A few weeks back, while celebrating Mabon at the local Unitarian church, I tossed off one of those casual, offhand remarks that sticks with you and comes back again and again. We were talking about the elements. You know, the traditional Hermetic four elements: Air, Water, Fire, Earth. Partway through, I said "One of these days, I'm going to host an esbat where, as an experiment, we'll use the Chinese five elements instead. Just to see what happens."
A little, offhand comment. But one that stuck with me, and that started me asking questions that I couldn't find answers to. Why four elements? I mean, I know that the Greeks loved all over the four elements we use today, and that we use them because Hermetic magic and the Western Mystery Tradition has had an overwhelming influence on all European-derived magical systems. Hell, if you're Wiccan (or any flavor of neopaganism influenced by Wicca) you can't swing a besom (let alone your dead familiar) without hitting a half-dozen Hermetic concepts.
And I know that Gerald Gardner, the founder of Wicca (and, as a result, a large chunk of modern neopaganism) was also a Rosicrucian and a member of the OTO. It stands to reason that, when he began building the ritual structure of his fledgling religion, he'd go with the practices he knew.
But, I also know that the Hermetic ceremonies that give us neopagans the "calling of the quarters" were much more than just lighting a candle in each compass direction and mumbling some quick couplet asking "[element] to lend its power to the circle". It seems to come from John Dee's system of Enochian Magic, and directly from the Golden Dawn's Opening of the Watchtowers ceremony.
Now, I'm fine with the idea that concepts evolve. A ritual can be created for one purpose in one magical system, and be changed and adapted for a completely different purpose in another magical system. Neopagans don't necessarily need to invoke the Watchtowers to guard a magical circle, because (a lot of the time) the neopagan magic circle is simply consecrated ground for a worship ceremony. But what do the elements do, when we invoke them? And, since we're deviating so far from the Golden Dawn version, why do we limit ourselves to the Hermetic four elements? Why not use the Chinese system of air, fire, water, metal, and wood? That would seem to work at least as well as the Western version. Ot we could use the periodic table, create a magic circle divided into 18 segments with 7 divisions each, and knock ourselves out ("I summon the power of Ruthenium to the circle...").
I suppose I have no actual answers right now, just a rambling encouragement to, as they say in those loathsome self-help books, "think outside the box". Try something new. Experiment. Don't feel like you have to limit yourself to a particular way of doing things, just because that's how "the book" says you should do it.
We're not the people of the book. We're the people of spirit, of natural magic and of the ancestors. Give it a whirl.
