Red Cedars -- A Personal Journey, The Elements

Red Cedars -- Who I Am
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elemental wheel


Iris, Original Photography by Steve Gardner, all rights reserved.

Photograph a moth on a
flower and learn patience.

Photo by Steve Gardner


Just looking at all this, maybe as part of my studies, I should look in to why I like so much to put things in Tables! (And these are just the ones you can see!)


The Elements
  • Premise 5. The ancients were not so far off in their belief of the four basic elements: Air, Earth, Fire, and Water.
  • Premise 6. There are atributes of all things in nature that can relate to the four basic elements.
  • Premise 7. There are personality traits in all people that can relate to the four basic elements.
  • Premise 8. As an individual, I may find a connection to a thing in nature that shares the elements of my personality.
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P lease bear with me on this. It's likely to get philosophical and a bit jumbled because I'm still working it out for myself.

M uch of the information in this section is based on the Keirsey Temperment Sorter. More detailed information on this subject is available on their webpage so I won't go into it here, but you may want to take the profile for yourself.

F our styles of commonly observed human behavior have been noted since the time of Hippocrates. Each of these four temperaments is driven by four different core need sets and is naturally adept at particular skills. These core needs and skills are summarized in the chart below. These four temperaments are called Guardian, Artisan, Idealist, and Rational.

Core Needs and Skills of the Four Temperaments
Temperament Core Needs Skills Element
Guardian Membership and belonging
Responsibility and duty
Logistics and
facilitation
Earth
Artisan Freedom and action
Excitation and variation
Tactics and
performance
Fire
Idealist Identity and self-actualization
Meaning and significance
Guidance
and advocacy
Water
Rational Knowledge and competence
Willpower and mastery
Strategy
and design
Air

N ow, understand that any given individual will demostrate each of these temperments to one degree or another. I myself have taken the Temperment Sorter numerous times and get varying results, but normally fall into the iStP (Artisan / Craftsman) category. For a full explanation of these terms, visit the Keirsey webpage, but I'll try to provide the basics, as I understand them.

A ccording to Keirsey, any given individual will be either Extroverted (E) or Introverted (I). Similarly, an idividual will be either Intuitive (N) or Sensing (S); either Feeling (F) or Thinking (T); either Perceiving (P) or Judging (J). The degree to which we exibit these characteristics determines our temperment. Individuals who primarily are Sensing / Judging (SJ) are considered "Guardian" types. Individuals who are primarily Sensing / Perceptive (SP) are considered "Artisan" types. Individuals who are primarily Intuitive / Feeling (NF) are considered "Idealist" types. Individuals who are primarily Intuitive / Thinking (NT) are considered "Rational" types. The other characteristics determine the "Sub-Type", in my case, Craftsman. By sorting all this out into the 16 possible sub-types, a picture begins to form of the individuals temperment.

I f we expand this idea to include the elements as shown in the table above, we can see a corelation to the Pagan table below.

The Elements
earth element Earth is the element of stability and of the body. It is wisdom, strength, growth and prosperity. It is the physical earth and the very heart of life.
fire element Fire is the element of change and passion. It is creativity, motivation, will power, drive and sensuality. It is sexuality, both physical and spiritual.
water element Water is the element of emotion and subconscious. It is love, purification, intuition, mysteries of the self, compassion and family.
air element Air is the element of the mind. It is intellect, inspiration, imagination. It is ideas, knowledge, dreams and wishes.


S o, by looking for something in nature that exibits these charateristics in the same relative proportions, we may find an identity with nature on a more personal level. Admitedly, its the details in this area that I still have to work out for myself. But, that's just one more facet of the Journey that I'm on. Where you start or end is immaterial, it's the Journey itself that is of value.


Who I Am
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