An Elemental Primer

Introduction

Please note, this entire primer comprises an appendix of its larger, parent document (my Master's Thesis) "The Elements as an Archetype of Transformation". The primer is available also as a free PDF file.





The following pages are meant to serve as a layman’s introduction to the elemental cycle in a completely self-contained and practical way. No previous experience with the elements or the elemental cycle is necessary to gain both a conceptual understanding of their usage and potential as well as a practical experience of the qualities of each element.

The elemental cycle is an amazingly versatile tool which helps structure consciousness on the basis of the archetypes of the four elements of Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. Among an almost endless number of potential applications, working with the elemental cycle can:

Help you sort through and process difficult personal issues Help you illuminate and better engage with your specific and unique inner processes Provide a coherent and well-grounded template that you can apply to any research question Reveal your hidden assumptions, habitual patterns, and default modes of consciousness Help you transform your consciousness to be more grounded, connected, capable, and resilient Give you avenues for proactive engagement with a variety of situations Reawaken your sense of the mystery of your own depths Reconnect you with the amazing world you live in but rarely perceive Help you study effectively

Reading through this document will help place you firmly on the path towards discovering how you can use the elemental cycle in ways suited to your own particular situation and goals, as well as giving you a set of practical tools with which to begin applying the elemental cycle to an area of your choice.

The most useful outcome of working with the elemental cycle is not to obtain an answer to any specific question. More important is the way that such work changes our sensitivity to the subtleties of the whole range of potential manifestations of phenomena in general. In other words, working with the elemental cycle develops our capacity to understand and work with phenomena in a robust, integral, and healthy way. It objectifies our consciousness, smoothes out our tendencies to approach things from a one-sided or entrenched perspective, opens up possibilities for change on any number of scales and levels, allows deeper entry into otherwise complex, subtle, and confusing phenomena, and provides continuous feedback about our own evolution.



