Air Element Study - The Four Winds

AIR ELEMENT STUDY - Week 4 - The Wind

THE FOUR WINDS

Wind in itself carries a certain magick and power.  I am sure that everyone at some point has felt a gust of wind that felt like it was telling them something, or bringing a message.  Ancient civilizations such as the Greeks, Norse, and Aztecs all assigned Divine beings to each of the four cardinal directions.... Gods who brought the winds of each element, different seasons, and different types of weather.  In modern Neo-Pagan paths, the Four Winds are often called upon in the same (or similar) way that one would call upon each element when opening a circle.  The Winds can be powerful allies to call upon to help empower your rituals, but make sure you call upon them with great respect... and be careful what you ask for!  The Winds may hail from different elements and directions, but they are in Essence all beings of the Air, so your words will be taken quite literally!  While invoking The Winds is of itself basic Air Magick, calling a specific Wind can help blend other Elements into your ritual.  Calling all four of them together when you call the quarters and cast your circle can bring strong energy and rapid results to your rituals and magick.

The Four Winds
From "The Fairy Bible" by Teresa Moorey

"The Four Winds are very special powers, each having their own special Monarch and band of Sprites.  The Four Winds come from each of the four quarters, and are associated with a specific element.
This may seem hard to understand, because surely all the Winds are basically the Air Element?  However the Winds are to some extent. messengers and gatekeepers, bringing and delivering signs and powers from another realm.  Like the association of Air with communication and travel, The Winds can be seen as messengers to open a specific portal to each quarter and Elemental Otherworld."
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The Four Winds
from "The Idiot's Guide To Wicca and Witchcraft"

"Names:
East Wind; Eurus; Wind of the East
South Wind; Notus, Wind of the South
West Wind; Zephyrus; Wind of West
North Wind; Boreas; Wind of the North

Where From: The Elemental Realm

How to Invite them to ritual:
Request their presence politely

The Winds are great for taking your magick and delivering it quickly and forcefully.  When you ask The Winds to carry your magick for you, you are doing Air Magick.  Keep in mind that each Wind has it's own elemental correspondence.  You would call specifically on the South Wind for Fiery aspects; North Wind for Earthy aspects; West Wind for Watery aspects, and the East Wind for Air associations."
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The Anemoi
The Anemoi are the four Greek Wind Gods, each associated with a cardinal direction and different seasons. They are the children of Astraeus - Titan God of the Dusk, and Eos - Goddess of the Dawn.  They were represented as strong gusts of wind, or sometimes as Winged Men, or sometimes depicted as horses who were kept by the Storm God Aeolus.  The names of the Anemoi are the names listed above in the excerpt from The Idiot's Guide To Wicca and Witchcraft.  I will soon write another blog post describing each one in greater detail.  Their Roman counterparts are known as the Venti.

Dvärgar
In Norse Mythology there are counterpart beings very similar to the Anemoi; these are the dvärgar.  They are four dwarves; Norðri, Suðri, Austri and Vestri ("Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western") who each support a Cardinal point of the compass and the element it is associated with.  They may also be associated with the Four Stags of the World Tree, Yggdrasill.

Aztec Gods of the Winds
There are similarly four different Aztec Gods who correspond to the Winds of each Direction.  They are Cihuatecayotl, god of the West wind, Mictlanpachecatl, god of the North wind, Tlalocayotl, god of the East wind, and Vitztlampaehecatl, god of the South wind.