Look around you…all you can see, you can see because it is touched by the power of the sun. Look at your hands…see how every line and shadow is defined by the light. Now close your eyes…feel the warmth of the sun on your face. Before there was ever flame on earth, there was this great fire in the sky, the light worshipped by our ancestors as the truly life-giving and all-important source that it is. Consider that if you have spirit, and you acknowledge that living things in the world around you have spirit, how mighty the spirit of such a force must be…and yet it is with you every day, not always acknowledged and noticed but intrinsic to life on earth. Hold this thought, and, keeping your breathing steady, try to picture the upward-pointing red triangle that is the elemental symbol for fire in your mind. Your ability to hold this image will improve with practice. Hold this image and sensation for as long as you wish, and then release and return to your normal state with a heightened awareness of the primal force of the element of fire at work in your life.
Living
This contemplation is best performed outside at night with a fire, or, if that is not possible, you may perform it indoors, preferably with an open fire or a candle. Sit or stand close enough to the flames so that you can feel the intensity of the heat without hurting yourself. Watch the flames leap and flicker as though they are dancing. If you have built this fire, is it possible an elemental has come into being through your will and action? See the fire as being like a life…beautiful and glorious for an allotted time, and then gone from this world.
Feel the heat as it reaches your body, and consider the balance between creation and destruction. The warmth of fire can keep you alive, but it can also destroy, as it is with all the elements. They command our respect. Do you sense life and consciousness in the flames? This is the realm of the salamander, living fire. Listen to all the sounds and watch the shapes of the flames. Does fire have a message for you? Watch until the flames start to die down and the last flickering blue flames remain…watch and listen, scrying into the embers until you are ready to leave the fire. Hold the memory of your experience with you as you return to normal awareness.
Still
This contemplation may be performed indoors or any peaceful outdoor location where you are sheltered and will not be interrupted. Seat yourself comfortably and close your eyes, turning your attention inwards. Place your hands over your solar plexus, your energetic centre. The third expression of the element is your own inner fire. Feel the warmth that is generated by your body. Consider the electrical signals and impulses that are passing through you constantly. These physical aspects are part of your inner fire. It goes much deeper than this. Within each of us is a spark of the Divine. Just as there is a star burning at the centre of our world, so each of us has a spiritual core, a star burning in our centre. Just as the stars above and all existence are connected in a web of energy, so our inner star is connected to all life—to all divine sparks within all living beings.
Feel the power emanating from your core. This is your eternal self that will outlive the body and is connected to all eternity. You do not need to seek for connection…it is already inherent within you. Keep your breathing steady, and feel the power of your will—your ability to act on decision. These things are undeniable, and they are part of the ineffable flame within. Stay with these thoughts and sensations for as long as you are comfortable, then slowly return to normal awareness, bringing the memory and sense of connection back with you into your everyday life.
Contemplations of Water
Primal
For this contemplation it is preferable to be in close physical proximity to the sea. However, this is not possible for many, so it may be performed as a visualization, in which case I recommend finding a good audio recording of ocean waves to listen to.
See the primal vastness of the ocean before you. Watch the waves; feel the rhythm like a heartbeat as they surge forward and then retreat. Listen to the crashing of the waves and feel the power, power that can be harnessed but never tamed. Remember that just as most of your body is water, so it is with the surface of our world. Also remember that the water in your body is affected by the cycles of the moon, just as it is with the tides of the ocean. Set your mind and heart to contemplating that all life first arose from the ocean…she is the first womb, Great Mother of us all, of all creatures…we share this mother, so all forms of life are our brothers and sisters in creation. As you contemplate this, hold in your mind the symbol for water, a simple downward-turned triangle in blue. You realize that this shape reflects the shape of a womb, and that the inner world reflects the outer, and vice versa. Keeping your breath steady as the rhythm of the waves, you may stay with this state as long as you wish, bringing the awareness of connection back with you into your everyday life.
Living
For this contemplation, find a natural spring, stream, or river where you can sit undisturbed for a time. Seat yourself comfortably as near to the running water as you can. Watch the water as it flows through the
