The Element of Water
Water is the element of deep emotions, of the subconscious mind, of purification, and of constant change. It is the element of absorption and germination. It is the perseverance and courage needed to endure the long gestation, the nurturing and supporting role.
Water is the element of deep, enduring love, and of the deepest sorrow. It is the courage to continue on a difficult path with no end in sight; an enduring rage born of long, silent suffering; and the hope that springs eternal from forgotten wisdom, held deep in the heart where the old knowledge still waits. When you know what to do, but you don't know how you know, that, too, is Water - for water rules intuition, racial memories, and psychic powers, too.
When expressed positively, water emotions are fluid, changing as the need of those surrounding demands. They are reflective, offering others a glimpse of themselves and their emotions they might not otherwise see. Water emotions expressive positively are nurturing and mothering. The changes Water brings are slow in coming but constant, as the running stream gradually erodes the mountain in its way over the centuries.
Water emotions expressed negatively can lead to deep depression, manic-depressive tendencies, and spite and revenge.
Water magick involves friendship, marriage, fertility, happiness, healing, sleep, dreaming, psychic abilities, and purification. It is a feminine element, the color of the deep, blue sea. It rules the West, and the Autumn months, when rains generally wash over the Earth.
Table of Correspondences for the Element of Water
| Direction | West |
| Rules | Emotions, feelings, love, courage, sorrow, the ocean, tides, all bodies of water, intuition, the subconscious, the unconscious mind, the womb, and fertility. |
| Essence | Intuitive, Act of choosing |
| Energy Flow | Front to heart, with love energy |
| Feeling | Love |
| Direction of View | Inward |
| Part of Person | Emotions, intuition |
| Consciousness | Wisdom |
| Physical State | Liquid |
| Image | Waterfall |
| Word of Power | AHIA (Aiy Hey Yeh) |
| Posture | Arms extended, palms up |
| Affirmation | I am creative and intuitive. |
| Virtues | Love, compassion, receptivity, flexibility, forgiveness |
| Vices | Indifference, depression, instability |
| Time | Twilight |
| Season | Autumn |
| Colors | Blue, blue-green, gree, gray, indigo, black |
| Zodiac | Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces |
| Tools | Chalice, Cauldron, Cup |
| Spirits | Undines |
| Wind | Zephyrus |
| Sense | Taste |
| Jewel | Aquamarine |
| Incense | Myrrh |
| Plants | Ferns, lotus, moss, rushes, seaweed, water lillies, and all water plants |
| Tree | Willow |
| Animals | Dolphins and porpoises, fish, seals and sea mammals, water-dwelling snakes, and all water creatures and sea birds. |
| Goddesses | Aphrodite, Isis, Marianne, Mari, Tiamat |
| Gods | EA, Llyr, Manannan, Osiris, Neptune, Poseidon |
| Quarter | West |
| Quarter Candle | Dark Blue |
| Chakra Candle | Orange |
| Chakra | Sex Organs |
| Idea | Emotions |
| Visualization | Orange Sphere |