As mentioned several times previously, elemental energies can not only manifest and be controlled within the sword,

but can also be conjured and channeled through the magician in such a way that the magician assimilates the desired virtues of the desired element. If you have done talismanic magic or theurgic elemental magic, this concept should be familiar with you. The difference between the common theurgia applications and the virtuous correspondences as they apply in swordplay is that theurgia is a means of self betterment and empowerment. In swordplay, the elemental correspondences are not used for self betterment, but instead are called upon so that the magician will take on certain traits applicable to battle from the desired element. To illustrate this point better, let us say a theurgic magician calls upon the force of water, and a follower of the occult sword arts calls upon water as well. The theurgic magician calls upon the force of water in hopes that he will embrace the virtues of water, and in turn also destroy some of his own vices. As a common example, let us say that the magician desires in this instance to embrace water's purity and rejuvenation virtues. The occult swordsman has also called the force of water, however the desire this time is not only to embrace its virtues. Indeed the magician in this case also wishes the virtues of the element to flow and act through him, so that he is not only gaining its virtues, but is also letting the virtuous manifestation of water flow freely through him. Now in the case of the theurgic magician I said that the virtues he called upon were water's purity and rejuvenation to give an example of what the desired effect would be in that case. In the case of the swordsman, a completely different scope of virtues is being called upon. The swordsman would call upon water not for its self betterment or spiritual progression capabilities, but instead to assimilate its characteristics as based on a physical perspective. For water, some of these virtues may be fluidity of motion, heaviness of swing, and quick adaptability. All three of those virtues are based on the water element through a physical perspective. In this sense the virtues you are calling on when channeling the water element in sword magic are not entirely Intellectual/Virtuous(as coined by Agrippa), but because there is no physical manifestation occurring it is not Manifest either. So you instead are working with a medium of change in between the levels of Virtue and Manifest. This is the real difference between theurgic and physically influential uses of the elements, such as occult swordplay. The following is a very basic list of some of the associated characteristics the magician may come to take on when under the influence of the elements: Water: Heaviness, fluidity, adaptability, easy motion, assimilation of force, graceful Fire: Quick, aggressive, growing, overcoming, light in weight, ongoing, energetic Earth: Firm, still, overpowering, unmovable, unaffected, strength, heavy Air: Swift, graceful, adaptable, easy motion, energetic, encompassing, influential Now these are the most basic four methods of channeling in relevance to swordplay, or any other fighting situation. From these root methods sprout a total of 12 choices in the process of choosing an exact energy and characteristic to invoke. The total possible invocations are: Water Water of Earth Water of Air Fire Fire of Earth Fire of Air Earth

Earth of Fire Earth of Water Air Air of Fire Air of Water Now if you are familiar with the idea of elemental combinations in this respect, you might be wondering to yourself "Why has he left out Fire of fire, and Fire of Water?" interchangeably with any of the other elements. Well, the explanation is quite simple if you were to think about it. After contemplation on the matter while I was devising my own system of swordplay that incorporated magic, I decided to leave Fire of fire, Fire of water, Water of water, Water of fire, Earth of earth, Earth of Air, Air of Air, and Air of Earth out of the system. You see, you can not be more fluid than fluid, quicker than quick, stronger than strong, firmer than firm, etc. And so the idea of, lets say, Earth of Earth, seems unplaced. Earth of Earth will not give Earth x2. Magic does not work that way in most cases. As for the combination of opposing elements, if you contemplate on the matter you will see the idea of doing such a thing not only futile, but altogether not working. You see, you can not be slow and quick, strong and weak. Just as a blunt sword will not cut fine wood, nor is a feather as heavy as a block of led. The union of opposites is, in this sense, not applicable. Doing such a channeling of power would only hinder the magician by means of natural opposition leading to the canceling of characteristics. Ultimately, nothing would happen if this feat were attempted. I believe only the wisest, most learned of magicians would be able to successfully create an equilibrium within himself that would allow certain characteristics of opposing elements to truly coexist within the same vessel, which is the magician. And even in the case of the wisest, one could still not be quick and slow at the same time, but instead only be able to allow certain desired characteristics of the opposing element within himself in proportion to other characteristics that would not immediately oppose those of the other element. To make that clearer, you could perhaps call upon the Earth-oriented firmness, and still be able to channel the air-oriented gracefulness. However, you could not call upon Earth's firmness and Air's adaptability, just as you can not make the foundational brick of a building to mold itself in accordance to a pencil you push against it. It would be wisest to begin practicing taking on these desired virtues by focusing on one specific baseelement(fire, water, earth or air). Pick one that seems to feel right to you and fits your own personality. Once you have one, spend a little time every day practicing feeling its influence on you. Invite the element into your body, so that you may harmonize with it. Feel its influence on you. How does it push you to stand? What changes in mind set does it induce? How do you feel, and which motions suddenly seem so appealing to you? If you are not use to feeling energy within your body from previous practices(specifically the Eastern Chi Doctrines), then it may be difficult at first to feel the element's influence on you. Do not worry, as this can be easily changed with patience. If after several channels you still don't feel anything, I would advise spending more time in meditation. I will not elaborate on the exact magnificence of meditation in respect to any and all forms of mysticism, for that is not what this paper is about. However, just know that meditation is the aspiring mystic's best friend. It focuses you, opens up your energy channels, purges you of unwanted energies, and much more. The patience it takes to sit down and do it is hard to gather for the bouncing teenage mind, but the rewards it offers in return surpass the highest expectations. So if you ever have a problem in mysticism, you may want to consider meditation. It is a tool at the disposal of all people, magicians, psychics, and even the average person who's just looking for a way to get an extra boost of energy in life. Several ways to call on the element, that it may harmonize with the magicianHaving given you the information in this section, it would not be difficult for a descent adept to put together how to channel the desired element. However, since I know some of you are probably looking for an exact "how-to," I'll provide a simple method through which the magician can call upon an element.

In your early stages of this training, it is suggested you meditate before you attempt to channel any of the elements. Why? The meditation opens up your senses, as well as cleans and opens your energy centers and passages. If even as little as ten minutes of meditation is done before an elemental channeling in swordplay, the effect will be dramatically enhanced. Some people may not even be able to call the element into his or her body without meditation for the first few months of practice. Start out with about 15 minutes of meditation. Use this meditation to get the feel of the energy around you. Where is it strongest? How does the energy flow? If you're already a skilled sensor, then you may also want to ask yourself what emotions are carried in the air that day. Once you feel "united" with the surrounding energies, clear your mind of other matters and focus on the element you wish to call into yourself. Change your mind set and energy flow to coincide with the nature of the desired element. For example, if you were calling upon fire, speed up your energy flow and let your focus spread throughout your body and the surrounding environment. Here are a few suggestions: For Fire: Speed up your energy flow, spread your focus so that you can feel your surrounding environment(this includes hearing, and if possible, psychic vision and taste) For Earth: Center yourself. Focus on your Base Energy Center, also known in other practices as the Tan Tien, Hara, Root Chakra or Muldhara. Ground your energies, so that you are connected to the Earth, with your energy channels both giving and pulling energy from it. Do not let your mind wander. For Water: Collect an amount of energy into one part of your body and visualize it as an orb. Once you have this orb of energy within your energy channels, begin to direct it throughout your entire body with your will and visualization, pushing it through every major energy channel. Let this orb mend the meridians as it travels through them, as well as push out negative energy. Let your mind be focused on the energies in the world around you. For Air: Let your mind be in a state of panoramic observance, feeling all things around you, but focusing on none at any moment. Do not push your energy in your body, but instead let it move freely through your body, as you feel your entire body as one, not focusing on any part of it. These are all basic ideas of what you can do to somewhat "assimilate" the characteristics of a desired element, so that your aetheric self is more open to its energies, and so that the energy can flow unhindered throughout your body. Once you have assumed a state of being in respect to the element, open yourself up to it. Feel it in the world around you and embrace it. If you are keen of chants, then say something along the lines of "Glorious, powerful ______, I embrace you. Come _____, I invoke you that our energies may merge as I invite you into my body. Take form in me!" It doesn't have to be complicated. Just a statement of your will, as in all chants. Submit to the energy as it comes to you, while still keeping a sharp mind(in the event that you also unintentionally invite some unwanted guests). As it comes into you, let it take form in your body as it will. Consider the things mentioned before. How does it feel? How does it push you to position yourself? Grab your sword and, in union with the element, swing it around a little. How do your strikes differ, if at all? And what if nothing happens at all? Well, very rarely will a magician try to conjure an elemental energy and absolutely no energy comes. Chances are you conjured the energy, but you either did not conjure enough(which can be effected by various factors I will discuss in a moment), or you were not open enough to the element(most likely as a result of ignoring step 1). As mentioned, your apparent failure may be a result of having not conjured enough of the elemental energy. There are several reasons this may have happened, and often the reason is a lack of meditation. I truly can not stress to any aspiring adepts reading this paper how important meditation is. It may seem optional, and in most cases it is, but its effects are tremendous. Another possible scenario is that you did not declare your will strongly enough. This is most likely the case with either an arrogant magician who

thinks the elements kneel at his call, or with a person reading this paper who has little or none previous magic background. Before trying to channel the elements, you should be somewhat already familiar with their energies, preferably through previous studies in elemental magic. As mentioned at the beginning of this site, occults swordplay is not necessarily a good beginning art, and it is best taken up at first as a hobby by a descent magician, and eventually as a full art.