Elders

 

What is an elder in our community (or any community for that matter)?

Let’s start with a dictionary definition and see where we go from there.

Dictionary.com defines Elder as:

eld·er [el-der]

adjective

1. of greater age; older.

2. of higher rank; senior: an elder officer.

3. of or pertaining to former times; earlier: Much that was forbidden by elder custom is accepted today.

noun

4. a person who is older  or higher in rank than oneself.

5. an aged person.

6. an influential member of a tribe or community, often a chief or ruler; a superior.

7. a presbyter.

8. (in certain Protestant churches) a lay member who is a governing officer, often assisting the pastor in services.

9. Mormon Church. a member of the Melchizedek priesthood. 

Based on this definition, which is likely the most common understanding of this word, we can see that age or passage of time tends to be the defining ingredient in the understanding of what constitutes and Elder.

There is an understanding that someone of higher rank, more importance, or greater influence can be considered an elder.

This is where things get wonky, in my opinion.

It is my opinion that in the distant past elders tended to be more influential in their communities, simply because they were “old”. They managed to live through childhood, child birth, and war with others, and not get killed by other predators or nature herself. 

My great grandparents

This made the old ones, somehow, wiser or more favored by the gods or simply luckier than the ones who didn’t make it to old age. These people had experience under their belts so to speak... They had knowledge, they could tell you the stories handed down to them from the elders of their youth, and they could also tell you the stories of the events and deeds of their lives.

Why wouldn’t the younger ones turn to them for guidance and inspiration?

I was taught as a child to respect my elders. I was taught to listen to them when they spoke, to learn as much as possible from them when they were around, and to look up to them for inspiration and to them for guidance.

This understanding of what and elder is has been lost and disrespected in our western world, to a large degree. We put our old folks in homes (rarely to be visited and more often to be neglected). We question their knowledge and wisdom (they still have experience under their belts...let’s not forget that). We restrict their freedoms, and steal their resources.

As a society, we tend to feel the old ones are a burden and a drain on our resources and time. We forget that without them and their experience before us… there would, likely, be…. No… us.

Our western society favors youth and we go to great lengths to avoid physical aging. When we can no longer stave off the effects of age, often we are lost and confused…. Sometimes even bitter and hateful towards others. Many of us find our way through this and really start to live the lives we always wished for, but some do not.  Popular culture focuses on the negatives of aging and this is where we really falter. This is where the youth get stuck with the idea that older folks are slow, stupid, useless, ugly, undesirable and not deserving of respect.

I think this is where the concept of Elder in the pagan community gets confused with the concepts of “old age” and the undesirable, which we see in our daily lives.

There is a great post by a fellow Pagan Blog Project Blogger on Elders. Please take the time to read what Rose has to say.

Me and my oldest grandchild Leilani

Just this weekend I went into a local tea shop and was talking with the shop owner, an old friend and priestess. She introduced me to the newest member of her coven and when she did this, she referred to me as one of the “Elders in the community” …

I was taken by surprise... I do not think of myself as an elder of the local Pagan community… I am just now starting to contemplate the concept that I am grandmother.

As a Pagan/alternate spiritually minded folk, we often talk about having elders in our groups and that these people deserve respect and deference. But…. In many cases we have changed the definition of elder to place more emphasis on rank and time in a particular path than we do on the time on this planet, experiencing life in general.

This sometimes manifests awkwardly in the Pagan/magickal community and we see older people acting in ways, they should have long out grown. We all know them.

We also see younger folks claiming they should be treated as the elders of the community because they have been on a particular path for X amount of time more than another, and totally disregarding the fact that the older individual has gained wisdom and understanding (regardless of the spiritual path or time spent on path X) simply by living and experiencing more than a younger person has had time to.

I’m not saying that the younger people should not be teachers nor am I claiming all older folks should be either.

I am saying that there is a general lack of respect for the elders in our society and this bleeds into some of our pagan/magickal practices, and we should be mindful of this.

Grandma and Grandpa Darlington w/family

It is my hope, that as a community we, who walk alternate paths of spirituality, are among the first to recognize this, and take the time to really think about how we define elders, as well as how we treat them in our own circles and groups.

Do we honor our ancestors and only mean the dead ones…. Or do we honor and respect the ones who are still living as well?

Have a Wicked Good Day!

Molly

Elementals and Elements

 

So, what’s the difference? Aren’t they both the same thing? These are the questions I get from people who have not worked with Elementals, or just assumed Elemental means Elements.

I know… this will cause some people to get there hackles up. They might even actually believe the word Elemental is another word for the Elements. In MY understanding and my magickal work, they are NOT the same thing. They are associated with each other, but not interchangeable terms.

Let’s start with what the Elements are:

In my workings there are four earthly elements I work with. I say earthly elements, because these are the elements of Water, Fire, Air, and Earth. These are the basic building blocks of life on an energetic level.

Water is the element I associate with the West. When working with this element I am working with emotions, birth and death. This is also the element I associate feminine energy, and the moon.  I am also working with the actual element of water.  I also associate the mountains with the west. Two animal associations I work with in the West are Bear and Whale.  I associate the colors Black and Blue with this Element.

Fire is the element I associate with the south. When working with this element I am working with trickster energy. Here is where I find myself working with Coyote and sometimes raven and crow work with me from the south, I am also working with the element of fire. I also associate the fire and the desert with the south. The colors I associate with the south are Reds and red/oranges.  

Air is the element I associate with the East. When I’m working with this element, I am working with a masculine energy. Though this is a male energy,  I associate it with birth and rebirth.  I find myself working with eagle or hawk in the east as well as the actual element of air. I associate prairies with the East and Air.  I also associate the Sun and the color yellow with the East.

Earth is the element I associate with the north. When working with earth energy I am actually working with the earth itself. I do this through crystals, minerals, wood, and clays. Often I work with the energy of buffalo and this is where I most deeply connect with Horse energy. This is where I will make connections with ancestors and ancient knowledge.  I associate earth with the woods and forests of the north. The color I most often associate with earth is white or a clear crystalline color.

When working with others I sometimes find they may have different colors and energies associated with the elements. I’ve also encountered others who add a fifth element of spirit or ether to their workings. I am not going to expand on this element because I do not include it in my practices unless I am working with others who do.

Now on to my understanding of Elementals:

In my experience the elementals are spiritual or mythological entities that are associated with particular elements.  These tend to be lower in vibration and are often representations of the actual construct of the elements they are associated with. 

Water elementals I work with often take the form of mermaid like water spirits. These spirits are at home in the water and tend to take on forms that resemble our common idea of what a mermaid looks like, but only to the basic degrees. I have not encountered one who resembles the Little Mermaid.

Fire elementals I work with tend to be spirits who are built of the element fire. Unlike the mermaid like elementals who are most comfortable in the environment water, but are not constructed of water.

Air elementals I work with are fairy like spirits. They always have wings and are most comfortable flying, but they do not always look like the common depictions of fairies. These are not your Tinkerbell variety.

Earth elementals are my favorite, and they often appear as brownies, elves, trolls, and other small human like “little people”. I have encountered some who appear to be made from mud, rocks or other earth elements.

Offering of coffee for Household Brownies (Earth Elemental)

All of the elementals I have worked with and still working with have their own unique personalities and prefer to be interacted with as individuals.  Elementals can take many different forms and there are other traditions which work with specific types of elementals associated with the different elements.  My affinity with the elementals is one that is personal and I have learned a lot from these “little people”. The fact they are composed of natures basic constructs within the element they are from, gives them a closer or deeper perspective of the very nature of Nature. Take the time to get to know these folks. Don’t be surprised if they come in forms that may not be so nice, they are not always pleasant, but they are always there to show you the way, or teach you something new.

Have a Wicked Good Day!

Molly

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Have a Wicked Good Day!
Molly