Magical Element Air: The Beginning of Manifestation

One of the basic principles that any apprentice magician or shaman learns is that almost everything in this Universe is made up of some combination of the four magical elements: Air, Fire, Water and Earth. The premise is that if you can understand the four elements directly, then you can understand anything in the Universe.
The apprentice also learns that everything that is physical and manifest started out as a mere thought in someone’s mind—or, in this case, as the element Air. Air is at the beginning of all creation, so if you want to create anything, you have to start with Air. Air is associated with the East and also with elemental beings called sylphs. The element Air governs:

…seeing, breathing, speaking, hearing, planning, thinking, believing, memorizing, communicating, learning, teaching, information, ideas, wisdom, understanding, worry, sensation, awareness, opinions, data, memory, mind…

What does this mean to you? It means that if you want to affect any of these areas in your life, you need to work with the element Air. Air is the perfect place for a beginning magician to start learning. As an element, Air is powerful, but not dangerous. There are three colors associated with Air:

Clear: breathing, physical reactions, physical sensations, seeing
White: mental processes, thinking, planning, communicating
Sky Blue: spiritual enlightenment, wisdom, understanding

So how can you use Air to affect and improve your daily life? Here’s a simple way to begin. Through experience and observation, we know that the color White affects the mental processes. If you have either too little or too much White in your elemental balance, you won’t be able to think, learn or recall well. If you have difficulty in any of these areas (or if you really need to cram for a test and can’t seem to study), check how much White is in your environment and in your clothing. If you see a lot of White, change your clothes or change your location. Move to an area with more Sky Blue. If you are surrounded by very little White, put on some White clothes or move into a room that has White walls. Either way, you should notice a shift in the speed and clarity of your mental processes!

More About Sylphs
While it’s true that almost everything in this Universe is made up of the four elements, elemental beings such as sylphs are the exception. Elemental beings are wholly composed of a single element, so sylphs are wholly composed of Air. Sylphs are friendly beings, about 3 to 18 inches long that are twisty in shape. They love to play in cigarette smoke or in dust devils. You might sometimes feel a sylph as a light brush against your face. They are fun to be around and also make excellent messengers and sources of information. When we were traveling through Yellowstone during the fires, we used sylphs to help us find safe routes through the park.
To communicate with sylphs, just ask for one silently, in your mind. Sylphs have short attention spans so it’s best to communicate with your mind because the spoken word is too slow. Ask for what you need and then send them on their way (always thanking them in advance, of course). Don’t be surprised when the sylph returns in short order with the answer you need!

Want to Know More?
To learn how to directly handle the element air, try our Air Home Study Short Course available online. Or email us first at info@shamanschool.com for details on our free offer for the Air Course and all the other elemental courses and to get the coupon code to use when ordering.


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A Real Book of Shadows – What Is It?

A lot of people wonder, "What is a book of shadows? Is it fact or fiction?" In fact, thousands of people type in the search term "real book of shadows" every month to try to find out. If you watch the TV show "Charmed" then you'll know that the Halliwell sisters have a giant book of spells written by their ancestors called a book of shadows. Others will take a hint from the title of the second "Blair Witch" movie, despite there being no actual book in the movie. Still others think a book of shadows is something of a personal journal for Wiccans, an idea popularized by Gerald Gardner, who brought Wiccan practices to public attention with his book "Witchcraft Today," published in 1954.

Obviously the definition of a real book of shadows varies widely in popular culture, and it does among magical and shamanic practitioners as well, depending on which tradition they practice. However, most practitioners agree on three common usages and purposes for a real book of shadows.

** 1. Record Spell Details **

A real book of shadows is used to record all the details of spells that have been cast, including the divinations used prior to casting the spell, the directors and limiters (or parameters) of the spell, the actual methods used in the spell, the results of divinations to check the progress of the spell, and any results of the spell. These details are crucial in case a spell ever goes wrong and has to be taken down. The way a practitioner takes down a spell that has already been cast depends on the way that the spell was cast. For instance, if a spell was cast using a carved candle then to take down the spell the practitioner could break the candle used in the spell and bury the remnants in the garden for a moon cycle.

** 2. Track Magical and Shamanic Research **

Magical and shamanic practitioners are often engaged in research. This research can be to discover facts about past lives, divine future events, try out new techniques, or travel to different planes. For instance, magical practitioners in our tradition will record the results of walks in the black mirror, which is a portal to other planes of existence, commonly called the half-worlds. When walking in the black mirror, the practitioner needs to use a litany or chant to direct the walk and keep from getting lost. After returning from such a walk, not only will the practitioner record the results of the walk in a real book of shadows, including any new facts or revelations, but will also record the effectiveness of the chant so that it can be used again or fine-tuned for future use.

** 3. Preserve Magic and Shamanism for the Future **

Of course, one of the most important purposes of a real book of shadows is to preserve magical and shamanic knowledge for future practitioners. Practitioners of most traditions "stand on the shoulders" of those giants who have come before. There's no real reason to keep re-inventing the wheel. A real book of shadows, which can contain the research and results of multiple generations of practitioners, is usually handed down through the generations. Each generation of practitioners (who are not necessarily related) adds their experience to the book. In fact, the material in a real book of shadows is often so voluminous that the "book" becomes a multi-volume set.

A real book of shadows is really a record of magical and shamanic experience that is preserved either for an individual's use or for future use. Some practitioners keep individual books of shadows and never hand them down, either because they have no one to hand them to or because they are secretive. In any event, if you are a practitioner of the magical arts, you should definitely start your own book of shadows. It will help you remember what you have done, track your magical experiments, and possibly create a magical asset for the future.

In Magic,
Alan