Monday, September 26, 2011

The Four Classical Powers

I made a brief mention of using the four classical powers in elemental work over at Robert's place a couple of weeks back. I have found that many magicians, even some who make fairly extensive use of the classical elements in their work, are often unfamiliar with how the powers fit into the elemental schema used in modern magick. Much of the material in this article is adapted from John Opsopaus' Ancient Greek Esoteric Doctrine of the Elements, which I highly recommend that all modern ceremonialists familiarize themselves with in order to better understand how the elements relate to each other.

The doctrine of the elements began with the ancient Greeks, notably Empedocles and Aristotle. Empedocles proposed that four basic powers or qualities could be found in the natural world. These powers are Warm, Cool, Moist, and Dry. Warm and Cool are complementary powers, as are Moist and Dry. Aristotle went on to explain the nature of these powers in greater detail. The Warm power separates things, while the Cool power unites them. The Warm power also represents expansion and the Cool power represents contraction. The Dry power gives objects form and rigidity, while the Moist power is receptive and adaptive to its surroundings. Warm and Cool are considered active powers, whereas Moist and Dry are considered passive powers.


Aristotle further hypothesized that the elements of nature are what scientists now refer to as the states of matter, and that they arise from the four powers. The combination of these powers gives us the four classical elements, in the following manner:
As Earth consists of the other three elements in addition to itself, in effect Fire, Air, and Water have dual attributions, to Netzach, Hod, and Yesod respectively and also to Malkuth. The powers, as basic qualities of the natural world, are attributed exclusively to Malkuth, though they may be represented on the Tree of Life along with the elements for the purposes of the pentagram rituals. In terms of the four Qabalistic worlds, the powers represent Assiah, the material world, and the elements represent the joining of Yetzirah, the formative world, with the material world. In terms of the parts of the soul, the powers represent the Nephesh or animal soul and the elements join the Nephesh with the Ruach, or intellect.

Aristotle explained several ways in which one element could be transformed into another. Elements that share a common property can be reversibly transformed into each other depending upon the quantities involved. For example, since Water and Air share the Moist property, Water can be transformed into Air by exposing it to a greater quantity of Air, but if the amount of Water is increased so that the quantity of Water becomes greater, the transformation can be reversed and the Air will be converted back into Water. Also, a mixture of opposed elements can be irreversibly transformed by exposure to a third element. For example, if a mixture of Fire and Water is exposed to Air, the result is that the Fire and Water will be transformed into Air, taking the Warm power from Fire and the Moist power from Water. Opposed elements cannot be directly transformed into each other, but must instead go through the intermediate stage of transformation into and adjacent element.

Understanding of the primary and secondary powers is the key to understanding the interactions of the elements, as explained by Raymon Lull, who extended Aristotle's system. When two opposed elements interact, either Water and Fire or Air and Earth, they neutralize each other, producing a result that is either one or the other depending upon the quantities involved. However, if the quantities of the opposed elements are precisely balanced, they unify instead of negating each other. This union of opposites leads to the accomplishment of the Great Work of alchemy. Most magical orders seek to trigger this process in their initiates using the solve et coagula process. The elements are first isolated and developed, which is the solve phase of the work. Once this is complete, the coagula phase consists of invoking all four elements, and thus the two opposed pairs, in a balanced configuration in order to elevate the consciousness of the initiate into the sphere of Tiphareth.

The interaction of unopposed elements yields a result depending on the primary and secondary powers. For example, the process of evaporation can be explained as the interaction of Water and Air. The Warm power of Air negates the Cool power of Water, leaving the Moist power, which the two elements have in common. The result is Air, because it is primarily moist. The process of dissolving a solid, such as a salt, into a liquid solvent can be explained in the same way. The Moist power of Water is negated by the Dry power of Earth, leaving the Cool power. The result is Water, because Water is primarily Cool. Earth extinguishes Fire because the warm power of Fire is negated by the Cool power of Earth, resulting in Earth because Earth is primarily cool. Finally, combustion may be explained as Fire interacting with Air, in which the Moist power of Air is negated by the Dry power of Fire, resulting in Fire because Fire is primarily warm. Lull referred to these relationships as the “cycle of triumphs,” in which Air triumphs over Water, Water triumphs over Earth, Earth triumphs over Fire, and Fire triumphs over Air

A second cycle attributed to the powers is the organic cycle, which describes the processes of nature as they occur throughout the year. The vernal equinox corresponds to the Moist power, as it is the season of rain and melting snow. The moist power then gives way to the Warm power, which corresponds to the summer solstice, when the Sun is at its highest point. The Warm power gives way to the Dry power, corresponding to the autumnal equinox as it is the season in which life goes dormant in preparation for winter. The Dry power then gives way to the Cool power, which corresponds to the winter solstice, when the Sun is at its lowest point. Finally, the Cool power gives way to the Moist power at the Vernal Equinox and the cycle starts all over again.

All of these cycles and relationships between the powers and the elements are shown in the figure above, based on a diagram which first appeared in John Opsopaus' The Ancient Greek Esoteric Doctrine of the Elements. The diagram also shows the standard symbols for the elements and powers. I have modified the color scheme presented by Opsopaus so that the four elemental symbols are shown in the Golden Dawn colors, and the four power symbols are attributed to colors using a scale that I have developed based on the attributions of Hermetic Qabalah.

The powers have the following associations.

Warm - Analyzing, discriminating, separating
Cool - Loving, creative, unifying
Moist - Receptive, changeable, flexible
Dry - Grounded, stubborn, inflexible

In order to integrate the powers into the Golden Dawn elemental system, I have developed a color scale that includes both the powers and the elements. According to the Golden Dawn system, the following colors are attributed to the four elements.

Fire - Red
Air - Yellow
Water - Blue
Earth - Green or Black

This leaves two more secondary colors in addition to black and white. These remaining colors actually fit the powers quite nicely, according to the attributions of Hermetic Qabalah. I have attributed them as follows.

Warm - Orange
Cool - White
Moist - Purple
Dry - Black

The Warm power, as the power of discrimination and analysis, has a clear affinity with Mercury, the planet representing intellect. The natural color for the sphere of Mercury, Hod, is orange. The Cool power, as the power of union and unification, has an affinity with Kether, the sphere corresponding to the number one and therefore the point on the Tree of Life where all things merge together into a single whole. The natural color for Kether is white. The Moist power, corresponding to changeability and adaptability, has an affinity with the Moon, which represents shifting emotions and feelings, and also the chaotic unconscious mind. The natural color of the sphere of the Moon, Yesod, is purple. Finally, the Dry power, which is the power of giving form, has an affinity with Saturn, the planet of structure and containment. The natural color of the sphere of Saturn, Binah, is black. These attributions allow the powers and elements to be represented without any duplication of colors.

The process of internal alchemy can be augmented significantly by an informed application of these powers. By invoking the powers individually it is possible to accomplish the transformation of the various elemental aspects of the personality with greater precision. In practice, many magicians work with the four elements as if they embodied their primary powers, but treating the elements in this manner can lead to confusion stemming from the natures of the secondary powers which will also be present when an element is invoked. If what you need in your life is attributed to one of the four powers, it is far better in invoke it directly.

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17 comments:

IlluZioN said...

Hello Scott Sensei!

I've been really getting into the elements lately, and this article has some critical bits that I simply haven't come across before. (Which is typical in your writing, hence why I keep returning) I've long struggled with what I assumed was the Earth element so to speak, but rather it appears to be the 'dry' power rather than most. So how would one do this specifically in ritual?

Also I'm curious what you would attribute melancholia to in this model, something which I struggled with for a long time only to get 'miraculously' cured in what felt like a very potent nigredo and a hi-five from the cosmos that necessitated a deeper spiritual path and purpose. I long considered it was something to do with the inertia of earth somehow supplanting itself in water, 'Earth of Water', perhaps. But that is speculation. If I had to be specific, what exact quality either under or overemphasized do you think contributes to this? On a similar note, what of chronic anxiety?

Your work is immensely helpful to someone looking to be a pragmatic mystic and simultaneously a pragmatic magician. I have not enough hats to tip to you, good sir!

Scott Stenwick said...

One of the other aspects to think about with this is that each element has a "dominant" power that is considered closest to its essential nature. Those would be Earth = Dry, Water = Cold, Air = Moist, and Fire = Warm. So the distinction between Earth and Dry is less substantial than the distinction between Earth and Cold, even though Earth is Dry + Cold.

Melancholia is pretty clearly the Cold power as I see it. Warm/Cold is the axis that relates to energy in general, and the "I can't even get out of bed" aspect of melancholia corresponds to low energy. I would probably say Water based in that rather than Earth. The Dry power is about maintaining structure versus the Moist power, which is about breaking them down. Depressed people don't really maintain or conform to structures very well, so again, I think that would map to Water - Cold + Moist.

I think anxiety would be more like Air. It's Warm because it's energetic, but Moist like depression in that it breaks structure in the opposite direction - spinning off the rails beyond reasonable bounds as opposed to barely being able to do anything. So what I'm seeing is that in both cases, it's the Moist power causing problems. Much of mental illness is related to the inability of the mind to structure experience correctly and accurately.

IlluZioN said...

I did often gravitate to the idea of water, although your angle about structure is quite robust. It was further thinking on Saturn's characteristics that I started thinking more towards the idea of excessive 'inertia'. Thank you so much for responding, it's almost as eerie as it is a blessing to know that I have access to a lucid mind such as yours on the other end of the globe in this day and age. I have been thinking all day about your reply. I'm still curious if there is any direct way to work with the powers themselves, besides being conscious of them?

Also Scott, (this might be best redirected to another article closer to this subject), but did you ever happen to work out how the elements would correlate to the planets, if at all? Even after several years of astrology, I have not concluded anything satisfactory. Considering how planets seem to have an affinity for certain elements and signs over others. Mars and Sun have some fire affinity, although not exclusively so (co-ruling the dicey scorpio and exalted in ambitious capricorn). If the building blocks of energy structures come from the elements, I wouldn't be surprised if the archetypal planetary energies themselves are an amalgam, counter-intuitively as it might be, of classical elements, powers, and perhaps even alchemical elements, all thrown in the form-generating cauldron of madness that made this universe. Or are the planets all elementary (pardon the pun) building blocks of the universe independently? I would appreciate any resources you may have found interesting to address this question, for my curiosity has been killing the cat.



Scott Stenwick said...

I use Triplicity Lords from Renaissance astrology. There is a chart of which planet rules which elemental triplicity by day and night over on my Chart Victor article. The associations go back to at least the middle ages and quite possibly earlier.

Fire/Day - Sun
Fire/Night - Jupiter
Air/Day - Saturn
Air/Night - Mercury
Water/Day - Venus
Water/Night - Mars
Earth/Day - Venus
Earth/Night - Moon

So the best times for a Fire operation are a day hour of the Sun or a night hour of Jupiter. For Air, day hour of Saturn or night hour of Mercury. For Water, day hour of Venus or night hour of Mars. For Earth, day hour of Venus or night hour of the Moon.

This would be completely separate from the planet ruling the day, since those associations are strictly planetary.

Samat said...

Scott, I wish to know about you and your group's experience with the 4 elemental rulers from 777 namely Ariel, Tharsis, Seraph and Kerub and the 4 elemental angels Chassan, Taliahad, Aral and Phorlakh. I definitely think that all 8 of these are angels because the source of the latter is Mathers in his version of the KoS. Nonetheless I am more interested in the elemental angels for now. As for the sigils, I derived them using the lunar kamea but stopped to consider that these angels are attributed to ruling over the elements. Their own rank is not discussed. An angel is celestial and can't go lower than Yetzirah (planetary) so how did you do it?

IlluZioN said...

Hi Scott,

Been a while. I have been dabbling with alternate ways to work with elements since my last comment. Specifically musical approaches that focused on invocations and ragas, that regardless of my haphazard approach seemed to hold some promise. What I did find was that some of these caused initiations in the wrong order and perhaps led to its own series of mishaps, it did get me to come closer to understanding the limitations around working with (specifically long term invocation of) the elements directly despite following the otherwise very effective operant field models and everything else you write about. The enduring crystallization, if you will, of the elemental quality.

I was curious to know whether you have any resources that you can point me to that would allow me to incorporate the direct usage of the powers perhaps with the operant field . I feel the key step is here, and if there are more formal ways of working with this I would be quite giddy!

Much love Scott, you have changed my practice irrevocably and for that I am eternally grateful. Cheers.

Scott Stenwick said...

@Samat: My group has not done much work with those spirits, so I really do not have much insight I can provide. Also, what's wrong with the Lunar Kamea in this context? Yesod is in Yetzirah.

@IlluZioN: Experimentation is always worthwhile. Thanks for sharing!

As far as I know there is no traditional arrangement for working ceremonially with the powers. You could look at the primary power of each element to derive a pentagram tracing, like so:

Warm - Fire
Moist - Air
Cool - Water
Dry - Earth

There also is a proposal out there to modify these associations by switching Air and Water:

Warm - Fire
Moist - Water
Cool - Air
Dry - Earth

This has the advantage of Water being primarily associated with the Moist power, which does make some intuitive sense.

But as far as colors and godnames go, none of those are very clear. Probably somebody is going to have to put together a system for that and test it out.

Scott Stenwick said...

Also, just as a point, the colors you see in the diagram up there might be part of such an arrangement, but they were derived by me rather than from any particular tradition. It is a pretty pattern, but not something I have personally tested out. The idea is that red, blue, yellow, and green are taken up by the elements, leaving black, white, orange, and purple as the remaining complementary color sets. It looks nice, but I can't say for sure how well those colors work.

The power symbols shown, on the other hand, are the traditional ones.

So you could, in theory, trace the pentagram corresponding to the primary power element in the color shown, and possibly include the symbol in the center. But the godnames that would work best remain unclear.

Samat said...

It's not that there's anything inherently wrong with the lunar kamea method. It has worked so far with a high success rate with King Djinn but now I want to experiment with the 4 elemental angels, who would naturally be more powerful than the 4 kings, hence being angels.

But I think I'm mistaking the sigil to be the angel itself which is wrong because the sigil is just the calling card of the angel and does not describe the nature of the angel. I found out about them from 777 and Constantinos Summoning Spirits book which you probably read back in your day. He used the rose cross method. While I have their sigils on the lunar kamea, I can't help but feel that that they belong in Malkuth purely because they're elemental angels and not planetary.

Scott Stenwick said...

I do not know that you can conclude that the elemental angels are naturally more powerful than the Kings. They both are powerful groups of spirits, but I have not seen enough of a difference between them to conclusively say which is stronger.

I have not read that book. I am familiar with the rose cross method, but don't personally use it because, as I think I've mentioned, I find it too arbitrary. If you want to try it and see how well it works go ahead, but since I don't personally use it I can't give you much practical advice along those lines.

IlluZioN said...

Using those symbols with a pentagram do feel like a satisfying approach as any we might concoct. I will try to approach them in situations where I can almost feel the power that is necessary, for example, feeling excessively scattered at times (adhd might have something neuro chemical to do with that) could use the dry power in particular, as opposed to invoking earth or a balanced air. It's the holy constraint that is needed for the mind to be contained perhaps. Thanks Scott.

I realize I'd love for you to hear some of the music too. While making the music, immersing in the archetypal ragas and sketching melodies for days seemed to have some kind of non zero impact on the consciousness. There are some divine names being used as well, largely chakra oriented but occasionally western estoerocism. But practically when I think about the lack of control measures such as the pentagrams protectiveness, I wonder if such music could in fact be slightly dangerous and create an invocation field of some kind for the average listener without protection. Or I'm in way over my head and it's all mostly just entertainment. The elemental immersions are a bit long but if you have time would love your two cents on how to perhaps make such a thing more practically robust for the average listener and maybe a different approach for performing it, for someone trying to aid others in the experience of some kind of altered cocnisousness and possibly entity presence that is benign.

Scott Stenwick said...

There is no reason to think music along those lines would be dangerous. Magical effects are not things that just happen by accident or whatever. The forces have to be deliberately engaged with.

For that reason, what you are talking about with music here is extremely difficult. I'm not sure I would go so far as to say impossible, but I've never seen anyone successfully do it. The difficulty comes from trying to induce in listeners what really has to be an active, willed process. Dramatic rituals that are presented to largely passive audiences have the same problem.

You might be able to do something incorporating binaural beats, which have been shown to shift brainwaves in experimental subjects. I find that light and sound machines that employ them can at the very least produce altered states of consciousness. The challenge is in making them sound good from a musical perspective without losing the effect.

Alex Scaraoschi said...

@Samat when working with the elements I call on the archangel, angel and king together. So far I found that to pack more of a punch. Far more, in many cases.

Samat said...

Thanks for that @Alex. So you are able to call the 4 archangels, the elemental angels and the king/queen together in that order. I think that makes sense. I have only worked with King Djin so far.

@Scott, surely one group has to be stronger or weaker than the other. If not, what difference there will be between them?

Scott Stenwick said...

There are many spirits that have similar powers and similar levels of strength, but are entirely separate entities. Not sure why two spirits with the same approximate strength have to be the same.

My point is not necessarily that they have the exact same power level, but rather that I have not done a sufficient number of experiments to say with any degree of certainty which is stronger. They seem to be close enough that I need a bigger sample size to determine it.

The main difference between the Kings and Archangels is that the Kings are terrestrial and the Archangels are celestial. It's very possible that this means their relative strength differs depending on the task, but again, I don't have enough data to work that out and I'm not just going to guess off the top of my head. Sometimes that works when the power differences between classes of spirits is dramatic, but that's not true with the Kings versus the Archangels.

IlluZioN said...

HI Scott,

The music got released in a conceptual album, its long mind you, but if you would find time to hear one of them, it would be some kind of retribution for me after years of improving my own life with your gifts of wisdom. I agree in general with what you are saying of how it is difficult to induce invocations in passive listeners...that said, I am curious about what richard wagner was trying to achieve with his initiatory art, which he claimed should only be consumed in his particular stage, arguably consecrated no doubt if not an actual temple-stage-live-ritual. also curious is Alain Danielou's writings, specifically on sacred music, which deals with the alteration of consciousness by consciously using ragas, WITHOUT the use of chords. his argument was that the chord and the shifting of it broke the cumulative trance built by immersion within the raag itself. It is supposed to invoke archetypes, elements, gods et al using the approach of dynamic invocation and fervour, also supposed to, and I paraphrase, be induced by the inspired artist in his audience in his performance. for example, bhairav, a destructive aspect of shiva, (purifying destruction) is supposed to be invoked and partaken by inspired improvisation in the raag bhairav, which also incidentally corresponds kind of like multipurpose divine names.

I'm just starting to play more to the public, but I have also as a improvisational performer seen some unusual stuff happen when i play some of my other personal music that has been described as transcendental or transformative at times...who knows.

regardless, my spotify, id recommend for the unfamiliar ear, perhaps water or ether.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1WRAyQjcNh29Q5E7GBJq2D?si=xmg0yREuQsu2myEfBke5dQ

Scott Stenwick said...

Thanks for sharing. I will check that out!