Explain the meaning of the pentagram, and of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit.

It's not easy to find this in a book, so we'll explain it briefly here in case you don't know. The pentagram is an ancient symbol of balance and protection. It has been used in many lands for at least the past five thousand years.

As a Wiccan symbol, it is made with one point up and generally surrounded by a circle. The circle stands for wholeness, oneness, and the magick circle we cast in rituals. The points have these meanings:

EARTH

The Earth, land, mountains, soil; also the physical world and our bodies.

AIR

The atmosphere and the wind; also our minds, intelligence, and imagination.

FIRE

Flames, the fire of stars, the molten fires deep in the planet; also will, purpose, passion, and energy.

WATER

Oceans, rivers, streams, and rainfall; also our emotions and intuition.

SPIRIT

The Goddess, the God, the All.

The pentagram is often worn as jewelry, usually made of silver, which is sacred to Diana, the moon goddess. A disc of wood, ceramic, stone, or metal inscribed with a pentagram is a ritual tool called a pentacle.

Make a plan to help you balance these elements in your life.

Are you emotional, sensitive, and intuitive? Then we would say that you have a lot of Water in your life. If you're energetic and ambitious, you have a lot of Fire. Someone who is very physical and body-conscious, or solid and slow to change, or very concerned with money and material things, would have strong Earth qualities. And an inventive person with lots of ideas and a talent for communication is Air-oriented.

Nobody is perfectly balanced among these elements. But we can all work toward becoming more balanced. You can make a plan to do this. Let's suppose your life is going pretty well except for the Earth element. Maybe you have trouble handling basic Earth-plane stuff: you don't eat right, your room is a mess, you forget to help around the house, you never have money when you need it...

1. Make a plan to change one thing at a time. For example, "I will keep the floor of my room clear. Every night before I brush my teeth, I will pick up everything on it."
2. Ask your family and friends for help. "If you see me throw anything on the floor, please remind me what my goal is."
3. Put magick into your plan. Put up a picture of a clean, windswept desert. Buy a cactus. Hold a ritual and ask the Earth elementals (gnomes) and Earthy goddesses and gods to help.

You may need your counselor's help in putting together a plan to balance yourself.

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