Beltane 2007 (2)

AS ABOVE, SO BELOW ©
by Lady Raven Ariana

In preparing to write this article with the Beltane theme “Healing the Waters” that Tira suggested for this quarter’s issue of “Earthsongs”; my thoughts have been rolling around in my mind. Tira was encouraging a perspective with a theme where we, humans, can begin giving back to our great Mother, Earth, by starting to try and heal the poor polluted and abused waters that make up the life-blood and amniotic fluids of the planet.

One of the ideas that has continued to surface in my reflection and meditation on this assignment is how horribly out of balance most of humanity is with itself, the elements, and all fellow creatures sharing our fragile, yet resilient, web of life. If you look at the element water from a magical and metaphorical perspective, many systems would group ‘emotions’ under the element of ‘water’. The element of water might also include dreaming, conversations with the Ancestors, sunset, and many forms of journeywork.

If you look at human experience and metaphorically assign it to one of four elements corresponding to the cardinal directions, and include Spirit as a fifth (Spirit, non-gender), center, or fifth and sixth (Grandmother Earth and Grandfather Sky), below and above, you can begin to have some tools in which to look at humans and the ways they relate, or fail to relate to themselves and the rest of the world.

In some systems Air is assigned to the East and it relates to the intellect, realm of ideas, and discerning mental states. Fire in the South might be associated with free will, passion, and creativity. Water to the West might be seen as where the emotional body resides, along with dreaming, and the Portals to the Underworld. Earth in the North might be associated with physical manifestation, survival, and where the actual human physical body is experienced. This “Wheel” might also include the Seasons, Quarters, Cross-Quarters, phases of maturity, times of Day and Night, the progression of Lunations, and the Spells of Change, just to name a few.

I like to view it as my metaphorical map. It is not always broken down into these particular categories, universally. I can’t even say it is particularly Celtic.

Another idea I have encountered and found to have some anecdotal truth is stated “As above, so below.” This means what we find within ourselves we find reflected outside of us. If our inner world has a turbulent repressed emotional landscape, how might this effect what we view as outside of us? On an individual level this might filter our perceptions. On a collective level it might skew the entire world.

How do our inner world landscapes and the elemental maps determine the shape of the waters, our planet, or our collective experience? I have been using a metaphorical mapping and elemental system for many years now. It has become so ingrained it almost feels like an internal compass. I often use this compass to try and assess where I am and where I might need to go or do to find myself more in balance. I also use it to look outside myself and see how my external environment is looking.

When I look around me at Modern Western Culture it seems like some parts of the “Wheel” are valued above others. Air and Fire, intellect and free will, seem to have a dominant presence. Water and Earth, emotion and body, seem to be suppressed, repressed, under-valued, and misunderstood. Interestingly, I also learned gender designations for each of the Elements. Air and Fire, I learned to associate with the Masculine. Water and Earth, I learned to associate with the Feminine. Everyone has “Masculine” and “Feminine” qualities.

Further studies in gender dynamics in developmental psychology, encouraged me to conclude the current system of imbalances attempts to be self-perpetuating. I learned that less money is spent on studying the effects of drugs and other life-supporting elements for women. Men were, at least then, studied for how they developed and/or failed to engage age-appropriate tasks. Males were often the focus of new drugs being researched and developed for easing or curing human diseases and discomfort. Females were not included in many of these studies.

Male styles of leadership and communication have been seen as superior while female styles have been viewed as flawed and ineffective in an environment favoring a masculine way of relating. These styles have been coming under increasing scrutiny. Some of the newer ideas are starting to find value in the communal support and feminine styles of relating and communication.

What happens when men and women are denied half of their innate abilities, necessary skills, natural impulses, self-expression in all varieties, and an ability to navigate in the real world with the entire range of the full human experience? How can one learn to embrace parts of the self that are left neglected in a shadowy and denigrated existence?

Further studies in my life journey have also revealed to me that each element-human experience has its own language. An attempt to impose the improper language to an element that does not engage this language causes grave miscommunications and misunderstandings.

An example of this would be when someone is deeply angry and they use their mental language to attempt to dissuade themselves from being angry on an emotional level. They are still upset, but think they have talked themselves to some ‘higher road’ in their intellectual estimation. Usually a person who is attempting this tactic has been taught angry feelings are “bad” or “negative.” They have not learned to speak with their emotional selves and harness their anger to address a problematic situation and use this energy for change. They often sublimate their “bad” or “negative” feelings that frequently lead to the inappropriate and ineffective expression of said feelings.

The language of Air, the mind, is verbal and intellectually driven. The mind loves to categorize and examine, then explain. The language of Fire, creative impulses, might look like a fiery resolve to challenge a perceived unfairness. It might be a passionate impulse to create a dialogue in images, sounds, or physical movement. Watery emotional language might be experienced as a changing landscape of dreamlike images or experiences. When you awake from the dream the images seem to slip away like water through your fingers. The body might speak out in a profound non-verbal silent way, where safe-space is held and the body is contacted directly through touch. You might find tranquil stillness or weep if a body memory is released during direct physical contact in a safe space. Interestingly I have experienced links to a mind/will association and also an emotional/body association.

Where balance is lacking in a culture, you can often see that which lacks value becomes lost. Even the ability to communicate with those elements becomes a dying or rediscovered art. Western Culture is in a great struggle. Inner and outer expressions seem to be in some critical feedback loop. When you speak about “Above and below” being reflective of the inner and outer realities, what happens when you lose the dialogue with much of your inner and outer experience? What happens when many of your languages and expressions are dismissed and devalued? What happens when you have no way to evaluate and communicate about this severe distress, loss of balance, and the feeling you have of being “lost”? Especially when you lack a map and any instructions in basic navigation.

Think about something like a “hall of mirrors,” where the reflections are endless but any flaw is magnified and multiplied. Include in this “hall” an encouragement of delusion. Confusion and lack of true self reflection is discouraged by the image of what you “think” you see. In fact, the harder you look, the more you lose your perspective and sense of place. The very culture where you live may encourage and amplify these flaws.

A “feedback loop” in the auditory world means a certain dissonance becomes amplified and resonates through a sound system in such a way as to cause an extremely unpleasant screaming type of noise. The more it “feeds back” the louder and more destructive to ears and audio gear it becomes. The solution to a feedback loop is to first turn down the knob that is causing the magnification of destructive audio information. The next step one needs to take is to give the issue further evaluation and determine where the problem lies. If you don’t take these measures your audio gear may fail and you might go deaf. In this situation some kind of map and reflective/trouble-shooting skills and information are needed.

Our culture seems to be amplifying and magnifying potentially fatal flaws. We seem to lack balance. We also seem to value parts of the whole to such an extent that, if life on Earth were a coracle in the water, it would have long ago tipped over, at least for human survival. Individually many of us were never given the language or skills to successfully navigate our complete selves, let alone communicate with any of our fellow creatures. We are disconnected from integral parts of human experience. To make matters worse, humans seem to think the Earth was made for domination and other life forms are simply here for our own use or to be exterminated.

This all makes me wonder if there could ever be a collective dream of healing ALL; ourselves, the waters, the planet, relationships, balances, and learning the actual languages of our entire selves, within and without. Going out and doing rituals or cleaning up beaches, streams, lake, waterways, and rivers will help. Helping to change the education and perceptions of human beings and their basic relationship to themselves and the world might do even more. Educating yourself with a sincere desire to learn all of your experiential/elemental languages will probably help the most of all, provided you apply what you have learned. As above, so below!