Elemental Balancing: AIR: The Witches Pyramid To Know Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else. (Judy Garland, actor and singer) The Witches Pyramid We mentioned the Witches Pyramid earlier in our sessions, and as we come to the ending of the study of each of the individual Elements we will explore the corner of the Pyramid which aligns to the Element we have been studying. I remind you of the form of the Pyramid we addressed earlier: with the strengths of Air, Fire, Water and Earth To Know, To Will, To Dare and To Keep Silent the foundation, the place that everything rises from. What we each come to know of an Element forms its place in the foundation of whatever the highest point on the Pyramid becomes for us. We might consider that point Union, Harmony, Spirit/God/Whatever-is-Greater, or our Best/Highest Self. We might also consider it, as you will often see it, as the energy of To Go the movement which is the result of the four foundations, which is to create and make manifest out of them. That is a place where all Seekers can find a bond. We have in common the aspiration to reach that highest point, no matter how we individually conceive of it. Taking what we know, what we have studied and experienced, and making something of it.
The Pyramid is offered for your consideration once again as a reminder of the Four Foundations and why we are undertaking a combined study of The Four individually, in relation to each other and in light of whatever we see as the point of the Pyramid. TO KNOW The Element of Air s presence in the foundation of the Pyramid is the axiom of To Know. I suggest that you pause for a moment and think, without reading any further, what does To Know mean to you in relation to the Element of Air. Did you read on without taking that pause? Truly, you will benefit from a moment of contemplation. The phrase To Know is a truism a statement of absolute fact. So no matter what I suggest in what I share next, what you already know, what you come knowing (the power of Air you have embraced) is your starting place. What We See To Know is the starting place. It is everything we witness, consider and embrace or reject. It is the knowledge we gain from the outward view which observes the world. That knowledge may be inspired by wonder and curiosity; as well it may be a considered and logical approach to learning. It is an exploration of reality at the personal level. All of our work with our compendium for the correspondences of Air represents that outward view of the Element. What we see. We watch, we make note and we compare one thing to another. We have a goal (the top of the Pyramid) of arriving at levels of understanding. Our aim might be a specific target (the flight of the arrow); it might be being open to clear-sighted observance and seeing where that takes us (where the wind blows). The practicum, the work of collecting our correspondences, is as much a lesson about being an observer of life as it about the specifics of our compendium. We are reminded of the intimate and vast experience we can choose to be a part of, and we are reminded a million times over that our relationship to what is constantly evolves. For the magical practitioner what we see is the information we gather to have a wellinformed practice with purpose. Who We Are This is the aspect of To Know which reflects the writing on the outer court to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi Know Thyself. As applicable today as it was in ancient times, honoring this aspect of To Know links us with human philosophy and practice throughout all time. Our friend Paracelsus from our early sessions tells us Our uncertainty about ourselves is at the base of our
uncertainty of all things. And long before him we can see the philosophy in the Upanishads (the ancient core of the Hinduism and Buddhism compiled in the years 700-500 BCE) Enquiry into the truth of Self is knowledge. The work of Air, aligned with its powers of clear sightedness, honesty and critical assessment are key to our knowing ourselves. They lead us into a journey of selfdiscovery into a territory where we are not what others think they know of us; we are truly and completely who we are in our own eyes. That is our relationship, then, to the whatever-is-greater (god, the gods, our highest self, and unity/connection). We can only be in right relationship to the greater whole when we know who we are within it. We have journeyed there often in the journaling and exercises we have done. From looking honestly at our past and its influences on us, to understanding who and what impacted our path and what crossroads we approached and how we handled them. We came face to face, literally, with the power of knowing ourselves when we gazed into the mirror for that exercise. The most difficult of the work we have done and will continue to do is this bluntly-honest, courageous inward looking. Air, like no other Element, takes us there. It takes us one step out, looking at ourselves clearly. For the magical practitioner, who we are is our key to the connection of that to what is outside of ourselves from a place of comfort and strength. Who We Are in Relation To In our first session on Air we explored five reasons we take on Elemental Balancing: We explore what our relationship to each Elements is We discover our unity with what is greater through that We acknowledge what is and what is eternal We transform ourselves through the relationship We devote ourselves to the forward-sight of what is always becoming We learn, and continue to deepen our knowledge of the power of relationship. To the world around us, to the people who inhabit our lives and to anything which feels beyond that. As we come to know ourselves, we appreciate more and more that we live in intimate connection to what is outside of ourselves. As we experience each moment we can also choose to see that moment within the expanse of our lives and beyond. We explore the concept of consonance (unity, harmony and agreement) within the distinct understanding of Air. How we are connected to what is outside ourselves expands us, and the more we expand the more we know who we truly are. That is the inspirational Simultaneous Holding of the intimate and the communal. We communicate, speaking and listening
honoring our words and their intent as sacred, and listening with wonder to the stories that are shared with us. For the magical practitioner there is constant exploration and understanding of what we are aligned to and what we can be that is greater when we embrace a wider experience of living. Our Prowess Beyond the influence of Air to witness, catalog and learn is the power of Air to move within us, combining what we see, what we know, who we are and what we are aligned with (in relation to). The sum of these parts seeing, knowing, knowing ourselves and aligning ourselves when blended with honesty and courage, becomes our personal prowess. When we experience true freedom to explore ourselves and our personal prowess, we attain integrity and wholeness that which completes us. From our session on Freedom, Prowess and Integrity: We become both Love and Strife. Who we are is the place of Unity, where all comes from and returns to. We constantly stir that up, reform it and reshape it through our prowess. Just as we yearn for reunion as part of our spiritual journey, our heart s desire is to feel that within ourselves. Skill, the intentional choice of what we do and the work it took to inform ourselves and hone our ability, stems from the power of knowing ourselves. It is the bright, stunningly bright, offering that we make of ourselves. For the magical practitioner, what we do is a studied and learned approach to the work at hand. Our personal talent and proficiency becomes an energetic and spiritual skill. Truly an extension of ourselves. What We Choose Knowing who we are and being prepared to take that knowledge forward into action is the sacred responsibility of Air that of choice. We mentioned this in our session on Fear of Falling. There is WHAT IS NOW. And then there is, equally important, WHAT IS NEXT. This is our responsibility to the life well-lived; the harmonic life that Agrippa said was the goal of the practitioner, which we mentioned early in our sessions. It is our direct sight to the pinnacle of the pyramid and whatever we conceive of as the Fifth Element. If prowess is the sum of what we see, what we know, who we are and what we are in relation-to, choice is the application of that. The answer at a deeply personal level to What is next?
For the magical practitioner, each action, each choice follows on knowledge and selfknowledge. It is the power of honing our skills, in effect honing who we are, and making our highest, best use of that. What Others Say I encourage you, following in the style I suggested you research the Element of Air in our first sessions, to use the resources you have at hand to see what stories others bring you regarding the power of the Pyramid which is To Know. Use the indexes in your books to search on the Witches Pyramid or the phrase To Know, and search the internet. Utilize the power of Air which knows it is not specifically about what others say, but what of it that resonates with you, to explore the power of the axiom To Know. Expand that exploration by searching on Know Thyself in order to take understanding of the principle beyond our specific Greystone Path focus to its honored place within the foundation of knowledge represented throughout history and, as always, who we are within that context. What Ahneke Says In this session I have written from the place of my personal knowing in relationship to Air s presence as a foundation of the Witches Pyramid. I could not help but present my prejudiced view. We each have our own bias. I hope my devotion to the Element of Air has been obvious. It is the very breath of our lives; it is also what we take in and give out at the metaphysical and transpersonal level. It is what we see from a distance, how we internalize that and what we choose to do with it. Nosce te ipsum (Know Thyself) We see, we see ourselves, we see what we are aligned with and we choose the way forward. This is the power of the Element of Air and what it teaches of To Know. Pathworking Journaling: Decide what the axiom To Know means to you. You have many Season of the Seeker sessions regarding the Element of Air and what they inspired in you to consider. You have your compendium, your journaling and your recollection of the exercises you did. And if you participate in our group discussions you have as well been inspired by the beautiful stories of your fellow Seekers. You may
well (and most of you who are serious about Elemental study will) take into consideration what you find in your books, online and via other sources. What does the axiom To Know mean to you? Signpost: What others share with us is not our truth, although we may feel slight or great resonance with what they offer. Air teaches us the importance of declaring our personal truth based on what we gather, take in and declare from that intimate perspective. Exercise: In the process of writing and refining your personal understanding of To Know, stop every now and then, in a moment of peace and separation a Sacred Pause - to again practice the fourfold breath. Four counts as you breathe in, four counts to hold and four counts of releasing your breath. Experience this at the purely physical level. The air that you need to breathe. And also at the level of the mantra I see, I understand and I declare. I see upon your inhale, I understand in the pause and I declare as you release your breath. Sign Post: We are reminded of the power of Air to sustain us, literally the air that we breathe. And we are reminded of the energetic possibility of Air the outward view which witnesses, the power to internalize that and the responsibility to make an offering of that. We are keeping in mind our relationship to the Elements, and in this case to the Element of Air, is real and tangible and physical. And it is, in addition, anything we choose to make of it, any way we let it inspire us and any knowledge we are open to receiving from it.