Air in the North

Nevyn

Should air be in the North and not earth ?

ok just for those who are scratching thier heads I am talking about the association of the Cardinal direction points ,
North South East and West and their elemental ties to
Earth Fire Air and Water

It would seem that the above assocations are the ones always used but I had always wondered about North = Earth.
For the terms that would be assocated with North are those of cold, winter, ice and snow and lets face it there is not a lot of land mass up there. It is the North wind that blows come winter time .

So if earth is not to be in the North then where, why in the east.

that means there is a better blance between air and fire in the north and south and earth and water in the east and west.

anyone lse feel this way or even think that i'm wildly off here ?

Talliesin

It's always made sense to me when I consider the break down of:

• Earth - cold & dry
• Air - hot & wet
• Fire - hot & dry
• Water - cold & wet

The association you suggest is not rare though, and is attributed to both (Native) American and Celtic traditions. The association with Earth in the north is certainly used in Jewish and Christian magick and almost definitely borrowed into Wicca from there (the most common form of Wiccan calling of the quaters shows clear influence as well).

Still other associations are in use as well.

I've tried experimenting, but earth is very much in the north for me.

silja

Both associations are common in Wicca, North with air or earth. Personally, I feel much more comfortable with North being earth. I experimented with both when I first started casting circles but felt my circles were stronger with earth in the north, the cold yet nurturing element. Of course, I also usually start the circle in the North, not East like many others.