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April 21 through April 27, 2025

The Aquarius Moon will inspire us on Monday and Tuesday, as it provides innovative ideas and new options for us to consider. Things slow down considerably when the Moon dips into Pisces Wednesday and Thursday, providing us with a few days of easy-going and time for contemplation. However, once the Moon marches into Aries on Friday, we'll be moving full steam ahead for the next few days, which in turn, makes the end of the week the most productive. We'll experience a new Moon in Taurus on Sunday, marking a two-week cycle when we can move on to new projects, find compromises to break any impasses we are dealing with, and for all intents and purposes, make decisions we've been holding off on. Make a wish, as this is one of the most powerful Moons of the year for manifesting!

Are You the Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, or Metal Element? Introducing the Personality Test You Didn’t Know You Needed, by Tisha Morris

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Personality tests are a multi-million-dollar industry with a continued growth rate of 10% to 15% annually. According to the Harvard Business Review, it's common for employers to require workers to take personality assessments to identify who to hire and how they can best collaborate and work as a team member. In the post-pandemic era, personality tests are likely to only increase as more workers move to remote working. In such work environments, a personality test may be the best indicator of one's personality and work style.

The Myers-Briggs test developed in the 1960s has continued to be the most popular personality assessment test in the workplace and for interpersonal use. Now, we have a multitude of personality systems with which to define ourselves, such as astrology, human design, and the enneagram. However, the Five Elements based in ancient Taoism is arguably the earliest of all personality indicators.

The Five Elements were first introduced in the ancient text, known as the I Ching, or Book of Changes, as the foundational building blocks of everything that exists. They were not originally viewed in terms of the individual until thousands of years later when Chinese Medicine applied the Five Elements for purposes of medical diagnoses. Chinese Medicine used the Five Elements to determine an imbalance in the organ systems, which we now know as Acupuncture.

It was after Chinese Medicine migrated to the West when the Five Elements were also used as a system for individual personality types. While there is no exact marker for when this evolution took place, it most likely occurred as a result of the depth psychology movement spearheaded by psychoanalyst Carl Jung. In fact, Carl Jung looked to the I Ching as a guide for the archetypes that became a significant part of his work.

Considering that the field of psychology was developed only 150 years ago and only became mainstream approximately fifty years ago, we've had a relatively short amount of time in our evolution to consider who we are, what we want, and what makes us happy. Until then, the individual ego that gives rise to one's personality was not examined to the extent it is today.

Perhaps our fascination with ourselves can be attributed to having more options than ever in choosing what career or relationship is best for us, particularly for women who were historically exempt from such choices. It's now rare to commit to one career or one person and stick with it for the rest of our life. The pursuit of what will make us happy is not as easy as it seems and takes self-inquiry to help find what will bring us satisfaction.

You may be wondering what makes The Five Elements different from the other personality systems. The Five Elements consist of Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal, which exist as the cycle of birth, growth, death, and rebirth in nature. According to Taoist philosophy, everything on the planet consists of the Five Elements, including us humans. It's the one system that doesn't separate us with all living or non-living beings. We are all a microcosm of the Universe, a mini-Universe, so to speak, and thus all connected. And yet we all have our unique concentration of the Five Elements.

At our base, we all share these core energies. Our individuality is expressed with each one of us having a slightly different concentration of each element. In other words, we all have the same recipe, just a different amount of each ingredient. For example, some people have more yang energy, meaning they embody more Wood or Fire elements, while others are naturally more yin and thus embody more Metal or Water elements. This individual makeup of energy will play a role in one's physical characteristics, energy level, and even personality traits. Some people may have a high concentration in one element, while someone else may be more evenly balanced among all five elements.

Not only do we each have our own Five Elements constitution that makes us unique, but your profile may change as you go through different phases and experiences in your life. Knowing that we fit into a category can be comforting, but it can also be limiting to the full breadth of who we are and who we can become. Instead of stuffing yourself in a box, you can truly be all categories by what you put your attention on. Thus, the Five Elements allows expansion of ourselves.

By reading the following elemental descriptions, you'll probably glean some insight as to which elements you are stronger and weaker in. Usually, there are one or two elements that feel natural to us and at least one element that feels foreign or challenging. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses can be an invaluable tool in understanding yourself in work and relationships. While the full characteristics of the elements are beyond the scope of this article, the following descriptions provide a quick look at each element as personality types.

Water Element: The Water Element is the Philosopher. They are quiet and typically introverted, and yet so unassuming. They hold a quiet strength. They may seem fragile at times, but they are anything but weak. They are deeply creative, contemplative, and introspective. They will most likely be the ones to figure out the key to world peace or an invention that saves climate change. It will be up to the other elements however to implement it.

Wood Element: The Wood Element is the Pioneer. They are the leaders, inventors, seekers, and visionaries. They will take the lead in groups and take action steps to create movement in projects. They can easily vacillate between being introverted and extroverted depending on what a situation calls for. For example, they can work solo on creating a new business or work well with groups. Wood elements keep things in forward motion and their challenge is to know when to contract their energy or take a step back.

Fire Element: The Fire Element is the Manifestor. They are high energy and generally extroverted. They are often the life of the party and enjoy life. Like a flame, they create the highest expression of energy in the form of enthusiasm and passion. Fire elements provide the fuel in projects in order that they manifest in its highest and truest form. While the idea may have been born with the Water element, and the Wood element provided forward motion, it is the Fire element that brings something to full culmination.

Earth Element: The Earth Element is the Stabilizer. They are the grounding force that keeps the status quo maintained so that change doesn't happen too quickly. The Earth element is the container or stage on which we all get to play. They are highly supportive people that bring harmony to groups and help maintain the peace. Think of the Earth element as the parent that keeps harmony among the children when bickering ensues. They go out of their way to not ruffle feathers. Worry is their default emotion, especially when something seems out of their control that could lead to possible change.

Metal Element: The Metal Element is the Organizer. They are natural organizers and keep things in check and on schedule. They make great accountants, engineers, scientists, editors, architects, personal assistants, and professional organizers. They are guaranteed to be detail-oriented, focused, and precise in anything they do. They tend to cut to the chase in conversation without the need for embellishments. They also love an orderly environment with even their storage items labeled appropriately.

For a deeper dive into identifying your primary element and your missing element, you can take the Five Elements Quiz in the book, Missing Element, Hidden Strength. Once you determine your missing element, you can learn how to integrate it into your everyday life, along with all Five Elements. You'll likely find that your missing element is what has kept you from starting projects, finishing tasks, or even sticking with relationships. Once you identify it, embrace it, and embody your missing element, it will soon become your hidden strength to unlocking your full creative potential.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2022. All rights reserved.

Last summer, I was driving to work when I had a sudden vision of a man I feel a strong spiritual connection to. I believe we are soul mates though we have never had an opportunity to be together in this life. We are friendly acquaintances but do not see each other often. In any event, in my mind's eye I saw myself in a kitchen I didn't recognize, and heard knocking. I turned and saw my friend standing outside a screen door. He asked me if I wanted to go for a walk. I agreed and went outside with him. During our walk, he told me he loved and admired me but we could not be together in this life because we each have separate major missions to accomplish, he as an artist and me as a mental health professional. As a result, we both need to be in relationships with people who will support us and help us reach these goals. (He has been in such a relationship for years.) This type of devotion was not something we could provide each other (particularly him to me). He went on to say that I would meet another soul mate soon and that this man would love me completely and encourage me to follow my dreams. (Strangely enough, I met my current boyfriend two months later, and he fits this description!) My friend wished me well and the vision ended. I know this friend frequently practices transcendental meditation. Did he send me this vision? If so, what was his intention? The information he provided about our connection was something I already accepted and was at peace with. I am curious to hear your take on this experience. Thanks so much!

L.

Astrea:

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the people we love and admire from afar could come to us and tell us everything that we want or need to hear? Then we could go on with our lives as if nothing had happened between us. This would enable us to avoid addressing the magical dreams/visions we have with the other person, and allow us to keep things the way they had been on the surface while we move on with our own individual paths.

I believe your vision was born out of the love that you feel for this man, and that he probably admires you as well. I know a lot about spiritual law and human nature, and while it's not impossible, it's improbable that this person sent you that vision. For someone else to come into your subconscious that way, they would have to be a Guide, Angel or Deity.

Perhaps one of your Guides came to you in that vision and impersonated that person so that you would be able to get on with your life and move in a completely different direction without any regrets. Our Guides and Angels often appear to us in our visions as other people, places or things to show us what will happen in the new beginnings that are coming our way.

We all have free will, and there are spiritual laws that prevent other people from taking over our minds and pushing themselves into our inner worlds. It's possible that you'd been wondering about the strong connection you feel to this man, and your own mind created this vision for you. When you went for a mental walk with your friend, you
heard all the things you needed to hear from your own subconscious mind.

If you were attached to being with this person prior to this experience, this vision helped you release your need to be with him and allowed you to move on with your life. It encouraged you to go in a different direction with a new boyfriend whose goals and dreams are in harmony with yours.

Regardless of the source of this vision, by releasing your need to be with this person, your life has been enriched. Now you'll be able to let this new relationship blossom into what you've always wanted.

Realize that this was a choice that YOU made, not some mystical thing that happened because someone else willed it to be. Your own mind and spirit is stronger within you than anyone else's ever could be. I'm glad you've found someone wonderful and that you're able to build a life together in a way that really works for you both.

*****

Susyn:

Based on the nature of the messages you received during this vision, you can be almost certain that your friend was visiting you in spirit either through transcendental meditation or astral projection. There were specific sentiments and information he wanted you to consciously know even though you were already aware of them in your heart.

Though you had already accepted that you were destined to take different paths in life, his visit via this vision was very important to both of you. He wanted you to know that he shared your feelings. He also wanted to make sure you understood the reasons you could not be together in this lifetime, though both of you had hopes for a different outcome. He felt that sharing these messages with you would bring peace and acceptance to the situation.

One of the greatest challenges we face is the higher awareness that we have shared loving relationships in other lifetimes that cannot be repeated in our current incarnation. However, I sense that in past lives as well as this lifetime, you were separated by various circumstances. The kitchen you saw yourself in during the vision suggested to me a war-time past life. It may have been that in that lifetime, he was called to duty and did not return.

It's highly likely that you have a pattern in your past lives of having great feelings for one another and being unable to express them. If you are willing to do some past life research with a professional psychic, you could discover more than one lifetime in which you had this sort of experience.

The beauty of this relationship is how you two are able to connect on a spiritual level, if not a physical one. He sent you messages of comfort, love and support, and now you can also do the same.

The best way to do this is to write him a letter, sharing any thoughts and loving sentiments you would like to send his way. Then, during a guided meditation in which you focus on him, you can burn the letter with the flame of a white candle. Burning the letter will send it out into the atmosphere where he can receive it. This may happen when he is meditating, dreaming, or having a vision similar to yours.

When we remember that our spirits connect us more deeply than any physical or emotional interactions we might share, and that this type of connection endures through lifetimes, it's easier to accept the human limitations we are destined to operate under during certain phases of our journeys through time.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.