General Q&A

[Lexenos the Gypsy Bard]

So, I've been reading through this thread, and saw it mentioned that one is not a particular element over another, that the elements are in balance, unless something is "wrong." (Not quite sure of the wording, so I'm using "wrong" tentatively.)

But I'm a fire element. I've always been a fire element, I know this deep in my heart. I've always known it. I have a very, very strong affinity, a bond with fire. There's other elements too, of course, I have a lesser affinity with wind, sadly not much to do with earth (though I do so love it very much), and a very, very strong aversion to water ( I absolutely can't stand to be wet, although I plan on talking to my therapist about it maybe being that OCD touch thing, where you can't stand to touch certain textures, y'know, look to the mundane before you look to the magical and all).

I know there's the strong emphasis on what you believe and feel and personal experiences, "truth in the eye of the beholder," so I really don't want to say anyone is "wrong," not me, nor (I think it was too2sweet that said it), nor anyone else. But I really would like your opinions/thoughts/knowledge on this, affinities with the elements and such.  

[too2sweet]

I think you may have misunderstood what I said. The question that was asked was "I was wondering how can you tell what element are you?"... the point I was trying to make is that no one is "just" 1 element - we all have all of them within us.

You can have affinities for one over the other (I'm awfully fond of Water myself), but on the whole the elements themselves should be balanced (or at least close to balanced) within us. If you have too much of one over another, it can throw us out of whack.

Many of the qualities that go along with each element are good things to have for the most part, but if you have too much of them it can be harmful without the others to balance.

Like candy is yummy....but if all you eat is candy it will make you sick. However if you eat a balanced selection of foods you stay healthy. Similar principle - yes you can like candy more than the other foods (and there maybe times when you eat more of it than you should), but you still need the others or you will eventually start to have issues.  

[Lexenos the Gypsy Bard]

Ah, I see. I did misunderstand, thank you for clearing that up. whee (And sorry for misunderstanding in the first place. x3)

So, for example, it's ok to have the impulsion/passion commonly attributed to fire, but without the passivity of water or the, heh, "down to earth" qualities of earth, the impulsion/passion would just be way out of control?  

[Lexenos the Gypsy Bard]

Oh crap, that isn't like, a horrible misconception, is it? The different personality types associated with elements?

EDIT: I just assumed because I fit the archetype pretty well.  

[too2sweet]

It's all good. biggrin

Quote:

So, for example, it's ok to have the impulsion/passion commonly attributed to fire, but without the passivity of water or the, heh, "down to earth" qualities of earth, the impulsion/passion would just be way out of control?

Exactly!!

Quote:

Oh crap, that isn't like, a horrible misconception, is it? The different personality types associated with elements?

There are definitely aspects which are associated with each element, and it can correspond to aspects that people find within themselves. Probably depends on the source as to how accurate the info is.  

[Night_of_the_Phoenix]

Umm, this might seem a little . . . well, I don't know, but whatever, I'm giving it a shot. Are there any spells that help you to gain knowledge about anything in particular. See, I have this terrible habit of not being able to retain anything (most importantly studies-related stuff. Give me a story book and heck, I'll remember what the rat said!). I was wondering if there was a way to, you know, get the required information, or does that come only through reading over and over and over again?  

[loveblackbutterflies]

Night_of_the_Phoenix

Umm, this might seem a little . . . well, I don't know, but whatever, I'm giving it a shot. Are there any spells that help you to gain knowledge about anything in particular. See, I have this terrible habit of not being able to retain anything (most importantly studies-related stuff. Give me a story book and heck, I'll remember what the rat said!). I was wondering if there was a way to, you know, get the required information, or does that come only through reading over and over and over again?

No idea about spells, but as for mundane ways to do it, there are many ways you can study to retain information. First is after class, talk to yourself about the general topic of that class and go over your notes. Write your notes in different colours (or underline etc) and associate these colours with something in your notes. Use flashcards to test your memory of what you've learned (particularly good for languages and math but works in every subject). Find fun ways of relating to your subject content, for example I think of chemistry as potions and biology as herbology. Try to avoid looking at homework as a chore and more of something interesting. I hope this helps, good luck studying!  

[Night_of_the_Phoenix]

Thanks! I'll try what you said!  

[too2sweet]

Night_of_the_Phoenix

Umm, this might seem a little . . . well, I don't know, but whatever, I'm giving it a shot. Are there any spells that help you to gain knowledge about anything in particular. See, I have this terrible habit of not being able to retain anything (most importantly studies-related stuff. Give me a story book and heck, I'll remember what the rat said!). I was wondering if there was a way to, you know, get the required information, or does that come only through reading over and over and over again?

You could write a spell to help with retention and/or memory function, but you'd still have to study the material (at least in some way). Most spells of this sort are simply ways of boosting our own capacities - there is no spell in the world that will make you insta-know something.

The tips lbb posted above are great ones!!  

[Night_of_the_Phoenix]

too2sweet

Night_of_the_Phoenix

Umm, this might seem a little . . . well, I don't know, but whatever, I'm giving it a shot. Are there any spells that help you to gain knowledge about anything in particular. See, I have this terrible habit of not being able to retain anything (most importantly studies-related stuff. Give me a story book and heck, I'll remember what the rat said!). I was wondering if there was a way to, you know, get the required information, or does that come only through reading over and over and over again?

You could write a spell to help with retention and/or memory function, but you'd still have to study the material (at least in some way). Most spells of this sort are simply ways of boosting our own capacities - there is no spell in the world that will make you insta-know something.

The tips lbb posted above are great ones!!

Thanks! I'll try those, too!
And yea, they are, aren't they?  

[Night_of_the_Phoenix]

Another question. My friend will be celebrating her first Imbolc sabbat next month, and she donesn't know what to do. She cant get 13 candles, she cant afford it. What is she supposed to do for ritual? she has an orange candle, and like 5 white ones, and a couple red, plus has rosemary oil.  

[too2sweet]

Night_of_the_Phoenix

Another question. My friend will be celebrating her first Imbolc sabbat next month, and she donesn't know what to do. She cant get 13 candles, she cant afford it. What is she supposed to do for ritual? she has an orange candle, and like 5 white ones, and a couple red, plus has rosemary oil.

One doesn't necessarily need candles or tools or any particular thing for a ritual. It's nice if you can get them, but (unless one is a member of a particular tradition that requires such things) you can usually get along just fine without them.

Imbolc is a time of new beginnings, time for a cleansing, sweeping out the old to make way for the new. Basically it's time to start getting the fields ready for planting in the spring.

She can use the Ritual Creation Worksheet to plan her ritual, and simply incorporate items that she does have on hand. Also, the following ritual could probably be adapted to what she has on had as well...

http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/imbolcfebruary2/ht/CandleRite_Sol.htm