I’ve known multiple practitioners who, after calling the corners and releasing them, have seen sylphs stick around. Sylphs aren’t as steeped in folklore as gnomes, yet their presence is existential. The King of the Air kingdom’s name is Paralda and is invoked as a Guardian of the Watchtower of the East. Sylphs are guardians of the East and of Air. The word sylph derives from the Greek silphe meaning butterfly. Sylphs are the spirits of the air element, also called air elementals. Sylphs: Air Elementals, Guardians of the Watchtower of the East In the Order of the Golden Dawn, gnomes were considered “essential spiritual beings” invoked to praise God in a ritual called Benedicite Omnia Opera. They are sometimes capricious and always protective of their natural homes. Gnome elementals appear as small, wizened men and women with green and blue outfits and red caps. Gnomes are believed to bless one’s garden and home, hence why we have gnome lawn ornaments in modern times. They are guardians of the ancient forests and all wildlife there. These small faery beings live deep in ancient forests within intricate root systems. Separate from being a Wiccan or ceremonial elemental, gnome folklore is found in many countries. The King of the gnome kingdom, named Ghob, is sometimes invoked as a Guardian of the Watchtower of the North. The word Gnome comes from the Greek gnoma meaning knowledge. They are guardians of the North and of the earth. Gnomes are the spirits of the earth element, also called earth elementals. Gnomes: Earth Elemental Guardians of the Watchtower of the North Here we focus specifically on the Elementals as Guardians of the Watchtowers. They could be the elementals, “kingdoms of elementals”, the basic four elements, OR in some cases, archangels. “Hail to the Guardians of the Watchtowers of the East, Powers of Air and Invention, Hear Us!” Were they calling the elementals in or are the guardians of the watchtowers something completely different? My research suggests that depending on the tradition and even the individual, the Guardians of the Watchtowers can be one of many things. If you’ve ever watched the 90s movie The Craft, you might remember when the girls cast a circle and call the corners. (I literally envision a tower at each of the four directions when I call the corners.) The corners or four cardinal directions are also known as the Watchtowers. Typically, it goes like this: East = air, South = fire, West = water and North = earth. In ceremonial magick, practitioners cast a circle for protection and energy, and call on the “corners” or the four cardinal directions along with their respective elements. Who Are the Guardians of the Watchtowers?īefore we go any further, let’s define what the watchtowers are and how the elements and elementals may be connected. Yet the belief everything in nature has consciousness and the belief in fairies predates occult societies such as these by thousands of years. The Golden Dawn’s belief in elementals trickled down to more modern religions like Wicca and Aleister Crowley’s Thelema. This was a Masonic-inspired secret society, if you will, of occultists who studied and practiced high magick, metaphysics, and the paranormal. Namely the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. If you ask a Wiccan today, you’ll hear it’s a Wiccan belief but truly we see elementals being invoked in nineteenth century ceremonial magick. Paracelsus being one of the first alchemists to study and use the four main elements in his practice. The first wink of elemental belief originates in the Medieval Ages with alchemy. Where Did the Belief in Elementals Originate? There are four elementals to correspond with the four elements: Gnomes are earth elementals, Undines are water elementals, Sylphs are air elementals and Salamanders are fire elementals. The element itself (air, for example) is the physical manifestation of the elemental, while the sylph is the spirit of air. Just as humans have bodies AND a soul, so do elementals. An elemental is the spirit of an element. But what is an elemental? And are the elementals the same as the guardians of the watchtowers? First, What is an Elemental?įirst we answer the question, what is an elemental? You’ve heard of the four elements, right? Earth, air, fire and water are the four core elements according to Western magical tradition. And casting a circle before ritual and invoking the elementals was a popular practice among practitioners. Before modern witchcraft, Wicca and ceremonial magic sort of ruled the occult community.
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