Keeping Elementals out of the Way
Katinka Hesselink
Introduction
For the purposes of this essay elementals are the beings that swarm the astral, emotional and mental planes. Blavatsky tells us they are linked to planetary influences, thought, emotion and motive. They can also be described as semi-conscious forces in nature. Elementals are in essence neutral forces. Their moral colouring stems from mankind. Some take on positive form and become a positive influence in people's lives, because of loving thoughts, feelings and insights that some people 'breath out' as it were. Others, and these are more common, reflect humanities weaknesses: fear, a thirst for money, a hunger for alcohol or drugs, general selfishness, cruelty, envy, jealousy etc.
Common human failings and faults that get reflected in the astral light. Unfortunately this reflection in the astral light isn't just a picture on a wall that most people don't notice. Many sensitive people do notice by getting a feel about a place: this is a good place; this is a bad place.
Most other people get influenced by these things without even noticing the changes they make in their systems. The influence is deceptive because elementals only strengthen that which we already have in the germ. That may mean, as some say, that the only defence is a pure life. True, a pure life is the most fail-safemethod of protecting your aura.
Still it is a bit hard to keep your aura clean if, living in a city, elementals keep coming in. Say there is a germ of envy in you. Left to your own devices (no elementals to mess things up) you would face it, see the foolishness of it and leave it. In short: you've cleaned up and grown a bit, spiritually. Now with elementals to strengthen the envy, facing it will be more necessary. This is the good part, you get to see the quality the elementals bring out. So you face it, but this costs more energy than in the previous example, while most of the envy isn't even your own responsibility.
This means, whether you are able to conquer it or not, that energy gets wasted that might otherwise be used to help you grow in other ways. I have to remind you all that the elementals pray on our weak spots so in theory the person without weak spots won't have any problems.
Still, H.P. Blavatsky said any initiate living in the hustle and bustle of normal life had the trouble of having to face all these elementals. It cost them their most spiritual of 'powers', she said. My personal interpretation of this is that even a waterproof raincoat won't keep the water out completely. In the same way, a high initiate will get his or her aura damp from the 'moist' of the elementals swarming our cities and malls.
What to do?
The purpose of this article is not an explanation of what happens when elementals get involved. Those that want to read more about this, can check Blavatsky in many places online and in her books. The above is a short summary, with many details left out. The purpose of this article is to give some simple safeguards to those already trying to 'live the life' in other ways. The first thing I have to stress is that none of this will work if egoistic and selfish thoughts, feelings and actions prevail in a person's life. That sets up a strong karmic 'field', that will give the elementals room to manoeuvre, even if every physical safeguard is in place. I don't know to what extent the below will work in case of people who otherwise lead average lives. But it certainly can't do any harm.
Knowing that elementals are reflections of thoughts, emotions and motive, the best protection is a pure motive, kind thoughts and loving emotions.
This is the most important safety requirement. What you sow, you reap. Remember that fellow human beings are as faulty as you are, but generally don't mean any harm, even if their actions cause harm to you. They are probably just too involved in their own good to even see the consequences for you. There are of course exceptions to this. If you come across people you can't see any good in, try and look again. Don't spend energy judging them, being angry and all that. Face them and your differences of opinion as much as you have to, but don't get caught up in the whirlwind of anger, mutual judgement and so forth, it only binds you to them, karmically.
Also make sure you face your anger instead of wallowing in it. If you don't, you are making sure that some of the elementals (qualities) you judge in the other person, come to you, to help you become that which you harshly judge. It helps the person you judge become less petty or whatever else your problem with them is, but it ultimately helps no one, because there isn't any love in the exchange of elementals. The person will probably be just as self-centred as you were in judging them.
I know this is a hard pill to swallow. I know so many people who try to live theosophically and yet don't seem to know this fact. The above is the reason why the sin of self-righteousness is so wrong, not only in its lack of love, but also esoterically. It just doesn't work. The self-righteous will inevitably become that which they judge. Unfortunate, but true, I've seen it in myself. We have to remind ourselves that everybody can change. Facing up to this kind of thing in yourself will help eliminate it. Be soft like the peach to others, be hard like its seed, to yourself, is said in theosophical literature. Now you know why.
This was the hard part in the protection of yourself against elementals, the part which is all about cleaning up your act, regeneration and sainthood. The following are supplementary actions that will help, if the above is already practised reasonably well.
- Seek the company of good, kind, hardworking people, unless karma or duty places you elsewhere. Don't let this advice stop you from kind actions. The good motive of those actions will help protect you, as will the karma of the good action itself.
- Avoid public places, where people come together, as much as possible.
- Don't do group meditation.
- Avoid touching people outside a loving relationship. This includes shaking hands with acquaintances. This is very difficult in our culture where shaking hands, hugging and kissing are all seen as signs of love. The person refraining from this will feel the stigma of being different.
- Avoid touching animals.
- Eat no meat, especially red meats with a lot of blood in it. Karmically meat eating means being co-responsible for the living conditions of the animals. In this day and age that karma isn't good. Another aspect here is that blood draws elementals near. Eating blood is therefore not a good idea.
- Drink no alcohol, smoke no hash or weed, use no drugs. As far as I'm aware coffee, tea and even cigarettes are not a problem as far as elementals go.
- Burning insense is advised. Of course one has to choose a
decent insense, not the type where for instance opium is added. The
insense sold in the theosophical society (called Leadbeater-insense at
the Quest bookshop) is very good, but other kinds can also be used.
- I started saying that the elementals are linked to the
astrological planets. The planets in their turn are linked to the days
of the week. This means that one can find protection against the
elementals by protecting yourself on each day from the influence of the
planet that reigns then. This is done by wearing the colour or metal of
the planet on that specific day. H.P. Blavatsky advises wearing a ring
or some ornament with the colour involved. Since at the end of the 19th
century chemistry had not advanced enough to make clothes in the
colours of the rainbow, she omitted to say that anything of that colour
will do. It does mean a prismatic colour. That means, clear and bright
and of the colours of the rainbow. I personally do wear rings, but I am
convinced that wearing a piece of clothing of the colour involved will
also work to some extent. Blavatsky only mentions rings or ornaments,
so the clothes are my interpretation.
Day of the Week
Planet
Colour
Metal
Monday
Moon
violet
silver
Tuesday
Mars
red
iron
Wednesday
Mercury
yellow
mercury
Thursday
Jupiter
blue (light)
tin
Friday
Venus
blue (dark)
copper
Saturday
Saturn
green
lead
Sunday
Sun
orange
gold
BTW - once you've done this for a few weeks, you will probably know which color suits you best. At that point you can stop switching between the various rings, and simply resort to wearing the one that corresponds to your energy and personality.
Concluding I want to stress that the above should be practised according to common sense. You can find out if it works, only by practising it. Still, most of it will be a lot to ask for most people. Practice those things you feel you can manage and find out if you can feel the difference.