\n
So while the sun seems to move from left to right for people in the northern hemisphere, it seems to move from right to left for us down south. \u00a0To see this easily\u00a0simply look at a map of earth, trace east to west \u2013 which way are you tracing? Bet it\u2019s right to left \u2013 which by the way, kind of suggests that you up north are the ones who are upside down, since to get your perspective when looking at a map you have to turn the map upside down. \u00a0Perspective is an interesting thing isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n But\u00a0what difference does this make? \u00a0It doesn\u2019t seem like a big deal really, but in truth it is one of the most confusing things for us down here \u2013 and there is no way for us to answer this one completely and truly. \u00a0The issue is something so simple and basic \u2013 circle casting and which way is which.<\/p>\n Witchcraft 101, for this spell, cast\u00a0deosil, for this other spell cast widdershins. \u00a0When you remember that deosil and widdershins refer to two different things you may understand the confusion \u2013 deosil and widdershins refer to the direction the sun travels and the direction the hands on the clock travel. \u00a0Not so hard until you realise, from our perspective, the sun and the clock don\u2019t match up like it does for everyone up north.<\/p>\n North<\/strong><\/p>\n So the question becomes, for us here, what are deosil and widdershins? \u00a0Are they solar directions, clock directions or something else. \u00a0When we look for answers, we get no clear answer at all. \u00a0Wikipedia<\/a> seems to suggest that both words refer to the direction of the sun, which suggests for us deosil would be anti-clockwise and widdershins would be clockwise. \u00a0Right?<\/p>\n Well, yes and no. \u00a0Because then the Wiki entry on widdershins<\/a> suggests that widdershins refers to \u201ccounter clockwise\u201d or \u201cleft to right\u201d specifically. \u00a0But then, in that same entry it states that counter-clockwise is deosil in the southern hemisphere and widdershins is \u201crunning-counter to the direction of the Sun<\/em>\u201d despite earlier stating this cannot be the case!<\/p>\n Pagan\/Wiccan About says<\/a> \u201cTo move deosil is to move in a clockwise (or sunwise) direction. [\u2026]\u00a0The opposite of deosil is widdershins, which means counterclockwise.<\/em>\u201d \u00a0And mentions the south not at all. \u00a0As is common, clockwise and sunwise are considered synonymous.<\/p>\n Etymology online, on Deosil<\/a> states that deosil (or deasil) means\u00a0\u201crightwise, turned toward the right; motion according to the apparent course of the sun\u2026<\/em>\u201d \u00a0But its root words all mean \u201cright\u201d in some way. \u00a0But the same site, on Widdershins<\/a> goes on to state, \u201ccontrary to the course of the sun or a clock<\/em>\u201d once again conflating the two movements. \u00a0It also says, etymologically, that widdershins derives from things meaning, \u201cin the opposite direction\u201d and \u201cto go against\u201d \u2013 which doesn\u2019t give us much really.<\/p>\n So what are we left with here? An understandable conflation between the words clockwise and sunwise (considering the sources of our originating languages, such conflations are completely normal). \u00a0Unfortunately that conflation leaves us with nothing but confusion. \u00a0Either we look to the sun and say deosil means sunwise, which means, for us down here, counter-clockwise. \u00a0Or we say deosil means right, which means counter-sunwise. \u00a0So which is it?<\/p>\n The answer comes to me in the most unexpected way. \u00a0In the first instalment, the introduction<\/a>, of this 180 Degrees series I was asked a question in the comments<\/a> that I didn\u2019t really think would be relevant to this series \u2013 nothing more than a matter of curiosity. \u00a0I answered it, that was that. \u00a0I didn\u2019t really think of it again.<\/p>\n Yvonne Aburrow, from Dowsing for Divinity<\/a>, asked,\u00a0\u201cIs it true that the water goes anti-clockwise down the plughole?<\/em>\u201d \u00a0The answer was no, it doesn\u2019t (though\u00a0it can, and it can in the north too, it really depends on your plumbing, what its made of, the design etc). \u00a0I said that it\u00a0was a myth based on a misunderstanding of the Coriolis Effect<\/a> which affects the\u00a0spin direction of \u201ctornadoes or something<\/em>\u201c. \u00a0Yeh, I said \u201cor something,\u201d that\u2019s how trivial that bit of, well, trivia was to me in that moment. \u00a0A fun question, but not something that was a big deal to me. \u00a0And yet\u2026<\/p>\n Now we come to Under the Waning Moon<\/a>, who makes the best case for the doesil\/widdershins confusion I have ever seen \u2013 and I mean ever! \u00a0Basically, the Coriolis Effect is caused by the rotation of the earth, but because the Earth rotates relatively slowly it only affects large things, like tornadoes and cyclones. \u00a0What it does is cause such large things to rotate from left to right, in the northern hemisphere but right to left in the southern hemisphere. \u00a0Considering the fact that the direction\u00a0of casting a circle is not based on some arbitrary thing as right and left, but is actually more about the power being called on or used, then the Coriolis effect is actually the perfect example of power and raising energy. \u00a0In the northern hemisphere the Coriolis Effect shows us that energy is raised in a clockwise direction, but it is raised in an anti-clockwise direction down here in the south.<\/p>\n And so I began this question by tracing the definition of words and the etymology of those same words and instead I end up finding my answer in the most random and kind of ironic way possible. \u00a0If you can\u2019t see the irony in me talking about the Coriolis Effect in the first instalment of this series and not realising it was actually the answer to one of the conundrums posed by this series \u2013 you need to learn about irony!<\/p>\n North<\/strong><\/p>\n South<\/strong><\/p>\n Why do I say Deosil still equals sunwise? \u00a0It\u2019s mostly because of its usage in Paganism and Witchcraft. \u00a0Read any spell and if it calls for Deosil it is because that is the direction for raising energy, whether it be sunwise or not, Deosil for us equals \u201craising energy\u201d and Widdershins is more about banishing. \u00a0This is good, because our general assumption has been the same as above (deosil = counter-clockwise) but we never knew if the author of a book meant sunwise or clockwise in their usage of the word deosil. \u00a0By using the Coriolis Effect for our basis, it no longer matters. \u00a0Energy Raising direction is what we need to think about, the rest is meaningless. \u00a0<\/p>\n So this one definitely doesn\u2019t seem like a big deal, how can the cardinal points be different between the hemispheres? \u00a0Well, obviously they are not. \u00a0The directions remain the same, north is north is north. \u00a0It\u2019s not the directions, it\u2019s the things that correspond with those directions that matter here.<\/p>\n One of the first witchy books I read as child stated the following,<\/p>\n North<\/strong>: Earth I tried to follow that, I really did, but it just felt so very wrong to me. \u00a0South is fire? \u00a0South is freaking fire? \u00a0What is that? \u00a0South of me is Tasmania and ice. \u00a0There is not fire down there! \u00a0I was noping all over the place on this one. \u00a0Now, back then I thought I had to \u201cfollow the rules\u201d to be a good witch, so it didn\u2019t occur to me for a while that I could just choose to create my own associations. \u00a0Once I did let go of following the rules (which I was never that good at anyway, so it was a relief) I really let go of following the rules. \u00a0And that deserves its own post really, how all of our witchy and Pagan correspondences and associations are not universal truths and some of them are somewhat arbitrary.<\/p>\n I live in Victoria, so I am right down the bottom of Australia and on the east. \u00a0All of Southern Australia and Western Australia are to my west, mostly ocean to the east, Tasmania, ocean and ice to the south and New South Wales, Queensland, and some of Asia leading to the equator to my north. \u00a0So this is the list I devised for myself.<\/p>\n North<\/strong>: Fire (equator) Now, I must be clear, this is my list. \u00a0Only mine. \u00a0Others can use it, certainly, if you want to and it fits, then take away. \u00a0However, it is not the only possibility \u2013 even for my specific area. \u00a0Here I could easily swap north and west. \u00a0North of me, as I have said, is NSW and QLD, which is a fair bit of land. \u00a0West of me is WA, and if you go a bit north-west you have central Australia which is basically just the deadly heat of the desert. \u00a0As such, I could easily say the North is Earth and West is Fire. \u00a0Just as easily I can swap South and East, they both hold water and air. \u00a0I chose Air for the south, because the majority of the water is frozen and I imagine the freezing air in my lungs. \u00a0But it could easily be water south and air east.<\/p>\n For Aussies who live in Western Australia, it perhaps makes more sense to have Earth to the East, where the bulk of Australia is. \u00a0But fire could go there to, that\u2019s also the bulk of the desert \u2013 well, depending on where you live in WA that is. \u00a0Wherever you go in Australia, you will have to determine the directions for each element based on your specific location. \u00a0And this is true for every other place on this planet, north, south, east or west.<\/p>\n Thankfully that is all that needs to be figured out for this particular issue in this particular series \u2013 the rest of the correspondences for the elements can still be applied as normal. \u00a0However I should note, the other correspondences (symbols, colours, etc) should be based on the element<\/strong><\/em>, not the direction. \u00a0It makes no sense for the colour red to be associated with airy south or watery east, now does it?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n And that\u2019s it. \u00a0180 Degrees of Separation, done. \u00a0The moon, the full moon names, the festivals and seasons, the elements and the direction to cast circle. \u00a0Not a lot, in the intro post I said it would be 3 posts. \u00a0And it has evolved into 6\u00a0\u2013 over 12,000 words in case you\u2019re wondering, since each post reached over 2000 each (hence there being more posts than I had planned). \u00a0I don\u2019t mind admitting that I am glad this is done and I am heaving a sigh of relief right now. \u00a0I enjoyed doing this series \u2013 but it kept growing so much that\u00a0it seemed like I would be working on it forever.<\/p>\n This series hasn\u2019t covered\u00a0all of the differences of course. \u00a0However, the other differences I can think of, that people ask about, are not really things that can be compared to the northern hemisphere, but must stand alone as things unique to Aussie Paganism. \u00a0Things like our unique animals and plant life and even some of our unique national holidays and celebrations. \u00a0Not only are they not comparable to the rest of the world \u2013 what can you compare koalas to after all \u2013 but there are way too many of them for me to cover in a short series.<\/p>\n This is not to say I won\u2019t be looking into such things, I will actually, as and where I can. \u00a0But anything I post on Aussie Paganism will be irregular and sporadic. \u00a0It also won\u2019t be strictly Paganism, but also me trying to adapt Hellenism to Australia, so it will serve a double purpose \u2013 and as such has absolutely no place in this specific series.<\/p>\n I really hope this series has been helpful to all of you reading along over the weeks,\u00a0and I hope it wasn\u2019t just helpful for Aussie, New Zealanders and other southerners, but also for those of you up north too. \u00a0I know I couldn\u2019t give definitive answers to all of the issues and questions posed by this series, but I hope that I least gave everyone a starting point on how to find the answers to fit your own individual needs.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Note, for just in case: A few times in this post I have said things like, \u201cthe sun moves right to left\u201d \u2013 this should be translated as \u201cthe sun seems <\/strong>to move from right to left\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n Sources and Further Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n Sunwise on Wiki<\/a> In this final instalment of 180 Degrees of Separation we are looking at the elements, directions and the most confusing issue of all – what are deosil and widdershins down here in the under?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2764,"featured_media":414,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,42,13],"tags":[50,63,66,51,98,52,65,32,25,64,59],"class_list":["post-411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australia","category-general","category-paganism101","tag-180-degrees-of-separation","tag-australian-paganism","tag-blog-series","tag-comparing-hemispheres","tag-elements","tag-north-vs-south","tag-northern-hemisphere","tag-paganism","tag-religion","tag-southern-hemisphere","tag-witchcraft"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"five](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/690\/2016\/06\/Wiccan_five_elements_1.png\")
The Sun<\/h2>\n
![\"Scenography](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/690\/2016\/06\/Cellarius_Harmonia_Macrocosmica_-_Scenographia_Systematis_Copernicani.jpg\")
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\n<\/p>\n![\"four](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/690\/2016\/06\/four-elements.jpg\")
The Cardinal Points<\/h2>\n
\nEast<\/strong>: Air
\nSouth<\/strong>: Fire
\nWest<\/strong>: Water<\/p>\n
\nEast<\/strong>: Water (lots of ocean in that direction)
\nSouth<\/strong>: Air (it\u2019s basically just ice down there)
\nWest<\/strong>: Earth\u00a0(a large portion of Aus is to my west, that is a lot of land)<\/p>\n
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\nWiddershins on Wiki<\/a>
\nUnder the Waning Moon<\/a>
\nElements and Correspondences<\/a>
\nVoces Magicae<\/a> \u2013 This is a fantastic break down of the elements and the different ways they are used in different systems. \u00a0I definitely suggest reading this one!
\nAustralis Incognita<\/a> \u2013 A great Aussie post on the directions and elements, by a member of the former Pagan Veil and one of my favourite Aussie bloggers. \u00a0Includes more links to more great posts on the elements issue.<\/p>\n![\"title](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/690\/2016\/05\/title-card-south-north.jpg\")