Practical Elemental Magick: Working the Magick of the Four Elements in the Western Mystery Tradition

by Sorita d'Este, David Rankine

"The four elements of Air, Fire, Water and Earth exist as spiritual essences, as philosophical concepts, as energy states and as a tangible physical reality." Working magick with the elements helps to connect us to the tangibly present natural powers in our physical world, whilst at the same time we are returning to the building blocks of magick by rooting our feet in the material world. Since Empedocles formalized the system in ancient Greece in the 5th century BCE, the four elements have become an integral part of the Western Esoteric Tradition - passing from ancient Greek magick through the Qabalah & Grimoire Traditions into modern derivative traditions of ceremonial magick and paganism. In Practical Elemental Magick the authors provide an unprecedented combination of research and techniques for working the magick of Air, Fire, Water and Earth, as well as the spiritual creatures associated with each. The Elemental Gods, Archangels, rulers and other types of elemental beings (including Sylphs, Salamanders, Undines & Gnomes) are discussed and explored. Both the spiritual and physical aspects of the four elements are considered, together with how they interact with each other and their appropriate use for magickal work. The creation and use of Elementaries (Elemental Thought Forms); Elemental Tools, the Elemental Tides and correspondences are all considered in detail, together with previously unavailable original ritual & meditative material including the Unification Rite, the Inner Talisman, the Elemental Pyramids, the Elemental Magick Circle & the Elemental Temples. In mastering the four elements within & without we master ourselves, bringing the external forces of the natural world & the internal forces of our existence into harmony.

Genres: Magick, Witchcraft, Spirituality, Magic, Wicca, Paganism, Occult

188 pages, Paperback

First published February 14, 2007

About the author

Sorita d’Este is an author, researcher and priestess who has devoted her life to the Mysteries. She is the author of around 20 books exploring subjects related to the practice and history of magic, mythology, religion, folklore and witchcraft. Her previous books include titles such as Hekate Liminal Rites, Practical Elemental Magick, Visions of the Cailleach, Wicca: Magickal Beginnings and The Isles of the Many Gods. Her latest release is Circle For Hekate: Vol I. She lives on a hill in Glastonbury (Somerset, UK) from where she works as a publisher and writer. She is frequently distracted from her work by her love of gardening, exciting visitors and the promise of interesting esoteric knowledge.

Reviews

[Eirini Tsotsou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for elemental magick.

If you are new to elemental magick you will understand the very basics you need to know. It is very useful and educational. If you are more advanced you will find useful details and some practical knowledge. The book is beautifully categorized containing small chapters making it easy to read. This book fills many gaps if you have read other books and if not it gives a general and more detailed knowledge leaving no questions as a whole.

It contains theoretical information for the four elements and a lot of matrixes about colors, planets, tools, archangels, signs, deities, axioms, seasons, qualities, creatures that will help you practically while performing your rituals about what element to use according to your purpose.
There are meditations about the four elements that help you explore each one separately and basic rituals such as the magick circle, consecration of the tools and other.

Τhe writer has great knowledge of the Hellenic history putting forward ancient texts and writers. She also gives sources of other later, great, foreign books. Provides with researched information and perspective.

Great book to buy!

You can see my full review here:
http://crossroadswitch.com/?q=content...

[Lusete · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very comprehensive study of the elements, absolutely worth a read to get a good foundation on each element and the magical practices.

[Jessica Donegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fair read. The information was of a similar variety I've read before and the presentation didn't bring anything new to the table. I found the actual writing style dry and unappealing. Would not recommend it but I assume it suits some people.

[Misty · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book for any level

This book was so instructive and helpful, aiding me in my practice tremendously. I'm still a newer practitioner, but this book helped me find some of the holes in my craft, and also helped make sense of some confusion on my part. Worth the read!

[Lashette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book. Its basically all about correspondences for each of the four western elements, plus some for spirit. Nothing groundbreaking except its all in one place which is rare and helpful.

[Rhonda]

Magickal

I really enjoyed this book. Very well written. A lot of knowledge in such a small book. Definitely worth my time.

[Liza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Includes great rituals and visualizations, but could get too ceremonial for me at times

[Anna Katherina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not and never will be one to subscribe to the standard western 4-5 element system. I am also not one who utilizes the standard Western Estoercism and often find it too complicating and bogged down through the utilization and combination of far too many traditions. Fact is, I don't work well in traditional Ceremonial (low, high, or otherwise) systems so I tend to avoid them.

This being said, however, I did enjoy this book a lot. It's to the point, and not a very long read while still remaining informative. Like most informative texts it can be a bit dry in places, but the shortness of the text makes up for that and it's still not so dry as to make it difficult to get through. I appreciate the fact that it's also well sourced and provides textual representation from the parent sources- neither of which you find in many magical, New-Age, or Pagan oriented books. In this regard it was especially refreshing.

I think that even if you're not quite familiar with this system, or aren't even a fan of it, there's still some things that can be easily learned from it and taken advantage of.

[Lissalye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strait forward approach to coming into a working understanding of the elements. Lots of information without being an overly long read. While its a 'take what you need, tailor to suit your style' topic I found this work to be free of the annoying fluff that crops up in some esoteric texts. Very informative.