued that all things in the universe, including light, are composed of indivisible sub-components (light being some form of solar atom). Today, the theory of  wave–particle duality  postulates that all  particles  exhibit both  wave  and  particle  properties. In the diagram above I have comp...

Putting elemental associations behind, let us look at some Indo-European mythology concerning the directions. I hope this will be not just interesting but helpful too. East: This word comes from the proto-Indo-European (PIE) for "shine red". This is the direction of the equinox sunrise. The wind that blows from the East, toward the West, was personified as Eurus by the ancient Greeks. He is the bringer of warmth and rain. His symbol was an inverted vase, spilling water. His Roman equivalent is Vulturnus. The Germanic name is Ostroni. In Hinduism the Guardians of the East are Indra and his consort Sachi. They are the Lord and Lady of war and thunderstorms. Their weapon is the thunderbolt and their "planet" is the Sun. Southeast: This is the direction of the winter sunrise. This wind was personified as Apeliotus by the ancient Greeks. He was thought to cause a refreshing rain particularly beneficial to farmers, and was often depicted wearing gumboots and ...

I've finished reading Wicca Covens by Judy Harrow and am in the middle of reading Witchcraft for Tomorrow by Doreen Valiente. Judy Harrow pointed out in her book that the correspondence of directions to elements is purely symbolic, and not something we should take literally. The elements are not literally found in different directions, because they are of course all around us. Harrow tells us that although most Wiccan covens follow the correspondence of North: Earth, East: Air, South: Fire, and West: Water, not all covens practice in the same way. It is important that we all practice in a way that makes sense to us. Doreen Valiente explains why the common Wiccan correspondence of directions to elements is used. She suggests that it is adapted to the British climate, as opposed to the Greek climate which Aristotle describes. Here we may see Valiente's correspondence in contrast to Aristotle's: I can see why she would describe Earth as "cold and wet" because ...