Therapeutic Shamanism works with five elements. Four of them, earth, water, fire and air, appear in Paul Francis’s published books through the transformation practicesTransformation practices. The family of journey-practices in which the self is deliberately taken apart, reduced to something formless, and reformed: burials, burnings, dismemberments, sky burials, dissolvings, cocoonings, poisonings, shapeshifting. A mini death-and-rebirth: cleansing, loosening of identity, and preparation for the greatest transformation of all. Read the full answer, where each practice brings the flavour of an element; the fifth, and the fuller teaching on all five, are taught on the courses and will be set out in later books. The elements are not only psychological: they are physical, bodily and part of the living landscapes met in journeys.
What are the five elements? #
Earth, water, fire and air, with a fifth, ether, that is taught on the courses. Four of them come into the transformation practices: burials have a connection with the earth element, burnings with fire, sky burials with air, and dissolvings with water.1 This is only a beginning; the elements, “what they are and how to work with them”, are to be covered “in great detail in later volumes in this series”.2 See What do Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether represent?
What are the transformation practices? #
Journeys in which we are taken apart and remade. “Common to all of them is the experience of being taken completely apart and reduced to something formless, and then being reformed again. In a sense, they are a mini ‘death’ and rebirth.”3 They are cleansing and healing, and they help us let go of our familiar middle-worldMiddle-world. Ordinary physical reality together with its energetic layers: the realm of individuality, separation and mixed intentions, and the only realm where harm is possible. “If there is a hell, then it is the middle-world.” Read the full answer form. This is what allows us to travel the shamanic realms. Burials, burnings, sky burials and dissolvings each add the flavour of their element. See What are transformation practices and shapeshifting?
What is fire? #
Far more than flames. “Fire means more than physical flames. The fire element in us is our personal power. It is the source of our authority and integrity.”4 It is also our vitality, motivation and drive. This is why “In ‘depression’, it is the fire element that is being depressed, literally held down or even lacking altogether.” The other elements have equally rich meanings, described in their own answer.
Are the elements mainly psychological? #
No. They are physical as well as inner. Water issues include “fear of actual physical water, such as being in deep water or a fear of drowning. But it includes fears not only of physical water, but things like a fear of being ‘out of your depth’, or of ‘letting go and going with the flow’, a fear of being ‘swept away’ by emotions”.5 The same is true of fire, both the flame and our own power. The elements run through the world around us and through our own bodies and lives.
Are journey landscapes important? #
Yes, very. Where something happens tells you as much as what happens. A journey that unfolds in the depths of the ocean will carry very different lessons to one that takes place on a windswept plateau or in a volcanic ravine. So pay attention to the setting. It is never just background; it is part of the teaching. The land is speaking.
The habitats of the Animal and Plant People in this world matter too: “Different environments have different medicines and significances.”6 And in the animist view, an environment is itself a living being, with its own Soul. See How are the Four Realms and Five Elements related?
Where is the full teaching on the elements? #
On the courses, and in books to come. The five elements are introduced on the Next-Steps course Exploring the Lower-WorldLower-World. The realm of Mother Earth: pure, unspoilt, wild nature, with no technology and no agriculture. Home of the Peoples and of our own Soul, and completely safe: feeling threatened in a journey is a reliable sign of not having reached it. Read the full answer and taught in full on the Wheel of Life course, and the Next-Steps course The Shamanic Worlds explores the living landscapes met in journeys. Later books in the series will set the teaching out in print. See What is the Wheel of Life?
