Spirits Cast-101 lesson two is here-yeah! I listened to Feithline’s new episode today-it was fantastic as usual. I am looking forward to starting the new elements exercise this month! To start the next assignment off we are suppose to create a list of things we take for granted. What Feith means by this is our Wiccan/Pagan correspondences we have gotten so use to we no longer think about why or how we got those correspondences. For example why is the moon associated with the Goddess? Below is my list of correspondences and associations I take for granted…
Things I take for granted:
The nighttime and moon are feminine
The daytime and sun are masculine
Air is yellow and masculine
Water is blue and feminine
Earth is green and feminine
Fire is red and masculine
Athames are masculine
Bowls and chalices are feminine
Magick is neutral
There is life, spirit, and energy in everthing
my soul
the afterlife
Goddess represents emotions
God represents protection
Summary: Even creating and looking over this list has got me thinking. There are some associations I have because I have really meditated on them and chose what felt right for me. Other associations I have because of societal and cultural norms I have been taught since childhood. For example Air is masculine to me, not because some Wicca 101 book told me it is, but because I see visions of the Greek God Hermes when I work with the element of air. To me the spirit of air is the same traveler and messenger as Hermes is. Because I see Hermes when I see air, I see masculine. However I am constantly seeing the Goddess as a gentle, emotional, mother type. Where as, I see God as the passionate, action based protector. But really those are gender stereotypes that have been around since the beginning of time. Men or the masculine can also represent a soft and emotional side. There have been and still are female warriors. Men are not the only beings capable of anger, action, and violence. I think we all could work on being careful with the gender restricted boxes we put our deities into. The great spirit or Divine is not really male or female. We put or deity(s) into gender based roles because that is how we understand things as humans. Everything in nature within our planet exists with two genders. The Divine is not limited to gender though, nor is it limited to our version of emotions and abilities. Just like water is not limited to being blue on our planet. Ever see a blue flame of fire? Why do we put correspondences to the elements? Why is the Goddess represented by the night and moon? What is the definition of feminine? Do the elements really correspond to one gender? Do we even need to give them a gender association?
Things are the types of questions I will be asking myself as I work on this month’s Spirits Cast-101 assignment. Hopefully I will find some answers to those questions-at least what the answers are for myself and my own spiritual practice.
Good luck to all of you as we journey into the realm of the elements!
Blessings,
Hoi Sum
