About the assignment of characteristics to the four elements
When you are working on your soul mirrors, then you have to analyze yourself and to assign your characteristics to the four elements. In this way you become aware of the arrangement of the four elements in your soul. Which element is dominating, which is refined and cultivated, from which element do you lack, where are imbalances, negative qualities, etc. On this basis you start your refinement process of your soul, so that in the end your soul is well balanced and all elements are in total harmony in quantity and quality. It is a cleaning, healing and balancing process. As a result you appear like gold or like a brilliant – just perfect.
The assignment of the qualities to the four elements can be a problem for the student as it is not always obvious if a quality belongs to a certain element or to another one.
First of all you should define and understand a quality which makes it easier to assign it. And then you have to become aware that a quality can have different assignments depending on the individual arrangement of the elements in your soul. Here it is important to understand that the elements nourish the qualities of the soul. So we have to ask which element feeds a certain quality in our soul.
I want to show this at one example for a better understanding. We take the quality of endurance. We have five cases, the normal, balanced cases and four cases which deal with the domination of one element. Besides this, there can occur certainly also mixed cases where one quality belongs to two or more elements.
0. Definition:
Endurance means to keep a certain degree of performance over a certain period of time which means the maintaining the supply of a certain degree of energy for one purpose over this time period.
1. The natural, well-balanced case:
Here all elements are more or less in a good balance in your soul. Here we can say that the air element is responsible for the quality of endurance as it is connected to rhythm, heartbeat rhythm, permanent supply of energy, supply with air to keep things running, working. Imagine the picture of a jogger with his permanent supply of fresh oxygen over a long distance. Also higher forms of the air element regarding the Quabbalah provide a great endurance.
2. The case of the domination of the fire element:
Here you show a great will power and enthusiasm. Your fire is always burning and keeps you active. Your endurance is nourished by the fire.
3. The case of the domination of the air element:
You are an airy person. So you have a great amount of air element in power and quality in your soul and for this reason, endurance is a natural part of you. The air element is feeding your endurance.
4. The case of the domination of the water element:
You have a good variety of qualities and powers of the water element. You perceive life with love and joy, you feel devotion for your tasks and so the water element is feeding your endurance.
5. The case of the domination of the earth element:
You are very grounded, earthy, maybe a little bit “dry”, tough and you draw your energies from the earth, the earth element. Your endurance is maybe more tenacity but works in the same way and lets you achieve your goals. It is nourished by the earth element.
In conclusion you can see that much depends on your individual personality and the predominating of one or two elements. So from the individual domination of the element in your soul you can derive already to good degrees where a quality is originating or maintained or nourished from. For example if you are a “fiery guy” then you draw your powers and qualities in main from the fire element.
Besides this I want to point at some misunderstandings:
1. “Good students are able to find hundreds of smallest mistakes by meditation”
Something like this is said by Bardon. This does not mean to work hard to find also hundreds of mistakes or flaws. Indeed this points at the high skills in meditation of some talented students. We all have to develop such high skills in meditation, in analyzing and understanding problems, topics, etc.,- independent from the soul mirror work.
So it is nice when you find hundreds of flaws but hundreds of flaws can be reduced to a few main flaws which just show up in different ways and it is all about the work on these main flaws. When you work successfully on them, then you show also a positive behavior in the details. You can compare this with trying to get rid of weeds. You can cut the smallest leaves and it takes much effort and time to get rid of a single weed or you cut directly the big roots of the plant and then you are ready in an efficient way, shortest time and lowest possible effort. So in conclusion differentiate here between the idea of high skills in meditation and the efficient way of working on your flaws.
2. The presented qualities by Bardon
Bardon lists a good amount of qualities as examples for the work of the student. Here it is not the sense to just go through this list and to check the qualities if you have them or not. Indeed you are asked to put much more effort into a deep meditation about your personality. A mistake is also to proclaim to have all negative qualities while there are nearly no positive ones. This is certainly nonsense. So take the task seriously and take enough time and meditation for good results. Also really think about the meaning of the single qualities and assign them in the fitting individual way.
3. Past or present?
The whole mirror work makes only sense when you examine your present personality as your characteristics change by time, by experience, etc. So old flaws of your youth are not relevant for you now when you are already a grown-up. Your personality has simply changed. So in conclusion focus on your present personality to get a useful basis for your soul refinement. When you examine your personality throughout time and space, then you can only get an overview about the changes of your character, which might be interesting but not more.
Last but not least – today you can get further support for this work as psychology and psychotherapy provide comprehensive check-lists for characteristics, also tests about your personality, your positive abilities, your powers and qualities, etc. which also show where you lack of something. Autohypnosis further on, can be a great deal to get rid of bad characteristics and to activate and integrate positive ones. So use what helps you for a comprehensive and efficient way to refine yourself.