The Cauldron and the Wand...
Tarot and Italian Witchcraft have correspondences between elements and tools. The cup is water, the sword fire, the wand air, and the pentacle is earth. Some traditions switch the wand and the sword. Thw sword also becomes the athane (dagger) or the spear.
But Loki shows us another view. I read the following a while ago:
The Rökkr: The Faces of Loki:The association of the fiery Loki with the elemental tool of the sword is the continuation of one of modern magick's great conundrums. Western magick, since the Golden Dawn, has corresponded the sword with the element of air; and the wand with the element of fire. This rather inexplicable correspondence has been explained away by apologists for the Golden Dawn as an occult blind; whereas less glassy-eyed commentators would say they simply got it wrong.
The mystery behind this elemental confusion is that, at some level, the sword and the wand are interchangeable; just as the cup, or grail, is akin to the pentacle, or stone, out of which it was created. So, just as Hela corresponds to the stone, as a representation of the earth, and also to the cup as a holder, of the lunar mead, so Loki corresponds to both the sword and the wand/spear. This dual correspondence is expressed in one simple symbol: the sword Laevateinn. This sword was made by Loki and guarded by Surt, but what is intriguing is that its name means "wounding wand". Loki's sword is also a wand.
I think this makes a lot of sense, and not just in a Norse context. I think we can simplify our correspondences with this concept.
The Wand, the Sword, the Lance, the Athane, and the Spear are all phallic. They are also all used to channel and direct force. They give, like the Pillar of Mercy, the right Pillar of the Tree of Life, which is the male Pillar.
The Cup, the Cauldron, the Graal, and the Pentacle are all used to contain things. They are vessels which gather force. And they all symbolize the female vagina. They receive, like the Pillar of Severity, the left Pillar of the Tree of Life, which is the female Pillar.
Water and Earth become alike, and Fire and Air.
~Muninn's Kiss
But Loki shows us another view. I read the following a while ago:
The Rökkr: The Faces of Loki:The association of the fiery Loki with the elemental tool of the sword is the continuation of one of modern magick's great conundrums. Western magick, since the Golden Dawn, has corresponded the sword with the element of air; and the wand with the element of fire. This rather inexplicable correspondence has been explained away by apologists for the Golden Dawn as an occult blind; whereas less glassy-eyed commentators would say they simply got it wrong.
The mystery behind this elemental confusion is that, at some level, the sword and the wand are interchangeable; just as the cup, or grail, is akin to the pentacle, or stone, out of which it was created. So, just as Hela corresponds to the stone, as a representation of the earth, and also to the cup as a holder, of the lunar mead, so Loki corresponds to both the sword and the wand/spear. This dual correspondence is expressed in one simple symbol: the sword Laevateinn. This sword was made by Loki and guarded by Surt, but what is intriguing is that its name means "wounding wand". Loki's sword is also a wand.
I think this makes a lot of sense, and not just in a Norse context. I think we can simplify our correspondences with this concept.
The Wand, the Sword, the Lance, the Athane, and the Spear are all phallic. They are also all used to channel and direct force. They give, like the Pillar of Mercy, the right Pillar of the Tree of Life, which is the male Pillar.
The Cup, the Cauldron, the Graal, and the Pentacle are all used to contain things. They are vessels which gather force. And they all symbolize the female vagina. They receive, like the Pillar of Severity, the left Pillar of the Tree of Life, which is the female Pillar.
Water and Earth become alike, and Fire and Air.
~Muninn's Kiss