#79.20 - Working with the Elementals
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| Gnomes make their homes in the ground They travel using veins of metal and rock. The look after the seeds during the winter and the root health of the trees Now that we know that trees speak to each other using a network of mycelium, it is not so fanciful to associate gnomes with toadstools Incidentally, Steiner said that gnomes lived in horror that they would turn into toads and frogs and to do this they have to work ceaselessly if they stopped for anytime at all, they would change. So gnomes never rest, they toil all the time AND they are also grumpy because of this. |
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Each organism has its own consciousness, its own wisdom. And each place has this too. The Chinese Daoists and animists have local deities. In the hierarchy of things, local deities form the lowest part of the pyramid, all in service of Gaia. But there are thousands, millions of them, and each of them is important. If they disappear, the place becomes unprotected, and slowly the fabric of the planet unravels.
Working with the local deities are the elementals. Steiner said that the elementals were part of the angelic beings - the gave parts of themselves to the Earth - because they could not work directly on it themselves. They gave these to the different realms - each of these became gnomes (Earth), udines (Water), sprites (Air) and salamanders (Fire). They inhabit and enervate the building blocks of our planet. Where do they come from? Steiner said that the elementals were gifts from the angelic hierarchies - because they could not work on the Earth, they sacrificed a part of their beings to work with us.
They are found in our fairytales - literally, they are fairies. Together, the spirits of place and the elementals are the fairies. They are elves and gnomes, etc. They are not immortal, and can die if they are cut off from the land. If the land is destroyed. They can be put in service of human beings, and now always for the good either - but that's another blog entry.
Children are very in touch with the elementals - they have a natural affinity to them. Their world is still filled with wonder and it is wonder, if it is deepened and then refocused into the love for the world which enables them to work faithfully for the world, in hope and not give up on it.
As adults, the way we have been taught, even in our language, we say 'fairystories' dismissively - we have been taught that everything is material, and the material is dead. The truth is that the material, as quantum physics has shown is as a densification of the spiritual - of vibrations, of energy. Something is working so profoundly that it is able to bring into shape the material world around us. That intelligence doing that is part of the work of the elementals.
So they create and sustain the planet. And we need to work with them to do so. Because, in a sad irony, even though we are so terrible to them and misuse their gifts, there is a school of thought which says, the reason why the elementals are here is to serve us entirely - to create the Earth for us. So, the elementals want us to recognise them. To know that our entire existence is sustained by them and most of the time we go about this thoughtlessly, like ungrateful children. However, when we acknowledge they are there, they are delighted. They are delighted and in so doing they become more active - our consciousness is enervating to them - they are nourished and watered and strengthened by our consciousness - both our intellectual consciousness and our heart consciousness.
Working with the elementals can be done in a whole variety of ways.
1. Being conscious when you are outdoors e.g. working in the garden, being still during walks (calling your attention to the place), leaving a silent offering to them - perhaps making an artistic arrangement using stones, fallen leaves, etc. Trees in particular love being read to. If you sit very still for a while, anywhere, even in a park, probably with a friend so that it looks like you are reading to your friend, but read to the tree. They love myths - timeless tales.
2. Thanking them - expressing gratitude in a prayer. This can be done at a regular time of the day - the advantage of doing this is that we also work with the angelic beings. When you make a meal, you could bring your consciousness to the beings of fire which help us cook it.
3. Not wasting and using their gifts wisely and with gratitude and being conscious while you do it.
4. Creating a ritual which you can put into your daily mediation, or start meditating for them - creating a ritual for them.
5. Doing something useful for them - make your garden into a wildlife garden for instance. A garden filled with birds and insects and life is a garden which the elementals revel in. They follow in the wake of the flight of birds and insects. The more in balance your garden is, the more elementals will inhabit it. And each point is a node in the life of Gaia, the life of the planet.
If you don't have a garden, you could create a nature table - be part of the life of the seasons.
Doing this is very grounding. Do this, and you will never be alone. You will see the archetypes of beings. Everything has a consciousness, an intelligence. It is both humbling, but also uplifting. It is up to everyone to be able to nourish and nuture, not just the world beyond us, but to enable healing to take place as well. To recognise the spiritual side to the material. It is our task today to do this with an awakened consciousness, not the dreamy consciousness of children.
To be nurtured by and nurture the elementals hopefully brings us contentment - and not just with the things we have, but also with the cycles of life and death. It will give us the courage to live in equilibrium with the land, with our planet, instead of selfishly, blindly going about our lives.
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