Spirit in Water I

The Spiritual Nature of Water

John & Lyn St Clair-Thomas

John & Lyn St Clair-Thomas

All four elements, Fire, Earth, Air and Water, work together in a variety of ways that depend on similarities and differences between the individual elements. Water is the opposite of fire and the two are necessary to each other for balance. One could not exist without the other. Fire provides the warmth and movement that water lacks, whilst water dampens and controls the flaring, extreme activity of fire.

Water is the element that is most like earth, being next to it in density. It is a heavy, downward-settling element like earth. (In contrast, fire and air are light, upward-moving elements.) Despite the similarity, water also has useful differences that work well in conjunction with some of the characteristics of earth, countering earth’s solid, static nature with its ability to flow, permeate and dissolve solids. Water brings a type of movement to earth. This is not the vigorous activity of fire, but a gentler form of movement. It can be seen physically in the way water can weather and erode earth, carrying particles along with it.

Metaphysically, water has the ability to hold vibrations, patterns or templates clearly, accurately and for prolonged periods of time. This ability is balanced by water’s capability to cleanse itself of forces that are not in accord with the templates it is holding. These abilities can be temporarily affected by manmade pollutants or those arising from natural causes such as volcanoes, tsunamis or violent storms.

Water plays an important part in activating the archetypes that are held within earth. Because water rests on or permeates the Earth, the closest possible contact is made between the two. This closeness allows the archetypes or templates for life to be transferred into the water where they are raised to a state of alertness by the specialised quickening action of the water. They are then passed back to the Earth and to the other elements in an energised form that makes life possible. This process is like the germination of a seed. A seed is a solid, like earth. It contains within it the blueprint for life just as earth holds the archetypal patterns. The life within a seed is unable to be released, however, until it is moistened and activated by water. Once this is done, it is able to grow, interacting variously with earth, air, fire and water during the life of the plant. Water activates the archetypal patterns within earth so that they become available to interact with the other elements.

The activating qualities of water come from its affinity with the creative forces of the astral plane. Impulses are transmitted from the angels through the planes, including the astral. These impulses pass readily into the astral counterpart of water and they are distributed from here through the etheric and into the physical world by the appropriate water spirits. As water has the ability to release these forces in stages, physical life is activated and awakened in ways that perfectly match the physical environment, including season, weather and temperature.

WATER SPIRITS

Only the element of earth has greater number and variety of nature spirits than water. All water has its associated nature spirits, even if it is only present in the form of dampness or water vapour.

Certain large devic beings are associated with bodies of water and sometimes with significant features such as lakes, rapids and waterfalls. These devas are not specifically water spirits, as they really belong to all the elements, having a particular affinity with earth. They work extensively with water, however, when it plays an important part in the landscape

As with all the other elements, nature spirits of water have a variety of forms and functions, with the larger spirits usually having greater consciousness and presiding over the smaller spirits who are less outwardly aware. Some work within the etheric field of water, whilst others have both astral and etheric forms and work mainly to shape and draw in astral energies. They bring life and growth to their element, enabling its physical manifestation to adhere as closely to the original archetypes as possible.

Many of the nature spirits of freshwater are different in appearance from those of ocean water, with those existing at the surface being the most similar.

Sunlight has the ability to penetrate both water and air to considerable depths. Undines, like sylphs, the spirits of air, draw in power from the sunlight, transforming it within their forms and releasing it into the etheric of the water they are a part of. This force activates the etheric of the planet, bringing vitality to its life-giving waters.

At night, all water spirits become still and appear to fade into the surrounding water, or into nearby wet rocks or earth. It is as if they are slipping between the layers of the metaphysical worlds and out of sight. Even spirits of the deep where light does not penetrate follow this pattern. Earth’s energies are radiated outward during the day and drawn inward at night and all of nature responds to this rhythm.

THE OCEANS

The oceans of Earth are a great creative cauldron in which physical and metaphysical life is brewed. All water is indelibly imprinted by its contact with the earth archetypes and as rivers and rainwater flow into the oceans, these impulses accumulate and become very concentrated. They are sustained and kept stable by the metaphysical components of the mineral salts that are so plentiful in seawater. The oceans therefore contain strong evolutionary forces, maintaining within their etheric and astral fields the essence of all life that has already been and the promise of all life that is still to come.

Physical life began in the oceans, with single-celled organisms eventually evolving into more complex life-forms. In time, life spread from the oceans to take up residence on every part of the globe.

The oceans are complex environments, with the deepest ocean trench being nearly 11,000 metres deep (almost 36,000 feet). Pressure here is extreme, about a thousand times that at the surface and no light can penetrate. The oceans have many zones with different physical and metaphysical life-forms existing at every level. The nature spirits of water found at the surface are very different from those in the depths.

Spiritual evolution is mirrored in the varying depths of the ocean, from the deepest, densest, darkest waters near the ocean floor to the light and bright surface waters. This is a parallel of the gradual refining and raising of dense, coarse matter into spiritual light. Physical life-forms tend to be primitive and ancient close to the bottom of the ocean and more refined and developed at the surface. Metaphysically, forces within the ocean surge upward, coming from darkness toward light. The work of the water spirits of the oceans are an intrinsic part of this process.

The oceans have a profound effect on living creatures on the Earth, even if they live far away from them. The bodies of animals and human beings contain a great volume of water as well as many minerals, just like seawater. Plants also have these characteristics in varying degrees. These characteristics link them all with the evolutionary nature of the oceans from which life emerged. The etheric field associated with the water within animals, humans and plants resonates in harmony with the etheric of the oceans, maintaining the connection. When the tide comes in, its influence does not stop at the high water mark. It continues to ripple throughout the etheric of the land and through all the creatures, people and plants in its path. It proceeds at the same pace as the tide was moving and is not diminished by distance. This carries with it the stimulus to continue to evolve, both physically and spiritually. Being mindful of these influences that are available enables human beings to utilise them to the fullest. The rhythm of the waves also resets inner timing, bringing humankind more into harmony with the planet and with the Spirit that governs it.