elemental : A lower order of
spirit being that exists as the life-force in the
natural world, whose task it is to maintain
harmony. In
occult lore, elementals are said to govern
minerals,
plants and
animals; the four elements of
earth,
air,
fire and
water; the
planets,
stars, signs of the
zodiac; and hours of the
day and
night. They are ruled by
angels. Most are viewed as benevolent, though some are malicious or trickster-like in behavior.
The
Neoplatonic Greeks grouped
elementals according to the four elements of
life. Earth elementals are
gnomes, ruled by the angel
Ariel; air elementals are
sylphs, ruled by
Cherub; water elementals are
undines, ruled by Tharsis,; and
fire elementals are
salamanders, ruled by
Nathaniel or
Seraph. In the fifth century, Proclus added a fifth group which lives beneath the ground, and in the eleventh century, Psellus added a sixth group, the
lucifugum, which means "fly-the-light."
The term "
elemental" is applied to a broad range of spirit beings, also including
elves, who live in the woods and along the seashore, and household spirits such as brownies, goblins, bogles and kobolds, and fairies.
Elementals appear in a variety of forms. Some are humnan-like, such as the dwarfish gnomes. Sylphs appear as butterflies and undines as waves. Some are more like
angels, and area amorphous shapes of white light surrounded by flowing, colorful
auras of energy. British Spiritualist Grace Cooke said that elementals enjoy human company, can understand human
speech, and respond to
music. They have their own
karmic evolutions, progressing toward higher forms of life.
British medium Geraldine Cummins channeled information about elementals, purportedly from the deceased Frederic W. H. Myers, one of the founders of the Society for Psychical Research in London. In automatic writing, "Myers" described elementals as the essence which emanates from forms of life such as
trees and
plants, and which coalesces into a form perceived by the human mind as a
sprite.
source for additional reading/information:
Hall, Manly P. Paracelsus: His Mystical and Medical Philosophy. Los Angeles: The Philosophical Research Society, 1964.
Steiner, Rudolph. The Influence of Spiritual Beings Upon Man. Spring Valley, N.Y.: Anthoposophic Press, 1961.