Air - The Element of Freedom

The element of Air is attached to the signs Gemini, Libra and Aquarius. It also rules the Third, Seventh and Eleventh Houses. It is rarefied air which usually surrounds those graced by this Element, as this is the marker of the intellectual. Airy people are smart thinkers and handle abstract reasoning well. They love to analyze, synthesize and probe. Do you have a dilemma? Hand it over to an Air sign and watch them go to work. Air Signs are also about communication. These individuals want to get the word out, and it's not likely to be fluff. They are alert, curious and perceptive. The world as seen by an Air sign will be an interesting one, as their analysis and subsequent explanation (hopefully in terms we can understand) will indicate. Those influenced by Air are inventive and clever. They see all sides of the equation and are able to glean the best approach. Balance is important to these airy folk. So, are Air signers fresh as a summer breeze, or are they howling like the wind? Probably both, depending on when you catch them. While these folks are often calm and collected, they can turn cold if their equilibrium is upset. A word to the wise: There's little upside in baiting an Air sign. Another plus with Air is that it manifests itself in a most humane way. Those influenced by Air can truly wear another's shoes, as it were. They are objective, cooperative and really want to help make a better world. There's no prejudice with these folks -- just a bright and shiny idealism that can accomplish much. Air Signs are communicative, intellectual, clever and fair. They can blow hot and cold, though, so beware of a chilly draft!

The element of Air is vital to human survival, without it we would all perish, its aspects are Thinness, Motion and Darkness and its quality is Active. Air is the manifestation of movement, freshness, communication and of the intelligence. Sound is another manifestation of this element. As an element, it is invisible, but its reality can be felt in the air that we breathe in every day.

To connect with the power of this element, find a place with clean air and breathe deeply, touch a feather or inhale the fragrance of a heavily scented flower. Let yourself experience the energy of this element, and reflect that we also possess Air energy within ourselves.

In magical terms, Air is the power of the mind, the force of intellect, inspiration, imagination. It is ideas, knowledge, dreams and wishes. Air is the element of new life and new possibilities and is essential to spells and rituals of travel, instruction, finding lost items, some types of divination, and freedom. Air aids us in visualization, a vital technique in magic.

Air is a masculine element and governs the magick of the four winds. It is the vital spirit passing through all things, giving life to all things, moving and filling all things. Thus Hebrew doctors ascribe it not as an element but as a medium or glue that binds all things together.

DIRECTION: East - the place of sunrise.
TYPE OF ENERGY: Projective.
BASIC NATURE: Flying, moving, fresh, intelligent, suspending. Sound is a manifestation of this element.
COLOR: Yellow - the yellow of the sun, the sky at dawn
PLACES: Mountaintops, wind-swept plains, cloudy skies, high towers, airports, schools, libraries, offices, travel agencies, psychiatrist's offices.
RITUALS: Travel, instruction, study, freedom, knowledge, recovering lost items.
RITUAL FORMS: Tossing objects into the air, suspending tools in high places, fanning light objects, visualization, positive thinking.
HERBS: Fragrant, as many flowers; pungent, as in culinary herbs such as dill; airy, finely-veined, or wind-swept; generally leaves.
STONES: Light stones, such as pumice; transparent stones, such as mica.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT: Flute, all wind instruments.
CREATURES: Spider, most birds, winged insects.
SEASON: Spring - the time of freshness.
TIME: Dawn.
MAGICKAL TOOL: Wand.
SENSE: Hearing, smell.
NATURAL SYMBOLS: A feather, incense smoke, fragrant flowers.
TYPES OF MAGICK RULES: Divination, concentration, visualization, wind magic.
GODDESSES: Aradia, Arianrhod, Cardea, Nuit, Urania.
GODS: Enlil, Kheohera, Mercurym, Shu, Thoth.