Episode 23: The Four Elements | Fire

17th & Tillamook: Hi, Steph. Hi, Brad. We are we successfully made it to the YouTubes. We did. We expect to be back on the YouTubes this week. We do. We expect to continue being on the YouTubes for the foreseeable future. We sure hope so. And we hope all of you also join us there and click on the subscribe button so that all your friends and family also join us there. Right. Also make some comments as you go along. It made me think our our younger step brother. organically found us through seeing our faces that's in his podcast episode. So it would be fun to hear more stories about people randomly stumbling across us on the YouTubes. I look forward to all of those. Okay. Britt, how are you? you guys entered into school season again. We are back to school. How'd that go? So the last couple of years starting high school, this kid would walk in the door just high school miserable, right? school, grumbly, very boy. he walked in this week with like two days of pure happiness. Felt like his teachers are gonna be great. feels really good about going into the years. So it's a nice change going into these upperclassmen years. Freshman and sophomore year are hard years. Yeah. And I was telling our mother yesterday, he did a really good job of doing all the things in those first two years, not taking the fun classes, not taking the things that seemed intriguing. Right. He took the stuff he's got to get out of the way so that he can get through all of this. So these next two years are probably going to be a pretty good time for him. Yeah. He did it right. That's yeah. That's That's good. Yeah. That's how it should be. Yeah. how is I mean, last time we talked, you basically got to Portland, left Portland, and had just gotten back to Portland. So how is being a little bit more settled in Portland? yeah, I don't even remember. Right. Feels good to have a closet. Yes. everybody is we we got ourselves organized a little bit and like on a mental schedule sort of scale. And it's the weekend right now. So starting on Monday, everyone w we're siphoning into something that would look like on a routine on the days. So that's good. Fair enough. we definitely ventured into a deep philosophical conversation with my 10-year-old about what it is to live a normal life. I think that conversation started up at Mom's House. Okay. Yeah. So we're still kind of there. and I don't have good answers for her, but such a difficult word. It has it has the edges have softened around it. No one's crying anymore about it. Yeah. And Yeah, I think we're gonna be okay. But they're super happy because in fact they are living a pretty normal life where we're living right now. They go on bike rides around the neighborhood by themselves, they go on walks by themselves. so it's pretty nice. The only lack of normalcy is is is the lack of other children since they're all in school. Yeah, I still it's a it's a confusing conversation to talk to a ten year old about what she feels normal is. But I think that so far with the softened edges it's getting easier. Yeah. And that usually and what I remember as a high school teacher is that routine, limits, boundaries. All good for these tiny brains. Feel good. Yeah when they're happening with some flow behind it. So Well, when they're feeling out of their element. Out of their element, which is a funny way to put it, because I definitely created this episode many, many, many, many months ago. thinking, if I'm gonna go home, I'm gonna like feel like I'm in my element. And do you off of that came up with this series for everyone about the elements. Do I feel like I'm in my element? I think that this is I was thinking about how it'd be a great next episode after I go home to talk about Home. Which place where is your element? Yeah. Yeah. What is it what does it even mean to Like what is the idiomatic phrase to yeah, feeling in our element. Or out of your element. I think both are pretty idiomatic. So it's all more philosophy than it is the opposite of philosophy. I don't know what the opposite of philosophy would be. That's a good logic? Yes. Okay. So like rational logic versus Existential philosophy. Kind of. Yeah. So that's where I feel like I'm at. Both in element as well as home. I wrote up a little something because as I began to design this episode and this small series, I kind of had maybe a creative flow that came my way. And also I I was it was my nice early morning again. And so I found myself in this place of kind of contemplating what it feels like for me to do an exploration of these four elements. So with that, I will leave the listener and now the viewer to some of those thoughts. To be honest, in writing this, I feel like I'm called to create the very thesis to my life's work. and while I don't yet have a catalogue of my life's work in this past decade of inner work, outer work, professional development, the four elements, the seven principal chakras and the wheel of the year have felt like the backbone to absolutely everything else I create. Through my understanding and continual cultivation of my own philosophy, I've come to understand these concepts, the elements, the chakras, the eight festivals, to be vital starting points to everything that makes up our personal journey toward balanced well-being. Through the Andean Cosmovision that I've been studying and working with for the past couple of years, there is one central ancestral philosophy that the entire culture revolves around. The phrase is Sumaq Kawsay. While being a language you cannot directly translate, the meaning is understood to be good living or beautiful life or plentiful existence. I've translated it to mean living a balanced life and understanding true well-being will culminate in a beautiful life of plentitude. I've developed workshops, retreats, and ceremonies strictly based on these three ancestral and culturally diverse concepts, weaving them together to make sense of what we experience in our daily lives. Brittany and I often say, on high, so too below, without, so too within. The four elements, seven principal chakras in the wheel of the year seem to me to be the very primal starting points of all that we are. Four elements being the absolute base of all creation, everything we see and everything we are. The seven chakras being the basic roadmap to our invisible selves. physical body, but also emotional body, energetic, and spiritual body. the wheel of the year is this embracing entity outside that holds space for us and all we create, all that we experience, and it's almost the why and how of everything. So I see this point of departure both as a complicated mess of all my life's works, and also, as a good friend once said to me, none of us are sculptors. Nothing we do is chipped from marble or stone. we should just begin with a sense that everything can continue to grow, change, and evolve. I see this today as a healthy starting place to talk about the elements. And as Nineteen Moons continues to evolve and grow, so will our conversations about how to deepen our perspectives. Though I will softly submit, if someone literally spends the rest of their life working to just understand and balance the four elements within them, that would be more than enough. That being said, we will bring you four weeks of short chats about the four elements. each week a separate element. Small specs on each of them from a traditional perspective, historical at times, cultural, and then get into how those four basic elements are part of our very makeup, part of our path toward balance, and how we can literally embody each one along our journey toward healing and living more intentionally. In a sense, with great power comes great responsibility and knowing is half the battle. We do hope these episodes bring you a closer understanding of that which is the basic alchemy of all that we are. In knowing this, we're then empowered to take on the responsibility of our own well being, be the alchemists of our own transformation, and rewrite the story we once believed to be true and that maybe perhaps never felt like it quite fit. So let's take a quick break. Grab a cup of something delicious, some paper and pen, and let's get into this. let's dive right in. Let's dive right in. And actually, as I'm thinking about this, we're diving right like this is perfect because we're just kicking this all off on an inspired spark, right? Yes. So this week's episode is gonna be about fire. and we're gonna get honest here. We are doing another go at it. What did we say last time we did this? A marathon recording. Okay, there we go. So we're gonna try to do this. We're gonna try to do it in a succinct way. There's lots of information. but we're also gonna try to do this in a pretty clear kind of structured. Yeah, structured kind of way. All right, so let's kick off with fire. And what we're gonna do for everyone out there is kind of walk through for all of us hikers out there, we look at specs on all of our materials that we use in our tools when we're out there. So what the word for this would be like like specifications or all the little details kind of laid out in a bullet point sort of thing. So Brittany, if I talk to you about fire and we're gonna try to put this with a each element has either a feminine or a masculine energy behind it. Fire will be a masculine with a masculine energy. Which is funny because most of the fiery people I know are women. Yeah, but like not funny because of everything we're gonna learn about it. Also, I think this is ancestrally evolved. Say more. I'm not going to because this is also a reminder to everybody that this year in 19 moons, we're bringing stuff up, bringing stuff up, bringing stuff up. And I think that next year, and I've been wanting to make a list of ideas I'm already having, like based on these episodes for next year's deeper dive. All right. So we need to kind of remember that next year, when we deep dive the elements, I will go, I will say more about that. Okay. Beautiful. So fire is a masculine energy. And we may recall from the altars episode with Steven. Is that when we talked about directions? Yes. Okay. So here is here is where we start to get as specific as I want to be, we're all gonna remember as well that when we're looking at specific elements or details, they all come. from different traditional philosophies, different cultural and ancestral backgrounds. So each element can I restate that? Yeah. 'Cause I think you said they come from the philosophies behind them come from different cultures. Yes, and also. so So we're talking about the elements, and so each element here does reside in a specific direction because the Native Americans in North America, Canada. And the traditional ancestral philosophies of South America and the Celtic tradition and the traditional Chinese, they all come from a a different people. Got it. Okay. So the philosophy of the direction. Yeah, and the different people all had different reasons to come up with why directions made sense to them. Got it. Okay. And based on why the directions made sense to them, their different cosmovisions and philosophies of life. gave each direction a different element. Okay. Because each direction had a different meaning. So that being said, in the Andean Cosmovision where I live and I study, the fire element resides in the do you remember this? East, I think, isn't it? It does reside in the East. And why does it does it reside in the East? the connection that I made during that conversation that allows me to reiterate that is that the sun rises in the East. That is correct. And this is like I would say of the most importance in this culture. this direction and this element is the most important recognition. Like basically nothing else matters if you know where the sun comes from and what that means for you, that's all you need to know. Like literally, the teachers will say that that I don't care where everybody else is, like as long as I know where East is and I can always find East because of the beginning of the day. Sure. It's kind of funny that you started this with hiking, because hikers also really if you know where the sun is, you know you know 90% of what you need to know. yeah. Direction. Yeah. And we'll get there. Yeah. So in the North American tradition, it will also sit in the East. And by North American tradition, again, up here in the Americas, in the Northern Americas. we need to remember that there's lots of different tribes around this part of the world. And so even within all those tribes are gonna, there's going to be some Variants. Yeah. Somewhat. Yeah. And so the the information I'm taking this from is gonna be your mid plains, your bigger and well known tribes of folks. So basically in the North American tradition, the sun their fire is also sitting in the east, and for the same exact reason for this idea of that's where they identified the sun to be rising and the the break of day every day. Yeah, so we've covered two sort of groups of people who have identified the East. Is there anybody that has a different idea? I mean, yeah. Yeah, I'm gonna get into them. sorry. Yeah, it's okay. And then in our old ancestral Celtic tradition, they see it in the south. Because the south was where the sun peaked at its highest and always was at its warmest in the sky. Because they're so far north. Well, yeah, that was again like when we're looking at geographical peoples of the ancestral times, the only thing they had to base their wisdom on was what's literally happening around us in the natural world. And so when the sun got into that part of the sky, they always identified it as the warmest. So fire must be existing down there. Got it. And then in traditional Chinese philosophies and medicines, it also sat in the south, where again, that was where they were recognizing warmth coming from. So in a lot of different traditions, we have fire sitting at either the east or the south of the four physical directions. And then in our tarot deck, where do we find the element of fire for it? wands. Right. Okay. And why do you think? Well, in my brain just now was a process of elimination. Okay, so the wands like staffs are traditionally made out of? Wood. And we use wood too. Starfires. That's correct. And the staff would also, if you can if you can imagine like who's walking with a staff, I'm gonna then say this was often used as a tool. Right to in identify personal power, you know, intent direction. Okay. Okay. Okay. So now we're starting to harness a little bit more of the fire element. Right. Raw personal power, a sense of intention, direction. Yeah, you know, it's funny because I think the reason it the tarot becomes a process of elimination for me is because oftentimes our wands are growing, they're sprouting. Right, because they're made out of the natural element of the Sure, but it also just goes hand in hand with the idea of the sun rising being the beginning of the day and the fire element. Right. Yeah. Right. Okay, so then after the we've gone through some specs, like we've got some masculine energy, we've got the d the different directions based on different people and where they were located in their ancestral times. We've got the tarot deck that's connected to wands, the zodiacal signs. Aries, Leo, and Saj. That's right. And what do we remember about our Aries, our Leos, and our Saj? that you know when they walk into a room. You know when they walk into the shine in whatever way possible. there is I would we use the word like there's a power behind them. Yeah, I I like the idea of like infectious energy because you can't help but feel the things that they feel. Infectious energy that we can feel also like fire. The sun. Yeah. Right. And fire. Okay. And fire. Yeah, that's right. Okay. And so We also go back to our episode with Steven when we're talking about how do we get started. I identified that we should all have altars. Right. And we talked about how then to represent the four different elements on our altar. Yes. Okay. So what do you remember from that? Specific to fire. Fire, right? Because this episode is we're all gonna talk about All the different ideas around fire. Right. I feel like this is always the easiest one because a candle feels so natural to an altar. And I feel like also that's where we stopped with Steven. Probably. Like I think I said, let's just keep it simple. Everyone should have a a a candle lit and I feel like we we discussed some animals that might fall into this category as well. Fair enough. So before we get to the animals, another element that we just talked about, which as I was going through this, I thought of my own children because they both happen to have a Harry Potter wand. I was like, wands. Yes. And so anybody else out there that has something like a wand, this is obviously also now an artifact that we can add to an altar that could be growing and evolving over time, right? I also one time in a ceremony, I used we call it a baston in Spanish. I used a staff, let's say, because I was telling an old ancient story and the woman that was the powerful character of this story walks around with a staff. So now that staff is sitting in the fire side of my like bigger altar around me. Right. So anything that's gonna that's going to pertain to those sort of ideas can also now be growing along with our altar. Right. And some animals that we may have mentioned last time. We're looking at like the guardians of fire. And so we are looking at lions. Sure. Because of our Leos. Right. we're looking at salamanders, dragons, the Phoenix. So you've got all of these elementals and all of these powerful. What about salamanders relates them to fire? Yeah, this is another gonna be this is those will be another deep dive. Okay, got it. Yeah, because each element has what we refer to as their elementals, which are their guardians that are made of them. Yes. Okay. So it feels a little bit deeper. Okay. and so what I can do for each element as well is name some stones that have to do with the element. So of course, on our altar. Stone itself would be under the element of Like a stone represents so the only stone I can a stone represents earth. Earth, right. But because there's so many different crystals out there, certainly there are crystals that would fall under each the category of this could also help represent like fire, right? So that would also just be a weaving together of of artifacts on your art altar, which is completely allowed and just resonates with alchemy. Well, I for instance I have a bunch of crystals and some of my crystals have everything to do with different elements. Sure. So do you have any crystals that you would be able to One of my favorites I know falls under fire is Carnelian. Yes. Yeah. I also would add to the list your old favorite as a child. really? I would put tiger's eye, because I mean a tiger is not a lion. But here we have like another kind of like masculine power sort of animal. tiger's eye especially is a stone that goes to that chakra, the particular chakra that like dwells with fire. I think it also, if I remember from eons ago, it's also a little bit of like a luck stone, is it not? And that feels fiery. no, it's more of like a self-confident stone. which has anything to do with fire. Okay. So other stones we're looking at. You had mentioned carnelian, tiger's eye, amber. Okay, that makes sense. Because of yeah, the color and everything it has to do there. And then any sort of like volcanic stone or volcanic rock. Okay, so does obsidian fall in here? I'm gonna put obsidian somewhere else. Now there is a stone that is called a sunstone. My pendulum is made out of a suns a sunstone. So this is obviously also another rock that would wholeheartedly fit in under this fire element. Of course. All right. So when we look at the seven principal chakras, which one is the chakra that goes along with fire? We start from the bottom and we count up. So the bottom is one and the top is seven. So do you know which one is fire? I am gonna go back to when we were doing Reiki together and say somewhere in my stomach. That's right. So and it's called the solar plexus. Okay. Which I think the solar plexus is also the name of the actual leg. Yes. Body. I wouldn't want to say body part, but because it's something body. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So in and and this is like a this is our space of digestion. This is also like speaking of the chakras, it's like our sense of self or our power center. And if we think about our human body, it is a literally the middle of our physical body. And so like this Power center. It's this center of all this stuff. And the idea is that it's a powerful space that holds everything aligned, right? also the solar plexus in the midst of the chakras is, do you know what color it is? Yellow. That's right. Just like the sun. Right. And maybe kind of a fire, depending on what crayon came out to color that day. this is also like a personal power place. So a lot of times the the beginning like these affirmations definitely are the I am. I am powerful. Like this. Pause. Aren't all affirmations I am? yeah. so No, like quite frankly, the affirmation for the solar plexus is I am. Other ones are gonna be I feel, I see, okay, I speak. Okay. Okay. So the solar plexus is definitely the I exist. Okay, got it. So in traditional Chinese medicine. The element of fire is associated with the heart and blood vessels, as well as the small intestine. So the heart pumping blood through blood vessels is like a vital energy sort of thing. And the small intestine is the organ that physically separates waste from nutrients. Nourishment. Yeah. And on a in a in a mental space, which traditional Chinese medicine does with us, it connects this. physical world in this mental, emotional, and visible world. This separates like clear thoughts from cloudy thoughts. Right. So we've got our direction and and our clarity versus like trying to extract that from the muddled cloud. Got it. Again, I will touch on traditional Chinese medicine or TCM in these, but this is definitely a season two. I feel like that's gonna be a whole series. Deep dive. Yeah. Yeah. All right. So now these are all the let's call them like the small semantics of things, right? We've talked about artifacts on on on our altar, we've talked about the directions associated with our with the element of fire, we've talked about the chakras. What else have we hit on here? Zodiacal signs are where we fall into the tarot. All right. So the fire in me. This is Where does if the four elements are the primary elements to everything, to that creation outside of us, this that creates everything that we are, if they are the pillars on which everything is founded, right? So we have a each element inside of us and All of us have all four of the elements. One of the biggest ideas at coming to an understanding and working with the elements is are my four elements in balance? That's kind of the big question. And If they're not, when they're not, how do I recognize that? How do I get in touch with those elements inside of me? And what do I do to then activate a more balanced self or a more balanced living with the elements, right? So today what we're gonna do is get into the fire that resides in all of us and in some of us, as we go through these lists of words and these lists of ideas, we're gonna start asking ourselves, does this sound like me? Or does this sound like that which I don't want to say doesn't exist in me, or that which How would you say it? That which I need to foster or that which I need to cultivate. Yeah. Foster, cultivate, like, those are the words for fire. Those aren't really me. Yeah. That's okay. But again, to get to a place of well-being, we need to be in balance. To get to a place of balance, we need to recognize all four elements. If we know that all four elements dwell within me, all those four elements need to be in a place of peace, in a place of balance. I also think it just When we're talking about things like elements, we're talking about inanimate objects for all intents and purposes or inanimate things. And so I think that this helps to personify the elements, right? And if you we can personify the elements, then we can either embody them or disembody them. better. Yeah. To find balance. All right. Hit us. What are what are we looking for, Steph? So Let's see. This will be another deep dive, but I will just mention with each one that Carl Jung definitely kicked this off into modern philosophy. So his concept on a very superficial recognition right now, in this season one, let's say, was that the fire element is like intuition. So like the spark. The thing that's like, that's what I thought. That's what I know. That's what I am. Okay. So secondary to that, we we identified that the fire element is a masculine energy. And for those of us out there, like let's not confuse this with gender, anything. There are masculine energies and feminine energies. It has nothing to do with the actual person or the sexual identification, none of that. It's just an energy. So when we look at the masculine energetic traits or the traits of masculine energy, we're looking at things like direct, linear. organization a more objective mentality right clear-minded clarity a sense of direction maintains authority which again let that not be a negativity like maintains authority maintains boundaries maintains limits like that masculine energy is the energy that contain like holds holds the boundary space decisive is a masculine trait to be able to be decisive and to make those decisions. I also really appreciated break with the old and is dedicated to transform and make new. So a masculine energetic trait is the one that will like destroy something and then dedicate itself to its transformation. It's funny that you Yeah. It's funny that you went to a destructive place, which I get. when I hear that idea of of break with the old, I automatically went to this person is malleable to change. Like change is not an intimidating thing. Well, we're not gonna use that. That's a different word for a different element. So what we wanna say with the element of fire is that fire is not malleable. Another element is. And fire is the one that has the ability to To destroy the thing because fire is the element that transforms the thing. So literally in alchemy, fire is the first step because we need that spark. And so like the phoenix, like the thing fire can destroy or create. That's that's oftentimes the verbiage that we're going to use with the element of fire. Again too, I think even what you're kind of like bringing into this conversation here, both with how I can sense your energy and your facial expressions, right. There's this is these are big philosophies. So again, right now we're trying to kind of focus on this and malleable, like just that very word that you're deciding to use is definitely a different elemental vocabulary word. Got it. Yeah. So right here we're just looking at the fact that fire can either burn us or warm us up. Right. Like that's the idea of a fire. We we have a fire in front of us. We have a candle. in fact, with my children, right? They really love it and they're mesmerized by it. But I need to also teach them that that very, very little flame or the big flame outside, like that can also burn you. So there's this really healthy relationship we need to have with fire or to be in balance with it, right? Got it. Okay. so to break with the old, that's kind of the energy. That's I I kind of put it under a masculine energy to be able to break that thing and then dedicate to a transformation. So in the Andean perspective of the element of fire, we're talking about personal empowerment. And I had mentioned this a little bit in the beginning, but Basically, like that being the most important element is this notion of kind of there's a question on how you start your day. And there's this idea because when we see that sun come up and we know that it's we are able to manifest, create, or like alchemize whatever sort of day we want, it has everything to do with how we start, right? There's a lot to be said about how you literally step out of your house. So there's this notion of. stepping out of the old and into the new, right? Where certainly you don't need to destroy anything to do that, but like every single day is a new day to start. Like this next path. wands and solar plexus. So the wands and tarot, the solar plexus in the chakra system, and the traditional Chinese medicine all have to do with, like we were talking, with staffs and personal empowerment, intention, a raw notion of self would be under the fire element. again, in that traditional Chinese medicine, that separation. Of waste from that which nourishes, or a separation of that which fuels us from that which doesn't. or this separation of where is my power and like separated from that which no longer fuels me or empowers me or gives me strength. Right? Does that make sense? Yeah, it just it really translates to a lot of like healthy boundaries is what it sounds like. Yeah, healthy boundaries. and maintaining them or or adjusting them as necessary. Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure. So like also a healthy dose of intention. Sure. Like intent with my day, a healthy dose of organization in my day, right? Mm-hmm. Like if we know what we're doing that day and we know how the day is going, well then stepping out of my door, I empower myself with that, I guess I want to say essence of intention, right? I know where I'm going, I know what I'm doing, I know who I'm meeting. anything else along the way is flowers and and and decoration, but like I have a journey throughout my day that I'm taking myself on, right? And I know all the different steps to it. So you mentioning this idea of boundaries, right. I can't let my day get out of hand. Right. Right. Right. My day often gets out of hand. So this is translating clearly. So when we talk about the notions of the fire element that dwells within each of us, so those were all what I've just gone through are like the masculine traits of this masculine element. Right. So At which point when we're looking at that list of all these masculine traits, of course, there's a light side and a dark side, a light side and a shadow, right? There's a there's an excess to this, you know. to be direct in in a balanced way is one. When it when it's deficient or when it's an excess, those are going to be two different versions of what direct is, right? So Under the notion of fire, when it's balance, so when it's in its positive light, when it's in its when it's at ease and in balance with itself, we're looking at words like energetic and joy and sunshine, charisma, clear speech, sharp cognitive capabilities, strong capacity for empathy and deep intimacy. That's surprised to me actually. But as I found it, I was like, yeah, I it totally makes sense. Yeah, of course it does. Yeah. an ability to connect in relationships, healthy self awareness. So now we're getting to plex that solar plexus, right? Right. Power to create. First spark. Initiative, leadership. physically capable. Raw, willpower, motivation, and confidence. Mm-hmm. Confidence is also another really big, like that's the fire that exists inside of us. And we always talk about don't we say something like fire in our belly? Yeah. Yeah. Well, there you go. These folks are also, when that element is in balance, this is also like you have an ability to tap into your spiritual side. You're more of There's more of an honest quality behind it. There's when we talk about our Sagittarians and our Aries, there's a lot of adventure behind it. There's a lot of passion. There is a drive for change. And it also, I made I kind of realized as I was writing all these words that I was like, yeah, right, revolutionaries, right? Like these are the people that are gonna be the ones initiating change. Right. Light force, vital energy. connection with great spirit. So here we have this invocation of the phoenix transformation, transmutation. So here we are with those alchemical sparks and this alchemical energy. The phoenix and I put the word survivor like a general general the element of fire. Well actually without even meaning to I mean it kind of takes you back to when humankind discovered fire. Yeah. Yeah. They were like, now we can survive far longer. Right. And and on on a lot of different levels. Right. Yes. Exactly. Yeah. So fire in that shadow space, such that fire is the element that can create or destroy. when it overflows or it is in its excess, we're talking now impulsive impulsivity. anger. Yeah. These people are gonna often feel that they've got their foot in their mouth. I know this one personally, the rest of the world can kind of see them as being too much. they don't they tend to not care what you think. So again, there's kind of a healthy dose of that to not care what you think, but that's definitely a part of when it's in its excess. Over excitations, extreme anxiety can come from all of this. These are folks that are going to be fast talking, racing thoughts. so here you have this speed to fire kind of like when an actual fire is actually doing its thing, there is no slow to it. Right. and then insomnia can come from some of this. Because all those things are happening inside, and you've got, I mean, those of us that are having hot flashes. Like at night. Literally. It's hard to sleep. When this element is in its deficient state, or so when it's been extinguished, like the fire that's been extinguished, we are looking at things like stagnation. Yeah. A feeling of lack of purpose. So that is literally like, do I know what I'm doing with my day-to-day, or is it just another day? Right. Which can then what I just Sometimes the feeling of not knowing what to do with my day today feels like a relief. But the idea of not having purpose on a grander scale is much more weighted. Yes. And someone like you that's super busy and you're managing a whole bunch of different things. Yeah, sure. So a standard day where you literally don't have anything to do is keeping yourself in balance. Yeah. Right. And it's that it's kind of balancing that fire that is what do we say, firing on all pistons? Cylinders. Something like that. Like when you're doing that Monday through Friday, it's also fairly balanced to maintain a not so fiery weekend. Right. but you're right. Because if this is happening on a more constant level, right, we're starting to get discouraged. Right. We have super low motivation. We're exhausted in kind of an exhausted way. I don't know if that makes sense. I feel like I like you, have you ever heard anybody be exhausted of feeling exhausted. Or maybe I've literally said that. Like I'm so tired of always feeling tired. Yes. Yeah, kind of. I think most moms can probably relate to that. Maybe. And when we look at that on on like a bigger scale, sure, because especially moms of younger kids. Right. Like we're firing on all cylinders all the time. And I would like to plug you in and harness some of that energy so that I can literally ingest it. Yes. Right. So exhausted. and and of course, these things, if we're super deficient on our element of fire, we we have I don't want to say tendency. There is a place where you could go into depression. People that on a very normal, their normal level, who don't have a lot of fire, will often be quite timid. They're gonna be really quiet. There's gonna be kind of a lack of a lack of drive, a lack of decision-making processes, a lack of direction. So now here you're seeing all those masculine energetic traits kind of in their shadow side. You're gonna have like a coldness when your fire is extinguished. It's cold. Yeah. So now the question is, after all of these, that for those of you out there taking notes, after all of these different things, so the the the the big work and I would venture to say it could easily be a lifetime's worth of work. I mean or multiple. Because yeah, literally, is to bring this into balance. Yeah. So what sort of things can we do to bring the element of fire that dwells within us into balance. Brittany, could you come up with like just off the top of your head? And again, sometimes it really helps to just literally imagine a fire, like making a fire, right? Sure. And I also think you have to consider which angle of balance you're trying to correct, whether you're trying to bring the fire or tamper the fire. Right like if the fire's gotten too big. Right. Right. Right. Exactly. So You know, if our fire is too big, I my immediate reaction is, you know, if the fire is too big, kick a little dirt on the side of the fire. So literally like go for a walk. Get out of the whatever element has the fire so big and remove yourself and make some space and give it some Oddly some air, even though that's what feeds a fire. Right. I was thinking about that when I was writing all my different notes. Give it some air despite that. But yes. there's a funny little side note that in TCM, the traditional Chinese medicine, they often say that when you're high on an element, you continue to feed it that element, and that's what brings out balance. But I think that's also it's a much deeper dive. but that being said, given what you just said, and I you'll remember this when I say it, but I have kind of always been a runner. Yeah. But especially, and when we were living at sea level and I started having kids, I was constantly running. So on one hand, you are correct by saying, Yeah, get some air in there, like oxygenized, get out. So one of the big things is like go exercise. But there is something to be said of if you're a person. Like myself, that has perhaps an excess of fire. it there are a lot of different interpretations to this, but it made sense for me to run. Because I had a lot of fire. It it wasn't and it is a good I of course, there are different things like meditating, and I could have played chess, let's just say, right? I have a lot of fire, so I need to tamper that down, as you said, and like. Play a quiet game of chess. But that's not really realistic. Because if we've got a lot of fire going on and we've got a lot of those Or not just sit calmly. Yeah, you can't just tell a fire to like sit calmly and play chess. Yeah. You know, it's gonna be more appropriate to be like, Why don't you go on a run by yourself with loud music and like come home having extinguished a bit of that fire? Yeah. Right. I mean, utilized some of that fiery energy, right? Exactly. And in the utilization of that fire energy, you then bring it into balance. Right. So running was my example, but obviously going to the gym, any sort of exercises. Now that the nowadays I do Zumba, right? Because it's easier to access Zumba than it is to run the amount that I would want to run. I also along those I put sitting in the sun. So sitting in the sun, and I guess I also just have a list, Brittany, you brought up a very good point that well, it kind of depends on what you where you are with the element that needs to bring it into balance. Like, is it in excess? And so you have to bring that fire down, or is it kind of in its deficient state and you've got to bolster it? Right. So we started with that one where it was this idea of like exercising and and and utilizing some of that energy. I along those lines then I'd also say if I say sweat lodge, do you know what I'm talking about? I mean, yes. Like a sweat lodge, a teamascal, it's called an inippy, a pakarina, in different in all these different cultures. So it's basically it's getting together and they're using the energy of fire and a lot of fire. And so there's a lot of sweat. And so there again, you come close to that element, literally in an act of bringing it into balance. Right. Right. and so another thing on my list here is I said, make yourself move. Make yourself move. So if you go on really long runs with really loud music, that's one way. Or you could do like power yoga and slow down, but really start to garner more of that fire inside of you in a let's call it a slow way, right? An intentional way. I say bring to light that which makes you move, inspires you. feels like a passion, brings creativity, and that idea of transformation. So those are like these sorts of ideas, right? Kind of big. Of course, and I would say this kind of falls in line with both of them, right? Like candle work. Candlework. What does that mean? Literally mean use candles. just sit with the candles. Well, for those of us that have an excess of fire, if I Light a candle with matches, not a lighter. A lighter or a, you know, the long. But if you really just take the time and you're connecting to elements and you light a match and you have one candle, someone with an excess of fire is going to naturally slow down, right? Someone who needs to bolster their fire a little bit is going to sit there and their meditation looks different, but really everyone is connecting to that fire energy. Okay. Same thing can happen. So for instance, if there was someone that really wanted to work on bolstering or augmenting their fire energy, you could also be, you won't naturally be the person to do this, but you could set it as a goal to have more bonfires outside your house. But and by bonfire I mean just a fire. Sure. A normal fire. But also it would look like inviting friends over, like sparking that that thing. That that feels inspiring, feels, you know, communal, feels like when we make a fire outside, what's the idea of that? It's getting people together, it's gathering, it's all this like Sagittarius Leo stuff, right? It's bringing people together around a fire. And so that would be like this goal that someone could make. And you could literally start with a candle, like, I am here with intention to augment and light my fire. we don't want to start a forest fire. But we can take that little candle and work our way to a small gathering around our fire, right? affirmations, same sort of idea. If we light one candle and we're someone with an excess of fire, our affirmations are gonna be to come into a balanced place of less. And if we're someone that needs to bolster and augment our fire, our affirmations are gonna be looking at the same candle and recognizing our raw personal power, our sense of creativity, our sense of direction, like our if it needs to be like boundary work, we work on that, right? sitting in the sun and exercise are always good. Yep. And then solar plexus work, literally like hands to the belly area, and I'd say a little bit higher belly. There are specific yoga postures and poses and sequences. Power yoga is going to be something that ignites that fire. And obviously working on sun salutations, which is this direct connection to my body utilizing that vital energy from the sun and then in this reciprocity of thanks and gratitude. No. And again, a lovely day to a lovely way to start your day, right? You have anything to share for all those? no, not really. I mean As we've gone through this, I think I I never really realized how much fire there is in me. Where'd you see that realization? in a lot of the kind of characteristics that you talked about. Organized, clear objectives, I'm really good at boundaries, people. do not appreciate all the time how direct I am. you ever feel like you put your foot in your mouth? Yeah. So this is I think the thing that's really interesting. sometimes, yeah, I do feel like I put my foot in my mouth from time to time. but when when we get into the like out of balance characteristics, they Don't resonate nearly as much. So I do feel like the fire that's in me stays really under control somehow. And I don't know if that is that I think there's mostly water in me. I think I'm a highly fluid creature. and so I don't know if those two elements just really perfectly balance each other because of the two that they are. Cause yeah, I mean, of course, I definitely feel like I put my foot in my mouth from time to time. and when those times come up, I tend to remember them for a very long time. But a lot of that sort of out of balance kind of explosive energy type things I don't relate to, which is why I never thought I had a lot of fire in me. So how do you resonate with like those masculine energetic traits? In the sense of Well, maybe we should also get into the feminine and then you can kind of have a reference to it. But yeah, in a sense of I really relate to that list of words. Or the opposite. Well, and that's what I I think that's what I'm getting at is when we think about this masculine energy, we think about this fiery, explosive, almost angry kind of energy. Yeah. Or or like you were saying, destructive somewhat. And I don't relate to that. Right. And so that's why I naturally never felt like I had a lot of fire in me. But when we get into these sort of in balance like characteristics, yeah, I I think my f I think I do have a a lot of fire and it just stays pretty nicely balanced. Can I ask you about I'm going back to the list of Yeah, so these this list of like stagnation, lack of purpose, discourage, low motivation. Yeah, this does not resonate with you at all, does it? Not really, no. Yeah. Yeah, cool. That was interesting. I know earlier you were like, I didn't know that about myself. Yeah, I mean I really just I feel like a lot of times that fiery element gets a little bit of a negative kind of conversation. Yes, and I can say that because I know that I am very much made a fire. You got a lot of fire. Yeah. Yeah. And so right. I've I I don't want to say I've only ever heard that, but you've heard it a lot. Yeah. Yeah. I've got a bad rap. So that being said, I did want to close this episode out because literally maybe last week, no, sure, it was still at mom's house. I was doing a lot of listening to other podcasts about elements because I kind of needed to grapple with where I was gonna start with all of this. And so I was doing a lot of it out loud. And she knew she couldn't count on me. So so and at one point I just naturally brought up to Christian, like because again, I guess I'll just remind viewers and listeners, right? The whole idea in my big philosophy is that To get into a place of like true well-being, so feeling well, feeling at ease and feeling in balance, it sometimes feels in our world like a big act. and I think part of the problem is it feels kind of out of reach for a lot of people, like to really feel well. I I do wholeheartedly believe that. small steps and small we've talked about ritual and small practices and and really small steps and practices that we take with intention will really lead us to a very balanced life. So that being said, I I I am the type of partner that will constantly bring things up like, hey, so I'm sitting here talking about elements and I'm doing all this research and I'm writing about elements. Like what do you think you Like, what do you think about yourself? What do you think? I think I asked him something to the effect of, and Where would you start? he looked at me and he said, I would probably work on fire. And For anybody out there that knows Christian and who knows me. it just so happened that me and Christian kind of hang out at the two opposite sides of the element of fire. So it surprised me when he says that. And I was like, that was my answer. Like, that's what I was gonna say. and so I wanted to close, especially in this first episode of this element series. I wanted to close with how this conversation went. And then as we go on with the series, we will continue to close with this and it will become less man Christian and more Brit and myself. I. Britt and I? I would like to go through yeah, Britton. Myself works. Yeah, to go through this. So here's the anecdote. We had the conversation. Aha. He surprises me with his answer fire. I do not surprise him when I say back to him, that's what I was gonna work. Yeah. and so what does that look like? And of course, here we are. for those of you who don't know us, Stephanie tends toward the excess of fire and Christian tends toward the deficiency of fire, or the his fire is fairly extinguished. running on coals. So we need to first, both of us. So we start talking about this. And so what do you think you would do? And he literally answered, I mean, the first thing I gotta do is get into contact with. Where I think I need fire, right? And my answer is along the same lines, but of course the opposite side. I need to get in contact and sense when my fire is about to rise. So everybody needs to get into this this I would say visceral contact with their element. So given all these words and phrases that we just walked through, orient yourself with that. Right. Find yourself, sense yourself, feel yourself, and see either when we think it's gonna show up or in what different parts of my day or my life do I need more fire? Yeah. Right. And at that point, we're gonna figure out if we're in the excess or if we're in the deficiency. And then we need to put into small practices. So I asked him, so what would your small practices be? Because if we're gonna have to, this is a big feat to try to balance our elements. So when we give ourselves a little bit of patience, but a little bit of like sweet nudging. I don't want to quote him on this. I kind of came up with what maybe this is either a list of what I thought or what I was remembering him saying. But basically, exercise more, organize himself more. So organize in his day-to-day home and family and routine, but then also organize at work. I happen to know his wife would appreciate that. Yes. And I do believe this is a funny little way to say it. So like no judgment out there, but like lead the family. And so what I think that we want to say with that, he because I've also been asking him to just straight up take more decisions. Yeah. Or we say make more decisions. Make more decisions, don't ask. I don't care what we eat. You make the decisions and you execute it. So like lead the family. Yeah. I Put they're in little quotes that are mine. Maybe for someone like Christian, just be the one that lights our candles at the table. So we always have candles on the table, and of course I always light them. And so when I was making these lists, I was thinking, yeah, literally just the small slight practice. Literally be the fire bearer. Yes. Yeah. Like be the one that lights the fire. Yeah. Be the one that lights the fire. Be the one that lights fire. And one thing that Christian has started doing last year, even two years ago, is he started to do these what we call the inippies from the people that he takes them from but these sweat lodges and these real close encounters with actual fire and the element itself. And there's a lot of medicine in there. So he has started doing that in gathering with men. And so there's this very natural submit myself to a lot of this masculine energy. Yeah. So what does Steph need to do? What does that needs to feel and breathe more? wait, time out. You need to feel more like I need to be more in contact with those feelings that are happening in my body right before I explode. Got it. So that I don't identify. So yeah I I also do a lot of feeling. so yeah like connect myself with all of those feelings. So maybe the idea here is to actually be in the feeling more, not just feeling. Yeah, sure. Well these are quick notes. So yeah, be in the feeling more and breathe more. And literally as I wrote that, I thought the same thing that you had said earlier. That's funny that I would breathe more because oxygen literally fuels fire. But of course, in a human existence sort of way, that oxygen is going to because we can also blow out a candle. Totally. drink more water. Sure, because water buts out there. exercise, dance, workout, run. So these are all mine. And we will talk about this with other elements. There are very specific, and I took a class on this, there are very specific dances that you can do for each element. The salsa comes to mind or the flamenco. Those would be fire. I'm not going to do that sort of dancing. meditate and write. And the meditating and writing is something that I very well know is one of my biggest medicines, partially because it's what I do, but also partially because I when I was able to put meditating and writing into a daily practice of mine, I was not nearly as incendiary or incendiable. Incendiary. Or fiery. Yeah. I was literally a thing. So my friends. That is fire. The element of fire. That being said, Brittany, we are going to, I think, take a quick pause to recognize our one and only sponsor. Sponsor. And I'm doing this because I'm manifesting sponsors. It's not a bad idea. So this episode, just like last week, has been brought to you by Pisonay Coffee Roasters. Thanks, Pisonay. El Cafe de las Familias in the sacred valley near Cusco. come on by. thank you for the microphones and tripods. Also to our friends here in Northeast Portland for giving us space. A great background. Literally. All right, Brittany. Last but not least. Last but not least. We, as you all know, messed up our last episode and had to re-record it. and in the re-recording, we lost sight of this last week's. New moon. Right. But I also think I was excited just to use my children's oracle cards. Also fair. And I think the original posting was for an Oracle. Right. So you know. So by the time this moon well, this episode comes out last night. After. Right. Yeah. The tenth of September? Yes. Thursday the tenth at eight twenty seven PM. I made a note. Pacific. Correct. Is when our moon is gonna take place. And on new moons we the tarot. We pull tarot. Because we're looking for direction. Direction. Brittany, the new moon is in what sign? New moon follows the zodiac. That's right. Well yes. Yes, so it's gonna be in Virgo. That's right. Yeah. Well done. Okay. So you wanna pull us the card? Yes, one moment. Please let me get my cards. Do you want to feel things in pola card or do you just want me to do my style? Do your thing. Okay. Hmm. Steph, when you do cards, do you break the deck? I don't know what that means. Do you split it in half? Ready? Yeah. So excited. Okay. Do you want to see her or do you want to know her first? I knew it was gonna be a woman card. Aren't they all women in this deck? No. that's fair. They're not. They I can vision the one guy. He's very handsome. Yeah. Do I know which I literally know which one you're talking about? maybe I don't. I think you do. Which one is he? I don't know which he is. I would have to find him. okay. We'll talk about that post and post production. Post production. well now I'm done. I totally I knew I knew it was gonna be a female She is female entity on that card. Is she fire? She's not fire. Okay. That would have been cool. It would have been cool. We have the Queen of Swords. Which I don't think I've ever seen this card in this day. I've gotten this a lot. Really? A lot. Okay, let's see what we have here. Let's not read the whole thing. I shan't. I shan't. our main little quote here is I speak with wisdom and clarity. So here on this podcast. What element is that? swords is wind. I know, but I was trying I bet you're right. I was trying to ask you, like, given what this is, I speak with wisdom and clarity. Is that what it is? Yes. Mm-hmm. Yes. Highly astute, intellectual, and honest, she watches calmly over her kingdom. That's right. Graceful and logical, her wisdom is framed in truth and proof, and she avoids the gossip or fluff that others may want to hear. Fluff. Mm-hmm. Always makes me think of mum. She asks you to be honest in your relationships, direct in your speech, and witty if you want to be, but above all, to bring your clear headed Unbiased reasoning to the table. You know, she's the Queen of Swords, but she kinda speaks to a little bit of fire, doesn't she? Hmm. All I can hear is air in there. Okay. Yeah, there's a lot about communication in here for sure. Yes. So can you say the affirmation again? I speak with wisdom and clarity. That's nice. All right, everybody. Brittany, where can the good people find us? It's like a test every week. You'll get used to it again. 19 Moons Podcast at gmail.com. And 19 Moons Podcast on Instagram are both with numbers. And Nineteen Moons podcast on any podcast platform you can possibly find us. And Nineteen Moons Podcast on YouTube. Hey. Are both in letters. I nod my head like I know. You set them up. You do know. All right, everybody. Have a lovely weekend. We will talk elements next week as well. Love you. Okay, bye.