METAL — THE AIR ELEMENT IN WITCHCRAFT — ELEMENTAL MAGICK

Metal is where we transform through knowledge. It is all about the boundaries, relationship dynamics, our social capability and about great insight and revolutionary thoughts.

Metal is the fourth element in the Chinese 5 element theory. It the has most energy early, between 3am and 7am. It is connected to the old or wise age, to the autumn, to loss and letting go. Metal is transforming, everchanging, ever looking for new ways to achieve something or learn more. It is a playground for our intellect and the knowledge we’ve assembled through life. In the body, metal is controlling our lungs and big intestine. When our metal element is low, we’re unable to hold our boundaries or distance ourselves from others, we can’t defend ourselves or we are always on the defensive taking on a role of the victim. We can get too harsh, unable to let people close and we excuse our bad behavior with our superiority.

Our metal is where we get to live out what we learned. If it’s strong and well maintained, we feel free and playful, we try out new things and implement what we learned from our experiences. Even for the non-spiritual people, there comes an age when we start questioning everything and decide to change our beliefs, to find new proof or find new direction in life. We want to dismantle the system or do our best to live outside of it, trying to find a new unconventional profession or interests. This is when we’re done being obedient and finally start learning from our own insights and life’s experience.

We can always ask ourselves: is this how I want to live? What’s the truth about that one thing that bothered me? What do I hold onto in life and what would give me a great deal of freedom if I let go of it?

If the metal element is weak, we’re unable to connect with other people or everyone is trying to tell us what to do, we hold onto things and value possessions more than anything, we feel like we depend on others even when we’re capable to live by ourselves. We can turn depressive.

Metal is what comes after parenthood

It is a natural thing in life, that once our children are grown up they move out. As parents, we’re left without someone to care for. Raising a child has taken at least 20 years of our life and we might feel empty or very sad, maybe we even want another baby. Some parents are happy that the kids are finally out and that they will have time to pursue some new interests that they never had time for. To be honest, I think just because we’re happy that the kids will get to be on their own and learn to live without our constant support, it doesn’t mean that we don’t love them. There’s no place for guilt here. While they were growing up, we grew with them. Naturally our interests are many and we want to try them out AND we have time for it. This is how it’s supposed to be.
If we’re unable to let go of our kids, our partners that weren’t good to us, or friends that hurt us and situations that hurt us in the past, we’ll get stuck. Stuck metal rusts and finally turns useless. Furthermore, it can lead to constant sorrow, and with too much sorrow, our minds get dull and we just cling onto whoever is around.

Lack of energy in the metal element is a serious matter. It can make us either too chaotic or too obsessive to the point that we’re unable to function if we don’t fix what’s wrong. We can also show incapability to change, or we might hunt for unrealistic ideas and present them as absolute truth. Low metal can allow people to start an emotionally dependent behavior and look for someone to guide them, even if the person is shady and obviously dangerous. It can make us crave to be included in a group no matter the price. Imbalanced metal is also visible on the skin as rashes, acne or any type of skin inflammation. The immune system is compromised and we might get sick often. Depending on the energy level, one can have diarrheas or constipation very often. Water retention can also depend on the state of the metal organs.

Metal is the rebellious one

Now this is a double edged sword, no pun intended. If we’re in balance with our metal element, we’ll feel like resisting the mainstream life. People are very conscious about their uniqueness. In this element lives everything ethereal in us and all that makes us who we are. If we meld with the masses, we’ll constantly feel unaccomplished. The rebellion of the metal is not your typical teenage rebellion, that aspect belongs to the fire element. It is the deep understanding of our own needs and the needs of those close to us. This drives us to look for alternative ways to exist, work, live and grow.
If the metal is excessively active, we can turn into fight-for-any-cause social justice warriors, into people who wage other people’s wars or pretty much just become offensive to anyone in any situation.

To balance our metal we have to carefully pick our battles and align them with our strengths. Metal likes the spicy and the aromatic, it likes the contemplation and peace. It turns inwards rather than outwards, but it also disperses the blocked. Metal requires us to do our shadow work in order to process the shadow, to take in the good and the talents and to dissipate the blockages, pain and unhealthy relationships.

What are the aspects of the metal element?

color: white
organ: lungs, big intestine and skin
sense: smell
daytime: before dawn
season: autumn
taste: spicy
smell: pungent or rotten
sound: weeping, crying
movement: fast changing
direction: away from center, dispersing, west
time: witching hour, ripe age, wisdom and knowledge, being and elder
planet: Mars
place: where the wind blows, dry climates
time of the day: 3am — 7am

Essential oils that balance metal element: angelica, black pepper, clover, catnip, cayenne, anise, cypress, camphor, davana, frankincense, fennel, hops, hyssop, lemon, lemongrass, lavender, verbena, oregano, peppermint, pine, rosemary, sage, savory, silver fir, tea tree, yarrow, ylang-ylang.

Foods and spices that tonify the metal element are: all herbal spices and spice mixtures, rice, nuts, game meat, spirits, radishes, fruit from temperate and colder climates, mushrooms, onions and garlic, ginger, mustard greens, all veggies from cabbage family, fennel, okra, almonds, turkey and all long and carefully prepared food.

Our corporeal soul lives in our lungs

Po is our corporeal soul. It inhabits our body third day after conception according to Chinese philosophy and is associated with the aspect of our consciousness that dissolves at our death. Our Po exists only during one lifetime, and is different from Hun, our wandering soul, that stays with us.

How to use metal element in witchcraft?

Metal cuts: old behaviors, patterns, bad relationships and everything we need to turn away from. It is the core of our shadow work, as we need it to precisely access our shadow and deal with aspects of it until it’s processed.
All astral techniques belong to the metal or air element, so any work done in the astral manifests with the help of metal. We can deal with the situations that caused us grief and meet with the people who we greatly cared for that passed away.

Cutting the ties is an essential part of the magickal practice and it requires us to make peace with ourselves and our emotions and to sever what’s not beneficial to us.

How do you deal with change?

How is your metal? If you were to be brought to an unknown island with just the basics, would you be able to rely on yourself to survive? How innovative or out of the box are your thoughts? How do you deal with people who left you or hurt you? How do you deal with the stuff you did in the past and think can never be forgiven? Is sorrow your daily companion?

When we balance and heal our metal, we feel whole. We stop seeking approval from people who are strangers. We can grasp people’s intentions and easily assimilate the knowledge we’ve been given. We can let people close or keep people at distance, and we’re able to distinguish who belongs where. We can let go. We can say bye to hoarded possessions, to people, to places and just be. We can feel our soul expand until it is able to reach wisdom.

True wisdom, as defined by the old masters, is when you’re treating the same your friends, people who don’t like you, your own children, and people you never met before. When you’re equally understanding toward life or death and toward gain and loss. When all you need is yourself and the occasional sunshine of the people you love.
Metal changes everything we know “should be” into the world that we manifest straight from our soul into reality.

Originally published at https://crescentchalice.com on January 23, 2021.