Finding Your Element In Wicca

A lot of young Wiccans are eager to find their elements. I don’t mean to burst any bubbles, but traditionally in Wicca there is no such thing. Yes, you read that right. I know that’s not a popular opinion these days because the idea has gained recent popularity, but please follow my reasoning before you dismiss it.

I remember when this idea began popping up in the last 10 or 15 years, a lot of us long-time Wiccans looked at each other with furrowed brows and asked, “Huh?” I tried hunting down the source-- nearest I can tell, the idea came from fiction and cartoons and made their way into bad Wicca 101 books and the kind of websites I tend not to recommend because they present every New Age concept as Wiccan.

First, it should be understood, Elements Earth, Air, Fire, Water are not the same thing as dirt, oxygen, flames and H20. The Spiritual Elements – capital “E” – together make up everything in life.

For Example, the Element of Water (capitalized) is not just the stuff that pours out of your faucets or fills your pool. Water is H20, and H20 is the most pure symbol of the Element, but the Element of Water is so much more than that. It’s also intuition, it’s string instruments, it’s silver jewelry, it’s fish, it’s the moon, it’s being wishy-washy, it’s being nurturing, it’s both compassion and depression, it’s drowning, it’s the sunset hour, it’s peeing and drooling. The Element of Water is infused in every aspect of life, and this is so with the other three as well.

Second, the very notion that someone is “an Element” would contradict a key tenet of Wicca—which is to find balance in all things. If you were one Element, you would be an incredibly imbalanced person. If you lean that heavily toward one Element, it would mean you need less of it, and you need more of the other three.

Some would argue, saying something like: But my astrological sign is (fill in the blank), making my Element (fill in the blank)! Yes, I know—astrological signs fall under the Elements as well. Just because your astrological element’s influence is Water doesn’t mean Water is your only Element. For one thing, your Sun sign is not your only astrological sign (you also have a Moon sign, an Ascending sign, and all those houses in your chart with different planets).

Water touches everyone’s life in many ways, as do all the Elements. One of the ways it influences you is through your Sun sign; that doesn't make it your one and only Element.

But I have an affinity for (fill in the blank) because (fill in the blank)! The word “affinity” simply means you like something. I have an affinity for chocolate, that doesn’t make me the element of chocolate (though—it might be fun).

Basic Element Info

Air	Masculine, projective element connected to rational thought, the mind, intellect, wisdom, communication, etc.	Corresponding to the North, the winter season, middle of the night.
Earth	Feminine, receptive, connected to stability, practicality, materialism, the physical world, etc.	Corresponding to the East, to the spring season, to sunrise time,
Fire	Masculine, projective, connected to the will, passion, creativity, etc.	Corresponding to the South, to the summer season, to midday (noon).
Water	Feminine, receptive, connected to the emotions, intuition, mysterious, the subconscious, etc.	Corresponding to the West, to the fall season, to twilight time.

Source: http://wiccansage.hubpages.com/hub/Wicca-for-Beginners-Elemental-Powers-and-Finding-Your-Element