Calling Archetype Elementals
Elementals and Land Spirits encompass a wide variety of spirits. For me, some feel like the elements they represent, whereas some are more complex and harder to pinpoint. There’s an air spirit I met at a Christmas tree farm near Whitmore Village that is clearly an air spirit and feels like a living embodiment of Air itself, with nuances that differentiate it from being singular - there’s some complexity and nuance to that spirit, but overall, it is clear that it is an Air spirit.
Another very complex spirit I met here on Oahu introduced me to another that will also be introduced in this area. She’s very…bubbly… high energy and I would consider her to be more of a Land Spirit and not of any singular element. She has all of them in different capacities. I honestly don’t feel like calling her a Land Spirit fully describes what she is (or the one who introduced her to me), but they are quiet and say nothing when I ask what to call them instead.
Meeting several spirits is fine, but how will they be called? The most common methods in use today in the West involve sigils, enns, prayers or hymns of some sort, etc… These don’t really exist publicly for outsiders and even if they were, they are reconstructed for use in specific cultures’ religious means of accessing these entities (specifically, they use chants and dances here). While I could ask for symbols, enns, and chants, these entities were called upon long before Western Ceremonial-based methods became mainstream.
Why would I be concerned about this? Anyone reading this book with the intent of working through it should understand that no magical working is risk free. Whether something manifests in a way we didn’t intend or an imposter spirit comes instead of that which we were expecting. I wanted to provide a way to reduce the potential for calling on an imposter.
While I was pondering this, Hi’iaka came to me and showed me a ritual to use as a base, that I would then have to fill in and practice until I felt it was usable for the perceived users of this book. It’s essentially a focused petition, where the magician calls upon an Archetype or specific God/dess for the elemental. If an entity fulfilling the Archetype or the specific God/dess agrees, an elemental will be sent their way for the intended purpose. Since we’ve already gone over requesting them from a specific entity a few times, we will turn our attention to requesting them from an Archetype.
What is an Archetype? The easiest explanation is that it is a category, a box, where similar things get placed into, where they are similar to the concept being described. For our purposes, an archetype will encompass a concept or classification that we can call upon and something that fits that description will be provided. Love is an archetype, as is Nature, the Sky, Fire, etc. when they are used to call upon groups of God/desses, where one or more of them can choose to act in that capacity. As an example, I will present the “raw” ritual she showed me to be used as a base. The purpose of the ritual is to call upon the Sky for a Wind elemental. This is the typed version of the ritual I witnessed.
Hi’iaka drew a circle on the ground around her and I felt her level the energy inside it. She raised her arms to the sky, bent similarly to an oval, palms and forearms facing the sky. She called to the (collective) spirits of the Sky for their air elementals, by name (The Sky).
I felt the “Sky” acknowledge and a few moments later, a Wind elemental appeared to her, just outside her circle. She thanked it for coming and sent it on its way.
Some of the notes I made right underneath it were -
It was a forceful petition, rather than a meek request, but nothing was compelled.
The person consecrates the space in their way, to gain ownership of it, then calls the Archetype to bring forth the spirit, calling on the archetype as if it were a name. Call upon the Sky to bring forth Wind-type spirits. Call upon Fire for Fire spirits.
Now that I had the ritual stub, it was time to start performing it, making tweaks to it, and getting their guidance on what should be changed to make it most usable.
I created the circle, banished the area, and raised my hands to the sky as Hi’iaka had done. I immediately felt that I should make a triangle from my fingers and thumb, despite Hi’iaka not showing this. I noticed that my attention was focused inside of that triangle as I made my request to the Sky for a Wind elemental that would fulfill my request. Through the triangle, I felt the acknowledgement from whichever Sky God/dess was fulfilling it. I waited patiently for the elemental to come. When they did, I thanked them and sent them on their way.
It isn’t typical for me to use things like triangles or other hand gestures and I knew the impression I had to use it was likely inspired. There were some benefits to using it that were apparent and applicable for those getting started in this area. As mentioned, the triangle immediately focused my attention into the space inside of it. This not only helps reduce mental wandering, but directs the mind more fully towards the task, using a physical cue.
I didn’t really see what this had to do with my original desire - to help reduce the risk of imposters when calling upon unknown elementals. I felt the answer was either there or would be given in further practice. After a few more calls to Earth, Fire, and Water elementals, I didn’t feel any closer to understanding.
It came a little later, as I was analyzing and replaying my rituals. Focusing the mind and calling upon the archetype were the reduction methods. The triangle helps focus the mind to strengthen both of those areas. The elemental meditations is the final piece of the puzzle, which helps one validate that the elemental that comes is of that type and not a shady imposter trying to impersonate an elemental. By themselves, they aren’t quite enough, when starting out, but put together, they form their own triangle that helps strengthen and protect the magician.
The Archetypal Elemental Ritual
- Spend some time meditating and connecting with the chosen Archetype as best you can.
Connect to your inner Divinity however you choose to.
- Draw an energetic circle around your ritual area.
- Banish and claim sovereignty of the circle ritual space.
- Form a triangle using your fingers and thumbs.
- Focus this triangle towards the representative of the Archetype.
- Using your authority, call upon the Archetype to request an elemental.
- If you are still working on spirit communication.
- State the purpose for the elemental.
- Ask them to send as many as needed to complete the task.
If you can communicate reasonably well.
- Communicate the task to the entity.
- Verify they understand the task and can complete it.
- Either way, thank the spirit for coming.
- Thank the Archetype for their assistance.
- Present any offerings you feel you should give (if any).
- Banish the area again, if desired.
- Close the ritual.
About the “representative”. In the given example, turning to the Sky to call on the Sky was used. The air, clouds, sun, etc…of the Sky were the representatives. A creek or even a bowl of water, in a pinch, would be a representative of water. A drawing of a wave could be used, pointing to the ground for Earth, or using the triangle to connect to the molten earth beneath us could also be used. A drawn heart could represent Love . Simply use something that reminds you of the element you’re looking to use as the archetype.
Concerning the “offerings”, this is a personal decision. I know magicians that don’t use any or use them rarely. I use them most of the time, if I’m asking for something, as I typically only ask for substantial things I would pay for in real life, if I could or that was an option. This is a personal decision. When considering offerings for Archetypes, I would let the impression come to me first to see if one would be appreciated (not necessarily needed, but liked) and then to get an idea of what they feel may be appropriate. Act on it or not at your own discretion. Whether you do this before the outcome or after is up to you and should be communicated when both an offering would be appreciated and you recognize whether you would like to pay in advance or afterwards. Both are acceptable.