Why We Balance

If you have taken any of the classes that Steph and I have taught over the past two years you will have undoubtedly heard us harp on a couple of things, one being discernment and the other the importance of incorporating Elemental Balancing into your regular practice. There are reasons why we hammer these things as much as we do, and it really isn’t because we like to hear ourselves speak.

We each have a default setting, if you will; when it comes to our elemental makeup and sometimes what we have naturally will not serve us or will simply leave us a bit off balanced. Elemental Balancing can help us make up for shortfalls or overages.

My own makeup is far from balanced: Earth – 4 Air – 2 Fire –  1 Water – 5. Earth is known for being a grounding force and Water for emotions, the pairing of such high amounts of Earth and Water tells us that I am most likely prone to stagnation and over-wrought emotions. Low Air and Fire can be indicative of not having enough energy to make things happen in my life and perhaps a lack of clarity when it comes to making choices. Not the best mix, is it?

Before knowing my elemental makeup I was prone to all those issues, in spades. I was always wondering why I felt like I was at the mercy of my emotions and long periods of lethargy. It was beyond frustrating, to say the least.

These imbalances can have an affect on both our mundane and magickal lives. If you have too much earth you may have a hard time raising energy, if you have too much water you may have a difficult time grounding yourself.

Knowing what your default setting is can also help you to determine what forms of divination you might have a natural affinity for. With heavy earth and water I can go any number of directions from stones and wood (Ogham) to water, ink, and blood scrying. That being said, anything utilizing fire or air (smoke) are not my strongest suits. I can do them, but they just don’t come as easily to me as other forms. If I attempt to do them after I have done a balancing ritual it is definitely easier than when I just try to jump in willy nilly.

Figuring out what your elemental balance is isn’t that hard, you just need to pull your natal chart, and there are many sites that can do that for free. I highly recommend that you take a deeper look into what you are made up of so that you can be as effective as possible in your workings and to help you to make the most out of the life you are living.